Chapter 2: Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers, 1776–1820
Poems by Philip Freneau ..........................................................................................46
The Prison Ship
The Wild Honeysuckle
To a Honey Bee
The Indian Burying-Ground
Eutaw Springs
Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown ......................................................................67
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving ....................................................................70
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper ............................................74
Poems by Phillis Wheatley ........................................................................................77
To the King’s Most Excellent Magesty. 1768.
On Being Brought from Africa to America.
On the Death of a Young Lady of Five Years of Age.
An Hymn to the Morning. / An Hymn to the Evening
Ode to Neptune
A Rebus, by I.B. / An Answer to the Rebus by the Author of these Poems.
POEMS BY PHILIP FRENEAU
THE PRISON SHIP .
. . CONVEY’D to YORK, we found, at length, too late, That Death was better than the prisoner’s fate, There doom’d to famine, shackles and despair, Condemn’d to breathe a soul, infected air In sickly hulks, devoted while we lay, Successive funerals gloom’d each dismal day— But what on captives British rage can do, Another Canto, friend, shall let you know. CANTO II. The PRISON SHIP. THE various horrors of these hulks to tell, These Prison Ships where pain and horror dwell, Where death is tenfold vengeance holds his reign, And injur’d ghosts, yet unaveng’d, complain; This be my task—ungenerous Britons, you Conspire to murder those you can’t subdue.— WEAK as I am, I’ll try my strength to-day And my best arrows at these hell-hounds play, To future years one scene of death prolong, And hang them up to infamy, in song. THAT Britain’s rage should dye our plains with gore, And desolation spread through every shore, None e’er could doubt, that her ambition knew, This was to rage and disappointment due; But that those monsters whom our soil maintain’d, Who first drew breath in this devoted land, Like famish’d wolves, should on their country prey, Assist its foes, and wrest our lives away, This shocks belief—and bids our soil disown Such friends, subservient to a bankrupt crown, By them the widow mourns her partner dead, Her mangled sons to darksome prisons led, By them—and hence my keenest sorrows rise, My friend, my guardian, my Orestes dies; Still for that loss must wretched I complain, And sad Opbelia mourn her favourite swain. AH! come the day when from this bloody shore Fate shall remove them to return no more— To scorch’d Bahama shall the traitors go With grief and rage, and unremitting woe, On burning sands to walk their painful round, And sigh through all the solitary ground, Where no gay flower their haggard eyes shall see, © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 46 And find no shade but from the cypress tree. So much we suffer’d from the tribe I hate, So near they shov’d me to the brink of fate, When two long months in these dark hulks we lay Barr’d down by night, and fainting all the day In the fierce fervours of the solar beam, Cool’d by no breeze on Hudson’s mountain-stream; That not unsung these threescore days shall fall To black oblivion that would cover all!— 1. According to the poet, life on the prison ship was worse than a. death. b. torture. c. severe illness. d. hard labor. 2. The captors were compared to a. wild savages. b. crazed heathens. c. famished wolves. d. rabid dogs. 3. Read the line from the poem and then select, from the choices below, the word closest in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. Barr’d down by night, and fainting all the day / In the fierce fervours of the solar beam, a. energy b. intense heat c. luminescence d. agony 4. In the following line from the poem, what does the word threescore mean? Select the word that accurately identifies the meaning. That not unsung these threescore days shall fall a. dreary b. sixty c. eighty d. strenuous © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 47 5. About what do the first lines of the poem find the narrator ruminating? Can you speculate about why he was imprisoned? Consider this poet’s era and reflect, in writing, on the possibilities. 6. According to the writer, what were the conditions like on the ship? Cite two lines from the poem which specifically describe a characteristic of the environment. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 48 7. What is meant by the line, “THAT Britain’s rage should dye our plains with gore”? If this line had been written in prose rather than in poetry, how would it read? 8. What is the overall tone of this poem? Can you describe the author’s attitude in one word? What it is? Why do you think he felt this way? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 49 9. Reflect on why the author mentions the figure from Greek mythology known as Orestes. How could his story be connected to the theme or tone of the poem? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 50 10. For which tragedies does the author blame the British? Describe two and make certain that one of your answers relates to the Ophelia reference. