Part 1 Optimism and the Belief in Progress
Queen Victoria in Her Coronation Robes, 1887. Chromolithograph. From a book celebrating the queen’s Golden Jubilee.
“’Tis only noble to be good. Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood.”
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “Lady Clara Vere de Vere” 921 The Art Archive/Dagli Orti
00921921 U5P1-845482.inddU5P1-845482.indd 921921 66/22/06/22/06 2:09:032:09:03 PMPM BEFORE YOU READ
Tennyson’s Poetry
MEET ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
ot an average child, Alfred Tennyson pro- duced a six-thousand-line epic poem by Nthe age of twelve. He also wrote poems in the styles of Alexander Pope, Sir Walter Scott, and John Milton before his teen years. Throughout his life, Tennyson would turn to poetry whenever he felt troubled. As he said in one of his poems, “for the unquiet heart and brain / A use in mea- death, Tennyson decided to pursue a career in sured language lies.” poetry rather than return to school. His early vol- umes of poetry drew mixed reviews, however, and Tennyson had great need of such solace. His father, Tennyson was hurt by some stinging criticism. a clergyman, had a long history of mental instabil- Then, in 1833, he learned that Arthur Hallam had ity. When Tennyson’s grandfather considered the died suddenly of a stroke. Tennyson fell into a clergyman unfit to take over the family dynasty— deep and long depression. Nearly a decade passed thereby virtually disinheriting him—Tennyson’s before he published any poetry. However, he wrote father turned to drugs and alcohol. He often took some of his most significant poems during this out his bitter disappointment on the family. period, perfecting his craft during what he later called his “ten years’ silence.”
“I suffered what seemed to me to Literary Renown When he was thirty-two, Tennyson brought out a new book of poems. This shatter all my life so that I desired to time, almost all of the reviews were positive. Fame die rather than live.” came in 1850 with the publication of In Memoriam A. H. H., a long cycle of poems about his grief —Alfred, Lord Tennyson over the loss of Hallam. That same year, Queen Victoria appointed Tennyson to succeed William Wordsworth as poet laureate. Finally confident Early Struggles At age eighteen, Tennyson about his future, Tennyson married Emily joined his older brother at Cambridge University. Sellwood, his fiancée of fourteen years. Although he was painfully shy, his poetry brought For the rest of his life, Tennyson enjoyed remark- him to the attention of an elite group of students able prestige. His books could be found in the known as “The Apostles.” Thriving on their affec- home of nearly every English reader. To his con- tion and support, Tennyson gained confidence in temporaries, Tennyson was the great consoling his abilities. His closest friend was Arthur Henry voice of their age. Hallam, a brilliant and popular student who later became engaged to Tennyson’s sister. While at Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born in 1809 and died Cambridge, Tennyson published Poems, Chiefly in 1892. Lyrical, and he accompanied Hallam and other Apostles to Spain to support the unsuccessful revolt against Ferdinand VII.
In 1831 Tennyson left Cambridge to be with his Author Search For more about father, whose health was failing. After his father’s Alfred, Lord Tennyson, go to www.glencoe.com.
922 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE National Portrait Gallery of London
00922-0937922-0937 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 922922 11/29/07/29/07 12:55:1712:55:17 PMPM LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW
Connecting to the Poems Reading Strategy Analyzing Mood Modern readers turn to Tennyson’s poetry for its heart- To analyze mood, identify the elements that work breaking beauty and haunting sense of the transitory together to create the emotional quality of a literary nature of life. Like all great artists, Tennyson pondered the work. These elements include diction, imagery, and fig- meaning of life and death. As you read, think about how urative language as well as rhythm, rhyme, repetition, one copes with the tragic loss of a relative or friend. and other sound devices.
Building Background Reading Tip: Analyzing Mood As you read, use a In Memoriam A. H. H. Within a few days of Arthur diagram like the one below to help you identify the Hallam’s death in 1833, Tennyson wrote an elegy, or elements that create mood. poem of lament, about this loss. He continued writing elegies over the next seventeen years, eventually col- lecting them under the title In Memoriam A. H. H. Figurative Mood Language: “like a guilty Sound devices “Crossing the Bar” At eighty-one Tennyson wrote this thing I creep” poem, and just a few days before his death he asked that it be placed at the end of every edition of his Imagery Diction work.
“Tears, Idle Tears” This lyric is from Tennyson’s first long narrative poem, The Princess, which explores the role of women in society. Tennyson wrote “Tears, Idle Vocabulary Tears” at Tintern Abbey, the setting of Wordsworth’s license (l ¯ səns) n. freedom used irresponsibly; famous poem. p. 925 Jen often took license with her sister’s Setting Purposes for Reading belongings, “borrowing” them without asking. sloth (sloth ) n. inactivity; laziness; p. 925 Active Big Idea Optimism and the Belief and energetic, she resented her husband’s idleness in Progress and sloth. As you read, consider to what extent these poems diffusive (di fu¯ siv) adj. spread out or widely reflect the belief in optimism that characterized the scattered; p. 927 A diffusive energy surged through Victorian age. the stadium as the players ran onto the field.
feigned (fa¯nd) adj. pretended; imagined; p. 929 Literary Element Rhythm Is your interest in this offer genuine or feigned? Rhythm refers to the pattern of beats created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in Vocabulary Tip: Analogies Analogies are compari- lines of verse. For example, in the following line from sons based on relationships between words and ideas. In Memoriam A. H. H., the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth syllables are stressed: A˘ ha’nd tha˘ t ca’n be˘ cla’sped no˘ mo’re— As you read these poems, notice the rhythm and con- sider its effect. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, • See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R15. go to www.glencoe.com.
OBJECTIVES In studying these selections, you will focus on the following: • understanding rhythm • analyzing literary periods • analyzing mood ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 923
00922-0937922-0937 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 923923 11/9/07/9/07 2:02:232:02:23 PMPM London Twilight from the Adelphi. Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (1889–1946). Oil on canvas, 44.5 x 59 cm.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
7 Dark house, by which once more I stand Here in the long unlovely street,° 2 long unlovely street: Wimpole Street Doors, where my heart was used to beat in London, where Arthur Henry Hallam lived after he left Cambridge So quickly, waiting for a hand,
5 A hand that can be clasped no more— Behold me, for I cannot sleep, And like a guilty thing I creep At earliest morning to the door.
924 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE Christie’s Images
0924-0929 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 924 1/29/07 12:58:29 PM He is not here; but far away 10 The noise of life begins again, And ghastly through the drizzling rain On the bald street breaks the blank day.
27 I envy not in any moods The captive void of noble rage, The linnet° born within the cage, 3 linnet: a small bird That never knew the summer woods;
5 I envy not the beast that takes His license in the field of time, Unfettered by the sense of crime, To whom a conscience never wakes;
Nor, what may count itself as blest, 10 The heart that never plighted troth° 10 plighted troth: “pledged loyalty” or But stagnates in the weeds of sloth; “became engaged to marry” Nor any want-begotten rest.° 12 want-begotten rest: leisure that comes from a lack of commitment (as opposed to a rest that is earned through I hold it true, whate’er befall; struggle) I feel it, when I sorrow most; 15 ‘Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.
54 O, yet we trust that somehow good Will be the final goal of ill, To pangs of nature, sins of will, 3– 4 These two lines specify four types Defects of doubt, and taints of blood;° of ills: pangs of nature (physical pain), sins of will (moral transgressions), defects of doubt (spiritual shortcomings), and 5 That nothing walks with aimless feet; taints of blood (inherited flaws). That not one life shall be destroyed, Or cast as rubbish to the void, When God hath made the pile complete;
Reading Strategy Analyzing Mood What feelings does the setting evoke in the speaker?
Reading Strategy Analyzing Mood Why does the poet include this image?
Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress What Victorian belief do these lines reflect?
Vocabulary license (l¯ səns) n. freedom used irresponsibly sloth (sloth ) n. inactivity; laziness
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 925
0924-0929 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 925 6/22/06 2:21:44 PM That not a worm is cloven° in vain; 9 cloven: split 10 That not a moth with vain desire Is shriveled in a fruitless fire, Or but subserves° another’s gain. 12 subserves: “promotes” or “assists”
Behold, we know not anything; I can but trust that good shall fall 15 At last—far off—at last, to all, And every winter change to spring.
So runs my dream; but what am I? An infant crying in the night; An infant crying for the light, 20 And with no language but a cry.
106 Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
5 Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind, 10 For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife;° 14 party strife: antagonism or a dispute 15 Ring in the nobler modes of life, between sides or factions With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, 20 But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Reading Strategy Analyzing Mood How does the mood of this section change in the final stanza?
Literary Element Rhythm What effect does the rhythm of this passage create?
926 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE
0924-0929 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 926 1/29/07 12:58:36 PM Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good.
25 Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free, 30 The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be.
130 Thy voice is on the rolling air I hear thee where the waters run; Thou standest in the rising sun, And in the setting thou art fair.
5 What art thou then? I cannot guess; But though I seem in star and flower To feel thee some diffusive power, I do not therefore love thee less.
My love involves the love before; 10 My love is vaster passion now; Tho’ mix’d with God and Nature thou, I seem to love thee more and more.
Far off thou art, but ever nigh;° 13 nigh: near I have thee still, and I rejoice; 15 I prosper, circled with thy voice; I shall not lose thee tho’ I die.
Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress What positive changes does the speaker hope for in the new year?
Reading Strategy Analyzing Mood What feelings does the speaker convey in these lines?
Vocabulary diffusive (di fu¯ siv) adj. spread out or widely scattered
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 927
0924-0929 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 927 6/22/06 2:22:02 PM Hove Beach with Fishing Boats, c.1824. John Constable. Oil on paper laid on canvas. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Sunset and evening star, 1. A bar, or sandbar, is a ridge of sand And one clear call for me! formed by the action of tides or currents. And may there be no moaning of the bar,1 When I put out to sea,
5 But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell, 10 And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark;
For though from out our bourne2 of Time and Place 2. Bourne means “boundary.” 3 The flood may bear me far, 3. Flood means “rising tide.” 15 I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.
