Walt Whitman

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Lore & Background

At the start of the American Civil War, Whitman moved from New York to Washington, D.C., where he held a series of government jobs—first with the Army Paymaster's Office and later with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He volunteered in the army hospitals as a nurse. Whitman's poetry was informed by his wartime experience, maturing into reflections on death and youth, the brutality of war, and patriotism. Whitman's brother, Union Army soldier George Washington Whitman, was taken prisoner in Virginia in September 1864, and held for five months in Libby Prison. On February 24, 1865, George was granted a furlough to return home because of his poor health, and Whitman travelled to his mother's home in New York to visit his brother. While visiting Brooklyn, Whitman contracted to have his collection of Civil War poems, Drum-Taps, published. In June 1865, James Harlan, the Secretary of the Interior, found a copy of Leaves of Grass and, considering the collection vulgar, fired Whitman from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Although he never met Lincoln, Whitman saw Abraham Lincoln several times between 1861 and 1865, sometimes at close quarters. The first time was when Lincoln stopped in New York City in 1861 on his way to Washington. Whitman noticed the president-elect's "striking appearance" and "unpretentious dignity," and trusted Lincoln's "supernatural tact" and "idiomatic Western genius." He admired the president, writing in October 1863: "I love the President personally." Whitman considered himself and Lincoln to be "afloat in the same stream" and "rooted in the same ground." Lincoln's death on April 15, 1865, greatly moved Whitman, who wrote several poems in tribute to the fallen president: "O Captain! My Captain!", "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day", and "This Dust Was Once the Man."

Reader's Guide

Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written in 1865 about the death of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Well received upon publication, the poem was Whitman's first to be anthologized and the most popular during his lifetime. Stylistically, the poem is uncharacteristic of Whitman's poetry because of its rhyming, song-like flow, and simple "ship of state" metaphor. These elements likely contributed to the poem's initial positive reception and popularity, with many celebrating it as one of the greatest American works of poetry. Critical opinion has shifted since the mid-20th century, with some scholars deriding it as conventional and unoriginal. The poem has made several appearances in popular culture; as it never mentions Lincoln, it has been invoked upon the death of several other heads of state. It is famously featured in Dead Poets Society (1989) and is frequently associated with the star of that film, Robin Williams. In the 1870s and 1880s, Whitman gave several lectures over eleven years on Lincoln's death. He usually began or ended the lectures by reciting "My Captain," despite his growing prominence meaning he could have read a different poem. In the late 1880s, Whitman earned money by selling autographed copies of "My Captain"—purchasers included John Hay, Charles Aldrich, and S. Weir Mitchell.

Did You Know?

• Whitman's brother, Union Army soldier George Washington Whitman, was held for five months in Libby Prison, a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp near Richmond.
• In June 1865, Secretary of the Interior James Harlan fired Whitman from the Bureau of Indian Affairs after finding a copy of Leaves of Grass and considering it vulgar.
• Whitman wrote four poems about Lincoln's death: 'O Captain! My Captain!', 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd', 'Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day', and 'This Dust Was Once the Man'.
• Whitman's friend Horace Traubel recorded Whitman saying in 1888: 'Damn My Captain ... I'm almost sorry I ever wrote the poem.'
• In the late 1880s, Whitman earned money by selling autographed copies of 'My Captain' to purchasers including John Hay and S. Weir Mitchell.