Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman, 1887
May 31, 1819
Born West Hills, Town of Huntington, Long Island,
New York, U.S.
Died
March 26, 1892 (aged 72)
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Walter "Walt" Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and
journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism,
incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the
American canon, often called the father of free verse.[1] His work was very controversial in its time,
particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt
sexuality.
Born on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and–in
addition to publishing his poetry–was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War. Early in his
career, he also produced a temperance novel, Franklin Evans (1842). Whitman's major work,
Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 with his own money. The work was an attempt at
reaching out to the common person with an American epic. He continued expanding and revising it
until his death in 1892. After a stroke towards the end of his life, he moved to Camden, New Jersey,
where his health further declined. He died at age 72 and his funeral became a public spectacle.[2][3]
Whitman's sexuality is often discussed alongside his poetry. Though biographers continue to debate
his sexuality, he is usually described as either homosexual or bisexual in his feelings and
attractions.[4] However, there is disagreement among biographers as to whether Whitman had actual
sexual experiences with men.[5] Whitman was concerned with politics throughout his life. He
supported the Wilmot Proviso and opposed the extension of slavery generally. His poetry presented
an egalitarian view of the races, and at one point he called for the abolition of slavery, but later he
saw the abolitionist movement as a threat to democracy
O Captain! My Captain!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written in 1865 by Walt Whitman,
concerning the death of American president Abraham Lincoln.
Analysis
Walt Whitman wrote the poem after Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Repeated metaphorical
reference is made to this issue throughout the verse. The "ship" spoken of is intended to represent
the United States of America, while its "fearful trip" recalls the troubles of the American Civil War.
The titular "Captain" is Lincoln himself.[1]
With a conventional meter and rhyme scheme that is unusual for Whitman, it was the only poem
anthologized during Whitman's lifetime.[2]
O Captain! My Captain!
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 capitano! Mio capitano!
O capitano! Mio capitano! il nostro
viaggio tremendo è finito,
La nave ha superato ogni tempesta,
l'ambito premio è vinto,
Il porto è vicino, odo le campane, il
popolo è esultante,
Gli occhi seguono la solida chiglia,
l'audace e altero vascello;
Ma o cuore! cuore! cuore!
O rosse gocce sanguinanti sul ponte
Dove è disteso il mio Capitano
Caduto morto, freddato.
O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear
the bells;
Rise up-for you the flag is flung-for you
the bugle trills;
O capitano! Mio capitano! àlzati e
ascolta le campane; àlzati,
Svetta per te la bandiera, trilla per te la
tromba, per te
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreathsfor you the shores a-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.
I mazzi di fiori, le ghirlande coi nastri, le
rive nere di folla,
Chiamano te, le masse ondeggianti, i
volti fissi impazienti,
Qua capitano! padre amato!
Questo braccio sotto il tuo capo!
È un puro sogno che sul ponte
Cadesti morto, freddato.
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.
Ma non risponde il mio capitano,
immobili e bianche le sue labbra,
Mio padre non sente il mio braccio, non
ha più polso e volere;
La nave è ancorata sana e salva, il
viaggio è finito,
Torna dal viaggio tremendo col premio
vinto la nave;
Rive esultate, e voi squillate, campane!
Io con passo angosciato cammino sul
ponte
Dove è disteso il mio capitano
Caduto morto, freddato.
Modern versions
In 1996, Isreali songwriter Naomi Shemer translated the poem to Hebrew and wrote music for it.
This was done in order to mark the anniversary of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's
assassination which took place one year earlier, in 1995. The song is since commonly performed or
played in Yitzhak Rabin memorial day services all around Israel.
In popular culture
The 1989 film Dead Poets Society also makes repeated references to the poem, especially when
English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) tells his students that they may call him "O Captain!
My Captain!" if they feel daring.
The 2007 video game Mass Effect also references the poem on several occasions. Squad member
Ashley Williams refers to the protagonist, Commander Shepard, as "O Captain! My Captain!" as a
sign of respect. During several conversations between Williams and Shepard, Williams recites lines
from the poem. Shepard comments that this is quite out of character for her. Williams also recites
lines from Alfred Lord Tennyson's Ulysses, saying it was her father's favorite.
The 1992 Full House Season 6, episode 6 titled "Educating Jesse" features Uncle Jesse struggling to
recite "O Captain! My Captain!" from memory, as he is taunted by memories of his failed
education.
In Family Guy's season 4, episode 2 "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High" (air date 8 May 2005),
Brian is forced to teach remedial English at Chris's junior high. When Brian tells the students they
will work lower-level jobs, they grow enthusiastic and recite "O Captain! My Captain!" in a scene
similar to the one in Dead Poets Society.
In the How I Met Your Mother season 5, episode 3 (Robin 101), Ted is teaching Barney some
ground rules for dating Robin. When Ted threatens to stop teaching him, Barney stands on his desk
whilst saying the phrase "O Captain! My Captain" similar to that in Dead Poets Society.
