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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Line 6, "O the bleeding drops of red," is an example of which technique?
(a) Conceit.
(b) Oxymoron.
(c) Imagery.
(d) Metonymy.

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

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

5. Line 4, "While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring," contains examples of which techniques?
(a) Synecdoche and personification.
(b) Personification and simile.
(c) Simie and alliteration.
(d) Alliteration and synecdoche.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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

9. Which technique is evident in the phrase "for you the flag is flung" (line 10)?
(a) Sibilance.
(b) Cacophony.
(c) Assonance.
(d) Alliteration.

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

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

12. 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.

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

14. Which details in the second stanza evoke a patriotic occasion?
(a) The bouquets and wreaths.
(b) The captain and the bells.
(c) The flag and bugle.
(d) The crowd and the shore.

15. The list of ways the crowd is celebrating the arrival of the ship in lines 9-12 is an example of which technique?
(a) Paraprosdokian.
(b) Accumulation.
(c) Periphrasis.
(d) Understatement.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the second quatrain of the second stanza, what becomes clear about the speaker's state of mind?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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