Literary Element Rhythm How does the rhythm reinforce the meaning of these lines?
928 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE Victoria & Albert Museum, London/Art Resource, NY
0924-0929 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 928 1/29/07 12:58:44 PM Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Tears, idle1 tears, I know not what they mean, Recalling the Past, 1888. Carlton Alfred Smith. Tears from the depth of some divine despair Watercolor on paper. The Stapleton Collection. Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes, In looking on the happy autumn fields, 1. Here, idle means “having no basis or reason.” 5 And thinking of the days that are no more.
Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail, That brings our friends up from the underworld, Sad as the last which reddens over one That sinks with all we love below the verge;2 2. Verge refers to the horizon. 10 So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more.
Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns The earliest pipe of half-awakened birds To dying ears, when unto dying eyes The casement3 slowly grows a glimmering square; 3. A casement is a window that opens 15 So sad, so strange, the days that are no more. outward.
Dear as remembered kisses after death, And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feigned On lips that are for others; deep as love, Deep as first love, and wild with all regret; 20 O Death in Life, the days that are no more.
Reading Strategy Analyzing Mood How does the phrase “autumn fields” con- vey a feeling of loss?
Reading Strategy Analyzing Mood What feelings does Tennyson convey by describing the past as “Death in Life”?
Vocabulary feigned (fa¯nd) adj. pretended; imagined
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 929 The Stapleton Collection/Bridgeman Art Library
0924-0929 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 929 6/22/06 2:22:19 PM AFTER YOU READ
RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY Respond Analyze and Evaluate 1. Which lines from these poems did you find the 5. How would you describe the tone of “Crossing the most memorable? Why? Bar”? What words and phrases create this tone? 6. Sum up the speaker’s attitude toward the past in Recall and Interpret “Tears, Idle Tears.” Compare that attitude to the one 2. (a)In section 27 of In Memoriam, to what does the expressed by the speaker of In Memoriam. speaker compare those people who have never 7. How does the title of “Tears, Idle Tears” relate to its loved anyone? (b)What do these metaphors lead theme, or main idea? the speaker to conclude about lost love? 3. (a)In “Crossing the Bar,” what is compared to a sea Connect voyage? (b)What phrases and images suggest this comparison? 8. Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress Tennyson’s contemporaries found In Memoriam 4. (a)In lines 16–19 of “Tears, Idle Tears,” to what very inspirational. Explain how the speaker of this does the speaker compare “the days that are no poem evolves through stages of grief, progressing more”? (b)How do these similes illustrate line 20? to more positive emotions. Cite specifi c lines from the poem to support your response.
LITERARY ANALYSIS READING AND VOCABULARY
Literary Element Rhythm Reading Strategy Analyzing Mood Meter is a type of rhythm in which the alteration Refer to the diagram you created on page 923, and between stressed and unstressed syllables is predict- then answer the following questions. able and regular. 1. How would you describe the mood of “Crossing 1. What is the metrical pattern of In Memoriam? the Bar”? 2. What is the effect of using regular rhythms in 2. What details in the speaker’s surroundings help poems that concern grief and loss? create the mood?
Writing About Literature Vocabulary Practice Evaluate Author’s Craft In poetry, author’s craft Practice with Analogies Choose the word that refers to how a poet uses elements such as word choice, best completes each analogy. imagery, rhythm, and rhyme to create certain effects. In a short essay, identify examples of repetition in In 1. generous : miserly :: feigned : charitable real Memoriam and “Tears, Idle Tears.” Which ideas does the a. b. poet emphasize through repetition? 2. irritation : annoyance :: sloth : a. laziness b. frenzy 3. fear : fright :: license : a. liberty b. faith 4. wild : tame :: diffusive : a. scattered b. contained Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com.
930 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE
00922-0937922-0937 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 930930 11/29/07/29/07 12:59:2112:59:21 PMPM BEFORE YOU READ Ulysses
LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW
Connecting to the Poem Reading Strategy Analyzing Tone Which of your achievements do you love to relive in When you analyze tone, you think critically about how memory? In Tennyson’s poem, the speaker remem- the writer’s attitude toward a subject is conveyed bers his glorious adventures and longs to resume his through such elements as diction, sentence structure, voyages. As you read, think about whether it is impor- imagery, and figures of speech. As you read, pause tant to experience as much of life as possible. from time to time to consider the poet’s attitude toward Ulysses. Building Background Like In Memoriam, “Ulysses” was inspired by Arthur Reading Tip: Determining Tone Use a web like the Hallam’s death. Tennyson said that the poem one below to help you identify the elements that con- expresses “the feeling about the need of going forward vey tone. and braving the struggle of life.” Ulysses is the Roman name for the Greek hero Odysseus, whose exploits are portrayed in Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and Diction “always roaming Sentence Structure the Odyssey. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, spent ten with a hungry years fighting in the Trojan War. After the fall of Troy, heart”
Odysseus wandered for ten more years throughout the Tone Mediterranean world, encountering mythical creatures and facing great perils. At last, he returned to Ithaca to reestablish himself as king and was reunited with his Imagery Figures of Speech faithful wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus (tə le mə kəs). In “Ulysses,” Tennyson carries the story of Odysseus further, presenting the thoughts of the old king who longs for one last adventure. Setting Purposes for Reading Vocabulary prudence (pro¯¯¯od əns) n. sound judgment; care- Big Idea Optimism and the Belief ful management; p. 933 Please use prudence in in Progress deciding how to invest the money. As you read, consider the Victorian values that Ulysses abide (ə b¯d) v. remain; p. 934 Though his and his son might reflect. power and wealth were lost, his family and friends Literary Element Assonance and abided. Consonance Vocabulary Tip: Context Clues To figure out the Assonance is the repetition of similar vowel sounds meaning of an unfamiliar word, look for clues in within non-rhyming words, as in this line from In the surrounding words or sentences. Memoriam: “His license in the field of time.” Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds within or at the ends of non-rhyming words, as in this line from “Crossing the Bar”: “The flood may bear me far.” As you read, notice other examples of these sound devices. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, • See Literary Terms Handbook, pp. R2 and R4. go to www.glencoe.com.
OBJECTIVES In studying this selection, you will focus on the following: • identifying assonance, consonance, and alliteration • analyzing literary periods • analyzing tone ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 931
00922-0937922-0937 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 931931 11/10/07/10/07 8:09:448:09:44 AMAM Ulysses and the Sirens. Roman mosaic, 3rd century A.D. Musee National du Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags,° 2 barren crags: here, the rugged Matched with an agèd wife, I mete and dole landscape of Ithaca, the Greek island where Ulysses lives Unequal laws° unto a savage race, 4 Unequal laws: rewards and 5 That hoard and sleep and feed, and know not me. punishments
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink Life to the lees.° All times I have enjoyed 7 lees: sediment found at the bottom of Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those wine and other liquids. To “drink to the lees” is to drink to the last drop. That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when 10 Through scudding° drifts the rainy Hyades° 10 scudding: wind-driven. Hyades h¯ ə d¯ez´ Vexed the dim sea. I am become a name; ( ): a cluster of stars. When they rose, it was believed that rain would soon For always roaming with a hungry heart follow. Much have I seen and known—cities of men And manners, climates, councils, governments, 15 Myself not least, but honored of them all—
Literary Element Assonance and Consonance Which words contain the short i sound? Which words contain the g sound?
932 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE Musee National du Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia/Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
0932-0934 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 932 1/29/07 1:00:08 PM And drunk delight of battle with my peers, Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.° 16 –17 battle . . . Troy: the Trojan War, I am a part of all that I have met; which the Greeks won after a ten-year siege Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough 20 Gleams that untraveled world, whose margin fades Forever and forever when I move. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnished, not to shine in use! As though to breathe were life! Life piled on life 25 Were all too little, and of one to me Little remains; but every hour is saved From that eternal silence, something more, A bringer of new things; and vile it were For some three suns to store and hoard myself, 30 And this gray spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. This is my son, mine own Telemachus, To whom I leave the scepter and the isle— 35 Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill This labor, by slow prudence to make mild A rugged people, and through soft degrees Print of the ship of Ulysses. Subdue them to the useful and the good. Most blameless is he, centered in the sphere 40 Of common duties, decent not to fail In offices of tenderness, and pay Meet° adoration to my household gods, 42 Meet: fitting; proper When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail; 45 There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners, Souls that have toiled and wrought and thought with me— That ever with a frolic welcome took The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old; 50 Old age hath yet his honor and his toil; Death closes all; but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks; 55 The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Literary Element Assonance and Consonance Which vowel sounds recur in this line?
Vocabulary prudence (pro¯¯o¯d əns) n. sound judgment; careful management
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 933 Underwood & Underwood/CORBIS
0932-0934 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 933 6/22/06 2:55:26 PM Ulysses and his son Telemachus, 1st century a.d. Mosaic, width: 31.5 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, ’Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows;° for my purpose holds 59 sounding furrows: crashing waves. 60 To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars,° until I die. 60–61 baths . . . stars: reference to It may be that the gulfs will wash us down; the ancient belief that the stars descended into a sea or river that encircled Earth. It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,° 63 Happy Isles: in Greek mythology, And see the great Achilles,° whom we knew. the place where mortals favored by the 65 Though much is taken, much abides; and though gods are sent to dwell after they die. 64 Achilles (ə ki le¯z): the greatest We are not now that strength which in old days warrior in the Greek assault on Troy. Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are— One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will 70 To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Reading Strategy Analyzing Tone Which words and phrases in these lines convey a tone of admiration?
Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress What values does this line affirm?
