Elson Grammer School Literature, Book Four.

W >> William H. Elson and Christine Keck >> Elson Grammer School Literature, Book Four.

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Historical: Absalom, the son of David, King of Israel, rebelled against his
father. David sent his army to put down the rebellion, but said to his
captains, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom."
In spite of this entreaty, Absalom was slain by Joab, a captain in David's
army. The first forty-one lines relate to events preceding the battle, the
remainder to events following the battle. Read 2 Samuel XVIII.

Notes and Questions.

Find the Jordan on your map.

Locate the Dead Sea; the wood of Ephraim where Absalom was killed.

Describe the picture you see when you read the first stanza.

What do we call such expressions as "Night's silvery veil"?

What is night's silvery veil?

"The willow leaves with a soft cheek upon the lulling tide, Forgot the
lifting winds"--What does this mean? Why "lulling tide"?

What flowers does the poet mean in the eighth line? Is the poet true to
nature in what he says of them? Show why.

Select two words or expressions that seem to you to be especially beautiful
or fit, and tell why. Do you like the selection? Why?

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"waters slept"
"melting tenderness"
"fashioned for a happier world"
"lifting winds"
"mantling blush"
"straightened for the grave"
"estranged"
"breathing sleep"
"resistless eloquence"
"bruised reed"
"still proportions"
"Whose diamonds lit the passage of his blade"

* * * * *

LOCHINVAR (From "Marmion.")

SIR WALTER SCOTT

O, young Lochinvar is come out of the West,--
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
And, save his good broadsword, he weapons had none,--
He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone.
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.

He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for stone,
He swam the Esk river, where ford there was none;
But ere he alighted at Netherby gate,
The bride had consented, the gallant came late:
For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war,
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.

So boldly he entered the Netherby hall,
'Mong bridesmen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all:
Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his sword
(For the poor, craven bridegroom said never a word),
"O, come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?"

"I long wooed your daughter,--my suit you denied;--
Love swells like the Selway, but ebbs like its tide;
And now am I come, with this lost love of mine,
To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine.
There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far,
That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar!"

The bride kissed the goblet; the knight took it up,
He quaffed off the wine, and he threw down the cup.
She looked down to blush, and she looked up to sigh,
With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye.
He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar,--
"Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar.

So stately his form, and so lovely her face,
That never a hall such a galliard did grace;
While her mother did fret, and her father did fume,
And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume,
And the bridemaidens whispered, "'Twere better, by far,
To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar."

One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear,
When they reached the hall-door, and the charger stood near,
So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung,
So light to the saddle before her he sprung!
"She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur;
They'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth young Lochinvar.

There was mounting 'mong Graemes of the Netherby clan;
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode, and they ran;
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee,
But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they see.
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,
Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?

HELPS TO STUDY.

Biographical and Historical: Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, in 1771.
He loved the romance of Scotland's history and legends. A collection of
legendary ballads, songs, and traditions, published by him early in life
met with such immediate success that it confirmed him in his resolution to
devote himself to literary pursuits. The two selections here given, are
taken from his second metrical romance, "Marmion." Later Scott turned his
attention to prose and became the creator of the historical novel, of which
"Ivanhoe," "Kenilworth," and "Woodstock" are conspicuous examples. He died
in 1832, and lies buried in one of the most beautiful ruins in Scotland,
Dryburgh Abbey.

Notes and Questions.

Find Esk River and Solway Firth on your map.

Scott describes the tides of Solway Firth in Chapter IV of his novel,
"Redgauntlet." Compare the rhythm with that in "How They Brought the Good
News."

What impression of Lochinvar do the opening stanzas give you?

What purpose does the fourth stanza serve?

Line 20--Explain this line.

Line 46--What was the result?

What picture does the sixth stanza give you?

Which stanza do you like best?

Which lines are most pleasing?

"galliard"--a gay dance.

"scaur"--steep bank of river.

"clan"--a group of related families.

Translate into your own words: "'They'll have fleet steeds that follow,'
quoth young Lochinvar."

