Ín dice - ensjm
TRANSCRIPT
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Í N D I CE
B lo q u e 1
B lo q u e 2
B lo q u e 3 .
LE CT UR AS
B LO QU E I
Introducción…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Evolución Histórica de la Lengua inglesa……………………………………………………………………………… 4
Organización de los contenidos……………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Orientaciones didácticas generales………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Sugerencias para la evaluación……………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Organización por bloques……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
.
Grandes cambios e influencias en la evolución del Inglés antiguo y el Inglés medio……….. 9
.
El Inglés moderno…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
El Inglés Actual……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
Beowulf………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
18
The Wanderer ………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………. 33
36
The Seafarer
…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 40
Riddles……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
44
46
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight…………………………………………………………………………………………. 46
Ballads…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 60
The Canterbury Tales
…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 64
Of Plymouth Plantation
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………… 76
T ra ns la te d b y Bu rt on Ra f fe l………………………………………………. ………………………. . ………………………. .
T ra ns la t e d b y Cha rl e s W . Ke n n e d y ………………………………………………………………. ……………………….
T ra ns la t e d b y Bu rt on Ra f fe l
Un kn o w n a ut h o r
T ra ns la t e d b y Ne v ill Co gh ill
W illia m
Bra d fo rd
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BLOQ U E I I
B LO Q U E I I I
The passionate Shepherd to His Love
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………. 87
The Tyger…………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………. 88
The Lamb……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 90
Jerusalem
………………….…………………………………………………………….……………………………………….. 92
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
………………………………………….…………………………………………………………….. 94
She Walks in Beauty……………………………………………………………………….……………………………………… 119
So We’ll Go No More A-roving …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 120
The Destruction of Sennacherib
….…………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………… 122
First Inaugural address
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
124
From Sonnets From the Portuguese
………………………………………………….………………………………………………….. 131
Dover Beach
………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………… 133
Break, Break, Break………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 135
Crossing the Bar
………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………. 137
Mending Wall………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 138
The Road Not Taken………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 140
Nothing Gold Can Stay
…………………………………………………………………………………….………………..………………….. 142
¶¶¶
Ch ris to p e r Ma rlo w e
W illia m Bla ke
S a m u e l T a ylo r Cole ridg e
Lo rd B y ro n
Ab ra h a m Linc oln
Eliz a b e th Ba rre t B ro w n ing
Ma t th e w Arn old
A lf re d Lo rd T e n n y s o n
Ro be rt Fros t
Eliminado:
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I N T R OD U CCIÓ N
Mediante la exploración del pasado y la actualidad del inglés, los estudiantes aprenderán
que las lenguas vivas están en un proceso constante, pero en general muy lento, de cambio,
desarrollo y variación. Asimismo, adquiri rán una visión realista del inglés , especialmente del
actual, donde coexisten formas “anticuadas” y “moderna ”, “normales” y “divergentes”, por
ejemplo:
She is older than I (anticuado). She is older than me (moderno).
I used not to like balle t (anticuado). I didn’t use to like ballet (moderno).
If I had known... (normal). If I would have known... (divergente, pero en e fecto ya normal
en el inglés hablado de los EUA, incluso en universitarios y profesionistas).
Tanto en la escuela normal como en su futura práctica docente, los estudiantes
trabajarán con materiales auténticos, como canciones p pulares , extractos de libros , revistas,
películas , etcétera y con frecuencia van a encontrar variantes similares a las que se anotan en
estos e jemplos . Aun cuando la práctica productiva del inglés en la escuela se enfocará hacia las
formas “modernas” y “normales”, maestros y a lumnos deben reconocer a lgunas de las variantes
más comunes.
Además , es conveniente que los estudiantes comprendan que el inglés dejó, hace mucho
tiempo, de ser una lengua nacional en varias naciones, con dife rencias culturales entre ellas.
Aparte de extenderse desde Inglaterra a Irlanda, Estados Unidos, Jamaica, Canadá, Australia y
Nueva Zelanda, el inglés se convirtió durante el siglo XX en segunda lengua oficial, ya sea
o , en más de 110 países de Europa, Asia, África , América y Oceanía. De esta
manera, en muchos de estos lugares se desarrollan vari es dialectales que difieren del llamado
.
El inglés, pues, ya no es propiedad cultural de los ll mados pueblos anglosajones, sino
de muchas otras comunidades, por ejemplo, India , Nigeria, Filipinas y Singapur. Estos nuevos
“dueños” del inglés , junto con otros usuarios alrededor del mundo involucrados en los procesos
modernos de intercambio económico, tecno-científico y cultura l, también contribuyen a su
evolución como lengua y como conjunto de dialectos.
de
fac to de ju re
s ta n da rd En glis h
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EVOLUCI Ó N H I S T ÓR I CA D E LA LE N G UA I NGLE S A
P R OGR AMA
OR GAN IZ AC I Ó N D E LO S CON T EN I DO S
La asignatura Evolución Histórica de la Lengua Inglesa, por ser parte del plan de estudios
de una especialidad cuyo propósito es formar profesore de Inglés , tiene una orientación
pedagógica más que académica. Se destacan aspectos de a his toria y la actualidad de l idioma
que concienticen a los futuros profesores de la natura leza camb te y variable de las lenguas
vivas, en particular el inglés, además de desarrollar propio dominio de esa lengua.
Este cuaderno está integrado por dos partes: El progra de la asignatura ‘Evolución
histórica de la Lengua Inglesa ’ y los textos que const uyen el material de apoyo para el
desarrollo y estudio de la asignatura. Estos últimos s recursos básicos para lograr el análisis
de los temas a desarrollar dentro de la asignatura, y se encuentran en este texto ya que es de
difícil acceso para los estudiantes y maestros; aún así se presenta la bibliografía de dichos textos
en caso de requerir de la misma.
Otros textos cuya consulta sea necesaria y no estén incluidos dentro de este volumen se
muestran en la bibliografía complementaria.
El programa de la asignatura está organizado en tres bloques. En cada uno de ellos se
presentan los temas de estudio, la bibliografía y mate les básicos para su análisis, se propone
bibliografía complementaria con la finalidad de ampliar la información de los temas
correspondientes de y de acuerdo a los intereses y necesidades particulares de cada persona.
Cada bloque tiene propuestas actividades a desarrollar en cada tema del curso
En el Bloque 1. Los grandes cambios e influencias en l evolución del inglés antiguo (
) y el inglés medio ( ), se pretende que los estudiantes hagan un estudio
minucioso de la gramática y e l vocabulario, para que s logre así el análisis de las raíces y los
proceso de cambio más notorios de las primeras épocasque representan algunas de las
tendencias todavía características del inglés. Partien o del anglosajón (o del conjunto de
dialectos anglosajones), una lengua con extensos sistemas de inflexiones parecidos a los del
alemán moderno (declinaciones de los sustantivos, terminaciones de los verbos, etcétera) se
pueden señalar, por ejemplo:
old
En g lis h m id dle En glis h
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La pérdida progresiva del género gramatical (en la actualidad el género de los
sustantivos en inglés es únicamente biológico: es femenino, es masculino,
pero y , por ejemplo, no tienen género biológico ni gramatica con excepción
de los pronombres y adjetivos personales
La pérdida progresiva de las inflexiones de los verbos (el inglés medio de Chaucer ya
tenía menos inflexiones que el anglosajón:
, pero todavía son 11 formas , con variantes , en el
caso de un verbo regular o “débil ”, contra sólo cinco formas en el inglés actual:
).
Con la pérdida de inflexiones, el aumento gradual en l rigidez de la sintaxis y el orden
de las palabras en la oración.
La influencia de las “frases verbales” de los dialectos escandinavos.
El uso más “popular” y “cotidiano” del vocabulario de origen anglosajón y escandinavo, y
más “culto” y “profesional” del vocabulario de origen s, de origen la tino y griego
(re flejado todavía en el inglés actual , por ejemplo:
).
El inicio de la Gran Mudanza de las Vocales ( o ), que
progresivamente hizo que el inglés, de ser una lengua on un sistema vocal no muy
distinto al español , cambiara a ser una lengua con un s istema más amplio y con más
vocales largas y diptongos.
El bloque 2, El inglés “moderno”, tiene como principales puntos a tar: la gramática, el
vocabulario, la pronunciación y la ortografía , con el jeto de lograr el reconocimiento de:
Las notables diferencias entre el inglés de, por ejemplo, Coleridge o Shakespeare y el
inglés actual (como el desarrollo del sistema , la pérdida en el inglés
“normal” de la segunda persona del singular , y el uso de para
singular y familiar, además de plural, cambios en los ignificados y usos de muchas
palabras , cambios en la pronunciación, continuación de la GVS, etcétera).
La ampliación del vocabulario con pa labras “importadas de todo el mundo y nuevos
términos tecno-científicos, culturales, etcétera, y la flexibilidad d glés en ese proceso
(por ejemplo, el uso de una sola palabra para dis tinta funciones gramaticales:
).
La “normalización” de la ortografía a parti r de los primeros diccionarios del siglo XVIII.
A pesar de algunos movimientos académicos, normativos pedantes , la apertura
general del inglés hacia el cambio (razón por la que l anglohablantes en general no
quieren tener una Academia de la Lengua).
w o m a n m a n
flo o r t ab le
he / s he , his /h e r, his / h e rs ).
lo v ie n / lo v in ge / lo ve d / lo v e - lo v e s t -l o ve th -
lo v e n / lo v e d e -lo v e de s t - lo v e d e - lo v e de n
lo v e / lo v in g / lo ve d / lo ve - lo v e s - lo ve / lo v e d
t alk, h o u s e , m ille r v s . co n ve rs e ,
re s ide n ce , law ye r
Gre a t Vo w e l S h ift GVS
d o - do e s - d id
t h o u -th e e - th y - th ine yo u
a
t e le p h o n e , t o t e le p h o n e , a t e l e p h o n e d ire c t o ry
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Dentro del Bloque 3, El inglés “actual”, se retoma el isis de las variaciones gramáticas
del Inglés a través de la evolución que va sufriendo con la finalidad de que el alumno reconozca:
Las variantes nacionales y regionales: principalmente el británico y
norteamericano.
Las variantes sociales, por ejemplo: el lenguaje “del ueblo” y de muchas canciones
populares ( , , , etcétera); el lenguaje “idiomático” de la
gente “media” tal como hablan en el cine, la televisión y en otros medios (
…), y el lenguaje de la
gente “de cultura conservadora” (como el Chie f Inspect n policía pedante:
, etcétera).
Variantes de estilo y uso, por ejemplo: formal / informal
), inglés académico y técnico (terminología , voz pasiva,
conectores , entre otras cosas).
El inglés “liberal” el inglés “conservador” (por e jemplo:
); este parámetro también se puede ver como “informal” “formal”.
El inglés “normal” el inglés “vulgar” (por ejemplo:
).
El inglés “general” el inglés “especializado” (por ejemplo:
).
Las variantes dialectales (por ejemplo: Inglaterra EUA,
“Sureño” Australia Nigeria, etcétera).
Al finalizar el curso los estudiantes deberán tener un apreciación amplia de lo que ha sido y
es la lengua inglesa, dejando atrás algunos conceptos estrechos, rígidos o idealizados .
Esta guía se propone, básicamente, motivar a los estudiantes para que re flexionen sobre
la lengua inglesa, sus cambios y variantes lingüís tica a través de actividades, tanto dentro
como fuera del salón de clases, para desarrollar su competencia comunicativa. Las tareas deben
promover el autoaprendizaje e incentivar al alumno a ut lizar la biblioteca e Internet.
El maestro de Evolución Histórica… deberá diseñar su propio plan de trabajo
considerando las necesidades e intereses de sus estudiantes, los propósitos generales de este
curso y los acuerdos a que se llegue en la academia de la especialidad y con los di rectivos del
plantel.
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s ta n d a rd En g lis h
a in ’t d o u b le ne g a t ive he d o n ’t
I f I w o uld
h a v e kn o w n , w an n a / got ta , I w is h it w as ’, S h e s in gs re a go o d
Ha d
I kn o w n , I w is h it w e re , I a m h e
(c hild re n / kid s , Do yo u n o t
/ Do n ’t y o u , t h e re fo re / s o …
v s . old e r t ha n m e vs . old e r t ha n
I v s .
vs . He h a s n ’t s aid a n y t hing vs . He
ain ’t s a id no t hin g
v s . Jo h n S m ith , w h o ’s b ring in g
th e c as e vs . Jo h n S m it h , h e nc e fo rth “t h e pla in t i ff”
v s . Co c kn e y / Lo n d ine n s e vs .
S c o t t is h v s . N e w En gla n d v s . v s . v s .
OR I E N TACI O NES D I D ÁCT I CAS GEN ER ALE S
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El maestro titular seleccionará los textos adiciona les relacionados con cada tema y los
adaptará o diseñará ciertas actividades dependiendo de su contexto particular. Sin embargo, por
los contenidos de es ta asignatura y de Gramática Comparada... es importante que ambos
maestros se pongan de acuerdo acerca de las actividades para evitar reiteraciones innecesarias
y, en cambio, proponer complementarias.
Para impartir el curso exis te una gran variedad de mat riales como los que se anotan a
continuación:
Textos sobre la lengua inglesa: su historia, los diale tos, etcétera.
Videos documentales de la his toria de la lengua.
Muestras impresas del inglés escrito en distintas épocas y variantes actuales.
Muestras del inglés hablado en dis tintas épocas y variantes actuales: obras de teatro,
películas (históricas, regionales, e tcétera), entre otros.
Canciones: fo lclóricas , populares, etcétera.
La modalidad de taller es la que se ajusta mejor a los objetivos generales esta
asignatura, pues a través de la interacción con sus compañeros y de sus propias re flexiones, los
alumnos desarrol larán su comprensión auditiva y lectora, y las actitudes propias de los
profesores de inglés. Además , se propicia la práctica de la lengua inglesa que es necesaria en
todas las asignaturas de la especia lidad, con el fin d que el futuro profesor adquiera la
confianza que se requiere para conducir una clase en inglés
Durante todo el curso, los estudiantes normalistas participarán en actividades de análisis
y comparación de las diferentes variantes históricas y actuales del inglés , y es responsabilidad
del maestro registrar de manera sistemática los logros de los alumnos respecto a su
participación, ya sea en forma individual o en grupo. Se propone darle respuesta a preguntas de
aná lisis al final de cada selección, además de tres trabajos parciales como respuesta creativa en
determinadas lecturas. Esta evaluación continua abarcará los propósitos de las áreas 1, 2 y 3.
Además , y al igual que en otros cursos, es necesario que los normalis tas realicen un
trabajo escrito final, orientado al análisis de las va iantes del inglés actual, y sobre todo las que
podrían utilizarse en los estudios profesionales de los maestros o en la enseñanza del inglés. El
tema del trabajo final podría ser uno de los que se anotan a continuación:
Analizar la variante de inglés empleada en un extracto e los siguientes textos:
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S U GER EN C I AS P AR A LA E VALU AC I Ó N
a )
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La Constitución de los EUA, Un instructivo o manual técnico, Un libro o artículo académico
(por e jemplo sobre el aprendiza je del inglés ), El guión de una película moderna o Una o más
canciones populares.
Analizar y comparar dos diálogos: entre dos británicos y entre dos norteamericanos. Se
pueden encontrar dos diálogos parecidos, que sean apropiados para este ejercicio , en la versión
británica y la versión norteamericana de un curso internacional, por ejemplo:
Es recomendable
emplear diálogos de comprensión auditiva de nivel inte o avanzado ya que serán más
“auténticos” que los diálogos simplificados y artifici es de nivel básico, también se podrá
recurri r al material grabado y tomar en cuenta la pronunciación, además del texto.
Es recomendable que en su análisis e l es tudiante tome n cuenta las implicaciones de las
variantes lingüísticas para el usuario no-nativo de la lengua inglesa y, en su caso, para el
maestro de inglés, por ejemplo: ¿Qué hace el profesor con una canción popular solicitada por
sus alumnos, que contiene formas como: ¿Qué hace el
solicitante mexicano de una beca para posgrado en Canadá al escribir un texto en inglés sobre
su especialidad como parte del proceso de selección?, ¿Qué hace u exicano en un intercambio
con una familia norteamericana que, aunque los padres on profesionistas y los hijos tienen
educación superior, habla en forma “idiomática”?
b )
He ad w a y / Am e rica n He a d w a y , N e w I nt e rc h a n ge / Ch a n ge s , Re w a rd / Mo v e Up .
He ain ’t d o ne n o t hin g fo r y o u , b a b y? ,
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OR GAN IZ AC I Ó N P O R B LOQ U ES
B LO QU E 1 . GR AN DES CAMB IO S E I NFLU E NC I A S E N LA EVO LU CI Ó N D EL I N LÉS
AN TI GU O Y E L I N GLÉS ME D I O
B IB LI O GR A FÍ A Y OT R O S MAT ER I ALES B ÁS I COS
Temas
1. ¿De dónde proviene el Inglés actual?
2. ¿Cómo ha evolucionado de sus inicios al primer cambio notorio?
3. ¿Qué propicia el inicio de la literatura y mudanza de vocales en esta lengua?
Beowulf
The Wanderer
The Seafarer
Riddles
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Ballads
The Canterbury Tales
Of Plymouth Plantation
Holt, Rinehart and Winston (1994) “Elements of Literature”
www.lone-star.net/literature/beowulf/index.htm
www.aimsdata.com/tim/anhaga/wanderermain.htm
www.luminarium.org/medlit/gawain.htm
//csis.pace.edu/grendel//proj4a/gawain.htm
T ra ns la t e d b y Bu rt on Ra f fe l
T ra ns la t e d b y Cha rle s W . Ke n ne d y
T ra ns la t e d b y Bu rt on Ra f fe l
Un kn o w n a u th o r
T ra ns la t e d b y Ne v ill Co gh ill
W illia m Bra d fo rd
10
www.librarius .com
Para iniciar el estudio de este curso, se sugiere que l alumno tenga su bibliografía
básica a la mano, y que tenga antecedentes del autor a estudiar, para tener re ferencias del
mismo al momento de iniciar cada sesión y lograr así un dominio mejor de la lectura en curso,
así como de los posibles significados de cie rtas frase o comentarios. Para lograr este propósito
se pueden realizar las siguientes actividades:
Elaborar una línea del tiempo del autor a estudiar, anotando en ella los mayores
logros del autor y los momentos en que ocurrieron.
Hacer un breve resumen de los datos generales del autor.
Crear un cuadro sinóptico con datos del autor y posibles actividades realizadas
en esa época.
Elaborar un cuadro comparativo analizando las acciones del autor y los
principales movimientos sociales de la época en que se desenvolvió el mismo.
Una vez lograda la máxima comprensión del autor a l estudiar y su estilo de pensar se
propone el aná lisis de la obra con fin de establecer el desarro llo lierario del autor y sus razones
para escribir de tal manera, así como las posibles pau as para la evolución de la lengua así como
del pensamiento. Para lograr esto se proponen las siguientes actividades:
Analizar en grupo la obra leída, y llegar a conclusion generales sobre la misma.
Contestar las preguntas al final de cada obra, con el in de identificar pequeños
detalles entre líneas , e interpretar significados específicos de dicho escrito.
Buscar en equipo posibles razones de la existencia de terminadas frases, y el
efecto que se podría producir en caso de cambiarlas.
Para el desarrollo del tema 1: ¿De dónde proviene el Inglés actua l? Se habrán de
verificar las lecturas realizadas y encontrar en ellas la e timo ogía de cie rtas palabras , para poder
relacionarlas con el inglés que conocemos a la fecha, para esto se sugiere:
Búsqueda de palabras desconocidas por medio de de las lecturas.
Investigar el origen de dichas palabras y ejemplifi carlas en diferen es contextos.
Para una re flexión y análisis a fondo del tema 2: ¿Cómo ha evolucionado de sus inicios al
primer cambio notorio? Se sugiere:
ACT IV I D AD E S S U GER I D AS
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s c an n in g
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Estudiar las palabras que se encuentren en las lecturas y que sean muy similares
a las actuales, pero con varianza en escritura, signif o pronunciación, e
investigar el origen y evolución de la misma.
Comparar lecturas del bloque 1 con lecturas en revista o libros actuales y
ana lizar la dife rencia en pronunciación, modo de hablar y posibles significados
entre líneas de las mismas .
Para el desarrollo del tema 3:¿Qué propicia el inicio e la lite ratura y mudanza de
vocales en esta lengua? Se espera que el alumno tenga pleno dominio de los temas
anteriores y logre realizar las actividades a continuación sugeridas:
Análisis crítico de la obra en cuestión, así como refl xión sobre el tema a
desarrollar, y llegar a conclusiones propias sobre la udanza de vocales.
Desarrollo de actividades en equipo con distintos temas sobre el gran cambio
dentro de la mudanza de vocales y el porque se llegó a ha evolución.
Respuesta creativa: pedir a los alumnos que realicen (de su ‘propia creación’) un
escrito similar a uno de los estudiados (riddles) aplicándolo a un tema común,
para descubrir así las razones por las cuales se crearon y el significado más
profundo de las mismas, viviendo así la experiencia en ‘carne propia’.
.
Temas
1. ¿Cuál es la pauta que marca el cambio hacia el Inglés moderno?
2. ¿A qué se debe la variación en géneros gramaticales?
3. ¿Cómo se normaliza la ortografía dentro de la lengua?
Bibliografía y otros materiales básicos
The passionate Shepherd to His Love
The Tyger
The Lamb
Jerusalem
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
B LO QU E 2 EL I N GLÉS MO D ER N O
Ch ris t op e r Ma rlow e
W illia m Bla ke
S a m u e l T a y lo r Cole ridg e
12
Holt, Rinehart and Winston (1994) “Elements of Literature”
Edward H. Weatherly e t. al. (1945) The English Heritag l. I EU
Se pretende en este bloque el desarrollo de habilidade dentro de la lectura de
y para llegar a un análisis más profundo de los temas a tratar y lograr que e l alumno
llegue a conclusiones propias sobre los movimientos de cada época y las razones que los
propiciaron.
Para el desarrollo de los temas en el bloque 2.:¿Cuál es la pauta que marca el cambio
hacia el Inglés moderno?, ¿A qué se debe la variación n géneros gramaticales?, ¿Cómo se
normaliza la ortografía dentro de la lengua? Se sugieren las siguientes actividades:
Rea lizar una línea del tiempo
Lectura y aná lisis de cada uno de los textos seleccionados para el bloque, con el
respectivo estudio bibliográfico del autos de dichos t s.
Desarrollo de actividades en equipo o pareja proponien o posibles respuestas a
las interrogantes presentadas para el tema.
Respuesta a preguntas parta la interpretación de significados e identificación de
detalles importantes.
Práctica del alumno sobre el tema con una respuesta creativa, para tratar de
comprender en uno mismo la s ituación a la que se enfrentaron los autores y
porque se dio la necesidad de evolucionar en la lengua tanto escri ta como
hablada.
Análisis en grupo de los cambios o variaciones más pequeñas en cada lectura y
la razón posible para el desarrollo de los mismos.
Escrito del alumno de una de las lecturas utilizando otro punto de vista o una
tercera persona, para descubrir así las variaciones surgidas a parti r de dicho
cambio y re flexionar sobre las variaciones a partir de distintos tipos de
movimientos.
ACT IV I D AD E S S U GER I D AS :
s c a nn in g
s kim m in g
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13
B LO QU E 3 . E L I N GLÉS ACT U AL
T EMAS
B IB LI O GR A FÍ A Y OT R O S MAT ER I ALES B ÁS I COS
ACTI V I D AD E S S U GER I D AS :
1. ¿En qué momento se comienza la importación de vocabulario?
2. ¿Cómo se desarro lla un Inglés “formal” contra uno “informal” a la par?
She Walks in Beauty
So We’ll Go No More A-roving
The Destruction of Sennacherib
First Inaugural address
From Sonnets From the Portuguese
Dover Beach
Break, Break, Break
Crossing the Bar
Mending Wall
The Road Not Taken
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Robert Fros t
Holt, Rinehart and Winston (1994) “Elements of Literature”
Se espera que el alumno en este punto ya reconozca los principales cambios y orígenes
de la lengua, para que logre un análisis concienzudo de los cambios actuales y la necesidad de
los mismos.
Lo rd By ro n
Ab ra h a m Linc oln
Eliz a b e th Ba rre t Bro w ning
Ma t th e w Arn o ld
A lf re d Lo rd Te n n ys o n
14
Para el desarrollo del tema 1: ¿En qué momento se comienza la importación de
vocabulario? Se sugieren las siguientes actividades:
Lectura de las obras dentro del texto, así como de obras de más actualidad,
revistas y periódicos.
