The crew of the United States frigate Constitution gave her the nickname of "Old Ironsides." They declared that her firm sides were like iron and could not be harmed by the enemy's shot. This sailing vessel, built in 1797, won its fame in the War of 1812, when in a fierce fight of only thirty minutes it destroyed the British warship Guerrière off the coast of Nova Scotia. So delighted was Congress with the achievement that it granted the captain a gold medal and $50,000 for himself and his men. In 1828 the ship was declared by the Secretary of the Navy to be unseaworthy and not worth repairing. The notice that the vessel was to be scrapped caused much excitement among the people of the country, who had come to have great pride in her. Oliver Wendell Holmes, then a young student in the Boston Medical School, hastily scribbled on a scrap of paper the stanzas of a poem which he entitled " Old Ironsides " and sent them to a Boston newspaper. From there they traveled far and wide through the press and were even printed on handbills and circulated about Washington. Popular indignation ran high, and as a result the Secretary of the Navy recalled his order and the old ship was rebuilt instead of being destroyed. It was then used as a warship until 1855, and as a training ship until 1881. Since that time "Old Ironsides has ridden in a calm and safe retreat in the navy yard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and later at Boston, Massachusetts. I. Note how stanza I pictures the proud ship as in the days of its triumph. 2. Do you think Holmes means, Ay, tear her tattered ensign down"? Saying one thing but meaning the opposite is called irony. Such a line should be read in an ironical or sarcastic tone of voice. 3. How do you like "meteor of the ocean air as a name for the flag or ensign of the ship? Imagine what a flag looks like at sea when the sun is shining on it. 4. Why do you think Holmes calls the vessel "Old Ironsides " instead of the Constitution? 5. Stanza 2 continues the picture of stanza 1. Why are the last two lines of this stanza especially good to describe the situation of the boat? 6. Does Holmes treat the boat as a person or as a mere object? 7. What is the poet's suggestion with regard to the frigate? What do you think of this suggestion? 8. Read the poem aloud to yourself with intense earnestness and feeling, as you imagine young Holmes might have read it if he had stood before the Secretary of the Navy. THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER FRANCIS SCOTT KEY O SAY, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming; And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there: On that shore dimly seen through the mist of the deep, As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses ? 'Tis the star-spangled banner: O long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! And where is that band who so vauntingly swore Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution; No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave; And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just, And this be our motto, "In God is our trust :" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave The marks of respect that should be shown to our national anthem are prescribed in orders issued by the War Department: "When the national anthem is played and the flag is not displayed, all present should stand and face toward the music. Those in uniform should salute at the first note of the anthem, retaining this position until the last note. All others should stand at attention, men removing the headdress. When the flag is displayed, the regular salute to the flag should be given. "The Star-Spangled Banner' is recommended for universal recognition as the national anthem." The occasion which produced this poem is as stirring as the lines themselves. It was written on September 12, 1814, by Francis Scott Key, a Baltimore lawyer, during the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British fleet. The young man went aboard the British flagship, Surprise, to secure the release of a friend and was kept there during the night. Thus, apart from the battle fleet, yet within sight of the flag flying above the fort, he watched the battle eagerly throughout the night. If Fort McHenry fell, it meant the fall of the city of Baltimore. So long as he could see the rockets' red glare " and " bombs bursting in air," he knew the fort held out. But suddenly the firing ceased; the "foe's haughty host in dread silence" reposed. Did it mean surrender or victory? He could not know until morning. Pacing the deck through the long, dark hours, he strained his eyes in the direction of the ramparts, that he might discover in the first gleams of morning whether the "flag was still there." Those hours of waiting Key described in the first stanza of "The StarSpangled Banner." In the second stanza we learn how his long watch was rewarded by the sight of the flag "in full glory reflected the stream." That morning the poem was published in the Baltimore American, the type being set by a boy of twelve in the absence of the men who were defending the city. Almost at once it was picked up by a lively actor, who set it to an old tune and sang it in a Baltimore theater. Immediately it spread among the people, who whistled it on the streets and sang it at public meetings, in the camps, and around their own firesides at night. as it shone on 1. Note how well stanza 1 reveals the early part of the siege. Which lines give you the most graphic picture? 2. Imagine Key's situation as he paced up and down the deck. See how well the second stanza describes the gradual appearance of the flag in the dawn. That flag, which is 30 by 33 feet in size, is now on exhibition in the National Museum in Washington. 3. What solemn prophecy and pledge in stanza 4 make it a fitting close for our national anthem? 4. What other anthems of America do you know? How does this one compare with "America or with "America the Beautiful"? Note how each of them seems to express a different ideal of our country. Memorize this poem, using the method described on page 133. WHO LOVES HIS COUNTRY1 NANCY BYRD TURNER WHO loves his country will not rest As heritage her power and fame, But, striving, earns the right to wear 1 1 Reprinted by permission of the author and The Youth's Companion. MY NATIVE LAND SIR WALTER SCOTT BREATHES there the man, with soul so dead, This is my own, my native land! Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, From wandering on a foreign strand! If such there breathe, go, mark him well; To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, This poem by Sir Walter Scott, one of the best beloved of Scotland's poets, is taken from The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Canto VI. A minstrel was a singer who played the harp and sang songs of heroes, usually attaching himself to the court of a king or to the train of a great nobleman, at whose feasts he entertained the assembled guests. The "Last Minstrel" wandered sad and lonely throughout Scotland because of the death of his beloved master and the rise of rivals to his fame. Some jeered at his sorrow and told him to go to the Southland, where his songs might be more appreciated than in his Scottish hills. At this, he sang these stirring lines about the man who turns against his country. 1. Which part of the poem makes you feel most earnestly the patriotism of the old minstrel? 2. If you have been away from your country, your city, or your home, you may have felt as the man did in this poem. Find the lines which best describe this feeling. |