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

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

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

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that considers the following: what message does the poem's central conceit send about the necessity of any one individual--even a president--to a collective effort like the preservation of the Union? Offer evidence from the poem to support your claims, and if you use outside sources for information related to the poem's historical background, be sure to cite these in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Go online and do some research about Whitman's beliefs about the relationship of music and poetry. Write an essay in which you first explain what these beliefs were and then apply them to your reading of "O Captain! My Captain!" Use both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem to support your observations. Be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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