A small blue sailing boat sits on folded green cloth waves with a brass anchor beside it.

Original artwork, not a still

O Captain! My Captain!  ·  1865

Walt Whitman

Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The captain’s position on the deck is followed by the blunt statement of his death. The personal address makes the loss more intimate than a detached report. These lines locate the fallen figure without telling us where the observer stands or what action follows.

Context reviewed

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