Humphrey Carpenter remarks that "Vespers" was produced at the very end of the 50-year Victorian—Edwardian tradition for writing about the "Beautiful Child" in sentimental terms. The poem starts by beguiling the reader into thinking it is following this myth only for the attentive reader to realise that Christopher Robin is not actually praying but he is thinking about the important things in his life. [12]

Stein, Sadie (18 June 2015). "Say Your Prayers". The Paris Review. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Negative perspectives on the poem continued into the 21st century. In 2000, Helen Vendler wrote that because Whitman "was bent on registering individual response as well as the collective wish expressed in 'Hush'd be the camps', he took on the voice of a single representative sailor silencing his own idiosyncratic voice". [40] Elsewhere, she states that two "stylistic features—its meter and its use of refrain—mark 'O Captain' as a designedly democratic and populist poem". [40] Four years later, Epstein wrote that he struggled to believe that the same writer wrote both "Lilacs" and "O Captain! My Captain!". [69] Poet Robert Pinsky told the New York Times News Service in 2009 that he considered the poem "not very good", [70] and a year later another poet, C. K. Williams, concluded that the poem was a "truly awful piece of near doggerel triteness" that deserved derisive criticism. [71] Meanwhile, the 2004 Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature entry on Whitman suggests that critiques about the poem's rhythm are unfair. [36] Themes [ edit ] The poem's nautical references allude to Admiral Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar. [73] "Ship of state" metaphor [ edit ]Blake, David Haven (2010). "Los Angeles, 1960: John F. Kennedy and Whitman's Ship of Democracy". Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. 28 (1–2): 63. doi: 10.13008/2153-3695.1952. ISSN 2153-3695. The days begin white and glittering with snow---on the roof, the branches of the sycamore, where a robin has taken up residence. It reminds Kate of Robin Redbreast from The Secret Garden---for so many years, her only safe portal to the natural world. Only now does she truly understand her favorite passage, memorized since childhood:

Stylistically, the poem is uncharacteristic of Whitman's poetry because of its rhyming, song-like flow, and simple " ship of state" metaphor. These elements likely contributed to the poem's initial positive reception and popularity, with many celebrating it as one of the greatest American works of poetry. Critical opinion has shifted since the mid-20th century, with some scholars deriding it as conventional and unoriginal. The poem has made several appearances in popular culture; as it never mentions Lincoln, it has been invoked upon the death of several other heads of state. It is famously featured in Dead Poets Society (1989) and is frequently associated with the star of that film, Robin Williams. Above all, this robin ornament for graves is of great symbolic significance. Firstly, the heart-shaped plaque represents love and compassion for someone special. Secondly, after losing a loved one and having a robin visit is a very spiritual experience. With this in mind, the little robin not only reminds us of these moments but awakens happy memories of times gone by. And finally, “when a robin is near poem” echoes sentiments of a Heavenly hope. Hope that our loved ones are indeed watching over us. During the American Civil War, Whitman moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the government and volunteered at hospitals. Although he never met Lincoln, Whitman felt a connection to him and was greatly moved by Lincoln's assassination. "My Captain" was first published in The Saturday Press on November 4, 1865, and appeared in Sequel to Drum-Taps later that year. He later included it in the collection Leaves of Grass and recited the poem at several lectures on Lincoln's death.Whitman, Walt (1961). Miller, Edwin Haviland (ed.). The Correspondence. Vol.1. New York City: New York University Press. OCLC 471569564. a b Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin (February 24, 1866). "Review of Drum-Taps". The Boston Commonwealth . Retrieved December 3, 2020– via The Walt Whitman Archive. [originally unsigned] The poem describes the United States as a ship, a metaphor that Whitman had previously used in "Death in the School-Room". [39] This metaphor of a ship of state has been often used by authors. [74] Whitman himself had written a letter on March 19, 1863, that compared the head of state to a ship's captain. [69] Whitman had also likely read newspaper reports that Lincoln had dreamed of a ship under full sail the night before his assassination; [69] the imagery was allegedly a recurring dream of Lincoln's before significant moments in his life. [75] Gailey, Amanda (2006). "The Publishing History of Leaves of Grass". In Kummings, Donald D. (ed.). A Companion to Walt Whitman. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp.409–438. ISBN 978-1-4051-2093-7. Hamish Whyte is a Scottish poet who has published pamphlets and full collections, as well as editing several anthologies. He also runs Mariscat Press.

Parini, Jay (2004). The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515653-9. The poem was set to music by Harold Fraser-Simson in 1927 and, under the name Christopher Robin is Saying His Prayers, many commercial recordings of the song were released including by Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn. When a robin redbreast constantly visits you or crosses your path, a loved one in Heaven is trying to say, “Hello” I’m with you!Lewis, Lloyd (January 1, 1994). The Assassination of Lincoln: History and Myth. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-7949-0. Literary critic Helen Vendler thinks it likely that Whitman wrote the poem before "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", considering it a direct response to "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day". [23] An early draft of the poem is written in free verse. [24] "My Captain" was first published in The Saturday Press on November 4, 1865. [d] [15] [26] Around the same time, it was included in Whitman's book, Sequel to Drum-Taps—publication in The Saturday Press was considered a " teaser" for the book. Although Sequel to Drum-Taps was first published in early October 1865, [27] the copies were not ready for distribution until December. [28] The first publication of the poem had different punctuation than Whitman intended, and he corrected before its next publication. [29] It was also included in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass. [15] [30] Whitman revised the poem several times during his life, [31] including in his 1871 collection Passage to India. Its final republication by Whitman was in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass. [30] Loving, Jerome (1999). Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21427-7. OCLC 39313629.

Then Mum went into residential care and we had to sell the house so she could be looked after and see people every day.

What attracts robins to your house?

Saxon, Wolfgang (June 29, 2004). "Naomi Shemer, 74, Poet and Composer, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved October 12, 2020. Finally, let me refer to the poem which has been more sentimentalized over than any other in the book: Vespers. Well, if mothers and aunts and hard-headed reviewers have been sentimental over it, I am glad; for the spectacle in real life of a child of three at its prayers is one over which thousands have been sentimental. It is indeed calculated to bring a lump to the throat. But, even so, one must tell the truth about the matter. Not "God bless mummy, because I love her so" but "God bless Mummy, I know that’s right". Donaldson, Thomas (1896). Walt Whitman the Man. New York: Francis P. Harper. ISBN 9780841418837. OCLC 217422. I felt an immense sense of calm. My mum loved joining us for camping trips, even it was only for a few hours and a cuppa."