" of the humiliations in life, Gray thinks, that the "lowly train were free from. 73. madding, excited, raging. 81. unletter'd Muse, illiterate people who compose crude epitaphs in verse. 84. moralist, one whose mind likes to dwell on serious subjects. 95. chance, by chance. 97. Haply, perhaps. - swain, a countryman. 121. bounty, kindness of heart. OLIVER GOLDSMITH THE DESERTED VILLAGE This poem has been justly praised for its unusual descriptive power. Its clear-cut pictures of homely life, its delicate humor, its strong and sincere human sympathy at once call to mind Chaucer, the greatest of all English descriptive poets. Goldsmith no doubt meant the poem to be didactic, that is, he intended it to teach a lesson. This was a literary fashion in his day. He wished to show that luxury, which had come in the train of trade, was bringing on the decay of the country. His arguments to this effect have convinced only the unthinking few, while the vividly descriptive parts of the poem have delighted its thousands and tens of thousands. LINE 1. Sweet Auburn! brain of the poet. This place probably existed only in the It is possible that he had in mind the small village in Ireland in which he was born. 2. swain, peasant, farm laborer. 4. parting, departing. 10. cot, small cottage. 12. decent, modest. 16. This line means that when toil was over for the day, play had its turn. 17. train, crowd. 25. simply, in a simple, artless way. 27. mistrustless, here equivalent to ignorant. 35. lawn, open country. 37. tyrant's hand, the power of wealth. 39-40. These lines refer to the buying up of small farms by men of wealth, who consolidated them, and turned some of the tilled land into pleasure parks and hunting preserves. By this arrangement, "half a tillage stints" the "smiling plain," that is, curtails its producing power. 44. hollow-sounding bittern. The bittern is a bird of the heron family, having long neck and legs, and frequenting marshes. Its cry has a hollow sound. 45. lapwing, the plover. It is sometimes called the peewit. 51-52. It is a sad day for any country, of course, when its “men decay." But do men necessarily decay when wealth is accumulated? There may be such a tendency to decay, but are there not many counteracting influences at work, such as sport, war, struggle for distinction, and inherited sturdiness? 64. This refers to the merging of small farms into large estates, which has been spoken of already (see note to lines 39-40). Goldsmith ignores the fact that many of these small farmers found employment in the large business enterprises that were built up by trade or commerce. England's "bold peasantry" was not entirely uprooted, however, nor is it ever likely to be. 115. careless, free from care. 130. plashy, "puddle-like" (Hales). 132. mantling, covering as with a mantle. 136. The sad historian. The "wretched matron" was the only one left to tell of the people and ways of the good old times. 142. passing rich, surpassing rich, more than rich. - forty pounds a year. Forty pounds is nearly equal to two hundred dollars. Money was probably worth twice as much in Goldsmith's day as it is now; the preacher's salary was, therefore, in the neighborhood of four hundred dollars a year. 162. His pity gave ere charity began. This line means that his heart melted towards the unfortunate before it occurred to him that it was his duty to offer them charity. 164. An example will illustrate the meaning of this line. Let us suppose that a man is so courageous that at times he becomes reckless; this recklessness is a fault, but it leans to the side of courage, which is a virtue. Just so the "failings" of the village preacher were virtues pushed too far. 170. Goldsmith's description of the village preacher at once calls to mind Chaucer's parson. These two pictures of a true parson are the best that can be found anywhere. "Terms" are the periods of time during "tides" are times in the calendar, such 209. terms and tides presage. which the law courts are held; as Christmastide, Eastertide, Springtide. 210. could gauge, knew how to measure the contents of barrels and other vessels. 232. The twelve good rules. These were rules of conduct placed on the walls of the tavern. Some of them were: Pick no quarrels; Keep no bad company; Lay no wagers. It was a common custom in rules. Goldsmith's time for taverns to decorate their walls with such sets of the royal game of goose. This was probably the old game of the fox and the geese. 