Skip to content
Storgy

Quiz — Storgy

AN INVITATION.

by James Russell Lowell.

Ten questions on craft, meaning, and form. Untimed. Answer every question to submit.

Q01of 10

What is the occasion that prompted Lowell to write this poem?

Q02of 10

In stanza four, Lowell declares 'You sought the new world in the old, / I found the old world in the new.' What does this antithesis most directly convey?

Q03of 10

The image of the smoke-pennon that 'shut the distance like a grave' (lines 8–9) is best understood as an example of which poetic technique?

Q04of 10

Which classical or literary allusion does Lowell invoke to justify the nine-year gap before writing this poem?

Q05of 10

In stanza seventeen (lines 75–80), the rising moon is compared to 'the commissioned angel's shield' glaring between Adam and Eden. What tone does this allusion to the Book of Genesis introduce?

Q06of 10

The description of the Charles River as a 'steel-blue sickle' (line 44) is an example of which figure of speech?

Q07of 10

What is the central argument Lowell makes in the poem's final three stanzas (lines 103–125)?

Q08of 10

The phrase 'Old Harvard's scholar-factories red' (line 33) is best described as conveying what attitude toward the university?

Q09of 10

Which best describes the overall structure and form of 'An Invitation'?

Q10of 10

In lines 22–30, Lowell argues that a person with perceptive eyes needs no ship to travel to 'Ind and Egypt, Rome and Greece' because such wonders are available in 'our village-microcosm.' What is the primary theme illustrated by this passage?

0 / 10 answered

Standings

Top 10 attempts

No attempts yet. Be the first to climb the standings.