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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "O Captain! My Captain!" lines 1-24.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the second quatrain of the second stanza, what becomes clear about the speaker's state of mind?
(a) He is afraid that he is in some way responsible for the captain's death.
(b) He is actually asleep and only dreaming of the captain's death.
(c) He hopes to hide the captain's death from the crowd.
(d) He has not fully accepted the captain's death.

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

3. The poem's title and first line contain an example of which technique?
(a) Synechdoche.
(b) Simile.
(c) Apostrophe.
(d) Personification.

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

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

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

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

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

5. Which term describes the poem's repeated use of the phrases "O Captain! My Captain!" (lines 1 and 9) and "fallen cold and dead" (lines 8, 16, and 24)?

(see the answer key)

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