Análisis de las palabras que provienen de otras lengua y reflexión sobre la
necesidad de haberlas importado. Posibles propuestas y razones para evitar o
apoyar e l apoyo de la importación de palabras.
Desarrollo de un debate o mesa redonda que tenga como tema principal la
importancia y necesidad de la importación de vocabulario, s i afecta o beneficia y
porqué.
Comparación de lecturas modernas no ‘tan actuales’ y lecturas dentro de una
revista o periódico del año en curso, para descubrir si la importación de palabras
aumenta o decrece con el paso del tiempo.
Trabajo en equipo o pareja presentando una obra no tan actual y buscando la
manera de modernizarla, proponiendo palabras para añad e a la misma.
Como trabajo individual buscar una palabra en nuestra lengua nativa y proponer
que se ‘importe’ al Inglés, dando razones de la necesidad de la importación,
especificando su uso y explicando como se escribiría y pronunciaría dicha
palabra; se puede elaborar un breve escrito tipo ensay tesis para defender su
palabra.
Para el desarrollo del tema 2: ¿Cómo se desarrol la un Inglés “formal” contra uno
“informal” a la par? Se propone:
Análisis de lecturas formales (de libros) e informales (de revista o periódico),
para hacer un cuadro comparativo y explicar as í la necesidad de los dos tipos de
lenguaje.
Rea lizar una obra o role-play en pareja (un pequeño diálogo) en inglés formal e
informal, para que el resto de los alumnos identifique las diferencias y la
necesidad de los mismos dependiendo de los contextos en los que se realizan.
Desarrollo de respuestas en torno a las lecturas para el análisis de los detalles y
significados y el cambio que existe en la importancia se la da a cie rtos
temas.
Extender uno de los escritos o cambiarle el final, dándole tono formal e informal
y descubrir la variación que esto provoca a la obra.
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15
B IB LI O GR AFÍ A S UGER I D A
NO T A
Alexander, H. (1940), Anchor Books.
Bryson, B. (1990), Penguin Books.
Crystal, D. (1997), , Cambridge Univers ity Press.
Holt, Rinehart and Winston (1994) Elements of Literature.
Potter, S. (1966), Penguin Books.
Video 1 de la serie “The Story of English”, The award-winning series on the history of the English
Language, hosted by Robert MacNeil of
: El bloque 1, “Los grandes cambios e influencias en la evolución del inglés antiguo (
) y el inglés medio ( )”, se puede manejar principalmente a través de textos
y videos sobre la historia de la lengua inglesa y extractos breves de obras antiguas (por
ejemplo: y ) con su “traducción” al inglés moderno. También
se recomienda trabajar con textos modernos donde los estudiantes clasifiquen las palabras a
partir de si parecen tener un origen germánico, francé etcétera; pueden verificar su trabajo
con un buen diccionario. El bloque 2, “El inglés ‘moderno’”, se puede trabajar de la misma
manera, pero con extractos más largos de textos de Coleridge y otros autores de los siglos XIV a
XVI. Inclusive se recomienda emplear fragmentos hablados en videos de obras de Shakespeare,
Fielding (por ejemplo ), Jane Austen y Dickens, entre muchos otros. El bloque 3, “El
inglés ‘actual’”, se abre a una infinidad de posibilidades en cuanto materiales: videos de
televisión (como noticias) y películas, canciones, extractos de periódicos, revistas, novelas y
otros que decidan en el curso
T h e S to ry o f O u r La n g u a ge ,
Mo t he r To n gu e : The Eng lis h La n g u a ge ,
En glis h as a Glob al La n g u ag e
O u r La n g u a ge ,
T he m ac N e il/ Le h re r N e w s ho u r.
old
En g lis h m id dle Eng lis h
Be ow ulf Los cu e n to s de C a nt e rb u ry
To m Jo n e s
16
An e x o 1 .
Identi fying Sound Devices in a Poem
Sound Device Definition
OnomatopoeiaThe use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning
(Examples: hiss, buzz).
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close together
in a poem, or the repetition of consonant sounds that are similar
(Example: “Where the quail is whistling betwixt the woods and the
wheat-lot”).
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by dif erent
consonant sounds in words that are close together (Example: “All
day the wind breathes low with mellower tone”).
Consonance
The repetition of final consonant sounds after vowe l sounds .
(Example: “Life’s but… a poor player/ that struts and ts his hour
upon the s tage.”).
Dissonance A harsh, discordant combination of sounds.
Parallelism
The repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have the same
grammatical structure, or that res tate a similar idea. (Example:
“Bring me my bow of burning gold! / Bring me my arrows of
desire!”).
RefrainA repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines . (Example: “Mother,
make my bed soon”).
SimileMakes a comparison between two unlike things, using an explicit
word such as , , , or .
MetaphorMakes a comparison between two unlike things, without e use of
the words , , , or .
PersonificationA special kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing o uality is
talked about as if it were human.
Apostrophe
A speaker directly addresses an absent or dead person, an abstract
quality, or something nonhuman as if it were present and capable of
responding.
Hyperbole The use of exaggeration, or overs tatement, for e ffect.
Oxymoron Combines incongruous or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.
MetonymyA person, place , or thing is referred to by something sely
associated with it.
Conceit
An elaborate and surprising connection between two seemingly
dissimilar things, usually forming the framework of an entire poem,
as in seventeenth-century metaphysical poetry.
Kenning In Anglo-Saxon poetry, a metaphorical phrase or compound word
like as re s e m ble s t ha n
like a s re s e m ble s t ha n
17
used to name a person, place, thing, or event indirectly.
Beowulf is to England what Homer’s and are to ancient Greece: it is the
first work of a national literature. Beowulf is the my hical and literary record of a formative stage
of English civilization; it is also an epic of the heroic sources of English culture. Beowulf is oral
art; it was composed in Old English, probably in Northumbria in northeast England, sometime
between the years 700 and 750, much of the material of the poem is based on early folk
legends.
A list of characters and places
Here are some of the important people, monsters, and places that appear in Beowulf or are
mentioned in the story:
: a Geat, son of Edgetho and nephew of Higlac, king of the Geats . Higlac is
Beowulf’s feudal lord, as well as his uncle.
: chief of a tribe called Brondings and a friend of Be wulf.
: a man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake.
His name might be related to the old Norse , meaning “s torm,” or , “to below.”
the golden guest-hall built by King Hrothgar, the Danish ruler. It was ed with
the antlers of stags; the name means “hart (stag) Hall,” Scholars think Herot might have
been built near Lejre on the coas t of Zealand, in Denmark.
king of the Danes, builder of Herot. He had once befri owulf’s fa ther. His
father was called Healfdane (which probably means “Half Dane”). Hrothgar’s name might
mean “glory spear” or “spear of triumph.”
one of Hrothgar’s courtiers, who is reputed to be a skilled warrior. His sword, called
Hrunting, is used by Beowulf in a later battle.
Hrotghar’s wife, queen of the Danes.
: a Geat warrior, one of Beowulf’s selected band, and the only one to help him in his
final fight with the dragon. Wiglaf might be related t owulf.
Though the poetic form of the may seem foreign to you, the hero himself should
seem very familiar. He embodies many vi rtues we s till admire in the heroic “dragon-slayers ” of
today. Beowulf has superior physical prowess , he is supremely ethical, and he risks his own life
to save the lives of those who are in mortal danger and cannot protect themselves .
The setting of the first part of the epic is Herot, a guest-hall or “mead-hall .” (Mead is a
fermented drink made from honey.) The hall had a central place in Anglo-Saxon society. Here
the lord’s warriors could feast, listen to the bard’s stores, and sleep in safety.
B EOW U LF
B e o w u lf
B re c c a
Gre n d e l
He ro t :
Hro t h g a r:
Un fe rt h :
W e lt h o w :
W ig la f
I lia d Od y s s e y
g rin d ill g re n ja
Be o w u lf
18
You’ll notice that Grendel is immediately identified as a spawn of Cain. In the Bible , Cain
is the first murderer. His crime was fratricide –the murder of his own brother.
Translated by
The Monster Grendel
1
A powerful monster, living down
In the darkness , growled in pain, impatient
As day a fter day the music rang
Loud in that hall, the harp’s rejoicing
Call and the poet’s clear songs, sung
Of the ancient beginnings of us all, recalling
The Almighty making the earth, shaping
These beautiful plains marked off by the oceans,
Then proudly setting the sun and moon
To glow across the land and light it;
The corners of the earth were made lovely with trees
And leaves, made quick with life, with each
Of the nations who now move on its face. And then
As now warriors sang of their pleasure:
So Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall
Till the monster sti rred, that demon, that fiend,
Grende l, who haunted the moors , the wild
Marshes, and made his home in a hell
Not hell but earth. He was spawned in that slime,
Conceived by a pair o f those monsters born
Of Cain, murderous creatures banished
By God, punished forever for the crime
Of Abel’s death. The Almighty drove
Those demons out, and their exile was bitte r,
Shut away from men; they spli t
Into a thousand forms of evil –spirits
And fiends, goblins, monsters, giants,
A brood forever opposing the Lord’s
FR OM B EOW U LF
B u rto n Ra ff e l
19
Will , and again and again defeated.
2
Then, when darkness had dropped, Grendel
Went up to Herot, wondering what the warriors
Would do it in that hall when their drinking was done.
He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting
Nothing, their dreams undisturbished. The monster’s
Thought were as quick as his greed or his claws:
He slipped through the door and there in the silence
Snatched up thirty men, smashed them
Unknowing in their bed and ran out with their bodies,
The blood dripping behind him, back
To his lair, delighted with his night’s slaughter.
At daybreak, with the sun’s first light, they saw
How well he had worked, and in that gray morning
Broke their long feast with tears and laments
For the dead. Hrothgar, their lord, sat joyless
In Herot, a mighty prince mourning
The fate of his lost friends and companions ,
Knowing by its tracks that some demon had torn
His followers apart. He wept, fearing
The beginning might not be the end. And that night
Grende l came again, so set
On murder that no crime would ever be enough,
No savage assault quench his lust
For evil. Then each warrior tried
To escape him, searched for rest in diffe rent
Beds, as far from Herot as they could find,
Seeing how Grendel hunted when they slept.
Distance was safe ty; the only survivors
Were those who fled him. Hate had triumphed.
So Grendel ruled, fought with the righteous,
One against many, and won; so Herot
Stood empty, and stayed deserted for years,
Twelve winters of grief for Hrothgar, king
Of the Danes, sorrow heaped at his door
By hell-forged hands . His misery leaped
20
The seas, was told and sung in all
Men’s ears : how Grendel’s hatred began,
How the monster relished hs savage war
On the Danes , keeping the bloody feud
Alive, seeking no peace, offering
No truce, accepting no settlement, no price
In gold or land, and paying the living
For one crime only with another. No one
Waited for reparation from his plundering claws:
That shadow of death hunted in the darkness ,
Stalked Hrothgar’s warriors , old
And young, lying in waiting, hidden
In mist, invisibly following them from the edge
Of the marsh, always there, unseen.
So mankind’s enemy continued his crimes,
Killing as often as he could, coming
Alone, bloodthirsty and horrible. Though he lived
In Herot, when the night hid him, he never
Dared to touch king Hrothgar’s glorious
Throne, protected by God –God,
Whose love Grendel could not know. But Hrothgar’s
Heart was bent. Then the best and most noble
Of his council debated remedies, sat
In secret sessions , talking of the terror
And wondering what the braves t of warriors could do.
And sometimes they sacrificed to the old stone gods,
Made heathen vows, hoping for Hell’s
Support, the Devil’s guidance in driving
Their affliction off. That was their way,
And the heathen’s only hope, Hell
Always in their hearts, knowing neither God
Nor His passing as He walks through our world. The Lord
Of Heaven and earth; their ears could not hear
His praise nor know His glory. Let them
Beware, those who are thrust into danger,
Clutched at by trouble , yet can carry no solace
In their hearts , cannot hope to be better! Hail
To those who will rise to God, drop off
Their dead bodies and seek our Father’s peace!
21
1 Healfdane’s son: Hrothgar
3
So the living sorrow of Healfdane ’s son1
Simmered, bitter and fresh, and no wisdom
Or s trength could break it:that agony hung
On king and people alike, harsh
And unending, violent and cruel, and evil .
In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlac’s
Follower and the strongest of the Geats –greater
And stronger than anyone anywhere in this world-
Heard how Grende l filled nights with horror
And quickly commanded a boat fitted out,
Proclaiming that he ’d go to that famous king,
Would sail across the sea to Hrothgar,
Now when help was needed. None
Of the wise ones regretted his going, much
As he was loved by the Geats: the omens were good,
And they urged the adventure on. So Beowulf
Chose to the mightiest men he could find,
The bravest and the best of the Geats , fourteen
In all, and led them down to their boat;
He knew the sea, would point to the prow
Straight to that Danish shore.
Beowulf arrives in Denmark and is directed to Herot, t gues t-Hall of King Hrothgar. The king
sends his thane Wulfgar to greet
The Arrival of the Hero
4
Then Wulfgar went to the door and addressed
The waiting seafarers with soldier’s words:
“My lord, the great king of the Danes, commands me
To tell you that he knows of your noble birth
And that waving come to him from over the open
T he v is it o rs
22
2 cousin: meaning ‘relative.’ Higlac is Beowulf’s uncle and feudal lord.
Sea you have come bravely and are welcome.
Now go to him as you are, in your armor and helmets ,
But leave your battle shields here, and your spears,
Let them lie waiting for the promises your words
May make.”
Beowulf arose, wi th his men
Around him. Ordering a few to remain
With their weapons , leading others quickly
Along under Herot’s steep roof into Hrothgar’s
Presence. Standing on that prince ’s own hearth,
Helmeted, the silvery metal of his mail shirt
Gleaming with smith’s high art, he greeted
The Dane’s great lord:
“Hail , Hrothgar!
Higlac is my cosin2 and my king; the days
Of my youth have been fil led with glory. Now Grendel’s
Name has echoed in our land: sailors
Have brought us stories of Herot, the best
Of all mead-halls, deserted and useless when the moon
Hangs in skies the sun had lit,
Light and life fleeing together.
My people have said, the wisest, most knowing
And best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes ’
Great King. They have seen my strength for themselves ,
Have watched me rise from the darkness of war,
Dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove
Five great giants into chains, chased
All of that race from the earth. I swam
In the blackness of night, hunting monsters
Out of the ocean, and killing them one
By one; death was my errand and the fate
They gad earned. Now Grendel and I are called
Together, and I’ve come. Grant me, then,
Lord and protector of this noble place,
A single request! I have come so far,
Oh shelterer of warriors and your people’s loved frien ,
That this one favor you should not refuse me-
That I, alone and with the help of my men,
23
3 Linden shield: shield made of wood of linden tree.4 Shrouds: cloths used to wrap a body for burial.5 Hretel: Beowulf’s grandfather, former king of the Gea s.6 Wayland: a smith celebrated for his wonderful workmanship in making swords and shirts of ringed metal (mail shirts).7 Wulfing warrior: the Wulfings were a Germanic tribe. Hrothgar’s queen might have been a Wulfing.
May purge all evil from this hall. I have heard,
Too, that the monster’s scorn of men
Is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none.
Nor will I. My lord Higlac
Might think less of me if I let my sword
Go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid
Behind some broad linden shield3: my hands
Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life
Against the monster. God must decide
Who will be given to death’s cold grip.
Grende l’s plan, I think, will be
What it has been before, to invade this hall
And gorge his belly with our bodies . If he can,
If he can. And I think, if my time will have come,
There ’ll be nothing to mourn over, no corpse to prepare
For its grave: Grendel will carry our bloody
Flesh to the moors, crunch on our bones
And smear torn scraps of our skin on the walls
Of his den. No, I expect no Danes
Will fret about sewing our shrouds,4if he wins .
And if death does take me, send the hammered
Mail of my armor to Higlac, return
The inheritance I had from Hretel5, and he
From Wayland.6 Fate will unwind as it must!”
5
Hrothgar replied, protector of the Danes:
“Beowulf, you’ve come to us in friendship, and
because
of the reception your father found at court.
Edgetho had begun a bitte r feud,
Killing Hathlaf, a Wulfing warrior:7
Your father’s countrymen were afraid of war,
24
If he returned to his home, and they turned him away.
Then he travelled across the curving waves
To the land of the Danes. I was new to the throne,
Then, a young man ruling this wide
Kingdom and i ts golden city: Hergar,
My older brother, a far better man
Than I, had died and dying made me,
Second among Healfdane’s sons , first
In this nation. I bought the end of Edgetho’s
Quarrel, sent ancient treasures through the ocean’s
Furrows to the Wulfings; your father swore
He’d keep that peace. My tongue grows heavy,
And my heart, when I try to tell you what Grendel
Has brought us, the damage he ’s done, here
In this hal l. You see for yourself how much smaller
Our ranks have become, and can guess what we’ve lost
To his terror. Surely the Lord Almighty
Could stop his madness , smother his lust!
How many times have my men, glowing
With courage drawn from too many cups
Of ale, sworn to stay after dark
And stem that horror wi th a sweep of their swords.
And then, in the morning, this mead-hall glittering
With new light would be drenched with blood, the bench s
Stained red, the floors, all wet from that fiend’s
Savage assault –and my so ldie rs would be fewer
Still, death taking more and more.
But to table, Beowulf, a banquet in your honor:
Let us toast your victories, and talk of the future.”
Then Hrotgar’s men gave places to the Geats,
Yielded benches to the brave visitors
And led them to the feast. The keeper of the mead
Came carrying out the carved flasks,
And poured that bright sweetness . A poet
Sang, from time to time, in a clear
Pure voice. Danes and visiting Geats
Celebrated as one, drank and rejoiced.
25
8 Bonstan’s son: Brecca’s father was Bonstan
Unferth’s Challenge
6
Unferth spoke, Ecglaf’s son,
Who sat at Hrothgar’s feet, spoke harshly
And sharp (vexed by Beowulf’s adventure ,
By their visitor’s courage, and angry that anyone
In Denmark or anywhere on earth had ever
Acquired glory and fame greater
Than his own):
“You’re Beowulf, are you –the same
boastful fool who fought a swimming
match with Brecca, both of you daring
and young and proud, exploring the deepest
seas, risking your lives for no reason
but the danger? All older and wiser heads warned you
not to, but no one could check such pride.
With Brecca at your side you swam along
The sea-paths , your swift-moving hands pulling you
Over the ocean’s face . Then winter
Churned through the water, the waves ran you
As they willed, and you struggled seven long nights
To survive. And at the end victory was his,
Not yours. The sea carried him close
To his home, to southern Norway, near
The land of the Brondings, where he ruled and was loved,
Where his treasure was piled and his strength protected
His towns and his people. He’d promised to outswim you:
Bonstan’s son8 made that boast ring true.
You’ve been lucky in your battles , Beowulf, but I think
Your luck may change if you challenge Grendel,
Staying a whole night through in this hall,
Waiting where that fiercest of demons can find you.”
Beowulf answered, Edgetho’s great son:
“Ah! Unferth, my friend, your face
26
Is hot with ale , and your tongue has tried
To tell us about Brecca’s doings . But the truth
Is simple: no man swims in the sea
As I can, no strenght is a match for mine
As boys , Brecca and I had boasted –
We were both too young to know better –that we’d risk
Our lives far out at sea, and so
We did, each of us carried a naked
Sword, prepared for whales or the swi ft
Sharp teeth and beaks of needlefish.
He could never leave me behind, swim fas ter
Across the waves than I could, and I
Had chose to remain close to his side.
I remained near him for five long nights,
Until a flood swept us apart;
The frozen sea surged around me,
It grew dark, the wind turned bitter, blowing
From the north, and the waves were savage. Creatures
Who sleep deep in the sea were stirred
Into life –and the iron hammered links
Of my mail shirt, these shining bits of metal
Woven across my breast, saved me
From death. A monster seized me, drew me
Swiftly toward the bottom, swimming with its claws
Tight in my flesh. But fate let me
Find its heart with my sword, hack myself
Free; I fought that beast’s last battle,
Left i t floating lifeless in the sea.
7
“Other monsters crowded around me,
continually attacking. I treated them politely,
offering the edge of my razor-sharp sword.
But the feast, I think, did not please them, filled
Their evil bellies with no banquet-rich food,
Thrashing there at the bottom of the sea;
By morning they’d decided to sleep on the shore,
Lying on their backs , their blood spilled out
27
On the sand. Afterwards , sailors could cross
The sea-road and feel no fear; nothing
Would stop the ir passing. Then God’s bright beacon
Appeared in the east, the water lay still,
And at last I could see the land, wind-swept
Cliff walls at the edge of the coast. Fate saves
The living when they drive away death by themselves !
Lucky or not, nine was the number
Of sea-huge monsters I killed. What man,
Anywhere under heaven’s high arch, has fought
In such darkness, endured more misery or been harder
Pressed? Yet I survived the sea, smashed
The monster’s hot jaws, swam home from my journey.
The swift-flowing waters swept me along
And I landed on Finnish soil. I’ve heard
No tales of you, Unferth, telling
Of such clashing terror, such contests in the night!
Brecca’s battles were never so bold;
Neither he nor you can match me –and I mean
No boast, have announced no more than I know
To be true. And there ’s more: you murdered your
Brothers,
Your own close kin. Words and bright wit
Won’t help your soul; you’ll suffer hell’s fires fires ,
Unferth, forever tormented. Ecglaf’s
Proud son, if your hands were as hard, your heart
As fierce as you think it, no fool would dare
To raid your hall, ruin Herot
And oppress its prince, as Grendel has done.
But he’s learned that terror is his alone,
Discovered he can come for your people with no fear
Of reprisal; he ’s found no fighting, here ,
But only food, only delight.
He murders as he likes , with no mercy, gorges
And feasts on your flesh, and expects no trouble,
No quarrel from the quiet Danes . Now
The Geats wi ll show him courage, soon
He can test his strength in battle. And when the sun
Comes up again, opening another
28
Bright day from the south, anyone in Denmark
May enter this hall: that evil will be gone!”
Hrothgar, gray-ha ired and brave, sat happily
Listening, the famous ring-giver sure,
At last, that Grendel could be killed; he be lieved
In Beowulf’s bold strength and the firmness of his spirit
There was the sound of laughter, and the cheerful clanking
Of cups, and pleasant words. Then Welthow,
Hrothgar’s gold-ringed queen, greeted
The warriors; a noble woman who knew
What was right, she raised a flowing cup
To Hrothgar firs t, holding it high
For the lord of the Danes to drink, wishing him
Joy in that feast. The famous king
Drank with pleasure and blessed their banquet.
Then Welthow went from warrior to warrior,
Pouring a portion from the jeweled cup
For each, till the bracelet-wearing queen
Had carried the mead-cup among them and it was Beowulf’s
Turn to be served. He salute the Geats’
Great prince, thanked God for answering her prayers,
For allowing her hands the happy duty
Of offering mead to a hero who would he lp
Her affli cted people . He drank what she poured,
Edgetho’s brave son, then assured the Danish
Queen that his heart was firm and his hands ready:
“When we crossed the sea, my comrades
and I, I a lready knew that all
my purpose was this: to win the good will
of your people or die in battle, pressed
in Grendel’s fie rce grip. Let me live in greatness
and courage, or here in this hall welcome
my death!”
Welthow was pleased with his words,
His bright-tongued boasts ; she carried them back
To her lord, wa lked nobly across to his side.
The feast went on, laughter and music
And the brave words of warriors celebrating
Their delight. Then Hrothgar rose, Healfdane’s
29
Son, heavy with sleep; as soon
As the sun had gone, he knew that Grendel
Would come to Herot, would visit that hall
When night had covered the earth with its net
And the shapes of darkness moved black and silent
Through the world. Hrothgar’s warriors rose with him.
He went to Beowul f, embraced the Geats ’
Brave prince, wished him well, and hoped
That Herot would be his command. And then
He declared:
“No one strange to his land
Has ever been granted what I’ve given you,
No one in all the years of my rule.
Make this best of all mead-halls yours , then
Keep it free of evil, fight
With glory in your heart! Purge Herot
And your ship will sail home with its treasure-holds full.”
The Battle with Grendel
8
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred
Grende l came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on his trip to high Herot.
He moved quickly through the cloudy night,
Up from his swampland, sliding silently
Toward that go ld-shining hall. He had visited Hrothgar’s
Home before, knew the way-
But never, be fore not after that night,
Found Herot defended so firmly, his reception
So harsh. He journeyed, forever joyless,
Th e f e as t e n d s . Be o w ulf a n d h is m e n ta ke t h e plac e o f Hro t h g a r’s
Follow e rs a n d lie d o w n t o s le e p in He ro t . Be o w ulf , h ow e ve r, is
W a ke fu l, e a g e r t o m e e t his e n e m y .
