3.05 Fireside Poets Assignment
What metaphors does Holmes use to describe the ship in stanzas one and two of “Old Ironsides”? Long has it waved on high, Beneath it rung the battle shout, and burst the cannon’s roar, and no more shall feel the victor’s tread. In 1830, the 44-gun American warship Constitution, the inspiration for “Old Ironsides,” was scheduled to be scrapped – that is, stripped of everything valuable or reasonable. What proposal is put forth by Holmes, in the last stanza of his poem? Holmes is saying it would be more respectable to take the ship out and sink her.
What do you think Holmes wants the ship to symbolize? The American warship Constitution. The term,”Harpies,” in line 15 of “Old Ironsides” is an allusion to predatory flying creatures in Greek mythology, which have bodies of vultures and heads of women. The name meant “snatchers” or “robbers. ” Why do you think that Holmes uses this allusion in his poem? Basically he’s saying the government robbed the Constitution of her glory. He is comparing the ship to an eagle and the harpies are picking at the leftovers.
In Longfellow’s “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls,” how does the title foreshadow the fact the traveler will not return? Well, the word fall is a metaphor for death, or failure. So, the second part of the title, The Tide Falls, basically says the traveler isn’t gonna make it to the next day. Do you think Longfellow’s poem is about one specific traveler, or could it apply to all in general? Explain your answer. It could be about one specific traveler, or all in general. All who dare to move under the cover of darkness aren’t gonna succeed.
Personification is a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. Cite an example of Longfellow’s use of personification in “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls. ” “But the sea, the sea in darkness calls; The little waves, with their soft, white hands” How does the division into stanzas reflect the passage of time in the poem? Example: Stanza One presents twilight darkening into night. What do stanzas two and three represent? The second stanza represents the darkest part of the night, and the third represents morning light.
