NOTES AND QUESTIONS For Biography, see page 60. Discussion. 1. What does the title tell us? 2. Make an outline which shows what each stanza tells us of the ship-builders, for example: Stanza 1-Morning; time for work. Stanza 2-The smithy; work of the smith, etc. 3. What do the first four lines tell us of the time? 4. Note how much more they tell; what pictures do they give? What comparison do they suggest? 5. What line in the second stanza adds to the picture in stanza one? 6. In what sense is the smith working “for us"? 7. What does the "panting team" bring from the "far-off hills"? 8. With whose labor does the work of ship-building really begin? Read the lines which tell this. 9. Which line in the third stanza do you like best? 10. What comparison does the poet make between ship-building and other kinds of labor? 11. Is the "master" the only one responsible for making the ship obey the helm? 12. What is the subject of the verb "may feel"? 13. What dangers to the ship are pointed out? How may the ship-builders guard against these dangers? 14. Read the stanzas which urge honest workmanship. 15. At what point in the building of a ship are the "bars and blocks" struck away? 16. In what sense does this "set the good ship free"? 17. Read lines which tell of the ship's work. 18. In what sense can the "Prairie's golden grain" “be hers"? 19. What is meant by the "Desert's golden sand"? 20. What poetic name is given to the Far East? 21. Read the lines that express the poet's wish for the ship. 22. Select the lines in this poem that give the most vivid pictures. 23. Can you think of anything of which this ship may be the symbol? 24. Compare the poem with Longfellow's "The Builders" (page 566) for a suggestion as to what the ship may represent. 25. Pronounce the following: sooty; scourge; helm; coral. spectral in the river-mist, 562, 3 measured stroke, 562, 5 sooty smithy jars, 563, 2 groaning anvil scourge, 563, Phrases century-circled oak, 563, 15 Discussion. 1. Tell in your own words what the first stanza means to you. 2. Find the line which tells that we must build whether we wish to do so or not. 3. Which lines show that we choose the kind of structure that we raise? 4. Upon what does the beauty of the "blocks" depend? 5. Mention something that could cause a "yawning gap." 6. By whom are "massive deeds" performed? 7. By whom are "ornaments of rime" made? 8. Explain the meaning of the "elder days of Art" and mention some works that belong to that time. 9. Tell in your own words the meaning of the last stanza. 10. What do you think was Longfellow's purpose in writing this poem? architects of Fate, 566, 1, massive deeds, 566, 3 yawning gaps, 566, 14 Phrases ample base, 567, For Biography, see page 539. Discussion. 1. Read the line in the first stanza answering the question with which the poem opens. 2. Explain the metaphor of the "burning star" and the "flaming band," etc. 3. How many "burning stars" does our flag contain? How many "flaming bands"? 4. Why does the poet call America the "sunset land"? 5. How far back in history must we go to find the seed time of the Flower of Liberty? 6. Did the Flower of Liberty come to full-bloom in a time of strife or a time of peace? 7. What were |