O Captain! My Captain !
O Captain! My Captain !
O Captain! My Captain !
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O <strong>Captain</strong> ! <strong>My</strong> <strong>Captain</strong>! our fearful trip is done.<br />
The ship has weahter’d every rack1the prize we sought is won.<br />
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting. 2<br />
13<br />
O <strong>Captain</strong>! <strong>My</strong> <strong>Captain</strong> !<br />
Every great success demands a sacrifice. The situation described in the poem<br />
is similar to what happened in India soon after independence- the assassination of<br />
Mahatma Gandhi.<br />
While follow eyes the steady keel3 , the vessel grim4 and darling.<br />
But O heart ! heart ! heart !<br />
O the bleeding drops of red.<br />
Where on the deck my captain lies.<br />
Fallen cold and dead.<br />
O <strong>Captain</strong> ! <strong>My</strong> <strong>Captain</strong> ! Rise up and hear the bells.<br />
Rise Up – for you flag the is flung5 – for you the bugle trills.<br />
For you the bouqets6 and ribbon’d wreath7 – for you the shores acrowding.<br />
For you they call, the swaying8 mass, their eager faces turning ;<br />
1- over come every difficulty. 2- trevelling. 3- ship 4- looking very serious 5-hoisted 6- bunches of flowers<br />
7- houers or leavers intertwined to form a circle. 8- moving to and for.<br />
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Here captaion ! dear father !<br />
The arm beneath your head.<br />
It is some dream that on the deck.<br />
You’ ve fallen cold and dead.<br />
<strong>My</strong> <strong>Captain</strong> does not answer, his lips are pale and still.<br />
<strong>My</strong> father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will.<br />
The ship in anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,<br />
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won :<br />
Exult O shores and ring O bells,<br />
But I with mornful9 tread, 10<br />
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Walk the deck my captain lies<br />
Fallen cold and dead.<br />
- Walt Whitman<br />
About the Poem<br />
The poem is written in the background of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination after America’s<br />
civil war was over, America is described as a ship which has to sail through a stormy sea. Abraham<br />
Lincoln is the captain of this ship. The ship has survived the turbulent sea and has arrived at the port.<br />
Just then the poet perceives drops of blood where the captain is lying. The people at the shore are<br />
celebrating the safe return of the ship. They are unaware that the captain who steered this ship<br />
through the storm has died. The people at the shore may continue their celebrations but the poet’s<br />
heart is broken and he can not join them.<br />
A. Fill in the blanks with words from the poem.<br />
1. The port is near the bells I hear the people all ____________.<br />
2. O the ____________ drops of red.<br />
3. For you ___________ and ____________ wreathes<br />
4. The arm ___________ your head.<br />
5. The ship is ______________ safe and __________.<br />
6. But I with _________________ tread.<br />
9- sad 10- walk, steps.<br />
O <strong>Captain</strong>! <strong>My</strong> <strong>Captain</strong> !
B. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B<br />
A B<br />
keel public<br />
bouquets ship<br />
flung steps<br />
tread bunch of flowers<br />
mass hoisted.<br />
A. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences each.<br />
1. How do people react as the ship approaches the port ?<br />
2. Where does the captain of the ship lie ?<br />
3. What makes the poet think that the captain is dying ?<br />
4. What does the poet choose to do instead of joining people’s rejoicings. ?<br />
B. Answer the following questions in two to four sentences each.<br />
1. What is meant by the fearful trip and the prize that was sought and is won<br />
2. Write down the expressions by which the poet suggests that his captain is finally<br />
dead.<br />
The Syllable<br />
When we spell a word we write down all the letters in the word one by one. But when we say a<br />
word, we see the number of syllables in it and pronouce the syllables instead of individual letters, That<br />
is we divide the word into syllables and pronounce them.<br />
Thus we can say that the small sound units into which longer words are required to be broken<br />
while saying (pronouncing) them are called syllables.<br />
The syllable is made up of one or more than one speech sound. Speech sounds are either vowels<br />
or consonats. The vowel element is essential to the structure of a syllable i.e. a syllable is not possible<br />
without the vowel element. If a syllable consists of only one sound, the sound will be a vowel.<br />
eg : I =/ aI/ oh = /JU /<br />
eye = /ai/ consist of one vowel each.<br />
And if a syllable consists of more than one sound, one of them must be a vowel and the remaining<br />
one (s) consonant(s) as in the syllables<br />
go = /gJU / sit = / sIt/ cat = /kæt/<br />
O <strong>Captain</strong>! <strong>My</strong> <strong>Captain</strong> !<br />
111
A word may have one or more than one syllables and it is comparatively easy to point out how<br />
may syllables a given word has. Look at the following .<br />
112<br />
eg. rat /ræt/<br />
freedam /rI- dI:m/<br />
telephone /te-lJ-fJUn/<br />
activity /æk- tI - vJ- tI/<br />
electricity /I -lek- trI - sJ - tI/<br />
The above examples contain one two three, four five syllables respectively. The syllable division<br />
is marked by a hyphen in each case. It will be clear from these words that the number of syllables in<br />
each corresponds to the number of vowel sounds it contains. This rough and ready rule of dividing<br />
words into syllables will apply to most words in English.<br />
(a) Words with one syllable.<br />
(b) Words with two syllables.<br />
saw / sO:/<br />
can /kæn/<br />
girl /g3:1/<br />
crow /krJU /<br />
boss /bOs/<br />
father fa. ther /fA: D J/<br />
feeling fee. ling / f I:-liN /<br />
demand de . mand /dIm- A:nd /<br />
express ex- press /Iks- pres/<br />
practice prac.tice / præk- tIs/<br />
about a.bout /A- bAut/<br />
before be. fore /bI-f O:/<br />
After af . ter / A: - ftJ/<br />
(c) Words with three syllables.<br />
consonant con.so nant /k O: n- sJ -nJnt/<br />
emphasis em.pha.sis /em-fJ - sI:s/<br />
expression ex. pres. sion /Iks-pre- Sn/<br />
companion com.pan.ion /kJm-pæ-njJn/<br />
understand un.der stand /Vn- dJ, - stænd/<br />
O <strong>Captain</strong>! <strong>My</strong> <strong>Captain</strong><br />
!
(d) Words with more than three syllables<br />
Introduction in. tro. duc.tion /In-trJ-dVk-Sn/<br />
appropriate ap.pro.pri.ate /Jp-rJU-prI-eIt/<br />
situation si.tu.a tion /sI-tSu-eI -SJn/<br />
activity ac. ti.vi.ty /æk-tI-vJ-tI/<br />
communicate Com.mu.ni.cate /kJm-ju:nJ-keIt/<br />
a) Write how you felt when you heard about the death of a leader whom you loved very much.<br />
b) Following are a set of instructions to be used in case of nose bleeding. Complete the paragraph<br />
that follows using the notes given.<br />
- Keep the patient upright in a comfortable position with his head held back.<br />
- Press the bleeding side of the nose firmly.<br />
- Apply an ice-pack or wet cloth to the nose and the head of the patient.<br />
- Ask the patient to breathe through his mouth and not to blow his nose.<br />
- If the bledding is heavy call a doctor.<br />
(i) The patient ______________________________________________ back.<br />
(ii) The bleeding side of the nose _____________________________________.<br />
(iii) An Ice-pack or wet cloth________________________________________.<br />
(iv) The patient was_______________________________________________.<br />
(v) A doctor can be called, if the bleeding is heavy.<br />
British English and American English. These two kinds of English are very similar. These are a<br />
few differences of grammar and spelling. See the example and find out the American English for the<br />
following words. Take the help of a good dictionary<br />
British English American English British English American English<br />
1. flat apartment 6. petrol _________<br />
2. colour color 7. cheque _________<br />
3. lift _________ 8. ground floor _________<br />
4. taxi _________ 9. chips _________<br />
5. programme _________ 10. kilometre. _________<br />
O <strong>Captain</strong>! <strong>My</strong> <strong>Captain</strong><br />
!<br />
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