O Captain! My Captain !

O Captain ! My Captain! our fearful trip is done.
The ship has weahter’d every rack1the prize we sought is won.
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting. 2
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O Captain! My Captain !
Every great success demands a sacrifice. The situation described in the poem
is similar to what happened in India soon after independence- the assassination of
Mahatma Gandhi.
While follow eyes the steady keel3 , the vessel grim4 and darling.
But O heart ! heart ! heart !
O the bleeding drops of red.
Where on the deck my captain lies.
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain ! My Captain ! Rise up and hear the bells.
Rise Up – for you flag the is flung5 – for you the bugle trills.
For you the bouqets6 and ribbon’d wreath7 – for you the shores acrowding.
For you they call, the swaying8 mass, their eager faces turning ;
1- over come every difficulty. 2- trevelling. 3- ship 4- looking very serious 5-hoisted 6- bunches of flowers
7- houers or leavers intertwined to form a circle. 8- moving to and for.
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Here captaion ! dear father !
The arm beneath your head.
It is some dream that on the deck.
You’ ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still.
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will.
The ship in anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won :
Exult O shores and ring O bells,
But I with mornful9 tread, 10
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Walk the deck my captain lies
Fallen cold and dead.
- Walt Whitman
About the Poem
The poem is written in the background of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination after America’s
civil war was over, America is described as a ship which has to sail through a stormy sea. Abraham
Lincoln is the captain of this ship. The ship has survived the turbulent sea and has arrived at the port.
Just then the poet perceives drops of blood where the captain is lying. The people at the shore are
celebrating the safe return of the ship. They are unaware that the captain who steered this ship
through the storm has died. The people at the shore may continue their celebrations but the poet’s
heart is broken and he can not join them.
A. Fill in the blanks with words from the poem.
1. The port is near the bells I hear the people all ____________.
2. O the ____________ drops of red.
3. For you ___________ and ____________ wreathes
4. The arm ___________ your head.
5. The ship is ______________ safe and __________.
6. But I with _________________ tread.
9- sad 10- walk, steps.
O Captain! My Captain !

B. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B
A B
keel public
bouquets ship
flung steps
tread bunch of flowers
mass hoisted.
A. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences each.
1. How do people react as the ship approaches the port ?
2. Where does the captain of the ship lie ?
3. What makes the poet think that the captain is dying ?
4. What does the poet choose to do instead of joining people’s rejoicings. ?
B. Answer the following questions in two to four sentences each.
1. What is meant by the fearful trip and the prize that was sought and is won
2. Write down the expressions by which the poet suggests that his captain is finally
dead.
The Syllable
When we spell a word we write down all the letters in the word one by one. But when we say a
word, we see the number of syllables in it and pronouce the syllables instead of individual letters, That
is we divide the word into syllables and pronounce them.
Thus we can say that the small sound units into which longer words are required to be broken
while saying (pronouncing) them are called syllables.
The syllable is made up of one or more than one speech sound. Speech sounds are either vowels
or consonats. The vowel element is essential to the structure of a syllable i.e. a syllable is not possible
without the vowel element. If a syllable consists of only one sound, the sound will be a vowel.
eg : I =/ aI/ oh = /JU /
eye = /ai/ consist of one vowel each.
And if a syllable consists of more than one sound, one of them must be a vowel and the remaining
one (s) consonant(s) as in the syllables
go = /gJU / sit = / sIt/ cat = /kæt/
O Captain! My Captain !
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A word may have one or more than one syllables and it is comparatively easy to point out how
may syllables a given word has. Look at the following .
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eg. rat /ræt/
freedam /rI- dI:m/
telephone /te-lJ-fJUn/
activity /æk- tI - vJ- tI/
electricity /I -lek- trI - sJ - tI/
The above examples contain one two three, four five syllables respectively. The syllable division
is marked by a hyphen in each case. It will be clear from these words that the number of syllables in
each corresponds to the number of vowel sounds it contains. This rough and ready rule of dividing
words into syllables will apply to most words in English.
(a) Words with one syllable.
(b) Words with two syllables.
saw / sO:/
can /kæn/
girl /g3:1/
crow /krJU /
boss /bOs/
father fa. ther /fA: D J/
feeling fee. ling / f I:-liN /
demand de . mand /dIm- A:nd /
express ex- press /Iks- pres/
practice prac.tice / præk- tIs/
about a.bout /A- bAut/
before be. fore /bI-f O:/
After af . ter / A: - ftJ/
(c) Words with three syllables.
consonant con.so nant /k O: n- sJ -nJnt/
emphasis em.pha.sis /em-fJ - sI:s/
expression ex. pres. sion /Iks-pre- Sn/
companion com.pan.ion /kJm-pæ-njJn/
understand un.der stand /Vn- dJ, - stænd/
O Captain! My Captain
!

(d) Words with more than three syllables
Introduction in. tro. duc.tion /In-trJ-dVk-Sn/
appropriate ap.pro.pri.ate /Jp-rJU-prI-eIt/
situation si.tu.a tion /sI-tSu-eI -SJn/
activity ac. ti.vi.ty /æk-tI-vJ-tI/
communicate Com.mu.ni.cate /kJm-ju:nJ-keIt/
a) Write how you felt when you heard about the death of a leader whom you loved very much.
b) Following are a set of instructions to be used in case of nose bleeding. Complete the paragraph
that follows using the notes given.
- Keep the patient upright in a comfortable position with his head held back.
- Press the bleeding side of the nose firmly.
- Apply an ice-pack or wet cloth to the nose and the head of the patient.
- Ask the patient to breathe through his mouth and not to blow his nose.
- If the bledding is heavy call a doctor.
(i) The patient ______________________________________________ back.
(ii) The bleeding side of the nose _____________________________________.
(iii) An Ice-pack or wet cloth________________________________________.
(iv) The patient was_______________________________________________.
(v) A doctor can be called, if the bleeding is heavy.
British English and American English. These two kinds of English are very similar. These are a
few differences of grammar and spelling. See the example and find out the American English for the
following words. Take the help of a good dictionary
British English American English British English American English
1. flat apartment 6. petrol _________
2. colour color 7. cheque _________
3. lift _________ 8. ground floor _________
4. taxi _________ 9. chips _________
5. programme _________ 10. kilometre. _________
O Captain! My Captain
!
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