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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Which technique is evident in the phrase "for you the flag is flung" (line 10)?

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

3. What type of rhyme is employed in line 20, "From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won"?

4. Line 5, " But O heart! heart! heart!" is an example of which technique?

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

(see the answer keys)

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