(A) crowds are trying to take over the ship.
(B) the speaker fears that lives are in danger.
(C) ** the ship’s Captain lies dead on its deck.
(D) the ship has other dangerous journeys ahead.
EXPLANATIONS BELOW
Concept note-1: -In line 21 the speaker says, “the ship is anchor’d safe and sound.” The idea of safety is ironic, or unexpected because. crowds are trying to take over the ship. the speaker fears that lives are in danger.
Concept note-2: -This poem was written in 1865 during the civil war and President Lincoln. From the given lines, Whitman means that Lincoln can rest peacefully because the union has won the war and the U.S can start to recover from the war.
Concept note-3: -The Ship’s Anchor When the speaker says that the anchored ship is safe and sound, Whitman refers to the country being out of war and in a state of peace. The dropped anchor in the third stanza means that the trip is “closed and done.”
Concept note-4: -The “captain” represents Lincoln, and the “ship” represents the Civil War; Lincoln was the commander of the Civil War much as a captain would be of his ship. In line two, when it says that “the ship has weather’d every rack, ” it is referring to all the lives that were lost during the War.
Concept note-5: -Why is it ironic that the crowds are celebrating in this poem? It is ironic because Lincoln just died, but they are celebrating the ending of the civil war.