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(Story: O captain! My captain!)

1. Re-read the poem below. Then choose the best answer for the following * 1 point question.
The speaker of this poem is upset about which event?
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack,' the prize we sought? is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel,' the vessel grim and
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
10 Rise up-for you the flag is flung'— for you the bugle trills, For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores
a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces
turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck, You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and
20 From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,s
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
The ship sank in the harbor at the end of the war.
• The president was assassinated at the end of the war.
• The loud bells were ringing at the end of the war.
• The funeral procession was finished at the end of the war.
Why are "the people all exulting" in line 3? *
• The ship has returned with "the prize... won."
• The ringing of the bells signals a celebration.
• They don't see that the ship is "grim and daring."
• They aren't aware that the Captain is dead.
1 point
3. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A, then Part B. *
Part A: What other name for the Captain does the speaker use?
• "the prize" (line 2)
• "O heart" (line 5)
• "dear father" (line 13)
O "the victor ship" (line 20)

4. Part B: What was Whitman's likely purpose for choosing this other name * 1 point for the Captain?
• to create uncertainty about the identity of the Captain
• to suggest that the speaker is the Captain's biological son
• to emphasize the Captain's responsibilities and duties
• to show the speaker's respect and love for the Captain
5. Which of the following identifies some of the poetic techniques used in this poem? Select all that apply.
* 1 point
an extended metaphor comparing the president to a captain and the ship's voyage to the winning of the Civil War.
sensory details like the description of the Captain's blood with "O the bleeding drops of red.."
irony that the crowds are celebrating at the same time that the president is dead.
■
a valid argument that ship captains are more important than wartime presidents

1 answer

Sure! Here are the best answers for the questions based on the poem "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman.

  1. The speaker of this poem is upset about which event?

    • The president was assassinated at the end of the war.

  2. Why are "the people all exulting" in line 3?

    • They aren't aware that the Captain is dead.

  3. Part A: What other name for the Captain does the speaker use?

    • "dear father" (line 13)

  4. Part B: What was Whitman's likely purpose for choosing this other name for the Captain?

    • to suggest that the speaker is the Captain's biological son

  5. Which of the following identifies some of the poetic techniques used in this poem? Select all that apply.

    • an extended metaphor comparing the president to a captain and the ship's voyage to the winning of the Civil War.
    • sensory details like the description of the Captain's blood with "O the bleeding drops of red.."
    • irony that the crowds are celebrating at the same time that the president is dead.

These answers capture the themes and techniques that Whitman uses in the poem.