Whitman uses visual, auditory, and tactile imagery in the poem's first stanza. When he says "The ship has weather'd every rack", he conveys the feeling of exhaustion. (The ship is, of course, an allegory of America, whereas the Captain stands for President Lincoln, who was just assassinated.) "The bells I hear" is an auditory expression, which supports the people's exaltation, but also resembles the sound of death bells which mourn the Captain's death. The vessel is "grim and daring", grim because the trip had been extremely hard, but the cause was daring. "The bleeding drops of red" is a striking image of the tragedy of Lincoln's death. The blood was shed, so it was not a natural death. The Captain is "cold", which is an example of tactile imagery.
As a whole, this stanza juxtaposes two kinds of mood: the exaltation about the Captain's glorious deeds, as well as pathos and tragedy because of his death. The imagery makes the poem all the more exciting, as it lets us see, hear, and feel the speaker's state of mind - which is a fusion of personal and collective feeling toward America's journey to freedom and Lincoln's pivotal role in it.