30
Straight to the door, then snapped it open,
Tore its iron fas teners with a touch
And rushed angrily over the threshold.
He strode quickly across the inlaid
Floor, snarling and fierce: his eyes
Gleamed in the darkness, burned with a gruesome
Light. Then he stopped, seeing the hall
Crowded with sleeping warriors, stuffed
With rows of young soldie rs resting together.
And his heart laughed, he relished the sight,
Intended to tear the life from those bodies
By morning; the monster’s mind was hot
With the thought of food and the feasting his belly
Would soon know. But fate, that night, intended
Grende l to gnaw the broken bones
Of his last human supper. Human
Eyes were watching his evil steps,
Waiting to see his swift hard claws.
Grende l snatched at the first Geat
He came to, ripped him apart, cut
His body to bits with powerful jaws,
Drank the blood from his veins and bolted
Him down, hands and feet; death
And Grendel’s great teeth came together,
Snapping life shut. Then he stepped to another
Still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws,
Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper
-And was instantly seized himself, claws
Bent back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm.
That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime,
Knew at once that nowhere on earth
Had he met a man whose hands were harder;
His mind was flooded with fear –but nothing
Could take his talons and himself from that tight.
Hard grip. Grendel’s one thought was to run
From Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there:
This was a different Herot than the hall he had emptie .
But Higlac’s follower remembered his final
Boast and, standing erect, stopped
31
The monster’s flight, fastened those claws
In his fis ts till they cracked, clutched Grende l
Closer. The infamous kille r fought
For his freedom, wanting no flesh but retreat,
Desiring nothing but escape; his claws
Had been caught, he was trapped. That trip to Herot
Was a miserable journey for the writhing monster!
Then high hall rang, its roof boards swayed,
And Danes shook with terror. Down
The aisles the battle swept, angry
And wild. Herot trembled, wonderfully
Built to withstand the blows, the struggling
Great bodies beating at his beauti ful walls;
Shaped and fastened with iron, inside
And out, artfully worked, the building
Stood firm. Its benches rattled, fell
To the floor, gold-covered board grating
As Grendel and Beowulf battled across them.
Hrothgar’s wise men had fashioned Herot
To stand forever; only fire,
They had planned, could shatter what such skill had put
Together, swallows in hot flames such splendor
Of ivory and iron and wood. Suddenly
The sounds changed, the Danes started
In new terror, cowering in their beds as the terrible
Screams of the Almighty’s enemy sang
In the darkness , the horrible shrieks of pain
And defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel ’s
Taut throat, he ll’s captive caught in the arms
Of him who of all the men on earth
Was the strongest.
9
That mighty protector of men
Meant to hold the monster till its life
Leaped out, knowing the fiend was no use
To anyone in Denmark. All of Beowulf’s
Band had jumped from their beds , ancestral
32
Swords raised and ready, determined
To protect their prince if they could. Their courage
Was great but all wasted: they could hack at Grendel
From every side, trying to open
A path for his evil soul, but their points
Could not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest iron
Could not scratch at his skin, for that sin-stained demon
Had bewitched all men’s weapons , laid spells
That blunted every mortal man’s blade.
And yet his time had come, his days
Were over, his death near; down
To hell he would go, swept groaning and helpless
To the waiting hands of still worse fiends.
Now he discovered –once the afflictor
Of men, tormentor of their days- what i t meant
To feud with Almighty God: Grendel
Saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws
Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at
His hands. The monster’s hatred rose higher,
But his power had gone. He twisted in pain,
And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder
Snapped, muscle and bone split
And broke. The battle was over, Beowulf
Had been granted new glory: Grendel escaped,
But wounded as he was could flee to his den,
His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh,
Only to die, to wait for the end
Of all his days. And after that bloody
Combat the Danes Laughed with delight.
He who had come to them from across the sea,
Bold and strong-minded, had driven affliction
Off, purged Herot clean. He was happy,
Now with that night’s fierce work; the Danes
Had been served as he’d boasted he’d serve them;
Beowulf,
A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel,
Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering
Forced on Hrothgar’s helpless people
By a bloodthirsty find. No Dane doubted
33
The victory, for the proof, hanging high
From the rafters were Beowulf had hung it, was the mon ter’s
Arm, claw and shoulder and all.
10
And then, in the morning, crowds surrounded
Herot, warriors coming to that hall
From faraway lands, princes and leaders
Of men hurrying to behold the monster’s
Great staggering tracks. They gaped with no sense
Of sorrow, felt no regret for his suffering,
Went tracing his bloody footprints, his beaten
And lonely flight, to the edge of the lake
Where he’d dragged his corpselike way, doomed
And already weary of his vanishing li fe.
The water was bloody, steaming and boiling
In horrible pounding waves , heat
Sucked from his magic veins ; but the swirling
Surf had covered his death, hidden
Deep in murky darkness his miserable
End, as hell opened to receive him.
Then old and young rejoiced, turned back
From that happy pilgrimage, mounted hard-hooved
Horses, high-spirited stallions, and rode them
Slowly toward Herot again, retelling
Beowulf’s bravery as they jogged along.
And over and over they swore that nowhere
On earth or under the spreading sky
Or between the seas, neither south or north,
Was there a warrior worthier to rule over men.
(But no one meant Beowul f’s praise to belittle
Hrothgar, their kind and gracious king!)
34
Gre n de l’s m o ns t e r m ot h e r, in g rie f f o r h e r s o n , ne x t a ac ks He ro t , a n d in h e r d ripp in g c law s
ca rrie s o f f o ne m a n – Hro tg a r’s Clos e s t f rie nd . The m ons t e r als o c a rrie s o f f Gre n d e l’s a rm , w h ic h
Be o w ulf h ad h u ng hig h fro m th e ra ft e rs . Be ow ulf is a w a ke n e d An d c alle d fo r a ga in . n o n e of t he
m os t f a m o us v e rs e s in t he e pic , t he old kin g de s c rib e s w h e re Gre n d e l a nd h is m ot he r a re s a id t o
liv e .
11
“They live in secret places, windy
Cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours
From the rocks , then runs underground, where mist
Steams like black clouds, and the grooves of the trees
Growing out over their lake are all covered
With frozen spray, and wind down snakelike
Roots that reach as far as the water
And help keep it dark. At night that lake
Burns like a torch. No one knows its bottom,
No wisdom reaches such depths. A deer,
Hunted through the woods by packs of hounds ,
A stage with great horns, thought driven through the forest
From faraway places, prefers to die
On those shores, refuses to save its life
In that water. It isn’t far, nor is it
A pleasant spot! When the wind stirs
And storms, waves splash toward the sky,
As dark as the air, as black as the ra in
That the heavens weep. Our only help,
Again, lies with you. Grendel ’s mother
Is hidden in her terrible home, in a place
You’ve not seen. Seek it, if you dare! Save us,
Once more, and again twisted gold,
Heaped-up ancient treasure, will reward you
For the battle you win!”
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
R e s p o n d in g t o t h e e p ic
35
1. What does the poet tell us about Grendel’s origins?
2. Why does Herot remain empty for twelve years?
3. Explain why Grendel does not touch king Hrothgar’s throne. What means does Hrothgar
resort to in his desperate effort to save his guest-hall?
4. What is Beowulf’s for travelling to Hrotgar’s country? What do he and his men do
with their weapons when they arrive at Herot?
5. How is Beowulf taunted by the jealous Unferth? How doe Beowulf reply to these taunts?
6. Describe what happens to Grendel when he raids Herot and finds Beowulf in charge.
7. In what specific ways does Herot contrast with the pla e where Grendel lives? What reasons
can you propose for Grendel’s hatred of Herot?
8. In lines 3-13, the poet describes the songs of the bard in Hrothgar’s hall. How does the
content of the songs contrast with Grendel and his world? (Could you say that the songs are
about creation and that Grendel is associated with destruction?)
9. What significance can you see in the fact that Grendel attacks at night? What
describing Grendel might associate him with death or darkness?
10. Considering Grendel’s origin and lair, what meaning might underlie the
confrontation between Grende l and Hrothgar? What symbo o you see in the useless of
human weapons against Grendel?
11. Analyze the narrative function of the tale-within-a-tale about Beowulf’s swimming match
with Brecca. How does story contribute to the of Beowulf? How does i t
establish Beowulf’s superiority to sea beasts and to the sea itself?
12. Does this account of Grendel and Beowulf have anything in common with fantasy or
adventure movies today? Explain.
“The Wanderer” is elaborately crafted, and is rich in literation and imagery. Modern
readers, accustomed to the plainer style of today’s lite rature, may find all this elaboration more
of a barrier than a pleasure. One way around the barier is to think of “The Wanderer” as a time
capsule. It is filled with details, such as the touch description of a warrior swearing loyalty to
his lord, which can bring home to us the realities of Anglo-Saxon li fe. As you read, look for other
details that reveal something about the lives of these people who shared your language so many
centuries ago.
m o t iv e
im a g e s
s y m b o lic
c h a ra c t e riz a t io n
“T h e W a n d e re r”
36
9 : chained.10 : unfortunate.11 : a toast to one’s health, or the revelry accompanying such toasts.
T h e W a n d e re r
Ch a rle s W . Ke n n e d yTranslated by
Oft to the wanderer, weary of exile,
Cometh God’s pity, compassionate love,
Though woefully toiling on wintry seas
With churning oar inn the icy wave,
Homeless and helpless he fled from fate.
Thus saith the wanderer mindful of misery,
Grievous disasters, and death of kin:
“Oft when the day broke, oft at the dawning,
Lonely and wretched I wailed my woe.
No man is living, no comrade le ft,
To whom I dare fully unlock my heart.
I have learned truly the mark of a man
Is keeping his counsel and locking his lips ,
Let him think what he will! For, woe of heart
Withstandeth not fate; a failing spirit
Earneth no help. Men eager for honor
Bury their sorrow deep in the breast.
“So have I also, often in wretchedness
Fettered9 my feel ings, far from my kin,
Homeless and hapless,10 since days of old,
When the dark earth covered my dear lord’s face,
And I sailed away with sorrowful heart,
Over wintry seas, seeking a gold-lord,
If far or near lived one to befriend me
With gift in the mead-hall and comfort for grief.
“W ho bears it, Knows what a bitter compassion,
Shoulder to shoulder, sorrow can be,
When friends are no more. His fortune is exile .
Not gifts of fine gold; a heart that is frozen,
Earth’s winsomeness dead. And he dreams of the hall-men,
The dealing of treasure, the days of his youth,
When his lord bade welcome to wassail11 and feast.
But gone is that gladness, and never again
Shall come the loved counsel o f comrade and king.
FetteredHaplessWassail
37
12 : loyalty.13 : wait.
“Even in slumber his sorrow assaileth,
And, dreaming he claspeth his dear lord again,
Head on knee, hand on knee, loyally laying,
Pledging his liege12 as in days long past.
Then from his slumber he s tarts lonely-hearted,
Beholding gray stre tches of tossing sea,
Seabirds bathing, with wings outspread,
While hailstorms darken, and driving snow.
Bitterer then is the bane of his wretchedness,
The longing for loved one: his grief is renewed.
The forms of his kinsmen take shape in the silence;
In rapture he greets them; in gladness he scans
Old comrades remembered. But they melt into air
With no word of greeting to gladden his heart.
Then again surges his sorrow upon him;
And grimly he spurs his weary soul
Once more to the toil of the tossing sea.
“No wonder therefore , in all the world,
If a shadow darkens upon my spiri t
When I reflect on the fates of men-
How one by one proud warriors vanish
From the halls that knew them, and day by day
All this earth ages and droops unto death.
No man may know wisdom till many a winter
Has been his portion. A wise man is patient,
Not swift to anger, nor hasty of speech,
Neither too weak, nor too reckless , in war,
Neither fearful nor fain, nor too wishful of weal th,
Nor too eager in vow- ere he know the event.
A brave man must bide13 when he speaketh his boast
Until he know sure ly the goal of his spirit.
“A wise man will ponder how dread is that doom
When all this world’s wealth shall be scattered and waste
As now, over all, through the regions of earth,
Walls s tand rime-covered and swept by the winds.
The battlements crumble, the wine halls decay;
Joyless and silent the heroes are sleeping
Liegebide
38
14 : wearing a coat or shirt of mail.
Where the proud host fell by the wall they de fended.
Some battle launched on the ir long, last journey;
One a bird bore o’er the billowing sea;
One the gray wolf slew; one a grieving earl
Sadly gave to the grave’s embrace.
The warden of men hath wasted this world
Till the sound of music and revels is stilled,
And these giant-built structures stand empty of life.
“He who shall muse on these moldering ruins,
And deeply ponder this darkling life,
Must brood on old legends of battle and bloodshed,
And heavy the mood that troubles his heart:
‘Where now is the warrior? Where is the warhorse?
Bestowal of treasure, and sharing of feast?
Alas ! the bright ale cup, the byrny-clad14 warrior,
The price in his splendor –those days are long sped
In the night of the past, as if they never had been!’
And now remains only, for warriors ’ memorial,
A wall wondrous high with serpent shapes carved.
Storms of ash spears have smitten the earls,
Carnage of weapon, and conquering fate.
“Storms now batter these ramparts of stone;
Blowing snow and the blast of winter
Enfold the earth; night shadows fall
Darkly lowering, from the north driving
Ranging hail in wrath upon men.
Wretchedness fills the realm of earth,
And fate’s decrees transform the world.
Here wealth is fleeting, friends are fleeting,
Man is flee ting, maid is flee ting;
All the foundation of earth shall fai l!”
Thus spake the sage in solitude pondering.
Good man is he who guardeth his faith.
He must never too quickly unburden his breast
Of its sorrow, but eagerly strive for redress;
And happy the man who seeketh for mercy
From his heavenly Father, our fortress and strength.
Byrny-clad
39
Re s po n din g t o t h e po e m
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What has the Wanderer learned about sorrow and misfort ne?
2. Why did the Wanderer leave his home and embark on this sea voyage?
3. What happier memories does the Wanderer recall?
4. What mournful events does he describe?
5. How does the Wanderer describe a wise man?
6. List all the wintry created by the writer of “The Wanderer,” How are these
wintry images in the poem suited to the speaker’s mood Would you say that the
speaker is a “wintry person”? Explain.
7. When the Wanderer says that no man may know wisdom “till many a winter has been
his portion,” what do you think he means? Who do you think is “the warden of men”?
8. Would you describe the Wanderer’s as resigned, ironic, bitter, or self-pitying?
Explain
9. Summarize the comments that frame the Wanderer’s speech. Do you think they offe r
hope to the speaker? Explain.
10. What meaning do you think this wandering exile might have? Some critics
have noted a connection between the Wanderer and Adam’ exile from the Garden of
Eden. Can you see the relationship?
11. In the modern world, is there any experience equivalent drive someone to an emotional
state like the Wanderer’s? Explain.
.
im a g e s
to n e
s y m b o lic
40
“ T HE S EAFAR ER ”
B u rto n Ra ff e lTranslated by
“The Seafarer,” like “the Wanderer,” dates from before 950 and is preserved in the
Exeter Book. Like “The Wanderer,” the poem is about an exile cut off from human
companionship. In this case, however, the poet assumes the voice of an old sailor reflecting on
the way of life he has chosen. Some critics regard “The Seafarer” as a sequel to “The Wanderer.”
This translation dispenses with the conventional Anglo-Saxon split line, but it preserves
the alliterative four-beat structure, as wel l as the power and grace of the original.
The Seafarer
This tale is true, and mine. It tells
How the sea took me, swept me back
And forth in sorrow and fear and pain,
Showed me suffering in a hundred ships,
In a thousands ports , and in me. It tells
Of smashing surf when I sweated in the cold
Of an anxious watch, perched in the bow
As i t dashed under cliffs. My feet were cast
In icy bands , bound with frost,
With frozen chains , and hardship groaned
Around my heart. Hunger tore
At my sea-weary soul. No man sheltered
On the quiet fairness of earth can feel
How wretched I was, drifting through winter
On an ice-cold sea, whirled in sorrow,
Alone in a world blown clear of love,
Hung with icicles. The hailstorms flew.
The only sound was the roaring sea,
The freezing waves . The song of the swan
Might serve for pleasure, the cry of the sea-fowl,
The death-noise of birds instead of laughter,
The mewing of gulls instead of mead.
Storms beat on the rocky cliffs and were echoed
By icy-feathered terns and the eagle ’s screams;
No kinsman could offe r comfort there ,
To a soul le ft drowning in desolation.
And who could believe, knowing but
41
The passion of cities, swelled proud with wine
And no tas te of mis fortune, how often, how wearily,
I put myself back on the paths of the sea.
Night would blacken; it would snow from the north;
Frost bound the earth and hail would fall,
The coldes t seeds . And how my heart
Would begin to beat, knowing once more
The salt waves tossing and the towering sea!
The time for journeys would come and my soul
Called me eagerly out, sent me over
The horizon, seeking foreigners’ homes.
But there isn’t a man on earth so proud,
So born to greatness, so bold with his youth,
Grown so brave, or so graced by God,
That he feels no fear as the sails unfurl,
Wondering what Fate has willed and will do.
No harps ring in his heart, no rewards ,
No passion for women, no worldly pleasures,
Nothing, only the ocean’s heave;
But longing wraps itself around him.
Orchards blossom, the towns bloom,
Fields grow lovely as the world springs fresh,
And all these admonish that willing mind
Leaping to journeys, always set
In thoughts traveling on a quickening tide.
So summer’s sentinel, the cuckoo, sings
In his murmurings voice, and our hearts mourn
As he urges. Who could understand,
In ignorant ease, what we others suffer
As the paths of exile stretch endlessly on?
And yet my heart wanders away,
My soul roams with the sea, the whales ’
Home, wandering to the widest corners
Of the world, re turning ravenous with desire,
Flying solitary, screaming, exciting me
To the open ocean, breaking oaths
On the curve of a wave.
Thus the joys of God
Are fervent with life, where life itself
42
Fade quickly into the earth. The wealth
Of the world neither reaches to Heaven nor remains.
No man has ever faced the dawn
Certain which of Fate’s three threats
Would fall: illness, or age, or an enemy’s
Sword, snatching the life from his soul.
The praise the living pour on the dead
Flowers from reputation: plant
An earthly life of profit reaped
Even from hatred and rancor, of bravery
Flung in the devil ’s face, and death
Can only bring you earthly praise
And a song to celebrate a place
With the angels, life eternally blessed
In the hosts of heaven.
The days are gone
When the kingdoms of earth flourished in glory;
Now there are no rulers , no emperors,
No givers of gold, as once there were ,
When wonderful things were worked among them
And they lived in lordly magnificence.
Those powers have vanished, those pleasures are dead.
The weakest survives and the world continues,
Kept spinning by toil. All glory is tarnished.
The world’s honor ages and shrinks,
Bent like the men who mold it. Their faces
Blanch as time advances, their beards
Wither and they mourn the memory of friends.
The sons of princes, sown in the dust.
The soul stripped of its flesh knows nothing
Of sweetness or sour, feels no pain,
Bends neither its hands nor i ts brain. A brother
Opens his palms and pours down gold
On his kinsman’s grave, strewing his coffin
With treasures intended for Heaven, but nothing
Golden shakes the wrath of God
For a soul overflowing with sin, and nothing
Hidden on earth rises to Heaven.
We a ll fear God. He turns the earth,
43
He set it swinging firmly in space,
Gave life to the world and light to the sky.
Death leaps at the fools who forget their God.
He who lives humbly has angels from Heaven
To carry him courage and strength and belief.
A man must conquer pride , not kill it,
Be firm with his fellows, chaste for himself,
Treat all the world as the world deserves,
With love or with hate but never with harm,
Though an enemy seek to scorch him in hell,
Or set the flames of a funeral pyre
Under his lord. Fate is stronger
And God mightier than any man’s mind.
Our thoughts should turn to where our home is,
Consider the ways of coming there,
Then strive for sure permission for us
To rise to that eternal joy,
That life born in the love of God
And the hope of Heaven. Praise the Holy
Grace of Him who honored us,
Eterna l, unchanging creator of earth. Amen.
Responding to the Poem
Identifying Details, Interpreting Meanings
1. In lines 5-26, what scene does the speaker describe?
2. What passages explain why the seafarer seeks the rigors of the sea rather than the
delight of the land?
3. According to the speaker, what are the three “threats” of fate?
4. How does the speaker contrast the present state of the world with the past (lines 80-
102)?
5. What prayer concludes the poem?
6. What meaning do you give to home in line 117?
7. What do you think the seafarer is searching for?
8. This short lyric is full of striking . Select three of these metaphors and
explain what each contributes to the n, and/or
in the poem.
m e t a p h o rs
s e t t in g , c h a ra c te riz a t io a t m o s p h e re
44
15 Answer: A ship
9. What role does fate play in this poem? How was fate regarded by the Wanderer
(page43)?
10. Do you hear the sentiments in l ines 87-90 still expressed by people today? Explain.
The Anglo-Saxons must have whiled away many a long, dark, winter evening by
repeating riddles like these and having friends guess the answers . The elaborate construction of
the riddles assured that answers could not be guessed quickly.
Our world is lovely in different ways ,
Hung with beauty and works of hands.
I saw a strange machine, made
For motion, slide against the sand,
Shrieking as it went. It walked swiftly
On its only foot, this odd-shaped monster,
Traveled in an open country without
Seeing, without arms, or hands,
With many ribs , and its mouth in its middle.
Its work is useful, and welcome, for it loads
Its belly with food, and brings abundance
To men, to poor and to rich, paying
Its tribute year after year. Solve
This riddle, if you can, and unravel its name.15
A creature came through the waves, beautiful
And strange, calling to shore , its voice
Loud and deep; its laughter froze
Men’s blood; its sides were like sword-blades. It swam
R ID D LES
3 2
3 3
45
16 Answer: An iceberg17Answer: A bookworm
Contemptuously along, slow and sluggish,
A bitter warrior and a thie f, ripping
Ships apart, and plundering. Like a witch
It wove spells –and knew its own nature, shouting:
“My mother is the fai rest virgin of a race
Of noble vi rgins : she is my daughter
Grow great. All men know her, and me,
And know, everywhere on earth, with what joy
We will come to join them, to live on land!”16
A worm ate words. I thought that wonderfully
Strange –a miracle- when they told me a crawling
Insect had swallowed noble songs,
A night-time thief had stolen wri ting
So famous , so weighty. But the bug was foolish
Still, though its belly was full of thought.17
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings
1. List all the clues given to describe the object in riddle 32. What does each clue actually refer
to?
2. What words personi fy the speaker in riddle 33?
3. What does the speaker think is strange in riddle 47?
4. Riddles usually open with a deliberate deception. Do you think these examples follow this
pattern? Explain
5. Can you explain the significance of the last five lines of riddle 33?
6. What lines in riddle 47 present a paradox –a seeming contradiction?
7. What clues are most significant in each riddle? Are any det ls too misleading? Explain
8. Can you think of any forms of entertainment popular today that are s imilar to the Anglo-
Saxon riddles?
4 7
R e s p o n d in g t o t h e rid d le s
46
A c re a t iv e re s p o n s e
W rit in g a r id d le
S IR GA W A I N A N D T HE GR EEN KN I G HT
S IR GA W A I N A N D T HE GR EEN KN I G HT
. Bookworms, icebergs, and ships must have been familiar to most Anglo-
Saxons . Choose an object familiar to you and your classmates (perhaps a lightbulb, a soda can,
a sneaker). Take a minute to observe or remember how the object looks and how it functions.
Then let the object describe itself, using metaphors and personification as clues. Do not give the
identity of the object away; see if you can guess one another’s riddles. You can write in prose or
verse.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written toward the end of the Middle Ages, when
the ideals of knightly conduct –courage, loyalty, and courtesy- were just beginning to erode. As
you read the poem, look for clues to the author’s atti ard those ideals. Does he respect
them? Ridicule them? See them as desirable but unattainable?
As Sir Gawain and the Green Knight opens, King Arthur d the Knights of the Round
Table are feasting. Suddenly an enormous green stranger bursts in. King Arthur greets the green
Knight and asks him to state his business. The knight, a few scornful words about the manliness
of the knights of Arthur’s court, says he only wishes to play a New Year’s game. He challenges
any knight there to agree to “exchange one blow for another” and he will give that knight his
gisarme, his two-bladed ax. The stranger says he will stand for the first blow; the knight must
agree to let the Green Knight have his turn in a year and a day. Gawain accepts the cha llenge –
no other knight except Arthur himself has dared to.
Part one
On the ground, the Green Knight got himself into position,
His head bent forward a little, the bare flesh showing,
His long and lovely locks laid over his crown
So that any man there might note the naked neck.
