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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. Where is the ship in the beginning of the poem?
(a) On the open sea.
(b) Just coming into port.
(c) Just leaving the port.
(d) Docked in the port.

2. The poem's title and first line contain an example of which technique?
(a) Personification.
(b) Synechdoche.
(c) Simile.
(d) Apostrophe.

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

4. What feature of the Captain's face does line 17 focus on?
(a) His mouth.
(b) His eyes.
(c) His chin.
(d) His brow.

5. 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 addressing the captain's spirit or ghost.
(d) The speaker is having trouble accepting what has happened.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the rhyme pattern of the first four lines of each stanza?

2. 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)?

3. Which technique is evident in line 10, "Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills"?

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

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

(see the answer key)

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