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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. 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.

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

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

5. 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) Refrain.
(b) Chorus.
(c) Conceit.
(d) Verse.

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

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

8. 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) Full of frightening obstacles.
(c) A metaphor for an internal struggle.
(d) A bad idea from the beginning.

9. 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) Paraprosdokian.
(c) Periphrasis.
(d) Accumulation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the most accurate way to describe the poem's stanza form?

2. Where is the ship in the beginning of the poem?

3. Line 6, "O the bleeding drops of red," is an example of which technique?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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