Sir Gawain laid hold of the ax and he hefted it high,
His pivot foot thrown forward be fore him on the floor,
And then, swi ftly, he slashed at the naked neck;
The sharp of the battleblade shattered assunder the bones
And sank through the shinning fat and slit it in two,
And the bit o f the bright steel buried itself in the ground.
The fair head fell from the neck to the floor of the hall
And the people all kicked it away as it came near their feet
47
The blood splashed up from the body and glistened on the green,
But he never falte red or fell for all o f that,
But swiftly he started forth upon stout shanks
And rushed to reach out, where the King’s retainers st od,
Caught hold of the lovely head and lifted it up,
And leaped to his steed and snatched up the reins of the bridle,
Stepped into stirrups of steel and, striding aloft,
He held his head by the hair, high, in his hand;
And the stranger sat there as steadily in his saddle
As a man entirely unharmed, although he was headless
On his steed.
He turned his trunk about
That baleful body that bled,
And many were faint with fright
When all his say was said.
He held his head in his hand up high before him.
Addressing the face to the dearest of all on the dais ;
And the eyelids lifted wide, and the eyes looked out,
And the mouth said just this much, as you may now hear:
“Look that you go, Sir Gawain, as good as your word,
And seek till you find me, as loyally, my friend,
As you’ve sworn in this hall to do, in the hearing of the Knights.
Come to the Green Chapel, i charge you, and take
A stroke the same as you’ve given, for well you deserve
To be readily requited on New Year’s morn.
Many men know me, the Knight of the Green Chapel;
Therefore if you seek to find me, you shall not fail.
Come or be counted a coward, as is fitting.”
Then with a rough jerk he turned the reins
And haled away through the hall door, his head in his hand,
And fire on the flint flew out from the hooves of the oal.
To what kingdom he was carried no man there knew,
No more than they knew what country it was he came
From. What then?
The King and Gawain there
Laugh at the thing and grin;
And yet, it was an affai r
Most marvelous to men.
48
Th e ne xt y e a r, j us t be fo re Ch ris t m a s , Gaw ain s e t s o ff o h o n o r h is ple d ge . Th ro u g h
m o o rs an d fo re s t s a n d m o u n ta ins h e ride s , s e a rc hin g fo r t h e Gre e n Kn ig ht . O ne d a y h e c o m e s
u p o n t he m o s t b e a u t if ul c as t le h e h as e v e r s e e n . Th e lo rd o f t he c as t le w e lc o m e s h im a n d
p ro m is e s t o he lp him find th e Gre e n Kn ig h t. Bu t h e u rg Gaw a in firs t t o re s t a fe w d a ys in t he
ca s t le w ith him an d h is lad y .
Ga w a in ’s h os t t h e n p ro pos e s a n u n us ual “Ga m e . ” He w ill o h u n t in g e a ch d a y . W ha te v e r h e w ins
in t he h u nt , he w ill g iv e t o Gaw ain w h e n he re tu rn s . I n t u rn , Ga w a in m u s t p ro m is e t o giv e t he
lo rd w ha te ve r h e h as w on t h at d a y.
Tw ic e t he lo rd g oe s hu n t ing , a n d e ac h t im e th e lo rd le a v e s t he cas t le , h is w ife s e c t ly
v is it s Gaw a in ’s ro o m a n d t rie s t o s e d uc e him . T h o u g h Ga w a in re s is t s t h e la d y a n d e x c h a n g e s
o nly in no ce nt kis s e s w it h h e r, h e has be c o m e g re a t ly a rm e d . W h e n t he h os t re tu rns f ro m h is
h u n t s a n d g ive s Gaw ain w h a t he w o n t ha t d a y , Ga w a in, t ru e t o his p ro m is e s , g iv e s t he h o s t in
re t u rn t he in no ce nt ki s s e s .
N o w th e lo rd g o e s o ut t o h u n t f o r t he t h ird m o rn in g . Ga w ain is in his ro o m as le e p , w o rrie d a b o u t
m a n y t hin gs .
From the depths of his mournful sleep Sir Gawain
Muttered,
A man who was suffering throngs of sorrowful thoughts
Of how Destiny would that day deal him his doom
At the Green Chapel, where he dreamed he was facing th ant
Whose blow he must abide without further debate.
But soon our rosy knight had recovered his wits;
He struggled up out of his sleep and responded in haste.
The lovely lady came laughing sweetly,
Fell over his fai r face and fondly kissed him;
Sir Gawain welcomed her worthily and with pleasure;
He found her so glorious, so attractively dressed,
So faultless in every feature, her colors so fine
Welling joy rushed up in his heart at once.
Their sweet and subtle smiles swept them upward like w gs
And all that passed between them was music and bliss
And delight.
How sweet was now their state!
Their talk, how loving and light!
But the danger might have been great
49
Had Mary18 not watched her knight!
For that priceless pressed our poor hero so hard
And drove him so close to the line that she le ft him n choice
But to take the full pleasure she offered or flatly refuse her;
He feared for his name, lest men call him a common churl,
But he feared even more what evil might follow his fall
If he dared to betray his jus t duty as guest to his ho t.
thought the knight,
With a loving little laugh he parried her lunges,
Those words of undying love she let fall from her lips.
Said the lady then, “It’s surely a shameful thing
If you’ll lie with a lady like this yet not love her a all-
The woman most broken-hearted in all the wide world!
Is there someone else? Some lady you love s till more
To whom you’ve sworn your faith and so firmly fixed
You heart that you can’t break free? I can’t believe it!
But tell me if it’s so. I beg you –truly-
By all the loves in life, let me know, and hide nothing
With guile.”
The knight said, “By St. John,”
And smooth was Gawain’s smile,
“I’ve pledged myself to none,
Nor will I for awhile.”
“Of all the words you might have said,” said she,
“That’s surely crue lest: but alas, I’m answered.
Kiss me kindly, then, and I’ll go from you.
I’ll mourn through life as one who loved too much.”
She bent above him, sighing, and softly kissed him:
Then, drawing back once more, she said as she stood,
“But my love, since we must part, be kind to me:
Leave me some little remembrance –if only a glove-
To bring back fond memories sometimes and soften my sorrow.”
“Truly.” Sa id he, “with all my heart I wish
I had here with me the handsomest treasure I own,
For surely you have deserved on so many occasions
Go d he lp m e , I c an ’t le t it h a pp e n !
18 Mary: the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. A cult of the Virgin was very strong among the knights.
50
A gift more fine than any gift I could give you;
But as to my giving some token of trifling value,
It would hardly suit your great honor to have from your Knight
A glove as a treasured keepsake and gift from Gawain;
And I’ve come here on my errand to countries unknown
Without any attendants with treasures in their trunks;
It sadly grieves me, for love’s sake, that it’s so,
But every man must do what he must and not murmur
Or pine .”
“Ah no, my prince of all honors,”
Said she so fair and fine,
“Though I get nothing of yours ,
You shall have something of mine.”
She held toward him a ring of the ye llowest gold
And, standing aloft on the band, a stone like a star
From which flew splendid beams like the light of the sun;
And mark you well, it was worth a rich king’s ransom.
But right away he refused it, replying in haste ,
“My lady gay, I can hardly take gifts at the moment;
Having nothing to give, I’d be wrong to take gifts in turn.”
She implored him again, still more earnestly, but again
He refused it and swore on his knighthood that he could
Take nothing
Grieved that he still would not take it, she told him en:
“If taking my ring would be wrong on account of its worth,
And being so much in my debt would be bothersome to you,
I’ll give you merely this sash that’s of slighter value.”
She swiftly unfastened the sash that encircled her waist,
Tied around her fair tunic, inside her bright mantle;
It was made of green silk and was marked of gleaming g ld
Embroidered along the edges , ingeniously stitched.
This too she held out to the knight, and she earnestly
Begged him
To take it, trifling as it was, to remember her by.
But again he said no, there was nothing at all he coul take,
Neither treasure nor token, until such time as the Lord
Had granted him some end to his adventure.
51
“And there fore, I pray you, do not be displeased,
But give up, for I cannot grant it, however fair or ri .
I know your worth and price
And my debt’s by no means slight;
I swear through fire and ice
To be your humble knight.”
“Do you lay aside this silk,” said the lady then,
“Because it seems unworthy –as we ll as it may?
Listen. Little as it is , it seems less in value,
But he who knew what charms are woven within it
Might place a better price on it, perchance.
For the man who goes to battle in this green lace,
As long as he keeps it looped around him,
No man under Heaven can hurt him, whoever may try,
For nothing on earth, however uncanny, can kill him.”
The knight cast about in distress, and i t came to his heart
This might be a treasure indeed when the time came to ake
The blow he had bargained to suffer beside the Green Chapel.
If the gi ft meant remaining al ive, it might well be worth it;
So he listened in silence and suffered the lady to speak,
And she pressed the sash upon him and begged him to take it,
And Gawain did, and she gave him the gift with great pleasure
And begged him, for her sake, not to say a word,
And to keep it hidden from her lord. And he said he would,
That except for themselves , this business would never be known to a man.
He thanked her earnestly,
And boldly his heart now ran;
And now a third time she
Leaned down and kissed her man.
When the lord returns from the third hunt, he gives Gawain a fox, and Gawain in return
gives him three kisses, but not the lady’s sash. The next day is New Year’s day, when Gawain
must rendezvous with the Green Knight. Snow and sleet ll that night, and howling winds pile
up huge dri fts of snow. Before dawn, Gawain dresses in burnished armor and a red velvet cloak,
winding the lady’s green sash around him twice. He lea es the cas tle with a servant to show him
the way. The servant urges him not to keep his appointment, for he will surely die, but Gawain
refuses.
52
Part Two
He put his spurs to Gringolet,19 plunged down the path,
Shoved through the heavy thicket grown up by the woods
And rode down the steep slope to the floor of the valley;
He looked around him then –a strange, wild place,
And not a sign of a chapel on any side
But only steep, high banks surrounding him.
And great, rough knots of rock and rugged crags
That scrapped the passing clouds, as it seemed to him.
He heaved at the heavy reins to hold back his horse
And squinted in every direction in search of the Chapel,
And still he saw nothing except –and this was strange-
A small green hill all alone, a sort of barrow,20
A low, smooth bulge on the bank of the brimming creek
That flowed from the foot of a waterfall,
And the water in the pool was bubbling as if it were b iling.
Sir Gawain urged Gringolet on till he came to the mound
And lightly dismounted and made the reins secure
On the great, thick limb of a gnarled and ancient tree;
Then he went up to the barrow and walked all around it,
Wondering in his wits what on earth it might be.
It had at each end on either side an entrance,
And patches of grass were growing all over the thing,
And all the inside was hollow –an old, old clave
Or the cleft of some ancient crag, he couldn’t tell which it was .
“W hoo, Lord!” thought the knight,
“Is this the fellow’s place?
Here the Devil might
Recite his midnight mass .
“Dear God,” though Gawain, “the place is deserted enough!
And it’s ugly enough, all overgrown with weeds!
Well might it amuse that marvel of green
To do his devotions here, in this devilish way!
In my five senses I fear it’s the Fiend himself
Who’s brought me to meet him here to murder me.
19 Gringolet: his horse20 barrow: a grave mound.
53
May fire and fury befall this fiendish Chapel,
As cursed a kirk 21 as I ever yet came across!”
With his helmet on his head and his lance in hand
He leaped up onto the roof of the rock-wal led room
And, high on that hill, he heard, from an echoing rock
Beyond the pool, on the hillside, a horrible noise.
Brrrack! It whirred and rattled like water on a mill wheel!
Brrrack! It rushed and rang till your blood ran cold.
And then: “Oh God,” thought Gawain, “it grinds, I think,
For me –a blade prepared for the blow I must take as my right!
God’s will be done! But here!
He may well get his knight,
But still, no use in fear;
I won’t fall dead of fright!”
And then Sir Gawain roared in a ringing voice,
“W here is the hero who swore he’d be here to meet me?
Sir Gawain the Good is come to the Green Chapel !
If any man would meet me, make it now,
For it’s now or never, I’ve no wish to dawdle here long.”
“Stay there!” ca lled someone high above his head,
“I’ll pay you promptly all that I promised be fore.”
But still he went on with that whetting noise a while,
Turning again to his grinding before he’d come down.
At last, from a hole by a rock he came out into sight,
Came plunging out of his den with a terrible weapon,
A huge new Danish ax to deliver his blow with,
With a vicious swine of a bit bent back to the handle,
Filed to a razor’s edge and four foot long,
Not one inch less by the length of that gleaming lace.
The great Green Knight was garbed as before.
Face, legs , hair, beard, all as before but for this:
That now he walked the world on his two legs,
The ax handle striking the stone like a walking stave.
When the knight came down to the water he would not wade
But vaulted across on his ax, then with armful strides
Came fiercely over the field filled all around with snow.
Sir Gawain met him there
21 Kirk: church
54
And bowed –but none too low!
Said the other, “I see, sweet sir,
You go where you say you’ll go!
“Gawain,” the Green Knight said, “may God be your guard!
You’re very welcome indeed, sir, here at my place;
You’ve timed your travel, my friend, as a true man should.
You reca ll the terms of the contract drawn up between us:
At this time a year ago you took your chances ,
And I’m pledged now, this New Year, to make you my payment.
And here we are in this valley, all alone,
And no man here to part us, proceed as we may;
Heave off your helmet then, and have here your oay;
And debate no more with me that I did then
When you servered my head from my neck with a single swipe.”
“Never fear,” said Gawain, “by God who gave
me life, I’ll raise no complaint at the grimness of it;
but take your single stroke, and I’ll stand s till
and allow you to work as you like and not oppose you h .”
He bowed toward the ground
And let his skin show clear;
However his heart might pound,
He would not show his fear.
Quickly then the man in the green made ready,
Grabbed up his keen-ground ax to strike Sir Gawain:
With all the might in his body he bore it aloft
And sharply brought it down as if to slay him;
Had he made it fall with force he fi rst intended
He would have stretched out the strongest man on earth.
But Sir Gawain cast a side glance at the ax
As i t glided down to give him his Kingdom Come 22
And his shoulders jerked away from the i ron a little,
And the Green Knight caught the handle , holding it back,
And mocked the prince with many a proud reproof:
“Y ou can’t be Gawain,” he said, “who’s thought so good,
a man who’s never been daunted on hill or dale!
For look how you flinch for fear before anything’s felt!
22 his Kingdom Come: his afterlife.
55
I never heard tell that Sir Gawain was ever a coward!
I never moved a muscle when you came down;
In Arthur’s hall I never so much as winced.
My head fell off a t my feet, yet I never flickered;
But you! You tremble at heart be fore you’re touched!
I’m bound to be called a better man than you, then, my lord.”
Said Gawain: “I shied once:
No more. You have my word.
But if my head falls to the stones
It cannot be restored.”
“But the brisk, man, by your faith, and come to the point!
Deal out my doom if you can, and do it a t once,
For I’ll stand for one good stroke, and I’ll start no more
Until your ax has hi t –and that I swear.”
“Here goes then,” said the other, and heaves it aloft
and stands there waiting, scowling like a madman;
he swings down sharp, then suddenly stops again,
holds back the ax with his hand before it can hurt.
And Gawain stands there stirring not even a nerve;
He stood there still as a stone or the stock of a tree
That’s wedged in rocky ground by a hundred roots.
O, merrily then he spoke, the man in green:
“Good! You’ve got your heart back! Now I can hit you.
May all that glory the good King Arthur gave you
Prove efficacious now –if i t ever can-
And save your neck.” In rage Sir Gawain shouted,
“Hi t me, hero! I’m right up to here with your threats !
Is it you that’s the cringing coward after all?”
“W hoo!” said the man in green, “he’s wrathful, too!
No pauses, then; I’ll pay up my pledge at once, I vow!”
He takes his stride to strike
And lifts his lip and brow;
It’s not a thing Gawain can like,
For nothing can save him now!
He raises his ax up lightly and flashes it down,
And that blinding bit bites in at the knight’s bare n k-
But hard has he hammered it down, it hurt him no more
56
Than to nick the nape of his neck, so it split the skin;
The sharp blade slit to the flesh though the shiny hid ,
And red blood shot to his shoulders and splattered the ground.
And when Gawain saw his blood where it blinked in the now
He sprang from the man with a leap to the length of a spear;
He snatched up his helmet swiftly and slapped it on,
Shifted his shield into place with a jerk of his shoul e rs,
And snapped his sword out faster than sight; said boldly-
And, mortal born of his mother that he was,
There was never on earth a man so happy by half-
“No more strokes, my friend; you’ve had your swing!
I’ve stood one swipe of your ax without resistance;
If you offer me anymore, I’ll repay you at once
With all the force and fire I’ve got –as you will see .
I take one stroke, that’s a ll,
For that was the compact we
Arranged in Arthur’s hall ;
But now, no more for me!”
The Green Knight remained where he stood, relaxing on his ax-
Settled the shaft on the rocks and leaned on the sharp end-
And studied the young man standing there, shoulders hunched,
And considered that staunch and doughty 23 stance he took,
Undaunted yet, and in his heart he liked it;
And then he said merrily, with a mighty voice-
With a roar like rushing wind he reproved the knight-
“Here don’t be such an ogre on your ground!
Nobody here has behaved with bad manners toward you
Or done a thing except as the contract said.
I owed you a stroke, and I’ve struck; consider yourself
Well paid. And now I release you from all further duties .
If I’d cared to hustle, it may be, perchance, that I might
Have hit somewhat harder, and then you might well be cross !
The first time I lifted my ax it was lighthearted sport,
I merely feinted and made no mark, as was right,
For you kept our pact o the first night with honor
And abided by your word and held yourself true to me,
Giving me all you owed as a good man should.
23 Doughty: brave
57
I feinted a second tie, friend, for the morning
You kissed my pretty wife twice and returned me the kisses;
And so for the first two days, mere feints, nothing more severe.
A man who’s true to his word,
There ’s nothing he needs to fear;
You failed me, though, on the third
Exchange, so I’ve tapped you here.
“That sash you wear by your scabbard belongs to me;
my own wife gave it to you, as I ought to know.
I know, too, of your kisses and all your words
And my wife’s advances, for I myself arranged them.
It was I who sent her to test you. I’m convinced
You’re the finest man that ever walked this earth.
As a pearl is of greater price than dry white peas,
So Gawain indeed stands out above all other knights.
But you lacked a little, sir; you were les than loyal;
But since it was not for the sash itself or for lust
But because you loved your li fe, I blame you less.!
Sir Gawain stood in a study a long, long while,
So miserable with disgrace that he wept within,
And all the blood on his chest went up to his face
And he shrank away in shame from the man’s gentle words.
The first words Gawain could find to say where these:
“Cursed be cowardice and covetousness both,
Villainy and vice that destroy all virtue!”
He caught at the knots of the girdle and loosened them
And fierce ly flung the sash at the Green Knight.
“There, there’s my fault! The foul fiend vex it!
Foolish cowardice taught me, from fear of your stroke,
To bargain, covetous, and abandon my kind,
The selflessness and loyalty suitable in knights ;
Here I stand, faulty, and false, much as I’ve feared them,
Both of them, untruth and treachery; may they see sorrow and care!
I can’t deny my guilt;
My works shine none too fair!
Give me your good wil l
And henceforth I’ll beware.”
58
At that, the Green Knight laughed, saying graciously,
“W hatever harm I’ve had, I hold it amended
since now you’re confessed so clean, acknowledging sins
and bearing the plain penance of my point;
I consider you polished as white and as perfectly clean
As i f you had never fallen since first you were born
And I give you, sir, this gold-embroidered girdle,
For the cloth is green as my gown. Sir Gawain, think
On this when you go forth among great princes;
Remember our struggle here; recall to your mind
This rich token. Remember the Green Chapel.
And now, come on, let’s both go back to my castle
And finish the New Year’s revels with feasting and joy, not strife
I beg you ,“ said the lord,
And said, “As for my wife ,
She’ll be your friend, no more
A threat against your life.”
59
R e s p o n d in g t o t h e ro m a n c e
c o n f lic t
c h a ra c t e r
s y m b o liz e
s y m b o lic
im a g e s
s y m b o l is m
t h e m e
Identifying details Interpreting meanings
1. What exactly is the Green Knight’s challenge to King Arthur’s court?
2. What is his agreement with Sir Gawain?
3. Describe the Gawain faces in the castle.
4. How does Gawain Break his promise to the lord?
5. Describe what happens when Gawain meets the Green Knig on New Year’s day.
6. Who would you say finally wins the conflict between Gawain and the Green Knight?
7. Discuss the of Sir Gawain. How is he a superhuman romance hero? How is he
also flawed, just as a real person may be flawed?
8. The figure of the Green Knight remains a puzzle to many critics. In what ways is he a
“shape-changer,” like so many characters in romances? Is he totally evil, or totally good,
or somewhere in between? What might he in the narrative?
9. Explore the possible use of the color green in this work. (Green usua lly
symbolizes hope; it is associated with the appearance of new life in the plant world.)
Why do you think the meeting with the Green Knight takes place on New Year’s day?
10. What make the setting of the confrontation seem demonic? Do you think there
is any suggested by the setting? Explain.
11. Why might the lord’s wife have had such power over Gawain?
12. How would you state the of this romance?
13. In romance literature , women are often presented as (a) maidens, (b) mothers, (c)
temptresses, or (d) Crones. How is the lady in this story characterized? Do these
character roles for women still exist in fiction movie oday? Explain.
14. Compare the romantic triangle in this story –the two men and a woman- with romantic
triangles in contemporary fiction or movies. Is Gawain’s response credible?
60
B ALLA D S
T h e T h re e Ra v e n s
In the Middle Ages, ballads were the poetry f the comm people; they were passed
down orally from generation to generation by ordinary eople. The ballads as we know them
today probably took their form in the fifteenth century, but they were not printed until three
hundred years later.
The word ballad is originally derived from an old French word meaning “Dancing song”.
The subject matter of the ballads is, predictably, popular; there are ballads of domestic tragedy
and false love or true love. There are also simple comic s ngs based on domestic relationships.
The Three Ravens
Many people feel that this is one of the most powerful and moving of all the ballads.
(Some modern versions have made the story humorous, perhaps because today we associate
talking birds and supernatural trans formations with children’s television programs.) the refrain of
the song uses words common in balladry; they are even sed years later in Shakespeare ’s
songs. Each pair of lines was meant to be repeated and sung with the refrain. As is done in the
first verse . Do you agree that love and death are themes of this ballad? Do you detect any other
themes?
There were three ravens sat on a three,
There were three ravens sat on a tree,
There were three ravens sat on a tree,
They were as black as they might be ,
The one of them said to his mate ,
“W here shall we our breakfast take?
Dow n a d o w n , ha y d o w n , h a y do w n,
W it h a do w n,
W it h a do w n, d e rry , d e rry , d e rry , d ow n ,
Dow n .
61
24 : reddish-brown.25 : a pit.26 : morning hour for monastic prayer.27 : mistress.
“Down in yonder green field
There lies a knight slain under his shield.
“His sounds they l ie down at his feet,
So well they can their mas ter keep.
“His hawks they fly so eagerly,
There ’s no fowl dare him come nigh.”
Down there comes a fallow24 doe,
As great with young as she might go.
She lifted up his bloody head,
And kissed his wounds that were so red.
She got him up upon her back,
And carried him to earthen lake.25
She buried him before the prime;26
She was dead herself ere evensong time.
God send every gentleman
Such hawks, such hounds , and such a lemman.27
FallowEarthen lakePrimeLemman
62
R e s p o n d in g t o t h e B a lla d
Identifying Details, Interpreting Meanings
1. What do the ravens discuss in the poem?
2. According to the ballad, why is the fate of the dead k ight enviable?
3. What elements of the supernatural are found in this ba lad? Are such elements common
in popular music today? What do you think the presence, or absence, of the supernatural
indicates about the culture in which a song flourishes?
4. Who might the red deer be? What might be the significance of the fact that she is “great
with young”?
5. Describe what you feel is the mood of this ballad. How would you say this mood is
created?
6. What seems to be the tone of the ballad –the singer’s attitude toward love and death? Is
it an attitude common in popular music today?
7. The song’s refrain is a series of nonsensical words . I ic today, do you ever hear this
type of nonsense “patter”?
63
28 : broth.
Lord Randall
This ballad is sung in diffe rent versions in several countries. The basic story of the song
varies little, but Randall is variously known as Donald, Randolph, Ramsay, Ransome, and
Durango. Sometimes his last meal consists of fish, sometimes snakes. Read the ballad
aloud, using a male and a female voice . The dialect in this version is Scottish.
“Oh where ha’e ye been, Lord Randall my son?
O where ha’e ye been, my handsome young man?”
“I ha’e been to the wild wood: mother, make my bed soon,
For I’m weary wi’ hunting, and fain wald lie down.”
“Where gat ye your dinner, Lord Randall my son?
Where gat ye your dinner, my handsome young man?”
“I dined wi’ my true love: mother, make my bed soon,
For I’m weary wi’ hunting, and fain wald lie down.”
“What gat ye to your dinner, Lord Randall my son?
What gat ye to your dinner, my handsome young man?”
“I gat eels boiled in broo28: mother, make my bed soon,
For I’m weary wi’ hunting, and fain wald lie down.”
“What became of your bloodhounds, Lord Randall my son?
What became of your bloodhounds , my handsome young man?”
“O they swelled and they died: mother, make my bed oon,
For I’m weary wi’ hunting, and fain wald lie down.”
“O I fear ye are poisoned, Lord Randall my son!
O I fear ye are poisoned, my handsome young man?”
“O yes, I am poisoned: mother, make my bed soon,
For I’m sick at the heart, and fain wald lie down.”
Lo rd Ra n d a ll
Broo
64
Responding to the Ballad
Identifying Details, Interpreting Meanings
1. Who are the speakers in this ballad?
2. What has happened to Lord Randall?
3. How many strong do you hear in each line? What observation can you ma e
about the ?
4. This ballad provides a good example of –the repetition of
lines with a new element introduced each time to advance the s tory until the climax
is reached. At what pointing this ballad did you discover what is wrong with Lord
Randall? How would the incremental repetition increase the lis tener’s suspense?
5. What line is repeated in the fi rst four stanzas? How is this echoed in the fifth
stanza, and what is the emotional effect of this variation?
6. Typical of ballads, “Lord Randall” ends with only half the story told. Why do you
suppose the young man’s lover has poisoned him? W hat o e r questions regarding
the plot are left unanswered?
7. Do any contemporary songs remind you of “Lord Randall,” in subject matter, tone,
or technique?
The themse lves are told during a pilgrimage journey from ondon to
the shrine of the martyr St. Thomas à Becket at Canterbury Cathedral , approximately seventy
miles to the southeast. The tales begin with a Genera l Prologue, the first lines of which establish
the fact that this pilgrimage takes place in the sprin , the archetypal time of new life and
awakening. Seventy miles is a long journey by horseback along muddy tracks that would hardly
pass as roads today. An inn was always a welcome oasis, even if it provided few luxuries . Our
poet-pilgrim starts out at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, a borough in the south of London. There
he meets twenty-nine other pilgrims also bound for Canterbury. It is the Host of the Tabbard
who suggests to the pilgrims , as they sit around the f fter dinner, that they exchange tales to
while away the time along the way to Canterbury and back to London. As the Prologue
progresses, we are introduced to the pilgrims, who represent many stations in life and who,
taken together, form a brilliant picture of life in late medieval England. As you read, pay
attention to the ways Chaucer fits the substance of hi tales to the nature of the characters who
tell them.
b e a t s
rh y m e
in c re m e n t a l re p e t it io n
re f ra in
T HE CAN T ER B U RY T ALES
Ca nt e rb u ry Ta le s
65
Chaucer’s Middle English is here rendered into modern English y the British scholar Nevill Coghill.
As true to the spirit of Chaucer as this rendering is, e brave reader would do well to attempt at
least bi ts of the in the wonderfully musical original.
As with the animal fable of the fox and the crow, the story in “The Pardoner’s Tale” has
root that are old and widespread. Avarice (or greed) as the root of evil is a theme that appears
in stories of many lands.
“But let me briefly make my purpose plain;
I preach for nothing but for greed of gain
And use the same old text, as bold as brass ,
And thus I preach against the very vice
I make my living out of –avarice.
And yet however guilty of that sin
Myself, with others I have power to win
Them from it, I can bring them to repent;
But that is not my principa l intent.
Covetousness is both the root and stuff
Of all I preach. That ought to be enough.
“Well , ten I give examples thick and fast
from bygone times, old stories from the past
a yokel mind loves stories from of old,
being the kind it can repeat and hold.
What! Do you think, as long as I can preach
And get their silver from the things I teach,
That I will live in poverty, from choice?
That’s not the counsel of my inner voice!
No! Let me preach and beg from kirk to kirk30
Ta le s
Ra dix m a lo ru m e s t cu p idita s .2 9
Fro m T h e P a rd o n e r’s Ta le
T h e P ro lo g u e
29 Radix…cupiditas: “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1Timothy 6:10)30 kirk: church
66
And never do an honest jib of work,
No, nor make baskets, like St. Paul, to gain
A livehood. I do not preach in vain
Why copy the apostles? Why pretend?
I must have wool, cheese, wheat, and cash to spend,
Thought it were given me by the poorest lad
Or poorest village widow, though she had
A string of s tarving children, all agape.
No, let me drink the liquor of the grape
And keep a jolly wench in every town!
“But lis ten, gentlemen; to bring things down
to a conclusion, would you like a tale?
Now as I’ve drunk a draft of corn-ripe ale,
By God it stands to reason I can strike
On some good story that you all will like .
For though I am a wholly vicious man
Don’t think I can’t tell moral tales . I can!
Here’s one I often preach when out for winning;
Now please be quie t. Here is the beginning.”
The Tale
In Flanders once there was a company
Of youngsters haunting vice and ribaldry,
Riot and gambling, stews and public houses
Where each with harp, guitar, or lute corouses ,
Dancing and dicing day and night, and bold
To eat and drink far more than they can hold,
Doing thereby the devil sacrifice
Within that devil’s temple of cursed vice,
Abominable in superfluity,
With oaths so damnable in blasphemy
That it’s a grisly thing to hear them swear.
Our dear Lord’s body they will rend and tear…
It’s of three rioters I have to tel l
Who long before the morning service bell
67
Were sitting in a tavern for a drink.
And as they sat, they heard the handbell clink
Before a coffin going to the grave;
One of them cal led the little tavern knave
And said “Go and find out at once –lool spry!-
Whose corpse is in that coffin passing by;
And see you get the name correctly too.”
“Sir,” said the boy, “no need, I promise you;
two hours before you came here I was told.
He was a friend of yours in days of old,
And suddenly, last night, the man was slain,
Upon his bench, face up, dead drunk again.
There came a privy thie f, they call him Death,
Who kills us all round here , and in a breath
He speared him through the heart, he never s tirred.
And then Death went his way without a word.
He’s killed a thousand in the present plague,
And, sir, it doesn’t do to be too vague
If you should meet him; you had best be wary.
Be on your guard with such an adversary,
Be primed to meet him everywhere you go,
That’s what my mother said. It’s all I know.”
The publican31 joined in with, “By St. Mary,
What the child says is right; you’d best be wary,
This very year he killed, in a large village
A mile away, man, woman, serf at tillage,
Page in the household, children –all there were.
Yes, I imagine that he lives round there .
It’s wel l to be prepared in these alarms,
He might do you dishonor”. “Huh, God’s arms!”
The rioter said, “Is he so fierce to meet?
I’ll search for him , by Jesus, street by street.
God’s blessed bones! I’ll register a vow!
Here, chaps! The three of us together now,
Hold up your hands, like me, ad we’ll be brothers
In this affair, and each de fend the others,
And we will kill this traitor Death, I say!
31 publican: tavern keeper (from ‘public house,’ a term for a bar or tavern still used in the British Isles).
68
Away with him as he has made away
With all our friends. God’s dignity! Tonight!”
They made their bargain, swore with appetite,
These three, to live and die for one another
As brother-born might swear to his born brother.
And up they started in their drunken rage
And made toward this village which the page
And publican had spoken of before .
Many and grisly were the oaths they swore,
Tearing Christ’s blessed body to a shred32
“If we can only catch him, Death is dead!”
When they had gone not fully hal f a mi le,
Just as they were about to cross a stile,
They came upon a very poor old man
Who humbly greeted them and thus began,
“God look to you, my lords, and give you quiet!”
to which the proudest of these men of riot
gave back the answer, “What, old fool? Give place!
Why are you al wrapped up except your face?
Why live so long? Isn’t it time to die?”
The old, old fellow looked him in the eye
And said, “Because I never yet have found,
Though I have walked to India, searching round
Village and city on my pilgrimage,
One who would change his youth to have my age.
And so my age is mine and must be still
Upon me, for such time as God might will.
“Not even Death, alas, will take my life;
So, like a wretched prisoner at strife
Within himself, I walk alone and wait
About the earth, which is my mother’s gate,
Knock-knocking with my staff from night to noon
And crying, ‘Mother, open to me soon!
Look at me mother, won’t you let me in?
See how I wither, flesh and blood and skin!
Alas ! When will these bones be laid to rest?
Mother, I would exchange –for that were best-
The wardrobe in my chamber, standing there
32 Their oats refer to “God’s arms” and “God’s blessed bones.”
69
So long, for yours ! Aye, for a shirt of hair33
To wrap me in!” she has refused her grace,
Whence comes the pallor of my withered face.
“But it dishonoured you when you began
To speak so roughly, si r, to an old man,
Unless he had injured you in word or deed.
It says in holy writ, as you may read,
‘Thou shalt rise up be fore the hoary34 head
and honor it.’ And therefore be it said
‘Do no more harm to an old man than you,
Being now young, would have another do
When you are o ld’-if you should live till then.
And so may God be with you, gentlemen,
For must I go whither I have to go.”
“By God,” the gambler said, “you shan’t do so,
You don’t get off so easy, by St. John!
I heard you mention , just a moment gone,
A certain trai tor Death who singles out
And kills the fine young fellows hereabout.
And you’re his spy, by God! You wait a bit.
Say where he is or you shall pay for it,
By God and the Holy Sacrament!
I say you’ve joined together by consent
To kill us younger folk, you thieving swine!”
“Well , sirs ” he said, “if it be your design
To find out Death, turn up this crooked way
Toward that grove, I le ft him there today
Under a tree, and there you’ll find him waiting.
He isn’t one to hide for all you prating.
You see that oak? He won’t be far to find.
And God protect you that redeemed mankind,
Aye, and amend you!” Thus that ancient man.
At once the three young rioters began
To run, and reached the tree , and there they found
A pile of golden florins on the ground,
New-coined, eight bushels of them as the thought.
No longer was it Death those fellows sought,
33 Shirt of hair: shirts woven with coarse horse’s hairs were worn as penance. Here, the old man refers to one of these shirts used to wrap his body fo burial.34 Hoary: white
70
For they were all so thrilled to see the sight,
The florins were so beautiful and bright,
That down they sat beside the precious pile.
The wickedest spoke first after a while.
“Brothers,” he said, “you listen to what I say.
I’m pretty sharp although I joke away.
It’s clear that Fortune has bestowed this treasure
To let us live in jolli ty an pleasure .
Light come, light go! We’ll spend it as we ought.
God’s precious dignity! Who would have thought
This morning was to be our lucky day?
“If one could only get the gold away,
Back to my house, or else to yours, perhaps-
For as you know, the gold is ours, chaps-
We’d all be at the top of fortune, hey?
But certainly it can’t be done by day.
People would call us robbers –a strong gang,
So our own poverty would make us hang.
No, we must bring this treasure back by night
Some prudent way, and keep it out of sight.
And so as a solution I propose
We draw for lots and see the way it goes,
The one who draws the longest, lucky man,
Shall run to town as quickly as he can
The fetch us bread and wine –but keep things dark-
While two remain in hiding here to mark
Our heap of treasure . If there’s no delay,
When night comes down we ’ll carry it away,
All three of us, wherever we had planned.”
He gathered lots and hid them in his hand
Bidding them draw for where the luck should fall.
It fell upon the youngest of them all,
And off he ran at once toward the town.
As soon as he had gone the fi rst sat down
And thus began a parley with the other:
“Y ou know that you can trust me as a brother;
Now let me tell you where your profit lies;
You know our friend had gone to get supplies
And here’s a lot of gold that is to be
71
Divided equally amongs t us three.
Nevertheless , if I could shape things thus
So that we shared it out –the two of us-
Wouldn’t you take it as a friendly turn?”
“But how?” the other said with some concern,
“Because he knows the gold’s with me and you;
What can we tell him? What are we to do?”
“Is it a bargain,” said the first, “or no?
For I can tell you in a word or so
What’s to be done to bring the thing about.”
“Trust me,” the other said, “you needn’t doubt
My word. I won’t betray you, I’ll be true.”
“Well ,” said his friend, “you’ll see that we are two,
and two are twice as powerful as one.
Now look; when he comes back, get up in fun
To have a wrestle; then, as you attack,
I’ll up and put my dagger through his back
While you and he are struggling, as in game;
Then draw your dagger too and do the same.
Then all this money will be ours to spend,
Divided equally of course, dear friend.
Then we can gratify our lusts and fill
The day with dicing at our own sweet will.”
Thus these two miscreants35 agreed to slay
The third and youngest, as you heard me say.
The youngest, as he ran toward the town,
Kept turning over, rolling up and down
Within his heart the beauty of those bright
New florins, saying, “Lord, to think I might
Have all that treasure to mysel f alone!
Could there be anyone beneath the throne
Of God so happy as I then should be?”
And so the Fiend, our common enemy,
Was given power to put it in his thought
That there was always poison to be bought,
And that with poison he could kill his friends.
To men in such a state the Devil sends
Thoughts of this kind, and has a full permission
35 miscreants: criminals (literally ‘unbelievers’)
72
To lure them on to sorrow and perdition36
For this young man was utterly content
To kill them both and never to repent.
And on he ran, he had no thought to tarry,
Came to the town, found an apothecary
And said, “Sell me some poison if you will ,
I have a lot of rats I want to kill
And there’s a polecat too about my yard
That takes my chickens and hits me hard;
But I’ll get even, as is only right,
With vermin that destroy a man by night.”
The chemist answered, “I’ve a preparation
Which you shall have, and by my soul’s salvation
If any living creature eat or drink
A mouthful, e re he has the time to think,
Though he took less than makes a grain of wheat,
You’ll see him fall down dying at your feet;
Yes, die he must, and in so short a while
You’d hardly have the time to walk a mile ,
The poison is so strong, you understand.”
This cursed fellow grabbed into his hand
The box of poison and away he ran
Into a neighboring street, and found a man
Who lent him three large bottles. He withdrew
And deftly poured the poison into two.
He kept the third one clean, as well as he might,
For his own drink, meaning to work a ll night
Stacking the gold and carrying it away.
And when this rioter, this devil’s clay,
Had filled his bottles up with wine, all three,
Back to rejoin his comrades sauntered he.
Why make a sermon of it? why waste breath?
Exactly in the way they’d planned his death
They fell on him and slew him, two to one.
Then said the first of them when this was done,
“Now for a drink. Sit down and let’s be merry,
for later on there’ll be the corpse to bury.”
And, as it happened, reaching for a sup,
36 perdition: damnation.
73
He took a bottle full of poison up
And drank; and his companion, nothing loth,
Drank from it also, and they perished both.
There is , in Avicenna ’s37 long re lation
Concerning poison and its operation,
Trust me, no ghastlier section to transcend
What these two wretches suffered at their end.
Thus these two murderers received their due,
So did the treacherous young poisoner too.
…One thing I should have mentioned in my tale ,
Dear people. I’ve some relics in my bale
And pardons too, as full and fine, I hope,
As any in England, given me by the Pope.
If there be one among you that is willing
To have my absolution for a shilling
Devoutly given, come! And do not harden
Your hearts but kneel in humbleness for pardon;
Or e lse, receive my pardon as we go.
You can renew i t every town or so
Always provided that you still renew
Each time, and in good money, what is due.
It is an honor to you to have found
A pardoner with his credentials sound
Who can absolve you as you ply the spur
In any accident that may occur.
For instance –we are at Fortune’s beck-
Your horse may throw you down and break your neck.
What a securi ty it is to all
To have me here among you and at call
With pardon for the lowly and the great
When soul leaves body for the future state!
And I advise our Hos t here to begin,
The most enveloped of you al l in sin.
Come forward, Host, you shall be fi rst to pay
And kiss my holy relics right away.
Only a groat.38 Come on, unbuckle your purse!
37 Avicenna: famous Arabic doctor, and author of a medical book with a chapter on poisons.38 Groat: silver coin worth four pence.
74
“No, no,” said he, “not I, and may the curse
Of Christ descend upon me if I do!…”
The pardoner said nothing, not a word;
He was so angry that he couldn’t speak.
“Well,” said our Host, “If you’re for showing pique,
I’ll joke no more, not with an angry man.”
The worthy Knight immediately began,
Seeing the fun was getting rather rough,
And said, “No more, we ’ve all had quite enough.
Now, Master Pardoner, perk up, look cheerly!
And you, Si r Host, whom I es teem so dearly,
I beg of you to kiss the Pardoner.
“Come, Pardoner, draw nearer. My dear sir.
Let’s laugh again and keep the ball in play.”
They kissed, and we continued on our way.
75
R e s p o n d in g t o t h e T a le
p e rs o n if ic a t io n
iro n ic .
s y m b o liz e s
iro n y
s a tir iz in g
m o ra l
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings
1. How does the Pardoner describe his own character and moral in his prologue?
2. According to the Pardoner’s Tale , why are the three ri e rs looking for Death?
3. What does the old man tell the three rioters? How do they treat him?
4. What plan do the rioters form together? Explain how th s plan proves fatal to all three
men.
5. After the Pardoner finishes his tale, why does a quarrel arise between him and the Host?
Who patches the quarrel?
6. How do the little tavern knave and the publican use to describe Death?
Explain how the rioters ’ response to the personification is
7. What do you think the poor old man ?
8. How many layers of can you identify in this story? (Did the rioters, for one thing,
really find Death under the tree?)
9. Describe the contrast between the ethics of the Pardoner as described in the Prologue
and the moral of the sermon he preaches. How would you account for the psychology of
the Pardoner: is he truly evil? Is he just drunk? Or i he so used to cheating that he does
it automatically?
10. What is Chaucer in the Pardoner’s Tale?
11. What does the Pardoner want us to draw from his tale? What moral do you think
Chaucer wants you to draw from the whole story of the Pardoner?
12. Do people with the Pardoner’s ethics and tricks still st today –in any field of life?
Explain.
76
FR O M O F P LYMO U T H P LAN T ATI O N
S e p t e m b e r 6 , 1 6 2 0
The following extracts From Bradford’s history describ some celebrated events : the
landing at Plymouth, the framing of the Mayflower Compact, the Pilgrim’s early encounters with
the native inhabitants, and their first thanksgiving. In the first paragraph, notice how matter-of-
fact Bradford is about God’s role in their voyage. Look for similar re ferences to Divine
providence in the rest of the history. Note also how o tward events contain an inner, spiritual
significance.
Chapter 9
. These troubles 39 being blown over, and now all being compact together in
one ship, the put to the sea again with a prosperous wind, which continued divers (many) days
together, which was some encouragement unto them; yet, ording to the usua l manner, many
were afflicted with seasickness. And I may not omit he a special work of God’s Providence.
There was a proud and very profane young man, one of the seamen, of a lus (energetic), able
body, which made him the more haughty; he would always be condemning the poor people in
their sickness and curs ing them daily with grievous ex ions; and did not let to tell them that
he hoped to help to cas t half of them overboard before they came to their journey’s end, and to
make merry with what they had; and if he were by any gently reproved, he would curse and
swear most bitterly. But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young
man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the
first that was thrown overboard. This his curses light on his own head, and it was an
astonishment to a ll his fe llows , for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him.
After they had enjoyed fair winds and weather for a season, they were encountered
many times with crosswinds and met with many fierce st rms, with which the ship was shroudly
40 shaken and her upper works made very leaky; and one of the main beams in the midships
was bowed and cracked, which put them in some fear that the ship could not be able to perform
the voyage. So some of the chief of the company , perceiving the mariners to fear the
sufficiency of the ship, as appeared by their mutterings, they entered into serio s consultation
with the master and other officers of the ship, to consider in time of the danger, and rather to
return than to cast themselves into a desperate and in vitable peril. And truly there was great
distraction and diffe rence of opinion amongst the mariners themselves; fain (gladly) would they
do what could be done for their wages ’ sake (be ing now near half the seas over), and on the
Of T h e ir Vo y a g e , a n d Ho w T h e y pas s e d th e S e a ; a n d o f T e ir S a f e A rriv a l a t Ca p e Co d .
39 Troubles: the return of the to England and the transfer of her passengers to the
40 Shroudly: shrewdly, used here in its archaic sense of ‘wickedly.’
SpeedwellMayflowe r.
77
other hand they were loath (re luctant) to hazard their lives too desperate ly. But in examining all
opinions, the master and others affirmed they knew the ship to be strong and firm under water;
and for the buckling of the main beam, there was a gre t i ron screw the passengers brought out
of Holland, which would raise the beam into his place; the which being done, the carpenter and
mas ter affirmed that with a post put under i t, set firm in the lower deck, and otherways bound,
he would make it sufficient. And as for the decks and upper works , they could caulk them as
we ll as they could, and though with the working of the ship they would not long keep staunch
(water-tight), yet there would otherwise be no great danger, f they did not overpress her with
sails. So they committed themselves to the will of God solved to proceed.
In sundry of these storms the winds were so fie rce an the seas so high as they could
not bear a knot of sail, but were forced to hull 41 for divers days together. And in one of them, as
they thus lay at hull in a mighty storm, a lusty young man called John Howland, coming upon
some occasion above gratings, was, with a seele (roll) of the ship, , thrown into the sea,; but it
pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at
length. Yet he held his hold (though he was sundry fathoms under water) till he was hauled up
by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with a boat hook and other means got into
the ship again and his life saved. And though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many
years after and became a profi table member both in church and commonwealth. In a ll this
voyage there died but one of the passengers, which was William Butten, a youth, servant to
Samuel Fuller, when they drew near the coast.
But to omit other things (that I may be brief) a fter long beating at sea they fell with that
land which is called Cape Cod; 42 the which being made and certainly known to be it, they were
not a little joyful. After some deliberation had amongst themselves and with the master of the
ship, they tacked about and resolved to stand for the southward (the wind and weather being
fair) to find some place about Hudson’s River 43 for their habitation. But after they had sailed
that course about half the day, they fell amongst dang s shoals and roaring breakers , and
they were so far entangled therewith as they conceived themselves in great danger; and the
wind shrinking upon them withal, they resolved to bear up again for the Cape and thought
themselves happy to get out of those dangers before night overtook them, as by God’s good
Providence they did. And the next day 44 they got into the Cape Harbor ,45 where they rid in
safety…
41 Hull: lay to and drift under short sail.42 They sighted Cape Cod at daybreak on November 9, 1620.43 They were trying for Manhattan Island. Henry Hudson had made his voyage in 1609 and had claimed the area for the Dutch, but the English did not recognize the Dutch claim.44 November 11. the sea voyage from England had taken sixty-five days.45 Cape Harbor is now Princetown Harbor.
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Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought sa fe to land, they fell upon their knees
and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and
delivered from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable
earth, their proper element…
But here I cannot but stay and make a pause, and stand half amazed at this poor
people’s present condition; and so I think will the reader, too, when he well considers the same.
Being thus passed the vast ocean, and a sea of trouble before in their preparation (as may be
remembered by that which went before), they had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to
entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies; no houses or much less towns to repair , to
seek for succor (aid). It is recorded in Scripture 46 as a mercy to the Apostle and his shipwrecked
company, that the barbarians showed them no small kindness in re freshing them, but these
savage barbarians, when they met with them (as after w ll appear) were readier to fill thei r sides
full of arrows than otherwise. And for the season it a winter, as they that know the winters of
that country know them to be sharp and violent, and subject to cruel and fierce s torms,
dangerous to travel to unknown places, much more to se rch an unknown coast. Besides, what
could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, of wild beasts and wild men –and
what multitudes there might be of them they knew not. Neither could they, as it were, go up to
the top of Pisgah 47 to view from this wilderness a more goodly country to feed their hopes; for
which way soever they turned their eyes (save upward to the heavens) they could have ittle
solace or content in respect of any outward objects. F r summer being done, all things stand
upon them with a weather-beaten face, and the whole country, full of woods and kets,
represented a wild and savage hue. If they looked behind them, there was the mighty ocean
which they had passed and was now as a main bar and gu o separate them from all the civil
parts of the world…
What could now sustain them but the Spirit of God and is Grace? May not and ought
not the children of these fathers rightly say: “Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this
great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderne but they cried unto the Lord, and He
heard their voice and looked on their adversity,”48 etc? “Let them therefore praise the Lord,
because He is good: and His mercies endure forever.” “Yea, let them which have been
redeemed of the Lord, shew how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. W hen
they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both
hungry and thirsty, the ir soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His
lovingkindness and His wonderful works before the sons of men.”49
46 In the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 28), St. Paul te ls how the shipwrecked Christians were helped by the “barbarous people” of Malta.47 Pisgah was the mountain from which Moses first viewed e Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34:1)48 A quotation from Deuteronomy 26:749 The quotations are from Psalm 107.
