A b o u t t h e SubjectsBefore Reading (2-3 min)

Brainstorm (think & reflect) on what you know aboutthe following:• American Civil War• Abraham Lincoln• Frederick Douglass

Historical HeroesTPCASTT

Poetry Analysis

Historical HeroesTPCASTT

Poetry Analysis

A b o u t t h e A u t h o r s

Walt Whitman (1819–1892) is now considered one of America’sgreatest poets, but his untraditional poetry was not wellreceived during his lifetime. As a young man, he worked asa printer and a journalist while writing free-verse poetry. Hiscollection of poems, Leaves of Grass, first came out in 1855, andhe revised and added to it several times over the years.

Robert Hayden (1913 –1980) grew up in a poor neighborhood ofDetroit, won a scholarship to college, and became a politicallyactive writer. One of his interests was African American history,which he explores in some of his poetry.

“Oh Captain, My Captain”by Walt Whitman “Fredrick Douglass”

by Robert Hayden

Word Connections:Allegory

Allegory has the Greek roots -allo- or -all-,meaning “other” and -gor- from the wordsmarketplace and speaking publicly.The essential meaning of allegory is speaking“otherwise” or “figuratively.”

Historical HeroesTPCASTT

Poetry Analysis

“O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt WhitmanThe poem “O Captain! My Captain!” is an example of an allegory.Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative have meanings outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas such as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.Whitman wrote this poem as a memorial for Abraham Lincoln afterhis death.

“O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitmanhttp://youtu.be/HSAymj4hp7Y

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.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up—for you the flag is flung— or you the bugle trills;

For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the

shores a-crowding,

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces

turning;

Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head;

It is some dream that on the deck,

You’ve fallen cold and dead.

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 anchored safe 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.

1. As you read the poem, note in the text all words having to do with a ship or voyage. Also note the word Captain and its synonyms in the poem.

2. Who is Whitman referring to as the “Captain” of the ship?

3. What do you think the ship is representative of?

““Fredrick Douglass”by Robert Hayden

When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty, thisbeautifuland terrible thing, needful to man as air,usable as earth; when it belongs at last to all,when it is truly instinct, brain matter, diastole, systole,1

reflex action; when it is finally won; when it is morethan the gaudy mumbo jumbo of politicians:this man, this Douglass, this former slave, this Negrobeaten to his knees, exiled, visioning a worldwhere none is lonely, none hunted, alien,this man, superb in love and logic, this manshall be remembered. Oh, not with statues’ rhetoric,not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone,but with the lives grown out of his life, the livesfleshing his dream of the beautiful, needful thing._______________________________________________________________________________1 diastole, systole: the normal, rhythmic opening and closing of the heart.

“Frederick Douglass”As you read this poem, note in the text the words itand thing every time they are used in the poem.

1) What do the words it and thing refer to in the poem?

http://youtu.be/XeD9XYeIRoI

After Reading1st listening, 2nd reading , 3rd TPCASTT-ing

1) In small groups, use the TP-CASTT strategy toanalyze and discuss both poems.

2) Write your analysis on a separate paper.

“Oh Captain, My Captain”by Walt Whitman

“Fredrick Douglass”by Robert Hayden

After ReadingWriting Prompt

Using your TP-CASTT notes, write a literary analysis paragraph in whichyou address the following questions. Use textual evidence to supportyour analysis.

• What traits do Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass exhibit tobe considered heroes?

• How does the tone of either poem support the perception ofLincoln or Douglass as a hero?

“Oh Captain, My Captain”by Walt Whitman

“Fredrick Douglass”by Robert Hayden