(A) ** Whitman compares Lincoln to a ship captain.
(B) Whitman compares Lincoln to a passenger.
(C) Whitman compares Lincoln to another president.
(D) Whitman compares Lincoln to a crew member.
EXPLANATIONS BELOW
Concept note-1: -The entire poem is an extended metaphor, or figurative language that implies comparison between seemingly unlike things, for the United States after the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. In the metaphor, the captain is Lincoln, the voyage is the war and the ship is the United States.
Concept note-2: -The captain is a metaphor for Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States from 1861-1865. Lincoln was like a captain because he was the leader of the country in the same way that a captain leads his crew.
Concept note-3: -The “Captain” in the poem is used as a metaphor for President Abraham Lincoln and the “Ship” is used as a metaphor for the United States.
Concept note-4: -In the poem “O Captain, My Captain!, ” Walt Whitman uses a variety of figurative language, including internal rhyme, apostrophes, anaphora, alliteration, and repetition. He uses a quite a bit of alliteration and internal rhyme to keep a steady rhythm.
Concept note-5: -The elegy “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman is an extended metaphor about President Lincoln’s presidency because it compares Lincoln to a ships captain, the Union Army to a ship, and the Civil War to a trip.