O Captain! My Captain and Elegy for JFK, poems that reflect feelings of dealing with death, in their case the death of a president. President Lincoln and John F. Kennedy respectively. The stronger of the two poems is the Elegy for JFK. Though Whitman 's poem is well written and full of emotion, Auden expresses the theme of loss so much better than that of Whitman’s work; It’s easy to comprehend, has a better understanding of the importance of remembrance, and Auden’s execution is superior. The feeling of loss is something every person has experienced in some way, and Auden managed to capture that feeling in Elegy for JFK firmly. Whitman tries to convey his theme of loss through a story of a sailor that lost his captain, the sense of loss is indeed conveyed well, but feel like it 's giving off an underlying sense of hopelessness, ¨Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.” (Whitman 23-24) Through the man 's acceptance of his captain 's death, the hopelessness peaks throughout. Giving off a message that death is something that can defeat you, you can’t do anything to prevent it, and you should feel hopeless about it. Auden’s poem has an underlying feeling of hope, yes death is something that is sad, but we shouldn’t dwell on it, we take it in stride and move on as best we can. “What he was, he was: What he is fated to become depends on us”(Auden 7-9) a much better message to give for dealing with loss. The feeling of hopelessness is very relatable, as everyone has
Learning about how all of the people that he loved, and cared for died will show just about anyone that it was not an easy life for Poe. A critic once said that Poe wrote and knew that any type of love had to come with loss (Kennedy). This showed a lot about Poe’s life as everyone that he loved he actually did lose. This made it a lonely life that made him very depressed. In his poems, Edgar Allan Poe, portrayed that his loneliness has came from the love, and loss of his most important people.
Death is the ultimate unknown, will it bring sorrow or a feeling of fulfillment? This quandary of humanity is explored thoroughly in the poem “An Echo Sonnet” by Robert Plack. It details a speaker conflicted about his interest to continue living, since both options present a mystery in what they will bring to him. This internal dilemma is constructed through multiple literary devices that function to connect emotions of despair to the poem’s focus.. Specifically, the poem’s _________, ________, ________, and __________ work to express the aimlessness of the speaker by emphasizing the emotions the speaker has when he decides whether or not life will ever bring him happiness.
"O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written in 1865 by Walt Whitman, about the death of American president Abraham Lincoln. But you probably know about that. Walt Whitman will not be forgotten. He will be
H. Auden is a poem. The poet goes through the denial of the loss of an important person. Death is the theme that revolves around the feelings and emotions throughout the poem. His significant other's death makes him want to stop everything around him in hopes for his love to come back to him. “Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.”, is the first time the poet introduced his loved one’s death into the poem.
Poe experienced lots of loss as a young man. He lost multiple people he loved throughout his life. Some most of the important poems he wrote was the “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee”. Poe carried his idea of death throughout these poems to capture his common themes, which was death and loss.
Whether a love poem, or a death poem, poetry is always composed with a specific task in mind the author is attempting to accomplish. The task may range from admiring someone or something, or even commenting upon the ills of society, but nevertheless, poetry is always written with the intent of delivering a powerful and meaningful message. Such is the case with the two poems, “Homage to My Hips” and “To an Athlete Dying Young.” Each poem utilizes certain elements differently such as symbolism, the topics of love and death, and emotional connection to bring the reader’s attention to significant societal issues, and illustrate the affect those issues have upon those in society. These poems are similar in that they both celebrate some aspect of
Nineteenth century poet Walt Whitman lived and wrote in a fascinating time period and changed the literary world, all while experiencing a unique American war first hand. A humanitarian as well as a writer, Whitman volunteered as a nurse during the Civil War where he experienced the horrors of mortality, yet felt spiritually content afterwards as well. His frequent interactions with the wounded and sick would further alter his poetry and life, in a way where he would be able to cope with his time spent among the battle. Traumatized by the aftermath of the brutal war, Whitman used his writing as a reflection of his mind and life as his involvement in both the depravity and nobility of human existence absorbed into every aspect of his spirit.
Throughout the poem “Elegy For My Father, Who is Not Dead,” death is symbolized as a trip. Hudgins believed that his father was at peace with his own death because of his Christian belief that he would continue living in heaven once he passed away on earth: “In the sureness of his faith, he talks / about the world beyond this world / as though his reservations have / been made I think he wants to go” (Lines 3-6). Hudgins writes in his poem that he cannot be at peace with his father’s death because he does not share these beliefs with him: “I do not think he is right.” (Line 13). Thomas sees his father 's death as the last time he will ever see him again: “I see myself on deck, convinced his ship 's gone down, while he 's convinced /
The entire poem is an extended metaphor, or figurative language that implies comparison between seemingly unlike things, for the United States after the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln 's assassination. In the metaphor, the captain is Lincoln, the voyage is the war and the ship is the United
The attitudes to grief over the loss of a loved one are presented in two thoroughly different ways in the two poems of ‘Funeral Blues’ and ‘Remember’. Some differences include the tone towards death as ‘Funeral Blues’ was written with a more mocking, sarcastic tone towards death and grieving the loss of a loved one, (even though it was later interpreted as a genuine expression of grief after the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in 1994), whereas ‘Remember’ has a more sincere and heartfelt tone towards death. In addition, ‘Funeral Blues’ is entirely negative towards death not only forbidding themselves from moving on but also forbidding the world from moving on after the tragic passing of the loved one, whilst ‘Remember’ gives the griever
And whether I come to my own to-day, or in ten thousand or ten million years, I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness I can wait” (406-411). Whitman brings light to death. He not only encourages those to embrace death, but to not shy away from it. Bringing individuals face-to-face with reality is where Whitman excelled, his writings were vividly personal, and left nothing to the imagination. Whitman truly inspired those of his time period to face life realities as they
“The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world” was a statement by Edgar Allan Poe. It is a very strong statement, for death, in the non-literary world, is not typically associated with anything poetical. In fact, many would argue that death is the opposite of poetical. If poetical means, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “having an imaginative or sensitive emotional style of expression”, then it can be said that death is unpoetical. Death is the end of one’s emotions, and in non-literal terms, death can be the lack of emotions.
Many poems about the civil war convey universal themes of the time. Stephen Crane’s poem “War is Kind” is no different. The poem,“War is kind” written by Stephen Crane(1871-1900) has three themes common to civil war literature: Warfare, Home, and Patriotism. This poem’s overall theme is about how war destroys families conversely to the title of “War is Kind” or the many times which Crane says “War is Kind”.
In his opinion, he will regret his choices further down the road. He says he shall be telling his story with a sigh once the time is right. The path would negatively impact his future. The second poem is titled “O’Captain,My Captain” The poem was written by Walt Whitman as a tribute to Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president.
Among numerous other poets, Walt Whitman is unquestionably the greatest supporter of democracy. Of course, many of English romantic poets were faithful adherents of democracy. However, Whitman’s vision of democracy was much more vivid and realistic. It can be stated that he was a systematic follower of political realities. He denounced all prerogatives and vested interest and reflected complete harmony between the individual and society.