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

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

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

4. 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 is not yet aware that the captain has died.
(b) The speaker realizes that the captain is not actually dead yet.
(c) The speaker is having trouble accepting what has happened.
(d) The speaker is addressing the captain's spirit or ghost.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In context, the literal meaning of the word "rack" in line two is which of the following?

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. What is a "keel" (line 4)?

5. By which other term, besides "Captain," does the speaker address the captain of the ship?

(see the answer key)

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