"Truth, crushed to Earth, shill rise again;The eternal years of God are hers;But Error, wounded, writhes with pain,And dies among his worshippers."
The American people certainly felt that Truth was Brushed to Earth with Lincoln's death, but believed that it would triumph.
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY (1780-1843)
Born in Maryland, he graduated from St. John's College, Md., and practiced law in Frederick City, Md. He was district attorney for the District of Columbia during the War of 1812 and while imprisoned by the British on board the ship Minden, Sept. 13, 1814, he witnessed the British attack on Fort McHenry and wrote this national anthem.
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
30. Why is this mentioned as our motto?
JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE (1795-1820)
The "Culprit Fay" is so much better than American poetry had previously been that one is at first disposed to speak of it enthusiastically. An obvious comparison puts it in true perspective. Drake's life happened nearly to coincide with that of Keats.... Amid the full fervor of European experience Keats produced immortal work; Drake, whose whole life was passed amid the national inexperience of New York, produced only pretty fancies."
—BARRETT WENDELL.
Born in New York, he practiced medicine there. He died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-five, and left behind him manuscript verses which were later published by his daughter. "The Culprit Fay," from which selections are here given, is generally considered one of the best productions of early American literature.
THE AMERICAN FLAG
6. milky baldric: the white band supposed by the ancients to circle the earth and called the zodiac. He may here mean the Milky Way as part of this band.
46. careering: rushing swiftly.
47. bellied: rounded, filled out by the gale.
56. welkin: sky.
THE CULPRIT FAY
25. ising-stars: particles of mica.
30. minim: smallest. What objection may be made to this word?
37. Ouphe: elf or goblin.
45. behest: command.
78. shandy: resembling a shell or a scale.
94. oozy: muddy.
107. colen-bell: coined by Drake, probably the columbine.
114. nightshade: a flower also called henbane or belladonna. dern: drear.
119. thrids: threads, makes his way through.
160. prong: probably a prawn; used in this sense only in this one passage.
165. quarl: jelly fish.
178. wake-line: showing by a line of foam the course over which he has passed.
193. amain: at full speed.
210. banned: cursed as by a supernatural power.
216. henbane: see note on line 114.
223. fatal: destined to determine his fate.
245. sculler's notch: depression in which the oar rested.
255. wimpled: undulated.
257. athwart: across.
306. glossed: having gloss, or brightness.
329. This is only the first of the exploits of the Culprit Fay. The second quest is described by the monarch as follows
"If the spray-bead gem be won,The stain of thy wing is washed away,But another errand must be doneEre thy crime be lost for aye;Thy flame-wood lamp is quenched and dark,Thou must re-illume its spark.Mount thy steed and spur him highTo the heaven's blue canopy;And when thou seest a shooting star,Follow it fast, and follow it farThe last feint spark of its burning trainShall light the elfin lamp again."
FITZ-GREENE HALLECK (1790-1867)
"The poems of Halleck are written with great care and finish, and manifest the possession of a fine sense of harmony and of genial and elevated sentiments."
—ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA.
Born in Guilford, Conn., he was the closest friend of Drake, at whose death he wrote his best poem, which is given in this collection. "Marco Bozzaris" aroused great enthusiasm, which has now waned in favor of his simple lines, "On the Death of Joseph Rodman Drake."
MARCO BOZZAARIS
Marco Bozzaris (c. 1790-1823) was a prominent leader in the struggle for Greek liberty and won many victories from the Turks. During the night of August 20, 1823, the Greeks won a complete victory which was saddened by the loss of Bozzaris, who fell while leading his men to the final attack.
13. Suliote: a tribe of Turkish subjects of mixed Greek and Albanian blood, who steadily opposed Turkish rule and won for themselves a reputation for bravery. They fought for Grecian independence under Marco Bozzaris.
16-22. These lines refer to the military history of Greece. See Encyclopedia Britannica—article on Greece (Persian Wars subtitle) for account of the Persian invasion and battle of Plataea.
79. What land did Columbus see first? Where did he from? Why then is he called a Genoese?
107. pilgrim-circled: visited by pilgrims as are shrines.
JOHN HOWARD PAYNE (1791—1802)
Born in New York, he graduated from Union College and later went on the stage. He was appointed U.S. Consul to Tunis, where he died. He is now best remembered by "home Sweet Home" from one of his operas.
