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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. Which is the best interpretation of line 9, when the speaker urges "O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells"?
(a) The speaker realizes that the captain is not actually dead yet.
(b) The speaker is not yet aware that the captain has died.
(c) The speaker is addressing the captain's spirit or ghost.
(d) The speaker is having trouble accepting what has happened.

2. Which technique is evident in the phrase "for you the flag is flung" (line 10)?
(a) Cacophony.
(b) Alliteration.
(c) Sibilance.
(d) Assonance.

3. The list of ways the crowd is celebrating the arrival of the ship in lines 9-12 is an example of which technique?
(a) Paraprosdokian.
(b) Accumulation.
(c) Periphrasis.
(d) Understatement.

4. Line 5, " But O heart! heart! heart!" is an example of which technique?
(a) Euphemism.
(b) Apostrophe.
(c) Paradox.
(d) Aphorism.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In the second quatrain of the second stanza, what becomes clear about the speaker's state of mind?

3. 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)?

4. Who is the author of "O Captain! my Captain!"?

5. What does it mean that the people are "exulting"?

(see the answer key)

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