Then through those realms of shade, in multiplied reverbera tions, 1360 Heard he that cry of pain, and through the hush that succeeded hood; Green Acadian meadows, with sylvan rivers among them, 1365 Village, and mountain, and woodlands; and, walking under their shadow, As in the days of her youth, Evangeline rose in his vision. Tears came into his eyes; and as slowly he lifted his eyelids, Vanished the vision away, but Evangeline knelt by his bedside. Vainly he strove to whisper her name, for the accents unuttered 1370 Died on his lips, and their motion revealed what his tongue would have spoken. Vainly he strove to rise; and Evangeline, kneeling beside him, darkness, As when a lamp is blown out by a gust of wind at a casement. 1375 5 — All was ended now, the hope, and the fear, and the sorrow, All the aching of heart, the restless, unsatisfied longing, All the dull, deep pain, and constant anguish of patience! And, as she pressed once more the lifeless head to her bosom, Meekly she bowed her own, and murmured, "Father, I thank thee!" 1380 Still stands the forest primeval; but far away from its shadow, Side by side, in their nameless graves, the lovers are sleeping. Thousands of aching brains, where theirs no longer are busy, Thousands of toiling hands, where theirs have ceased from their labors, Thousands of weary feet, where theirs have completed their journey! Still stands the forest primeval; but under the shade of its branches 1390 Dwells another race, with other customs and language. Only along the shore of the mournful and misty Atlantic Linger a few Acadian peasants, whose fathers from exile Wandered back to their native land to die in its bosom. In the fisherman's cot the wheel and the loom are still busy; 1395 Maidens still wear their Norman caps and their kirtles of homespun, And by the evening fire repeat Evangeline's story, While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced, neighboring ocean Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow STUDY PLAN OF "EVANGELINE" PRELUDE Stanza 1-Forest and Ocean Words: primeval, twilight, Druids,° eld, prophetic, harpers, hoar, disconsolate. Questions: Have you ever heard the murmuring of large trees? Where? What caused it? How did it make you feel? When during the day would this feeling be strongest? Where were many of the solemn religious services of the Druids held? Why should the trees be compared to Druids? to harpers? Why not to any aged men? Try to imagine yourself alone in a great forest just as night is falling; listen to the wind sighing through the great trees overhead, and to the roar of the ocean at a distance beating upon the shore. Who are neighbors in this stanza? Which has the shriller voice? In what respect are the voices alike? When do people wail? What time of the day does Longfellow choose for his first stanza? What tone runs through the entire stanza? Why does the poet begin his story in this way? Notes: Druids (3)-Priests of the Celts, the early inhabitants of Great Britain and France. Their favorite place of holding religious ceremonies was in a grove of oaks. They believed that what grew on an oak was a gift from the gods. So the mistletoe was specially prized by them. After much ceremony and chanting it was cut from the tree with a golden knife by a long-bearded, white-robed priest. Harpers (4)-Minstrels, who sang of deeds of valor and love, and played their accompaniments on harps. They were quite common during the Middle Ages. Stanza 2-The Deserted Village Words: roe, huntsman, thatch-roofed, glided, image, waste, blasts, naught, tradition. Questions: Why does the roe leap when he hears the hunter? When did the hearts of the Acadians leap for a similar reason? What is the first question asked by the poet? Read the answer. What is the second question? Read the answer. Why does Longfellow here use question and answer? What cause shadows upon a river? What is the image of heaven in the river? What kind of a river shows it best? What is meant by shadows of earth? What was the greatest shadow that fell upon the lives of the Acadians? What kind of a life shows an image of heaven? To what is the scattering of the farmers compared? Stanza 3-A Tale of Affection Words: affection, endures, devotion, list. Questions: For whom does Longfellow say the poem is written? Why does the poet use Ye and List? When was Acadie the home of the happy? PART FIRST-CANTO I Stanza 1-The Village and the People Words: secluded, dikes, incessant, turbulent, stated, flax, pitched, reposed, peasants, Henries, dormer-windows, gables, gilded, vanes, matrons, kirtles, distaffs, looms, shuttles, parish, reverend, hailing, serenely, anon, Angelus,° incense, vice. O