EDGAR ALLAN POE (1809-1849)
"Small as the quantity of his true verse is, it more sustains hispeculiar genius in American eyes than does his prose; and this is becauseit is so unique. He stands absolutely alone as a poet, with none likehim."—GEORGE E. WOODBURY
Born in Boston, he spent most of his literary years in New York. His parents, both actors, died when he was still a little child, and he was adopted by Mr. Allan, who educated him in Europe. He served as literary editor and hack writer for several journals and finally died in poverty.
TO HELEN
"To Helen" is said to have been written in 1823, when Poe was only fourteen years old. It refers to Mrs. Jane Stith Stanard, the mother of one of his school friends, whose death was a terrible blow to the sensitive lad. This loss was the cause of numerous poems of sorrow for death and permanently influenced his work.
2. Nicean: Nicaea, the modern Iznik in Turkey, was anciently a Greek province.
2. Nicean barks: the Greek ships that bore the wanderer, Ulysses, from Phaeacia to his home. Read "The Wanderings of Ulysses" in Gayley's Classic Myths, Chapter XXVII.
7. hyacinth: like Hyacinthus, the fabled favorite of Apollo; hence lovely, beautiful.
8. Naiad: a nymph presiding over fountains, lakes, brooks, and wells.
14. Psyche, a beautiful maiden beloved of Cupid, whose adventure with the lamp is told in all classical mythologies.
ISRAFEL
Israfel, according to the Koran, is the angel with the sweetest voice among God's creatures. He will blow the trump on the day of resurrection.
2. The idea that Israfel's lute was more than human is taken from Moore's "Lalla Rookh," although these very words do not occur there. The reference will be found in the last hundred lines of the poem.
12. levin: lightning.
26. Houri: one of the beautiful girls who, according to the Moslem faith, are to be companions of the faithful in paradise.
LENORE
13. Peccavimus: we have sinned.
20. Avaunt: Begone! Away!
26. Paean: song of joy or triumph.
THE COLISEUM
10. Eld: antiquity.
14. See Matthew 26: 36-56.
16. The Chaldxans were the world's greatest astrologers.
26-29. Poe here uses technical architectural terms with success.
plinth: the block upon which a column or a statue rests.
shafts: the main part of a column between the base and the capital.
entablatures: the part of a building borne by the columns.
frieze: an ornamented horizontal band in the entablature.
cornices: the horizontal molded top of the entablatures.
32. corrosive: worn away by degrees; used figuratively of time.
36. At Thebes there is a statue which is supposed to be Memnon, the mythical king of Ethiopia, and which at daybreak was said to emit the music of the lyre.
EULALIE.—A SONG
19. Astarte: the Phoenician goddess of love.
THE RAVEN
41. Pallas: Greek goddess of wisdom.
46-47. Night's Plutonian shore: Pluto ruled over the powers of the lower world and over the dead. Darkness and gloom are constantly associated with him; the cypress tree was sacred to him and black victims were sacrificed to him. Why does the coming of the raven suggest this realm to the poet?
50. relevancy: appropriateness.
80. Seraphim: one of the highest orders of angels
82. respite and nepenthe: period of peace and forgetting.
89. balm in Gilead. See Jeremiah 8: 22; 46: 11 and Genesis 37: 25.
93. Aideen, fanciful spelling of Eden.
106. This line has been often criticized on the ground that a lamp could not cause any shadow on the floor if the bird sat above the door. Poe answered this charge by saying: "My conception was that of the bracket candelabrum affixed against the wall, high up above the door and bust, as is often seen in English palaces, and even in some of the better houses of New York."
What effect does this poem have upon you? Work out the rhyme scheme in the first and second stanzas. Are they alike? Does this rhyme scheme help to produce the effect of the poem? Have you noticed a similar use of "more" in any other poem? Point out striking examples of repetition, of alliteration. Are there many figures of speech here?
TO HELEN
This Helen is Mrs. Whitman.
15. parterre: a flower garden whose beds are arranged in a pattern and separated by walks.
48. Dian: Roman goddess representing the moon.
60. elysian: supremely happy.
65. scintillant: sending forth flashes of light.
66. Venuses: morning stars.
THE BELLS
"The Bells" originally consisted of eighteen lines, and was gradually enlarged to its present form.
10. Runic: secret, mysterious.
11. Why does Poe use this peculiar word? Compare its use with that of "euphony," 1. 26, "jangling," 1. 62, "moLotone" 1. 8'3.
