The Fireside Poets Questions Essay Example
1. What metaphors does Holmes use to describe the ship in stanzas one and two of "Old Ironsides"?
The meteor of the air and the eagle of the sea.
2. In 1830, the 44-gun American warship Constitution, the inspiration for "Old Ironsides," was scheduled to be scrapped - that is, stripped of everything valuable or reasonable. What proposal is put forth by Holmes, in the last stanza of his poem?
To let it sink to the bottom of the ocean with nature and let it be where it was meant and supposed to be. Nature is supposed to have it to keep it at peace
3. What do you think Holmes wants the ship to symbolize?
He wants it to symbolize something powerful
4. The term,"Harpies," in line 15 of "Old Ironsides" is an allusion to predatory flying creatures in Greek mythology, which have bodies of vultures and heads of women. The name meant "snatchers" or "robbers." Why do you think that Holmes uses this allusion in his poem?
I think he uses that allusion because the vultures have robbed the constitution of their glory
5. In Longfellow's "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls," how does the title foreshadow the fact the traveler will not return?
Because in the title it says that he falls so therefore he will most likely not return.
6. Do you think Longfellow's poem is about one specific traveler, or could it apply to all in general? Explain your answer.
I think it applies to all in general because every traveler has to go through what Longfellow states in his poem
7. Personification is a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. Cite an example of Longfellow's use of personification in "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls."
“the twilight darkens, the curlew
The meteor of the air and the eagle of the sea.
2. In 1830, the 44-gun American warship Constitution, the inspiration for "Old Ironsides," was scheduled to be scrapped - that is, stripped of everything valuable or reasonable. What proposal is put forth by Holmes, in the last stanza of his poem?
To let it sink to the bottom of the ocean with nature and let it be where it was meant and supposed to be. Nature is supposed to have it to keep it at peace
3. What do you think Holmes wants the ship to symbolize?
He wants it to symbolize something powerful
4. The term,"Harpies," in line 15 of "Old Ironsides" is an allusion to predatory flying creatures in Greek mythology, which have bodies of vultures and heads of women. The name meant "snatchers" or "robbers." Why do you think that Holmes uses this allusion in his poem?
I think he uses that allusion because the vultures have robbed the constitution of their glory
5. In Longfellow's "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls," how does the title foreshadow the fact the traveler will not return?
Because in the title it says that he falls so therefore he will most likely not return.
6. Do you think Longfellow's poem is about one specific traveler, or could it apply to all in general? Explain your answer.
I think it applies to all in general because every traveler has to go through what Longfellow states in his poem
7. Personification is a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. Cite an example of Longfellow's use of personification in "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls."
“the twilight darkens, the curlew