Of the laurel, the rose, and the gay woodbine,
Where the long, gray moss decks the rugged oak tree,—
That sun-bright land is the land for me.
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
Biography. Samuel Henry Dickson (1798-1872) was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He was graduated at Yale College in 1814, and afterward took a course in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Dickson was professor of medicine successively at the medical school at Charleston, at the University of the City of New York, and at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He wrote several books on medicine. His love for his native sun-bright southland is beautifully expressed, in this poem.
Discussion. 1. What part of the country does the poet mean when he refers to the “land of Cyprus and pine”? 2. Mention the beautiful things named in the first stanza which characterize this land. 3. Have you ever seen the moss “which droops low from the green oak tree”? Where? 4. What birds does the poet mention in this selection? 5. Do you think these birds would be found in the woods of Maine or Wisconsin? 6. Note the changes of the time of day throughout the poem. In which stanza is the “morn” spoken of? The “livelong day”? The night? 7. Have you ever heard “the moan of the plaintive whip-poor-will”? 8. Do you think the poet was right in calling its note a “moan”? Do you know how this bird got its name? 9. Does the poet convince you that this is a land worth sighing for?
THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
WASHINGTON IRVING