26. euphony: the quality of having a pleasant sound.
72. monody: a musical composition in which some one voice-part predominates.
88. Ghouls: imaginary evil beings of the East who rob graves.
ELDORADO
6. Eldorado: any region where wealth may be obtained is abundance; hence, figuratively, the source of any abundance, as here.
21. "Valley of the Shadow" suggests death and is a fitting close to Poe's poetic work.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW (1807-1882)
"His verse blooms like a flower, night and day;Bees cluster round his rhymes; and twitteringsOf lark and swallow, in an endless May,Are mingling with the tender songs he sings.Nor shall he cease to sing—in every layOf Nature's voice he sings—and will alway."—JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.
Born in Portland, Maine, he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825 and went abroad to prepare himself to teach the modern languages. He taught until 1854, when he became a professional author. During the remaining years of his fife he lived quietly at Craigie House in Cambridge and there he died.
The poems by Longfellow are used by permission of, and by special arrangement with, Houghton Mifflin Company, authorized publishers of his works.
HYMN To THE NIGHT
"Night, thrice welcome." "Night, undesired by Troy, but to the Greeks Thrice welcome for its interposing gloom."
-COWPER, TRANS. OF ILIAD VIII, 488.
21. Orestes-like. Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, avenged the death of his father by killing his mother. The Furies chased him for many years through the world until at last he found pardon and peace. The story is told in several Greek plays, but perhaps best in AEschylus' "Libation Pourers" and "Furies"
A PSALM of LIFE
"I kept it," he said, "some time in manuscript, unwilling to show it to any one, it being a voice from my inmost heart."
7. "Dust thou art": quoted from Genesis 3:19, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
10. Pope in Epistle IV of his "Essay on Man" says: "0 happiness! our being's end and aim." How does Longfellow differ with him?
THE SKELETON IN ARMOR
The Skeleton in Armor. "The following Ballad was suggested to me while riding on the seashore at Newport. A year or two previous a skeleton had been dug up at Fall River, clad in broken and corroded armor; and the idea occurred to me of connecting it with the Round Tower at Newport, generally known hitherto as the Old Windmill, though now claimed by the Danes as a work of their early ancestors."
19. Skald: a Scandinavian minstrel who composed and sang or recited verses in celebration of famous deeds, heroes, and events.
"And there, in many a stormy vale,The Scald had told his wondrous tale."—SCOTT, Lay of the Last Minstrel, can. 6, St. 22.
20. Saga: myth or heroic story.
28. ger-falcon: large falcon, much used in northern Europe in falconry.
38. were-wolf: a person who had taken the form of a wolf and had become a cannibal. The superstition was that those who had voluntarily become wolves could become men again at will.
42. corsair: pirate. Originally "corsair" was applied to privateers off the Barbary Coast who preyed upon Christian shipping under the authority of their governments.
49. "wassail-bout": festivity at which healths are drunk.
53. Berserk. Berserker was a legendary Scandinavian hero who never wore a shirt of mail. In general, a warrior who could assume the form and ferocity of wild beasts, and whom fire and iron could not harm.
94. Sea-mew: a kind of European gull.
110. Skaw: a cape on the coast of Denmark.
159. Skoal!: Hail! a toast or friendly greeting used by the Norse especially in poetry.
THE WRECK of THE HESPERUS
On Dec. 17, 1839, Longfellow wrote in his journal: "News of shipwrecks horrible, on the coast. Forty bodies washed ashore near Gloucester, one lashed to a piece of the wreck. There is a reef called Norman's Woe, where many of these took place; among others the schooner Hesperus."
On Dec. 30 he added: "Sat till one o'clock by the fire, smoking, when suddenly it came into my head to write the Ballad of the schooner Hesperus, which I accordingly did. Then went o bed, but could not sleep. New thoughts were running in my mind, and I got up to add them to the ballad. It was three by the clock."... "I feel pleased with the ballad. it hardly cost mean effort. It did not come into my mind by lines but by stanzas."
In a letter to Mr. Charles Lanman on Nov. 24, 1871, Mr. Longfellow said: "I had quite forgotten about its first publication; but I find a letter from Park Benjamin, dated Jan. 7, 1840, beginning...as follows:—
"'Your ballad, The Wreck of the Hesperus, is grand. Enclosed are twenty- five dollars (the sum you mentioned) for it, paid by the proprietors of The New World, in which glorious paper it will resplendently coruscate on Saturday next.'"
