Whitman (18 19 ~ 1892),/kloc-an outstanding American democratic poet in the 9th century, was born in a poor peasant family on Long Island near new york. Forced by life, he went out to make a living very early and worked as a handyman, carpenter, compositor, reporter and editor. He received only a few years of elementary education, and later learned a lot of world literary masterpieces, but it was mainly the boiling social life in the United States that cultivated him into a singer of the times. His major works include For You, Democracy, Song of the Road, Quiet Barracks Today, Song of Uprising, Ah, the Star of France and the essay The Prospect of Democracy. These poems are compiled in Leaves of Grass, which has become a glorious milestone in the history of modern American literature and a model of American national literature.
In the process of creation, the author made bold artistic innovation; It broke the long-standing metrical pattern of poetry and created a new form of poetry which was later called "free verse", that is, it used short sentences as the basis of rhythm, used a lot of overlapping sentences, parallel sentences and exaggerated image language, and absorbed some working people's vocabulary and a small amount of foreign words, which greatly improved the expressive force of poetry.
2. Writing background
1783, after the United States became independent from British rule, wage labor and black slavery appeared in China.
10 In October, Lincoln, who was famous for opposing slavery, was elected President of the United States. Several southern States declared their independence from the federal government. 186 1 April, they sent troops to rebel for the first time, which triggered a civil war. Less than half a year after taking office, President Lincoln led the federal army. With the support of the broad masses of the people, after four years of fighting, he defeated the southern rebels, safeguarded the unity of the United States, and abolished black slavery. The Civil War was the second bourgeois-democratic revolution in American history. The success of this revolution promoted the development of American capitalism. President Lincoln wrote a glorious page for American history with his outstanding achievements. At the moment when the whole country celebrated the great victory, the southern slave owners who had a deep hatred for democracy sent spies to assassinate President Lincoln. After the death of President Lincoln, Whitman wrote the poem "Ah, Captain, My Captain" to express his grief and nostalgia for Lincoln.
(2). Text analysis
1. Ideological content
The three paragraphs in the poem deeply express the poet's love and deep mourning for President Lincoln.
(1) At the end of the voyage, the ship triumphed, but the captain fell. The bad news came with great joy of victory, and people mourned and regretted the death of the captain.
The poet compares the United States to a "big ship", Lincoln to a "captain", and compares the process of Lincoln leading the federal government forces to defeat the rebels in the south to a "difficult voyage" that "crosses all risks". Here, the poet compares the United States to a big ship, Lincoln to the captain of this big American ship, and the civil war to a difficult voyage. Through the successful return of the ship, he showed Lincoln's achievements, vividly praised Lincoln and expressed his love.
This paragraph depicts the image of a big ship: steady, dignified and heroic; It highlights the hardships of sailing and the hard-won victory. Affirm the great achievements of Captain Lincoln.
In this section, the poet called Lincoln "my captain" and "our captain" in a lyrical way, expressing the cordial love of a soldier and a sailor for his commander-in-chief.
(2) The people warmly cheered the triumph of the ship, bells and trumpets sounded, flags fluttered and flowers fluttered, but the captain fell. How sad the people were!
This section describes a spectacular scene to celebrate the victory, describing the people's love and admiration for Lincoln from the side, thus praising Lincoln.
In a lyrical way, in this section, the poet calls Lincoln "dear father" and regards him as the closest person, which is closer to the feeling that Lincoln is only called the captain in the previous section. Lincoln directly called "you", and the second person said that he met the title of "father" and talked directly with Lincoln. His feelings are earnest and sincere.
(3) The ship anchored, and it was done, and the captain fell forever.
In this section, the poet affirmed Lincoln's achievements from a historical perspective and expressed his great sadness. The poet finally returned to reality from imagination (dream) and clearly knew that the "captain" was really dead. In this section, the poet changed Lincoln to "he", which shows the poet's sober despair and extreme grief.
The author of this poem mainly uses symbolic techniques to describe Lincoln's image, praise Lincoln's achievements and express his admiration and love for Lincoln.
2. What are the writing characteristics of Ah, Captain, My Captain?
Analysis: 1. Repeatedly chanting. In the poem, the main sentence is "he has chills all over and has stopped breathing", which some people call difference. This technique makes this poem not only maintain the consistency and heaviness of expressing sadness, but also reflect the development process of this emotion.
2. Symbols. In this poem, the poet compares the United States to a big ship and President Lincoln to the captain of this ship by means of overall symbolism. The captain died when the big ship won. The poet vividly showed his admiration and love for Lincoln, and his infinite grief over Lincoln's death.
