O Captain! My Captain! Summary

A sailor sings a song. No, not that song. He’s singing a song that praises his captain for leading the ship and crew into the harbor after a long and dangerous voyage—without GPS, even. Everyone’s on shore celebrating the safe homecoming, when the sailor notices that the captain is lying dead on the deck of the ship. Not good. While the crowd on the shore is celebrating, unaware of the fallen leader, the sailor walks mournfully upon the deck where the captain has fallen.