Stanza 1—Morning; time for work.
Stanza 2—The smithy; work of the smith, etc.
3. What do the first four lines tell us of the time? 4. Note how much more they tell; what pictures do they give? What comparison do they suggest? 5. What line in the second stanza adds to the picture in stanza one? 6. In what sense is the smith working “for us”? 7. What does the “panting team” bring from the “far-off hills”? 8. With whose labor does the work of ship-building really begin? Read the lines which tell this. 9. Which line in the third stanza do you like best? 10. What comparison does the poet make between ship-building and other kinds of labor? 11. Is the “master” the only one responsible for making the ship obey the helm? 12. What is the subject of the verb “may feel”? 13. What dangers to the ship are pointed out? How may the ship-builders guard against these dangers? 14. Read the stanzas which urge honest workmanship. 15. At what point in the building of a ship are the “bars and blocks” struck away? 16. In what sense does this “set the good ship free”? 17. Read lines which tell of the ship’s work. 18. In what sense can the “Prairie’s golden grain” “be hers”? 19. What is meant by the “Desert’s golden sand”? 20. What poetic name is given to the Far East? 21. Read the lines that express the poet’s wish for the ship. 22. Select the lines in this poem that give the most vivid pictures. 23. Can you think of anything of which this ship may be the symbol? 24. Compare the poem with Longfellow’s “The Builders” (page 566) for a suggestion as to what the ship may represent. 25. Pronounce the following: sooty; scourge; helm; coral.
Phrases
- [spectral in the river-mist, 562, 3]
- [measured stroke, 562, 5]
- [sooty smithy jars, 563, 2]
- [groaning anvil scourge, 563, 8]
- [century-circled oak, 563, 15]
- [drive the treenails free, 563, 22]
- [vulture-beak of Northern ice, 564, 1]
- [sailor’s citadel, 564, 7]
THE BUILDERS
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
All are [architects of Fate],