Louis Untermeyer, ed

Louis Untermeyer, ed. (18851977). Modern American Poetry.1919.

Edna St. Vincent Millay.1892

130.God's World

O WORLD, I cannot hold thee close enough!

Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!

Thy mists that roll and rise!

Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag

And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag

5

To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!

World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,

But never knew I this;

Here such a passion is

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As stretcheth me apart. Lord, I do fear

Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year.

My soul is all but out of me,let fall

No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

Walt Whitman(18191892).Leaves of Grass.1900. 193.O Captain! My Captain!

1

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;

The ship has weatherd 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!

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O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

2

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise upfor you the flag is flungfor you the bugle trills;

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For you bouquets and ribbond 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,

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Youve fallen cold and dead.

3

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 anchord safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;

From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

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Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!

But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

Name: ____________

O Captain! My Captain! Questions

1. What apostrophe is repeated in this poem?

2. Explain what is symbolized by the term ship.

3. How does the description of a captain fallen in battle fit Lincoln?

4. Describe the tone of this poem.