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

2. The poem's title and first line contain an example of which technique?

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

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Go online and read Whitman's poem "Each Has His Grief." Then, write an essay in which you compare and contrast messages about death and the isolating nature of grief in this poem and in "O Captain! My Captain!" Use quoted and paraphrased evidence from both poems in support of your claims.

Essay Topic 2

How does Whitman's use of musical devices support the poem's theme? Write an essay that identifies where Whitman uses assonance, consonance, and alliteration and explains the effect these devices create. Then, tie Whitman's use of these devices to the poem's larger thematic concerns.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you propose and defend a statement of theme for "O Captain! My Captain!" that takes into account key features of the poem: the celebration of Lincoln and grief over his death, the interrelated nature of victory and loss, and the relationship between the individual and the group. Offer both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem in support of your claims.

(see the answer keys)

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