Hawthorne. He was much in demand as a speaker; after his return he published a collection of addresses delivered in England. Notable among these was the speech on Democracy, a clear and effective presentation of American ideals. The sane point of view, the absence of boastfulness or undue optimism make it a political document of permanent value. Lowell returned to America in 1885 and settled down again in Cambridge. His position in the eyes of his countrymen during the closing period of his career was similar to that occupied by Bryant twenty years earlier: the breadth of his achievement in life not less than in literature caused him to be regarded as the most representative citizen of the country. He is also our most representative man of letters; his writings reflect many and varied phases of life, and reflect them through the mentality of the scholar and the virility of the man of the world. 105. The Vision of Sir Launfal. The passages selected from the "misty legend" of Sir Launfal are those which are generally considered the most beautiful portions of the poem. The story itself is somewhat vaguely told. Sir Launfal, the young knight, is sleeping on the rushes in his castle hall the night before setting forth on the quest of the Holy Grail and to him there comes a dream of the quest. In the dream he goes out and spends many years in the search, but learns in the end that the opportunity for service the true quest of the Grail" lies in the common tasks of everyday life. This tale Lowell has set in a framework of beautiful verse. The descriptions of spring and winter in the two Preludes constitute as fine work as he ever wrote. 16. the musing organist. The organist muses above his keys listlessly at first; then gradually form and harmony creep into his music over the bridge that his melody has built from dreamland, and his theme takes definite shape. So with the poet; his wandering imagination, dim and half-formed, slowly grows into concrete expression. It is fitting that the poem, itself a dream and an allegory, should have an introduction based on the symbolism of music. 22. faint auroral flushes. The first faint outlines of the poet's thought are like the earliest glimmerings of light in the east before sunrise. 24. Not only around our infancy, etc. Reminiscent of Wordsworth's Ode on the Intimations of Immortality, especially the part beginning: Heaven lies about us in our infancy. The The 27. We Sinais climb. Mount Sinai was the mountain where Moses talked with God- see Exodus, XIX, XX. four lines closing here give the keynote of the poem. wonders of God are about us all the time, if only we can free our souls from earthly thoughts to see them. 106, 5. druid wood. The Druids were the priests of the ancient Celts. The trees here are compared to these old priests, offering a benediction. Every power of nature, says the poet, has a meaning which will help us, if we will open our hearts to its teaching. 21. what is so rare as a day in June, etc. This passage is one of the most rapturous and most beautiful nature pieces in American literature. To Lowell, June was always "the hightide of the year"; he refers to it on various occasions in his poetry and always with the same delight. See, for example, Under the Willows: June is the pearl of our New England year Long she lies in wait, Makes many a feint, peeps forth, draws coyly back, With one great gush of blossoms storms the world. and Suthin' in the Pastoral Line: Our Spring gets everything in tune And gives one leap from April into June. 30. Climbs to a Soul, etc. Lines Written in Early Spring: Compare Wordsworth, And 'tis my faith that every flower In his intimate sympathy with nature and in his fine expression of that sympathy, Lowell was definitely influenced by Wordsworth. With Lowell's nature poems you should compare Wordsworth's poems already mentioned and also his Education of Nature. 107, 3. The cowslip startles. Surprises the eye with its brilliant yellow. 14. nice ear. Closely discriminating. 108, 10. Down swept the chill wind, etc. This is the Prelude to the second part of the Vision. The description of a winter scene is remarkably clean-cut and true to nature. 11. five thousand summers old. Why instead of "winters"? 12. wold. A high barren plain. 66 summers 66 20. groined his arches. "Groined arches " are formed by the intersection of two arches. The whole picture of the winter work of the brook is compared to the interior of a Gothic cathedral; note such epithets as groined," crypt," arches," etc. Compare this passage with the description in Whittier's Snow-bound. Do you think that Lowell's is " 'bookish," as compared with the other? Which of the two appeals to you more strongly? 