Page 182 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit

“O Captain! My Captain!
by Walt Whitman, pages 66-67

Vocabulary
keel – the body of a ship
rack – in this case, stress or torture

1. Refer to the introduction to Walt Whitman’s poem and explain who the captain is in this
poem.

2. In the first stanza, Whitman writes that “the prize we sought is won.” Taking into
consideration the period in which this poem was written, what do you think the “prize” is
of which Whitman speaks?

3. How does the captain’s death affect the speaker’s experience of the victory?

4. Why do you think Whitman chose to use this form for this poem?

5. What kinds of feelings seem prevalent in this poem? Do contradictory feelings exist here?
What are they?

S-68