THE CORN SONG JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER Corn, or maize (māz), seems to an American child to be a very common thing, not worthy of a song by a great poet. He thinks this because corn is so plentiful around him that he has not thought much about it at all. But Whittier says, "No richer gift has Autumn poured And this is true. From out her lavish horn!" Have you ever thought how many uses corn has in your own life? A little girl once searched out one hundred and twenty-one different ways in which corn was useful to her. Let us name a few. Have you ever thought that possibly a part of the juicy steak or the delicious brown roast on your dinner table was once corn and was changed into flesh after the cattle ate the corn? That pork chops and ham and bacon were once corn? That the hair mattress you sleep on and the cushion you sit on are stuffed with the hair of animals that were probably fed on corn? That the glue which holds your furniture together is made from the hoofs of pigs and cattle and was once partly corn? You know, of course, how delicious good corn bread and corn pone and corn cakes are. They come directly from corn. A cornstarch pudding was once corn. Let us try to make a list of the many ways in which corn enters into our lives. If a team of horses which hauled your coal to the house had been fed with corn, did the corn help to haul the coal? You will be surprised at the usefulness of corn if you try to make a list of its uses. See which of you can make the largest list. Note that while other poets sing of daffodils and sandpipers, Whittier thinks that corn, common corn, because of its many uses in our lives, deserves a song in its honor. So he wrote the "Corn Song," which is now a famous poem. In order to prove how important Whittier thought corn is to our lives, he shows in stanza 12, 1. That if the earth should refuse to produce all root crops such as potatoes and turnips; 2. That if the mildew should ruin the rye crop; 3. That if worms should destroy all the fruits; 4. And that if the Hessian fly should destroy the entire wheat crop, the "good old crop," corn, would still afford food to sustain man's life. Try to see all the pictures as you study the poem, (1) the plowing, (2) the harrowing, (3) the planting, (4) the cultivating, (5) the green waving corn in full tassel, (6) the ripening corn, (7) the husking, (8) the full cribs of golden or white ears, and then think of the many uses of corn in our lives. Then you will understand why Whittier thought corn worthy of a great song. Tell in class how each of the above things is done. Before you try to read the poem, you should learn the meanings of some new words, so that when you come to them, you will not have your pleasure in the song spoiled by not knowing them. Here they are: hoard (hōrd): a piled-up treas ure. lavish (lăv'ish): plentiful. a horn from which the pos sessor could pour out anything that he wished. Have you ever seen a picture of Autumn represented as a woman pouring out from a 5 10 large, twisted horn, apples, | knead (ned): to mix or "work" pears, corn, grapes, and other dough, usually with the hands. vapid (văp'ĭd): vain, idle, foolish. exulting (ĕg-zult'ing): with great board: dining table. joyousness. cluster (klus'těr): a bunch of grapes. hardy (här'di): not easily in- meads (mēdz): fields, meadows. samp: an Indian dish made mildew (mil'du): a plant dis- THE CORN SONG 1 Heap high the farmer's wintry hoard! 2 Let other lands, exulting, glean 3 We better love the hardy gift Our rugged vales bestow, To cheer us when the storm shall drift Our harvest-fields with snow. 4 Through vales of grass and meads of flowers Our plows their furrows made, While on the hills the sun and showers 5 We dropped the seed o'er hill and plain And frightened from our sprouting grain 6 All through the long, bright days of June Its leaves grew green and fair, And waved in hot midsummer's noon Its soft and yellow hair. 7 And now, with autumn's moonlit eves, Its harvest-time has come, We pluck away the frosted leaves, And bear the treasure home. 8 There, when the snows about us drift, Fair hands the broken grain shall sift, 5 10 15 20 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER 9 Let vapid idlers loll in silk Around their costly board; Give us the bowl of samp and milk, 10 Where'er the wide old kitchen hearth Who will not thank the kindly earth, 11 Then shame on all the proud and vain, The blessing of our hardy grain, 12 Let earth withhold her goodly root, Let mildew blight the rye, Give to the worm the orchard's fruit, 13 But let the good old crop adorn Send up our thanks to God! |