ABSTRACT
The Sidney Family Psalter and the hybrid Discourse, taken together, expand a particular family's genealogy to encompass figures and concepts of time that challenge linearity, moving familial origins, belonging, inheritance and descent into spiritual and indeed eschatological contexts. The verse that Drayton subsequently offers as her memorial will be “ ingrav'd” on the “leaves” of a “Lawrell tree,” dual emblems of poetic excellence. In fact, rather than developing Mary and Philip as Miriam and Moses, Donne turns towards a different set of images and a different poetic genealogy to address this brother-sister creative relationship. David's “cloven tongue,” of course, summons up images of Pentecost and the tongues of fire that descend upon the Apostles, freeing them to speak to the crowds in many languages or tongues possibly the most important figure for divine inspiration in Scripture.