Vocabulary abide (ə b¯d ) v. remain
934 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
0932-0934 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 934 6/22/06 2:55:49 PM AFTER YOU READ
RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY Respond Analyze and Evaluate 1. What questions would you ask Ulysses if he were 5. How do you interpret lines 18–21 of the poem? alive today? 6. (a)How does Ulysses regard his son’s approach to Recall and Interpret life? (b)Which character would you rather have as a ruler—Ulysses or Telemachus? Why? 2. (a)How does Ulysses spend his time at home? (b)How does he feel about his life at home? Use 7. (a)What arguments does Ulysses present to per- evidence from the poem to support your answer. suade his listeners to join him? (b)Do you find his arguments persuasive? Explain why or why not. 3. (a)What does Ulysses miss from his past? (b)Sum up Ulysses’ thoughts and feelings about aging. Connect Support your answer with evidence from the poem. 8. Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in 4. (a)What does Ulysses want his band of followers to Progress Which Victorian values does Ulysses do with him? (b)Why might Tennyson have chosen embody? Which values does his son refl ect? to wait until late in the poem before revealing whom Ulysses is addressing in his monologue?
VISUAL LITERACY: Fine Art
Odysseus in Art and Literature
Tennyson was not the first artist to be fascinated by Odysseus—nor would he be the last. This fearless, wily hero has inspired countless works of art throughout the ages, ranging from the ancient Greek red-figure vase shown at the right (ca. 500 B.C.) to James Joyce’s modern novel Ulysses (1922) and Romare Bearden’s contemporary collage The Return of Odysseus (1977).
The vase depicts a scene from Homer’s Odyssey. The sirens were enchantresses who lived on an island. They lured passing sailors to destruction with irresist- ibly beautiful songs. To resist this fate, Odysseus had his crew plug their ears with wax and tie him to the mast. He listened in anguish as his boat passed the sirens’ island.
Group Activity Discuss the following questions with your classmates.
1. What do the artist’s Odysseus and Tennyson’s Ulysses have in common?
2. Why do you think Odysseus has inspired count- Attic red-figured stamnos of Siren, less artists over time? 5th century B.C. British Museum, London.
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 935 British Museum, London, Great Britain/Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
00922-0937922-0937 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 935935 11/29/07/29/07 12:55:4912:55:49 PMPM LITERARY ANALYSIS READING AND VOCABULARY
Literary Element Assonance and Reading Strategy Analyzing Tone Consonance A writer’s tone may convey a variety of attitudes such Tennyson is often praised for the musical patterns of as sympathy, irony, admiration, sadness, or bitterness. his poetry. To help create these patterns, he some- To analyze the tone of “Ulysses,” focus on elements times uses assonance and consonance. For example, such as diction, imagery, and figurative language. In in line 5 of “Ulysses,” he uses assonance, repeating the following lines, for example, the image of fading long e sounds: “That hoard and sleep and feed, and light gives the speaker’s words a sad, urgent tone: know not me”; in line 17, he uses consonance, repeat- The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks; n r ing the and sounds: “Far on the ringing plains of The long day wanes; windy Troy.” Review the web you completed on page 931, and 1. Find other examples of assonance and consonance then answer the following questions. in “Ulysses.” 1. How would you describe the overall tone of this 2. How does Tennyson’s use of assonance and con- poem? sonance contribute to the overall effect of the poem? 2. What details in the poem contribute to this tone?
Review: Alliteration Vocabulary Practice As you learned on page 800, alliteration is the repeti- Practice with Context Clues For each sentence tion of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words, below, identify the context clue that most suggests as in the line “On the bald street breaks the blank the meaning of the underlined vocabulary word. day.” Like assonance and consonance, alliteration is 1. The true hero acts not with rashness, but with used to create rhythmic or musical effects. prudence. Partner Activity Meet with a classmate to identify a. true b. hero c. rashness examples of alliteration in “Ulysses.” Use a two-column chart like the one below to record your examples and 2. Even though heroes die, their messages abide, describe their effects. never fading away. Example Effect a. die b. never fading c. away lines 6-7 “I will Creates rhythm; drink / Life to the emphasizes the idea lees.” that Ulysses enjoys Academic Vocabulary life to the fullest. Here are two words from the vocabulary list on page R82.
incline (in kl¯ n ) v. have a particular tendency or bent of mind
conceive (kən se¯v ) v. to hold as one’s opinion
Practice and Apply 1. In your opinion, does Tennyson incline toward joyful or sorrowful subjects? Explain. 2. How does Tennyson’s Ulysses conceive of old age?
936 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE Musee National du Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia/Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
00922-0937922-0937 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 936936 66/22/06/22/06 3:00:143:00:14 PMPM WRITING AND EXTENDING GRAMMAR AND STYLE
Writing About Literature Tennyson’s Language and Style Respond to Theme In his poems, Tennyson often Using Capitalization in Poetry You probably have expresses ideas about life in thematic statements, mastered many of the rules of capitalization for formal such as “‘Tis better to have loved and lost / Than writing. For example, you know that you capitalize the never to have loved at all” and “I will drink / Life to first word of a sentence, the pronoun I, and proper the lees.” Find another such statement in one of the nouns and adjectives. These rules of capitalization Tennyson poems you have read and write a journal also apply to poetry. In addition, in traditional poems, entry explaining whether you agree with it. Discuss the first word of each line is capitalized. how the idea relates to your own experience or that of To some degree, capitalization reflects the conven- someone you know. Before you begin writing, orga- tions of the time. During the Victorian age, poets and nize your thoughts in a graphic organizer like the one prose writers sometimes capitalized common nouns below. for emphasis or to indicate personification. For exam- ple, in the following passages from “Locksley Hall,” Tennyson capitalizes the common nouns time, life, Experiences Experiences nature, honor, and vision:
Thematic “Love took up the glass of Time,” Statement “Love took up the harp of Life,” “Nay, but Nature brings thee solace;” Experiences Experiences “the hurt that Honor feels,” “Saw the Vision of the world,”
Activity Create a chart listing examples of capitalized Literature Groups words in the poems by Tennyson you have just read. Consider the following categories: “Ulysses” takes the form of a dramatic monologue— Proper nouns a dramatic poem in which the speaker describes a • crucial moment in his or her life to a silent listener. In • The first word of a line the process, the speaker reveals much about his or her own character. With a small group, discuss the • Personified or emphasized nouns character of Ulysses as Tennyson portrays him. Consider his attitude toward his family and the people of Ithaca, the value he places on his past experiences, Revising Check his dreams for the future, his description of Capitalization Proper capitalization is important to Telemachus, and his efforts to inspire his crew. Focus consider when revising your own writing. With a part- on the following questions, using evidence from the ner, go through the journal entry you wrote about a poem to support your interpretations: thematic statement in Tennyson’s poems. Look for • Is Ulysses irresponsible for wanting to leave his wife, words that should be capitalized and revise your entry son, and homeland to go on one last voyage, or is to correct these errors. Then, imagine that you were he just being true to his nature as a hero? writing during the Victorian age. Circle nouns that you might have capitalized for emphasis. • Is his plan in the best interest of his people? • How do you think his family will react? Create a group statement of opinion and explain your ideas to the rest of your class.
Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com.
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 937
00922-0937922-0937 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 937937 11/29/07/29/07 12:56:0012:56:00 PMPM Comparing Literature Across Time and Place
Connecting to the Reading Selections The line between love and heartache is thin, delicate, and often defies logic. The following poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Edna St. Vincent Millay, letter by Simone de Beauvoir, and song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney investigate the necessity of love and its power to change lives.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning Sonnet 43 ...... sonnet ...... 939 A love for all time
England, 1850
Edna St. Vincent Millay Love Is Not All: It Is Not Meat nor Drink .... poem ...... 943 Love—a necessity or an indulgence?
United States, 1931
Simone de Beauvoir Simone de Beauvoir to Nelson Algren ...... letter ...... 944 The frenetic fervor of a new relationship
France, 1947
John Lennon and Paul McCartney In My Life ...... song ...... 946 Love in the past and in the present
England, 1965
COMPARING THE Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress Barrett Browning’s poem describes an idealized love and reflects an optimism unburdened by certain realities of her life and times. The four selections here express idealistic views of the adventure and power of romance, while also presenting realistic hurdles between lovers.
COMPARING Theme of Passionate Love The themes of love and desire have produced some of history’s most memorable literature. The selections you are about to read explore the presence and absence of love in one’s life.
COMPARING Historical Contexts The manner in which love is expressed in a poem, a song, or a letter can depend upon histori- cal context. For example, at one point it was fashionable to write religious love poems. This is not the case today.
938 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE (t) Fine Art Photographic Library, London/Art Resource, NY (tc) Ricco/Maresca Gallery/Art Resource, NY ((bc) Tate Gallery, London/Art Resource, NY (b) Bettmann/CORBIS
00938-0947938-0947 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 938938 66/22/06/22/06 3:02:293:02:29 PMPM BEFORE YOU READ
Sonnet 43
MEET ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING
he eldest child of a wealthy country squire, Elizabeth Barrett Browning spent her child- Thood playing in the countryside and read- ing. In fact, by the age of ten, Elizabeth Barrett Browning had read a stunning array of literature, from the histories of classical Greece and Rome to Shakespeare’s plays. Reflecting on her youth, Browning said, “Books and dreams were what I lived in and domestic life only seemed to buzz the fledgling poet Robert Browning, he immedi- gently around, like bees about the grass.” ately wrote her a telegram declaring, “I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett. I do, as Hope End Barrett grew up on a lush, opulent I say, love these books with all my heart—and I country estate called “Hope End.” Her father love you too.” In contrast to Barrett’s bedridden derived his wealth from sugar plantations in existence, Browning led an active social life. Six Jamaica. The business turned sour, however, while years her junior, Browning was determined and Barrett was still a youth and the family adopted a brash. He boldly began to visit Barrett despite her more modest lifestyle. When she was fifteen, Barrett father’s disapproval. The two eloped in 1846, moved suffered a spinal injury, which, along with a chronic quickly to Italy, and settled at Casa Guidi, an old problem with her lungs, left her bedridden for much stone house in Florence. In Italy, the couple had a of her life. Despite her poor health, Barrett became child they nicknamed “Pen,” and Barrett Browning one of the most successful and versatile poets in became an avid player in politics, supporting the Victorian England. Her work was characterized by risorgimento movement that sought to unify the enthusiasm, directness, and a warmly felt sense of country. In 1850 Barrett Browning published social responsibility. Still, Barrett’s family life was Sonnets from the Portuguese, perhaps her most difficult, and she struggled to cope with the tragic famous collection. drowning in 1840 of her favorite brother, Edward. While her love poems still thrill readers, Additionally, her contact with the outside world Browning, like other Victorian writers, also wrote was restricted by her over-protective father, who literature intended to spark social reform. Her forbade any of his eleven children to marry. By the 1857 book-length poem Aurora Leigh was ground- age of thirty-five, Barrett was confined to her bed- breaking. The work critiques the treatment of room in the family’s London home because of both women in Victorian society by telling the story of her health and her father’s wishes. an independent, artistic heroine. Of the poem, Virginia Woolf wrote, “Aurora Leigh, with her pas- sionate interest in social questions, her conflict as artist and woman, her longing for knowledge and “I tell you hopeless grief is passionless.” freedom, is the true daughter of her age.” —Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in 1806 and died in 1861.
