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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 5 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Go online and read Whitman's poem "When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d." This poem was also written to memorialize President Lincoln. Write an essay that compares and contrasts the themes of this poem and that of "O Captain! My Captain!" Support your assertions about each poem's theme with evidence from the text of both poems.

Essay Topic 2

Go online and do some research about Whitman's beliefs about the relationship of music and poetry. Write an essay in which you first explain what these beliefs were and then apply them to your reading of "O Captain! My Captain!" Use both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem to support your observations. Be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

How do the metrical and rhyme schemes of "O Captain! My Captain!" support the poem's larger thematic concerns? Write an essay that describes the rhyme and meter used in the poem. Then, tie these choices to Whitman's larger thematic concerns in this poem.

(see the answer keys)

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