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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

13. 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 is afraid that he is in some way responsible for the captain's death.
(c) He has not fully accepted the captain's death.
(d) He is actually asleep and only dreaming of the captain's death.

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

15. By which other term, besides "Captain," does the speaker address the captain of the ship?
(a) Brother.
(b) Leader.
(c) Master.
(d) Father.

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 accurate way to describe the poem's stanza form?

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

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 feature of the Captain's face does line 17 focus on?

(see the answer keys)

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