614-617. Commit these lines to memory. The last two lines of this poem are also frequently quoted. 621. Why did the Wedding Guest not go to the bridegroom's house and take part in the pleasures of the evening?

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Compare the movement of the stanzas of this poem with the following stanzas from an old "ballad," entitled Brown Robyn's Confession":

"It fell upon a Wodensday

Brown Robyn's men went to sea,
But they saw neither moon nor sun
Nor starlight wi' their ee.

"We'll cast kevels (lots) us amang,
See wha the unhappy man may be;'
The kevel fell on Brown Robyn,
The master man was he.

"They've tyed him to a plank o' wude,
And thrown him in the sea;

He didna sink, tho' they bade him sink;
He swimd, and they lat him bee.”
(See Gummere's "Old English Ballads," p. 142.)

GENERAL EXERCISES

1. What is the meaning of the word "Rime" in the title? Where does the Mariner's tale begin? end? Give a reason for having just seven parts, or divisions, of the poem. Write an outline to indicate briefly the principal events narrated in each division of the story. Show that each part ends with a sort of climax. How is the reader's interest sustained until the end of the poem?

2. What was the author's chief purpose in writing this poem? Which did the author think of first the moral idea, or the story? Do you think the author had the whole story in mind before he began to write the poem, or not? Did the author have all the little details of the poem in mind before he began to write it? What method does the author adopt to make the story impressive? What are some of the ways of making the poem beautiful? Which impresses the reader most the moral, the story, or the weaving of the moral teaching into the

story? Why would this impression not be as strong and lasting if the natural and ordinary had been used instead of the supernatural? If the author had told the substance of the story in prose, giving as nearly as possible all the details we have in the poem, in what respects would the prose story have been different from the poem?

3. Why should the sailor see a phantom "ship"? What is the fitness of having him imagine such a crew of the phantom ship as is given in the poem? Give a full account of the approach and disappearance of the phantom ship.

4. Make a list of all the old-fashioned words used in the poem, and give the meaning of each. Why did the author use these words?

5. Trace the path of the Mariner's ship from the time it left the home port until its return.

6. Make a list of the repetitions in the poem, and show the force of each.

7. Select what you consider the five best similes in the poem. The five most beautiful metaphors. Five instances of personification.

8. Can any of the seemingly supernatural events in the poem be explained as real phenomena? If so, which effect was the most prominent when you first read the poem - the natural or the super

natural?

9. Give at least three stages of the Mariner's penance. Show that the intensity of the penance gradually decreased. What condition of soul does the penance symbolize?

10. Write a summary of the moral reflections suggested by the study of this poem.

COMPOSITIONS

Write briefly, in good prose, the main story, or “argument" of the poem. Be careful in regard to paragraphing and the construction of sentences. Make the narration as interesting as you possibly can.

"The Use of the Supernatural in the Poem." What classes of people believe in the supernatural? How does this belief influence their life? Mention the places in the poem where the supernatural is used, commenting on each, and making a well-connected essay. In conclusion, tell why you think the poet wrote in this manner.

"The Moral Teachings of the Poem." State how moral ideas determine conduct; how moral ideas are acquired. Discuss the chief moral lesson of the poem. Show that there are several other lessons

that are illustrated by the poem. In conclusion, the moral effect of the poem upon those who read it.

"The Ancient Mariner as a Work of Art." Speak of the difference between "useful" arts and "fine" arts. The fine arts are sculpture, painting, architecture, music, and literatúre. What are some of the elements of poetry as art, (a) in regard to form and structure? (b) in regard to thought and expression? Discuss the composition and verse of this poem; the use of figures, giving particular examples from the poem to illustrate your points; the association of human emotions with particular nature scenes, etc.; the spirit of the poem as a whole.

"The Wedding Guest and the Ancient Mariner." Brief description of the Wedding Guest, his feelings as he walked along with his friends, stopped by the Mariner - appearance of the Mariner, his feelings - the Wedding Guest under the spell of the Mariner's eye — the Wedding Guest's interruptions of the Mariner's story- the feelings of each after they separate.

"The Phantom Ship." The ship becalmed, the suffering of the sailors the approach of the specter bark — its appearance, crew, and what they were doing the disappearance of the apparition ment of the Mariner and sailors.

amaze

"The Mariner and the Sailors." The Mariner's relation to the other sailors when they began their journey - how the killing of the Albatross affected that relation - the death of the sailors - the groaning, looks, and movements of the dead bodies. what finally became of the sailors.

"The Superstitions of the Sailors." Their belief in the albatross -in signs of the weather — in spirits — in the assistance of saints. "Nature Scenes in the Poem." How much of the poem is description of nature the kinds of nature scenes - different appearances of the sky, sea, sun, moon, and stars illustrate your statements by appropriate quotations from the poem - the association of strong human emotions with particular natural scenery.

"A Comparison of Michael' and the Ancient Mariner.'" How the poems differ in versification and plan; in language; in figures of speech; in nature scenes; in appeal to imagination or feeling; in method of arousing interest; in impression.

LINCOLN'S FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS

FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES: In compliance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly, and to take in your presence the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by the 5 President "before he enters on the execution of his office."

I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement.

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Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern states that by the accession of a Republican administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. 15 Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that "I have no pur- 20 pose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made 25 this and many similar declarations, and had never recanted them, and, more than this, they placed in the

platform for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves and to 30 me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read: "Resolved, that the maintenance invio- 35 late of the rights of the states and especially the right of each state to order and control its own 40 domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on 45 which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depends, and we denounce the lawless 50 invasion by armed force of the soil of any state or territory, no matter under what pretext, as among the 55 gravest of crimes."

I now reiterate these sentiments; and, in doing so, I only press upon the 60