Q01of 10
The gravestone inscription for Expect Wilber states she died 'together w'th other Christian soles eleaven.' What is the most likely meaning of 'eleaven' in this context?
Q02of 10
The epitaph on Expect Wilber's gravestone uses the metaphor of crossing 'y'e stream of Jordan.' What does this image most conventionally represent?
Q03of 10
The speaker notes John Wilber conveyed 'one undivided eightieth part of a salt-meadow.' What is the primary effect of including this detail?
Q04of 10
The poem is structured to resemble which literary or scholarly form?
Q05of 10
The narrator writes that those who doubt genealogical studies are '_fuste potius quam argumento erudiendi_.' What is the tonal effect of this Latin phrase?
Q06of 10
The narrator describes the possible loss of the gravestone epitaph because a 'new hearse-house was built, 1802.' How does this detail function in the poem's overall theme?
Q07of 10
The broken epitaph for the first John Wilber praises him for giving 'y'e wicked familists noe reast' and opposing the 'horrid Qua[kers].' What does Lowell most likely achieve by referencing these Puritan-era religious conflicts?
Q08of 10
The narrator speculates the epitaph may be 'from the pen of Rev. Moody Pyram, who is mentioned by Hubbard as having been noted for a silver vein of poetry.' What literary technique is at work here?
Q09of 10
Which word best describes the dominant tone of the narrator's prose commentary throughout the poem?
Q10of 10
The poem's title lists names—'Haggai, 3. Expect, 4. Ruhamah, 5. Desire'—that appear to be a numbered genealogical sequence. What is most notable about these names as a group?
0 / 10 answered