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Chapter 10
( ). Being thus arrived at Cape Cod the 11 th of November, and necessity calling them to
look out a place for habitation (as we ll as the master’s and mariners’ importunity); they having
brought a large shallop 50 with them out of England, stowed in quarters in the s ip, they now got
her out and set their carpenters to work to trim her up; but being much bruised and shattered in
the ship with foul weather, they say she would be long in mending. Whereupon a few of them
tendered themselves to go by land and discover those nearest places, whilst the shallop was in
mending; and the rather because as they went into that harbor there seemed to be an opening
some two or three leagues 51 off, which the master judged to be a river. It was conceived there
might be some danger in the attempt, yet seeing them lute , they were permitted to go,
being sixteen of them wel l armed under the conduct of ptain Standish,52 having such
instructions given them as was thought meet.
They set forth the 15 th of November; and when they had marched about the space of a
mile by the seaside , they espied five or six persons w th a do coming toward them who were
savages; but they fled from them and ran up into the woods, and the English followed them
partly to see if they could speak with them and partly to discover if there might not be more of
them lying in ambush. But the Indians, seeing themselves thus followed, they again forsook the
woods and ran away on the sands as hard as they could, so as they could not come near them
but followed them by the track of their feet sundry miles and saw that they had come the same
way. So, night coming on, they made their rendezvous and set out their sentinels , and rested
in quiet that night; and the next morning followed their track till they had headed a great creek
and so left the sands, and turned another way into the woods. But they still fol lowed them by
guess, hoping to find their dwe llings; but they soon lost both them and themselves, falling into
such thickets as were ready to tear their clothes and armor in pieces; but were most distressed
for want of drink. But at length they found water they drunk of, and was now in great thirst as
pleasant unto them as wine or beer had been in foretimes.
S h o w in g h ow th e y S o u g h t o ut a Pla ce o f Ha b ita t io n ; an d W ha t b e fe ll Th e m T h e re bo u t .
1 6 2 0
50 Shallop: a small, open boat. This one was fitted with oars and a sail.51 Leagues: one league is equivalent to about three miles52 Myles Standish (1584-1656) was a soldier who had been hired to handle the colonists’ military affairs. Not a member of the Puritan congregation, he ill became one of their staunchest supporters.
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Afterward they directed their course to come to the other shore, for they knew it was a
neck of land they were to cross over, and so at lengt got to the seaside and marched to this
supposed river, and by the way found a pond of clear, fresh water, and shortly after a good
quantity of clear ground where the Indians had formerly set corn, and some of their graves . And
proceeding further they saw new stubble where corn had been set the same year, also they
found where lately a house had been, where some planks and a great kettle were remaining,
and heaps of sand newly paddled with their hands. Which, they digging up, found in them divers
fair Indian baskets filled with corn, and some in ears fai r and good, of divers colors , which
seemed to them a very goodly sight (having never seen any such before). This was near the
place of that supposed river they came to seek, to which they went and found it open itself into
two arms with a high cliff of sand in the entrance but more like to be creeks of salt water than
any fresh, for aught they saw; and that there was goo harborage for their shallop, when she
was ready. So, their time limited them being expired, they returned to the ship lest they should
be in fear of their safe ty; and took with them part of the corn and buried up the rest…
After this, the shallop being got ready, they set out a in for the better discovery of this
place, and the master of the ship desired to go himself. So there went some thirty men but
found it to be no harbor for ships but only for boats. There was also found two of their houses
(the Indians’) covered with mats, and sundry of their plements in them, but the people were
run away and could not be seen. Also there was found m re of their corn and of their beans of
various colors; the corn and beans they brought away, urposing to give them full satisfaction
when they should meet with any of them, as about some ix months a fterward they did, to their
good content.
And here is to be noted a special Providence of God, and a great mercy to this poor
people, that here they got seed to plant them corn the next year, or else they might have
starved, for they had none nor any likehood to get any till the season had been past, as the
sequel did manifest. Neither is it likely they had this if the first voyage had not been made, for
the ground was now all covered with snow and hard froz n; but the Lord is never wanting unto
His in their greatest needs; let His holy name have all the praise.
The month of November being spent in these affairs , and much foul weather falling in,
the 6th of December they sent out their shallop again with ten of their principal men and some
seamen, upon further discovery, intending to circulate that deep bay of Cape Cod. The weather
was very cold and it froze so hard as the spray of the sea lighting on their coats ; they were as
if they had been glazed. Yet that night betimes they g own into the bottom of the bay, and as
they drew near the shore they saw some ten or twelve Indians very busy about something. They
landed about a league or two from them, and had much do to put ashore anywhere –it lay so
full of flats. Being landed, i t grew late and they mad themselves a barricado with logs and
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boughs as well as they could in the time, and set out their sentinel and betook them to rest, and
saw the smoke of the fire the savages made that night. When morning was come they divided
their company, some to coast along the shore in the boat, and the rest marched through the
woods to see the land, if any fit place might be for their dwe lling. They came also o the place
where they saw the Indians the night before, and found they had been cutting up a great fish
like a grampus, being some two inches thick of fat like a hog, some pieces whereof they had left
by the way. And the shallop found two more of these fishes dead on the sands, a thing usual
after storms in that place, by reason of the great fla s of sand that lie off…
From hence they departed and coasted all along but dis erned no place likely for harbor;
and therefore hasted to a place that their pilot (one r. Coppin, who had been in the country
before) did assure them was a good harbor, which he ha een in, and they might fetch it before
night; of which they were glad, for it began to be foul weather.
After some hours’ sailing, it began to snow and rain, d about the middle of the
afternoon the wind increased and the sea became very rough, and they broke their rudder, and
it was as much as two men could do to steer her with a couple of oars. But their pilot bade them
be of good cheer, for he saw the harbor; but the storm ncreasing, and night drawing on, they
bore what sail they could to get in whi le they could see. But herewith they broke their mast in
three pieces and the ir sail fell overboard in a very grown sea, so as they had like to have been
cast away. Yet by God’s mercy they recovered themselves and, having the flood (the tide) with
them, struck into the harbor. But when it came to, the pilot was dece ived in the place, and said
the Lord be merciful unto them, for his eyes never saw that pla e be fore; and he and the
master’s mate would have run her ashore in a cove ful breakers before the wind. But a lusty
seaman which steered bade those which rowed, if they were men, about with her or else they
were all cast away; the which they did with speed. So he bid them of good cheer and row lustily,
for there was a fair sound before them, and he doubted not but they should find one place or
other where they might ride in sa fety. And though it was very dark and rained sore, yet in the
end they got under the lee of a small island and remai d there all that night in sa fety. But they
knew not this to be an island till morning, but were d ed in their minds; some would keep the
boat for fear they might be amongst the Indians; others were so wet and cold they could not
endure, but got ashore, and with much ado got fire (al gs being so wet); and the rest were
glad to come to them, for after midnight the wind shi f ed to the northwest and it froze hard.
But though this had been a day and night of much trouble and danger unto them, yet
God gave them a morning of comfort and refreshing (as usually He doth to His children), for the
next day was a fai r, sunshining day, and they found th elves to be on an island secure from
the Indians , where they might dry their s tuff, fix the r pieces, and rest themselves; and gave
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God thanks for His mercies in their manifold deliverances. And this being the last day of he
week, they prepared there to keep the Sabbath.
On Monday they sounded the harbor and found it fir for shipping, and marched into the
land and found divers cornfields and little running brooks, a place (as they supposed) fit for
situation. At least it was the best they could find, and the season and their present necessity
made them glad to accept of i t. so they returned to their ship again with this news to the rest of
their people, which did much comfort their hearts .
On the 15th of December they weighed anchor to go to the place th had discovered,
and came within two leagues of it, but were fain to be up again; but the 16th day, the wind
came fair, and they arrived safe in this harbor. And a erward took better view of the place , and
resolved where to pitch their dwelling; and the 25 th day began to erect the first house for
common use to receive them and their goods .53
From Chapter 11
The Starving Time
( - ). But that which was most ad and lamentable was that in two or three months’
time half of their company died, especially in January and February , being the depth of winter,
and wanting houses and other comforts; being infected with the scurvy and other diseases which
this long voyage and their inaccommodate condition had brought upon them. So as there
diedsometimes two or three of a day in the foresaid time, that of 100 and odd ons, scarce
fifty remained. And of these, in the time of most dis ss, there was but six or seven sound
persons who to their great commendations, be it spoken spared no pains night nor day, but
wi th abundance of toil and hazard of their own wealth, etched them wood, made them fires,
dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loath clothes, clothed and unclothed
them: in a word, did all the homely and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy
stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this wil ly and cheerfully, withouth any
grudging in the least, showing herein their true love nto their friends and brethren; a rare
example and worthy to be remembered. Two of these sev n were Mr. William Brewster, thei r
reverend elder, and Myles Standish, their captain and military commander, to whom mysel f and
many others were much beholden in our low and sick con tion. And yet the Lord so upheld
these persons as in this general calamity they were not at all infected either with sickness or
lameness. And what I have said of these I may say of m y others who died in this general
visitation, and others yet living; that whilst they ha health, yea, or any strength continuing,
1 6 2 0 1 6 2 1
53 This text is the only account written by a participan of the famous landing at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620.
83
they were not wanting to any that had need of them. And I doubt not their recompense is
wi th the Lord.
But I may not here pass by another remarkable passage t to be forgotten. As this
ca lamity fell among the passengers that were to be lef here to plant, and were hasted ashore
and made to drink water that the seamen might have the more beer, and one 54 in his sickness
desiring but a small can of beer, it was answered that if he were their own father he should have
none. This disease began to fal l amongst them (the seamen)also, so as almost half of thei r
company died before they went away, and many of their ficers and lustiest men, as the
boatswain, gunner, three quartermasters, the cook, and others. At which the master was
something s tricken and sent to the sick ashore and told the governor he should send for beer for
them that had need of it, though he drank water homeward bound.
But now amongst his (the ship master’s) company there was far another kind of carriage
in this misery than amongst the passengers. For they that before had been boon companions in
drinking and jollity in the time of their health welfare began now to desert one another in this
ca lamity, saying they would not hazard their lives for them, they should be infected by coming
to help them in their cabins; and so, after they came to lie by i t, would do little or nothing for
them but, “If they died, let them die.” But such of th passengers as were yet aboard showed
them what mercy they could, which made some of their hearts relent, as the boatswain (and
some others), who was a proud young man and would ofte curse and scoff at the passengers.
But when he grew weak, they had compassion on him and helped him; then he confessed he did
not deserve it at their hands, he had abused them in w rd and deed. “Oh!” (saith he )”you, I
now see, show your love l ike Chris tians indeed one to other, but we let one another lie and die
like dogs.” Another lay cursing his wife, saying if i t t been for her he had never come this
unlucky voyage, and anoun cursing his fellows, saying he had spent so much and so mu h
amongs t them, and they were now weary of him and did n help him, having need. Another
gave his companion all he had, if he died, to help him in his weakness; he went and got a little
spice and made him a mess of meat once or twice. And because he died not so soon as he
expected, he went among his fe llows and swore the rogue would cozen (cheat) him, he would
see him chocked before he made him any more meat; and et the poor fellow died before
morning.
All this while the Indians came skulking about them, and would sometimes show
themselves aloof off, but when any approached near them, they would run away; and once they
stole away their tools where they had been at work and were gone to dinner. But about the 16th
I nd ia n Re lat io ns .
54 This is Bradford himself
84
of March, a certa in Indian came boldly amongst them and spoke to them in broken English,
which they could well understand but marvelled at it. length they understood, by discourse
with him, that he was not of these parts but belonged to the eastern parts where some English
ships came to fish, with whom he was acquainted and could name sundry of them by their
names, amongst whom he had got his language. He became profitable to them in acquainting
them with many things concerning the state of the country in the east parts where he lived,
which was afterward profitable unto them; as also of the people here, of their names, number,
and strength, of their situation and distance from thi place, and who was chief amongs t them.
His name was Samoset.55 He to ld them also of another Indian whose name was Squanto,56 a
native of this place, who had been in England and coul speak better English than himself.
Being, after some time of entertainment and gifts, dismissed, a while after he came
again, and five more with him, and they brought again l the tools that were stolen away
before , and made way for the coming of their great Sachem, called Massasoit.57 Who, about four
or five days after, came with the chief of his friends and other attendance, with the aforesaid
Squanto. With whom, after friendly entertainment and s e gifts given him, they made a peace
with him (Which hath now continued this 24 years )58 in these terms:
1. That neither he or any of his should injure or do hurt to any of their people.
2. That if any of his did hurt to any of theirs , he should send the offender, that they might
punish him.
3. That if anything were taken away from any of theirs , he should cause it to be restored;
and they should do the like to his.
4. If any did unjustly war against him, they would aid him; if any did war against them, he
should aid them.
5. He should send to his neighbors confederates to certify them of this, that they might not
wrong them, but might be likewise comprised in the con ions of peace.
6. That when their men came to them, they should leave their ows and arrows behind
them.
After these things he returned to his place , cal led So 40 miles from this place,
but Squanto continued with them and was their interpreter and was a special instrument of God
for their good beyond their expectation. He directed t how to set their corn, whe re to take
fish and to procure other commodities, and was also th ot to bring them to unknown places
for their profit, and never le ft them till he died. He was a native of his place, and scarce any left
55 Samoset was an Algonquin from Maine.56 Squanto was the sole survivor of the Pawtuckets.57 Massasoit was the sachem (chief) of the Wampanoag and presided from a place called Sowams, the present-day site of Barrington, Rhode Island.58 The treaty was kept faithfully until the reign of massasoit’s son Metacomet, known as King Philip by the colonists.
85
alive besides himself. He was carried away with divers others by one Hunt, a master of a ship,
who thought to sell them for slaves in Spain. But he g t away for England and was entertained
by a merchant in London, and employed to Newfounland and other parts, and lastly brought
hither into these parts by one Mr. Dermer, a gentleman oyed by Sir Fernandino Gorges and
others for discovery and other designs in these parts…
First Thanksgiving
( ). They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses
and dwelling against winter, being al l recovered in he and strength and had all things in good
plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing,
about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took ood s tore, of which every family had
their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as
winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came firs t (but afterward
decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys , of which
they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides they had about a peck of meal a week to a
person, or now since harves t, many afterward write so largely of their plenty here to their
friends in England, which were no feigned but true reports .
1 6 2 1
86
Re s po n din g t o t he His to ry
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison said that “Bradford… had a constant sense of an unseen
hand… that seemed to be guiding Puritan policy.” What ts on the voyage to the New
World does Bradford credit to the direct intervention ?
2. According to the end of chapter 9, what hardships and dangers still face he settle rs after
the voyage is over? According to Bradford, what is the one thing that can sustain the
group during these trials?
3. The famous entry in chapter 10 reports in detail on the Pilgrims’ firs t landing in the New
World. What events during those fi rst explorations does Bradford credit to God’s
Providence?
4. Bradford wrote his history of the “Old Comers” in part for the newcomers, the young
people who, he hoped, would carry on the Pilgrims ’ ide s. What acts of charity and
kindness during the ‘Starving Time ’ (chapter 11) would remind later Puritans the ir
uniqueness and their obligations to their community?
5. Consider the treaty drawn up with Massasoi t and explain whether or not you feel its
terms were equally favourable to both parties . What seems to be Bradford’s attitude
toward the Indians?
6. There is a certain timelessness in the Pilgrims ’ story. W hat practical and ethical problems
common to many societies are reflected in their experi nce? In what ways might this
wilderness experience be relevant to contemporary pilgrims or pioneers?
7. One event that Bradford does not describe is the death of his wife , who either fell or
jumped overboard in Provincetown Harbor. How would his his tory have been di fferent if
he had included this tragedy? What reasons can you propose for his having omitted it?
A creative response.
. Rete ll the events of chapter 10 from the po int of vi f one
of the Native Americans who came upon the scouts. Narrate only what the observer would
see happening and what you imagine he or she might be feeling.
U s in g a n o t h e r p o in t o f v ie w
87
T HE P AS S IO N AT E S HEP HE RD T O H IS LOVE
Come live with me, and be my love;
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Me lodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses ,
And a thousand fragrant posies;
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fai r-lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A bel t of straw and ivy-buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;
An if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.
The shepherd-swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning;
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me, and be my love.
88
T HE T YGER
T HE T YGER
While almost everyone agrees that “The Tyger” is one of the most powerful of Blake ’s
Songs of Experience, there has been much disagreement t the meaning of the poem’s
central symbol, the tiger itself. One possibility is t t the tiger represents a strong revolutionary
energy that can enlighten and transform a society –a positive but dangerous force Blake
believed was operating in the French Revolution. The narrator of this poem, at any rate, cannot
comprehend such a starling energy, and can only wonder whether it is demonic or godl ike.
Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright
In the forest of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? And what dread feet?
What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,59
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
59 A reference to the fallen angels who, after losing the war in Heaven, threw down their spears.
89
Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright
In the forest of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What ques tions does the speaker ask the tiger?
2. Where in the poem does the speaker wonder if the tiger may have been created by God?
What tells us that the speaker also suspects that the tiger could be a demonic
creation? What images suggest a human creator –like blacksmith or goldsmith?
3. What do you think is meant by the tiger’s “fearful symmetry”?
4. The last stanza of the poem virtually repeats the first. In your view, what is the
significance of the one word that is changed in the last stanza?
5. What suggests that the tiger could be a force of enl ightment? Of violence?
6. This poem has always appealed to children, as well as adults. What reasons can you
think of for the poem’s appeal to younger as well as to older readers?
7. How does the poem testify to the simultaneous attracti to and repulsion from evil?
im a g e ry
im a g e ry
90
T HE LAMB
T HE LAMB
One of the this poem has often been read as a statement of
Christian faith. However, we know that Blake ’s other writings show Christ as an active f ghter
against injustice , not he ‘meek and mild’ lamb –a common symbol for Christ- with which this
innocent narrator identifies. The speaker’s viewpoint s thus an incomplete one.
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life and bid thee feed,
By the stream and o’er the mead;60
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softes t clothing woolly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales 61 rejoice !
Little Lamb who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!
He 62 is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a lamb:
He is meek and he is mild,
He became a little chi ld:
I a child and thou a lamb,
We are ca lled by his name
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
S o n gs o f I n n oce nc e ,
60 Mead: meadow61 Vales: valleys62 He: Christ
91
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What did its creator do for the lamb in the first stanza?
2. How does the second stanza respond to the question posed in the fi rs t?
3. What do you know about the of the poem?
4. How is the lamb both a literal object and a in this poem?
5. Christ called himself a lamb because, like the Passover lamb slain to save the people of
Israel, he sacrificed himse lf for the people. What might this imply about the fate of the
young speaker in this poem?
6. Blake wrote a two-line poem called “An Answer to the Parson” in which the parson (or
preacher) asks, “Why, of the sheep, you do not learn peace?” The narrator replies,
“Because I don’t want you to shear my fleece!” How wou the narrator of this poem
disagree with the narrator of “The Lamb”?
s pe a ke r
s y m b o l
92
Jerusalem
Although Blake origina lly published this poem as part f the preface to his epic poem
, it has since been set to music and become a popular English hymn. The poem is Blake at
his most prophetic – the voice of that highest state of consciousness he called “Organized
Innocence.” The first two stanzas refer to an ancient egend that Jesus Christ visited England
during his lifetime. But here Blake uses the figure of Christ symbolically (as he does in many of
his other writings). The figure of Christ stands for the poetic inspiration, an external force that
Blake believed could transform human society into a kind of heaven on earth he lled
“Jerusalem”. The “dark Satanic mills” represent not only the actual mil ls of the Industrial
Revolution, but also more broadly the mechanistic, sci fic, and rational world view that Blake
and other Romantics opposed.
Jerusalem
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?
Bring me my bow of burning go ld!
Bring me my arrows of desire !
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant land.
Milt o n
93
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What ancient legend does the speaker reca ll in the first two stanzas?
2. What does the speaker ca ll for in the third stanza?
3. According to the last stanza, what is the speaker reso ed to do?
4. What is the of the third stanza? In line 13, how does Blake clarify the kind of battle
he is talking about here?
5. What do you think Jerusalem in the poem?
6. How would you describe the speaker’s attitude toward t ent state of society? How
would you compare this attitude to the attitudes of th narrators of the
and to those of the ?
7. What is there about the poem, in your view, that makes it especially suitable to an
adaptation as a hymn?
to n e
s y m b o liz e s
S o n g s o f
I n noc e n ce S o n gs o f Ex pe ri e nc e
94
T HE R I ME O F T HE A N CI E N T MAR I NE R
The most famous of Coleridge’s poems, was written as
part of the collaboration with Wordsworth in 1797-1798 that culminated in
Twenty years later, in the , Coleridge recalled that he and Wordsworth had
made a poetic division of labor based on their interes in the two powers of poetry:
(1) To represent ordinary events and objects in an unfamiliar way so s to make
them fresh and interes ting; and
(2) To make believable the unfamiliar and strange.
Coleridge ’s task was to write about “persons and characters supernatural, or at least
romantic; yet so far as to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and semblance of
truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief
for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.” “With this view,” he said, “I wrote the Ancient
Mariner.” The poem was the firs t i tem in the 1798 . But partly due to
Wordsworth’s discomfort with the incongruity between it and the rest of the poems in the
volume, Coleridge modernized many of the deliberate ly old-fashioned words he had used to give
the poem the flavor of an ancient and previously undis overed ballad. The marginal notes were
added in 1817, and need to be imagined as “modern” and rational comments on the mariner’s
tale.
Coleridge ’s poem no doubt reflects his avid reading of “out-of-the-way” books, including
travelers’ accounts of strange lands. It was apparently Wordsworth who suggested the use of
the albatross. It is helpful in reading this hypnotic arrative to keep in mind three things . First,
there is no explanation for the ki lling of the albatross. The results of e act, rather than the act
itself, are important. Second, the “moral” of the story, pronounced by the mariner at the end, is,
as Coleridge later observed, too much and too little ; at is , it is too obtrusive and yet not
adequate. Finally, the poem must be seen in the light Coleridge’s own more settled religious
convictions, which contrast with the spiritual despair of the mariner who found himsel f.
Alone on a wide sea:
So lonely ‘twas , that God himse lf
Scarce seemed there to be.
T h e Rim e o f t he An cie n t m a rine r
Ly ric a l Ba lla ds .
B io g ra p h ia Lit e ra ria
Ly ric al Ba llad s
95
T h e R im e o f th e A n c ie n t Ma rin e r
P a rt o n e
Summary
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
“By thy long gray beard and glittering eye,
now wherefore stopp’st thou me?
The Bridgegroom’s doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May’st hear the merry din.”
He holds him with his skinny hand,
“There was a ship,” quoth he.
“Hold off! Unhand me, gray-beard loon!”
Eftsoons 63 his hand dropt he.
He holds him with his glitte ring eye-
The Wedding Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years’ child:
The Mariner hath his will.
The Wedding Guest sat on a stone:
He cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.
Ho w a s hip h a v in g pa s s e d t he li ne (e q u a to r) w a s d riv e n b y s t o rm s to t h e co ld co un t ry t ow a rd
th e S o u th Pole ; a n d ho w f ro m th e nc e s h e m a d e he r c o u rs e t o t he t ro p ic al la t it u de o f t h e g re a t
Pac ific Oc e a n ; a n d o f t he s t ra n ge t hin gs t ha t b e fe ll ; d in w h a t m an n e r t h e Anc ie nt Ma rine r
ca m e b ac k t o his o w n co u n t ry .
63 Eftsoons: at once
An ancient Mariner meeteth three gallants bidden to a wedding feast, and detaineth one.
The Wedding Guest is spellbound by the eye of the old seafaring man, and constrained to hear his tale.
96
“The ship was cheered, the harbor cleared,
Merri ly did we drop
Below the kirk,64 below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.
The Sun came up upon the le ft,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.
Higher and higher every day
Till over the mast at noon-
The Wedding Guest here beat his breas t,
For he heard the loud bassoon.
The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she;
Nodding their heads before he goes
The merry mins trelsy.65
The Wedding Guest he beat his breast,
Yet he cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner..
“And now the Storm blast came, and he
was tyrannous and strong;
he struck with his o’ertaking wings,
and chased us south along.
With sloping masts and dipping prow,
As who 66 pursued with yell and blow
Still 67 treads the shadow of his foe.
And forward bends his head,
The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast.
And southward aye 68 we fled.
64 kirk: church65 mintrelsy: group of musicians.66 Who: one67 Still: always68 aye: continually
.
