LANGUAGE ARTS 10 H/R
Snow Day 11: Poetry Analysis of “O Captain! My Captain”
Read the poem “O Captain! My Captain” and answer the questions in the Question column. Your answers should consist of Type II writings of
at least two-to-three lines for each question. Be sure to do the Type II Extended Response writing at the end of the poem.
Vocabulary
Port:A town
or harbor
where ships
are located
Rack: a
cluster of
dark clouds
Keel: a flatbottomed
boat
Vessel: a ship
Deck: the
floor of a
ship.
Bugle: a
trumpet
Text
I. O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
II. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugletrills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores
a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
O captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
III. 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 ship is anchor'dsafe 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.
Questions
1. How has the trip been characterized? What has the
journey been like?
2. Reread the first line of each stanza. What does the
way the speaker addresses the captain in each of those
lines reveal about his feelings toward the captain?
3. How are the people on shore responding to the
ship’s safe return? What specific words and images in
this second stanza denote celebration?
4. Which emotions are expressed in the first two
stanzas? Which words and phrases create those
emotions?
5. The narrator refers to the captain as “dear father.”
What does that phrase reveal about the narrator’s
relationship to the captain? How does the phrase
influence the mood of the second stanza?
6. Compare the speaker’s emotions with those of the
crowd on shore and describe the effect of these
emotions on the poem.
7. The poem ends with the refrain, “fallen cold and
dead.” How does this refrain contribute to the mood
of the poem?
Type II Writing—Ten lines:
Consider the emotions of the narrator and the crowd on shore. Is one emotion emphasized more than the other throughout the poem? What is the
relationship between the emotions? Make sure to include textual evidence in your response.