Selections from American poetry Part 39

Born in a mill-town village in western Ma.s.sachusetts, he pa.s.sed his boyhood on the farm. Unable to complete his college course, he practiced law until 1824, when he became editor of the New York Review. He continued all his life to be a man of letters.

The poems by Bryant are used by permission of D. Appleton and Company, authorized publishers of his works.

THANATOPSIS

34. patriarchs of the infant world: the leaders of the Hebrews before the days of history.

61. Barcan wilderness: waste of North Africa.

54. Why does Bryant suggest "the wings of the morning" to begin such a survey of the world? Would he choose the Oregon now?

28. ape: mimic.

This poem is very simple in its form and is typical of Bryant's nature poems. First, is his observation of the waterfowl's flight and his question about it. Secondly, the answer is given. Thirdly, the application is made to human nature. Do you find such a comparison of nature and human nature in any other poems by Bryant?

9. plashy: swampy.

15. illimitable: boundless.

GREEN RIVER

Green River, flows near Great Barrington where Bryant practised law.

33. simpler: a collector of herbs for medicinal use.

58. This reference to Bryant's profession is noteworthy. His ambition for a thorough literary training was abandoned on account of poverty. He then took up the study of law and practiced it in Great Barrington, Ma.s.s., for nine years. His dislike of this profession is here very plainly shown. He abandoned it entirely in 1824 and gave himself to literature. "I Broke the Spell That Held Me Long" also throws a light on his choice of a life work.

THE WEST WIND

With this may be compared with profit Sh.e.l.ley's "Ode to the West Wind"

and Kingsley's "Ode to the Northeast Wind." State the contrast between the ideas of the west wind held by Sh.e.l.ley and by Bryant.

A FOREST HYMN

2. architrave: the beam resting on the top of the column and supporting the frieze.

5. From these details can you form a picture of this temple in its exterior and interior? Is it like a modern church?

darkling: dimly seen; a poetic word. Do you find any other adjectives in this poem which are poetic words?

23. Why is the poem divided here? Is the thought divided? Connected?

Can you account in the same way for the divisions at lines 68 and 89?

34. vaults: arched ceilings.

44. instinct: alive, animated by.

66. emanation: that which proceeds from a source, as fragrance is an emanation from flowers.

89. This idea that death is the source of other life everywhere in nature is a favorite one with Bryant. It is the fundamental thought in his first poem, "Thanatopsis" (A View of Death), which may be read in connection with "The Forest Hymn."

96. Emerson discusses this question in "The Problem," See selections from Emerson.

THE DEATH OF THE FLOWERS

26. Bryant's favorite sister, Mrs. Sarah Bryant Shaw, died shortly after her marriage, of tuberculosis. This poem alludes to her and is in its early lines the saddest poem Bryant ever wrote. Notice the change of tone near the end.

29. unmeet: unsuitable.

THE GLADNESS OF NATURE

b. hang-bird: the American oriole, which hangs its nest from a branch.

8. wilding: the wild bee which belongs to no hive.

To THE FRINGED GENTIAN

No description of this flower can give an adequate idea of its beauty.

The following account, from Reed's "Flower Guide, East of the Rockies,"

expresses the charm of the flower well: "Fringed Gentian because of its exquisite beauty and comparative rarity is one of the most highly prized of our wild flowers." "During September and October we may find these blossoms fully expanded, delicate, vase-shaped creations with four spreading deeply fringed lobes bearing no resemblance in shape or form to any other American species. The color is a violet-blue, the color that is most attractive to b.u.mblebees, and it is to these insects that the flower is indebted for the setting of its seed.... The flowers are wide open only during sunshine, furling in their peculiar twisted manner on cloudy days and at night. In moist woods from Maine to Minnesota and southwards."

This guide gives a good colored picture of the flower as do Matthews'

"Field Guide to American Wildflowers" and many other flower books.

8. ground-bird: the vesper sparrow, so called because of its habit of singing in the late evening. Its nest is made of gra.s.s and placed in a depression on the ground.

11. portend: indicate by a sign that some event, usually evil, is about to happen.

16. cerulean: deep, clear blue.

SONG of MARION'S MEN

4. Marion, Francis (1732-1795), in 1750 took command of the militia of South Carolina and carried on a vigorous partisan warfare against the English. Colonel Tarleton failed o find "the old swamp fox," as he named him, because the swamp paths of South Carolina were well known to him.

See McCrady, "South Carolina in the Revolution," for full particulars of his life.

21. deem: expect.

30. up: over, as in the current expression, "the time is up."

41. barb: a horse of the breed introduced by the Moors From Barbary into Spain and noted for speed and endurance.