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

3. Who is the speaker of the poem?

4. What type of rhyme is employed in line 20, "From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won"?

5. What is the most common type of metrical foot in "O Captain! My Captain!"?

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

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

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

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 2

Go online and read Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Autumn: A Dirge." Write an essay comparing and contrasting the mournful and song-like features of this poem with those in "O Captain! My Captain!" Offer both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both poems in defense of your observations.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that analyzes Whitman's use of synecdoche and metonymy in "O Captain! My Captain!" Identify where these techniques are used in the poem and explain the meaning of each instance. Then, explore the relationship these techniques assert between individuals and groups and tie this to the poem's overall meaning.

(see the answer keys)

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