Miniver Cheevy

Question

by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Miniver sighed for what was not,
And dreamed, and rested from his labors;
He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot,
And Priam's neighbors.

Minever mourned the ripe renown
That made so many a name so fragrant;
He mourned Romance, now on the town,
And Art, a vagrant.

Minever loved the Medici,
Albeit he had never seen one;
He would have sinned incessantly
Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace
And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;
He missed the mediæval grace
Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought,
But sore annoyed was he without it;
Miniver thought, and thought, and thought,
And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late,
Scratched his head and kept on thinking;
Miniver coughed, and called it fate,
And kept on drinking.

Which line from the poem contains an example of allusion?
Responses
A "Minever mourned the ripe renown...""Minever mourned the ripe renown..."
B "He would have sinned incessantly...""He would have sinned incessantly..."
C "He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot...""He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot..."
D "...scratched his head and kept on thinking;""...scratched his head and kept on thinking;"
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Answer 1

The correct answer is C. "He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot..." This line references two well-known ancient cities, Thebes and Camelot, which are often associated with myth and legend. This is an example of an allusion, as it references familiar cultural or literary works without explicitly stating them.