O Captain! My Captain!

"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d" by Walt Whitman (1865)

In this elegy for Lincoln, Whitman again mourns the loss of the Abraham Lincoln. In many ways, this poem is like “Oh Captain!” It is a metaphorical elegy about Lincoln that progresses from mourning to acceptance, though in a much more explicit way than “O Captain!” This poem is more typical of Whitman’s style. It is longer, has lengthy lines, and is written in free verse—Whitman’s typical style. In the poem, Whitman uses imagery of lilacs, falling stars, and birds to create natural illustrations lamenting the loss of Lincoln.

"Hush’d Be the Camps To-Day" by Walt Whitman (1865)

Another lament of Lincoln’s death, this poem specifically mentions the commander’s death as the speaker addresses soldiers. The poem asks soldiers to rest and celebrate the life of Lincoln, and it celebrates the fact that Lincoln will no longer have to deal with the hardships of life and war. The poem ends with the speaker asking the poets to sing for Lincoln as he rests in the ground. The least known or recognized of Whitman’s Lincoln poems, Whitman wrote it immediately following the assassination.

"This Dust Was Once the Man" by Walt Whitman (1871)