AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
Reading edition
By Katharine Lee Bates
O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America!5 God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for pilgrim feet, Whose stern, impassioned stress10 A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, 15 Thy liberty in law! O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life!20 America! America! May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness And every gain divine! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees, beyond the years, Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America!5 God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!
1. The author mentions many ways in which America is beautiful. Which of these are real, matter-of-fact? Which are not?
2. To whom is the reference in lines 9-10 applicable? Explain lines 14-16. Paraphrase line 19. What is meant by line 7, page 353?
3. Memorize at least one stanza of the poem.