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Storgy

Quiz — Storgy

TO THE PAST.

by James Russell Lowell.

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

Q01of 10

What dominant metaphor organizes the entire poem's vision of the Past?

Q02of 10

In the second stanza, Egypt is personified as 'half woman and half beast' holding a 'burnt-out torch.' What does the extinguished torch most directly symbolize?

Q03of 10

The line 'Still as a city buried 'neath the sea' is an example of which poetic technique?

Q04of 10

Who or what is 'Asser' in the third line of the second stanza, described as 'a dotard bleared and hoary'?

Q05of 10

What is the overall tone of the poem's opening three stanzas compared with its concluding stanzas?

Q06of 10

In the fifth stanza, the speaker compares messages from the Past to 'wraiths of ships / On the mirage's ocean.' What idea does this imagery convey?

Q07of 10

The 'Fortunate Isles' mentioned near the poem's end are best understood as an allusion to which tradition?

Q08of 10

Which of the following best describes the poem's ultimate argument about the relationship between Past and Present?

Q09of 10

The phrase 'unmonarched eyes' (stanza four) is best interpreted to mean that the Titanic shapes are gazing with eyes that reflect:

Q10of 10

According to the poem's comprehension, what happens when 'a grim shadow of thy living death / Across our sunshine falls'?

0 / 10 answered

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