The Mariner tells how the ship sailed southward with a good wind and fair weather, till it reached the line
The Wedding Guest heareth the bridal music; but the Mariner continueth his tale.
The ship driven by a storm toward the South Pole.
97
And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrows cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by
As green as emerald.
And through the drifts 69 the snowy clifts 70
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken 71-
The ice was all between.
The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swond!72
At length did cross an Albatross ,
Thorough the fog it came;
As i f it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God’s name.
It ate the food it ne’er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman s teered us through!
And a good south wind sprung up behind;
The Albatross did follow,
And every day, for food or play,
Came to the mariner’s hollo!
In mist or cloud, or mast or shroud,73
It perched for vespers 74nine;
Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white,
Glimmered the white Moonshine.”
69 drifts: icebergs (or possibly patches of fog driven by the wind).70 Clifts: crevasses; large cracks in the ice.71 Ken: saw72 swound: swoon73 shroud: support rope that stretches from the top of the mast to the side of the ship.74 Vespers: evenings; also evening prayers.
The and of ice, and of fearful sounds where no living thing was to be seen.
Till a great seabird, called the Albatros, Came through the snow-for, and was received with great joy and hospitality.
And lo! The Albatros proveth a bird of good omen, and followeth the ship as it returned northward thorugh fog and floating ice.
98
“God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends , that plague thee thus!
Why look’st thou so?” –With my crossbow
I shot the Albatross.
Part II
The Sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.
And the good south wind still blew behind,
But no sweet bird did follow.
Nor any day for food or play
Came to the Mariner’s hollo!
And I had done a hellish thing,
And it would work’em woe:
For all averred,75 I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! Said they, the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to blow!
Nor dim nor red, like God’s own head,
The glorious Sun uprist:76
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That brought the fog and mist.
‘Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow77 followed free;
We were the firs t that ever burst
75 Averred: asserted, claimed.76 Uprist: rose up77 furrow: the ship’s wake.
The ancient Mariner inhospitably k illeth the pious bird of good omen.
His shipmates cry out against the ancient Mariner for killing the bird of good luck
But when the fog cleared off, they justify the same, and tus make themselves accomplices in the crime.
The fair breeze continues; the ship enters the Pacific Ocean, and sails northward; even till it reaches the line
99
Into that silent sea.
Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
‘Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!
All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did s tand,
No bigger than the Moon.
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, everywhere
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl wi th legs
Upon the slimy sea.
About, about, in reel and rout 78
The death-fires 79 danced at night;
The water, like a witch’s oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white .
And some in dreams assured were
Of the spirit that plagued us so;
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From land of mist and snow.
78 Rout: chaotic movement, uproar.79 Death-fires: probably the ghostly glow that actually is emitted by some rotting substances, said to be seen in graveyards.
The ship hath been suddenly becalmed
And the Albatross begins to be avenged
A Spirit followed them; one of the invisible inhabitants of this planet, neither departed souls nor angels; concerning whom the learned Jew, Josephus, and the Platonic Constantinopolitan. Michael Pselus, may be consulted. They are very numerous, and there is no climate or element without one or more.
100
And every tongue, through utter drought,
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no ore than if
We had been chocked with soot.
Ah! Well-a-day!80 What the evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.
Part III
There passed a weary time. Each throat
Was parched, a glazed each eye.
A weary time! A weary time!
How glazed each weary eye,
When looking westward, I beheld
A something in the sky.
At first i t seemed a li ttle speck,
And then it seemed a mist;
It moved, and took at last
A certain shape, I wist.81
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared and neared:
As i f it dodged a water-sprite,
It plunged and tacked and veered.82
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
We could nor laugh nor wail;
Thorugh utter drought all dumb we stood!
I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! A sail !
80 Web-a-day: an exclamation of sorrow; alas.81 Wist: knew.82 Tacked and veered: turned toward and then Hawai from the wind.
The shipmates, in their sore distress, would fain throw the whole guilt on the ancient Mariner: in sign whereof they hang the dead seabird round his neck.
The ancient Mariner beholdeth a sign in the element afar off.
As its nearer approach, it seemeth him to be a ship; and at a dear ransom, he freeth his speech from the bonds of thirst.
101
With throats unslaked,83 with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call:
Gramercy!84 They for joy did grin,
And all at once their breath drew in,
As they were drinking all.
See! See! (I cried) she tacks no more!
Hither to work us weal;85
Without a breeze, without a tide,
She s teadies with upright keel !
The western wave was all aflame.
The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad bright Sun;
When that strange shape drove suddenly
Betwixt us and the Sun.
And straight the Sun was flecked with bars.
(Heaven’s Mother send us grace!)
as if through a dungeon-grate he peered
with broad and burning face.
Alas ! (thought I, my heart beat loud)
How fast she nears and nears!
Are those sa ils that glance in the Sun,
Like res tless gossamers?86
Are those ribs through which the Sun
Did peer, as through as grate?
And is that Woman all her crew?
Is that Death? And are there two?
Is Death that woman’s mate?
lips were red, looks were free,
h e r
h e r
He r he r
83 Unslaked: unrelieved of thrist.84 Gramercy: an exclamation o great thanks.85 Work us weal: do us good.86 Gossameres: filmy cobwebs.
.A flash of joy
And horror follows. For can it be a ship that comes onward without wind or tide?
It seemeth him but the skeleton of a ship
And its ribs are seen as bars on the face of the setting Sun. the spectre-woman and her Deathmate, and no other on board the skeleton ship.
Like vessel, like crew!
102
One after another
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The nightmare Life-in-Death was she,
Who thicks man’s blood with cold.
The naked hulk alongside came,
And the twain were casting dice;
“The game is done! I’ve won! I’ve won!
Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
The Sun’s rim dips ; the stars rush out:
At one stride comes the dark;
With far-heard whisper, o’e r the sea,
Off shot the spectre-bark.
We listened and looked sideways up!
Fear at my heart, as at a cup,
My lifeblood seemed to sip!
The stars were dim, and thick the night,
The steerman’s face by his lamp gleamed white;
From the sails the dew did drip-
Till clomb 87 above the eastern bar
The horned 88 Moon, with one bright star
Within the nether trip.
One after one, by the star-dogged Moon,
Too quick for groan or sigh,
Each turned his face with a ghastly pang,
And cursed me with his eye.
Four times fifty living men,
(And I heard no sigh or groan)
with heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
they dropped down one by one.
The souls did from their bodies fly,
They fled to bliss or woe!
87 Clomb climbed 88 horned: crescent
Death and Life-in-Death have diced for the ship’s crew, and she (the alter) winneth the ancient Mariner.
No twilight within the courts of the Sun.
At the rising of the moon
His shipmates drop down dead.
But Life-in-Death begins her work on the ancient Mariner.
103
And every soul, it passed me by,
Like the whiz of my crossbow!
Part IV
“I fear thee, ancient Mariner!
I fear thy skinny hand!
And thou art long, and lank, and brown,
As is the ribbed sea-sand.
I fear thee and thy glittering eye,
And thy skinny hand so brown.”-
Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding Guest!
This body dropt not down.
Alone, alone, all, all a lone.
Alone on a wide wide sea!
And never a saint took pity on
My soul in agony.
The many men, so beautiful!
And they a ll dead did lie:
And a thousand slimy things
Lived o; and so did I.
I looked upon the rotting sea,
And drew my eyes away;
I looked upon the rotting deck,
And there the dead men lay.
I looked to heaven, and tried to pray;
But or 89 ever a prayer had gushed,
A wicked whisper came, and made
My heart as dry as dust.
I closed my lids , and kept them close ,
89 or: before.
.
The Wedding Guest feareth that a spirit is talk ing to him
But the ancient Mariner assureth him of his bodily life, and proceedeth to relate his horrible penance.
He despiseth the creatures of the calm
And envieth that they should live, and so many lie dead
104
And the balls like pulses beat;
For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky
Lay like a load on my weary eye, and the dead were at my feet.
Te cold sweat melted from their limbs,
Nor rot nor reek did they:
The look with which they looked on me
Had never passed away.
An orphan’s curse would drag to hell
A spirit from on high;
But oh! More horrible than that
Is the curse of a dead man’s eye!
Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse,
And yet I could not die.
The moving Moon went up the sky,
And nowhere did abide:
Softly she was going up,
And a star or two beside-
Her beams bemocked the sultry main,90
Like April hoarfrost 91 spread;
But where the ship’s huge shadow lay,
The charmed water burnt alway 92
A still and awful red.
Beyond the shadow of the ship,
I watched the water snakes:
They moved in tracks of shining white,
And when they reared, the elfish light
Fell off in hoary flakes .
Within the shadow of the ship
I watched their rich attire:
Blue, glossy green, and velvet black,
They coiled and swam; and every track
90 Main: open sea.91 Hoarfrost: withe (‘hoar’) deposits from freezing dew; frost.92 Alway: always.
But the curse liveth for him in the eye of the dead men.
In his loneliness and fixedness he yearneth toward the journeying Moon, and the stars that still sojourn, yet still move onward; and everywhere the blue sky belongs to them, and is their appointed rest, and their native country and their own natural homes, which they enter unannounced, as lords that are certainly expected and yet there is a silent joy at their arrival.
By the light of he Moon he beholdeth God’s creatures of the great calm.
105
Was a flash of golden fire.
O happy living things! no tongue
Their beauty might declare:
A spring of love gushed from my heart,
And I blessed them unaware:
Sure my kind saint took pity on me.
And I blessed them unaware.
The selfsame moment I could pray;
And from my neck so free
The Albatross fell off, and sank
Like lead into the sea.
Part V
Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole!
To Mary queen the praise be given!
She sent the gentle sleep from Heaven
That slid into my soul.
The silly 93 buckets on the deck,
That had so long remained,
I dreamt that they were filled with dew;
And when I awoke, it rained.
My lips were wet, my throat was cold,
May garments all were dank,
Sure I had drunken in my dreams,
And still my body drank.
I moved, and could not feel my limbs:
I was so light- almost
I thought that I had died in sleep,
And was a blessed ghost.
93 Silly: pathetic (because they had remained useless for so long).
Their beauty and their happiness.He blesseth them in his heart.
The spell begins to break
By grace of the holy Mother, the ancient Mariner is refreshed with rain.
106
And soon I heard a roaring wind:
It did not come anear;
But with its sound it shook the sails,
That were so thin and sere.94
The upper air burst into life !
And a hundred fire flags sheen,
To and fro they were hurried about!
And to and fro, and in and out,
The wan stars danced between.95
And the coming wind did roar more loud,
And the sails did sigh like sedge;96
And the rain poured down from one black cloud;
The Moon was at its edge.
The thick black cloud was cleft, and still
The Moon was at its side:
Like waters shot from some high crag,
The lightning fell with never a jag,
A river steep and wide.
The loud wind never reached the ship,
Yet now the ship moved on!
Beneath the lightning and the Moon
The dead men gave a groan.
They groaned, they stirred, they all uprose,
Nor spake, nor moved their eyes;
It had been strange, even in a dream,
To have seen those dead men rise.
The helmsman s teered, the ship moved on;
Yet never a breeze upblew;
The mariners all ‘gan work the ropes,
Where they were wont97 to do;
94 Sere: threadbare.95 This stanza apparently describes the shifting lights an aurora, which sometimes resemble waving, luminous folds of fabric.96 Sedge: reedy plants.
.
He heareth sounds and seeth strange sights and commotions in the sky and the element.
The bodie s of the s hip’s cre w are ins pire d and the s hip m oves on
107
They raised their limbs like li feless tools-
We were a ghastly crew.
The body of my brother’s son
Stood by me, knee to knee:
The body and I pulled at one rope,
But he said nought to me.
“I fear thee, ancient Mariner!”
Be calm, thou Wedding Guest!
‘Twas not those souls that fled in pain,
Which to their corses 98 came again,
But a troop of spiri ts blest:
For when it dawned –they dropped their arms,
And clustered round the mast;
Sweet sounds rose slowly through their mouths ,
And from their bodies passed.
Around, around, flew each sweet sound,
Then darted to the Sun;
Slowly the sounds came back again,
Now mixed, now one by one.
Sometimes a-dropping from the sky
I heard the skylark sing;
Sometimes all li ttle birds that are,
How they seemed to fill the sea and air
With their sweet jargoning!99
And now ‘twas like all instruments,
Now like a lonely flute:
And now it is an angel’s song,
That makes the heavens be mute.
It ceased; yet still the sails made on
A pleasant noise till noon,
97 Wont: accustomed:98 corses: corpses99 jargoning: twittering.
But not by the souls of the men, nor by demons of earth or middle air, but by a blessed tropo of angelic spirits, sent down by the invocation of the guardian saint.
108
A noise of a hidden brook
In the leafy month of June,
That to the sleeping woods all night
Singeth a quie t tune.
Till noon we quietly sailed on,
Yet never a breeze did breathe:
Slowly and smoothly went the ship,
Moved onward from beneath.
Under the keel nine fathom deep,
From the land of mist and snow,
The spirit slid: and it was he
That made the ship to go.
The sails at noon left off their tune,
And the ship stood still also.
The Sun, right up above the mast,
Had fixed her 100 to the ocean:
But in a minute she ‘gan stir,
With a short uneasy motion-
Backwards and forwards half her length
With a short uneasy motion.
Then like a pawing horse let go,
She made a sudden bound:
It flung the blood into my head,
And I fell down in a swound.
How long in that same fit I lay,
I have not to declare;
But ere my living life returned,
I heard and in my soul discerned
Two voices in the air.
“Is it he”” quoth one, “Is this the man?
By him who died on cross.
With his cruel bow he laid full low
100 Fixed her: that is, seemed to hold the ship motionless, as if by hypnotic power.
.
The lonesome Spirit from the South Pole carries on the ship as far as the line, in obedience to the angelic troop, but still requireth vengeance
The Polar Spirit’s fellow demons, the invisible inhabitants of the element, take part in his wrong; and two of them relate. One to the other, that penance long and heavy for the ancient Mariner hath been accorded to the Polar Spirit, who returneth southward.
109
The harmless Albatross.
The spirit who bideth by himself
In the land of mist and snow,
He loved the man
Who shot him with his bow.”
The other was a softer voice,
As soft as honeydew:
Quoth he, “The man hath penance done,
And penance more will do.”
Part VI
First voice
“But tell me, tell me! Speak again,
Thy soft response renewing-
What makes that ship drive on so fast?
What is the ocean doing?”
“Still as a slave before his lord,
the ocean hath no blast;101
His great bright eye most silently
Up to the Moon is cast-
If he may know which way to go;
For she guides him smooth or grim.
See, brother, see! How graciously
She looketh down on him.”
S e c o n d v o ic e
101 Blast: wind.
.
The Mariner hath been cast into a trance; for the angelic power causeth the vessel to drive northward faster than human life could endure
110
First voice
“But why drives on that ship so fast,
Without or wave or wind?” 102
“The air is cut away before,
and closes from behind.
Fly, brother, fly! More high, more high!
Or we sha ll be belated:
For slow and slow that ship will go.
When the Mariner’s trance is abated.”
I woke, and we were sailing on
As in a gentle weather:
‘Twas night, calm night, the moon was high;
the dead men stood together.
All stood together on the deck,
For a charnel dungeon 103 fitter:
All fixed on me their stony eyes,
That in the Moon did glitter.
The pang, the curse, with which they died,
Had never passed away:
I could not draw my eyes from theirs,
Nor turn them up to pray.
And now this spell was snapped: once more
I viewed the ocean green,
And looked far forth, yet little saw
Of what had else 104 been seen-
Like one, that on a lonesome road
S e c o n d v o ic e
102 Withouth... wind: with neither wave nor wind.103 Charnel dungeon: burial vault.104 Had else: would have otherwise, or at another time.
.
The supernatural motion is retarded: the Mariner awakes, and his penance begins anew
The curse is finally expiated (removed, after penance is done).
111
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And having once turned round walks in,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows, a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.
But soon there breathed a wind on me,
Nor sound or motion made:
Its path was not upon the sea,
In ripple or in shade.
It raised my hair, it fanned my cheek
Like a meadow gale of spring-
It mingled strangely with my fears,
Yet it felt like a welcoming.
Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship,
Yet she sailed softly too:
Sweetly blew the breeze-
On me alone it blew.
Oh! Dream of joy! Is this indeed
The lighthouse top I see?
Is this the hill? Is this the kirk?
Is this mine own countree?
We dri fted o’er the harbor bar,
And I with sobs did pray-
O let me be awake, my God!
Or let me sleep always.
The harbor bay was clear as glass,
So smoothly it was strewn!105
And on the bay the moonlight lay,
And the shadow of the Moon.
Te rock shone bright, the kirk no less ,
That stands above the rock:
105 Strewn: spread out in a sheet, calmed.
And the ancient Mariner Beholdeth his native country.
112
The moonlight steeped in silentness
The steady weathercock.106
And the bay was white with silent light,
Till rising from the same,
Full many shapes, that shadows were,
In crimson colors came.
A little distance from the prow
Those crimson shadows were:
I turned my eyes upon the deck-
Oh Chris t! What saw I there!
Each corse lay flat, lifeless and flat,
And, by the holy rood!107
A man all light, a seraph-man,108
On every corse there stood.
This seraph band, each waved his hand:
It was a heavenly sight!
They stood as signals to the land,
Each one a lovely light;
This seraph band, each waved his hand,
No vo ice did they impart-
No vo ice; but oh! The silence sank
Like music on my heart.
But soon I heard the dash of oars ,
I heard the Pilot’s cheer;
My head was turned perforce away
And I saw a boat appear.
The Pilot and the Pilot’s boy,
I heard them coming fast:
Dear Lord in Heaven! It was a joy
106 Weathercock: rooster-shaped weather-vane107 rood: crucifix.108 Seraph-man: angel of the highest rank.
The angelic spirits leave the dead bodies,
And appear in their own forms of light
113
The dead men could not blast.
I saw a third –I heard his voice:
It is the Hermit good!
He singeth loud his godlyhymns
That he makes in the wood.
He’ll shrieve 109 my soul, he’ll wash away
The Albatross’s blood.
Part VII
This Hermit good lives in that wood
Which slopes down to the sea.
How loudly his sweet voice he rears!
He loves to talk with mariners
That come from a far countree.
He kneels at morn, and noon, and eve-
He hath a cushion plump:
It is the moss that wholly hides
The rotted old oak stump.
The skiff-boat 110 neared: I heard them talk,
“W hy, this is strange, I trow!111
Where are those lights so many and fair,
That signal made but now?”
“Strange, by my faith!” the Hermit said-
“And they answered not our cheer!
The planks looked warped! And see those sails ,
How thin they are and sere!
I never saw aught 112 like to them,
Unless perchance it were
109 Shrieve: release from guilt, following confession.110 Skiff-boat: rowboat111 trow: believe.112 Aught: anything.
The Hermit of the Wood
Approached the ship with wonder
114
Brown skeletons of leaves that lag 113
My fores t brook along;
When the ivy tod 114 is heavy with snow,
And the owlet whoops to the wolf below,
That eats the she-wolf’s young.”
“Dear Lord! It hath a fiendish look-
(The Pilot reply)
I am afeared”- “Push on, push on!”
Said the Hermit cheerily.
The boat came closer to the ship,
But I nor spake nor stirred;
The boat came close beneath the ship,
And straight 115 a sound was heard.
Under the water it rumbled on,
Still louder and more dread:
It reached the ship, i t split the bay;
The ship went down like lead.
Stunned by that loud and dreadful sound,
Which sky and ocean smote
Like one that hath been seven days drowned
My body la t afloat;
But swift as dreams, myself I found
Within the Pilot’s boat.
Upon the whirl, where sank the ship,
The boat spun round and round;
And all was sti ll, save that the hill
Was telling of the sound.
I moved my lips –the Pilot shrieked
And fell down in a fit;
The holy Hermit raised his eyes ,
And prayed where he did sit.
113 Lag: drift(more slowly than the current).114 Ivy tod: clump of ivy.115 Straight: straightway, at once.
The ship suddenly sinketh
The ancient Mariner is saved in the Pilot’s boat
115
I took the oars: the Pilot’s boy,
Who now doth crazy go,
Laughed loud and long, and all the while
His eyes went to and fro.
“Ha! ha!” quoth he, “full plain I see,
The Devil knows how to row.”
And now, all in my own countree,
I stood on the firm land!
The Hermit stepped forth from the boat,
And scarce ly he could stand.
“O shrieve me, shrieve me, holy man!”
The Hermit crossed 116 his brow.
“Say quick,” quoth he, “I bid thee say-
What manner of man art thou?”
Forthwith 117 this frame of mine was wrenched
With a woeful agony,
Which forced me to begin my tale;
And then it left me free.
Since then, at an uncertain hour,
That agony returns:
And till my ghastly tale is told,
This heart within me burns.
I pass, like night, from land to land;
I have strange power of speech;
That moment that his face I see,
I know the man that must hear me:
To him my tale I teach.
What loud uproar bursts from that door!
Te wedding guests are there:
But in the garden bower the bride
116 Crossed: made the sign of the cross.117 Forthwith: at once.
The ancient Mariner earnestly entreateth the Hermit to shrieve him; and the penance of life falls on him.
And ever and anon throughout his future life an agony constraineth him to travel from land to land;
116
And bridemaids singing are:
And hark the little vesper bell ,
Which biddeth me to prayer!
O Wedding Guest! This soul hath been
Alone on a wide wide sea:
So lonely ‘twas , that God himse lf
Scarce seemed there to be.
O sweeter than the marriage feas t,
‘Tis sweeter far to me,
To walk together to the kirk
With a goodly company!-
To walk together to the kirk,
And all together pray,
While each to his great Father bends ,
Old men, and babes , and loving friends
And youths and maidens gay!
Farewell, farewell! But this I tell
To thee, thou Wedding Guest!
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us ,
He made and loveth all .
The Mariner, whose eyes is bright,
Whose beard with age is hoar,
Is gone: and now the Wedding Guest
Turned from the bridegroom’s door.
He went like one that hath been s tunned,
And is of sense forlorn:
A sadder and a wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn.
And to teach, by his own example, love and reverence to all things that God made and loveth.
117
Re s po n din g t o t h e po e m
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. Who is presented as the of the ballad? To whom is he telling his story?
Summarize the mariner’s story.
2. According to part II, what consequences follow the Mariner’s killing of the albatross?
3. Explain the Wedding Guest’s fear at the opening of part IV. How does the Ancient
Mariner reassure him?
4. Whoa are the occupants of the strange ship that appears in part III? What results from
their appearance?
5. In part IV, why is the Mariner unable to pray? What happens that enables him to pray?
6. What is the reaction of the Pilot and the Hermit to the Ma iner’s homecoming? What
does the Mariner plead with the hermit to do?
7. At the end of the ballad, how does the Mariner describe his current life? What lesson
does he draw for the Wedding Guest from his tale?
8. Where in the poem is the wedding mentioned? How does t s context for the ballad
affect your response to it?
9. Describe in detail the changing states of the Mariner in part IV. Given the circumstances,
are these changes believable?
10. After he shoots the albatross, the Mariner experiences both shame and guilt. What is the
diffe rence between these two emotions? Where in the po does he experience each
emotion?
11. What is the Mariner’s “penance” ? What penance does he have left to do? Does it seem
fair that he should have to do any sort of penance? Explain.
12. Explain in your own terms the Mariner’s . Does the story indicate that he ought to
have added something to his moral conclusion? Explain.
13. Why is the Wedding Guest sadder but wiser after hearing the Mariner’s tale? What other
figures in Coleridge’s poems in this selection are als listening to a speaker?
14. What do you think of Coleridge’s side notes to the poem? Do you think reading them
alters the meaning of the poem? Should they be consult in a care ful reading of the
poem? Why or why not?
15. This ballad is famous for its use of vivid and memorable . Pick
out and comment on several especially effective exampl s of
and
16. For the most part, the form of the poem is the regular . Occasionally,
however, Coleridge varies the of the l ines and the length of the s tanzas . Pick out
severa l examples of such variations and comment on the effect of each.
n a rra t o r
m o ra l
im a g e ry s o u n d e f f e c t s
s im i le , m e t a p h o r,
p e rs o n if ic a t io n , a llit e ra t io n , a s s o n a n c e , in t e rn a l rh y m e .
b a l la d s t a n z a
m e t e r
118
17. There was a time in American history when almost every schoolchild could recite
, or parts of it. find some stanzas that strike you as
particularly quotable. What situations in l ife could you apply the lines to?
18. Do you think that this poem has something universal to say about human onduct?
Explain.
A creative response
. The Ancient Mariner has much in common with other legendary figures,
such as the Flying Dutchman, who are condemned to wand world in a quest for atonement
or expiation. Imagine that the Mariner ul timately find peace. Describe in a brief narrative how
this might occur.