A Great Love Story Despite her confinement, Barrett became well known for her published Author Search For more about verses. When her poems came to the attention of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, go to www.glencoe.com.
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING 939 John Brett/Private Collection/Bridgeman Art Library
00938-0947938-0947 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 939939 11/29/07/29/07 1:01:341:01:34 PMPM LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW
Connecting to the Sonnet Reading Strategy Analyzing Style In the following sonnet, Barrett Browning explores the To analyze style means to break down the expressive way she experiences love. As you read the poem, qualities of a work in order to help reveal the author’s think about the following questions: attitude and purpose in writing. Word choice, figurative language, and imagery are key elements that help cre- • How would you define love? Is love the same as ate style. In addition, identifying genre, poetic form, romance? and subject matter can help you to understand certain • Is love a luxury, or a basic human need, like air and stylistic choices. For instance, you may expect some- water? thing different from a sonnet than from a haiku. Also, Building Background context matters—you might interpret a religious meta- phor in a love poem differently from the same meta- Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote forty-four sonnets phor in a poem about war. describing the fear, excitement, and hope she felt when, after years of ill health that left her bedridden, Reading Tip: Connecting Style and Theme As you she fell in love. Barrett Browning waited until three read, identify the stylistic elements the poet employs. years after her marriage to slip the sonnets into her Ask yourself how these elements reflect the poem’s husband’s coat pocket. Robert Browning, her husband, theme. Keep track of these elements in a graphic orga- was so impressed with the sonnets that he insisted nizer like the one below. she publish them. Not wanting to share her private feelings with the public, she published the cycle of sonnets under the misleading title Sonnets from the Portuguese, hoping people would think the poems line and were translations rather than expressions of her own imagery stanza emotions. pattern Setting Purposes for Reading Overall Effect Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress figurative As you read, notice how Barrett Browning’s poem language rhythm reflects the optimism and belief in progress of her day. Also, consider how the sonnet relates to the themes addressed by other Victorian writers, including marriage.
Literary Element Repetition Repetition is the recurrence of sounds, words, phrases, lines, or stanzas in a poem. This literary device builds a sense of unity in a work and calls attention to particular ideas. • See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R15. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com.
OBJECTIVES In studying this selection, you will focus on the following: • analyzing repetition • analyzing literary genres • analyzing style
940 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE
00938-0947938-0947 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 940940 11/9/07/9/07 2:14:272:14:27 PMPM Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The Painter’s Honeymoon, c.1863–4. Lord Frederic Leighton. Oil on canvas, 83.8 x 77.5 cm. Museum of Fine Art, Boston.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. 5 I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use 10 In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints—I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.
Reading Strategy Analyzing Style What do these images of the sun and candlelight suggest about the speaker’s feelings?
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING 941 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Charles H. Bayley Picture and Painting Fund
00941941 U5P1SEL-845482.inddU5P1SEL-845482.indd 941941 66/22/06/22/06 3:04:263:04:26 PMPM AFTER YOU READ
RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY Respond Analyze and Evaluate 1. The speaker of “Sonnet 43” expresses her love in a 5. (a)How would you describe the speaker’s tone, or variety of “ways.” Which of these “ways” do you attitude toward the subject? (b)What does the find most compelling? Explain. speaker’s tone seem to suggest about her character and personality? Recall and Interpret 6. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of a 2. (a)Paraphrase how the speaker describes her love love as strong as the speaker’s in the poem. in lines 1–8. (b)What do these lines reveal about the nature of the speaker’s love? Connect 3. (a)How does the speaker describe her love in lines 7. Do you think this poem is too personal or that the 9–12? (b)What can you infer about the speaker’s language and imagery is too outdated to be of past from these lines? interest to modern-day readers? Explain.
4. (a)How long does the speaker expect her love to 8. Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in last? (b)What line or lines in the poem support Progress How does this poem refl ect an optimis- your interpretation? tic outlook and a belief in progress? Explain.
LITERARY ANALYSIS READING AND VOCABULARY
Literary Element Repetition Reading Strategy Analyzing Style Repetition in a literary work often helps to highlight The style of a work can be a window into the writer’s important concepts. purpose. Review the web you created to analyze the stylistic features of the sonnet. 1. (a)Identify repeated words and phrases as well as syntactical repetition in Barrett Browning’s poem. 1. What distinguishes the style of this sonnet? Cite (b)What is the effect of this repetition? examples from the text. 2. How does this repetition relate to the professed 2. How does the use of concrete imagery and abstract purpose of the poem? concepts contribute to the poem’s message?
Writing About Literature Academic Vocabulary Apply Form Try your hand at writing your own love Here are two words from the vocabulary list on sonnet. Begin with Barrett Browning’s first line, and page R82. then write thirteen lines describing something that you love. The poem you create can be serious or humor- straightforward (stra¯t´ fo r wərd) adj. a clear, ous. Use figurative language and end the sonnet honest report; basic with a conclusion. To review the sonnet form, see pages 252–253. compile (kəm p¯l ) v. to pull together com- ments from a variety of sources
Practice and Apply 1. Are the emotions in this poem presented in a straightforward manner? Explain. 2. How does the poem compile Barrett Browning’s Web Activities For eFlashcards, feelings for Robert Browning? Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com.
942 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE
00938-0947938-0947 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 942942 66/22/06/22/06 3:05:043:05:04 PMPM BEFORE YOU READ Building Background To a generation of Americans who came of age during and out of love, and wrote. In 1921 she traveled to the Roaring Twenties, the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay Europe and spent two years as a correspondent for was a symbol of the modern woman: young, Vanity Fair magazine. Upon returning to New York, independent, free-spirited, energetic, and beautiful. In she met and fell in love with Eugen Boissevain, a fact, the line “My candle burns at both ends” from businessman whom she married several months one of Millay’s poems became a motto for the age. later. In 1923, when she was thirty-one, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. After graduating from college, she moved to Greenwich Village, a section of New York City renowned for its artists, intellectuals, and eccentric Author Search For more about atmosphere. There she worked as an actress, fell in Edna St. Vincent Millay, go to www.glencoe.com.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain; Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink And rise and sink and rise and sink again; 5 Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone; Yet many a man is making friends with death Even as I speak, for lack of love alone. It well may be that in a difficult hour, 10 Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, Or nagged by want past resolution’s power, I might be driven to sell your love for peace, Or trade the memory of this night for food. It well may be. I do not think I would.
Discussion Starter Millay’s poem explores both the power and the inability of love to sustain an individual. The speaker in the poem expresses both emotional and rational responses to love. Which type of response to love does the speaker most value? Discuss this question with a group of classmates and cite examples from the poem to support your views.
EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY 943
00943943 U5P1SEL-845482.inddU5P1SEL-845482.indd 943943 11/29/07/29/07 1:04:501:04:50 PMPM BEFORE YOU READ Building Background French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir is best known this trip, she met Algren who introduced Beauvoir to for her 1949 feminist classic The Second Sex and her the pervasive poverty, the distressed working class, lifelong friendship with philosopher and Nobel Prize– and the bohemian Wicker Park neighborhood of winning author Jean-Paul Sartre. Beauvoir also wrote Chicago. The day Beauvoir returned to Paris after her many successful works of fiction, which explored trip, she wrote the following letter. The two later existentialist themes of alienation and the individual’s traveled and lived together. In the end, they went relationship with the world. In 1947 Beauvoir began their separate ways. Of her relationship with Algren, an unlikely and passionate relationship with Nelson Beauvoir wrote, “To explore an unfamiliar country is Algren, the gritty Chicago writer. Their seventeen-year work, but to possess it through the love of an romance is well-documented by the letters they sent appealing foreigner is a miracle.” to each other across the Atlantic Ocean.
As World War II drew to a close, Beauvoir traveled to Author Search For more about the United States to lecture at college campuses. On Simone de Beauvoir, go to www.glencoe.com.
Simone de Beauvoir to Nelson Algren
Sunday, 18 Mai 1947 My Precious beloved Chicago man,1 I think of you in Paris, in Paris I miss you. The whole journey was marvelous. We had nearly no night since we went to the East. At Newfoundland the sun began to set, but five hours later it was rising in Shannon, above a sweet green Irish landscape. Everything was so beauti- ful and I had so much to think that I hardly slept. This morning at 10 (it was 6 by your time), I was in the heart of Paris. I hoped the beauty of Paris would help me to get over my sadness; but it did not. First, Paris is not beautiful today. It is gray and cloudy; it is Sunday, the streets are empty, and everything seems dull, dark, and dead. Maybe it is my heart which is dead to Paris. My heart is yet in New York, at the corner of Broadway where we said goodbye; it is in my Chicago home, in my own warm place against your loving heart. I suppose in two or three days it will be a bit different. I must be concerned again by all the French intellectual and politic life, by my work and my friends. But today I don’t even wish to get interested in all these things; I feel lazy and tired, and I can enjoy only memories. My beloved one, I don’t know why I waited so long before
1. “My Precious beloved Chicago man” refers to Nelson Algren.
