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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 a "keel" (line 4)?
(a) The central and largest sail on a three-masted ship.
(b) A flat structure at the bottom of a ship, designed to add stability.
(c) A part of a ship's steering mechanism, found at the back of the ship.
(d) A measurement of the speed a ship is traveling.

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

3. What feature of the Captain's face does line 17 focus on?
(a) His eyes.
(b) His chin.
(c) His mouth.
(d) His brow.

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

5. The list of ways the crowd is celebrating the arrival of the ship in lines 9-12 is an example of which technique?
(a) Understatement.
(b) Periphrasis.
(c) Accumulation.
(d) Paraprosdokian.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of rhyme is employed in line 20, "From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won"?

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

3. Which details in the second stanza evoke a patriotic occasion?

4. Line 6, "O the bleeding drops of red," is an example of which technique?

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

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

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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