from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage Canto IV

1. from Childe Harold’s PilgrimageCanto IV George Gordon, Lord Byron English 7-8Ms. LedouxFall 2007

2. 1 There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more, From these our interviews, in which I steal◦ From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal. 5 6. steal v.: remove myself

3. 2 Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean—roll! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; Man marks the earth with ruin—his control Stops with the shore; upon the watery plain The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain A shadow of man’s ravage, save his own, When, for a moment, like a drop of rain, He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, Without a grave, unknelled,◦uncoffined, and unknown. 10 15 18. unknelledv.: without the traditional ringing of a church bell to announce his death

4. 3 And I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be Borne, like thy bubbles, onward: From a boy I wantoned◦ with thy breakers—they to me Were a delight; and if the freshening◦ sea Made them a terror—‘twas a pleasing fear, For I was as it were a child of thee, And trusted to thy billows far and near, And laid my hand upon thy mane—as I do here. 20 25 22. wantonedv.: frolicked; played happily 23. freshening adj.: becoming rough as the wind comes up

5. 4 My task is done, my song hath ceased, my theme Has died into an echo; it is fit The spell should break of this protracted dream. The torch shall be extinguished which hath lit My midnight lamp—and what is writ, is writ; Would it were worthier! But I am not now That which I have been—and my visions flit Less palpably◦ before me—and the glow Which in my spirit dwelt is fluttering, faint, and low. 30 35 35. palpably adv.: clearly

6. 5 Farewell! a word that must be, and hath been— A sound which makes us linger;—yet—farewell! Ye! who have traced the Pilgrim to the scene Which is his last, if in your memories dwell A thought which once was his, if on ye swell A single recollection, not in vain He wore his sandal shoon and scallop shell;◦ Farewell! with him alone may rest the pain, If such there were—with you, the moral of his strain.◦ 40 45 43. sandal shoon…shell:Shoon is archaic for “shoes.” Sandals and a scallop shell worn on a hat were traditional emblems of pilgrims. The scallop shell is a symbol of Saint James, whose shrine in Spain was a great attraction to pilgrims. 45. strain:n.: passage of poetry or song

7. questions English 7-8Ms. LedouxFall 2007

8. Question No. 1:Spenserian stanza.This poem is written in Spenserian stanzas, which consist of nine lines following an ababbcbcc rhyme scheme. The first eight lines are in iambic pentameter of ten syllables. The final line is an alexandrine: It has two additional syllables. In what way does this intricate form fit the subject? 1 There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more, From these our interviews, in which I steal◦ From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal. 5

9. Question No. 2:Apostrophe.What does the apostrophe add to the description? 2 Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean—roll! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; Man marks the earth with ruin—his control Stops with the shore; upon the watery plain The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain A shadow of man’s ravage, save his own, When, for a moment, like a drop of rain, He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, Without a grave, unknelled,◦uncoffined, and unknown. 10 Question No. 3:Word choice.What is the effect of the alliteration in this line (“unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown”)…? 15

10. 3 And I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be Borne, like thy bubbles, onward: From a boy I wantoned◦ with thy breakers—they to me Were a delight; and if the freshening◦ sea Made them a terror—‘twas a pleasing fear, For I was as it were a child of thee, And trusted to thy billows far and near, And laid my hand upon thy mane—as I do here. 20 Question No. 4:Interpreting.What is the speaker’s feeling for the ocean here? 25

11. 4 My task is done, my song hath ceased, my theme Has died into an echo; it is fit The spell should break of this protracted dream. The torch shall be extinguished which hath lit My midnight lamp—and what is writ, is writ; Would it were worthier! But I am not now That which I have been—and my visions flit Less palpably◦ before me—and the glow Which in my spirit dwelt is fluttering, faint, and low. 30 Question No. 5:Making inferences.What is the “glow” that is “faint, and low”? 35

12. 5 Farewell! a word that must be, and hath been— A sound which makes us linger;—yet—farewell! Ye! who have traced the Pilgrim to the scene Which is his last, if in your memories dwell A thought which once was his, if on ye swell A single recollection, not in vain He wore his sandal shoon and scallop shell;◦ Farewell! with him alone may rest the pain, If such there were—with you, the moral of his strain.◦ ■ Question No. 6:Apostrophe.What is the tone of the speaker’s address to the reader? Why might he make such an emphatic farewell? 40 45