Dear buffydog,
The lines you quoted derive from a poem by Walt Whitman (1819?1892),
"O Captain! My Captain!" More precisely, those words are the third
and last stanza.
Walt Whitman wrote the poem for the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
You can read more about the background and the history of "O Captain!
My Captain!" here, on the website of the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm013.html
Here is the poem's full text:
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
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 the flag is flung?for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths?for you the shores crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here, Captain! dear father!
This 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 is 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 mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
Source:
Bartleby: O Captain! My Captain!
http://www.bartleby.com/101/743.html
Search terms used:
"his lips are pale and still"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&q=%22his+lips+are+pale+and+still%22&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
"o captain my captain"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&q=%22o+captain+my+captain%22&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
"walt whitman" "o captain"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&q=%22walt+whitman%22+%22o+captain%22&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
Hope this answers your question!
Regards,
Scriptor |
