Syllabic structure of a verse

Stress

/

x

/

x

/

x

/

x

/

x

/

x

/

x

/

x

Syllable

Once

up-

on

a

mid-

night

drear-

y,

while

I

pon-

dered

weak

and

wear-

y

Edgar Allan Poe, however, claimed the poem was a combination of octameter acatalectic, heptameter catalectic, and tetrameter catalectic. The rhyme scheme is ABCBBB, or AA,B,CC,CB,B,B when accounting for internal rhyme. In every stanza, the 'B' lines rhyme with the word 'nevermore' and are catalectic, placing extra emphasis on the final syllable. The poem also makes heavy use of alliteration (“Doubting, dreaming dreams...”). 20th century American poet Daniel Hoffman suggested that the poem's structure and meter is so formulaic that it is artificial, though its mesmeric quality overrides that.

Poe based the structure of The Raven on the complicated rhyme and rhythm of Elizabeth Barrett's poem Lady Geraldine's Courtship. Poe had reviewed Barrett's work in the January 1845 issue of the Broadway Journal and said that "her poetic inspiration is the highest—we can conceive of nothing more august. Her sense of Art is pure in itself.” As is typical with Poe, his review also criticizes her lack of originality and what he considers the repetitive nature of some of her poetry. About Lady Geraldine's Courtship, he said, “I have never read a poem combining so much of the fiercest passion with so much of the most delicate imagination.” [26]

2. Read the poem and compare it with its translation by D. Merezhkovski. What other translated versions do you know?

The Raven Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. `'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door - Only this, and nothing more.' Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore - Nameless here for evermore. [11]

Ворон   Погруженный в скорбь немую и усталый, в ночь глухую, Раз, когда поник в дремоте я над книгой одного Из забытых миром знаний, книгой полной обаяний, - Стук донесся, стук нежданный в двери дома моего: “Это путник постучался в двери дома моего, Только путник - больше ничего”.   В декабре - я помню - было это полночью унылой. В очаге под пеплом угли разгорались иногда. Груды книг не утоляли ни на миг моей печали - Об утраченной Леноре, той, чье имя навсегда – В сонме ангелов - Ленора, той, чье имя навсегда В этом мире стерлось - без следа. [7]

3. Read and retell the following text.

James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Among his most famous works is the Romantic novel The Last of the Mohicans, often regarded as his masterpiece.

 

Writings

He anonymously published his first book, Precaution (1820). He soon issued several others. In 1823, he published The Pioneers; this was the first of the Leatherstocking series, featuring Natty Bumppo, the resourceful American woodsman at home with the Delaware Indians and especially their chief Chingachgook. Cooper's most famous novel, The Last of the Mohicans (1826), became one of the most widely read American novels of the 19th century. The book was written in New York City, where Cooper and his family lived from 1822 to 1826.

In 1826 Cooper moved his family to Europe, where he sought to gain more income from his books as well as provide better education for his children. While overseas he continued to write. His books published in Paris include The Red Rover and The Water Witch —two of his many sea stories.

In 1832 he entered the lists as a party writer; in a series of letters to The National, a Parisian journal, he defended the United States against a string of charges brought against them by The Revue Britannique. For the rest of his life he continued skirmishing in print, sometimes for the national interest, sometimes for that of the individual, and not infrequently for both at once.

This opportunity to make a political confession of faith reflected the political turn he already had taken in his fiction, having attacked European anti-republicanism in The Bravo (1831). Cooper continued this political course in The Heidenmauer (1832) and The Headsman: or the Abbaye of Vigneron (1833). The Bravo depicted Venice as a place where a ruthless oligarchy lurks behind the mask of the “serene republic”. All were widely read on both sides of the Atlantic, though The Bravo was a critical failure in the United States.

In 1833 Cooper returned to America and immediately published A Letter to My Countrymen, in which he gave his own version of the controversy in which he had been engaged and sharply censured his compatriots for their share in it. This attack he followed up with novels and several sets of notes on his travels and experiences in Europe. His Homeward Bound and Home as Found are notable for containing a highly idealized portrait of himself.

In June 1834, he resolved to reopen his ancestral mansion, Otsego Hall, at Cooperstown, then long closed and falling into decay; he had been absent from the mansion nearly 16 years. Repairs were at once begun, and the house was speedily put in order. At first, he wintered in New York City and summered in Cooperstown, but eventually he made Otsego Hall his permanent abode. [14]

4. Match the titles with its subtitles.

The Leatherstocking Tales

Title	Subtitle
1. The Deerslayer	a. The First War Path
2. The Last of the Mohicans	b. A Narrative of 1757
3. The Pathfinder	c. The Inland Sea
4. The Pioneers	d. The Sources of the Susquehanna; A Descriptive Tale
5. The Prairie	e. A Tale

5. Read the following extract and complete the tasks.

The Last of the Mohicans

Chapter I

Silent Dangers

 

It is a strange characteristic of the French English war of North America that the dangers of the natural world had to be defeated before any fighting could be done between the two countries. The land was covered in mountains, lakes and forests, which, although the French and British fought over for three years, neither would eventually possess. We start our story in a large forest, where Fort Edward stands. At the time an enormous French army, commanded by General Montcalm, was in the region and the British were worried about an attack.