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"laggard"
"brake"
"bar"
"charger"
"craven"
"bonnet and plume"
"dastard"
"gallant"

* * * * *

THE PARTING OF MARMION AND DOUGLAS (From "Marmion.")

SIR WALTER SCOTT

Not far advanced was morning day,
When Marmion did his troop array,
To Surrey's camp to ride;
He had safe conduct for his band,
Beneath the royal seal and hand,
And Douglas gave a guide.

The train from out the castle drew,
But Marmion stopped to bid adieu:
"Though something I might 'plain," he said,
"Of cold respect to stranger guest,
Sent hither by your king's behest,
While in Tantallon's towers I staid;
Part we in friendship from your land,
And, noble Earl, receive my hand."
But Douglas round him drew his cloak,
Folded his arms, and thus he spoke:
"My manors, halls, and bowers shall still
Be open, at my sovereign's will,
To each one whom he lists, howe'er
Unmeet to be the owner's peer.
My castles are my king's alone,
From turret to foundation stone;
The hand of Douglas is his own;
And never shall, in friendly grasp,
The hand of such as Marmion clasp."

Burned Marmion's swarthy cheek like fire,
And shook his very frame for ire;
And "This to me," he said;
"An 'twere not for thy hoary beard,
Such hand as Marmion's had not spared
To cleave the Douglas' head!
And, first, I tell thee, haughty peer,
He, who does England's message here,
Although the meanest in her state,
May well, proud Angus, be thy mate:
And, Douglas, more, I tell thee here,
Even in thy pitch of pride--
Here, in thy hold, thy vassals near,
I tell thee, thou'rt defied!
And if thou said'st, I am not peer
To any lord in Scotland here,
Lowland or Highland, far or near,
Lord Angus, thou hast lied!"

On the Earl's cheek, the flush of rage
O'ercame the ashen hue of age:
Fierce he broke forth; "And dar'st thou then
To beard the lion in his den,
The Douglas in his hall?
And hopest thou hence unscathed to go?
No, by Saint Bride of Bothwell, no!
Up draw-bridge, grooms,--what, warder, ho!
Let the portcullis fall."
Lord Marmion turned,--well was his need,
And dashed the rowels in his steed,
Like arrow through the archway sprung;
The ponderous grate behind him rung:
To pass there was such scanty room,
The bars, descending, razed his plume.

The steed along the draw-bridge flies,
Just as it trembled on the rise;
Nor lighter does the swallow skim
Along the smooth lake's level brim;
And when Lord Marmion reached his band
He halts, and turns with clinched hand
And shout of loud defiance pours,
And shook his gauntlet at the towers.
"Horse! horse!" the Douglas cried, "and chase!"
But soon he reined his fury's pace:
"A royal messenger he came,
Though most unworthy of the name.
Saint Mary mend my fiery mood!
Old age ne'er cools the Douglas' blood;
I thought to slay him where he stood.
'Tis pity of him, too," he cried;
"Bold he can speak, and fairly ride--
I warrant him a warrior tried."
With this his mandate he recalls,
And slowly seeks his castle halls.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Historical: Marmion, an English nobleman, is sent as an envoy by Henry the
Eighth, King of England, to James the Fourth, King of Scotland. The two
countries are on the eve of war with each other. Arriving in Edinburgh,
Marmion is entrusted by King James to the care and hospitality of Douglas,
Earl of Angus, who, taking him to his castle at Tantallon, treats him with
the respect due his position as representative of the king, but at the same
time dislikes him. The war approaching, Marmion leaves to join the English
camp. This sketch describes the leave-taking.

Notes and Questions.

In what part of the castle does this conversation take place? What tells
you?

Where are Marmion's followers during this time? Where are Douglas's
soldiery and servants? What lines tell you?

Notice how simply Marmion reminds Douglas of the claim he had upon
hospitality, while in Scotland. Lines 9 to 12.

Note the claims that have always been allowed the stranger: "And stranger
is a holy name, Guidance and rest and food and fire, In vain he never must
require."

What part of Marmion's claim does Douglas recognize? Which lines show this?

What claim does Marmion make for one "who does England's message"?

What do we call one "who do England's message" at Washington?