944 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE
00944-0945944-0945 U5P1SEL-845482.inddU5P1SEL-845482.indd 944944 11/29/07/29/07 1:06:571:06:57 PMPM Alone. Emilio Longoni. Casa di Livorno, Milan, Italy.
saying I loved you. I just wanted to be sure and not to say easy, empty words. But it seems to me now love was there since the beginning. Anyway, now it is here, it is love and my heart aches. I am happy to be so bitterly unhappy because I know you are unhappy, too, and it is sweet to have a part of the same sadness. With you pleasure was love, and now pain is love too. We must know every kind of love. We’ll know the joy of meeting again. I want it, I need it, and I’ll get it. Wait for me. I wait for you. I love you more even than I said, more maybe than you know. I’ll write very often. Write to me very often too. I am your wife forever.
Your Simone I read the whole book2 and I like it very much. I’ll have it translated, sure. Kisses and kisses and kisses. It was so sweet when you kissed me. I love you.
2. The book Beauvoir refers to is Algren’s novel The Man with the Golden Arm, which won the first National Book Award for fiction.
Quickwrite A common adage is “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” How do you think Beauvoir would react to this adage? Do you think this saying is true? Write a paragraph exploring these questions. Cite evidence from the letter and the Building Background feature in your answer.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR 945 Alinari/Art Resource
0944-0945 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 945 1/29/07 1:07:06 PM BEFORE YOU READ Building Background The Beatles emerged from the English city of Liverpool the song to speak more generally about the to take the world by storm. The Fab Four’s lineup experience of love, memory, and life. included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Though Lennon wrote “In My Life,” both he and Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Influenced by American rock McCartney collaborated on most of the songs they n’ roll, the Beatles perfected the art of the pop song. wrote. Sometimes this collaboration consisted of As they grew as musicians, their songs became more one slightly revising the other’s songs, and at other complex and emotionally revealing. One of the first times one would complete the other’s song songs to demonstrate such growth was “In My Life,” a fragments. Due to an agreement made during the song written by guitarist and singer John Lennon for early years of the band, Lennon and McCartney are the 1965 album Rubber Soul. Lennon remarked, “‘In credited for all songs that one or both of them My Life’ was, I think, my first real, major piece of work. wrote and royalties were split equally. Up until then it had all been glib and throwaway.”
The song originally contained a catalog of specific Author Search For more about the memories from Lennon’s youth, but Lennon edited Beatles, go to www.glencoe.com.
There are places I remember all my life, Though some have changed, Some forever, not for better, Some have gone and some remain.
5 All these places had their moments With lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living. In my life I’ve loved them all.
But of all these friends and lovers, 10 There is no one compares with you, And these mem’ries lost their meaning When I think of love as something new.
Though I know I’ll never lose affection For people and things that went before, 15 I know I’ll often stop and think about them, In my life I’ll love you more.
Though I know I’ll never lose affection For people and things that went before, I know I’ll often stop and think about them, 20 In my life I’ll love you more. In my life I’ll love you more. John Lennon and Paul McCartney Discussion Starter How is this song structured? How are songs similar to poems? What qualities associated with poetry are at work in this song? Discuss these questions in a group. If a recording of the song is available, listen to it to enrich your understanding of the lyrics.
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00946946 U5P1SEL-845482.inddU5P1SEL-845482.indd 946946 11/29/07/29/07 1:07:401:07:40 PMPM Wrap-Up: Comparing Literature Across Time and Place
• Sonnet 43 • Love Is Not All: It Is • Simone de Beauvoir • In My Life by Elizabeth Barrett Not Meat nor Drink to Nelson Algren by John Lennon and Browning by Edna St. Vincent Millay by Simone de Beauvoir Paul McCartney
COMPARING THE Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress Writing What purpose does love serve in society? Does love inspire innovation and bring about a better quality of life? Does a belief in love go hand in hand with a belief in progress? Write a brief essay comparing the arguments made by these four writers.
COMPARING Theme of Passionate Love Group Activity With a group of classmates, read and discuss the following quotations. Ask yourselves, how does each quotation characterize love? How does love affect each speaker? Is love eternal or can love change over time? Is love a necessity or an indulgence?
“I love thee with a love I seemed to lose / With my lost saints” —Barrett Browning, Sonnet 43
“Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone;” —Millay, “Love Is Not All: It Is Not Meat nor Drink”
“With you pleasure was love, and now pain is love too.” —Beauvoir, “Simone de Beauvoir to Nelson Algren”
Online Romance. Illustration. Farida Zaman.
“And these mem’ries lost their meaning When I think of love as something new.” —Lennon and McCartney, “In My Life”
COMPARING Historical Contexts Speaking and Listening Writers are influenced by their surroundings. Barrett Browning’s poem is a product of her upbringing in Victorian England. Millay’s poem mirrors her frenetic life- style during the Roaring Twenties. Beauvoir’s letter reflects the bohemian values of her day. Lennon and McCartney’s song is influenced by sudden stardom. Research the historical backdrop of one of the selections and give a short oral report to your class about how the context helps you better understand the writer’s portrayal of love and passion.
OBJECTIVES • Compare poems, a letter, and a song about love • Evaluate how historical context influences your from different cultures and eras. understanding of literature and music. • Analyze the theme of passionate love in literature.
COMPARING LITERATURE 947 Images.com/CORBIS
00938-0947938-0947 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 947947 11/9/07/9/07 2:20:262:20:26 PMPM Informational Text
Media Link to Sonnet 43
Preview the Article “What Is Love?” examines whether love is culturally acquired or genetically What programmed. 1. How does love influence traditions Is and institutions in our culture? 2. Based on the photographs on pages 949 and 950, what point LOVE? do you think the writer is going to After centuries of ignoring the subject as too vague make about love? and mushy, scientists have undergone a change of heart about the tender passion. Set a Purpose for Reading Read to learn about scientific studies on BByy PAUL GRAY the origin of love. What is this thing called love? What? Is this thing Reading Strategy called love? What is this thing called? Love. Examining Connotation and Denotation OWEVER PUNCTUATED, not register as definitively on the A word’s denotation is its literal meaning, Cole Porter’s simple instruments; it leaves a blurred fin- or its dictionary definition. Connotation question begs an an- gerprint that could be mistaken for refers to the suggested or implied swer. Love’s symptoms anything from indigestion to a meanings associated with a word beyond are familiar enough: a manic attack. Anger and fear have its literal meaning. As you read, examine Hdrifting mooniness in thought and direct roles—fighting or running— how the writer uses connotation and behavior, the mad conceit that the in the survival of the species. But denotation. entire universe has rolled itself up romantic love, and all the attendant into the person of the beloved, a sighing and swooning and sonnet “Love is mushy; Example conviction that no one on earth has writing, has struck many pragmatic science is hard.” Sentence ever felt so torrentially about a fel- investigators as beside the point. Connotation Connotations: low creature before. Love is ecstasy So biologists and anthropologists or Denotation mushy; hard and torment, freedom and slavery. assumed that it would be fruitless, Poets and songwriters would be in a even frivolous, to study love’s origins, Overall Effect The author fine mess without it. Plus, it makes the way it was encoded in our genes implies that the world go round. or imprinted in our brains. Serious science comes Until recently, scientists wanted scientists simply assumed that roman- from reason and no part of it. The reason for this tic love was really all in the head, put love comes from emotion. avoidance, this reluctance to study there five or six centuries ago when what is probably life’s most intense civilized societies first found enough emotion, is not difficult to track spare time to indulge in flowery down. Love is mushy; science is prose. The task of writing the book hard. Anger and fear, feelings that of love was ceded to playwrights, have been considerably researched poets, and pulp novelists. in the field and the lab, can be But in recent years, scientists OBJECTIVES quantified through measurements: across a broad range of disciplines • Read to examine how a writer uses pulse and breathing rates, muscle have had a change of heart about denotation and connotation. • Analyze informational text using appro- contractions, a whole spider web of love. The amount of research priate comprehension strategies. involuntary responses. Love does expended on the tender passion has
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certainty. “Even if it is a part of human nature, like crime or vio- lence, it’s not necessarily desirable.” Well, love either is or is not intrin- sic to our species; having it both ways leads nowhere. And the contention that romance is an entirely acquired trait—the revenge of overly imagina- tive love poets on those who would take them literally—has always rested on some flimsy premises. UNITED STATES Why, for example, has roman tic Valentine’s Day love—that odd collection of tics Romantic rituals in the West have evolved and impulses—lasted over the cen- into the bestowal of flowers, candy, and turies? Most mass hallucina tions, other sweet nothings. But the absence of such as the 17th-century tulip mania such gift giving in poorer cultures does not, anthropologists are learning, in Holland (when the popularity of mean the absence of romance. tulips pushed the price of a single Sandi Fellman bulb sky high), flame out fairly rap- never been more intense. To explain novels, magazines, and nearly every- idly when people realize the absur- this rise in interest, some point to thing shown on TV. Love is a formi- dity of what they have been doing the growing number of women sci- dable and thoroughly proved and come to their senses. When entists and suggest that they may be commercial engine; people will buy people in love come to their senses, more willing than their male col- and do almost anything that prom- they tend to orbit with added energy leagues to take love seriously. Says ises them a chance at the bliss of around each other and look more researcher Elaine Hatfield: “When I romance. helplessly loopy and self-besotted. If was back at Stanford in the 1960s, But does all this mean that love is romance were purely a figment, they said studying love and human merely a phony emotion that we unsupported by any rational or sen- relationships was a quick way to ruin picked up because our culture cele- sible evidence, then surely most my career. Why not go where the brates it? Psychologist Lawrence folks would be immune to it by now. real work was being done: on how Casler, author of Is Marriage Look around. It hasn’t happened. fast rats could run?” Whatever the Necessary?, forcefully thinks so, at Love is still in the air. reasons, science seems to have come least at first: “I don’t believe love is And it may be far more wide- around to a view that nearly every- part of human nature, not for a min- spread than even romantics imag- one else has always taken for granted: ute. There are social pressures at ined. Those who argue that love is a Romance is real. It is not merely a work.” Then a shadow falls over his cultural fantasy have tended to do conceit; it is bred into our biology. Getting to this point logically is CHINA harder than it sounds. The love-as- Courtship on Horseback cultural-delusion argument has long On the plains of Xinjiang, mounted seemed unassailable. What actually Kazakh suitors play Catch the accounts for the emotion, according Maiden. He chases her in pursuit of to this scenario, is that people long a kiss. If he succeeds, she goes after him with a riding crop. ago made the mistake of taking fan- ciful literary notions seriously. Among the prime suspects are the 12th-century French troubadours who more or less invented the Art of Courtly Love, an elaborate and artificial ritual for idle aristocrats. Ever since then, the injunction to love and to be loved has hummed nonstop through popular culture; it
