Today in History: O Captain! My Captain!
Today in History–February 9–the Library of Congress features a letter Walt Whitman wrote on this day in 1888 noting corrections to his poem “O Captain! My Captain!” published that year by The Riverside Literature Series No. 32. Whitman informed the publishers that they had not printed the most recent version Whitman had revised for the second time in 1871 (Whitman first wrote the poem in 1865, the year Lincoln was assassinated, and revised it for the first time soon after it was published). Learn more about this poem and its author and subject by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to discover more related resources.
“O Captain! My Captain!” versions
- Original version: published, New-York Saturday Press 4 November 1865
- First revision: published in Sequel to Drum Taps 1865-66
- Final revision: published in Passage to India 1871, 1876 and “Drum-Taps,” Leaves of Grass 1881–82
- Letter and corrected reprint of Walt Whitman’s “O Captain, My Captain” with comments by author, 9 February 1888
- Poem reprints in historic newspapers
Curator notes to letter and corrected reprint of Walt Whitman’s “O Captain, My Captain”
“O Captain! My Captain” Library of Congress Magazine March/April 2015 (p. 16)
Criticism: Eiselein, Gregory. “O Captain! My Captain!” published in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, Garland Publishing, 1998
The Evolution of Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” Teaching with the Library of Congress blog April 18, 2019
“O Captain! My Captain!” teaching ideas
Related resources
- Learning from the Source: Putting Loss into Words activities comparing poetry about Lincoln by Walt Whitman and others
- Primary Source Learning About Lincoln
- Today in History: Walt Whitman
- Presidential Spotlight: Abraham Lincoln