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Maximilien Re
March 13, 2014
Poetry is a great way for an author to connect with readers across the world, even after
the author has passed on. Different authors have different ways of connecting with the reader,
and that is why we have such a diversity of poems today. Walt Whitman had his own special
way of connecting to the reader, and it was apparent what influenced his writing. In the close
examination of the poems O Captain! My Captain! and Miracles by Whitman, one can see
through the vivid imagery that he uses throughout his poems that his religion, his surroundings
that influence him, and his emotions play a huge part in the poetry that he writes.
In Whitmans poems, one of the deciding factors that made his poems so special was that
he used references from his religion to influence his writing. Whitman made obvious references
to God throughout both O Captain! My Captain! and Miracles, but most of the religious
inferences were located in Miracles, because the entire basis of Whitmans poem is not only
are all individuals divine, but every grain of sand, every drop of the sea, every insect or animal is
equally sacred, because all are part of a divine whole (Pryor). Whitman expressed his thoughts
to the world that he was in awe of everything around him, and that to him, everything is a
miracle. At the end of Miracles, Whitman says What stranger miracles are there? (Line 40),
and in this line, Whitman is saying that he thinks that there is nothing that can be more awe-
inspiring than the miracles that God has given us.
Through the vivid imagery that Whitman used when he wrote the poems O Captain! My
Captain! and Miracles, it is easily seen that his surroundings greatly influenced what he put
into his poems. This is especially prominent in O Captain! My Captain! because The captain
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in Whitmans poem is President Abraham Lincoln (Hochman). Whitman was aware of the
current events that were happening in his surroundings, so he decided to let his surroundings
influence him and made an entire set of poems about Lincoln after he died, with O Captain! My
Captain! only being one of those. Whitman decided to make his poem with vivid imagery to
drive home the point that someone dear to him had died. It is easy to see the dead captain on the
deck of the ship through the descriptive words that Whitman uses, such as My Captain does not
answer, his lips are pale and still (17), and through the overall sense of despair and sadness that
one gets from reading the poem.
Another huge factor that determines what Whitman writes his poems about is his
emotions. The entire reason that Whitman wrote the poem O Captain! My Captain! was
because Lincoln had just died and Lincoln was loved and admired by Whitman (Hochman), so
he was very upset and decided to write his emotions into a poem. When Whitman wrote
Miracles, he passed beyond the sense of wonder (Foerster) and felt the need to put down this
emotion into a poem, and thus Miracles was born.1
Even though Walt Whitman has passed on, he still lives on through the poems that he has
written, and he is still connecting with readers to this day. This shows that his own special ways
of connecting with readers have been successful, and that it is very effective if, as a poet, one
uses vivid imagery and allows their religion, their surroundings, and their emotions to influence
your poems.
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Work Cited
Pryor, Laura Beth. "Miracles." Poetry for Students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 39. Detroit:
Gale, 2012. 151-168. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Hochman, John. "O Captain! My Captain!" Poetry for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski
and Mary Ruby. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 145-160. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 14
Mar. 2014.
Foerster, Norman. "Miracles." Poetry for Students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 39. Detroit: Gale,
2012. 151-168. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