A group of people are travelling from Fort Edward to Fort William. Two of them are daughters of the British general, a man called Munro. Instead of going on the normal road between the forts, a journey of two days, they had decided to journey through the forest. The party also included an English officer, a religious man and a native Indian.

Duncan, the officer, had fair golden hair and bright blue eyes. The younger of the sisters, Alice, was also blonde and fair, and she was very beautiful. The other, Cora, was also beautiful, but had black hair, darker skin and was perhaps five years older. The fourth white man, David, was a strange looking man. His head was large, his shoulders narrow, his arms and legs long and thin. He was a pilgrim who had come to America to tell the natives about the word of God. As for the Indian who was guiding the group, he was silent and angry-looking.

While the Indian was walking ahead, Alice asked Duncan about their guide.

“I don’t like him. Can we trust him?”

“I would not let any man guide us who I do not know. I met him by accident. He once had some trouble with your father, but he has been punished for that.”

“If he has been my father’s enemy, I like him even less,” said Alice.

“Should we distrust a man because his skin is darker than ours?” asked Cora coldly, and the conversation stopped.

After a time David began singing a religious song and Alice joined in. The group relaxed as they continued through the narrow forest path. However, after one song the Indian came to the group and spoke quickly to Duncan.

“Though we are not in danger, our guide suggests than we should avoid attention while on these paths,” Duncan told them.

Their journey continued in silence, and none noticed when an Indian face looked out from behind a tree, viewing his potential victims.

Later in the day, and only a few miles to the west, we can find two men standing together by a small river. One of the men was a redskin while the other, although dark, was a white man – a strange couple. One carried the tomahawk of a native; the other had a long hunting rifle.

The native was almost naked, whereas the white man wore a green hunting shirt. They called each other by their Indian names, Chingachgook and Hawkeye, and spoke in the Indian language. The Indian was telling Hawkeye about the history of his people.

“The first whitefaces were Dutch. In those times we, the Delawares, were a happy people. The lakes gave us fish; the wood, animals; and the air, its birds. We took wives, who gave us children. Then the Dutch came and gave my people firewater, and we drank until the heaven and earth seemed to meet. Then they gave away their land. My whole family departed to the next world, and when Uncas follows me to that land, there will be no more of us, for my son is the last of the Mohicans.”

In the next instant a youthful warrior passed between them.

“Uncas is here!” he said.

“Do the Huron walk in these woods?” Chingachgook asked seriously.

“I have been following them. They number as many as the fingers on my two hands.”

Suddenly the older Indian bent down and put his ear to the ground.

“I hear the sound of feet!” said Hawkeye.

“No. The horses of white men,” said Chingachgook. “Hawkeye, they are your brothers; speak to them.”

In a few moments a man on a horse rode into the area.

Hawkeye and the rider quickly spoke to each other.

“Who comes?” asked Hawkeye.

“An officer of the king. Do you know the distance to Fort William?”

“You must be lost. It is many miles. I suggest you go to Edward.”

“But that is where we started our journey this morning. We trusted our Indian guide to lead us the way.”

“An Indian lost in the woods! It is very strange. Is this man a Delaware?”

“No, I think he is a Huron. But he has worked for me before and I trust him.”

“A Huron! They are thieves. I would only trust a Mohican or a Delaware. We should try to take this Indian prisoner. Then I will take us to a safe place to sleep.”

The other three riders then appeared with their Indian guide, Magua. The two Indian friends of Hawkeye disappeared without being seen.

“I see the ladies are tired. Let’s rest a moment,” said Duncan.

“The whitefaces are slaves to their women,” said Magua in his own language.

“What does Magua say?” asked Duncan.

“He says it is good,” said Magua.

“It will soon be night, Magua, and we are no closer Fort William than when we started. Luckily we have met a hunter who can lead us to a safe place to stay the night.”

“Then I will go, and the whitefaces can be together.”

“No, Magua, are we not friends? Stop and eat with us.”

Magua went to sit down, but stopped when he heard quiet sounds from the forest near him.

“Magua doesn’t eat,” he told Duncan.

Duncan decided to get off his horse and offer Magua some of his food. He hoped to capture him as Hawkeye had advised. As he got close to the Indian, he tried to hold his arm. Magua, feeling the danger, ran into the forest. In the next instant Chingachgook and Uncas jumped out of their hiding places and chased after the Indian. Hawkeye fired his rifle, but missed, which was unusual for him. [15]

1. Read these sentences about the story. Decide if they are true or false.

 

1. David’s job is a singer.

2. Alice didn’t trust or like Magua.

3. Cora thought that it was stupid to make an opinion about someone because of their skin colour.

4. The group of whites were being followed.

5. Chingachgook told Hawkeye that many Indians died because of alcohol.

6. Hawkeye heard the horses coming before Chingachgook.

7. Duncan knew a safe place to stay in the forest.

8. Magua escaped because Duncan wasn’t patient.

 

2. Now, without looking at the sentences above, try to complete the

gaps.

1. The land was.................. in mountains, lakes and forests.

2. He was a strange.................. man.

3. She.................. fair golden hair.

4. The man had.................. shoulders.

5. I met him.................. accident.

6. I will take us to a safe.................. to sleep.

7. The two disappeared.................. being seen.

 

3. Preposition Check