All its shallows and rocky reefs, All those secret currents, that flow And lift and drift, with terrible force, Therefore he spake, and thus said he: 10 Floats and swings the horizon's bound, And climb the crystal wall of the skies, As if we could slide from its outer brink. 15 Ah! it is not the sea, It is not the sea that sinks and shelves, That rock and rise With endless and uneasy motion, 20 Now touching the very skies, Now sinking into the depths of ocean. 25 To the toil and the task we have to do, 30 Then the Master, With a gesture of command, Waved his hand; And at the word, Loud and sudden there was heard, 35 All around them and below, The sound of hammers, blow on blow, She starts-she moves-she seems to feel And lo! from the assembled crowd "Take her, O bridegroom, old and gray, 15 How beautiful she is! How fair She lies within those arms, that press 20 Through wind and wave, right onward steer! The moistened eye, the trembling lip, Are not the signs of doubt or fear. Sail forth into the sea of life, Something immortal still survives! Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate! Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee, 20 Are all with thee-are all with thee! NOTES AND QUESTIONS For Biography, see page 163. Discussion. 1. What two stories run side by side in this poem? 2. Who is represented as speaking the first four lines? To whom are these words addressed? Compare the thought expressed in lines 7-8, page 617, with that of the poem "Work: A Song of Triumph." 3. What is the story of the "Great Harry"? 4. What trees are mentioned as furnishing timber for the vessel? 5. What comparison do the long level shadows of the early morning bring to the mind of the poet? 6. What is the significance of having Maine cedar and Georgia pine help to build a vessel which is to be called The Union? 7. Read the lines in which the poet first compares the master's daughter to a ship. 8. To what does the poet compare the rudder of the ship? To what does he compare the anchor? To what does he compare the pines that were felled to make the masts? 9. Find lines that describe the flag at the mast head. 10. What two brides does the poet show us? 11. Find lines in which he addresses the ship that has been launched. 12. Find lines addressed to the girl who has become the wife of the ship builder. 13. Read the lines addressed to the "Ship of State." 14. What lines on page 619 suggest the need of coöperation? Compare the thought in lines 1-3, page 628, with what Webster says in "The American Experiment." 15. How many of the terms used by the poet in describing the building of the ship are familiar to you? 16. Where or how did you learn the ones you know? How did Longfellow learn so much about ships? 17. Perhaps these lines from his poem, "My Lost Youth," will help you to understand how it was possible for Longfellow to write so beautifully and lovingly about a ship. "I remember the black wharves and the slips, And the sea-tides tossing free, And Spanish sailors with bearded lips, And the beauty and mystery of the ships, 18. Tell what you know about ship-building in America during the World War. 19. Library reading: Our Industrial Victory, Schwab; "Ships for the Seven Seas," Graves (in the National Geographic Magazine, September, 1918); "Cargoes," Masefield (in Collected Poems). 20. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: rood; argosy; behest; Naiad; sark. 21. Pronounce: stanch; miniature; coral. Phrases giveth grace unto every Art, 617, 8 answer to his inward thought, 617, 25 Great Harry, 617, 29 docile to the helm, 618, 16 heir of his dexterity, 619, 25 scarfed and bolted, 621, 3 jaded steers, 623, 30 shorn of their streaming hair, 623, 34 Ship of State, 627, 32 You read in the Introduction, pages 9, 10, that in one sense literature knows no time or place, yet in another sense it reflects the life and ideals of a definite race and of a particular time. What is there in the poem "Columbus" that belongs to all people and to all time? In what sense is this poem a part of American history? Does the poem Snow-Bound picture scenes of pioneer America merely or has it also qualities that belong to all time? What quality do we recognize in Rip Van Winkle that we find also in ourselves in a greater or less degree? How does this recognition affect our sympathy for Rip? What quality in Evangeline makes her a heroine not merely of colonial time but of all time? What can you tell about this same quality in Ruth, the heroine of a Hebrew story more than two thousand years old? What have Irving, Longfellow, and Hawthorne done to make the history of our country more interesting? What other American author represented in Part IV rendered a like service? Is there any reason for thinking that the humor of Irving and Holmes and Mark Twain is more subtle and delicate than the humor found in the modern magazine and newspaper? What editors of "humor columns" do you feel that you know through reading their daily jokes? What titles are given to such columns in the newspapers that you read? Bring to class some interesting bits of humor from the magazine Life. In Irving's time, and even in that of Holmes, pictures were not widely used to furnish humor for the readers of newspapers and magazines; name some present-day cartoonists and the well-known characters they have. created. Which of these do you enjoy most? How do the members of your family differ in their enjoyment of the "funny pictures"? Discuss in class different kinds of cartoons: (1) those |