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Walt WhitmanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The symbol of the captain is a popular one, and poets often use it throughout history. Because sailing has been a staple of humanity in most cultures, people have consistently seen the leadership of a crew on a ship as honorable and something to revere. A captain is a leader and someone who holds the lives of the crew in their hands. Additionally, a captain is responsible for the ship itself, so the captain must possess great moral character, dedication, fearlessness, and bravery. Lincoln enjoyed all these characteristics and his leadership throughout the Civil War resulted in historians viewing him as one of the greatest leaders in human history.
Whitman sees Lincoln as the ideal leader, which makes his loss that much more heartbreaking. When a crew loses a great captain, the crew is left feeling directionless, but Whitman is sure to remind the reader that this captain did all he could to save his ship before he died.
In a general sense, the ship can represent any sort of group of people or movement. However, in a specific sense, the ship in the poem represents America. Just as a ship embarks on a dangerous and uncertain journey, America entered the Civil War that had the potential to destroy the country.
By Walt Whitman
A Glimpse
Walt Whitman
America
Walt Whitman
A Noiseless Patient Spider
Walt Whitman
Are you the new person drawn toward me?
Walt Whitman
As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days
Walt Whitman
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
Walt Whitman
For You O Democracy
Walt Whitman
Hours Continuing Long
Walt Whitman
I Hear America Singing
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I Sing the Body Electric
Walt Whitman
I Sit and Look Out
Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass
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Song of Myself
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Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night
Walt Whitman
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
Walt Whitman
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
Walt Whitman