How does whitman use the extended metaphor to refer to lincoln’s death? whitman compares lincoln’s death to what the death for all the soldiers was like. whitman compares lincoln’s death to the loss of one of the army generals. whitman compares lincoln’s death to the loss of losing a family member in the war. whitman compares lincoln’s tragic death to a captain lying dead on the deck of his ship.

The correct answer and the way that Walt Whitman uses the extended metaphor to refer to Lincoln's death in his poem "Oh Captain! My Captain" (1865) is D. Whitman compares Lincoln's tragic death to a captain lying dead on the deck of his ship.

This comparison could be extracted from the very tittle of the poem, but it can also be suported by the lines "O the bleeding drops of red / Where on the deck my Captain lies / Fallen cold and dead"

There are more references to a ship captain throughout the poem, like "The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done" and multiple references as a refrain of the deck where he has fallen cold and dead.