CorporalOpossum2956
Read: With troubled heart & trembling hand I write, The Heavens…
Read: With troubled heart & trembling hand I write,
The Heavens have chang’d to sorrow my delight.
How oft with disappointment have I met,
When I on fading things my hopes have set?
Experience might ‘fore this have made me wise, 5.
To value things according to their price:
Was ever stable joy yet found below?
Or perfect bliss without mixture of woe.
I knew she was but as a withering flour,
That’s here to day, perhaps gone in an hour; 10.
Like as a bubble, or the brittle glass,
Or like a shadow turning as it was.
More fool then I to look on that was lent,
As if mine own, when thus impermanent.
Farewel dear child, thou ne’re shall come to me, 15.
But yet a while, and I shall go to thee;
Mean time my throbbing heart’s chear’d up with this
Thou with thy Savior art in endless bliss.
1. In one or two sentences, use your own words to restate the central idea or ideas of the poem.
2. At the end of line 7, what does “below” refer to, and how did you figure it out?
3. On line 13, what does “that was lent” refer to, and who was doing the lending?
4. Pick out a two line selection that you like
a. Copy and paste the two lines.
b. How did this section affect you?
c. What about the language made these lines special, and what role did that play in how the lines affected you?
d. How do these lines fit into the piece as a whole?
READ: A Curious Knot God made in Paradise,
And drew it out inamled neatly Fresh.
It was the True-Love Knot, more sweet than spice
And set with all the flowres of Graces dress.
Its Weddens Knot, that ne’re can be unti’de. 5.
No Alexanders Sword can it divide.
The slips here planted, gay and glorious grow:
Unless an Hellish breath do sindge their Plumes.
Here Primrose, Cowslips, Roses, Lilies blow
With Violets and Pinkes that voide perfumes. 10.
Whose beautious leaves ore laid with Hony Dew.
And Chanting birds Cherp out sweet Musick true.
When in this Knot I planted was, my Stock
Soon knotted, and a manly flower out brake.
And after it my branch again did knot 15.
Brought out another Flowre its sweet breath’d mate.
One knot gave one tother the tothers place.
Whence Checkling smiles fought in each others face.
But oh! a glorious hand from glory came
Guarded with Angells, soon did Crop this flowere 20.
Which almost tore the root up of the same
At that unlookt for, Dolesome, darksome houre.
In Pray’re to Christ perfum’de it did ascend,
And Angells bright did it to heaven tend.
But pausing on’t, this sweet perfum’d my thought, 25.
Christ would in Glory have a Flowre, Choice, Prime,
And having Choice, chose this my branch forth brought.
Lord, take’t. I thanke thee, thou takst ought of mine,
It is my pledg in glory, part of mee
Is now in it, Lord, glorifi’de with thee. 30.
But praying ore my branch, my branch did sprout
And bore another manly flower, and gay
And after that another, sweet brake out,
The which the former hand soon got away.
But oh! the tortures, Vomit, screechings, groans, 35.
And six weeks fever would pierce hearts like stones.
Griefe o’re doth flow: and nature fault would finde
Were not thy Will, my Spell, Charm, Joy, and Gem:
That as I said, I say, take, Lord, they’re thine.
I piecemeale pass to Glory bright in them. 40.
In joy, may I sweet Flowers for Glory breed,
Whether thou getst them green, or lets them seed.
5. How many of the children born in the poem are sons? How many are daughters? How do you know that?
6. The first three stanzas of this poem have a happy tone. What parts of Taylor’s life do they describe, and why do you think Taylor included them in the poem?
7. How would you describe this poem’s rhyme scheme?
8. Both Bradstreet and Taylor conclude their poems with a hopeful tone by looking at the death of their loved ones from a religious perspective. While Bradstreet and Taylor were both New England Puritans, their religious beliefs don’t seem to be quite the same. Based on these poems, what differences do you see?
9. Which poem did you like better? Give at least three reasons that are based in the text. Use at least one quotation to support.
READ: Emporers and kings! in vain you strive
Your torments to conceal–
The age is come that shakes your thrones,
Tramples in dust despotic crowns,
And bids the sceptre fail. 5.
In western worlds the flame began:
From thence to France it flew–
Through Europe, now, it takes its way,
Beams an insufferable day,
And lays all tyrants low. 10.
Genius fo France! pursue the chace
Till Reason’s laws restore
Man to be Man, in every clime;–
That Being, active, great, sublime
Debas’d in dust no more. 15.
In dreadful pomp he takes his way
O’er ruin’d crowns, demolish’d thrones–
Pale tyrants shrink before his blaze–
Round him terrific lightenings play–
With eyes of fire, he looks then through, 20.
Crushes the vile despotic crew,
And Pride in ruin lays.
10. Where in this poem can you see evidence that Freneau associates the French Revolution with the values of the Enlightenment?
11. Who do you think “he” in line 16 refers to? Based on what evidence?
12. Paraphrase lines 6 and 7, translating any figurative language into literal language.
READ: IT has been my intention, for several years past, to publish my thoughts upon religion; I am well aware of the difficulties that attend the subject, and from that consideration, had reserved it to a more advanced period of life. I intended it to be the last offering I should make to my fellow-citizens of all nations, and that at a time when the purity of the motive that induced me to it could not admit of a question, even by those who might disapprove the work.
The circumstance that has now taken place in France, of the total abolition of the whole national order of priesthood, and of everything appertaining to compulsive systems of religion, and compulsive articles of faith, has not only precipitated my intention, but rendered a work of this kind exceedingly necessary, lest, in the general wreck of superstition, of false systems of government, and false theology, we lose sight of morality, of humanity, and of the theology that is true.
As several of my colleagues, and others of my fellow-citizens of France, have given me the example of making their voluntary and individual profession of faith, I also will make mine; and I do this with all that sincerity and frankness with which the mind of man communicates with itself.
I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life.
I believe the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.
But, lest it should be supposed that I believe many other things in addition to these, I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, and my reasons for not believing them.
I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.
All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.
I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.
It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime. He takes up the trade of a priest for the sake of gain, and, in order to qualify himself for that trade, he begins with a perjury. Can we conceive anything more destructive to morality than this?
Soon after I had published the pamphlet COMMON SENSE, in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion. The adulterous connection of church and state, wherever it had taken place, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, had so effectually prohibited, by pains and penalties, every discussion upon established creeds, and upon first principles of religion, that until the system of government should be changed, those subjects could not be brought fairly and openly before the world; but that whenever this should be done, a revolution in the system of religion would follow. Human inventions and priest-craft would be detected; and man would return to the pure, unmixed, and unadulterated belief of one God, and no more.
13. What does Paine mean when he writes each of the following phrases?
a. “My own mind is my own church”
b. “mental lying”
c. “The adulterous connection of church and state, wherever it had taken place… had so effectually prohibited, by pains and penalties, every discussion upon established creeds, and upon first principles of religion…”
READ:
14. In the second paragraph of his letter, Benjamin Franklin uses a specific sense of the word weak. He writes: “But think how great a portion of mankind consists of weak and ignorant men and women, and of inexperienced, inconsiderate youth of both sexes, who have need of the motives of religion…”
Find three synonyms of weak that wouldn’t make sense in this context, and explain why they wouldn’t fit.
15. Since the letters were written to Paine before he published The Age of Reason, he could have had them in mind as he was writing parts of the pamphlet. Where in “The Author’s Profession of Faith” does it seem like Paine might have been reacting to the ideas contained in these letters? Pick out one quotation from Paine’s chapter, and one quotation from a letter, and then explain why you think they could be connected.
16. The word infidelity comes up several times in the writings above.
a. Break the word infidelity into three parts– a prefix, a stem, and a suffix.
b. Give three words that use the same prefix, three words that use the same suffix, and two words that use the same stem
c. Define the prefix, the stem, and the suffix as best you can.
17. Find three words that you weren’t sure about from any of the last three texts.
a. Define each word as best you can, using context clues.
b. Look each word up in a dictionary and provide the definition (don’t forget to cite your source!)
c. Use the word in a sentence in a way that shows you understand its meaning.
18. Which letter feels more critical of Paine? Use and explain at least one quotation from each letter to support your claim.
