For Biography, [see page 539].
Historical Note. Old Ironsides was the popular name given the U. S. frigate Constitution. It was proposed by the Secretary of the Navy to dispose of the ship, as it had become unfit for service. Popular sentiment did not approve of this; it was felt that a ship which had been the pride of the nation should continue to be the property of the Navy and that it should be rebuilt for service when needed. Holmes wrote this poem at the time when the matter was being widely discussed.
Discussion. 1. In what spirit was this poem written? 2. What was the motive which inspired it? 3. Do you think the poet really means it when he cries, “Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!”? Can you give some other instance of irony? 4. As you read this poem, do you think of the frigate as an inanimate object or does it seem personified? 5. What is meant by “meteor of the ocean wave”? 6. Who are the “harpies of the shore”? The “eagle of the sea”? 7. What does the poet say would be better than to have the ship dismantled? 8. Do you think this a fitting end for a ship of war? 9. Read the story of the fight between the Constitution and the Guerriére given in your history and be prepared to tell it in class. Why did the nation have particular pride in this achievement? 10. Pronounce the following: ensign; beneath.
Phrases
- [tattered ensign, 570, 1]
- [meteor of the ocean air, 570, 7]
- [harpies of the shore, 570, 15]
- [shattered hulk, 571, 1]
THE AMERICAN FLAG
HENRY WARD BEECHER
A thoughtful mind, when it sees a nation’s flag, sees not the flag only, but the nation itself; and whatever may be its symbols, its insignia, he reads chiefly in the flag the government, the principles, the truths, the history, which belong to the nation which sets it forth.