Not in entire forgetfulness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come Shades of the prison-house begin to close But He beholds the light, and whence it flows, The Youth, who daily farther from the East Is on his way attended; At length the Man perceives it die away, Lowell does not believe that this is true (lines 11, 12). In spite of our faults and imperfections we feel every day high influence. Whom did Moses meet on Mount Sinai? (Exodus 19.) See also Lowell's Letters, I, 139, and the reference to Sinai in Bibliolatres. Lines 13-20: Five objects or forces of nature are mentioned as inspiring us in mature life: the skies with their attitude of tender care; the winds with their warning and exhortations; the mountain, inciting us to be courageous; the wood with its blessing; the restless sea, urging us to be active and energetic. Explain "druid" (line 17). Lines 21-24: In this world we have to pay even for things we do not wish to have. Lines 25-28: At Vanity Fair we pay good gold for worthless things: our lives for a little notice and fame, such as was given of old to the court jester with his cap and bells; our soul's salvation for useless, temporary pleasures. Lines 29-32: The influence of nature costs nothing, and is worth more than all the rest. Lines 35, 36: Explain the metaphor. Lines 39-42: Explain the meaning. Line 43: "Flush" refers to the colors of flowers and blos soms. Line 46 Explain the figure. Line 52: What is the antecedent of "it"? Lines 53-55: Explain the meaning. Line 56: What does "nice" mean? Lines 57-60: Explain the metaphor. Lines 61ff.: Has June ever affected you in this way? Line 87: Why "unscarred"? Lines 91-93: Explain the metaphor. This prelude is not the only place in which Lowell has expressed his love for the month of June. If you have time, you should read also Under the Willows, Al Fresco, and The Nightingale in the Study. This preference was well-known among his friends. Holmes began a poem to Lowell with, This is your month, the month of 'perfect days.' HOLMES: To James Russell Lowell. The influence of nature on the soul is discussed in the first stanza of Lowell's Freedom, written about the same time as Sir Launfal. In Lowell's Letters (I, 164) we find the following passage: "This same name of God is written all over the world in little phenomena that occur under our eyes every moment, and I confess that I feel very much inclined to hang my head with Pizarro when I cannot translate those hieroglyphics into my own vernacular." VII. The prelude to Part II deals with winter, as the nature element of Part II is represented by winter. The prelude is not altogether gloomy, though it is wintry, because gloom would foretell a sad ending. The good cheer in the castle foreshadows the hospitality which Launfal shows after he wakens (stanza X). Study the prelude with the following notes and questions: Line 174: What effect has the sentence-inversion? Lines 181-210: These lines are constructed on a metaphor comparing the brook to an architect, and the ice above it to a roof. Mark all the words of building and architecture that belong in this figure. Think of the shapes and figures you have seen in thin ice covering ponds or even puddles of water beside the road. Use your dictionary freely for architectural terms, and remember that the material used by Architect Brook was all ice; then these lines will be clear to you. Explain lines 205-210 by referring to lines 187-196. In his Letters (I, 164) Lowell says he found this picture on an evening walk to Watertown, "with the new moon before me and a sky exactly like that in Page's evening landscape. Orion was rising behind me, and, as I stood on the hill just before you enter the village, the stillness of the fields around me was delicious, broken only by the tinkle of a little brook, which runs too swiftly for Frost to catch it." See also the winter picture in An Indian Summer Reverie, lines 148-196. Line 212: Explain the figure. Lines 215, 216: What figure in "gulf" and "tide"? Lines 219, 220: Explain the figure. Lines 221-224: Explain the figure that describes the movement of the sparks through the soot on the inside of the chimney. Line 226: In this prelude we find the name of Launfal used earlier than in the first prelude (line 94). We are already interested in him, and ready to continue the story of his adventures. What word tells you that many years have elapsed since he set out, a young knight, to seek the Grail? What figure is found in lines 226-232? Notice harmony of sound and thought in these lines. Line 233: Explain the simile. Does a sudden, loud noise ever affect one as a sudden, bright light does? Lines 238, 239: Explain the metaphor. Lines 174-180 have expressed something of the desolation of winter. The picture of the brook is all beauty. The picture of the castle gives the gay, social aspect of winter. The last paragraph of the prelude, of which Launfal is the central figure, comes back to the note of desolation. This is made necessary by his condition and by the approach to Part II, which opens most gloomily. The gaiety inside the castle makes the darkness outside only more cold and lonely by contrast. VIII. Read The Vision of Sir Launfal from beginning to end, aloud. Think constantly of expressing the meaning you have found in it, and also of bringing out the music of the poetry. THE PRESENT CRISIS I. This poem (1844) was inspired by the questions that came up in connection with the proposed annexation of Texas. If Texas should be annexed to the United States, the slave territory would be extended, and the slavery faction would become stronger. The Abolitionists, therefore, opposed the annexation. The poem calls on voters to stand for the right, knowing that right will win at last. It exhorts men to put themselves into the class of heroes, who have sacrificed their own present advantage for the good of the race. For Lowell's interest in abolition, see his biographies. a moment when condi A "crisis" is a time of decision tions may change for better or for worse. II. Read the poem with the following outline: Theme: It is every person's duty to help on the work that his generation has to do for the advancement of society. 1. Mankind are one in spirit (lines 1-20). a. All feel the good done in one place; b. All feel the evil done in one place. 2. There comes to every man and nation a crisis to decide for or against Truth (lines 21–40). a. Truth will always win in the end. a time 3. If we choose the evil, we endanger those that come after us (lines 41-50). 4. It is noble to side with a truth that is unpopular and has yet to fight its way to acceptance (lines 51-70). a. The heroes of earth have done so; b. Progress could not be made without such heroes. 5. Every generation has a new test of its devotion to truth (lines 71-90). a. We are not brave nor progressive if we simply agree to truths already accepted by society. III. Possibly the poem seems a little difficult to understand in detail. Lowell was so full of enthusiasm that his mind hurried from figure to figure, and he has not given us, on this subject on which he felt so deeply, as smooth and rhetorically logical a poem as he might write in a calmer mood. There is wonderful force, however, in the crowded metaphors and in the vigorous lines a force that comes not from polished rhetoric, but from the intense moral feeling of the poet. The following notes will help you to understand some of the more difficult lines. |