View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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 bad idea from the beginning.
(d) A metaphor for an internal struggle.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14. 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 part of a ship's steering mechanism, found at the back of the ship.
(d) A measurement of the speed a ship is traveling.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

4. Which details in the second stanza evoke a patriotic occasion?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 546 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample