PART IV LITERATURE AND LIFE IN THE HOMELAND (continued 5)
Reading edition
Discussion. 1. Tell what you can of the author, noting anything in his life that was common to that of Lincoln. 2. Name the qualities that the poet says made Lincoln “one of Nature’s masterpieces.” 3. What does “homely” mean as used in the first line? 4. From your study of pictures of Lincoln what other words can you suggest to describe his features? 5. Explain the meaning of “cunning with the pen.” 6. Repeat any of Lincoln’s famous sayings you know. 7. What does the eighth line tell you of Lincoln’s character? 8. How did his humor help him to win? 9. Why was the “burden of the Commonwealth” so great and why was it laid on his shoulders? 10. Toward what did the road tend “suddenly downward,” and how did Lincoln meet the situation created by Secession? 11. What reasons can you give for calling him a “Benefactor of the Race”? 12. Compare the achievements of Lincoln with those of Washington. 13. Which do you think the better description, that written by Stoddard or that by Jefferson?
Phrases
unfought victories won, 587, 3
large designs, 587, 5
Atlas load, 587, 9
burden of the Commonwealth, 587, 10
not a whit dismayed, 587, 12
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
WALT WHITMAN
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills. For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here, Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck You’ve fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; Exult, O shores! and ring, O bells! But I with mournful tread Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
For Biography, see page 556.
Discussion. 1. Tell what you know of the poet that fitted him to write of Lincoln’s character and achievements. 2. In this poem the Union is compared to a ship; who is the captain of the ship? 3. What fate befalls the captain, and at what stage of the voyage? 4. What “port” has been reached? 5. What is “the prize we sought and won”? 6. Point out words of rejoicing and of sorrow in the last stanza. 7. What parts of the poem impress you with the deep personal grief of the poet? 8. This poem put into words the nation’s deep grief at the time of Lincoln’s death; do you think this accounts for the wide popularity of the poem? 9. Read Whitman’s poem, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed,” describing the journey of the train bearing the body of the martyred President from Washington to Springfield, Illinois.
Phrases
weather’d every rack, 588, 2
all exulting, 588, 3
steady keel, 588, 4
swaying mass, 589, 4
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
LIEUT. COL. JOHN D. McCRAE
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks still bravely singing fly, Scarce heard amidst the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe! To you from falling hands we throw The torch. Be yours to hold it high! If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
Biography. John D. McCrae, a physician of Montreal, was made a Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Army and went overseas early in the war. He died of pneumonia at the front in January, 1918. This beautiful poem, was written by him during the second battle of Ypres, April, 1915.
Discussion. 1. Tell in your own words the scene which the poet describes in the first five lines. 2. Of what is the poppy a symbol? 3. What does the poet bid us do? 4. What do you think was the motive which inspired Lieutenant Colonel McCrae to write this poem?
Phrases
poppies blow, 590, 1
mark our place, 590, 3
felt dawn, 590, 7
falling hands, 590, 11
AMERICA’S ANSWER
R. W. LILLARD
Rest ye in peace, ye Flanders dead. The fight that ye so bravely led We’ve taken up. And we will keep True faith with you who lie asleep With each a cross to mark his bed, And poppies blowing overhead, Where once his own lifeblood ran red. So let your rest be sweet and deep In Flanders fields. Fear not that ye have died for naught. The torch ye threw to us we caught. Ten million hands will hold it high, And Freedom’s light shall never die! We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught In Flanders fields.
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
Biography. “America’s Answer” was written by R. W. Lillard of New York City after the death of Lieutenant Colonel McCrae, the author of “In Flanders Fields.” It was printed in the New York Evening Post as a fitting response to the sentiment expressed in Dr. McCrae’s poem.
Discussion. 1. Why does the poet say that the “Flanders dead” may now rest in peace? 2. Who took up the struggle? 3. Why does the poet say that the heroes of Flanders have not “died for naught”? 4. Do you think this poem is as stirring as the one that precedes it?
Phrases
true faith, 591, 4
lifeblood, 591, 7
Freedom’s light, 591, 13
learned the lesson, 591, 14