this poem symbolizes the war and lincoln himself, and how the people really were proud of him for leading them to victory. when the ship has weathered every rack, it represents how many were killed, and in order to claim freedom, you have to make sacrifices, o the bleeding drops of red, where on the deck my captain lies, fallen cold and dead its ironic in a way how after all that fighting and sacifices were made, they finally won, lincoln could finally be proud of what he had done, then to fall down right after. its almost there needed to be one last sacrifice.

this poem is about Abraham Lincoln. The “ship” is the United States of America. The captain in the poem dies after achieving victory but before receiving an commendations. Abraham Lincoln was killed a few days after the Civil War ended. The young man views captain not only as his officer but also as a father figure. Abraham Lincoln led the country to safety and taught many lessons to the people. “O heart! heart!heart!” is the response of the young man. Bugle trilling is the response of other people. It symbolizes “Taps” a tune played on burial of soldiers. Bells are perhaps ringing in churches. The flung flag is half-mast because of an important death. The bouquets and wreathes are set on graves