236. chimney, fireplace. 244. the wood-man's ballad, the hunter's song. the plainer people did not mingle. 316. artist, artisan. 319. dome, house, building. solitary sports, sports in which 344. Altama, the Altamaha, a river in Georgia. 355. Goldsmith, in this passage, is letting his imagination run loose. There were never any tigers in Georgia, nor can its climate be called "torrid." On the whole, the immigrants who came to find homes in the New World seem to have bettered their condition in life, and to have been contented and happy. 418. Torno's cliffs, the cliffs that overhang the Torneo, a river which forms the boundary between Sweden and Russia. — Pambamarca, a mountain in Ecuador, South America. 428. laboured mole, a wall of stone built in the sea to protect the harbor from the violence of the waves. "Laboured means, of course, built by labor. Goldsmith seems to think that the prosperity which is built up by commerce may fall, just as a stone wall may be swept away by the sea; while, on the other hand, the prosperity which comes from "selfdependent power," that is, from the efforts of the farmer who digs with his own hands, will last forever. The poet sees but one side of this question. He forgets that commerce widens the market for agricultural products, and brings in return many of the comforts of life; that it gives employment to many who might otherwise be idle; that it helps to build roads, schools, hospitals, and churches. WILLIAM COWPER ON THE LOSS OF THE ROYAL GEORGE The Royal George, an English man-of-war, was lost in the harbor of Spithead, in the south of England, in August, 1782. She had been heeled over for repairs, when a sudden squall threw her on her beam ends, and as her ports had been left open, she filled and sank, carrying down with her the greater part of her crew. LINE 14. Kempenfelt, Admiral Kempenfelt, in command of the Royal George. 25. Weigh the vessel up. When Cowper wrote this poem, it was hoped that the Royal George might be raised, but the project was abandoned. Cowper says that he wrote this poem to encourage the undertaking, but it was not published until after his death. BOADICEA AN ODE Boadicea was a British queen living in the first century of the Christian era when the Romans were rulers of Britain. On her husband's death all his treasures were seized by the Romans, and when Boadicea objected, she was publicly flogged, and her daughters were insulted in the most shameful fashion. In consequence she headed a revolt in which thousands of Romans perished, but on being defeated in a great battle she poisoned herself. LINE 6. the Druid. The Druids were the priests of the ancient Britains. They were supposed to have the gift of prophecy. 20. the Gaul. This word is here used in a general sense for the Northern tribes, Goths, Vandals, and others, - that overthrew the Roman empire. 21-24. These lines are a prophecy of the achievements of the later Romans, that is, the Italians, in poetry and music. 27. Armed with thunder, armed with cannon. - wings, the white sails of the British navy. 32. None invincible, no race so unconquerable. 34. Full of heavenly inspiration. ROBERT BURNS THE COTTER'S SATURDAY NIGHT This is one of the best known of Burns's poems. The stanza is borrowed from Spenser, and a great part of the diction is drawn from English sources; but, on the other hand, the theme of the poem is characteristically Scotch. A cotter was a farm hand to whom his landlord assigned a cottage in part payment of his wages. Burns's father was one of this class, and the picture here drawn shows us the early home life of the poet himself, and that of thousands of other Scotch peasants in his day, and for two centuries before. The poem is addressed to Robert Aiken, a friend of Burns, who first gave the poet a taste of fame by reading his verses to the Ayrshire gentry. LINE 6. The lowly train, the peasantry. 30. ca', drive. herd, tend the sheep or cattle.- tentie rin, carefully run. 31. cannie, quiet. 34. braw, brave, fine. 35. sair-won penny-fee, hard-earned wages. 38. spiers, asks. 40. uncos, strange things. 44. Makes old clothes look almost as good as new.' 48. eydent, diligent. 49. jauk, trifle. 56. wha kens, who knows. 57. neebor, neighbor. 62. hafflins, half. 64. ben, inside. A Scotch cottage in Burns's day had but two rooms: the 'but,' or outer room, and the 'ben,' or inner room, which served as kitchen, dining room, and general gathering place for the family. 66. no ill ta'en, not badly received. |