Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Literature Part 26

What is first mentioned in connection with him?

His firmly set teeth.

What does this indicate? His great physical pain, and his determination of character.

What is mentioned next? His age; he is but fifty-three, but his wrinkles are deep and his hair turning gray.

What are next described? His forehead, his nose, his eye, his underlip.

Why does the author picture these features in such detail? To show the character of the Emperor.

What are we led to infer are some of his characteristics? A strong intellect, imperious manner, cruelty, and stubborn pride.

What strong contrast is drawn? The fugitive invalid is the great Emperor. The author first discusses his illness, his flight, his suffering in the storm, his adverse fortune, and then gives him his full t.i.tles--"Emperor of Germany, King of Spain, Lord of the Netherlands, of Naples, of Lombardy, and the proud chief of the golden Western World".

Where does the author place the blame for his present sufferings? On Charles himself, whose sufferings, humiliation, and ultimate deliverance were perhaps intended as a discipline to lead him to repent for past cruelties.

What is described in the last paragraph of this scene? The escape.

Who is first mentioned? The pursuer, Maurice of Saxony.

Describe him. He is first compared to an "avenger of blood" in pursuit of a man fleeing to the cities of refuge referred to in Joshua xx. 3. He is next compared to the hound relentlessly following his prey.

Who wins in this race? Charles eludes his pursuer.

To whom should he show grat.i.tude for his escape? To Providence.

Does he acknowledge G.o.d's protection? No, he gives all the credit to his "lucky star".

Explain this. Astrologers had said that the "Star of Austria" was always at the highest point in the heavens; and of this favoured House of Austria, Charles was Archduke.

III

The first scene is called "The Rescue"; the second, "The Run"; and the last, "The Ruin".

What is described in the last scene? The destruction of the French Army.

Where is the scene laid? In the Tyrol, beside the River Inn.

What is described in the first paragraph?

Bonaparte's decree that the strongholds of his enemies--the Tyrolese warrior hunters--shall be destroyed.

Why should he wish to do this? The Tyrolese were an independent people, who would not submit to conscription and taxation at the hands of the Bavarians.

By what names does the author call Napoleon?

"Bonaparte." That was his surname. The French Emperor had no hereditary right to the throne, but he wished to be called Napoleon, instead of Bonaparte, just as we speak of our King as George V. and rarely refer to his surname of Guelph.

Who advised Napoleon? "His own will is his sole adviser." He ruled arbitrarily, consulting no one.

What does he do in this case? He sends ten thousand French and Bavarian soldiers to crush the Tyrolese.

Why were the Bavarians taking part in the struggle? They were at this time allies of France, and Napoleon had given to their Elector possession of this new but hostile province.

What does the second paragraph describe? The army entering the narrow gorge in the mountains.

How does the author give vividness to this picture? He endows inanimate things such as the "gorge" and the "river" with human attributes.

The "gorge" looks gloomy, forbidding, and unfriendly, and the "river" seems to roar indignantly, as though at the attempt of "the mountain walls" to impede its progress.

The next sentence is in the form of a question and its answer. Who is supposed to ask this question? This is the question the leader of the army would ask and the answer he would make when he discovered the narrow road. The construction of the sentence suggests the idea of danger.

Why does the next sentence begin with "But"?

"But the glittering array winds on." It suggests that some precautions for the safety of the army should have been observed; but it may have been impossible to take these precautions, and the orders of Bonaparte had to be obeyed at all hazards.

What is described in the next sentence? The author gives full details of the progress of this imposing army. The River Inn seems to share the feelings of the Tyrolese themselves and protest angrily against this invasion by a foreign power.

How is the next sentence related to the preceding? "But" marks a contrast. The noise of the army and the river is contrasted with the silence on the heights.

Why are the "eagles" mentioned? The silence is rendered more impressive by the occasional "shrill cry" of the eagles, and the "wings" of the eagles hovering above are an omen of the coming disaster which is to overtake "the gilded eagles of France" below.

What is described in the next paragraph? The "voice" from the "heights".

How does the author make this paragraph impressive? As he wishes to indicate the critical moment, he still uses the present tense, direct narration, short sentences, exclamation, and interrogation; he suggests, through a mysterious voice far up the heights, that supernatural agents are at work. The army, in its helpless length, is compared to an "uncoiled serpent".

What is the subject of the next paragraph? The destruction of the entire army.

How is this ruin accomplished? Unseen in the heights above, the Tyrolese peasantry hurl down rocks, roots, and trunks of pine trees, as well as sending a "deadly hail" from their rifles along the "whole line" of the defenceless army below.

Notice the richness of detail. What words help to make the description of their destruction more vivid? "Bounding", "thundering", "gathering speed", "headlong way", "launched down", "powerless foe", "deadly hail", "fearful storm", "crushed to death", "tumbled, horse and man, into the choked and swollen river".

Notice the contrast of this paragraph with the picture in the second paragraph of this vision of the gallant invading army.

What is the subject of the last paragraph? The reflections of the author.

Of what does he speak? Of the wonders and beauties of creation and the sad power that man possesses of spoiling and staining these wonders by giving rein to his own "evil ambitions and fierce revenges".

How has he emphasized this? By the use of exclamation, question, ellipses, and the mention of the "serpent" as the symbol of evil.

How does the interrogative form of the sentence give it vividness? Contrast the effect of saying, "Who would willingly linger on the hideous details?" with "No one would willingly linger", etc. The author does not expect an answer, he throws the sentence into the question form for the rhetorical effect. The reader pays more attention to the thought by trying to find an answer to the question.

What is the value of the ellipses in "Sorrowful that man ... should come"? It is stronger than saying, "It is sorrowful that man ... should come". The subject and verb are omitted, as they are not strong words, and "Sorrowful" is placed in the most prominent position on account of its importance.

SUMMARY

In these three pictures, what is the constant element? The scene used as the background. All three visions take place in the Tyrol, two of them on the banks of the Inn River. They are three companion pictures of this historic mountain province.

How does this style compare with that which you find in other lessons? It is abrupt and abounds in many rhetorical forms--ellipses, use of the present tense, exclamation, direct address, and acc.u.mulation of details.

Would it be suitable for all prose expression?

No; it is impa.s.sioned prose, full of emotion and picturesque detail. The smoother, more regulated sentence-structure, such as is in place in ordinary narration, would be too cold for these descriptions. On the other hand, this style is not suitable for expressing a quiet mood or giving a clear explanation. It is too turbulent, and would pall upon the reader if continued at too great length, but it is often very suitable in an oratorical selection.