11. flaw: a sudden puff of wind.
14. Spanish Main: a term applied to that portion of the Caribbean Sea near the northeast coast of South America, including the route followed by Spanish merchant ships traveling between Europe and America.
37-48. This little dialogue reminds us of the "Erlkonig," a ballad by Goethe.
66. See Luke 8: 22-25.
60. Norman's Woe: a reef in", W. Glouster harbor, Mass.
70. carded wool. The process of carding wool, cotton, flax, etc. removes by a wire-toothed brush foreign matter and dirt, and leaves it combed out and cleansed.
THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH
7. Crisp, and black, and long. Mr. Longfellow says that before this poem was published, he read it to his barber. The man objected that crisp black hair was never long, and as a result the author delayed publication until be was convinced in his own mind that no other adjectives would give a truer picture of the blacksmith as he saw him.
39-42. Mr. Longfellow's friends agree that these lines depict his own industry and temperament better than any others can.
IT IS NOT ALWAYS MAY
No hay pajaros en los nidos de antano. Translated in lines 12 and 24.
8. freighted: heavily laden.
EXCELSIOR
Mr. Longfellow explained fully the allegory of this poem in a letter to Mr. Henry T. Tuckerman. He said: "This (his intention) was no more than to display, in a series of pictures, the life of a man of genius, resisting all temptations, laying aside all fears, heedless of all warnings, and pressing right on to accomplish his purpose. His motto is Excelsior, 'higher.' He passes through the Alpine village,—through the rough, cold paths of the world—where the peasants cannot understand him, and where his watchword is 'an unknown tongue.' He disregards the happiness of domestic peace, and sees the glaciers—his fate—before him. He disregards the warnings of the old man's wisdom.... He answers to all, 'Higher yet'! The monks of St. Bernard are the representatives of religious forms and ceremonies, and with their oft-repeated prayer mingles the sound of his voice, telling them there is something higher than forms and ceremonies. Filled with these aspirations he perishes without having reached the perfection he longed for; and the voice heard in the air is the promise of immortality and progress ever upward."
Compare with this Tennyson's "Merlin and The Gleam," in which he tells his own experience.
7. falchion: a sword with a broad and slightly curved blade, used in the Middle Ages; hence, poetically, any type of sword.
THE DAY IS DOUR
26. In this stanza and the two following Longfellow describes what his poems have come to mean to us and the place they hold in American life. Compare with Whittier's "Dedication" to "Songs of Labor," Il. 26-36.
WALTER VON DER VOGELWEIDE
Walter von der Vogelweide: the most celebrated of medieval German lyric poets, who lived about the year 1200. He belonged to the lower order of "nobility of service." He livedin Tyrol, then the home of famous minnesingers from whom he learned his art.
4. Walter von der Vogelweide is buried in the cloisters adjoining the Neumunster church in Wurtzburg, which dates from the eleventh century.
10. The debt of the poet to the birds has been dwelt upon in many poems, the best known of which are Shelley's "Skylark" and Wordsworth's "To the Cuckoo."
27. War of Wartburg. In 1207 there occurred in this German castle, the Wartburg, a contest of the minstrels of the time. Wagner has immortalized this contest in "Tannhauser," in which he describes the victory of Walter von der Vogelweide over all the other singers.
42. Gothic spire. See note on "The Builders" 11. 17-19.
THE BUILDERS
17-19. The perfection of detail in the structure and sculpture of Gothic cathedrals may be seen in the cathedrals of Chartres and Amiens. Numerous beautiful illustrations may be found in Marriage, "The Sculptures of Chartres Cathedral," and in Ruskin, "The Bible of Amiens."
SANTA FILOMENA
Santa Filomena stands for Miss Florence Nightingale, who did remarkable work among the soldiers wounded in the Crimean War (1854-56). This poem was published in 1857 while the story of her aid was fresh in the minds of the world.
42. The palm, the lily, and the spear: St. Filomena is represented in many Catholic churches and usually with these three emblems to signify her victory, purity, and martyrdom. Sometimes an anchor replaces the palm.
