A great leader is one who drives motivation into the hearts of his followers. The civil war was one of the bloodiest and worst wars in the history of the world, because it is not defined by the number of deaths, but because family members fought each other just because they believed in different things. The assassination of the leader who won the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, affected many people who followed him. This short poem by Walt Whitman is dedicated to the death of one of the greatest leaders America has had. Many readers can identify with this poem, because everyone has suffered the death of a loved or admired person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Walt Whitman came from a modest family and loved and wrote poetry most of his life, but he was not as popular until the Civil War era. Whitman's most famous poem "O Captain, my Captain" was part of his influence in the Civil War. "Later in 1862, Whitman traveled to Fredericksburg to look for his brother George, who was fighting for the Union and was being treated there for a wound he sustained. Whitman moved to Washington, D.C. the following year and found part-time work at the paymaster's office, spending much of the rest of his time visiting wounded soldiers" (Editors, 2016). Whitman honors this poem to his former president, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln led the union during the American Civil War. The struggle between the North and the South for the freedom of slaves for economic reasons led to the hatred of many towards President Lincoln, leading to his death. Everything great must come to an end. The exciting yet controversial first verse begins with joy, as with people cheering and jumping with excitement at having won a battle or war. Happy and excited because after a long time they are able to return home. The ship's journey is compared to all the time spent at war, even calling the ship "the dark and bold ship": he explains that they have returned strong and powerful. Then we move on to the realization by the sailors of the ship that their captain is dead immediately after “But oh heart! Heart! heart!" which emphasizes the poet's pain at the death of his captain. Screams and tears, were on the deck, where the captain "Fell cold and dead". The immediate change in mood of the poem is what makes it striking. Winning is great when it is accomplished in a group. The people who have followed Captain Abraham on this long journey, cheer and sing for their achievement. Yet they do not know that the captain is dead. The cries of those they know, especially Whitman , who tell the dead to stand up and look at what he has done for many of them: "The poet refers to the fallen captain as "father," representing his deep respect for President Lincoln and Lincoln's role as father of the Union” (Lorcher, 2015); The author compares their Captain to the Father to give the entire poem a more personal and profound way of understanding how it feels when the captain dies. The melancholy state of mind that the author shows after having fought hard and won, unable to see the result of the sweat, blood and lives taken from his people, is paid off. Overcoming life's difficulties is what makes a person or a country grow. The understanding that Whitman gives in this last stanza is that even though something may hurt, life continues to move forward. "But I walk with sad step across the deck where my captain lies, fallen cold and dead." Hope is given by this great poet with this poem. For each stanza, the last phrase was "fell cold and dead" which implied a repetition..