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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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) Accumulation.
(b) Paraprosdokian.
(c) Understatement.
(d) Periphrasis.

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In the second quatrain of the second stanza, what becomes clear about the speaker's state of mind?

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

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

5. Who is the speaker of the poem?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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