THE DISCOVERER OF THE NORTH CAPE
King Alfred's Orosius. Orosius, a Spaniard of the fifth century A.D., wrote at the request of the church a history of the world down to 414 A.D. King Alfred (849-901) translated this work and added at least one important story, that of the voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan. The part of the story used by Longfellow may be found in Cook and Tinkers's Translations from Old English Prose, in Bosworth's, and in Sweet's editions.
2. Helgoland: an island in the North Sea, belonging to Prussia.
42. Hebrides: islands west of Scotland.
90. a nameless sea. They sailed along the coast of Lapland and into the White Sea.
96-100. Alfred reports simply, "He says he was one of a party of six who killed sixty of these in two days."
116. The original says: "He made this voyage, in addition to his purpose of seeing the country, chiefly for walruses, for they have very good bone in their teeth—they brought some of these teeth to the king—and their hides are very good for ship-ropes."
SANDALPHON
Sandalphon: one of the oldest angel figures in the Jewish system. In the second century a Jewish writing described him as follows: "He is an angel who stands on the earth;.. he is taller than his fellows by the length of a journey of 500 years; he binds crowns for his Creator." These crowns are symbols of praise, and with them he brings before the Deity the prayers of men. See the Jewish Encyclopaedia for further particulars.
1. Talmud: the work which embodies the Jewish law of church and state. It consists of texts, and many commentaries and illustrations.
12. Refers to Genesis 28: 10-21.
39. Rabbinical: pertaining to Jewish rabbis or teachers of law.
44. welkin: poetical term for the sky.
48. nebulous: indistinct.
THE LANDLORD'S TALE
The "Tales of a Wayside Inn" were series of stories told on three separate days by the travelers at the Inn at Sudbury, Mass. It is the same device used by writers since the days of Chaucer, but cleverly handled furnishes an interesting setting for a variety of tales. Some of Longfellow's best-known narratives are in these series, among them the following selections.
The story is self-explanatory. It is probably the best example of the simple poetic narrative of an historic event.
107-110. The reference is to one of the seven men who were killed at Lexington—possibly to Jonathan Harrington, Jr., who dragged himself to his own door-step before he died. Many books tell the story, but the following are the most interesting; Gettemy, Chas. F. True "Story of Paul Revere:" Colburn, F., The Battle of April 19, 1775.
THE SICILIAN'S TALE
This story of King Robert of Sicily is very old, as it is found among the short stories of the Gesta Romanorum written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
17. seditious: tending towards disorder and treason.
52. besprent: poetic for besprinkled.
66. seneschal: the official in the household of a prince of high noble who had the supervision of feasts and ceremonies.
106. Saturnian: the fabled reign of the god Saturn was the golden age of the world, characterized by simplicity, virtue, and happiness.
110. Enceladus, the giant. Longfellow's poem "Enceladus" emphasizes this reference. For the story of the giants and the punishment of Enceladus see any good Greek mythology.
THE THEOLOGIAN'S TALE
9. dial: the sun-dial was the clock of the time.
41. iteration: repetition.
49. dole: portion.
bl. almoner: official dispenser of alms.
100. See Matthew 25: 40.
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER (1807-1892)
"Best loved and saintliest of our singing train,Earth's noblest tributes to thy name belong.A lifelong record closed without a stain,A blameless memory shrived in deathless song."—OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.
Born at East Haverhill, Mass., in surroundings which he faithfully describes in "Snow-Bound," he had little education. At the age of twenty-two he secured an editorial position in Boston and continued to write all his life. For some years he devoted all his literary ability to the cause of abolition, and not until the success of "Snow-Bound" in 1866 was he free from poverty.
The poems by Whittier are used by permission of, and by special arrangement with, Houghton Mifflin Company, authorized publishers of his works.
PROEM
Proem: preface or introduction.
3. Spenser, Edmund (1552-1599). His best-known work is the "Faerie Queen."
4. Arcadian Sidney: Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586); an English courtier, soldier, and author. He stands as a model of chivalry. He was mortally wounded at the battle of Zutphen. "Arcadia" was his greatest work; hence the epithet here.
23. plummet-line: a weight suspended by a line used to test the verticality of walls, etc. Here used as if in a sounding process.
30. Compare this opinion of his own work with Lowell's comments in "A Fable for Critics." How do they agree?
32. For Whittier's opinion of Milton see also "Raphael," I. 7 0, and " Burns," 1. 104.
33. Marvell, Andrew (1621-1678): an English statesman, poet, and satirist, friend of Milton.
THE FROST SPIRIT
Whittier has an intense love and appreciation of winter. With this poem may be read "Snow Bound," the last stanzas of "Flowers in Winter," and "Lumbermen." Many others may be added to this list. Do you find this same idea in other poets?
