Question

This excerpt from Annus Mirabilis by John Dryden speaks about London after it was ravaged by fire and plague. What is the central idea of the excerpt?

Answer 1

More great than human now, and more august,
Now deified she from her fires does rise:
Her widening streets on new foundations trust,
And opening into larger parts she flies.

Before, she like some shepherdess did show,
Who sat to bathe her by a river's side;
Not answering to her fame, but rude and low,
Nor taught the beauteous arts of modern pride.
. . .

Now, like a maiden queen, she will behold,
From her high turrets, hourly suitors come;
The East with incense, and the West with gold,
Will stand, like suppliants, to receive her doom!

The silver Thames, her own domestic flood,
Shall bear her vessels like a sweeping train;
And often wind, as of his mistress proud,
With longing eyes to meet her face again.

Answer 2

A.) The growth and development of the city will endanger the river.
B.) London will once again thrive despite the calamities that befell it.
C.) The queen will welcome suitors from all across the world.
D.) The Thames River will be flooded and will cause disaster.