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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. In context, the word "fearful" in line 1 indicates that the trip was which of the following?
(a) A metaphor for an internal struggle.
(b) The cause of the captain's death.
(c) A bad idea from the beginning.
(d) Full of frightening obstacles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. 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.

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

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

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

15. 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.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

4. The list of ways the crowd is celebrating the arrival of the ship in lines 9-12 is an example of which technique?

5. What is the most common type of metrical foot in "O Captain! My Captain!"?

(see the answer keys)

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