Question

What are two effects of the repetition of the word heart in these lines from Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!"?But O heart! heart! heart!O the bleeding drops of red,Where on the deck my Captain lies,Fallen cold and dead.a. It conveys the poet’s horror at the death of his captain.b.  It lifts the mood of the poem by giving it a lyrical feel.c. It emphasizes the long mourning period accompanying death.d. It reflects the poet’s disturbed and agitated state of mind.

Answer 1

The answer is:

a. It conveys the poet’s horror at the death of his captain.

d. It reflects the poet’s disturbed and agitated state of mind.

In his poem "O Captain! My Captain!," Walt Whitman makes reference to Abraham Lincoln's death during the American Civil War in 1865. Thu, he expresses his mourning at the assassination of one of the founding fathers of America. Finally, he also conveys his feeling of disturbance and shock at the bloody sight of Lincoln's corpse.

Answer 2

a and d

A because the repeated effect gives it a panicky tone. D because the poet is very disturbed, for his captain has just died and the repetition shows that he is unsure what to do next.