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American Romanticism Classwork Assignment

Analyze the given poem, using the chart.

"BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN."

William Cullen Bryant

Oh, deem not they are blest alone

Whose lives a peaceful tenor keep;

The Power who pities man, has shown

A blessing for the eyes that weep.

The light of smiles shall fill again

The lids that overflow with tears;

And weary hours of woe and pain

Are promises of happier years.

There is a day of sunny rest

For every dark and troubled night;

And grief may bide an evening guest,

But joy shall come with early light.

And thou, who, o'er thy friend's low bier,

Sheddest the bitter drops like rain,

Hope that a brighter, happier sphere

Will give him to thy arms again.

Nor let the good man's trust depart,

Though life its common gifts deny,—

Though with a pierced and broken heart,

And spurned of men, he goes to die.

For God has marked each sorrowing day

And numbered every secret tear,

And heaven's long age of bliss shall pay

For all his children suffer here.

Poetry Analysis Chart

Categories / Example
Title: What is the significance of the title?
Summary: Write a few sentences, summarizing the events/emotions discussed in the poem.
Romanticism Characteristics: Explain why this poem embodies the characteristics of Romanticism
Tone: What is the overall mood of the poem? What examples from the text support your claim? Where do you see the tone shift?
Literary Devices/Writing Style: Which types of poetic devices are present in your poem? Identify them and pick several examples of how that technique was used.
Purpose/Audience: What was the intended purpose of this poem? Who was it written for?
Theme: What do you think is the author’s message of the poem? What does he/she want the reader to believe or understand after reading?

Read the following poem and annotate it. Then respond to the questions, using textual evidence.

“The Cross of Snow”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,

In the long, sleepless watches of the night,

A gentle face-- the face of one long dead--

Looks at me from the wall, where round its head

The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light.

Here in this room she died, and soul more white

Never through martyrdom of fire was led

To its repose; nor can in books be read

The legend of a life more benedight.

There is a mountain in the distant West

That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines

Displays a cross of snow upon its side.

Such is the cross I wear upon my breast

These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes

And seasons, changeless since the day she died.

  1. After reading the poem, how is the title significant?
  1. What is the tone of this poem?
  1. What/Who is the subject of the poem?
  1. Summarize the poem.
  1. Identify the metaphor in this poem and explain how it works to create a clear connection between reader and author.