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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. In the second quatrain of the second stanza, what becomes clear about the speaker's state of mind?
(a) He is afraid that he is in some way responsible for the captain's death.
(b) He has not fully accepted 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.

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

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

4. What does the phrase "swaying mass" refer to (line 12)?
(a) The ship.
(b) The captain.
(c) The flag.
(d) The crowd.

5. What is the most accurate way to describe the poem's stanza form?
(a) Octave.
(b) Double quatrain.
(c) Sestet.
(d) Double tercet.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. The list of ways the crowd is celebrating the arrival of the ship in lines 9-12 is an example of which technique?

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

4. Where is the ship in the beginning of the poem?

5. In context, the word "fearful" in line 1 indicates that the trip was which of the following?

(see the answer key)

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