Whitman used iambic feet in the poem for what purpose?

the unstressed-stressed combination mimics waves

the stressed-unstressed combination mimics work on a ship

the rhyming pattern of the poem mimicsa funeral

stressing the first syllable of each line adds emphasis

Whitman used iambic feet in the poem for the purpose that the unstressed-stressed combination mimics waves. An iambic meter is a two syllable word in which the first syllable is unstressed and the second syllable is stressed. Whitman used this kind of meter to make the reader feel the beat of his story especially the ones that needed emphasis. An example would be "our fearful trip is done". Notice that the syllable is stressed every syllable.