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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "O Captain! My Captain!" lines 1-24.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does it mean that the people are "exulting"?
(a) They are cheering excitedly.
(b) They are crying out in grief.
(c) They are drinking and celebrating.
(d) They are quietly watchful.

2. In context, the word "fearful" in line 1 indicates that the trip was which of the following?
(a) Full of frightening obstacles.
(b) A bad idea from the beginning.
(c) The cause of the captain's death.
(d) A metaphor for an internal struggle.

3. In the second quatrain of the second stanza, what becomes clear about the speaker's state of mind?
(a) He is actually asleep and only dreaming of the captain's death.
(b) He is afraid that he is in some way responsible for the captain's death.
(c) He has not fully accepted the captain's death.
(d) He hopes to hide the captain's death from the crowd.

4. What type of rhyme is employed in line 20, "From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won"?
(a) Internal rhyme.
(b) Identical rhyme.
(c) Near rhyme.
(d) Eye rhyme.

5. Which term describes the poem's repeated use of the phrases "O Captain! My Captain!" (lines 1 and 9) and "fallen cold and dead" (lines 8, 16, and 24)?
(a) Chorus.
(b) Verse.
(c) Refrain.
(d) Conceit.

Short Answer Questions

1. Line 6, "O the bleeding drops of red," is an example of which technique?

2. Which is the best interpretation of line 9, when the speaker urges "O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells"?

3. What feature of the Captain's face does line 17 focus on?

4. What does the phrase "swaying mass" refer to (line 12)?

5. Which details in the second stanza evoke a patriotic occasion?

(see the answer key)

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