is a dominant theme in music, films, Jay Dickman
WHAT IS LOVE? 949
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a univer sal phenomenon, a signed and sealed for family or AFRICA panhuman characteristic that territorial interests. This does not Dressed Up stretches across cultures. mean, Jankowiak insists, that love for Display Societies like ours have the does not exist in such cultures; it The Woodaabe resources to show love erupts in clandestine forms, “a tribe recognizes through candy and flowers, phenomenon to be dealt with.” two kinds of but that does not mean that But if science is going to probe marriage: kobgal, or arranged, and the lack of resources in other and prod and then announce that teegal, made cultures indicates the absence we are all scientifically fated to from the heart. This young male of love.” love—and to love preprogrammed is hoping to Some scientists are not types—by our genes and chemicals, attract a partner startled by this contention. then a lot of people would just as in teegal. One of them is anthropolo- soon not know. If there truly is a
Carol Beckwith/Millennium: Wisdom of the Modern World Tribal gist Helen Fisher, a research biological predisposition to love, as so from a Eurocentric and class- associate at the American Museum more and more scientists are coming driven point of view. Romance, they of Natural History. Says Fisher: “I’ve to believe, then it follows that there say, arose thanks to circumstances never not thought that love was a is also an amazing diversity in the peculiar to the West: leisure time, a very primitive, basic human emo- ways humans have chosen to express decent amount of creature comforts, tion, as basic as fear, anger, or joy. It the feeling. The cartoon images of a certain level of refinement in the is so evident. I guess anthropologists cavemen bopping cavewomen over arts and letters. Romantic love was have just been busy doing other the head and dragging them home for aristocrats, not for peasants. things.” by their hair? Love. Helen of Troy, But a study conducted by anthro- Among the things anthro- subjecting her adopted city to 10 pologists William Jankowiak of the pologists—often knobby-kneed years of ruinous siege? Love. Romeo University of Nevada-Las Vegas and gents in safari shorts—tended to do and Juliet? Ditto. Joe in Accounting Edward Fischer of Tulane University in the past was ask questions about making a fool of himself around the found evidence of romantic love in at courtship and marriage rituals. This water cooler over Susan in Sales? least 147 of the 166 cultures they now seems a classic example, as the Love. Like the universe, the more studied. This discovery, if borne out, old song has it, of looking for love we learn about love, the more should pretty well wipe out the idea in all the wrong places. In many preposterous and mysterious it is that love is an invention of the cultures, love and marriage do not likely to appear. Western mind rather than a biologi- go together. Weddings can have all Updated 2005, cal fact. Says Jankowiak: “It is, instead, the romance of corporate mergers, from TIME, February 15, 1993
RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY
Respond Analyze and Evaluate 1. How did the article influence your preconceptions 5. (a)Why do you think the writer chose to use the about the origin of love? introductory quote by Cole Porter? (b)What is the significance of the quote? Recall and Interpret 6. (a)Why do some theorists think love is a fantasy 2. (a)Why have scientists traditionally been reluctant of the West? (b)How does the study by to study the concept of love? (b)Who took on the Jankowiak and Fischer prove this theory wrong? “task of writing the book of love”? 7. If romantic love is genetically programmed, what 3. (a)Paraphrase the “love-as-cultural-delusion” argument. selective advantage does it afford the human species? (b)What facts tend to refute this argument? 4. (a)According to some modern anthropologists, Connect why are courtship and marriage rituals the wrong 8. How do you think Victorian writers would have places to look for the origins of love? (b)Where responded to the modern scientific view that love do modern scientists look for the origin of love? is biologically determined?
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Hopkins’s Poetry
MEET GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS
ike many artists and writers, Gerard Manley new poetry. Then, in Hopkins did not know fame during his life- 1875, one of his Ltime. In fact, his poetry was not published superiors suggested until 1918, nearly thirty years after his death. For that he write a poem this reason, Hopkins was long viewed as a twenti- about five nuns eth-century poet, although in recent decades schol- exiled for their faith ars and publishers have considered his poems in who had drowned in their original Victorian context—all the better to the shipwreck of understand and appreciate the extent of Hopkins’s the Deutschland. innovation and accomplishment as a poet. “The Wreck of the Deutsch land” was From Highgate to High Church The first of rejected for publi cation due to its unconventional nine children, Hopkins was born into a middle- style but sparked in Hopkins a renewed interest class Anglican family who shared a love of litera- in writing poetry—which he would continue to ture, art, and music. He began writing as a child do for the remaining fourteen years of his life. and won a poetry prize when he was fifteen. After In much of Hopkins’s early poetry, the meeting of a brilliant career at the Highgate School in the mind and nature leads directly to a transcen- London, Hopkins entered Oxford University in dent awareness of God in all things—an awareness 1863. There he studied Latin and Greek and was expressed fervently and poignantly in his 1877 also exposed to the newest ideas in poetry and the- poem “God’s Grandeur.” ology. These pursuits fostered in Hopkins a dual interest in rich, imagistic verse and in rich, imagis- Late in life, however, Hopkins produced a series of tic religion—the latter of which led him first to “terrible sonnets” which express despair at the High Church Anglicanism and then to Roman poet’s inability to fully escape the prison of the Catholicism and the Jesuit priesthood. As a result self. This despair created for Hopkins a frustrating of his conversion, Hopkins suffered a painful and dilemma: isolation from the very God who made enduring estrangement from his Protestant family. each human unique—and, therefore, isolated from one another. Hopkins’s priestly life was varied and full. His duties “The world is charged with the took him, among other places, to the slums of industrial England, where he witnessed the misery grandeur of God. of the poor and the devastation of the natural It will flame out, like shining from environment. His last five years were spent teaching shook foil.” Greek and Latin at the Catholic University in Dublin and writing some of his most striking poetry. —Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins was born in 1844 and died in 1889.
The Poet Priest Soon after his conversion, Hopkins burned most of his poems in a display of Author Search For more about religious devotion. For seven years he wrote no Gerard Manley Hopkins, go to www.glencoe.com.
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS 951 Getty Images
00951-0955951-0955 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 951951 66/22/06/22/06 3:13:133:13:13 PMPM LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW
Connecting to the Poems Reading Strategy Monitoring Are human beings a part of nature or apart from it? In Comprehension these poems, Hopkins suggests that both may be true. To monitor comprehension, note whether you fully As you read, think about these questions: grasp the author’s meaning as you read. If not, you • What actions do you take that affect the natural can use strategies to help you understand the text. environment? These strategies include reading more slowly, reread- • When in your life have you felt most a part of the ing difficult passages, and using a graphic organizer. natural world? Reading Tip: Charting Meaning As you read, use a Building Background two-column chart to clarify the meaning of difficult Gerard Manley Hopkins believed that each human phrases. Use footnotes, a dictionary, or your own prior being was characterized by an intricate and utterly knowledge to help you. unique design—a kind of spiritual fingerprint that he called “inscape.” This notion also extended to his Difficult Phrase Simplified Meaning poetry. He once said that “design, pattern, or what I am in the habit of calling ‘inscape’ is what I above all “dappled things” “blotched or aim at in poetry.” spotted things” To create such an effect, Hopkins developed a style of poetry based on irregular rhythms, incomplete syntax, and echoing devices such as repetition and alliteration. The resulting roughness, he believed, captured not only the complex design of the human mind but also its jolt- Vocabulary ing movements as it perceives and reflects on an object in nature. dappled (dap əld) adj. marked with spots; p. 953 A ray of sun warmed the fawn’s dappled Setting Purposes for Reading coat.
Big Idea Optimism and the Belief fallow (fal o¯) n. land plowed but left unseeded; in Progress p. 953 The fallow field lay brown and empty, waiting for next year’s seeds. Another word for progress—a central Victorian ideal—is change. As you read these poems, consider how blight (bl¯t) n. a disease caused by parasites that change can be both beautiful and sad. makes plants and trees wither and die; p. 954 A blight in the region killed thousands of saplings.
Literary Element Sprung Rhythm Vocabulary Tip: Word Origins Many words in Hopkins’s central poetic innovation was a technique he English come from words in other languages. called sprung rhythm. Sprung rhythm is a kind of Understanding word origins can help you figure out meter in which each foot contains one stressed sylla- the meaning of unfamiliar words. ble (the first) and any number of unstressed syllables. This meter has four kinds of feet: the stressed mono- syllable ( ´ ), the trochee ( ´ ˘ ), the dactyl ( ´ ˘ ˘), and the first paeon ( ´ ˘ ˘ ˘). Additional unstressed sylla- bles are also permitted. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, • See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R17. go to www.glencoe.com.
