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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 is the most common type of metrical foot in "O Captain! My Captain!"?
(a) The iamb.
(b) The trochee.
(c) The dactyl.
(d) The spondee.

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

3. Line 4, "While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring," contains examples of which techniques?
(a) Synecdoche and personification.
(b) Personification and simile.
(c) Simie and alliteration.
(d) Alliteration and synecdoche.

4. Where is the ship in the beginning of the poem?
(a) Docked in the port.
(b) On the open sea.
(c) Just coming into port.
(d) Just leaving the port.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

4. What does the phrase "swaying mass" refer to (line 12)?

5. What is the rhyme pattern of the first four lines of each stanza?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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