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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 is the best interpretation of line 9, when the speaker urges "O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells"?

2. By which other term, besides "Captain," does the speaker address the captain of the ship?

3. What is a "keel" (line 4)?

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

5. Which technique is evident in line 10, "Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write an essay that takes and defends a position about how the poem characterizes its own speaker--and by extension, how it characterizes the individual American. Offer evidence drawn from the poem's diction, figurative language, details, imagery, and structure as you defend your claims.

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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