"He began writing poetry at an early age; one of his most famous works, Old Ironsides, was published in 1830 and was influential in the eventual preservation of the USS Constitution. Following training at the prestigious medical schools of Paris, Holmes was granted his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1836.
"He taught at Dartmouth Medical School before returning to teach at Harvard and, for a time, served as dean there. During his long professorship, he became an advocate for various medical reforms and notably posited the controversial idea that doctors were capable of carrying puerperal fever from patient to patient. Holmes retired from Harvard in 1882 and continued writing poetry, novels and essays until his death in 1894.
"Surrounded by Boston's literary elite—which included friends such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and James Russell Lowell—Holmes made an indelible imprint on the literary world of the 19th century.
"Many of his works were published in The Atlantic Monthly, a magazine that he named. For his literary achievements and other accomplishments, he was awarded numerous honorary degrees from universities around the world. Holmes's writing often commemorated his native Boston area, and much of it was meant to be humorous or conversational.
"Some of his medical writings, notably his 1843 essay regarding the contagiousness of puerperal fever, were considered innovative for their time. He was often called upon to issue occasional poetry, or poems written specifically for an event, including many occasions at Harvard. Holmes also popularized several terms, including Boston Brahmin and anesthesia.
Below are six poems written by Oliver Wendell Holmes that Olivia read and reflected on. Some of her thoughts are below the poems.
CACOETHES SCRIBENDI
If all the trees in all the woods were men;
And each and every blade of grass a pen;
If every leaf on every shrub and tree
Turned to a sheet of foolscap; every sea
Were changed to ink, and all earth's living tribes
Had nothing else to do but act as scribes,
And for ten thousand ages, day and night,
The human race should write, and write, and write,
Till all the pens and paper were used up,
And the huge inkstand was an empty cup,
Still would the scribblers clustered round its brink
Call for more pens, more paper, and more ink.
Olivia thought:
- I like this poem. It's interesting. I like the first part better than the ending.
- Trees can produce more leaves and grass grow, but only the sea would dry up.
- (We looked up the poem's title which means: an uncontrollable urge to write.) I'm glad we looked up the meaning of the title.
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DEPARTED DAYS
Yes, dear departed, cherished days,
Could Memory's hand restore
Your morning light, your evening rays,
From Time's gray urn once more,--
Then might this restless heart be still,
This straining eye might close,
And Hope her fainting pinions fold,
While the fair phantoms rose.
But, like a child in ocean's arms,
We strive against the stream,
Each moment farther from the shore
Where life's young fountains gleam;--
Each moment fainter wave the fields,
And wider rolls the sea;
The mist grows dark,--the sun goes down,--
Day breaks,--and where are we?
Olivia thought:
- That one didn't seem to make as much sense as the first one.
- The first stanza lines up with the title of the poem, but the second stanza doesn't.
- Memory cannot bring back departed days.
- The second stanza talks about a person's age. It shows that as you age you can't get that youth back.
- Youth is represented by the shore.
- As you get older, it is harder to see the fields and the sea is getting bigger.
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FANTASIA - THE YOUNG GIRL'S POEM
Kiss mine eyelids, beauteous Morn,
Blushing into life new-born!
Lend me violets for my hair,
And thy russet robe to wear,
And thy ring of rosiest hue
Set in drops of diamond dew!
Kiss my cheek, thou noontide ray,
From my Love so far away!
Let thy splendor streaming down
Turn its pallid lilies brown,
Till its darkening shades reveal
Where his passion pressed its seal!
Kiss my lips, thou Lord of light,
Kiss my lips a soft good-night!
Westward sinks thy golden car;
Leave me but the evening star,
And my solace that shall be,
Borrowing all its light from thee!
Olivia thought:
- That definitely seemed a little darker. The very last line you said - it sounds like it is taking the light from her.
We re-read the poem stanza by stanza. Then Olivia said the following:
- The first stanza sounds like she is getting ready to go somewhere. It sounds like she is saying goodbye to someone and she is putting on her diamond ring and coat.
- I can see the coat color (reddish-brown) more than the violets.
- Sounds like she has a ruby ring (because of its rosiest hue) with diamonds around it.
- (First interpretation of the second stanza:) The second stanza talks about someone dying? If the lilies are turning brown...wouldn't that mean they are sick?
- (After hearing the second stanza again:) The second stanza talks about change on the outside of a person.
- In the third stanza, the golden car would represent the sun.
- The evening star is actually the planet Venus. Venus is the Roman name for the Goddess of Love.
- She gets comfort from the light of Venus.
- I like that poem. I like the evening star tie-in.
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LA MAISON D'OR (BAR HARBOR)
From this fair home behold on either side
The restful mountains or the restless sea:
So the warm sheltering walls of life divide
Time and its tide from still eternity.
Look on the waves: their stormy voices teach
That not on earth may toil and struggle cease.
Look on the mountains; better far than speech
Their silent promise of eternal peace.
Olivia thought:
- So its saying the mountains are a divider or barrier. The sea is on one side of the mountain and land would be on the other.
- The waves are teaching that toil and struggle do not cease on earth.
- The mountains promise stillness and eternal life. The mountains will always be there.
- I liked that one. It was a nice, peaceful poem.
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The following poem is about the USS Constitution. Back in September 2011, I took Sophia and Olivia on a driving tour of New England. We stopped in Boston and were able to take a tour of the USS Constitution. Pictures from our trip are interspersed with the poem.
OLD IRONSIDES
Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon's roar;--
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more!
Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee;--
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
O better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!
Olivia thought:
- That was a nice one.
- I think I liked it better because I knew what it was about and reading information about the ship before.
- The harpies are predators or people who don't have the ship's best interest at heart. They want to sink the ship.
- (We read a bit about the poem and its impact on the ship.) Because people heard the poem, they decided to spare it.
- I think I liked it better because I knew what it was about and reading information about the ship before.
- The harpies are predators or people who don't have the ship's best interest at heart. They want to sink the ship.
- (We read a bit about the poem and its impact on the ship.) Because people heard the poem, they decided to spare it.
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TOO YOUNG FOR LOVE
Too young for love?
Ah, say not so!
Tell reddening rose-buds not to blow!
Wait not for spring to pass away,--
Love's summer months begin with May!
Too young for love?
Ah, say not so!
Too young? Too young?
Ah, no! no! no!
Too young for love?
Ah, say not so,
While daisies bloom and tulips glow!
June soon will come with lengthened day
To practice all love learned in May.
Too young for love?
Ah, say not so!
Too young? Too young?
Ah, no! no! no!
Olivia thought:
- Clearly talking about love.
- I want to say about people or kids who are in love and the parents think they are too young.
- Clearly taking place in the Spring - probably start around Valentine's Day until May when Summer starts.
- You have to learn how to love and then start to use what you learned beginning in May.
- I didn't really like this poem. This one repeats a lot. I liked Old Ironsides better.
- I want to say about people or kids who are in love and the parents think they are too young.
- Clearly taking place in the Spring - probably start around Valentine's Day until May when Summer starts.
- You have to learn how to love and then start to use what you learned beginning in May.
- I didn't really like this poem. This one repeats a lot. I liked Old Ironsides better.
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1 comment:
Didn't remember him as one of my favorites, Interesting to read him again after all these years since high school. Still not one of my favorites--LOL! ;)
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