Walt Whitman was An American poet and writer often referred to as the father of free verse (SoftSchools, 1), another great poet Was W. H. Auden. Auden was an English born American poet and was a world renowned in the 20th century (YourDictionary, 1). How did both authors write pieces that were very similar almost 100 years apart? The two works of literature are called O Captain My Captain, and an Elegy for JFK. They have many similarities and also differences; such as, The poems tone, rhyme scheme, and repetition. First, O Captain My Captain’s tone is sad , because the poem is an extended metaphor for the Civil War. In the poem the captain's troops where are on their way home from the war, but suddenly the captain was found on the floor dead. This brought so much devastation because they had just gotten back from the brutal war. In the Elegy for JFK the tone goes between sad and cheerful. For example, “when just a man dies lamination and praise sorrow, and joy are one (Auden 1-3). In this stanza the tone changes, because they are sad that JFK has died, but also ready to celebrate everything he did in his life. Another example is: remembering his death,…show more content… Both poems have different rhyme schemes though, but they both poems have near slant rhyme. In O Captain My Captain the the rhyme scheme for the poem is: a a b b c d e d... etc. In the Elegy for JFK there isn’t a real rhyme scheme some words rhyme but there is not an actual pattern. On the other hand both poems have near slant rhyme. an example from O Captain my Captain is: “ the port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, while follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring”(Whitman, 2-3). The words exulting and daring almost rhyme, but the words aren't quite the same. An example from Elegy for JFK is: “When a just man dies, lamination and praise”(Auden, 1-2). The words dies and praise almost rhyme, but don't exactly fit
