"Barbara" was married to Miles Standish shortly after her arrival in the Anne in 1623. There are many descendants of both the Standish and the Alden families. To be Defined transfigured Garden of Eden To be Explained lauding her husband Tremulous, floating in air, o'er the depths of the azure abysses. To be Scanned Pleasantly murmured the brook, as they crossed the ford in Figures of Speech How many metaphors do you find between line 970 and the end of the poem? Questions 1. Who offered the first congratulations to the bride? 2. Apply to the poem the adage: "No man can gather cherries in Kent at the season of Christmas!" 3. Was Miles Standish a favorite in the colony? How do you know? 4. Why was he questioned? Who did the answering? Why was there so much interrupting? 5. Was the captain in earnest when he stated his preference for an attack on the Indians to an unexpected arrival at a wedding? 6. What transfigured "the land of toil and privation” into a "Garden of Eden"? 7. Did the guests devote the whole wedding day to merrymaking? 8. Where was the "new habitation"? Who built it? Memorize Lines 982-989 Meanwhile the bridegroom went forth ... sound of the ocean. LESSON 20 Miles Standish died on October 3, 1656. At Duxbury, a monument has been erected to his memory. The tall shaft, surmounted by a bronze statue of the captain, rises from Captain's Hill. John Alden died on September 12, 1687, in his eightyninth year. He was the last survivor of the signers of the Compact. He had been magistrate for more than fifty years. Comments Priscilla is a type of splendid womanhood, as John Alden is of noble manhood. Longfellow's mother, Zilpah Wadsworth, was a descendant of the Aldens. Longfellow had at first intended to name the poem Pris cilla. The contentment, the earnestness, the happy home life of the little colony, show us that the best things in life are beyond the power of money to buy. To be Scanned Scan one line taken from the poem at random. Figures of Speech Write the simile that you think the most beautiful in the poem. Give an example of metaphor. How many examples do you find of apostrophe and personification combined? Questions 1. Is The Courtship a pathetic or a humorous poem? 2. In what has Longfellow deviated from history in writing the poem? 3. Give the qualifications of each of the rival lovers. 4. After John Alden was sure that Priscilla loved him, why did he not marry her? 5. See how many word pictures you can find in the poem. 6. Which part (chapter) of the poem do you like best? Why? 7. Look for the crises in the poem - either in a person's life or in events. 8. Sketch the character of John Alden. 9. In imagination, spend the day with either John Alden or Priscilla Mullins, and join in the work. Tell how the day was passed. 10. Why will the name of Miles Standish live in history? To be Memorized Choose from six to twelve lines that you like, and memorize them. |