Is this Marmion's personal pride or pride of country (patriotism)? Read the
lines in which Marmion's personal pride shows itself in resentment of
Douglas's insults.

What does Douglas forget when he threatens Marmion? Line 69.

Which man appears to greater advantage in this scene?

"train"--procession.

"'plain"--complain.

"Tantal'lon"--Douglas's castle.

"warder"--guard.

"peer"--equal.

"peer"--a nobleman.

"Saint Bride"--a saint belonging to the house of Douglas,

"rowel"--wheel of a spur.

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"pitch of pride"
"ponderous grate"
"swarthy cheek"
"flush of rage"
"level brim"
"haughty peer"
"ire"
"vassals"
"gauntlet"
"unmeet"
"hold"

* * * * *

FOR A' THAT AND A' THAT

ROBERT BURNS

Is there, for honest poverty,
That hangs his head, and a' that?
The coward-slave, we pass him by;
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, and a' that,
Our toils obscure, and a' that;
The rank is but the guinea stamp,
The man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hodden-gray, an a' that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,
A man's a man for a' that!
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, and a' that;
The honest man, though e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, and stares, and a' that;
Though hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that;
For a' that, and a' that,
His ribband, star, and a' that;
The man of independent mind,
He looks and laughs at a' that.

A prince can make a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, and a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might,
Guid faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, and a' that;
Their dignities, and a' that;
The pith o' sense, and pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a' that,
That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, and a' that.
For a' that, and a' that,
It's comin' yet, for a' that,
That man to man, the warld o'er
Shall brothers be for a' that.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Biographical: Robert Burns was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1759. His
life was short and full of poverty and privation; but he saw poetry in all
the commonplace occurrences of every-day life. His sympathy went out to all
human kind and, as the above selection shows, he had a high regard for the
real worth of man.

Notes and Questions.

Does birth or station in life determine the man?

Lines 7, 8. Explain these lines.

Lines 29-40. What do these lines mean?

In the following what is omitted? Man's (27); It's (38); o'er (39).

Why did Burns use the word "coward-slave"?

Does the poet say a man is "king of men" because he is poor?

What makes a man a king among his fellowmen?

Scotch words and their English equivalents: a'--all; wha--who; gowd--gold;
hamely--homely; hodden--gray--coarse gray cloth; gie--give; sae--so;
birkie--clever fellow; ca'd--called; coof--dunce; aboon--above; guid--good;
maunna fa'--must not try; gree--prize.

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"toils obscure"
"pith o' sense"
"guinea stamp"
"ribband"
"star"
"belted knight"

* * * * *

SELECTIONS FROM SHAKESPEARE

1. MERCY

MERCHANT OF VENICE, ACT IV., SCENE I.

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath; it is twice blessed;
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings:
But mercy is above the sceptred sway:
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute of God himself:
And earthly power doth then show likest God's,
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore,
Jew, though justice be thy plea, consider this,--
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation; we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Biographical and Historical: William Shakespeare, the greatest of English
poets, indeed one of the greatest of the world's poets, was born in 1564 at
Stratford-on-Avon. As a young man of twenty-two, after his marriage with
Anne Hathaway, he went up to London, where he became connected with
theaters, first, tradition says, by holding horses at the doors. The next
twenty years he spent in London as an actor, and in writing poems and
plays, later becoming a shareholder as well as an actor. The last ten years
of his life were spent at Stratford, where he died at the age of fifty-two.
This was the time of Queen Elizabeth and is known as the Elizabethan Age.
It was the age richest in genius of all kinds, but especially in the
creation of dramatic literature.

In the foregoing selection, Portia, disguised as a lawyer, makes this
famous speech in pleading the cause of Antonio against Shylock.

Notes

"strained"--restrained "shows"--is the emblem of

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"temporal power"
"sceptered sway"
"Earthly power doth then show likest
God's When mercy seasons justice"

* * * * *

2. THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN

AS YOU LIKE IT, ACT II, SCENE 7.

