Dora Williams Practice Quiz — Spoon River Anthology
by Edgar Lee Masters — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Dora Williams
Who "threw" Dora Williams?
Reuben Pantier — she is likely the "milliner’s daughter" he mentions in his poem.
How many cities does Dora pass through?
Five: Springfield, Chicago, New York, Paris, and Rome — each representing a step up in wealth and further from home.
How does Dora die?
"He poisoned me, I think" — her final husband, Count Navigato of Genoa, likely murdered her in Rome.
What does "Implora eterna quiete" mean?
"She implores eternal rest" (Italian) — ironic for a woman who never stopped moving from city to city.
What is the only moment of genuine emotion in the poem?
"I saw his purple face for years thereafter" — the parenthetical memory of the magnate who died in her arms, quickly suppressed.
How does Dora contrast with Reuben Pantier?
Both were damaged by the same breakup, but Reuben found redemption through Emily Sparks’ memory while Dora spiraled into cynicism and manipulation.
What does Dora become in Paris?
"Insidious, subtle, versed in the world and rich" — hosting a salon near the Champs-Élysées for musicians, poets, dandies, and nobles.
What literary form does the poem follow?
A picaresque narrative — a roguish character moving through a series of episodes in different settings, each more extreme than the last.
Where is Dora buried?
In the Campo Santo (holy ground/cemetery) overlooking the sea near where Columbus dreamed — a grandiose final resting place for a girl from Spoon River.