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 51 THE WILD HONEYSUCKLE Fair flower, that dost so comely grow, Hid in this silent, dull retreat, Untouched thy homed blossoms blow, Unseen thy little branches greet: No roving foot shall crush thee here, No busy hand provoke a tear. By Nature’s self in white arrayed, She bade thee shun the vulgar eye, And planted here the guardian shade, And sent soft waters murmuring by; Thus quietly thy summer goes, Thy days declining to repose. Smit with those charms, that must decay, I grieve to see your future doom; They died—nor were those flowers more gay, The flowers that did in Eden bloom; Unpitying frosts, and Autumn’s power, Shall leave no vestige of this flower. From morning suns and evening dews At first thy little being came; If nothing once, you nothing lose, For when you die you are the same; The space between is but an hour, The frail duration of a flower. 11. In the line, “The space between is but an hour,” the poet refers to the a. chronology of life. b. limits of time. c. structure created by adherence to a timetable. d. short lifespan of the flower. 12. Literally, the poem is about the lifespan of the honeysuckle flower. What could you say it conveys figuratively? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 52 13. Where do you think this plant is found? Use clues from the first two stanzas to answer the question. 14. Notice that Freneau has capitalized the word, “Nature’s.” Since there is no obvious grammatical need, why do you suppose he has done this? Explain. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 53 15. Reread the stanza containing the comparison to flowers in Eden. What is the author trying to say? Would the stanza have had the same impact if the author had compared the honeysuckle to flowers in a location other than Eden? Why? 16. Find another poem that deals with nature or the cycle of life and compare it to this one. Look for similarities in author’s style, use of vocabulary, and themes. Which one conveys its message more effectively? Why? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 54 © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 55 TO A HONEY BEE Thou, born to sip the lake or spring, Or quaff the waters of the stream, Why hither come on vagrant wing? Does Bacchus tempting seem,— Did he for you this glass prepare? Will I admit you to a share? Did storms harass or foes perplex, Did wasps or king-birds bring dismay— Did wars distress, or labors vex, Or did you miss your way? A better seat you could not take Than on the margin of this lake. Welcome!—I hail you to my glass All welcome, here, you find; Here, let the cloud of trouble pass, Here, be all care resigned. This fluid never fails to please, And drown the griefs of men or bees. What forced you here we cannot know, And you will scarcely tell, But cheery we would have you go And bid a glad farewell: On lighter wings we bid you fly, Your dart will now all foes defy. Yet take not, oh! too deep a drink, And in this ocean die; Here bigger bees than you might sink, Even bees full six feet high. Like Pharaoh, then, you would be said To perish in a sea of red. Do as you please, your will is mine; Enjoy it without fear, And your grave will be this glass of wine, Your epitaph—a tear— Go, take your seat in Charon’s boat; We’ll tell the hive, you died afloat. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 56 17. Bacchus is the Roman god of a. wine and intoxication. b. love and passion. c. faith and loyalty. d. piety and reverence. 18. In this poem, the “margin of this lake” refers to a. a waterfront retreat. b. the edge of a glass. c. the perimeter of a puddle. d. the border of a teardrop. 19. Reread the third stanza from the poem. Explain what the poet is trying to say. What is in the glass? What is the message? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 57 20. What might be the “cloud of trouble” to which the poet refers? What does he suggest will happen to it once the bee partakes of the liquid? 21. Interpret this line of the poem: Here bigger bees than you might sink, Is the poet really suggesting that the bee will sink in the liquid, or is there a more figurative meaning? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 58 22. The poet speaks of Charon’s boat. Why does he specifically mention this boat? Who is Charon? Is this an intentional choice? Why? 23. What is the first question the author asks of the bee? Why does he want to know? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 59 THE INDIAN BURYING-GROUND In spite of all the learned have said, I still my old opinion keep; The posture that we give the dead Points out the soul’s eternal sleep. Not so the ancients of these lands;— The Indian, when from life released, Again is seated with his friends, And shares again the joyous feast. His imaged birds, and painted bowl, And venison, for a journey dressed, Bespeak the nature of the soul, Activity, that wants no rest. His bow for action ready bent, And arrows, with a head of stone, Can only mean that life is spent, And not the old ideas gone. Thou, stranger, that shalt come this way, No fraud upon the dead commit,— Observe the swelling turf, and say, They do not die, but here they sit. Here still a lofty rock remains, On which the curious eye may trace (Now wasted half by wearing rains) The fancies of a ruder race. Here still an aged elm aspires, Beneath whose far projecting shade (And which the shepherd still admires) children of the forest played. There oft a restless Indian queen (Pale Shebah with her braided hair), And many a barbarous form is seen To chide the man that lingers there. By midnight moons, o’er moistening dews, In habit for the chase arrayed, The hunter still the deer pursues, The hunter and the deer—a shade! And long shall timorous Fancy see The painted chief, and pointed spear, And Reason’s self shall bow the knee To shadows and delusions here. