Sunday, April 22, 2012

Poem of the Week 4/23/12

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174742

9 comments:

  1. I can sense the glorious and gratifying feeling of accomplishing something daunting and dangerous. The men on the ship are celebrating their long journey, but this rewarding poem is marked with bits of unhappiness and sorrow. Their captain has “fallen cold and dead.” Even though the men have their prize and are celebrating with bells, bouquets, and wreaths, they can never fully enjoy the moment because the man that led them to their destination is gone. I assume that the captain sacrificed his life to save everyone. I can relate to this idea with my parents. They let me have better things and have fun while they’ll take something less. They care more about me than themselves, which is what the captain had to do. This poem is about enjoying a satisfying moment, but also having to remember the person/people that helped make that moment possible.

    Kelly Du
    Period 1

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  2. In the poem "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, I relize that he is very close to his captain becuase he looks up to him as a father figure. "My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will." The first line says my captain, then goes into the next one saying my father, when he set this poem up like this i feel he was trying to show the reader that he was very close to the captain. He then goes to tell that the ship is safe and sound and the voyage is over, I take that as the captain died during the voyage and he is trying to ensure him that his men and ship are safe and sound.

    -Zack B
    Period 5

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  3. Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!" shows his attachment to his captain or father figure. HE begins by referring to this man as captain, but then he suddenly switched to calling him father," Here Captain! dear father!" In addition, I believe that his father figure passed on towards the end of the poem "The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; Exult O shores, and ring O bells! But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead."

    Karlie
    Period 1

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  4. In Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!" he truly expresses the emotions in losing someone you truly care about. In this case, the figure seems to be a father, as he says "O Captain! Dear Father!" in stanza two. Although the poem is set on a ship about to reach port, I believe it has a much deeper meaning. I remember reading this poem in an obituary, once. The man wasn't a captain, nor did he have anything to do with the sea and it's life, but, rather, he was a chef in a small restaurant. He had been loved by many because of what he did. He would donate what little money he had to different charities and he helped many people. Therefore, the poem expresses deep love for another, and how one man can be held up on a pedestal for very little reason. A father is held up on this mighty throne by his children, A lawyer by his clients. A captain, of course, is the one thought of when it comes to being honored and given full attention, however. When you think of a captain, you think of someone with full command, with a crew of men and women willing to do what he says, sailing on a large ship across a vast ocean. In a way, that's life. When one man holds the love of many people who would do anything for him, and yet he continues to sail on the magnificent, trial filled journey of life. There are sharks, and storms, and death, of course, yet they push on knowing they have this crew behind them. All in all, this poem is significant in showing how strong a love can be for a man or woman, and how much pain may come about when the "captain" leaves or dies.

    Brianna DeNegris
    Period 1

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  5. In the poem "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, I think Walt Whitman was referring to the captain as his father because the captain did what a parent would do by helping his shipmates get to shore safe and sound. The other reason he could have said this because he could have just been his father and he was just under his command and he had to say captain to show respect infront of every one.

    Austin Fries (Period .7)

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  6. This poem was very relatable so it drew me in; I even developed a small admiration for this captain mentioned in the poem because of that. This captain had a pure, selfless heart and he had worked to protect his crew and led them to victory without any desire for self-gain. There are many people in our lives that we owe appreciation to for their selfless acts done in our favor. However, sometimes we lose these people at the conclusion of ordeals and it becomes sad when we don’t have them around to celebrate what they had helped to accomplish, to at least thank them. The line that best expressed such a feeling of loss was when the narrator says, “For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths---for you, the shore a-crowding, / For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning” One can call for these lost people, but they can never return nor can one return the huge favors one owes these people. Gratitude and admiration seem to be the main themes of this poem.

    Sidney
    Period 1

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  7. In my opinion, “O Captain! My Captain” is a poem from the perspective of a son who set out on a voyage with his father. Furthermore, it is a very sad poem in which I can feel the depression in the son’s voice. It is an honor to have made this voyage, especially with his father, but it’s heart wrenching to see this trip end without the person who means the most to this boy. I believe that this son is clearly in a mental catch-22. He is proud of himself and this great accomplishment, but still thinking of his father every moment and how he cannot feel this same pride. In the end, I believe that the son wants or wishes that in this glorious moment, his father would come back to life to experience this moment. However, it’s the last two lines that show the son conceding, and acknowledges the fact that his father his dead and never coming back.

    Pompeo M.
    Per.4

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  8. "O Captain! My Captain" By Walt Whitman Poem Response

    One could only guess to whom the captain that Walt Whitman is alluding to truly is, but from what is given in the context of the poem, "O Captain! My Captain!" it is made clear that a physical war has been won and a viable solution foreseen in the near future. It is learned early on by the reader that the poem inherently takes place during the time period of the Civil War, and in accordance with Whitman’s biography his writing was indeed impacted by the societal influence regarding the war. By piecing this information together it is safe for one to assume that the poem, “O Captain! My Captain!” is written in reference to the Civil War and the loss of life that accompanied it. Regardless of what Whitman’s intentions were in his work one is able to draw their own conclusions and find their own meaning within the loss of the captain. The poem takes the setting of a ship that has "weather'd every rack" and speaks of the general as a figurative “captain”, both labels signify a role of leadership, command, and respect. Similar to a general in the field, a captain on the ship holds responsibility over the welfare of his men and the advancements of their movement. There is an evident relationship between the Captain and that of the speaker of the poem. This emotional connection can be seen in the speaker's reference to his impact on the people that await his arrival on the shores. The captain's body awaits the celebration for his which his endeavors have earned in the form of ringing bells, flying flags, and trilling bugles. From this one could visualize how the death of the captain was an unexpected and unanticipated event. His death strikes at the heart with the realness of a cold and dead cadaver. The poem goes on to analyze the extent to which the captain is dead, and how he not only stood for a captain, but symbolically a father, a father to all. He is admired for his life contribution, and remembered for his mission for returning his men home safely. His efforts are highly regarded by all and all mourn the death of the Captain. From one perspective, his death brings closure to the war. Having brought his men home safely, and victorious, he has accomplished his societal vendetta and no longer sees the necessity to continue on.

    Alexander Borkowski Period 1

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  9. After a long voyage, the crew of a ship returns to glory and honor. But the captain of the ship- the leader, the one who made their success possible- isn't alive to see the result. He isn't just a captain though, he is also the father of the person telling the poem. It is a bittersweet conclusion to their long, difficult journey. Even though the captain and father has died, the rest of the crew must continue on without him there.
    Brooke Dedushi P. 5

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