Of gulfs of sweetness without bound Aught unsavory or unclean, Hath my insect never seen, But violets and bilberry bells, Maple sap and daffodels, Grass with green flag half-mast high, Succory to match the sky, Wiser far than human seer, Thou dost mock at fate and care, Leave the chaff and take the wheat, STUDY HINTS How many different names does the poet give to the bee? Which do you think suits it best? Explain this allusion and its fitness,"Epicurean of June." What does the last line of the second stanza mean? What does it show? What does he emphasize in order to make May seem attractive? Compare his treatment of May with Lowell's of June (p. 198). Does each poet tend to increase our enjoyment of those months? What, then, is one use of poetry? How does the hum of the bee change from May to midsummer? How many of the flowers and plants mentioned by Emerson have you actually seen? From which have you seen the humblebee "sipping only what is sweet"? Why is he called "wiser far than human seer"? Is it possible for us to determine what we shall see and "sip"? What does Emerson like best in the bee? What does his hum in summer tell the poet? What is your impression of the poet? What words give you this impression? Memorize at least one stanza. SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL READINGS The Rhodora. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Mountain and the Squirrel. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Solomon and the Bees. John G. Saxe. The Taxgatherer (from Child Verse). John B. Tabb. The Bee. Emily Dickinson. AN EPITAPH ON SALATHIEL PAVY A Child of Queen Elizabeth's Chapel BEN JONSON Ben Jonson (1573?-1637) was born in London. He rose from the humble trade of a bricklayer to the position of a popular playwright at the court of James I. He was also the author of some exquisite lyrics, such as, "Drink to me only with thine eyes." He was an intimate friend of Shakespeare. See also: Halleck's New English Literature, pp. 199-205, 219. [In Elizabethan days boys acted the female parts in the plays. Ophelia, Portia, Miranda, and Lady Macbeth were all impersonated by boys. The parts of old men were also occasionally played by boys. Salathiel Pavy, the subject of this epitaph, was, as Jonson tells us, a boy who acted such parts. In the tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare makes a reference to boy actors (see Halleck's New English Literature, p. 166) that shows how popular they had become.] WEEP with me, all you that read This little story; And know, for whom a tear you shed Death's self is sorry. 'Twas a child that so did thrive In grace and feature, As heaven and nature seemed to strive Which owned the creature. 1 Three years. Years he numbered scarce thirteen When Fates turned cruel, Yet three filled zodiacs 1 had he been The stage's jewel; And did act, what now we moan, Old men so duly, As, sooth, the Parcæ 2 thought him one, — He played so truly. So, by error to his fate They all consented; But viewing him since, alas, too late They have repented; And have sought to give new birth In baths to steep him; But being so much too good for earth, 2 The three Greek Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos, who respectively spun the web of life, measured, and cut it. TO A WATERFOWL WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), the first great American poet, was born in Cummington, Massachusetts. He was descended from John and Priscilla Alden, whom Longfellow made famous in the Courtship of Miles Standish. When traveling on foot to Plainfield, where he intended practicing law, he saw a bird winging its flight toward the sunset. He was feeling very lonely at the time, but the courage of the bird in its lonely flight gave him new courage. He went on hopefully and at the end of his journey wrote To a Waterfowl to commemorate his experience. See also: Halleck's History of American Literature, pp. 135-145, 152, WHITHER, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Vainly the fowler's eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. Seek'st thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, |