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 60 24. If you could choose the posture in which you would want to be buried, including those things you might want buried with you, what would you choose? How would you want to be left to sleep for eternity? What items would you like to have with you? 25. On a literal level, the poem speaks of physical posture and the Native American belief that this will dictate the after-life experience. What would you say it suggests on a figurative level? In other words, what is the lesson or message? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 61 26. There are a number of images described in the poem. If you were to categorize them into one group, what would it be called? Why? 27. In what way(s) does the Native American philosophy regarding life and death compare to yours? Describe the similarities and differences by referring to “The Indian Burying-Ground.” © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 62 © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 63 EUTAW SPRINGS At Eutaw Springs the valiant died; Their limbs with dust are covered o’er; Weep on, ye springs, your tearful tide; How many heroes are no more! If in this wreck of ruin, they Can yet be thought to claim a tear, O smite thy gentle breast, and say The friends of freedom slumber here! Thou, who shalt trace this bloody plain, If goodness rules thy generous breast, Sigh for the wasted rural reign; Sigh for the shepherds sunk to rest! Stranger, their humble groves adorn; You too may fall, and ask a tear: ‘Tis not the beauty of the morn That proves the evening shall be clear. They saw their injured country’s woe, The flaming town, the wasted field; Then rushed to meet the insulting foe; They took the spear—but left the shield. Led by thy conquering standards, Greene, The Britons they compelled to fly: None distant viewed the fatal plain, None grieved in such a cause to die— But, like the Parthian, famed of old, Who, flying, still their arrows threw, These routed Britons, full as bold, Retreated, and retreating slew. Now rest in peace, our patriot band; Though far from nature’s limits thrown, We trust they find a happier land, A bright Phoebus of their own. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 64 28. Eutaw Springs was probably a a. national park. b. vacation destination. c. natural water supply. d. battle site. 29. “Weep on, ye springs, your tearful tide;” Which poetic device is used in the line above from the poem? a. simile b. consonance c. assonance d. alliteration 30. Why were the men referred to as “the friends of freedom”? 31. ‘Tis not the beauty of the morn / that proves the evening shall be clear. Interpret the meaning of the line above from the poe. Then explain your understanding. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 65 32. In “Eutaw Springs,” to what does the reference to Phoebus refer? Why is it appropriate in the poem? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 66 WIELAND by Charles Brockden Brown No other conclusion, therefore, was left me, but that I had mistaken the sounds, and that my imagination had transformed some casual noise into the voice of a human creature. Satisfied with this solution, I was preparing to relinquish my listening attitude, when my ear was again saluted with a new and yet louder whispering. It appeared, as before, to issue from lips that touched my pillow. A second effort of attention, however, clearly shewed me, that the sounds issued from within the closet, the door of which was not more than eight inches from my pillow. This second interruption occasioned a shock less vehement than the former. I started, but gave no audible token of alarm. I was so much mistress of my feelings, as to continue listening to what should be said. The whisper was distinct, hoarse, and uttered so as to shew that the speaker was desirous of being heard by some one near, but, at the same time, studious to avoid being overheard by any other. “Stop, stop, I say; madman as you are! there are better means than that. Curse upon your rashness! There is no need to shoot.” Such were the words uttered in a tone of eagerness and anger, within so small a distance of my pillow. What construction could I put upon them? My heart began to palpitate with dread of some unknown danger. Presently, another voice, but equally near me, was heard whispering in answer. “Why not? I will draw a trigger in this business, but perdition be my lot if I do more.” To this, the first voice returned, in a tone which rage had heightened in a small degree above a whisper, “Coward! stand aside, and see me do it. I will grasp her throat; I will do her business in an instant; she shall not have time so much as to groan.” What wonder that I was petrified by sounds so dreadful! Murderers lurked in my closet. They were planning the means of my destruction. One resolved to shoot, and the other menaced suffocation. Their means being chosen, they would forthwith break the door. Flight instantly suggested itself as most eligible in circumstances so perilous. I deliberated not a moment; but, fear adding wings to my speed, I leaped out of bed, and scantily robed as I was, rushed out of the chamber, down stairs, and into the open air. I can hardly recollect the process of turning keys, and withdrawing bolts. My terrors urged me forward with almost a mechanical impulse. I stopped not till I reached my brother’s door. I had not gained the threshold, when, exhausted by the violence of my emotions, and by my speed, I sunk down in a fit. How long I remained in this situation I know not. When I recovered, I found myself stretched on a bed, surrounded by my sister and her female servants. I was astonished at the scene before me, but gradually recovered the recollection of what had happened. I answered their importunate inquiries as well as I was able. My brother and Pleyel, whom the storm of the preceding day chanced to detain here, informing themselves of every particular, proceeded with lights and weapons to my deserted habitation. They entered my chamber and my closet, and found every thing in its proper place and customary order. The door of the closet was locked, and appeared not to have been opened in my absence. They went to Judith’s apartment. They found her asleep and in safety. Pleyel’s caution induced him to forbear alarming the girl; and finding her wholly ignorant of what had passed, they directed her to return to her chamber. They then fastened the doors, and returned. My friends were disposed to regard this transaction as a dream. That persons should be actually immured in this closet, to which, in the circumstances of the time, access from without or within was apparently impossible, they could not seriously believe. That any human beings had intended murder, unless it were to cover a scheme of pillage, was incredible; but that no such design had been formed, was evident from the security in which the furniture of the house and the closet remained. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 67 1. Read the sentence and select, from the choices below, the word closest in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. I will draw a trigger in this business, but perdition be my lot if I do more. a. imprisonment b. rebirth c. salvation d. damnation 2. The final conclusion drawn by the narrator’s family upon investigating her claims was that a. she was telling a tale to get attention. b. the intruders had escaped out of the window. c. she had been dreaming the episode. d. she was insane. 3. How does the author immediately create mystery and suspense? How do you feel when reading the opening lines? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 68 4. What were the alleged voices plotting to do? How does the narrator react? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 69 RIP VAN WINKLE by Washington Irving In that same village, and in one of these very houses (which, to tell the precise truth, was sadly time-worn and weather-beaten), there lived, many years since, while the country was yet a province of Great Britain, a simple, goodnatured fellow, of the name of Rip Van Winkle. He was a descendant of the Van Winkles who figured so gallantly in the chivalrous days of Peter Stuyvesant, and accompanied him to the siege of Fort Christina. He inherited, however, but little of the martial character of his ancestors. I have observed that he was a simple, good-natured man; he was, moreover, a kind neighbor, and an obedient henpecked husband. Indeed, to the latter circumstance might be owing that meekness of spirit which gained him such universal popularity; for those men are apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home. Their tempers, doubtless, are rendered pliant and malleable in the fiery furnace of domestic tribulation, and a curtain-lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and long-suffering. A termagant wife may, therefore, in some respects, be considered a tolerable blessing, and if so, Rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed. Certain it is, that he was a great favorite among all the good wives of the village, who, as usual with the amiable sex, took his part in all family squabbles, and never failed, whenever they talked those matters over in their evening gossipings, to lay all the blame on Dame Van Winkle. The children of the village, too, would shout with joy whenever he approached. He assisted at their sports, made their playthings, taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles, and told them long stories of ghosts, witches, and Indians. Whenever he went dodging about the village, he was surrounded by a troop of them hanging on his skirts, clambering on his back, and playing a thousand tricks on him with impunity; and not a dog would bark at him throughout the neighborhood. The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor. It could not be for want of assiduity or perseverance; for he would sit on a wet rock, with a rod as long and heavy as a Tartar’s lance, and fish all day without a murmur, even though he should not be