11. Hecla: a volcano in Iceland which has had 28 known eruptions—one as late as 1878. It rises 5100 feet above the sea and has a bare irregular-shaped cone. Its appearance is extremely wild and desolate.
SONGS OF LABOR. DEDICATION
8. The o'er-sunned bloom.... In this collection of poems are a few written in his youth, the more mature works of the "summer" of his life, and the later works of his old age. The figure here is carefully carried through and gives a clear, simplified picture of his literary life.
22. Whittier himself noted that he was indebted for this line to Emerson's "Rhodora"
26-3b. Compare Longfellow's "The Day is Done" for another idea of the influence of poetry.
36. Compare Genesis 3: 17-19.
43-45. Compare Luke 2: 51-52.
THE LUMBERMEN
33. Ambijejis: lake in central Maine.
35. Millnoket: a lake in central Maine.
39. Penobscot: one of the most beutiful of Maine rivers. It is about 300 miles long and flows through the central part of the state.
42. Katahdin: Mount Katahdin is 5385 feet in height and is usually snow-covered.
BARCLAY of URY
Barclay of Ury: David Barclay (1610-1686). Served under Gustavus Adolphus, was an officer in the Scotch army during Civil War. He bought the estate of Ury, near Aberdeen, in 1648. He was arrested after the Restoration and for a short time was confined to Edinburgh Castle, where he was converted to Quakerism by a fellow prisoner. His son, also a Quaker, heard of the imprisonment mentioned in this poem and attempted to rescue his father. During the years between this trouble in 1676 and his death in 1686, the persecution seems to have been directed largely against his son. (See Dictionary of National Biography for details.) Whinier naturally felt keenly on this subject, as he himself was a Quaker.
1. Aberdeen: capital of Aberdeenshire, and chief seaport in north of Scotland; fourth Scottish town in population, industry, and wealth. The buildings of Aberdeen College, founded in 1494, are the glory of Aberdeen.
7. churl: a rude, low-bred fellow.
10. carlin: a bluff, good-natured man.
35. Lutzen: a town in Saxony where the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeated the Austrians, Nov. 16, 1632.
36. Gustavus Adolphus, "The Great" (1594-1632). He was one of the great Swedish kings, and was very prominent in the Thirty Years' War (1618- 1648).
56. Tilly: Johann Tserklaes, Count von Tilly, a German imperial commander in the Thirty Years' War.
57. Walloon: a people akin to the French, inhabiting Belgium and some districts of Prussia. They have great vivacity than the Flemish, and more endurance than the French.
66. Jewry: Judea.
76. reeve: a bailiff or overseer.
31. snooded. The unmarried women of Scotland formerly wore a band around their heads to distinguish them from married women.
99. Tolbooth: Scotch word for prison.
126. This idea is expanded in the poem "Seed-time and Harvest."
RAPHAEL
Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), the great Italian painter. Trained first by his father, later by the great Perugino. His work was done mainly in Florence and Rome.
6. This picture is the portrait of Raphael when scarcely more than a boy.
17. Gothland's sage: Sweden's wise man, Emanuel Swedenborg.
36. Raphael painted many madonnas, but the word "drooped" limits this description. Several might be included under this: "The Small Holy Family," "The Virgin with the Rose," or, most probable of all to me, "The Madonna of the Chair."
37. the Desert John: John the Baptist.
40. "The Transfiguration" is not as well known as some of the madonnas, but shows in wonderful manner Raphael's ability to handle a large group of people, without detracting from the central figure. It is now in the Vatican Gallery, at Rome.
42. There are few great Old Testament stories which are not depicted by Raphael. Among them are The Passage Through Jordan, The Fall of Jericho, Joshua Staying the Sun, David and Goliath, The Judgment of Solomon, The Building of the Temple, Moses Bringing the Tables of the Law, the Golden Calf, and many others equally well known.
45. Fornarina. This well-known portrait is now in the Palazzo Barberini in Rome.
70. holy song on Milton's tuneful ear. Poetry and painting are here spoken of together as producing permanent effects, and from the figure he uses we may add music to the list. Compare Longfellow's "The Arrow and the Song." In the last stanza the field is still further broadened until his thought is that all we do lives after us.