T he
R im e o f t h e Anc ie n t Ma rine r
Ex t e n d in g t h e p o e m
119
S HE W ALKS I N B EA U T Y
S HE W ALKS I N B EA U T Y
“She walks in beauty” –by now one of Byron’s most famous poems –is supposed to have
been inspired by Lady Wilmot Horton, a beautiful woman whom Byron saw at a ball, perhaps in
the spring of 1814. Lady Horton was in mourning, and, in the fashion of the times, was dressed
in black. This particular dress was decorated with gli tering spangles .
1
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes 118 and starry skies ;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect 119 and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
2
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress ,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
3
And on that cheek, and o ’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with a ll below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
118 Climes: atmospheres119 aspect: face, look
120
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What does the speaker use to describe the woman in the fi r stanza?
2. What aspects of the woman’s physical appearance does the speaker mention?
3. What does the woman’s appearance suggest to the speaker about her character and
personality?
4. What does the speaker imply about day when he calls it ’?
5. “Dark and bright” (line 3) suggests a balance of oppos tes. How is this idea developed in
other details?
6. What does the speaker mean by “below” in line 17?
7. This poem has sometimes been criticized as overly sentimental and dependent on
cl ichés. Tell whether or not you agree and why.
If these lines are addressed to anyone, it is to the p et himself. They were written when
Byron, jus t turned twenty-nine, was deeply aware of the passing of his youth and perhaps
slightly penitential about the sensual indulgences of s free-wheeling li fe. The speci fic occasion
of the poem was the coming of Lent after a carnival season in Venice where the poet, having
“l ived it up,” was suddenly weary and in a mood to cha ise himself –in a mixture of anapests
and iambs and a song-like refrain.
1
So we’ll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.
2
For the sword outwears its sheath,
s im ile
S O W E’LL GO N O MO R E A- RO V I N G
S O W E’LL GO N O MO R E A- RO V I N G
121
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.
3
Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we’ll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What decision has the speaker made in the first stanza? What are the reasons for that
decision, as given in the second stanza?
2. What do you think the speaker means by ‘roving’?
3. What single point is the speaker driving at with his examples of the sword, the soul, and
the heart in the second stanza? What do you think the word and the sheath stand for?
4. What attitude toward time does the speaker imply in this poem? Do you agree or
disagree with this attitude?
122
T HE D ES T R U CT IO N O F S E N N ACHER IB
T HE D ES T R U CT IO N O F S E N N ACHER IB
In both Kings and Chronicles, the Bible tells the story of the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s
attempt to capture and enslave Jerusalem. When his mighty army, encamped nearby, was about
to descend upon the city, “the Angel of Death” –in the form of a sudden pestilence or plague-
killed man and beast alike, yet spared Sennacherib him f. But the disgrace his failure had
brought upon “Ashur,” , Assyria, was so great that, upon his return, the king was murdered
by his own sons. The poem is a prime example of the use of bouncy anapaes tic rhythms
which, popular in the 19th century, have been almost totally absent from the work of serious
poets ever since.
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of the ir spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave ro lls nightly on deep Galilee.
Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered as strown.
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, forever grew still.
And there lay the steed with his nostri l all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail: 120
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
i. e .
120 mail: a kind of armor made of linked metal.
123
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;121
And the might of the Gentile,122 unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What are the Assyrians doing in the first stanza? What has happened to them in the
second stanza? What describe the army in these two stanzas?
2. According to stanza 3, who or what is created with the victory?
3. What does the field look like after the battle is over?
4. What is “the Gentile” in the las t stanza? What describes how the Gentile was
conquered?
5. Describe the of the poem. How does the movement of the meter help reinforce
the action of the poem?
s im ile s
s im ile
m e t e r
121 Baal: the Asirían god.122 Gentile: Sennacherib and the Assyrians (non-Hebrews)
124
LI N COLN ’S FIR S T I N AU GU R AL AD D R ES S
March 4, 1861
Fellow-citizens of the United States: In compliance with a cu tom as old as the
government itself, I appear be fore you to address you briefly, and to take in your presence the
oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United Stat o be taken by the President “before he
enters on the execution of his office.”
I do not consider it necessary at present for me to di s those matters of
adminis tration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement.
Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the So thern States that by the
accession of a Republican administration their property and their peace and personal security are
to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable ause for such apprehension. Indeed,
the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their
inspection. It is found in nearly all the published sp eches of him who now addresses you. I do
but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that “I have no purpose, di rectly or
indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists . I be lieve I
have not lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so “Those who nominated and
elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many similar declarations , and
had never recanted them.
And, more than this , they placed in the platform for m acceptance, and as a law to
themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read: “ . That the
maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and especially the right of each State to order
and contro l its own domestic insti tutions according to its own judgement exclusively, is essential
to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our poli tical fabric depend,
and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no
matter under what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes .”
I now reiterate these sentiments; and, in doing so, I only press upon the public attention
the most conclusive evidence of which the case is susc ptible, that the property, peace, and
security, of no section are to be in any wise endangered by the now incoming administration. I
add, too, that all the protection which, consistently th the Cons titution and the laws, can be
given, will be cheerfully given to all States when lawfully demanded, for whatever cause –as
cheerfully to one section as to another.
Re s olv e d
125
There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from service or labor. The
clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constit ion as any other of provisions: “No person
held to service or labor in one Statute, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in
consequence of any law or regulation therein be discharged from such service or labor, but shall
be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.”
It is scarcely ques tioned that this provision was intended by those who made it for the
reclaiming of what we call fugitive slaves; and the in ention of the lawgiver is the law. All
members of Congress swear their support to the whole Constitution –to this provision as much
as to any other. To the proposition, then, that slaves whose cases come within the terms of this
clause “shall be delivered up,” their oaths are unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort in
good temper, could they not with nearly equal unanimit frame and pass a law by means of
which to keep good that unanimous oath?
There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by national or
by State authority; but surely that difference is not very material one. Is the slave is to be
surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to him or to others by which authority it is done.
And should any one in any case be content that his oath shall go unkept on a merely
unsubstantial controversy as to how it shall be kept?
Again, in any law upon this subject, ought not all the safeguards f liberty known in
civilized and humane jurisprudence to be introduced, s that a free man be not, in any case,
surrendered a slave? And might it not be well at the same time to provide by law for the
enforcement of that clause in the Constitution which guarantees that “the citizen of each State
shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States?
I take the official oath to-day with no mental reservations, and with no purpose to
construe the Constitution or laws by any hyper-critical rules . And while I do not choose now to
specify particular acts of Congress as proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it wi ll be much
safer for all , both in official and private stations, to conform to and abide by all those acts which
stand unrepealed, than to violate any of them, trusting to find impunity in having them held to
be unconstitutional.
It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a President nder our National
Cons titution. During that period fifteen different and greatly distinguished citizens have, in
succession, administered the executive branch of the g ent. They have conducted it
through many perils, and generally with great success. Yet, with all this scope of precedent, I
now enter upon the same task for the brie f constitutional te rm of four years under great and
126
peculiar difficulty. A disruption of the Federa l Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably
attempted.
I hold that, in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution, the Union of these
States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not exp ssed, in the fundamental law of all national
governments. It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic
law for its own terminations .
Continue to execute all the express provisions of our tional Constitution, and the
Union will endure forever –it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided
for in the instrument itself.
Again, if the Uni ted States be not a government proper, but an association of States in
the nature of contract merely, can it, as a contract, e peaceably unmade by less than all the
parties who made it? One party to a contract may viola e it –break it, so to speak; but does it
not require all to lawfully rescind it?
Descending from these general principles, we find the position that, in legal
contemplation the Union is perpetual, confirmed by the history of the Union itself. The Union is
much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774.
It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was further
matured, and the faith of all of the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it
should be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation n 1778. And, finally, in 1787 one of the
declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was “to form a more perfect
Union.”
But if the destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States be lawfully
possible, the Union is less perfect than before the Co itution, having lost the vital element of
perpetuity.
It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out
of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void; and that acts of
violence, within any State or States , against the authority of the United States, are
insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to ci rcumstances.
I therefore consider that, in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union s
unbroken; and to the extent of my ability I shall take care , as the Constitution itself expressly
enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfu ly executed in all the States. Doing this I
deem to be only a simple duty on my part; and I shall perform it so far as practicable, unless my
rightful masters, the American people , shall withhold he requisite means, or in some
127
authoritative manner di rect the contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only
as the declared purpose of the Union that it will cons itutionally defend and maintain itself.
In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence; and there shall be none, unless
it be forced upon the national authority. The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy,
and possess the property and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties and
imposts ; but beyond what may be necessary for these ob s, there will be not invasion, no
using of force against or among the people anywhere. Where hostility t the United States, in
any interior locality, shall be so great and universal as to prevent competent resident citizens
from holding the federal offices, there will be no force obnoxious strangers among the people for
that object. While the strict legal right may exis t in the government to enforce the exercise of
these offices, the attempt to do so would be so irri ta ing, and so nearly impracticable withal, that
I deem it better to forego for the time the uses of such offices.
The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished in all parts of the Union. So far
as possible , the people everywhere shall have that sen e of perfect security which is most
favorable to calm thought and reflection. The course here indicated will be followed unless
current events and experience shall show a modification or change to be proper, and in every
case and exigency my best discretion will be exercised according to circumstances actually
existing, and with a view and a hope of a peaceful solution of the national troub and the
restoration of fraternal sympathies and a ffections.
That there are persons in one section or another who seek to destroy the Union at all
events, and are glad of any pretext to do it, I will neither affirm nor deny; but i f there be such, I
need address no word to them. To those, however, who really love the Union may I not speak?
Before entering upon so grave matter as the destructio of our nationa l fabric, with all
its benefits, its memories, and i ts hopes, would it not be wise to ascertain precisely why we do
it? Will you hazard so desperate a step while there is possibility that any portion of the ills
you fly from have no real existence? Will you, while the certain ills you fly to are greater than all
the rea l ones you fly from –will you risk the commission of so fearful a mistake?
All profess to be content in the Union if all constitu ional rights can be maintained. Is it
true, then, that any right, plainly written in the Con itution, has been denied? I think not.
Happily the human mind is so constituted that no party can reach to the audacity of doing this.
Think, if you can, of a single instance in which a plainly written provision of the Constitution has
ever been denied. If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any
clearly written consti tutional right, it might, in a m l point of view, justify revolution –certainly
would i f such a right were a vital one. But such is not our case. All the vital rights of minorities
and of individuals are so plainly assured to them by affirmations and negations, guarantees and
128
prohibitions, in the Constitution, that controversies ever arise concerning them. But no organic
law can ever be framed with a provision specifically applicable to every question which may
occur in practical administration. No fores ight can anticipate, nor any document of reasonable
length contain, express provisions for all possible qu ions. Shall fugi tives from labor be
surrendered by national or by State authority? The Constitution does n expressly say.
Congress prohibit slavery in the Territories? The Cons itution does not expressly say.
From questions of this class spring all our constituti nal controversies and we divide
upon them into majorities and minorities . If the minori will not acquiesce, the majority must,
or the government must cease. There is no other alternative; for continuing the government is
acquiescence on one side or the other.
If a minority in such case will secede rather than acquiesce, they make a prece ent
which in turn will divide and ruin them; for a minority of their own will secede from them
whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such minori ty. For instance, why may not any
portion of a new confederacy a year or two hence arbitrarily secede again, precisely as portions
of the present Union now claim to secede from it? All cherish disunion sentiments are now
being educated to the exact temper of doing this .
Is there such perfect identity of interest among the States to compose a new Uni , as
to produce harmony only, and prevent renewed secession
Plainly, the central idea of secession is the essence f anarchy. A majority held in
restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily wi th deliberate
changes of popular opinions and sentiments , is the only true sovereign of a free people.
Whoever rejects it does , of necessity, fly to anarchy to despotism. Unanimity is impossible;
the rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissible; so that, rejecting
the majority principle, anarchy or despotism in some f rm is all that is left.
I do not forget the position, assumed by some, that constitutional ques tions are to be
decided by the Supreme Court; nor do I deny that such decisions must be binding, in any case,
upon the parties to a suit, as to the object of that s while they are also entitled to very high
respect and consideration in all parallel cases by all other departments of the government. And
while it is obviously possible that such decision may be erroneous in any given case, still the evil
effect following it, being limited to that particular case, with the chance that it may be overruled
and never become a precedent for other cases, can better be borne than could the evils of a
different practice.
Ma y
129
At the same time, the candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government,
upon vital questions a ffecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the
Supreme Court, the instant they are made, in ordinary itigation between parties in personal
actions, the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practica lly
resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal. Nor is there in this view any
assault upon the court or the judges. It is a duty from which they may not shrink to decide cases
properly brought before them, and it is no fault of th f others seek to turn their decisions to
political purposes.
One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the
other believes it is wrong, and ought not be extended. This is the only substantial dispute. The
fugitive-s lave clause of the Constitution, and the law for the pression of the foreign slave-
trade, are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law an ever be in a community where the
moral sense of the people imperfectly supports the law itself. The great body of the people abide
by the dry legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each. This , I think, cannot be
perfectly cured; and it would be worse in both cases after the separation of the sections than
before . The foreign s lave-trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately revived,
wi thout res triction, in one section, while fugitive slaves , now only partially surrendered, would
not be surrendered at all by the other.
Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot rem our respective sections from
each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced,
and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other; but the different parts of our
country cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face, and intercourse , either amicable or
hostile, must continue between them. Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more
advantageous or more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens make treaties easier
than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faith ly enforced between aliens than laws
can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you cannot fight always; and when, after much loss
on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical old questions as to terms
of intercourse are again upon you.
This country, with its insti tutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whe they
shall grow weary of the existing government, they can e rcise their constitutional right of
amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it. I cannot be ignorant of
the fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are des o f having the National Constitution
amended. While I make no recommendations of amendments, I fully recognize the rightful
authority of the people over the whole subject, to be exercised in either of the modes prescribed
in the instrument itself; and I should, under existing circumstance, favor rather than oppose a
fair opportunity being afforded the people to act upon it. I will venture to add that to me the
130
convention mode seems preferable, in that it allows amendments to originate with the people
themselves , instead of only permitting them to take or re ject propositions originated by others
not specially chosen for the purpose, and which might precisely such as they would wish
to either accept or re fuse. I understand a proposed amendment to t Constitution –which
amendment, however, I have not seen –has passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal
Government shal l never interfere with the domestic institutions of the States , including that of
persons held to service. To avoid misconstruction of what I have said, I depart from my purpose
not to speak of particular amendments so far as to say that, holding such a provision to now be
implied constitutional law, I have no objection to its eing made express and irrevocable.
The chief magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and they have conferred
none upon him to fix terms for the separation of the States. The people themselves can do this
also if they choose; but the executive , as such, has nothing to do with it. His duty is to
adminis ter to present government, as it came to his ha s, and to transmit it, unimpaired by
him, to his successor.
Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is
there any better or equal hope in the world? In our pr ent differences is either party without
faith of being in the right? If the Almighty Ruler of Nations , wi th his eternal truth and justice, be
on your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail
by the judgment of this great tribunal of the American ple.
By the frame of the government under which we live, this same people have wisely given
their public servants but little power for mischief; and have, with equal wisdom, provided for the
return of that little to the ir own hands at very short intervals. While the people retain their virtue
and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure
the government in the short space of four years.
My country men, one and all , think calmly and well upon this whole subject. Nothing
valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any of you in hot haste to a
step which you would never take deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time; but
not good object can be frustrated by it. Such of you as are now dissatisfied, still have the old
Cons titution unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the law of your own framing under it; while
the new administration will have no immediate power, if it would, to change e ither. If it were
admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right side in the dispute, there still is no single
good reason for precipi tate action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on
Him who was never yet forsaken this favored land, are till competent to adjust in the best way
all our present difficulty.
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In your hands , my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous
issue of civi l war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being
yourselves the aggressors . You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government,
while I shall have the most solemn one to “preserve, p ect, and defend it.”
I am loath to close . We are no enemies, but friends. W must not be enemies . Though
passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of
memory, stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and
hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched,
as sure ly they will be, by the better angels of our na
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote this sonnet and all the in
traditional Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet form. The sonnets have a rhyme scheme of
in the octave (First eight lines) and in the sestet (last six lines). She does not observe
the usual break or ‘turn,’ which introduces some new asp ct of the topic in the last s ix lines.
Rather, she breaks the poem into short units of though lly one or two lines) until the very
end.
43
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being an ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my chi ldhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints 123 -I love thee with the breath,
FR O M
FR O M
S O N N ET S FRO M THE P O RT U GUES E
S O N N ET S FRO M THE P O RT U GUES E
S o n ne t s f ro m t h e Po rt u g u e s e
ab ba a b ba
cd c dc d
123 Lost saints: a reference to the innocent faith and love of childhood.
132
Smiles, tears, of all my life! –and, if God choose,
I sha ll but love thee better after death.
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings
1. How many distinct ways does the speaker say that she loves her beloved?
2. Which lines indicate the speaker’s religious faith?
3. How are the pauses in the last three lines di fferent from those in the rest of the poem?
What do you think is the effect of those differences?
133
D O VER B EACH
D O VER B EACH
Compared with the characteristic poems of Romantic and Victorian writers, “Dover Beach” is
low-keyed, spoken largely in tones of quiet conversation. or a ll its conversational tone,
however, the poem is remarkably ambitious in its claim to render a universal condition.
The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the stra its 124-on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! You hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
And their return, up the high strand,125
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles 126 long ago
Heard it on the Aegean,127 and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound of a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full , and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle 128 furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
124 Straits: the strait of Dover, a body of water separating southeastern England and France.125 Strand: shore126 Sophocles: (496-406B.C.) one of the principal writers of ancient Greek tragedies.127 Aegean: sea between Grece and Turkey.128 Girdle: belt.
134
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles 129 of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! For the world, which seems to lie befo us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, se new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night. 130
129 Shingles: beaches covered with pebbles.130 Ignorant armies... night: an episode in a history by the classical Greek historian Thucydides. During a battle fought at night, soldiers killed frien as well as foe, for they could not know one from another in the dark.
135
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What is the of the firs t stanza? Who is the speaker, and whom is he addressing?
2. What contrast does the speaker draw in the third stanz ?
3. Why does the speaker urge in the last stanza, and why?
4. What is the evoked by the firs t six lines? How does Arnold begin o change this
mood in the second half o f the first stanza?
5. How does Arnold make the speaker’s at the end of the first stanza seem timeless
and universal? Explain the l iterary in the second stanza.
6. Explain the and in lines 21-23. how do lines 24-28 relate to the sound
the speaker hears at the end of the first stanza?
7. Describe the and the of the poem. W hat is the effect of thei r
irregularity?
8. What is the speaker’s view of his world as it is presented in the last stanza? Do you think
this view is relevant to today’s world? Explain why or why not.
This poem is a kind of elegy –a mournful hymn in which instances of vigorous life remind
the speaker of a personal loss that has le ft him still able to observe, but not to participate. Read
the poem aloud, and listen to how the sound is re lated o the sense. How do the sounds of lines
1-2 and 13-14 contrast with the rest of the poem?
Break, break, break,
On thy cold gray stones , O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.
O, well for the fishermen’s boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O, well for the sailor lad,
That he signs in his boat on the bay!
s e t t in g
m o o d
m o o d
a llu s io n
m e t a p h o r s im ile
rh y m e s c h e m e rh y t h m
B REAK, B R EA K, B R EA K
B REAK, B R EA K, B R EA K
136
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!
Break, break, break,
At the foot of thy crags, O sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. Where is the speaker as the poem begins?
2. In the thi rd stanza, what does the speaker grieve for?
3. The words of the title are repeated twice: at the beginning of the firs t and fourth
stanzas, when the speaker ca lls on the waves of the sea to “break, break, break.”
Considering the and of the poem, what else might we imagine to be
‘breaking’ in this lyric?
4. What moods are suggested by the of the fisherman’s boy (line 5), the sailor lad
(line 7), and the stately ships (line 9)? How do these moods contrast with the speaker’s
emotions?
5. Has the speaker’s sorrow changed in any way from the beginning of the poem to its
end? If so, how?
a t m o s p h e re t o n e
im a g e s
137
CR O S S I NG T HE B AR
CR O S S I NG T HE B AR
Tennyson wrote this poem in 1889, at the age of eighty, while crossing the channel that
separates England from the Isle of Wight. Just before his death in 1892, Tennyson directed that
this poem be printed at the end of all editions of his collected verse . A bar is a sandbar at the
mouth of a harbor. Beyond the bar is deep sea.
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear ca ll for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne 131 of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot 132 face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
131 Bourne: boundary.132 Pilot: a person who knows the local waters and guides ship as it enters or leaves a harbor.
138
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings .
1. What does the speaker wish in the first stanza?
2. What hope does the speaker express in the final stanza?
3. Who might the ‘Pilot’ (line 15) be?
4. What is the speaker’s sea voyage a for?
5. Analyze the rhythm of the poem and comment on how it affected you.
New Englanders and other people who live in cold clima es are familiar with the way the
ground heaves when it freezes . This annual occurrence dislocates stone walls and fences, cracks
pavements, and squeezes underground stones and boulders out onto the landscape. This natural
phenomenon is caused by the expansion of freezing water in the soil. Fros t uses it as the
starting point for ‘Mending Wall.’ Stop after you’ve read the first four lines of the poem; think
about those lines, and describe the visual subject of poem up to that point.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
m e t a p h o r
ME ND I NG W ALL
MEN D I N G W ALL
139
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
“Stay where you are until our backs are turned!”
we wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, jus t another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says. “Good fences make good neighbors .”
Spring is the mischie f in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
“ do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it
where there are cows? But here there are no cows .
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That wants it down”. I could say “Elves” to him,
But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather
He said it for himself. I see him there ,
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an o ld-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father’s saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
Ha says again, “Good fences make good neighbors.”
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings
1. What makes the speaker say that ‘something’ doesn’t lo e a wall? Besides this
‘something,’ who e lse sometimes knocks down walls?
2. Describe what is happening in lines 13-16. according to the speaker, why is rebuilding
the wall merely a game?
W h y
140
3. What question does the speaker think should be settled before building a wall, according
to lines 32-34?
4. Why should the speaker say “Elves” (line36)?
5. From whom did the neighbor get his saying “Good fences make good neighbors”?
6. In lines 23-27, what two different personality types or temperaments might be
dramatized?
7. Why do you think the speaker would rather his neighbor said “elves” (lines 37-38)?
8. The speaker says in lines 41-42 that the neighboring farmer moves in a ‘darkness ’ that
is ‘not of woods only and the shade of trees.’ What el ight this darkness be? Explain
the significance of the in line 40.
9. What might the wall ? In your view, what philosophies about human social
relations does the poem explore?
10. How do you explain the fact that the man who doesn’t s e the need for a wall is the only
one who, every spring, is the first to call upon his neighbor and so make sure the wall is
rebuilt? Might he want something more from his neighbo an merely a hand with repair
work?
11. Which of these two men is in greater harmony with nature , in your opinion? Why do you
think so?
12. When the speaker repeats his neighbor’s s tatement in the poem’s last line, does he
mean to emphasize his neighbor’s stubbornness? Or does he somewhat reluctantly mean
to recognize that there’s wisdom in the statement?
13. do you believe that ‘good fences make good neighbors ’? why or why not?
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one travelle r, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
s im ile
s y m b o liz e
T HE R O AD NO T T AKEN
141
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I sha ll be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the diffe rence.
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings
1. What diverged in the yellow wood? About what was the s eaker sorry in the first stanza?
Where does the speaker stand and look?
2. According to line 7, why did the second road have the better claim?
3. For what did the speaker ‘keep’ the first road? What did he doubt?
4. How does the speaker think he will be telling this story ‘ages and ages hence’? what has
‘made all the diffe rence’?
5. Considering lines 9-10 and 11-12, how different were the two roads? What is Fros t
therefore saying?
6. What might the roads represent? What does his choice indicate about the speaker?
7. Does the speaker think he made the wrong choice? Why o why not? How is his attitude
related to the title?
142
N O T HI N G GO LD CA N S TAY
Nature ’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to lea f
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Responding to the poem
Identifying details , Interpreting meanings
1. According to the poem, what happens to ‘nature ’s first green’? to her ‘early leaf’? to
Eden? To dawn?
2. To what might ‘green’ and ‘gold’ in line 1 refer?
3. What do Eden, dawn, and a flower have in common? W hat ight ‘gold’ therefore
represent in the poem as a whole?
4. In light of your interpretation of ‘gold’ in question , explain the possible meanings of
the title and last line of this poem.
5. Do you agree with the ideas suggested in this poem? Why or why not?