encouraged by a single nibble. He would carry a fowling-piece on his shoulder, for hours together, trudging through woods and swamps, and up hill and down dale, to shoot a few squirrels or wild pigeons. He would never refuse to assist a neighbor even in the roughest toil, and was a foremost man in all country frolics for husking Indian corn, or building stone fences; the women of the village, too, used to employ him to run their errands, and to do such little odd jobs as their less obliging husbands would not do for them. In a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own; but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible. In fact, he declared it was of no use to work on his farm; it was the most pestilent little piece of ground in the whole country; everything about it went wrong, in spite of him. His fences were continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go astray, or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else; the rain always made a point of setting in just as he had some out-door work to do; so that though his patrimonial estate had dwindled away under his management, acre by acre, until there was little more left than a mere patch of Indian corn and potatoes, yet it was the worst-conditioned farm in the neighborhood. His children, too, were as ragged and wild as if they belonged to nobody. His son Rip, an urchin begotten in his own likeness, promised to inherit the habits, with the old clothes, of his father. He was generally seen trooping like a colt at his mother’s heels, equipped in a pair of his father’s cast-off galligaskins, which he had much ado to hold up with one hand, as a fine lady does her train in bad weather. Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 70 1. Read the sentence and select, from the choices below, the word closest in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. Indeed, to the latter circumstance might be owing that meekness of spirit which gained him such universal popularity; for those men are apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home. a. forgiving b. anxious c. compliant d. rash 2. The biggest problem with Rip’s disposition was a. a distaste for relationships. b. a dislike of working for pay. c. a preference for dangerous activity. d. an affinity for hopeless situations. 3. Read the sentence and select, from the choices below, the word closest in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. In fact, he declared it was of no use to work on his farm; it was the most pestilent little piece of ground in the whole country . . . a. likely to cause happiness b. likely to cause disease c. infertile d. fertile © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 71 thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound. If left to himself, he would have whistled life away, in perfect contentment; but his wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family. Morning, noon, and night, her tongue was incessantly going, and every thing he said or did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of the kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. This, however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife, so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and take to the outside of the house—the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband. 4. In your own words, describe the meaning of the term, “henpecked.” 5. Why did children like Rip Van Winkle? What was it about his personality that drew children to him? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 72 6. What were some of the things that Rip did enjoy doing? Name at least four. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 73 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS by James Fenimore Cooper Then, for the first time, Hawkeye was seen to stir. He crawled along the rock and shook Duncan from his heavy slumbers. “Now is the time to journey,” he whispered; “awake the gentle ones, and be ready to get into the canoe when I bring it to the landing-place.” “Have you had a quiet night?” said Heyward; “for myself, I believe sleep has got the better of my vigilance.” “All is yet still as midnight. Be silent, but be quick.” By this time Duncan was thoroughly awake, and he immediately lifted the shawl from the sleeping females. The motion caused Cora to raise her hand as if to repulse him, while Alice murmured, in her soft, gentle voice, “No, no, dear father, we were not deserted; Duncan was with us!” “Yes, sweet innocence,” whispered the youth; “Duncan is here, and while life continues or danger remains, he will never quit thee. Cora! Alice! awake! The hour has come to move!” A loud shriek from the younger of the sisters, and the form of the other standing upright before him, in bewildered horror, was the unexpected answer he received. While the words were still on the lips of Heyward, there had arisen such a tumult of yells and cries as served to drive the swift currents of his own blood back from its bounding course into the fountains of his heart. It seemed, for near a minute, as if the demons of hell had possessed themselves of the air about them, and were venting their savage humors in barbarous sounds. The cries came from no particular direction, though it was evident they filled the woods, and, as the appalled