SEED-TIME AND HARVEST
Whittier's intense interest in Freedom is here apparent. His earlier poems were largely on the slavery question in America. His best work was not done until he began to devote his poetic ability to a wider range of subjects.
26. See Longfellow, "A Psalm of Life," 11. 9-12 and note.
THE PROPHECY of SAMUEL SEWALL
12. Samuel Sewall is one of the most interesting characters in colonial American history. He was born in England in 1652, but came to America while still a child. He graduated from Harvard College in 1671 and finally became a justice of the peace. He was instrumental in the Salem witchcraft decision, but later bitterly repented. He made in 1697 a public confession of his share in the matter and begged that God would "not visit the sin... upon the Land."
28. Hales Reports. Sir Matthew Hale (1609-1676) was one of the most eminent judges of England. From 1671 to 1676 he occupied the position of Chief Justice of the King's Bench, the highest judicial position in England. Sewall was depending upon an authority of the day.
32. warlock's: a wizard, one who deals in incantations; synonymous with witch.
46. Theocracy: a state governed directly by the ministers of God.
58. hand-grenade: a hollow shell, filled with explosives, arranged to be thrown by hand among the enemy and to explode on impact.
73. Koordish robber. The Kurds were a nomadic people living in Kurdistan, Persia, and Caucasia. They were very savage and vindictive, specially towards Armenians. The Sheik was the leader of a clan or town and as such had great power.
81. Newbury, Mass. Judge Sewall's father was one of the founders of the town.
130-156. This prophecy is most effective in its use of local color for a spiritual purpose. Beginning with local conditions which might be changed, it broadens to include all nature which shall never grow old.
SKIPPER IRESON'S RIDE
Skipper Ireson's Ride. Whittier was told after this poem was published that it was not historically accurate, since the crew and not Skipper Ireson was to blame for the desertion of the wreck. He stated that he had founded his poem on a song sung to him when he was a boy.
3. Apuleius's Golden Ass. Apuleius was a Latin satirical writer whose greatest work was a romance or novel called "The Golden Ass." The hero is by chance changed into an ass,, and has all sorts of adventures until he is finally freed from the magic by eating roses in the hands of a priest of Isis.
3. one-eyed Calendar's horse of brass. See the Arabian Nights' Entertainments for the story of the one-eyed beggar.
6. Al-Borak: according to the Moslem creed the animal brought by Gabriel to carry Mohammed to the seventh heaven. It had the face of a man, the body of a horse, the wings of an eagle, and spoke with a human voice.
11. Marblehead, in Massachusetts.
30. Maenads: the nymphs who danced and sang in honor of Bacchus, the god of vegetation and the vine.
35. Chalettr Bay, in Newfoundland, a part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
THE DOUBLE-HEADED SNAKE of NEWBURY
6. Deucalion flood. The python was a monstrous serpent which arose from the mud left after the flood in which Deucalion survived. The python lived in a cave on Mount Parnassus and there Apollo slew him. Deucalion and his wife, Pyrrha were saved from the flood because Zeus respected their piety. They obeyed the oracle and threw stones behind them from which sprang men and women to repopulate the earth.
9. See "The Prophecy of Samuel Sewall" for another story of Newbury town.
22. stones of Cheops: an Egyptian king, about 2900 b.c.; built the great pyramid, which is called by his name.
59. Each town in colonial days set aside certain land for free pasture-land for the inhabitants.
80. double-ganger: a double or apparition of a person; here, a reptile moving in double form.
76. Cotton Mather (1663-1728). This precocious boy entered Harvard College at eleven and graduated at fifteen. At seventeen he preached his first sermon and all his life was a zealous divine. He was undoubtedly sincere in his judgments in the cases of witchcraft and was not thoughtlessly cruel. He was a great writer and politician and a public- minded citizen.
85. Wonder-Book of Cotton Mather is his story of early New England life called Magnalia Christi Americana.
MAUD MULLER
94. astral: a lamp with peculiar construction so that the shadow is not cast directly below it.
BURNS
Burns. In connection with this poem may well be read the following poems by Robert Burns (1759-1796): "The Twa Dogs," "A Man's a Man for A' That," "Cotter's Saturday Night" (Selections), "Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon," "Highland Mary."
40. allegory: the expression of an idea indirectly by means of a story or narrative. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is probably the best-known allegory. What others can you name?
