View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. By which other term, besides "Captain," does the speaker address the captain of the ship?

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

4. Line 6, "O the bleeding drops of red," 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"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What elements of the poem's diction establish a warm and personal relationship between the speaker and the captain?

2. What evidence is there that the speaker is struggling to understand and process the captain's death?

3. Explain the allegorical nature of the poem's central conceit.

4. What ironic contrast do the poem's images highlight?

5. Describe the form of "O Captain! My Captain!"

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 646 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample