Name ______Period ______Date: ______+ = 8 + 2 = 10 “Concord Hymn”: Analyzing a Poem

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston but later moved to Concord, Massachusetts. There, he lived among such famous writers and thinkers as Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Bronson Alcott. He wrote “Concord Hymn” in 1837. It was sung at the unveiling of a monument in honor of the battles of Lexington and Concord. The statue stands today in the heart of Concord as it did more than 150 years ago. Read the poem below. Directions: Answer the questions below in complete sentences to receive credit!

By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps; And Time the ruined bridge has swept Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream, We set to-day a votive stone; The memory may their deed redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare To die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raise to them and thee.

1. (2) What did Emerson mean by “the shot heard round the world”? ______2. (2) Emerson’s poem was written 62 years after the battle. Which line or lines show that the war had been over for years? (Rewrite the line that indicates the time frame.) ______3. (4) In line 10, the word votive means “offered in gratitude.” Why do you think Emerson and others at the ceremony were grateful to the “embattled farmers” in line 4? ______

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