OBJECTIVES In studying these selections, you will focus on the following: • analyzing sprung rhythm • analyzing literary time periods • monitoring comprehension
952 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE
00951-0955951-0955 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 952952 11/9/07/9/07 2:34:012:34:01 PMPM The Sower, 1888. Vincent van Gogh. Oil on canvas, 64 x 80.5 cm. Rijksmuseum, Netherlands.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Glory be to God for dappled things— 2 brinded: streaked or spotted. 3 rose-moles: marks of a reddish color. For skies of couple-color as a brinded° cow; stipple: a method of painting that uses For rose-moles° all in stipple° upon trout that swim; small dots of color to produce gradations Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls;° finches’ wings; of tone 4 fresh-firecoal: fresh-firecoal chestnut- 5 Landscape plotted and pieced°—fold,° fallow, and plow; falls describes the glowing color of And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.° chestnuts newly stripped of their husks. 5 Landscape plotted and pieced: the patchwork pattern created by dividing All things counter,° original, spare, strange; land into fields. fold: an enclosed area for Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) sheep With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; 6 trim: equipment or clothing. 7 counter: contrary or opposite 10 He fathers-forth° whose beauty is past change: 10 fathers-forth: creates Praise him.
Reading Strategy Monitoring Comprehension How does your prior knowl- edge of the word couple help you understand the meaning of this unusual phrase?
Vocabulary dappled (dap əld) adj. marked with spots fallow (fal o¯) n. land plowed but left unseeded
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS 953 Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
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The Wild Wood, Autumn. Alfred Oliver (d 1943). Private collection.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Márgarét, are you gríeving Over Goldengrove unleaving?° 2 Goldengrove unleaving: a grove of Leáves líke the things of man, you trees losing its leaves in autumn With your fresh thoughts care for, can you? 5 Áh! ás the heart grows older It will come to such sights colder By and by, nor spare a sigh Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal° lie; 8 wanwood leafmeal: a ground And yet you wíll weep and know why. covering of crushed, decomposing, pale- colored autumn leaves 10 Now no matter, child, the name: Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same. Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed What heart heard of, ghost° guessed: 13 ghost: the spirit or soul It ís the blight man was born for, 15 It is Margaret you mourn for.
Literary Element Sprung Rhythm Which three syllables are stressed in this line? What type of foot does each stressed syllable begin?
Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress How do these lines express the flip side of Victorian optimism?
Vocabulary blight (bl ¯t) n. a disease caused by parasites that makes plants and trees wither and die
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RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY Respond philosophy of life, death, and the aging process? Use details from the poem to support your answer. 1. Do you think the same person could be the speaker of both poems, or is it likely that the Analyze and Evaluate speakers are two different people? Give reasons for 5. In your opinion, why does Hopkins include exam- your answer. ples from trade (gear, tackle, and trim) in his Recall and Interpret praise of pied beauty? 2. (a)In the first stanza of “Pied Beauty,” for what spe- 6. In “Pied Beauty,” how does Hopkins’s use of cific things does the speaker glorify God? (b)What imagery, or word pictures, help to convey the do the speaker’s choices suggest about his concept poem’s theme, or main idea? of beauty? 7. Do you agree with the point of view expressed in 3. (a)In the second stanza of “Pied Beauty,” for what lines 5–9 of “Spring and Fall”? Why or why not? does the speaker praise God? (b)Explain the com- parison the speaker makes between God’s beauty Connect and the beauty of the world. 8. Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in 4. (a)In “Spring and Fall,” how does the speaker first Progress The Victorians felt that it was their pre- explain Margaret’s grief? How does he later explain rogative to bend nature to their own purposes. it? (b)What can you infer about the speaker’s How does “Pied Beauty” counter this idea?
LITERARY ANALYSIS READING AND VOCABULARY
Literary Element Sprung Rhythm Reading Strategy Monitoring Hopkins chose to use sprung rhythm because “it is Comprehension nearest to the rhythm of prose, that is, the native and Remember that when you monitor comprehension, natural rhythm of speech.” you pay special attention to parts of the text you don’t 1. In your opinion, does sprung rhythm resemble nat- understand. ural, everyday speech? Support your answer, using Reread “Spring and Fall.” What line or phrase seemed specific examples from the poems. difficult the first time you read it but is much clearer 2. Do you think sprung rhythm captures the move- now? Explain. ment of the mind as it sees and registers what it perceives? Explain. Vocabulary Practice Practice with Word Origins Use a dictionary Listening and Speaking with etymologies to help you match each vocabu- With a partner, take turns reading the two poems lary word to the description of its origin. aloud. Before you begin, reread the definition of a. blight b. dappled c. fallow sprung rhythm in the Literary Element feature on page 952. Also pay attention to the way each poem 1. Old English word for a skin condition sounds—specifically, the use of end rhyme and allitera- 2. Old English word meaning “a piece of plowed tion in each poem. land” 3. Middle English word that describes a color Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com.
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS 955
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Jabberwocky
MEET LEWIS CARROLL
onsidered a dull lecturer by many of his Play Makes Perfect Even though Dodgson students and a marginally important math- spent twenty-six years teaching math at Oxford, Cematician by his colleagues at Oxford he was bored by the work. In the company of chil- University, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson might, on dren, however, Dodgson was neither bored nor shy. the surface, seem an uninteresting fellow. Yet this He was able to speak to children without stammer- quiet, painfully shy man published some of the ing, and he loved to entertain young visitors— wittiest children’s fiction ever written. Under the often the children of fellow faculty members—by pen name Lewis Carroll, Dodgson became world inventing games, performing magic tricks, giving famous, particularly for two books that for genera- puppet shows, and telling stories. Much to tions have captivated children and adults alike: Dodgson’s own surprise, one of these stories even- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the tually became Alice in Wonderland. Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.
An Inventive Youth The son of a church rector, Dodgson was the third child and oldest son in a fam- “In a desperate attempt to strike out ily of eleven children. The Dodgson children lived in some new line of fairy-lore, I had sent an isolated country village and had few friends out- my heroine straight down a rabbit- side the family, but they found many ways to amuse themselves. From an early age, Dodgson entertained hole, to begin with, without the least his younger siblings by performing magic tricks and idea what was to happen afterwards.” marionette shows and by writing poetry and word games for the family’s homemade magazines. —Lewis Carroll As a teenager, Dodgson spent four years at the Rugby School. These were unhappy years, as Dodgson’s shyness and frequent ill health made him Alice was not Dodgson’s first publication, however. a target for bullying. The young scholar found more Between 1854 and 1856, several of Dodgson’s com- success at Oxford University, where he excelled in ical and satirical works appeared in national publi- mathematics and classical studies. Graduating first cations. Then, in 1856, a poem called “Solitude” in his class in mathe- was printed under the pseudonym “Lewis Carroll.” matics, Dodgson was In typical word-play fashion, Dodgson had created granted a scholarship this name by translating his given name into and assumed a post as Latin—Carolus Ludovicus—then reversing the a lecturer in mathema- names and translating them back into English. He tics. As a condition used the pseudonym on all of his non-academic of this scholarship, works, although Dodgson also published a good Dodgson was also number of scholarly works under his given name. ordained a deacon, Lewis Carroll was born in 1832 and died in 1898. but a severe stammer kept him from seek- ing a career in preaching. Author Search For more about Lewis Carroll, go to www.glencoe.com.
956 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE Christ Church College, Oxford by N. Herkomer/E.T. Archive
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Connecting to the Poem Reading Strategy Clarifying Meaning Lewis Carroll’s flights of fancy resulted in some very To clarify the meaning of a nonsense word (also compelling inventions. As you read, think about why called nonce words), you can use both context and the notion of inventing new things is so compelling to syntax. For example, if a character is “galumphing into human beings. the forest,” both the -ing form of the nonsense word and the clue “into the forest” would tell you that Building Background galumphing is a way of walking or running. Dodgson often entertained the young daughters of Henry George Liddell, the dean of his college. On a Reading Tip: Analyzing Syntax When you come summer day in 1862, Dodgson and a friend took the across a confusing phrase or sentence, clarify the syn- girls on a boat trip up the river Thames. Dodgson told tax by labeling the nonsense words’ parts of speech. an especially amusing tale that afternoon, and young Alice Liddell begged him to write it down for her. Eventually some writers who read the manuscript per- ADJ. ADJ. N. suaded Dodgson to revise and expand his story for ‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves publication. In 1865 he published the story as Alice’s VN V Adventures in Wonderland. Six years later he pub- Did gyre and gimble in the wabe. . . . lished a sequel, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, which includes the poem “Jabberwocky.” Setting Purposes for Reading Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress Among other things, the Victorians invented the train, the toilet, the vacuum cleaner, the stamp, and cola. As you read, notice how Victorian inventiveness extended itself to the world of verse as well.
Literary Element Nonsense Verse Nonsense verse is humorous poetry that defies logic—or, at first glance, appears to. Nonsense verse usually has a strong rhythm and contains made-up words. These words—like galumphing in “Jabberwocky”—often use onomatopoeia, or a tech- nique of using words whose sounds suggest their meanings. • See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R12.
Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Alice and the Cards. First published in 1865.
OBJECTIVES In studying this selection, you will focus on the following: • identifying characteristics of nonsense verse • analyzing literary genres • clarifying meaning by analyzing syntax LEWIS CARROLL 957 Mary Evans Picture LIbrary/The Image Works
00956-0959956-0959 U5P1APP-845482.inddU5P1APP-845482.indd 957957 11/15/07/15/07 11:57:1711:57:17 AMAM Lewis Carroll
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves “And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; Come to my arms, my beamish boy! All mimsy were the borogoves, O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” And the mome raths outgrabe. He chortled in his joy.
5 “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! 25 ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun All mimsy were the borogoves, The frumious Bandersnatch!” And the mome raths outgrabe.
He took his vorpal sword in hand: 10 Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, 15 Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head 20 He went galumphing back.
Reading Strategy Clarifying Meaning What can you tell about the Jabberwock, the Jubjub bird, and the Bandersnatch? What clues help you?
Literary Element Nonsense Verse Which of these words are onomatopoetic? What meaning does the sound of each word suggest? The Jabberwock, 19th century. John Tenniel. Illustration.
