Walt Whitman (O, Captain, My Captain)

" O, Captain! My Captain? " is one of Whitman's famous poems. It is an elegy on the death of Abraham Lincoln, the president of the U.S.A. He was Whitman's hero and most beloved leader. He was kind, gentle, sympathetic yet brave and determined. He was too full of the milk of human kindness that he couldn't endure the bad condition of the Negro-slaves in the southern states. He decided to abate slavery and set …

…dead, still -will, ..etc. Alliteration can also be found in the repetition of some consonants such as "d" in words such as: drops, dead, head, deck, tread, ..etc. Many critics believe that Whitman's use of metaphor introduces an element of artificiality in his expression of grief. However, I believe that the poem reflects the heartbreaking sorrow, which the poet feels in a way that makes our hearts as readers sink sharing with him his sadness.