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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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 has not fully accepted the captain's death.
(c) He is afraid that he is in some way responsible for the captain's death.
(d) He is actually asleep and only dreaming of the captain's death.

2. 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 realizes that the captain is not actually dead yet.
(b) The speaker is not yet aware that the captain has died.
(c) The speaker is addressing the captain's spirit or ghost.
(d) The speaker is having trouble accepting what has happened.

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

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)?
(a) Conceit.
(b) Refrain.
(c) Chorus.
(d) Verse.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What does it mean that the people are "exulting"?

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

5. Line 6, "O the bleeding drops of red," is an example of which technique?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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