Question

Select the correct text in the passage. Which line in this excerpt from The Raven alludes to the Garden of Eden?

a) Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

b) But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

c) Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore.'

d) Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

Answer 1

The phrase 'Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor' alludes to the Garden of Eden through the reference to seraphim, biblical angels often connected with heaven, paralleling the poem's supernatural themes. The correct option is d.

Step-by-step explanation:

The line from the excerpt of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe that alludes to the Garden of Eden is d) Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. The term 'Seraphim' refers to an order of angels, which is often associated with the biblical heavens.

The allusion here is to the heavenly, almost untouchable aspect of the Garden of Eden, aligning with the poem's themes of the supernatural and the divine. Moreover, the Garden of Eden is a symbol for paradise and untainted beauty, similar to the idealized qualities associated with the seraphim. The correct option is d.