Under its loosened vest Fluttered her little breast, "Bright in her father's hall 5 10 Shields gleamed upon the wall, When of old Hildebrand To hear my story. "While the brown ale he quaffed, Loud then the champion laughed, And as the wind gusts waft The sea-foam brightly, From the deep drinking horn "She was a Prince's child, I but a Viking wild, And though she blushed and smiled, Should not the dove so white Follow the sea mew's flight, 5 10 15 20 25 Why did they leave that night "Scarce had I put to sea, Bearing the maid with me,— Fairest of all was she Among the Norsemen ! - With twenty horsemen. "Then launched they to the blast, When the wind failed us; "And as to catch the gale 'Death!' was the helmsman's hail, 'Death without quarter!' Midships with iron keel Struck we her ribs of steel; Through the black water! "As with his wings aslant, Bore I the maiden. "Three weeks we westward bore, Cloudlike we saw the shore Stands looking seaward. "There lived we many years; Time dried the maiden's tears; She had forgot her fears, She was a mother; Death closed her mild blue eyes, Under that tower she lies Ne'er shall the sun arise On such another! ; "Still grew my bosom then, Still as a stagnant fen! 5 10 15 20 25 5 10 Hateful to me were men, The sunlight hateful! Oh, death was grateful! "Thus, seamed with many scars, My soul ascended! There from the flowing bowl Deep drinks the warrior's soul, Skoal! to the Northland! skoal!" Thus the tale ended. [The idea of this poem came from an old tower at Newport, Rhode Island, which was by many believed to have been built before the English colonists came, and from a skeleton, wearing something like armor, that had been found at Fall River, Massachusetts. Longfellow's tale is supposed to be told by a Norse (Norwegian) viking, or pirate, who had fled across the ocean with his wife, built the tower, and, after her death, killed himself in his grief.] balms, ointments, such as would have been used in embalming a mummy; skald, poet; sa'ga, a tale about heroes; gris'ly, horrible; were'wolf, a man who has been transformed into a wolf; cor'sair, pirate; ma raud'ers, plunderers, robbers; was'sail bout, drinking feast; Ber'serk's tale, tale told of or by a Berserk, a fierce or mad warrior; plight'ed, pledged, promised; sea mew, sea gull; Skaw, a cape or headland; quarter, mercy; fen, marsh; gear, armor; skoal, health. 1. Read the poem through. Where is the scene laid? Compare in this respect with The Neckan. 2. From this poem, what kind of a sea would you judge the Baltic to be? 3. Compare this picture of the Baltic with that in The Neckan. 4. Who is speaking in the first stanza? 5. Which stanzas contain the skeleton's reply? 6. To what does the speaker compare the maid in the eighth stanza? To what in the twelfth? To what does he compare his escape with her? 7. Tell in your own words the story the skeleton tells. Word Study: Was and Were. vows were plighted. -1. I was a Viking old! 2. Our In the first sentence how many persons or things are spoken of? In the second? Rules. -Was is used in speaking of one person or thing. Were is used in speaking of more than one person or thing. Were is used with you whether one or more than one is meant. Examples: Father, were you out in the storm? The children were nestled all snug in their beds. Written Exercise. I. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with was or were. Read aloud until the form becomes on the deep. dressed all in furs. 3. The tree's early leaf buds - bursting their brown 4. Mother, you ever a little child like me? 5. The lion and the unicorn fighting for the crown. 6. Oh, green And bright the corn as I rode on my way, |