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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 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)?
(a) Verse.
(b) Conceit.
(c) Chorus.
(d) Refrain.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

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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