listeners easily imagined, the caverns of the falls, the rocks, the bed of the river, and the upper air. David raised his tall person in the midst of the infernal din, with a hand on either ear, exclaiming: “Whence comes this discord! Has hell broke loose, that man should utter sounds like these!” The bright flashes and the quick reports of a dozen rifles, from the opposite banks of the stream, followed this incautious exposure of his person, and left the unfortunate singing master senseless on that rock where he had been so long slumbering. The Mohicans boldly sent back the intimidating yell of their enemies, who raised a shout of savage triumph at the fall of Gamut. The flash of rifles was then quick and close between them, but either party was too well skilled to leave even a limb exposed to the hostile aim. Duncan listened with intense anxiety for the strokes of the paddle, believing that flight was now their only refuge. The river glanced by with its ordinary velocity, but the canoe was nowhere to be seen on its dark waters. He had just fancied they were cruelly deserted by their scout, as a stream of flame issued from the rock beneath them, and a fierce yell, blended with a shriek of agony, announced that the messenger of death sent from the fatal weapon of Hawkeye, had found a victim. At this slight repulse the assailants instantly withdrew, and gradually the place became as still as before the sudden tumult. Duncan seized the favorable moment to spring to the body of Gamut, which he bore within the shelter of the narrow chasm that protected the sisters. In another minute the whole party was collected in this spot of comparative safety. “The poor fellow has saved his scalp,” said Hawkeye, coolly passing his hand over the head of David; “but he is a proof that a man may be born with too long a tongue! ‘Twas downright madness to show six feet of flesh and blood, on a naked rock, to the raging savages. I only wonder he has escaped with life.” “Is he not dead?” demanded Cora, in a voice whose husky tones showed how powerfully natural horror struggled with her assumed © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 74 1. Read the sentence and select, from the choices below, the word closest in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. “Whence comes this discord! Has hell broke loose, that man should utter sounds like these!” a. agony b. harsh mingling of sounds c. harmonious melody d. conflagration 2. Read this sentence from the passage and select, from the choices below, the appropriate literary term that was employed. . . . a fierce yell, blended with a shriek of agony, announced that the messenger of death sent from the fatal weapon of Hawkeye, had found a victim. a. alliteration b. simile c. metaphor d. personification © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 75 firmness. “Can we do aught to assist the wretched man?” “No, no! the life is in his heart yet, and after he has slept awhile he will come to himself, and be a wiser man for it, till the hour of his real time shall come,” returned Hawkeye, casting another oblique glance at the insensible body, while he filled his charger with admirable nicety. “Carry him in, Uncas, and lay him on the sassafras. The longer his nap lasts the better it will be for him, as I doubt whether he can find a proper cover for such a shape on these rocks; and singing won’t do any good with the Iroquois.” “You believe, then, the attack will be renewed?” asked Heyward. “Do I expect a hungry wolf will satisfy his craving with a mouthful! They have lost a man, and ‘tis their fashion, when they meet a loss, and fail in the surprise, to fall back; but we shall have them on again, with new expedients to circumvent us, and master our scalps. Our main hope,” he continued, raising his rugged countenance, across which a shade of anxiety just then passed like a darkening cloud, “will be to keep the rock until Munro can send a party to our help! God send it may be soon and under a leader that knows the Indian customs!” 3. Interpret the meaning behind this comment made by Hawkeye: “Do I expect a hungry wolf will satisfy his craving with a mouthful!” © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 76
POEMS BY PHILLIS WHEATLEY
To the K I N G’s Most Excellent Majesty. 1768.
YOUR subjects hope, dread Sire— The crown upon your brows may flourish long, And that your arm may in your God be strong! O may your sceptre num’rous nations sway, And all with love and readiness obey! But how shall we the British king reward! Rule thou in peace, our father, and our lord! Midst the remembrance of thy favours past, The meanest peasants most admire the last May George, beloved by all the nations round, Live with heav’ns choicest constant blessings crown’d! Great God, direct, and guard him from on high, And from his head let ev’ry evil fly! And may each clime with equal gladness see A monarch’s smile can set his subjects free! 1. A staff carried by a sovereign is called a a. sword. b. sceptre. c. mallet. d. scythe. 2. Based on the poem, what can you infer about the power of the king? Was his kingdom large or small? Was he strictly a government leader, or is there implication that he was involved in other areas as well? Use one or two lines from the poem to support what you are saying. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 77 3. What is the meaning of the poem’s last line, “A monarch’s smile can set his subjects free!”? What is the figurative interpretation? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 78 4. Judging from the words of the poem, what is the poet’s overall attitude toward the king? How do you know? Cite one specific example that supports your response. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 79 On being brought from A F R I C A to A M E R I CA. ‘TWAS mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too: Once I redemption neither sought nor knew, Some view our sable race with scornful eye, “Their colour is a diabolic die.” Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train. 5. This poem expresses the belief that a. only white people can be saved by God. b. all races are considered equal in God’s eyes. c. slavery is good for the economy. d. angels bless persons of any religion. 6. Discuss Wheatley’s use of the word sable as a description of her own color. How does it compare to her use of the term diabolic die on the next line? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 80 On the Death of a Young Lady of Five Years of Age. FROM dark abodes to fair etherial light Th’ enraptur’d innocent has wing’d her flight; On the kind bosom of eternal love She finds unknown beatitude above. This known, ye parents, nor her loss deplore, She feels the iron hand of pain no more; The dispensations of unerring grace, Should turn your sorrows into grateful praise; Let then no tears for her henceforward flow, No more distress’d in our dark vale below, Her morning sun, which rose divinely bright, Was quickly mantled with the gloom of night; But hear in heav’n’s blest bow’rs your Nancy fair, And learn to imitate her language there. “Thou, Lord, whom I behold with glory crown’d, “By what sweet name, and in what tuneful sound “Wilt thou be prais’d? Seraphic pow’rs are faint “Infinite love and majesty to paint. “To thee let all their graceful voices raise, “And saints and angels join their songs of praise.” Perfect in bliss she from her heav’nly home Looks down, and smiling beckons you to come; Why then, fond parents, why these fruitless groans? Restrain your tears, and cease your plaintive moans. Freed from a world of sin, and snares, and pain, Why would you wish your daughter back again? No—bow resign’d. Let hope your grief control, And check the rising tumult of the soul. Calm in the prosperous, and adverse day, Adore the God who gives and takes away; Eye him in all, his holy name revere, Upright your actions, and your hearts sincere, Till having sail’d through life’s tempestuous sea, And from its rocks, and boist’rous billows free, Yourselves, safe landed on the blissful shore, Shall join your happy babe to part no more. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 81 7. Read the sentence and select, from the choices below, the word closest in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. FROM dark abodes to fair etherial light a. heavenly b. blinding c. theatrical d. transparent 8. Read the following sentence and select, from the choices below, the word closest in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. She finds unknown beatitude above. a. peace b. wisdom c. blessedness d. condemnation 9. The line, “Freed from a world of sin, and snares, and pain,” suggests that the poet believes that the child a. is in a better place now that she has passed away. b. was living a peaceful and healthy life. c. will not experience an afterlife. d. has suffered an unknown fate. 10. The poem is written for the benefit of the dead girl’s parents. What is its message to them? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 82 11. How would you rewrite this line in prose form, “Her morning sun, which rose divinely bright / Was quickly mantled with the gloom of night;”? What is the equivalent of the “morning sun”? What is the meaning of the “gloom of night”? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 83 An H Y M N to the MORNING. ATTEND my lays, ye ever honour’d nine, Assist my labours, and my strains refine; In smoothest numbers pour the notes along, For bright Aurora now demands my song. Aurora hail, and all the thousand dies, Which deck thy progress through the vaulted skies: The morn awakes, and wide extends her rays, On ev’ry leaf the gentle zephyr plays; Harmonious lays the feather’d race resume, Dart the bright eye, and shake the painted plume. Ye shady groves, your verdant gloom display To shield your poet from the burning day: Calliope awake the sacred lyre, While thy fair sisters fan the pleasing fire: The bow’rs, the gales, the variegated skies In all their pleasures in my bosom rise. See in the east th’ illustrious king of day! His rising radiance drives the shades away— But Oh! I feel his fervid beams too strong, And scarce begun, concludes th’ abortive song. An H Y M N to the EVENING. SOON as the sun forsook the eastern main The pealing thunder shook the heav’nly plain; Majestic grandeur! From the zephyr’s wing, Exhales the incense of the blooming spring. Soft purl the streams, the birds renew their notes, And through the air their mingled music floats. Through all the heav’ns what beauteous dies are spread! But the west glories in the deepest red: So may our breasts with ev’ry virtue glow, The living temples of our God below! Fill’d with the praise of him who gives the light, And draws the sable curtains of the night, Let placid slumbers sooth each weary mind, At morn to wake more heav’nly, more refin’d; So shall the labours of the day begin More pure, more guarded from the snares of sin. Night’s leaden sceptre seals my drowsy eyes, Then cease, my song, till fair Aurora rise. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 84 12. Read the sentence and select from the choices below, the word closet in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. On ev’ry leaf the gentle zephyr plays; a. violin b. music c. rain d. wind 13. In “An Hymn to the Morning,” the author’s tone is a. sorrowful. b. angry. c. celebratory. d. humorous. 14. Which answer is the most accurate? a. Aurora is a metaphor for light. b. Aurora is a personification of the dawn. c. Aurora is a symbol of happiness. d. Aurora is an acronym for a literary society. 15. The “illustrious king of the day” is also known as a. a sovereign. b. a priest. c. the sun. d. a rainbow. 16. In “An Hymn to Evening,” what does the author describe as the virtues of night? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 85 17. What is your understanding of a hymn? Why are these poems so titled? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 86 O D E T O N E P T U N E. On Mrs. W——-’s Voyage to England. I. WHILE raging tempests shake the shore, While Ælus’ thunders round us roar, And sweep impetuous o’er the plain Be still, O tyrant of the main; Nor let thy brow contracted frowns betray, While my Susanna skims the wat’ry way. II. The Pow’r propitious hears the lay, The blue-ey’d daughters of the sea With sweeter cadence glide along, And Thames responsive joins the song. Pleas’d with their notes Sol sheds benign his ray, And double radiance decks the face of day. III. To court thee to Britannia’s arms Serene the climes and mild the sky, Her region boasts unnumber’d charms, Thy welcome smiles in ev’ry eye. Thy promise, Neptune keep, record my pray’r, Not give my wishes to the empty air. Boston, October 12, 1772. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 87 18. Read the following line from the poem and select, from the choices below, the word closest in meaning to the word in bold-faced type. The Pow’r propitious hears the lay. a. negative b. favorable c. engaging d. threatening 19. The musical dialogue is held between the bow of the ship and the a. ship’s captain. b. onboard musicians. c. tempestuous skies. d. waters of the Thames. 20. Discuss the musical characteristics of this poem. You may copy lines with musical references, speak to the poet’s use of technique, or cite some other example of your own choosing. You should be able to find at least three. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 88 21. Describe the contrast between the weather on the land and the weather at sea. Cite one or two lines from the poem that support what you are saying. 22. To whom is the narrator praying? For what purpose? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 89
A R E B U S, by I. B. I.
A BIRD delicious to the taste, On which an army once did feast, Sent by an hand unseen; A creature of the horned race, Which Britain’s royal standards grace; A gem of vivid green; II. A town of gaiety and sport, Where beaux and beauteous nymphs resort, And gallantry doth reign; A Dardan hero fam’d of old For youth and beauty, as we’re told, And by a monarch slain; III. A peer of popular applause, Who doth our violated laws, And grievances proclaim. Th’ initials show a vanquish’d town, That adds fresh glory and renown To old Britannia’s fame. An ANSWER to the Rebus, by the Author of these P O E M S. THE poet asks, and Phillis can’t refuse To show th’ obedience of the Infant muse. She knows the Quail of most inviting taste Fed Israel’s army in the dreary waste; And what’s on Britain’s royal standard borne, But the tall, graceful, rampant Unicorn? The Emerald with a vivid verdure glows Among the gems which regal crowns compose; Boston’s a town, polite and debonair, To which the beaux and beauteous nymphs repair, Each Helen strikes the mind with sweet surprise, While living lightning flashes from her eyes, See young Euphorbus of the Dardan line By Manelaus’ hand to death resign: The well known peer of popular applause Is C——m zealous to support our laws. Quebec now vanquish’d must obey, She too much annual tribute pay To Britain of immortal fame. And add new glory to her name. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 90 23. What is a rebus? Why is this a suitable title for the poem? Using “An Answer to the Rebus . . . ,” respond to the following questions: 24. To which bird does the opening line refer? a. an eagle b. a hawk c. a quail d. a falcon 25. The creature of the horned race is a a. rhinoceros. b. goat. c. toad. d. unicorn. 26. The town about which the poem speaks is a. Boston. b. New York. c. Willamsburg. d. Jamestown. © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. 91 27. Judging from the style and content of this poem, what factors would you say influenced Wheatley’s work? What can you surmise about her education? Why is this surprising? © 2006 Queue, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate.
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