Cleopatra was an Egyptian queen celebrated for her beauty; Shakespeare has told of her great political influence and last days in his Antony and Cleopatra. Line 293: Specimens of ancient Egyptian ware are taken chiefly from the royal tombs in the Pyramids. Line 296: The poet has, in his imagination, visited these races in Europe and in Egypt. Line 302. River and mountains of India. Follow the poet on the map and see what "desert sands," "gulf and bay" he passes over. Line 303: "Sing" in poetry. mon. Line 304: "Cathay" is China. Line 306: The chief Chinese town in the history of pottery. What does the simile in lines 313, 314 tell you of the colors of Chinese pottery? Compare with lines 320-324. What do lines 315-319 tell you of the production of pottery in China? Line 326: The "willow pattern" was a favorite in early New England. It was originally Chinese; there may be one, two, or three men on the bridge, but the form with one man is most comThe series of pictures illustrates a pretty Chinese romance. Line 334: Chinese tiles show dragons and other fabulous beasts interesting to children. The dragon is important in Chinese mythology, and therefore in Chinese art. Lines 338ff.: This celebrated pagoda was an octagon two hundred sixty feet high, in nine stories. It was of fine white porcelain bricks, and the stories were marked by green tiles. The summit was crowned by a great gilt ball. Five pearls on the roof served as good-luck charms, to keep off floods, fires, dust-storms, tempests, and civil wars. From the eaves of the various stories hung one hundred and fifty-two bells and countless colored lanterns. This magnificent pagoda was destroyed in civil war in 1853. Line 359: The poet in his magic cloak (line 147) flies above the country, and sees figures common in Japanese art. Lines 363-367: Explain the metaphor. Line 370: The sacred mountain of Japan, Fujiyama, often appears in art. Lines 378379: See line 359. Lines 368–379 enumerate the commonest characteristics of Japanese art. Lines 380, 381: Where do the Japanese get their patterns? These lines lead us into the next thought-division of the poem. Lines 382-399: State in your own words the art-theory Longfellow here sets forth. Why is it placed here after the description of Japanese art? Give illustrations. From what sources have the art patterns mentioned in this poem been derived? Do you agree with the poet? Lines 400ff. The conclusion properly attaches itself to the introduction. With line 409 compare line 30. Explain the life-thought in lines 415-418. This gives "the perfect round" to the thought of the poem - from clay to art, and back to clay. If the poem can be illustrated by specimens of pottery it will be far more interesting and vital to the students. CHAPTER XV JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER REFERENCE BIOGRAPHIES Life and Letters, 2 Vol., by S. T. Pickard; Boston, 1894. SUPPLEMENTARY READING The New Wife and the Old, Barclay of Ury, The Angels of Buena Vista, Maud Muller, Barbara Frietchie, Skipper Ireson's Ride, The Pipes at Lucknow, The Dole of Jarl Thorkell, The Sisters, The Robin, Kathleen, Mabel Martin, Marguerite, King Volmer and Elsie, Conductor Bradley, King Solomon and the Ants, The Khan's Devil, The Bay of the Seven Islands, The Wishing Bridge, St. Gregory's Guest, How the Robin Came, Toussaint L'Ouverture. And see Appendix I, titles 56 to 67 inclusive. TELLING THE BEES I. See Pickard, Life, II, 413-415; Whittier-land, 17, 18. The title of the poem refers to an old New England custom. When a member of a family died, the bees were informed of it, and their hives were draped in mourning; otherwise they would swarm and seek a new home. The picture of the New England farm house is that of Whittier's early home. Pickard says: There were bee hives on the garden terrace near the well-sweep. The approach to the house from over the northern shoulder of Job's Hill by a path that was in constant use in his boyhood and is still in existence, is accurately described in the poem. The 'gap in the old wall' is still to be seen, and 'the stepping stones in the shallow brook' are still in use. His sister's garden was down by the brook-side in front of the house, and her daffodils are perpetuated and may now be found in their season each year in that place. The red-barred gate, the poplars, the cattle yard with 'the white horns tossing above the wall,' these were all part of Whittier's boy life on the old farm. We are not to suppose, however, that the "Mary" of the poem was Whittier's older sister. She did not die till 1860, and the poem is not a brother's poem (see line 21). Whittier has merely described, as the setting for his little romance, the farm he knew best. II. The bereaved lover, a year after Mary's death (line 13), is walking with a friend toward her home. "Here is the place," he says, "to leave the highway and take the path that leads through the gap in the wall, across the stepping stones, and to the top of the hill from which Mary's house may be seen." A little farther on they come in sight of the house ("There" etc.). Then they stop. The lover points out the well-remembered surroundings of the farm house, and tells his friend how, just a year ago, returning after a month's absence (line 25), he had been informed, by the old custom, of the death of Mary. The story is told with the simplicity, dignity, and reserve of a New Englander of the class to which the lover is supposed to belong. In spite of the slightness of the action, the poet puts into it some suspense and leads up to a climax. The slight narrative begins with line 21. As the lover approached the house, he stopped at the brook to cool his face, for it was a warm day in June. At last he came in sight of the house (line 27). The effect on him of the first sight of the hives is told in line 41. But the lover reassured himself; of course the death must be that of the oldest member of the family (lines 45-48). Line 49 mentions an ill-omen for the dog's mistress. The fact stated in lines 50, 51 proved to the lover that the death was not, as he had supposed, that of the aged grand-father; and finally he heard the words that confirmed his worst premonitions. The natural approach of the lover to the house, his gradual appreciation of the fact that something had happened, his alternate hope and fear, his final certainty, make up the steps of the slight, pathetic narrative from The short and simple annals of the poor. III. Study the style of the poem. 1. Discuss the diction of the poem: the use of specific nouns in description; epithets; poetic compounds; genitives for of-phrases; etc. 2. Explain the force of the following figures: a. The simile in line 13; b. The metaphor in lines 18, 19, comparing the sun's rays among the branches to an insect's wings tangled in a cob-web; c. The metaphor in lines 29, 30. 3. Versification: How many lines in a stanza? How many accents in each line? What is the foot? In lines 3, 11, 14, 15, 16 you will find spondees. These retard the movement, and prepare for the pathetic narrative. What is the rimescheme of the poem? Discuss the use of alliteration; of assonance; of internal rime. The alliteration of s in lines 15, |