109, 3. sharp relief. Standing out prominently from the surface. crystal. 4. arabesques. Fanciful, complicated patterns. 9. crystalled the beams. Caught the light as in a 21. corbel. A stone bracket projecting from the wall to support the foot of the rafter. 24. Yule-log. The great log brought in with much ceremony on Christmas Eve. Which of the two Preludes gives the better series of pictures? Which produces the better general effect? In both cases, make a list of words and phrases which are especially appropriate for the purpose in view. 110, 6. Where's Peace, etc. These stanzas are taken from the number of the Biglow Papers which was published in The Atlantic Monthly near the close of the Civil War. They express the longing for peace which was filling the hearts of all men. Underneath the fantastic Yankee dialect may be traced the deep personal feeling of Lowell, who had lost three young nephews in battle. What kind of thoughts are suggested to the poet by "Ma'am Natur'"? Explain carefully. 112, 9. Abraham Lincoln. The passage is taken from the Commemoration Ode, recited on July 21, 1865, at the service held at Harvard College in memory of Harvard men who fell in the Civil War. As a whole, the Ode is marked by a sustained nobility of feeling and nobility of thought, and has been regarded as Lowell's "most splendid work." The section on Lincoln was added after the poem was read, but is " so completely imbedded in the structure of the Ode that it is difficult to think of it as an afterthought." The characterization is final, representing in effective form the ideas that most Americans hold of their great President. Picture facing page 112. This fine statue, the work of Daniel Chester French, stands in Lincoln, Nebraska. 113, 8. outward grace is dust. An allusion to Lincoln's rather awkward personal appearance. 25. one of Plutarch's men. Plutarch, a famous Greek, was author of Lives of renowned Greeks and Romans. Write a prose characterization of Lincoln, following the plan and ideas of the poem. 114, 14. Virginia. In 1775 Washington took command of the American Army at Cambridge, standing under an elm-tree near the Common. One hundred years later the event was commemorated by the citizens of the town, and Lowell read an Ode called Under the Old Elm. From this Ode the lines are taken. Lowell pictures the services of Washington in organizing into an effective fighting force the motley array of the "Continentals," and finally utters words of praise for Virginia, who gave the great general to the country. The poet here makes reparation for various harsh utterances against the South which found place in his Biglow Papers and other writings during the stress of the anti-slavery movement and the Civil War. Lowell said that he "held out a friendly hand” to Virginia. Show how he does it. 116. Freedom. These lines form the opening of the Ode written in 1875 for the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Fight at Concord Bridge. Lowell called it "an improvisation"; and, while the passage quoted has a fine spontaneity, yet the note is not sustained throughout. Picture facing page 116. The colossal statue of "Liberty enlightening the world" stands on Bedloe's Island, in New York Harbor. It was presented to the United States by France in 1886. The sculptor was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Dimensions: height of statue, 151 fcet; of pedestal, 155 feet. 17. The Courtin'. An idyll of New England country life. It was published in the First Series of The Biglow Papers, and was repeated as a kind of introduction to the Second. 117, 9. crook-necks. Crookneck squashes. 11. ole queen's-arm. Old musket, so-called because it bore the stamp of Queen Anne, 1707. 24. dror a furrer. Guide the plow along a furrow. 118, 4. south slope. The sunny side of a hill. 7. Ole Hunderd. "Old Hundred," one of the most popular of the old-time hymn-tunes. 22. Some doubtfle o' the sekle. Doubtful as to how things would turn out. sekle, sequel. 120, 2. Bay o' Fundy. A deep bay lying between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, remarkable for its high tides. 3. they was cried. That is, their "banns " were given out in church - the announcement of their wedding. Does the opening of the poem appeal to you? Is the ending satisfactory? Comment upon the dialect form. 120. The Fountain. One of the early poems; a light fancy. Can you explain how the simple language is made to give a fine picture? 121. To the Dandelion. Like Burns, Lowell finds beauty in the common wayside flower. "Thought and language are |