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

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

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

4. 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.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the author of "O Captain! my Captain!"?

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

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

4. 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)?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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