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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. Line 6, "O the bleeding drops of red," is an example of which technique?
(a) Oxymoron.
(b) Conceit.
(c) Imagery.
(d) Metonymy.

2. In the second quatrain of the second stanza, what becomes clear about the speaker's state of mind?
(a) He is actually asleep and only dreaming of the captain's death.
(b) He is afraid that he is in some way responsible for 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.

3. What does it mean that the people are "exulting"?
(a) They are drinking and celebrating.
(b) They are quietly watchful.
(c) They are cheering excitedly.
(d) They are crying out in grief.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. The list of ways the crowd is celebrating the arrival of the ship in lines 9-12 is an example of which technique?

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

3. What feature of the Captain's face does line 17 focus on?

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

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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