View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. Which is the best interpretation of line 9, when the speaker urges "O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells"?
(a) The speaker is having trouble accepting what has happened.
(b) The speaker is addressing the captain's spirit or ghost.
(c) The speaker is not yet aware that the captain has died.
(d) The speaker realizes that the captain is not actually dead yet.

4. What type of rhyme is employed in line 20, "From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won"?
(a) Near rhyme.
(b) Eye rhyme.
(c) Internal rhyme.
(d) Identical rhyme.

5. What is the rhyme pattern of the first four lines of each stanza?
(a) ABAC.
(b) ABBA.
(c) AABB.
(d) ABCB.

6. What is the most common type of metrical foot in "O Captain! My Captain!"?
(a) The dactyl.
(b) The iamb.
(c) The spondee.
(d) The trochee.

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

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

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

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

11. Line 4, "While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring," contains examples of which techniques?
(a) Synecdoche and personification.
(b) Simie and alliteration.
(c) Personification and simile.
(d) Alliteration and synecdoche.

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

13. By which other term, besides "Captain," does the speaker address the captain of the ship?
(a) Father.
(b) Brother.
(c) Master.
(d) Leader.

14. Line 5, " But O heart! heart! heart!" is an example of which technique?
(a) Apostrophe.
(b) Paradox.
(c) Aphorism.
(d) Euphemism.

15. What is the most accurate way to describe the poem's stanza form?
(a) Double quatrain.
(b) Sestet.
(c) Double tercet.
(d) Octave.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In context, the literal meaning of the word "rack" in line two is which of the following?

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

4. 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)?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 554 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample