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So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,

Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?

SIR WALTER SCOTT.

HELPS TO STUDY

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Lochinvar" is a narrative poem. It tells of actions and has little to say of thoughts or feelings. Its purpose is to tell a story; and since the story is one of rapid action, it is told rapidly. to get the story and the movement of the verse. these questions on the story, the structure, and the expression.

Read the poem through
Then consider carefully

2. Where is the

5. Where was he

THE STORY. 1. Who is the hero of the poem? scene placed? 3. Quote the description of the hero in the first stanza. 4. What do you learn about his horse? his arms? going? 6. What happened there before he arrived? think of the bridegroom?

7. What do you

8. What demand was made of Lochinvar

by the bride's father? 9. What was Lochinvar's reply? whom did he dance? 11. What did the bridemaidens say? scribe the flight of Lochinvar and Ellen.

10. With

12. De

STRUCTURE. The order of events in the poem is that in which they happened: (1) Lochinvar's ride to Netherby alone; (2) What took place there; (3) His ride back with Ellen. You should note, however, that each stanza has a special part of the story to tell. Stanza 1 is introductory. It describes Lochinvar, and it gives information about him that is very important for the reader of the story, - he is faithful in love, dauntless in war, he rides alone, and his steed is the best. This stanza also locates the scene, on the border between England and Scotland. Trace the story stanza by stanza, noting that each has a theme. 2, The Ride to the Hall; 3, The Arrival; 4, Lochinvar's Request; 5, The Cup of Wine; 6, The Dance; 7, The Flight; 8, Conclusion.

EXPRESSION. Scott has imitated the method of the old Ballads. Note, for example, that the poem begins abruptly, and that the actual speeches of the persons are often given. What persons speak in the

poem? In the first and last stanzas do you notice the galloping movement of the verse? Although the language is simple, there are some unusual words; find the words in the poem for which the following are synonyms: horse, fearless, thicket, loiterer, coward, wedding, drunk, swift. Which are more suitable for the poem?

Proper Names. Lochinvar (lok-in-vär′). The Eske (ěsk) flows into the Solway, an arm of the Irish Sea between Scotland and England, noted for its rapid tides. The Græmes (grams) and the other families mentioned in the last stanza are well known on the Scotch border.

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For Study with the Glossary. You should look up all words that you not understand, in the GLOSSARY at the end of this book or in a Dictionary. A table of the marks of pronunciation is given with the GLOSSARY. For this selection, look up: galliard, croupe, scaur, lee, and any other words that you do not know.

OTHER NARRATIVE POEMS. For old ballads, see "Robin Hood Rescues the Widow's Three Sons," in the FIFTH READER, and "Sir Patrick Spens," in this book. Other short narrative poems are: "The Wreck of the Hesperus," "Arnold of Winkelried," "Hohenlinden," "The Charge of the Light Brigade," "How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix," "The Bells of Atri," "Paul Revere's Ride" (All in the FIFTH READER), "The Destruction of Sennacherib" (SIXTH READER), "The Skeleton in Armor" and "Maud Muller (SEVENTH BOOK). Can you tell the stories of any of these poems? Do you remember the names of their authors? What poems that you know tell of rides? What poems move rapidly like "Lochinvar"?

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SIR WALTER SCOTT. An account of his life with a portrait is given in the FIFTH READER, pages 61-63. What do you remember about his life? How long ago did he live? What other poems of his have you read? Selections from his novel Ivanhoe are to be found later in this book.

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RING OUT, WILD BELLS

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow;
The year is going, let him go:
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

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A lyric poem is one which expresses emotion. The name is derived from the lyre, the musical instrument to which the poems were once sung. In early times all lyric poems were sung, but now the term is used for many poems where the emotion does not lend itself to music. "Ring Out, Wild Bells," however, is a song and the lines almost sing themselves. Since the emotion expressed in a lyric is usually personal, the term lyric is sometimes extended to all poems expressing personal emotion. Here Tennyson is telling his own feelings and desires on New Year's Eve.

In a narrative poem the structure is usually determined by the order of the actions in time. In a lyric, the structure depends rather on the importance of the feelings. Here what may be called the scheme is very simple. 1. Ring out the old. 2. Ring in the new. Note that the first stanza is introductory, giving us the scene, that in each following stanza there is the contrast between what is ringing out, and what ringing in. In expression, the lyrical poem responds to the feelings. Here the bells ring through the verse, falling with the old, rising with the new, until the final triumphant peal of the last stanza.

1. What is the time of year? 2. Who are addressed by the poet? 3. What figure is used when the year is said to be dying? 4. What is meant by "frosty light"? by "fuller minstrel"? 5. What things are to be rung out? 6. What are rung in? 7. How does Tennyson feel about the New Year?

For Study with the Glossary: Saps, feud, redress, civic slander.

OTHER LYRICAL POEMS. FIFTH READER: "Hunting Song," "How Sleep the Brave," "Bugle Song." SIXTH READER: "Recessional," "The Cloud." SEVENTH BOOK: "For A' That and A' That," "O Captain, My Captain," "The Corn Song," "The American Flag." What other poems have you read about bells?

An account of Tennyson's life with a portrait is to be found in the SIXTH READER. What other poems of his do you know? What lyrics? what narratives? The poem which follows is not a lyric but is one of the shortest and one of the best known of Tennyson's poems.

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FLOWER IN THE CRANNIED WALL

Flower in the crannied wall,

I pluck you out of the crannies,

I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

ALFRED TENNYSON.

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