O Captain! My Captain! Resources

Want to know anything, ever, about Whitman? Click here.

Check out the Library of Congress’s explanation of the origins of the poem.

Here's more background on the poem, but this site also has an image of one of Whitman’s proofs from a printer. Check out the handwriting.

Take a look at the relationship that Whitman had with Lincoln.

Here's a short, but we think really interesting, news clip about the unveiling of Whitman's Civil War-era records.

Mr. Keating gets daring.

Here's a somber reading of the poem, along with the text.

Here's a funky mash-up of the poem, a U2 song, 1960s news footage, and some dude reading part of the Gettysburg Address.

This is a pretty…interesting performance of the poem by Ed Peed. No, we're not making that name up.

Here are free readings of “O Captain! My Captain!” for iTunes.

So spooky! Check out the horror icon's reading of the poem.

Here's Whitman, around the time the poem was written.

Check the beard on younger Walt.

Get an idea of what the fanfare on shore (as described in the poem) might look like.

Walt would approve.

Here's a school art project inspired by the poem.

Ah, Photoshop. Is there anything you can't do?

This is a proof sheet from 1988, on which Whitman has written revisions. Very cool.

Here's a manuscript in Whitman’s own hand. Good luck reading it, though.

Check out this recently discovered interview Whitman gave, offering advice to New Jersey scholars. Take notes, kids.

This fictional interview is a bit hard to read, but it's worth it for Whitmanian gems like: "To the Mental Scientist, there is no Devil but Fear."

This first edition is a very approachable way for the beginning Whitman fan to expand his or her horizons. Dive in, everybody.

Here are the collected works—not for the faint of heart, nor the short of cash.