The American Civil War (1861–1865), also known as the War Between the States (among other
names), was a civil war in the United States of America. 11 Southern slave states declared their
secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America, also known as "the
Confederacy". Led by Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy fought for its independence from the
United States. The U.S. federal government was supported by twenty mostly-Northern free states in
which slavery already had been abolished, and by five slave states that became known as the border
states. These twenty-five states, referred to as the Union, had a much larger base of population and
industry than the South. After four years of bloody, devastating warfare (mostly within the Southern
states), the Confederacy surrendered and slavery was outlawed everywhere in the nation. The
restoration of the Union, and the Reconstruction Era that followed, dealt with issues that remained
unresolved for generations.
In the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, had
campaigned against the expansion of slavery beyond the states in which it already existed. The
Republicans were strong advocates of nationalism and in their 1860 platform explicitly denounced
threats of disunion as avowals of treason. After a Republican victory, but before the new
administration took office on March 4, 1861, seven cotton states declared their secession and joined
together to form the Confederate States of America. Both the outgoing administration of President
James Buchanan and the incoming administration rejected the legality of secession, considering it
rebellion. The other eight slave states rejected calls for secession at this point. No country in the
world recognized the Confederacy.
Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at
Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state to
recapture federal property. This led to declarations of secession by four more slave states. Both
sides raised armies as the Union seized control of the border states early in the war and established a
naval blockade that virtually ended cotton sales on which the South depended for its wealth, and
blocked most imports. Land warfare in the East was inconclusive in 1861–62, as the Confederacy
beat back Union efforts to capture its capital, Richmond, Virginia. In September 1862, Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation made ending slavery in the South a war goal,[2] and dissuaded the
British from intervening.[3]
Confederate commander Robert E. Lee won battles in Virginia, but in 1863 his northward advance
was turned back with heavy casualties after the Battle of Gettysburg. To the west, the Union gained
control of the Mississippi River after their capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi, thereby splitting the
Confederacy in two. The Union was able to capitalize on its long-term advantages in men and
materiel by 1864 when Ulysses S. Grant fought battles of attrition against Lee, while Union general
William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta and marched to the sea. Confederate resistance ended
after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.
The American Civil War was one of the earliest true industrial wars. Railroads, the telegraph,
steamships, and mass-produced weapons were employed extensively. The practices of total war,
developed by Sherman in Georgia, and of trench warfare around Petersburg foreshadowed World
War I in Europe. It remains the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000
soldiers and an undetermined number of civilian casualties. Ten percent of all Northern males 20–
45 years of age died, as did 30 percent of all Southern white males aged 18–40.[4] Victory for the
North meant the end of the Confederacy and of slavery in the United States, and strengthened the
role of the federal government. The social, political, economic and racial issues of the war
decisively shaped the reconstruction era that lasted to 1877.
Abraham Lincoln
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
Hannibal Hamlin (1861–1865)
Vice President
Andrew Johnson (1865)
Preceded by James Buchanan
Succeeded by Andrew Johnson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 7th district
In office
March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849
Preceded by John Henry
Succeeded by Thomas L. Harris
February 12, 1809
Hardin County, Kentucky
April 15, 1865 (aged 56)
Died
Washington, D.C.
Oak Ridge Cemetery
Springfield, Illinois
Resting place
39°49′24″N 89°39′21″W39.82333°N
89.65583°W
Nationality American
Whig (1832–1854)
Political party
Republican (1854–1865)
Mary Todd Lincoln
Spouse(s)
Thomas Lincoln (father)
Relations
Nancy Lincoln (mother)
Robert Todd Lincoln
Edward Lincoln
Children
Willie Lincoln
Tad Lincoln
Lawyer
Profession
Politician
See: Abraham Lincoln and religion
Religion
Born
Signature
Military service
Service/branch Illinois Militia
Years of
1832
service
Battles/wars Black Hawk War
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United
States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led the country
through its greatest constitutional, military and moral crisis—the American Civil War—by
preserving the Union by force while ending slavery and promoting economic modernization.
Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, he was mostly self-educated. He became a country
lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a one-term member of the United States House of
Representatives but failed in two attempts at a seat in the United States Senate. He was an
affectionate, though often absent, husband and father of four children.
Lincoln was an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery in the United States, which he
deftly articulated in his campaign debates and speeches.[1] As a result, he secured the Republican
nomination and was elected president in 1860. After war began, following declarations of secession
by southern slave states, he concentrated on both the military and political dimensions of the war
effort, seeking to reunify the nation. He vigorously exercised unprecedented war powers, including
the arrest and detention without trial of thousands of suspected secessionists. He issued his
Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoted the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution, abolishing slavery.
Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including Ulysses
S. Grant. He brought leaders of various factions of his party into his cabinet and pressured them to
cooperate. He defused a confrontation with Britain in the Trent affair late in 1861. Under his
leadership, the Union took control of the border slave states at the start of the war and tried
repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond. Each time a general failed, Lincoln
substituted another until finally Grant succeeded in 1865. A shrewd politician deeply involved with
patronage and power issues in each state, he reached out to War Democrats and managed his own
reelection in the 1864 presidential election.
As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican party, Lincoln came under attack from all
sides. Radical Republicans wanted harsher treatment of the South, Democrats desired more
compromise, and secessionists saw him as their enemy.[2] Lincoln fought back with patronage, by
pitting his opponents against each other, and by appealing to the American people with his powers
of oratory;[3][4] for example, his Gettysburg Address of 1863 became one of the most quoted
speeches in American history. It was an iconic statement of America's dedication to the principles
of nationalism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. At the close of the war, Lincoln held a
moderate view of Reconstruction, seeking to speedily reunite the nation through a policy of
generous reconciliation in the face of lingering and bitter divisiveness. Just six days after the
decisive surrender of the commanding general of the Confederate army, Lincoln fell victim to an
assassin, the first U.S. president to suffer such a fate. Lincoln has consistently been ranked by
scholars as one of the greatest U.S. presidents.
Gettysburg Address
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the bestknown speeches in United States history.[1] It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil
War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National
Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated
those of the Confederacy at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg.
Abraham Lincoln's carefully crafted address, secondary to other presentations that day, came to be
regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. In just over two minutes, Lincoln
invoked the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence and
redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as "a new birth of freedom" that
would bring true equality to all of its citizens, and that would also create a unified nation in which
states' rights were no longer dominant.
Beginning with the now-iconic phrase "Four score and seven years ago," referring to the American
Revolution of 1776, Lincoln examined the founding principles of the United States in the context of
the Civil War, and used the ceremony at Gettysburg as an opportunity not only to consecrate the
grounds of a cemetery, but also to exhort the listeners to ensure the survival of America's
representative democracy, that the "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall
not perish from the earth."
Despite the speech's prominent place in the history and popular culture of the United States, the
exact wording of the speech is disputed. The five known manuscripts of the Gettysburg Address
differ in a number of details and also differ from contemporary newspaper reprints of the speech.
“
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation,
conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so
conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those
who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper
that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far
above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather,
to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so
nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before
us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of
freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish from the earth.
”
Traduzione del discorso
Questa è la traduzione italiana del discorso riconosciuta dalla Biblioteca del Congresso di
Washington:
« Or sono diciannove lustri e due anni che i nostri avi costruirono, su questo continente, una nuova
nazione, concepita nella Libertà, e votata al principio che tutti gli uomini sono creati uguali. Adesso
noi siamo impegnati in una grande guerra civile, la quale proverà se quella nazione, o ogni altra
nazione così concepita e così votata, possa a lungo perdurare.
Noi ci siamo raccolti su di un gran campo di battaglia di quella guerra. Noi siamo venuti a destinare
una parte di quel campo a luogo di ultimo riposo per coloro che qui diedero la vita, perché quella
nazione potesse vivere. È del tutto giusto e appropriato che noi compiamo quest’atto. Ma, in un
senso più vasto, noi non possiamo inaugurare, non possiamo consacrare, non possiamo santificare
questo suolo.
I coraggiosi uomini, vivi e morti, che qui combatterono, lo hanno consacrato al di là del nostro
piccolo potere di aggiungere o detrarre. Il mondo noterà appena, né a lungo ricorderà ciò che qui
diciamo, ma mai potrà dimenticare ciò ch’essi qui fecero. Sta a noi viventi, piuttosto, il votarci qui al
lavoro incompiuto, finora così nobilmente portato avanti da coloro che qui combatterono.
Sta piuttosto a noi il votarci qui al gran compito che ci è di fronte: che da questi morti onorati ci
venga un’accresciuta devozione a quella causa per la quale essi diedero, della devozione, l’ultima
piena misura; che noi qui solennemente si prometta che questi morti non sono morti invano; che
questa nazione, guidata da Dio, abbia una rinascita di libertà; e che l’idea di un governo di popolo,
dal popolo, per il popolo, non abbia a perire dalla terra. »
Dead Poets Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dead Poets Society
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Peter Weir
Produced by
Steven Haft
Paul Junger Witt
Tony Thomas
Written by
Tom Schulman
Starring
Robin Williams
Robert Sean Leonard
Ethan Hawke
Kurtwood Smith
Gale Hansen
Norman Lloyd
Music by
Maurice Jarre
Cinematography
John Seale
Editing by
William M. Anderson
Distributed by
Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)
June 2, 1989
Running time
128 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$16.4 million
Gross revenue
$235,860,116[1]
Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film starring Robin Williams and directed by Peter
Weir. Set at a conservative and aristocratic boys prep school, it tells the story of an English teacher
who inspires his students to change their lives of conformity through his teaching of poetry and
literature.