Previous Next

“Father”

Though the speaker primarily refers to his superior officer as “Captain,” twice in the poem he addresses him as “father.” The first instance occurs near the end of the second stanza: “Here Captain! dear father!” (line 13). Note how the speaker addresses his superior in two ways in quick succession: first as captain, then as father. Moving from a formal to a more informal address, the speaker demonstrates a real sense of care for the man who’s navigated “the victor ship” through its “fearful trip” (line 20). This sense of care becomes even clearer in the following line, where the speaker cradles the captain’s head with his arm: “This arm beneath your head!” (line 14). The speaker then repeats his double address in the opening of the third stanza (lines 17–18):

     My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
     My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will

Once again, the speaker slips from “Captain” to “father” as he engages in an intimate moment, closely examining the man for signs of life. Taken together, these two instances of addressing the captain as “father” demonstrate more than just respect for a superior officer. Indeed, the speaker harbors a sense of care that mirrors a son’s love for his father.

Bells

The speaker references the ringing of bells at one point in each of the poem’s three stanzas. The speaker sets the scene in the opening stanza when he exclaims, “The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting” (line 3). The sound of the bells comes from the shore, where crowds have massed around in celebration of the ship’s return. The sound of the bells returns in the second stanza, but this time in a slightly different key. Here, the speaker attempts to rouse the captain to attention: “O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells” (line 9). Though the bells are still coming from the jubilant crowd on the shore, the speaker’s sense of urgency subtly transforms them into alarm bells meant to wake the captain from his seeming slumber. When the bells return in the third stanza, they sound yet another note (lines 21–24):

                              Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
                                 But I with mournful tread,
                                   Walk the deck my Captain lies,
                                       Fallen cold and dead.

Now that the speaker has fully reckoned with the death of his captain, the bells take on a funerary function. That is, the speaker hears the bells as a “mournful” tolling that meant to honor his captain, who now lies “cold and dead.”

Previous section Themes Next section Symbols

Take a Study Break