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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 is the rhyme pattern of the first four lines of each stanza?
(a) ABBA.
(b) AABB.
(c) ABAC.
(d) ABCB.

2. Which technique is evident in line 10, "Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills"?
(a) Anaphora.
(b) Antithesis.
(c) Antistrophe.
(d) Antimetabole.

3. In context, the literal meaning of the word "rack" in line two is which of the following?
(a) A thorough sorting or sifting.
(b) Storm or upheaval.
(c) Battle or confrontation.
(d) A metal rod used for hanging things.

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

5. Who is the author of "O Captain! my Captain!"?
(a) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
(b) William Cullen Bryant.
(c) Ralph Waldo Emerson.
(d) Walt Whitman.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which technique is evident in the phrase "for you the flag is flung" (line 10)?

2. What type of rhyme is employed in line 20, "From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won"?

3. What is the most common type of metrical foot in "O Captain! My Captain!"?

4. What is the most accurate way to describe the poem's stanza form?

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

(see the answer key)

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