Q01of 10
What is the central purpose of the extended musk-chest simile in the poem's opening twelve lines?
Q02of 10
When the speaker declares he would 'give more for one live bobolink / Than a square mile o' larks in printer's ink,' he is primarily making a point about:
Q03of 10
Which structural technique does Lowell use most consistently to describe the arrival of spring throughout the poem?
Q04of 10
In lines 77–84, spring's eventual arrival is compared to a river breaking through an ice dam. What quality of New England character does the speaker say this image reflects?
Q05of 10
What does the speaker mean when he warns city girls not to 'go it / Blind on the word o' noospaper or poet'?
Q06of 10
The Pilgrim Father ghost tells Hosea to 'Smite 'em hip an' thigh' and invoke Cromwell. Hosea's rebuttal accuses this view of being:
Q07of 10
Which of the following best describes the poem's primary speaker, Hosea Biglow?
Q08of 10
In the schoolhouse meditation on time (lines 150–166), what is the speaker's central observation about human nature?
Q09of 10
The phrase 'mejums lie so like all-split' refers to which practice that the Pilgrim Father ghost tried in order to learn about current events?
Q10of 10
The ancestor warns Hosea that 'The rettlesnake ain't dangerous in the tail.' In context, what do the 'tail' and the 'fangs' represent respectively?
0 / 10 answered