958 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE Mary Evans Picture Library
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RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY Respond Analyze and Evaluate 1. Which lines in the poem struck you as particularly 5. (a)Describe the poem’s meter (or rhythm) and amusing? Why? rhyme scheme. (b)What effects are created by these devices? Recall and Interpret 6. (a)How would you describe the poem’s 2. (a)What warnings does the father give his son? atmosphere? (b)Does the atmosphere change? (b)What do these warnings suggest about the Explain your answer citing specific evidence from setting of the poem? the poem. 3. (a)Summarize what happens in stanzas 3–5. 7. (a)Why do you think Carroll repeats the first stanza (b)What do these events reveal about the at the end of the poem? (b)What is the effect of boy’s character? this repetition? 4. (a)How does the father respond to his son’s actions? (b)Why do you think he responds in Connect
this manner? 8. Big Idea Optimism and the Belief in Progress What Victorian attitudes might Carroll be mocking, or satirizing, in this poem?
LITERARY ANALYSIS READING AND VOCABULARY
Literary Element Nonsense Verse Reading Strategy Clarifying Meaning Carroll provided “definitions” for many of the nonce Remember that you can use context and syntactical words in “Jabberwocky.” For example, he defined a clues to clarify possible meanings of nonce words in “tove” as a type of badger that had short horns and the poem. “lived chiefly on cheese” and “slithy” as a combination Partner Activity Copy the first stanza of the poem. of “slimy” and “lithe” that means “smooth and active.” Label each nonce word with a part of speech (N, V, For each nonce word below, write one or two real ADJ, or ADV). Now rewrite the stanza, substituting a words that are suggested by its sound. real word of the same part of speech for each nonce 1. brillig 2. mimsy 3. raths word. Read your new stanza aloud to a partner. Discuss similarities and differences in your interpretations. 4. frumious 5. uffish 6. frabjous
Performing Academic Vocabulary In a small group, use a combination of mime, dance, Here is a word from the vocabulary list on music, or visual arts to create a multimedia perfor- page R82. mance of “Jabberwocky.” As part of your planning, go over the poem together and recall possible meanings coherent (ko¯ her¯ ənt) adj. logically consistent for the nonce words. Use this discussion to help you decide what each creature and setting should look Practice and Apply and sound like. Even though “Jabberwocky” is a nonsense poem, do you find it coherent? Why?
Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com.
LEWIS CARROLL 959
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Wanda Coleman
Budding Scholar, Henry Herman Roseland (1866–1950). Private collection.
Building Background he stultifying1 intellectual loneliness of Wanda Coleman, a prize-winning African American my Watts upbringing was dictated by my poet and novelist, had a transformative experience looks—dark skin and unconkable kinky when she read Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in hair.T Being glowered at was a constant state of Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. In par- being. The eyes of adults and children alike ticular, Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky” helped her make immediately informed me that some unpleasant sense of the realities of racial discrimination. In her ugliness had entered their sphere and spoiled world, as in Alice’s, nothing was ever as it seemed. their pleasure because of its close and onerous2 proximity. I recall one such moment very Set a Purpose for Reading strongly: a white man was standing in front of Read to discover how reading a literary classic influ- me at such an angle that I was momentarily enced a future writer. uncertain what he was frowning at. I turned to look behind me and saw nothing. Reading Strategy I have come to mark such moments—as they Analyzing Literary Influences have recurred throughout my life—as indicative Analyzing literary influences involves examining the of the significance of physical likeness, beyond the ways that literary works affect writers. As you read, issue of physical beauty: of the importance of take notes about the influence of Lewis Carroll’s “mirror image” (a phrase that recurs in one form poem on Coleman. Use a cause-and-effect diagram or another in my poetry); in the ongoing dialogue like the one below to help you. of race, as I’ve struggled to grasp and respond to what others assume when their eyes are directed at Cause Effect or on me. I find the shifts in visual context as
Coleman feels like an She turns to reading. infuriating now as they were in childhood. The outsider. ➧ act of wading through stereotypes, in order to
1. Stultifying means “negating” or “dulling.” 2. Onerous means “troublesome.” 960 UNIT 5 THE VICTORIAN AGE Private Collection, Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Art Library
00960-0962960-0962 U5P1SEL-845482.inddU5P1SEL-845482.indd 960960 11/29/07/29/07 1:13:161:13:16 PMPM Informational Text become clearly visible in the larger society, corre- the forbidden world of adult literature, hidden sponds exactly to that moment when Lewis away in leather-bound tomes I was neither able Carroll’s Alice steps through that looking glass. to reach nor allowed to touch. I hungered to Incapable of imagining my world, removed enter, and my appetite had no limits. I plowed from it by gender and race as well as by time and through Papa’s dull issues of National Geographic place, Lewis Carroll had nevertheless provided me and Mama’s tepid copies of Reader’s Digest and with a means (and an attitude) with which to Family Circle in desperation, starved. At age ten I assess, evaluate, and interpret my own journey consumed the household copy of the complete through this bizarre actuality of late-twentieth- works of Shakespeare. Although the violence century America, where nothing is ever as it was striking, and Hamlet engrossing (particularly seems. I was a Negro child—yet this book, and its Ophelia), I was too immature to appreciate the poem “Jabberwocky,” served singularly to buoy my Bard until frequent rereadings in my mid-teens. self-esteem, constantly under assault by my Black On Christmas, thereabouts, I received peers, family members, and the world outside. Johanna Spyri’s5 Heidi as a well-intended gift. I I found the rejection unbearable and— had exhausted our teensy library, and my father’s encouraged by my parents to read—sought an collections of Knight and Esquire. . . . Between escape in books, which were usually hard to my raids on the adults-only stuff, there was noth- come by. In the South Central Los Angeles of ing but Heidi, reread in desperation until I could the 1950s and 1960s, there were only three quote chunks of the text, mentally squeezing it Black-owned bookstores, and I would not dis- for what I imagined to be hidden underneath. cover them until early adulthood. In my child- One early spring day, my adult cousin Rubyline hood there was no Harlem Renaissance, no came by the house with a nourishing belated Black arts movement; I did not encounter the Christmas gift: an illustrated collection of Alice’s poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar and James Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Weldon Johnson3 except at church socials and Looking-Glass. (She also gave me my first in the early 1960s, during Negro History “week” Roget’s—which I still use—on my twelfth birth- celebrations. There were no images of Black day in 1958.) In love with poetry since kinder- children of any age in the American literature I garten, my “uffish” vows were startlingly renewed. encountered. The sole exception was “Little
Black Sambo,” whom I immediately rejected 5. Johanna Spyri (1829–1901) was a Swiss writer. upon finding the book on my desk in the first grade—along with equally boring books featur- ing Dick, Jane, and Spot. There was no way in which I could “identify” with these strange images of children. I was born and raised in the white world of Southern California; it gave birth to me, but excluded me. Even the postwar Watts of the poet Arna Bontemps,4 and the South Central Los Angeles that would riot in 1965, were predominantly working-class white neighborhoods with small Black enclaves. Whenever my father visited public libraries, he allowed me to roam the stacks. This was my Wonderland. I was immediately enthralled with
3. Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906) was an African American poet and novelist. James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) was an African American poet and leading member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 4. Arna Bontemps (1902–1973) was an African American The Children’s Encyclopedia, James McDonald (b.1956). Oil on novelist, historian, and poet. canvas. Private collection. Bourne Gallery, Reigate, Surrey, UK.
WANDA COLEMAN 961 Private Collection, Bourne Gallery, Reigate, Surrey/Bridgeman Art Library
0960-0962 U5P1SEL-845482.indd 961 6/23/06 9:37:38 AM Informational Text I promptly retired Heidi and steeped myself in childhood poems, along with Poe’s “Raven,” Alice to an iambic spazz. Service’s “Cremation of Sam McGee,” Byron’s In the real world I was an outsider, but in the “Prisoner of Chillon,” Coleridge’s “Rime of the stories and poems of Carroll I belonged. Why? Ancient Mariner,” Henley’s “Invictus,” and Perhaps because when he E. A. Robinson’s “Richard freed Alice in the mirror, he Cory.”7 To the astute reader, also freed my imagination and “If a drink Carroll’s lasting influence permitted me to imagine on my poetry is easily dis- myself living in an adventure, or a slice of cake cerned. Many have referred sans6 the constraints of a rac- could transform her . . . to “Jabberwocky” as non- ist society. If a drink or a slice sense, but in my Los of cake could transform her, Why not a transformation Angeles childhood, it made alter her shape and size, the of her skin color?” absolutely one hundred per- next leap for me was the most cent perfect sense. And illogically logical of all: Why within the context of Los not a transformation of her skin color? In my fre- Angeles today, that “nonsense” is dangerously quent rereadings of Alice, I rewrote her as me. and exhilaratingly profound. “Jabberwocky” was and remains one of only a dozen poems I’ve ever loved enough to memo- rize. It heads the very long list of my favorite 7. Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an American poet and fiction writer; Robert Service (1874–1958) was a Canadian poet; Lord Byron (1788–1824) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) were British Romantic poets; William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) was a British critic and poet; and Edwin 6. Sans is a French word that means “without.” Arlington Robinson (1869–1935) was an American poet.
RESPONDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY Respond 5. (a)Which words in this essay establish a comparison between reading and eating? (b)What does this com- 1. Which details in this essay did you find most parison suggest about Coleman’s regard for reading? interesting? Why? 6. Why does Coleman maintain that “Jabberwocky” is Recall and Interpret meaningful rather than nonsensical? 2. (a)How did Coleman’s peers, family members, and strangers treat her as a child? (b)How did reading Connect the poem “Jabberwocky” help buoy her self-esteem? 7. What is the best book you have ever read? How can reading be a transformative experience? 3. (a)Why did Coleman feel at home in Carroll’s sto- ries and poems? (b)What does the question, “Why not a transformation of her skin color?” reveal about Coleman’s response to Alice? Analyze and Evaluate 4. What does Coleman’s exploration of magazines, the “forbidden world of adult literature,” and her rereading of Heidi suggest about her personality and environment? OBJECTIVES • Analyze literary influences. • Construct graphic organizers.
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