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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) Alliteration and synecdoche.
(d) Simie and alliteration.

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

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

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

5. 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.

6. Who is the author of "O Captain! my Captain!"?
(a) William Cullen Bryant.
(b) Walt Whitman.
(c) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
(d) Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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

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

9. What is the most common type of metrical foot in "O Captain! My Captain!"?
(a) The dactyl.
(b) The spondee.
(c) The iamb.
(d) The trochee.

10. What does it mean that the people are "exulting"?
(a) They are cheering excitedly.
(b) They are quietly watchful.
(c) They are crying out in grief.
(d) They are drinking and celebrating.

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. By which other term, besides "Captain," does the speaker address the captain of the ship?

3. Who is the speaker of the poem?

4. 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)?

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

(see the answer keys)

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