ALL the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eye-brow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the Justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,--
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness, and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes

"Mewling"--squalling.
"sudden"--impetuous.
"sans"--without.
"his"--its, which was just coming into use at this time.
"formal cut"--trim, near--not shaggy as that of the soldier's,
"wise saws"--wise sayings.
"modern instances"--everyday examples, illustrations.
"strange oaths"--soldiers are proverbially profane--probably satirical
reference to the affectation of foreign oaths by soldiers who have been
abroad.

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

Comparisons:
"creeping like snail"
"sighing like furnace"
"bearded like the pard"

"eyes severe"
"woeful ballad"
"mere oblivion"
"Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth"

* * * * *

3. POLONIUS'S ADVICE

HAMLET, ACT I, SCENE 3.

Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar:
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,
Bear it, that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice:
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy:
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be:
For loan oft loses both itself and friend;
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all,--to thine own self be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes and Questions.

"unproportioned"--not worthy or fitting the occasion.
"familiar"--courteous, friendly.
"vulgar"-unduly familiar.
"their adoption tried"--tested by long acquaintance.
"dull thy palm"--lose discrimination.
"censure"--opinion.
"expressed in fancy"--loud, ostentatious.
"husbandry"--thrift.

Put in your own words:

"Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act."

"Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice."

"The apparel oft proclaims the man."

"Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"hoops of steel"

* * * * *

4. MAN

HAMLET, ACT II, SCENE 2.

What a piece of work is man!
How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties!
In form and movement, how express and admirable!
In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a god!
The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!

HELPS TO STUDY.

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"express"
"paragon"
"infinite"
"apprehension"

* * * * *

5. HAMLET'S SOLILOQUY

HAMLET, ACT III, SCENE 1.

To be or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind, to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die; to sleep;
No more; and, by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep;
To sleep? Perchance to dream! ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiseover'd country, from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment,
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes

"coil"--turmoil.
"respect"--consideration.
"fardels"--burdens.

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"shuffled off this mortal coil"
"puzzles the will"
"native hue of resolution"
"pale cast of thought"
"great pitch and moment"

* * * * *

6. REPUTATION

OTHELLO, ACT III, SCENE 3.

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he, that filches from me my good name,
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Words and Phrases for Discussion.

"immediate jewel of their souls"
"Who steals my purse steals trash"

* * * * *

7. WOLSEY AND CROMWELL

KING HENRY VIII, ACT III, SCENE 2.

WOLSEY: Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness!
This is the state of man: Today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope; tomorrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And--when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening--nips his root;
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers, in a sea of glory;
But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride
At length broke under me, and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:
I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favors!
There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.--

Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear
In all my miseries; but thou hast forced me,
Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman.
Let's dry our eyes; and thus far hear me, Cromwell;
And--when I am forgotten, as I shall be,
And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention
Of me more must be heard of--say, I taught thee;
Say, Wolsey--that once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and shoals of honor--
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in;
A sure and safe one, though thy master missed it.
Mark but my fall, and that that ruined me.
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition:
By that sin fell the angels: how can man, then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by't?
Love thyself last; cherish those hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty:
Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not.
Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's,
Thy God's, and truth's; then, if thou fall'st, O Cromwell,
Thou fall'st a blessed martyr! Serve the king;
And--Prithee, lead me in:
There take an inventory of all I have,
To the last penny; 'tis the king's; my robe,
And my integrity to Heaven, is all
I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell,
Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies!

HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes

"This many summers"--this nineteen years.
"Like Lucifer"--See Isaiah XIV, 12.
"To play the woman"--to shed tears.

* * * * *

8. CASSIO AND IAGO

OTHELLO. ACT II. SCENE III.

_Iago_. What, are you hurt, lieutenant?

_Cassio_. Ay, past all surgery.

_Iago_. Marry, heaven forbid!

_Cas_. Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my
reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is
bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!

_Iago_. As I am an honest man, I thought you had received some bodily
wound; there is more sense in that than in reputation. Reputation is an
idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without
deserving: you have lost no reputation at all, unless you repute yourself
such a loser. What, man! there are ways to recover the general again: you
are but now cast in his mood, a punishment more in policy than in malice;
even so as one would beat his offenceless dog to affright an imperious
lion: sue to him again, and he's yours.

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