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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. The poem's title and first line contain an example of which technique?

3. Who is the speaker of the poem?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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