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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 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) A thorough sorting or sifting.
(d) Storm or upheaval.

2. What is the rhyme pattern of the first four lines of each stanza?
(a) ABAC.
(b) ABBA.
(c) ABCB.
(d) AABB.

3. Who is the speaker of the poem?
(a) A doctor.
(b) A sailor.
(c) A writer.
(d) A soldier.

4. In the second quatrain of the second stanza, what becomes clear about the speaker's state of mind?
(a) He is actually asleep and only dreaming of the captain's death.
(b) He hopes to hide the captain's death from the crowd.
(c) He is afraid that he is in some way responsible for the captain's death.
(d) He has not fully accepted the captain's death.

5. Which technique is evident in line 10, "Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills"?
(a) Antimetabole.
(b) Antithesis.
(c) Anaphora.
(d) Antistrophe.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

4. What does the phrase "swaying mass" refer to (line 12)?

5. Line 4, "While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring," contains examples of which techniques?

(see the answer key)

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