ENGLAND AND AMERICA IN 1782 ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON O Thou, that sendest out the man Be proud of those strong sons of thine What wonder, if in noble heat Those men thine arms withstood, But Thou rejoice with liberal joy, And shatter, when the storms are black, The seas that shock thy base! Whatever harmonies of law The growing world assume, Thy work is thine the single note NOTES AND QUESTIONS For Biography, see page 49. Historical Note. John Hampden (1594-1643) was a celebrated English statesman and patriot. When Charles I attempted to impose a tax upon his subjects without the authority of Parliament, Hampden refused to pay. The King's government brought suit against him, and although the case was decided against Hampden, later the House of Lords ordered the judgment of the court to be canceled. Discussion. 1. Why does the poet think England should be proud of America? 2. Name some of the rights won by those of "English blood" before this. 3. Read the lines that tell, in figurative language, what England and Englishmen will do when their rights are attacked. 4. Notice in the last stanza how the words harmonies, note, chord, smote, and vibrate all help to carry out the thought, expressed in figurative language. 5. What was the "chord which Hampden smote"? 6. Is it still "vibrating"? 7. Did the poet use the same riming scheme in each of the stanzas? ગ 10 ENGLAND TO FREE MEN JOHN GALSWORTHY Men of my blood, you English men! From misty hill and misty fen, From cot, and town, and plow, and moor, Come in-before I shut the door! Into my courtyard paved with stones That keep the names, that keep the bones, I am your native land who bred Round the old Earth, of Liberty! 10 And never men may say of me, Mine is a breed that is not free. I have a wreath! My forehead wears NOTES AND QUESTIONS Biography. John Galsworthy (1867 was born in Coombe, Surrey, England, and has led the life of the typical English gentleman. After spending five years at Harrow he went to Oxford University. In 1890 he was admitted to the bar, but he disliked the profession of law and never practiced it. He spent several years, after leaving college, in foreign travel, and did not begin to write until he was thirty years old. He has written a number of dramas dealing with social questions, such as "Justice" and "Strife." He is also well-known for his short stories and novels. During the recent World War, Mr. Galsworthy served several months in an English hospital for French soldiers. The poem "England to Free Men" was written when England was for the first time about to adopt conscription as a method of recruiting an army to oppose German aggression in Belgium and France. Discussion. 1. Who is supposed to be speaking in this poem? 2. Whom does the speaker address? 3. Of what "courtyard" does the poet speak? 4. What is the meaning of the first two lines of the second stanza? 5. What kind of flag does the poet say England "flies in every sea"? 6. Explain the "wreath" mentioned in the last stanza. 7. What does the poet mean by "before my clock strikes twelve"? 8. What has been America's attitude toward conscription? 9. What impression of the author do you gain from this poem? 10. Tell what you know of him. men of my blood, 341, 1 free of their lives, 341, 7 who bred no driven heart, 341, 9 Phrases that boasts a crown, 341, 13 "MEN WHO MARCH AWAY" (Song of the Soldiers) THOMAS HARDY What of the faith and fire within us Ere the barn-cocks say Leaving all that here could win us; Is it a purblind prank, O think you, With doubt and dolorous sigh? Can much pondering so hoodwink you! Nay. We well see what we are doing, England's need are we; Her distress would leave us rueing: In our heart of hearts believing Press we to the field ungrieving, 5 Hence the faith and fire within us Men who march away Ere the barn-cocks say Night is growing gray, Leaving all that here could win us; NOTES AND QUESTIONS Biography. Thomas Hardy (1840- -) was born in Dorsetshire, England. He was educated at local schools and by private tutors. At the early age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an architect of Worcester, in which line of work he made sufficient success to win a prize for design from the Architectural Association. At the same time he was writing some verse and an occasional short story, and was at a loss to know which kind of work to follow for a profession. However, after 1870 he spent most of his time in writing. He excels as a short story writer, his "The Three Strangers" appearing in a number of lists of the one hundred best short stories. Among his other works, Laughing Stock and Other Verses, Under the Greenwood Tree, and A Pair of Blue Eyes are widely known. Mr. Hardy was given the Order of Merit in 1910. The Poem "Men Who March Away," from Selected Poems of Thomas Hardy, was written at the time the English soldiers were entering the World War. Discussion. 1. What "faith and fire" must the soldier have who freely enlists in the service of his country in war? 2. Whom does the poet address in the second stanza? 3. Use other words instead of "purblind prank." 4. Explain the meaning of the fourth and fifth lines of the third stanza. 5. Why does the poet say the soldiers march away to war ungrieving? 6. What reason is given for the "faith and fire" of the soldiers? 7. In the fourth stanza, with what belief does the author accredit us? 8. What effect does the poet create by repeating the first stanza in closing the poem? the faith and fire within us, 343, 1 purblind prank, 343, 8 friend with the musing eye, 343, 9 Phrases dalliers as they be, 343, 17 to the field ungrieving, 343, 26 |