USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The speaker in the poem O Captain! My Captain!, written by American poet Walt Whitman, is unnamed but is thought to be Walt Whitman himself. Walt Whitman had a deep admiration for Abraham Lincoln and was deeply affected or moved by his death and assassination.

Detailed explanation-2: -This description is an allusion (a reference) to the recently deceased President Lincoln, killed by a gunshot. Line 13: The speaker also calls the captain “dear father.” The bond between the speaker and the dead man is so deep that the line is blurred between leader and family.

Detailed explanation-3: -The speaker notices that the captain is dead. In the second stanza, the speaker comes to the dead captain’s side. He begs him to rise again and hear the bells.

Detailed explanation-4: -Explanation: In the poem, Lincoln is referred to as the captain who steered the American ship from civil war. In line thirteen, the speaker calls the captain “dear father” to show the bond between the speaker and the dead man which is so deep that the line is blurred between the leader and the family.

Detailed explanation-5: -Question 9: Find out who the speaker addresses in the first two stanzas and the last stanza. Answer: In the first two stanzas, the speaker addresses to the ‘Captain’ and to the ‘heart’. In the last stanza, the speaker addresses the shores and the bells.