View a FREE sample

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. What is a "keel" (line 4)?
(a) A part of a ship's steering mechanism, found at the back of the ship.
(b) The central and largest sail on a three-masted ship.
(c) A flat structure at the bottom of a ship, designed to add stability.
(d) A measurement of the speed a ship is traveling.

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

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

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

5. What type of rhyme is employed in line 20, "From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won"?
(a) Near rhyme.
(b) Internal rhyme.
(c) Identical rhyme.
(d) Eye rhyme.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does it mean that the people are "exulting"?

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

3. The poem's title and first line contain an example of which technique?

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

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

(see the answer key)

This section contains 323 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample