April 14th, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated. A man many in the United States looked up to as a symbol of hope and strength during a time where a divided America was just beginning to heal itself from the bloody American Civil War. American poet Walt Whitman's poem, or elegy (poem of mourning) "O Captain! My Captain!" pays tribute to Lincoln and his strong leadership and strong American values.
One could also consider America today a divided nation. Issues such as slavery, racism, economic disparity, that drove America to civil war in the 1860's also seem to drive us apart as Americans today. As literature scholars, it is important to identify how literature teaches us about our past and about who we are today.
For this blog post you must do the following:
* CLOSE read Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!"
*consider the historical context of what was going on in America with the Civil War just recently ended, the man who led the nation through it assassinated, and the delicate healing process known as Reconstruction about to begin.
*respond to the prompt below by citing direct lines/text from Whitman's poem and by referencing a current event in America today. Your poetry lines/text should be properly cited in MLA8 format. Your current event does not need to be cited, but should be thoroughly explained.
*The response should be no less than 250 words as I am asking you to analyze the poem, a current event, and to provide how you connect them together.
Prompt: Find a connection between Walt Whitman’s elegy, “O Captain! My Captain!” and a current event in America today and explain how Whitman’s poem connects to your chosen current event. Also make sure you explain why you think this connection is important, or why it matters. Keep your current event within the past 2 years.
One could also consider America today a divided nation. Issues such as slavery, racism, economic disparity, that drove America to civil war in the 1860's also seem to drive us apart as Americans today. As literature scholars, it is important to identify how literature teaches us about our past and about who we are today.
For this blog post you must do the following:
* CLOSE read Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!"
*consider the historical context of what was going on in America with the Civil War just recently ended, the man who led the nation through it assassinated, and the delicate healing process known as Reconstruction about to begin.
*respond to the prompt below by citing direct lines/text from Whitman's poem and by referencing a current event in America today. Your poetry lines/text should be properly cited in MLA8 format. Your current event does not need to be cited, but should be thoroughly explained.
*The response should be no less than 250 words as I am asking you to analyze the poem, a current event, and to provide how you connect them together.
Prompt: Find a connection between Walt Whitman’s elegy, “O Captain! My Captain!” and a current event in America today and explain how Whitman’s poem connects to your chosen current event. Also make sure you explain why you think this connection is important, or why it matters. Keep your current event within the past 2 years.