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."
--OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.
Born in Boston, Mass., of a family with some literary attainments, he
showed little promise of unusual ability during his years at Harvard. He
became pastor of the Second Church in Boston for a time and later settled
in Concord. He lectured extensively and wrote much, living a quiet,
isolated life.
The poems by Emerson are used by permission of, and by special
arrangement with, Houghton Mifflin Company, authorized publishers of his
works.
GOOD-BYE
"Good-Bye" was written in 1823 when Emerson, a young boy, was teaching in
Boston. It does not refer to his retirement to the country twelve years
later, but seems a kind of prophecy.
27. lore: learning.
28. sophist: a professed teacher of wisdom.
EACH AND ALL
26. noisome offensive.
THE PROBLEM
18. canticles: hymns belonging to church service.
19. The dome of St. Peter's was the largest in the world at the time of
its construction and was a great architectural achievement. Emerson
feels that it, like every other work that is worth-while, was the result
of a sincere heart.
20. groined: made the roofs inside the churches according to a
complicated, intersecting pattern.
28. Notice the figure of speech here. Is it effective?
39-40. All the mighty buildings of the world were made first in the
minds of the builder or architect, and then took form.
44. The Andes and Mt. Ararat are very ancient formations and belong to
Nature at her beginning on the earth. These great buildings are so in
keeping with Nature that she accepts them and forgets how modern they
are.
51. Pentecost: Whitsunday, when the descent of the Holy Spirit is
celebrated. Emerson says here that this spirit animates all beautiful
music and sincere preaching, as it does we do at our noblest.
65. Chrysostom, Augustine, and the more modern Taylor are all great
religious teachers of the world, and all urged men enter the service of
the church. Augustine: Saint Augustine, the great African bishop (354-
430). He was influential mainly through his numerous writings, which are
still read. His greatest work was his Confessions.
68. Taylor: Dr. Jeremy Taylor, English bishop and author (1613-1667).
One writer assigns to him "the good humour of gentleman, the eloquence of
an orator, the fancy of a poet, acuteness of a schoolman, the
profoundness of a philosopher, the wisdom of a chancellor, the sagacity
of a prophet, reason of an angel, and the piety of a saint." Why should
a man so endowed be compared to Shakespeare?
THE HUMBLE-BEE
6. What characteristics of the bumblebee make animated torrid-zone
applicable? Why doesn't he need to seek a milder climate in Porto Rico?
16. Epicurean: one addicted to pleasure of senses, specially eating and
drinking. How does it apply to the bee?
THE SNOW-STORM
Emerson called this poem "a lecture on God's architecture, one of his
beautiful works, a Day."
9. This picture is strikingly like Whittier's description of a similar
day in "Snow-Bound."
13. bastions: sections of fortifications.
18. Parian wreaths were very white because the marble of Paros was pure.
21. Maugre: in spite of.
FABLE
This fable was written some years before its merits were recognized.
Since then it has steadily grown in popularity.
BOSTON HYMN
16. fend: defend.
24. boreal: northern.
80. behemoth: very large beast.
THE TITMOUSE
76. impregnably: so that it can resist attack.
97. wold: Rood, forest.
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL (1819-1891)
"As political reformer, as editor, as teacher, above all as an example of
the type of scholarly gentleman that the new world was able to produce,
he perhaps did more than any of his contemporaries to dignify American
literature at home and to win for it respect abroad."
--W. B. CAIRNS.
Born at Cambridge, Mass., he early showed a love of literature and says
that while he was a student at Harvard he read everything except the
prescribed textbooks. He opened a law office in Boston, but spent his
time largely in reading and writing poetry. He became professor of
literature at Harvard in 1854 and later edited the Atlantic Monthly.
Later he was minister to Spain and to England. In 1885 he returned to
his work at Harvard, where he remained until his death in the very house
in which he was born.
The poems by Lowell are used by permission of, and by special arrangement
with, Houghton Mifflin Company, authorized publishers of his works.
HAKON's LAY
This poem is here given in its original form as published by Lowell in
Graham's Magazine in January, 1855. It was afterwards expanded into the
second canto of "The Voyage to Vinland."
With what other poems in this book may "Hakon's Lay" be compared?
3. Skald. See Longfellow, 'The Skeleton in Armor,' note on I. 19.
10. Hair and beard were both white, we are told. Who is suggested in
this line as white?
17. eyried. An eagle builds its aerie or nest upon a crag or
inaccessible height above ordinary birds. The simile here begun before
the eagle is mentioned, and the minstrel's thoughts are spoken of as born
in the aerie of his brain, high above his companions.
20. One of the finest pictures of the singing of a minstrel before his
lord is found in Scott's "Waverly."
21. fletcher: arrow-maker.
31. The work of Fate cannot be done by a reed which is proverbially weak
or by a stick which is cut cross-grained and hence will split easily.
She does not take her arrow at random from all the poor and weak weapons
which life offers, but she chooses carefully.
35. sapwood: the new wood next the bark, which is not yet hardened.
37. Much of the value of an arrow lies in its being properly feathered.
So when Fate chooses, she removes all valueless feathers which will
hinder success.
40. In these ways her aim Would be injured.
43. butt's: target's.
52. frothy: trivial.
64. Leif, the son of Eric, near the end of the tenth century went from
Greenland to Norway and was converted to Christianity. About 1000 he
sailed southward and landed at what is perhaps now Newfoundland, then
went on to some part of the New England coast and there spent the winter.
61. The coming of Leif Ericson with his brave ship to Vinland was the
first happening in the story of America.
61. rune: a character in the ancient alphabet.
FLOWERS