The night-storm on a thousand hills is loud, On thy unaltering blaze The half-wrecked mariner, his compass lost, And steers, undoubting, to the friendly coast; And therefore bards2 of old, A beauteous type of that unchanging good, The voyager of time should shape his heedful way. [The Forest Hymn was written in that early period of Bryant's career, when he was for the most part devoted to the study of nature, and the depicting of its scenes and moods. It overflows with what Wordsworth calls the "religion of the woods," and is pervaded by a sweet solemnity that must touch every impressible soul.] ... 1 On thy. right. Express in your own language the meaning of this stanza. 2 bards. "Bard" (meaning poet) is one of the small number of Celtic words incorporated into English from the language of the original Britons. 3 Sages (from sage, wise), philosophers. 4 hermits of the solemn wood: that is, the British Druids. 5 beacon, signal-fire: connected with beckon. 6 voyager of time. Explain the metaphor. THE groves were God's first temples. learned Ere man To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave,2 Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect Only among the crowd, and under roofs That our frail hands have raised? Let me, at least, Here, in the shadow of this agéd wood, 1 shaft, the cylindrical column | in his Elegy speaks of the "longbetween the capital (top) and the drawn aisle and fretted vault." base of a column. 4 darkling. See Webster for etymology. 2 architrave. That part of an order of architecture which is over a column is called the entablature; and the architrave" is that part of an entablature which rests immediately on the column. 5 simple. See Webster for the interesting derivation of this word. 6 resist, withstand. 7 inaccessible. Define. 8 sanctuaries (from Latin sanc 3 vault, an arched ceiling. Gray tus, holy), literally, holy places. Offer1 one hymn - thrice happy, if it find Acceptance in his ear. Father, thy hand Hath reared these venerable columns.3 Thou Didst weave this verdant roof.4 Thou didst look down Upon the naked earth, and forthwith rose 6 All these fair ranks of trees. They, in thy sun, 1 Offer. Give a synonym. 2 Acceptance. See Webster. 8 venerable columns. Explain the expression. 4 verdant roof. Explain the expression, and give a synonym of "verdant." 5 century-living, an epithet based on a tradition that the crow lives to a very great age. 6 massy. Of what word is this a poetic form? " of human pomp... not. Transpose into the prose order. 8 fantastic carvings: that is, as in the cathedrals of man's building. 9 thou. Who? 10 solitude (from Latin solus, alone), hence, literally, the state of being alone. That, from the inmost darkness of the place, Passes; and yon clear spring, that 'midst its herbs Of all the good it does. Thou hast not left. Of thy perfections. Grandeur, strength, and grace 8 In all that proud old world beyond the deep, 1 barky: a Shakespearian adjective. 2 instinct, animated. Noun or adjective? On which syllable is the accent? 3 continual. See Webster. 4 Of thy perfections. What noun does this adjective phrase modify? 5 immovable. Define. 6 annihilated (from Latin nihil, nothing), hence, literally, made to be nothing. 7 old world, etc. Explain. 8 he: antecedent of this pronoun? 9 coronal (from Latin corona, a crown), a crown, wreath, or garland. What is the figure of speech? (See Def. 3.) With delicate breath, and look so like a smile,1 My heart is awed within me, when I think For ever. Written on thy works, I read The lesson of thy own eternity. 6 Lo! all grow old and die; but see, again, 1 so like a smile. What figure? 5 faltering footsteps of decay. 2 mold. For what plain word is | Explain the expression. 6 ancestors. Is the application token. In of this term to an inanimate object literal or figurative? 3 emanation which case are these nouns? 4 Of the great miracle. What is meant? Miracle" is from the Latin verb mirari, to wonder at; and hence means, literally, an act or object causing wonder. 7 arch. This prefix (from the Greek prefix archi, first, chief) is compounded with many nouns, and intensifies their meaning. 8 Death. What is the figure? |