67. Craigie-burn and Devon were favorite Scotch streams.
71. Ayr: a river in Scotland. This whole region is full of associations with Burns. Near it he was born and there is the Auld Brig of Doon of Tam o' Shanter fame. Near the river is a Burns monument. Doon: a river of Scotland 30 miles long and running through wild and picturesque country. Burns has made it famous.
91-92. The unpleasant facts of Burns's life, due to weakness of character, should not be allowed to destroy our appreciation of what he accomplished when he was his better self.
99. Magdalen. See John 8:3-11 and many other instances in the Gospels.
103. The mournful Tuscan: Dante, who wrote "The Divine Comedy."
THE HERO
1. Bayard, Pierre Terrail (1473-1524): a French soldier who, on account of his heroism, piety, and magnanimity was called "le chevalier sans noun et sans reproche," the fearless and faultless knight. By his contemporaries he was more often called "le bon chevalier," the good knight.
6. Zutphen: an old town in Holland, which was often besieged, especially during the wars of freedom waged by the Dutch. The most celebtated fight under its walls was in September, 1586, when Sir Philip Sidney was mortally wounded.
12. See John 16: 21.
28. Sidney. See note on line 6 and Proem, note on line 4.
31. Cyllenian ranges: Mount Cyllene, in southern Greece, the fabled birthplace of Hermes.
36. Suliote. See Fitz-Greene Halleck, "Marco Bozzaris," note on line 13
42. The reference is to Samuel G. Howe, who fought as a young man for the independence of Greece.
46. Albanian: pertaining to Albania, a province of western Turkey.
78. Cadmus: mythological king of Phoenicia; was regarded as the introducer of the alphabet from Phoenicia into Greece.
86. Lancelot stands for most of us as the example of a brave knight whose life was ruined by a great weakness. Malory writes of him in "Mort d'Arthur," and Tennyson has made him well known to us.
THE ETERNAL GOODNESS
24. See John 19:23 and Matthew 9: 20-22.
36. After David had suffered, he wrote the greatest of the Psalms which are attributed to him. The idea of righteous judgement is to be found throughout them all, but seems especially strong in 9 and 147.
54. Compare Tennyson's Crossing the Bar.
THE PIPES AT LUCKNOW
9. Lowland: the south and east of Scotland; distinguished from the Highlands.
13. pibroch: a wild, irregular martial music played on Scotch bagpipes.
18. A small English garrison was in possession of the city of Lucknow at the time of the great Sepoy Mutiny in India,. They were besieged, and their rescue is described here.
32. Sir Henry Havelock commanded the relieving army.
36. Sepoy: a native East-Indian soldier, equipped like a European soldier.
51. Goomtee: a river of Hindustan.
77. Gaelic: belonging to Highland Scotch or other Celtic people.
COBBLER KEEZAR'S VISION
The element of superstition which enters into many of Whittier's poems is well illustrated here.
19. the Brocken: in the Harz Mountains in Germany.
35. swart: dark-colored.
49. See "Prophecy of Samuel Sewall," note on line 32.
52. Religion among the Pilgrim fathers was a harsh thing. What illustrations of its character did you find in the early part of this book
84. Doctor Dee: an English astrologer (1527-1608).
85. Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius: German physician, theologian, and writer (1486-1535), who tried to turn less precious metals into gold.
89. Minnesinger. Hares Sachs (1494-1576), the famous cobbler singer, is probably referred to. For another famous minstrel see notes on Longfellow, "Walter von der Vogelweide."
139. Bingen, a city on the Rhine, has been made famous by the poem written in 1799 by Southey, "God's Judgment on a Wicked Bishop." Longfellow refers to this legend in "The Children's Hour."
140. Frankfort (on-the-Main), in Germany.
147. droughty: thirsty, wanting drink.
THE MAYFLOWERS
1. Sad Mayflower: the trailing arbutus.
14. Our years of wandering o'er. The Pilgrim fathers sought refuge in Holland, but found life there unsatisfactory, as they were not entirely free. They then set out for Virginia and almost by chance settled in New England.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON (1803-1882)
"He shaped an ideal for the commonest life, he proposed an object to the humblest seeker after truth. Look for beauty in the world around you, he said, and you shall see it everywhere. Look within, with pure eyes and simple trust, and you shall find the Deity mirrored in your own soul. Trust yourself because you trust the voice of God in your inmost consciousness."