3. What is the concept and structure of Ah Captain, My Captain?
Analysis: In this poem, the feelings expressed by the poet are simple and gradual, which are embodied in the following points:
(1). A tribute to Lincoln's outstanding achievements.
The poet compared Lincoln to a captain and America to a big ship. 1 section, under the guidance of the captain, this big ship "ended the arduous voyage", "survived all risks" and "appeared majestic and heroic", highlighting the triumph of the big ship, so as to show Lincoln's achievements; The second paragraph "flags fly for you, horns ring for you", "I send you these bouquets and garlands" and "They cheer for you, and their warm faces turn to you", which shows the love, support and admiration of the broad masses of the people for Lincoln. In the third paragraph, "the ship has safely anchored" and "made great achievements", and spoke highly of Lincoln's merits from the perspective of historical significance. The poet deeply expressed Lincoln's achievements step by step in his poems, which made people feel the poet's admiration for Lincoln.
② The poet's personal feelings for Lincoln.
In paragraph 1, the poet called Lincoln "my captain" and "our captain", and at this time he showed the admiration of soldiers for the commander-in-chief and sailors for the captain. In the second and third paragraphs, the poet's feelings deepened. He called Lincoln "dear father" and "my father" affectionately and sincerely, which showed the poet's deep affection between father and son. This in-depth change made the poet's feelings stronger. In paragraph 1, he is only sad for the loss of the pilot, and in paragraphs 2 and 3, he is miserable for the loss of his fatherly relatives. The change of the title reflects the poet's emotional depth.
③ The poet's mourning for Lincoln.
In paragraph 1, the poet only objectively described Lincoln's death: "Our captain lay on the deck, fell down, was cold and died." Lincoln's sudden death made the poet feel numb in shock, instead of feeling excessive sadness, but only accepted and stated as an objective event. In the second paragraph, the poet wakes up from the shock, and sadness comes to mind, but he can't accept the reality emotionally. He refused to believe that the captain was dead. He shouted "Dear Father" and raised his head with his arm. He would rather believe that it was "in a dream", and he also called the captain "you", indicating that the captain was still there like him. In the third paragraph, the poet has to accept this painful reality. He had to admit that the captain could no longer feel his arm. The captain "has lost consciousness and no pulse", and it is useless to hold up the captain's head and scream, so he has to put down the captain and "walk up and down the deck with sad steps". The poet endured everything that "he fell down and died of cold" brought him. The poet called the captain "he" in the third person, which means that the poet has admitted that the captain and himself are separated forever.
In the second paragraph, the poet still feels like a "dream", and there is still a glimmer of hope, but now there is only despair. The change of the poet's title to the captain from nobody to the second person and then to the third person shows the development process of the poet's grief and indignation.
(4) Summary: In this poem, the poet's emotional expression melody fluctuates, and the emotional theme of each paragraph changes from joyful excitement to mourning grief. 1 and the first part of paragraph 2 are all cheerful, the ship has returned, "victory has been won" and the "bustling crowd" in the harbor is "cheering", but in the second half of these two paragraphs, they are all immersed in a deep and sad atmosphere; The third paragraph, except for the first few lines describing the captain, is basically the same as paragraphs 1 and 2, from the joy of "great success" to "sadness" The emotional contrast of the whole poem makes the human body feel the sadness in the poet's heart.
4. "Ah, captain, my captain!" Expressed reverence and condolences to President Lincoln. What is the essence of praising Lincoln's achievements?
This poem expresses reverence and mourning for Lincoln, the leader who gave his life for the establishment of a free America. Lincoln in the poem is a symbol of freedom, equality and democracy, and actually praises the dedication to pursuing people's freedom and equality at all costs.
5. "Ah, captain, my captain!" * * * Three paragraphs, the rise and deepening of thoughts and feelings, please pay attention to the experience. The poem "Fell down and died of cold" was repeated many times at intervals. What role did it play?
Repeated chanting, the poet's feelings from shallow to deep, step by step. In the poem, the main sentence is "depravity, coldness and death", which some people call "separation". This technique makes this poem not only maintain the consistency and heaviness of expressing sadness, but also reflect the development process of this emotion.
6. Why do you say, "Ah, captain, my captain! The symbolism of this poem is skillfully used?
The poet sailed to the port to overcome the stormy waves and protect the victory of the civil war led by Lincoln. The captain symbolizes the great role of President Lincoln. This idea is conducive to vividly expressing the greatness and sublimity of the task. When the ship arrived at the port, the captain fell down, which can add and express the tragic feelings of this poem.