O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman

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O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! BY WALT WHITMAN

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O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman. May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892 Left school at age 11 to work and bring in money for his family. Jobs included printing, publishing, teaching, writing, journalist, etc. As early as 1850, he began writing what would become Leaves of Grass. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman

Page 1: O Captain! My Captain!  By Walt Whitman

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!

BY WALT WHITMAN

Page 2: O Captain! My Captain!  By Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892 Left school at age 11 to work and bring in

money for his family. Jobs included printing, publishing, teaching, writing, journalist, etc.

As early as 1850, he began writing what would become Leaves of Grass.

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Walt Whitman’s Poetry

Whitman felt that the strength of the republic lay in its hardworking, patriotic citizens.

He observed those citizens, jotting impressions of everyday scenes in a notebook.

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Walt Whitman and the Civil War “The expression of American personality through

this war is not to be looked for in the great campaign and the battle-fights. It is to be looked for in the hospitals, among the wounded.”

Ward K, Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C. [August 1865]Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division

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Walt Whitman and the Civil War

Brother George immediately enlisted in the Army.

His descriptions of battles gave soldier’s feelings/reactions to the war.

In December 1862, Walt saw the name of his brother listed among the wounded at Fredericksburg.

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Walt Whitman and the Civil War

Visited military hospitals first in NY, then DC. "a heap of amputated feet, legs, arms, hands, & a full load for a one-horse cart."

Worked as a clerk in several gov’t offices, but mostly interested in helping troops.

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Emancipation Proclamation President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation

on September 22, 1862 It freed all slaves in the Confederate States Slaves in the border states were not freed yet This was the building block to the 13th Amendment to the

Constitution

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The 13th Amendment The 13th Amendment completely abolished slavery and

prohibits it’s existence today At the time it was passed, slavery was only legal in

Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland and New Jersey The 13th Amendment freed the remaining slaves in those

states Although President Lincoln proposed the 13th Amendment,

he was assassinated before it was passed

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Our First President is Assassinated

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John Wilkes Booth

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered Ford’s Theater and assassinated President Abraham Lincoln

Booth was a Southerner that did not agree with President Lincoln’s views on slavery

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Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln

“I see the President often. I think better of him than many do. He has conscience and homely shrewdness; conceals an enormous tenacity under his mild, gawky Western manner. The difficulties of his situation have been unprecedented in the history of statesmanship. That he has conserved the government so far is a miracle.” - April 27, 1864

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Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln

Whitman was devastated by Lincoln’s assassination and wrote “O Captain! My Captain!”

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Poetic DevicesPoems appeal to our emotions and imagination, as well as to our sense of reason.

To help us feel and imagine, poets use poetic devices.

Wow, that’s really sad.

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Poetic DevicesTo help us feel and imagine as we read a poem, poets use poetic devices, such as these:

figures of speechsymbolsimagery

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Ten thousand eyes were on him as he

rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongues applauded when

he wiped them on his shirt.

Read these lines from “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. To what senses do these images appeal?

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he

rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongues applauded when

he wiped them on his shirt. This image appeals to our sense of sight.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;

Five thousand tongues applauded when

he wiped them on his shirt.

These images appeal to our senses of sight and touch.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he

rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongues applauded when

he wiped them on his shirt. This image appeals to our senses of sight and hearing.

Poetic DevicesImagery

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A symbol is something that has meaning in itself and also stands for something else.

Poetic Devices

Here are some common symbols you will probably recognize:

flag/countrydove/peace 4-leaf clover/

good luck

Symbols

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Figures of speech are words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of another and are not meant literally.

Poetic Devices

The guard stood like a flagpole.

This figure of speech compares the guard’s stance to a flagpole, suggesting that he stood unmoving, tall, and straight.

Figures of Speech

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When poets carry a metaphor over several lines, it is called an extended metaphor.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison without using a connecting word.

The win was the fuel the team needed.

This metaphor compares the win with fuel. Like fuel, the win gives the team energy.

Poetic DevicesFigures of Speech

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Poetic Devices Metaphors are bridges. They create

images by connecting any two different ideas, persons, places and things to show them in new ways.

Extended metaphors –1. When the two things are compared

at some length and in several ways. 2. It is a longer comparisonQuestions to ask yourself as you

read:

•What is the Metaphor?

•How are the characteristics of the second noun used to describe the first noun?

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Extended Metaphor

Life is Dirt             The longer you hang

on             the smaller it gets.

             Get it wet,             and you've got mud

             on your hands.             Take care of life             or it's overrun             with weeds.

             Life can be rocky or smooth

             and it's great             for throwing at

people.

•What is the extended metaphor in this poem?

• List characteristics of the two things being compared.

•Was the metaphor used through the entire poem? If so, then we have an extended metaphor.

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Crafting the Lesson (We)

Life is Dirt             The longer you hang

on             the smaller it gets.

             Get it wet,             and you've got mud

             on your hands.             Take care of life             or it's overrun             with weeds.

             Life can be rocky or smooth

             and it's great             for throwing at

people.

•Metaphor: Life is dirt.

• List characteristics of the second noun: mud, weeds, brown, rocky, smooth, throw it, shrinking, earth, bumpy.

•YES

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Most people recognize a poem when they see it.

There are exceptions to every rule, however, and poems come in many varieties.

Forms of Poetry

Poems usually come in lines instead of sentences and present ideas in stanzas instead of paragraphs.

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O Captain! My Captain!An elegy is a poem of mourning, usually for someone who has died.

For example, Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” is an elegy for the slain president Abraham Lincoln.

Elegies

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Task 1 Close Read 1:

1) Box the title information, draw a line under each stanza, and number the stanzas.

2) As you read: - On the left check what you understand. - On the right write a question for parts you do not understand. Each stanza should have one questions needing to be answered.

3) Within the text, - Underline key words and details

- Circle unfamiliar words and define or replace with synonyms. - Mark parts that are important, interesting, or surprising.

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Task 2Close Read 2 In your groups, you will work together to

paraphrase (restate all of the text in your own words) each stanza on the worksheet chart.

Example:

Then, answer the questions on the other side of the chart about the poem.

Text from Poem My Paraphrase“O the bleeding drops of red,/ Where on the deck my Captain lies,/ Fallen cold and dead.”

Oh, the blood is on the deck where my dead captain lies.