Questions: Locate on your maps Acadia, Bay of Fundy, Basin of Minas, Blomidon, Grand-Pré. How did the village receive its name? Why were the tides high and strong at Grand-Pré? Where had the ancestors of the people of Grand-Pré learned to build dikes? In what direction from the village were the great dikes? During what months do you think the villagers opened the flood-gates? Why then? What were the three leading crops raised by the people of Grand-Pré? Where were most of the doors placed, in the sides or ends of the houses? What were the girls of the village taught specially to do? What reason have you for believing they enjoyed this work? What does line 57 mean? Of what religious faith were the people of GrandPré? What word in this stanza imitates the sound it represents? Do you recall the use of anon in "The Courtship of Miles Standish"? of tranquil in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"? Notes: Henries (34)—The French kings Henry III and Henry IV (1574-1610), during whose reigns Acadia was settled. Kirtles (39)— Either a short close-fitting jacket or a short outside skirt. In this connection it probably means both. Angelus (49)-The bell that called to prayer morning, noon, and night. It was named in memory of the angel who announced to Mary the future birth of Jesus. If you are not familiar with Millet's famous painting, "The Angelus," ask your teacher to show you a copy. (One is given in Horne and Scobey's Stories of Great Artists, page 134.) Stanza 2-Benedict and Evangeline Words: stalworth, stately, hale, fair, kine, flagons, sooth, turret, hyssop, chaplet, missal, generations, celestial, ethereal, confession, benediction, exquisite. Questions: What is meant by saying that Evangeline was "the pride of the village"? Why not say "seventy summers" and "seventeen winters" in mentioning the ages of Benedict and Evangeline? Memorize ¡ines 62-68. When was Evangeline fairest? What adds the finest grace to beauty? Do lines 75-77 suggest a passage in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"? Can you recall the use of congregation in the Legend? of ethereal in "The Courtship of Miles Standish"? Note: Hyssop (72)-The brush with which the priest scatters or sprinkles holy water upon the congregation. These brushes were first made (probably) of hyssop, a strongly aromatic shrub. In the old Hebrew times the twigs of the hyssop were used in the solemn ceremony of purification. The word is used in this sense in Psalm 51:7"Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean." Stanza 3-Heading to be Written by the Pupil о Words: commanding, sycamore, woodbine, penthouse, wains, antique, folds, seraglio, penitent, odorous, variant, mutation. Questions: Give an oral description of Benedict's home. Name some countries where one may see images of Mary covered with penthouses. What is a box for the poor? Were the stairs leading to the corn-lofts built inside or outside the walls of the barns? What leads you to believe that Benedict owned several barns? In connection with line 96 read Matthew 26:57-75 or Luke 22:54-62. Do you recall the use of odorous in "The Courtship of Miles Standish"? Notes: Penthouse (87)-A shed or roof sloping from the wall of another building. It is commonly called a lean-to. Probably in its use here it means simply a slanting roof supported by four or more uprights. Seraglio (94)-The Seraglio is a palace in Constantinople in which the wives of the Sultan of Turkey live. Hence its meaning as a common noun signifying a harem. Stanza 4-Evangeline's Girlhood Words: knocker, mighty, craft, repute, plain-song, eves, smithy, cranny and crevice, chapel, fledglings. Questions: Who was Evangeline's playmate? Name the boy's father. What occupation did he follow? Give reasons why the smith has been honored in both times of war and of peace. Who was the first smith? (See Genesis 4:22.) Who was the smith among the gods on Olympus? What well-known poem was written about a smith? Name the author of the poem. Who was the teacher of Evangeline and Gabriel? Where did the two children go as soon as they were dismissed? Why did they not go to their homes? What is meant by Basil's leathern lap? Why was the tire heated? What in this stanza leads you to believe that Gabriel was worthy of Evangeline's love? By what name was Evangeline familiarly known?° What does this teach you concerning her disposition? Explain line 111.° Do you recall the use of knocker, pedagogue, autumnal, populous, and valiant in preceding classics? |