EXPLANATORY NOTES

1. The Vision of Sir Launfal was written in 1848, when Lowell was twenty-nine years of age. In the same year he wrote the Biglow Papers, a collection of poems on national questions written in the New England dialect, and abounding in humor and sharp-pointed satire. The two works are very different in nature; they represent the two sides of Lowell's genius: on the one hand a serious, somewhat moralizing idealism, and on the other a pungent humor that accompanied a rare critical faculty. While he wrote many other poems in the course of his

long life, none are so widely known as these. Their very differences give a clue to the manysidedness of their author's genius. He loved the old ballads, the old romances, old plays. He was one of the most famous of American ambassadors, serving in England and in Spain. He wrote many essays about English literature, and is recognized as one of the greatest of critics. His prose works include also some charming personal essays, on such subjects as "A Certain Condescension in Foreigners," "A Good Word for Winter," and the like. He also wrote many political papers on the meaning of American democracy. Thus Lowell figures

as a lover of romance and the literature of the past, and as a man who was also interested in his own time, in its politics and problems. He was a man of fine culture who was able to relate this culture to everyday life.

2. Sir Launfal was not one of the knights of the Round Table, though there is a romance in which a knight of this name is the hero. The story of this romance, however, is not like that of Lowell's poem, the plot of which is original. Lowell's theme is that of many of the old Arthurian romances, the search for the Holy Grail, and in order to understand the poem you should know something about these

romances.

Arthur was a great leader, or chieftain, of Britain who lived in the fifth or sixth century. • Little is known about his life; he was supposed to have carried on a great war against Rome, and legends also gave him supernatural or fairy powers. Early chronicles tell of his deeds, but they mix fact, or what may be fact, with the fairy elements to such an extent that the truth is hard to determine. The romances tell of his founding of the Round Table, an order of knighthood whose members were pledged to right wrong, succor the oppressed, and follow the king. The chief knights of the Round Table were Gawain, Launcelot, Kay, Percival, and Galahad.

Many of the stories about the knights of the Round Table relate to the quest, or search, for the Grail. The nature of this object is as mysterious as everything else encountered in the legend of Arthur. In some old tales it is a marvelous jewel; in others it is a dish that had the property of supplying those who possessed it with all manner of food. At some point in the history of the legend there came in a story to the effect that Joseph of Arimathea, fleeing to Britain after the Crucifixion, bore with him the cup used by the Savior at the Last Supper. One day this cup, or Grail, appeared at Arthur's court, borne by mysterious attendants, and then vanished. All the knights. vowed to give the remainder of their lives, if need be, to finding it again. There are many stories about the adventures of Gawain, Launcelot, Perceval, and others, as they searched for the Grail. It was in the possession of a mysterious Fisher King, and kept at the Grail Castle, but this castle could be found only by a knight who was blameless in conduct and pure in heart.

3. This story supplies the chief inspiration for Lowell's poem, but he makes several very interesting changes in it. The original story developed, in a succession of romances from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, into an allegory of the Christian life. In place of the

earlier quest for the Grail merely to win personal distinction, the story came to represent the idea that the vision of Divine Beauty can be attained only by one who is pure in heart. Galahad, as the representative of this phase of the growth of the legend, is marked by his withdrawal from active life, his devotion to meditation and prayer. So purified, he attains sight of the sacred relic. But Lowell humanizes the story. His Sir Launfal at first is very like Sir Gawain or Sir Launcelot, a seeker for worldly glory. He tosses an alms to the beggar because that is the proper thing to do; in reality he recoils from the human wretchedness that the beggar typifies. He is filled with self-satisfaction. He feels that the Grail is to be found not at home but at the end of wonderful adventures in distant lands. But he returns, after a life spent in vain searching, to find his castle occupied by another, his money gone, himself a broken old man. Just at this point he meets once more the beggar, but since his heart is filled with love, he recognizes in the poor man a brother, a man like himself, and he shares with him his crust of bread. At once the place is filled with glory. The gift of the crust and the drink of cold water becomes a sacrament. The rude wooden bowl becomes the Grail.

Thus the old, old story gains new meaning. Lowell achieves this by a marvelous mingling of the modern spirit of the brotherhood of man with the finest elements in medieval religious faith. It is almost like one of the old saints' legends, like the legend of Saint Christopher, for example, who was faithful to a humble task and found that he was in the presence of the Christ. It expresses anew the religious awe that was associated with the medieval story of Galahad, the pure in heart. The old story associated the vision of the Grail with the Sacrament of the Last Supper; the new version retains this, retains also the spirit of charity that the saints' legends loved to dwell upon; but it presents the story in such a way as to express some of the deepest instincts of our modern life. Education, prison reform, social welfare movements, the recognition of the brotherhood of man-all these expressions of the modern spirit are in Lowell's poem. It has in it the sense of brotherhood of all living creatures that we find in Burns's poems, that we find in Coleridge's story of the Ancient Mariner. It is a growth straight from one of the deep roots of modern democracy. In it we have a poem distinguished not only for its beauty but also for its translation of the idealism of old romance, old religious faith, into an expression of some of the finest idealism of our modern life.

QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

1. Into what parts is this poem divided? Give briefly the contents of Part First. Of Part Second. What is the theme of the Prelude to Part First? Of the second Prelude? How are these Preludes related to the Parts with which they belong?

2. Judging from this preliminary survey, is the poem chiefly narrative? Does it have as much story as the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"? How many incidents are told? What kinds of incidents might have been included, but are omitted? Is it, then, Lowell's chief purpose to tell a story, or to do something else?

3. Look now at the introductory stanza with some care. Is the organist playing some selection that he knows? Why does he let his fingers wander "as they list"? What does lay usually mean? What do you think it means here? What does theme mean? What is the purpose of this stanza? Read it over several times, until its melody and rhythm are fully realized.

4. Wordsworth once wrote that Heaven lies about us in our infancy, but that as we grow older the magic and fairy mystery of life depart and fade into the life of common day. What do you think this means? Does Lowell agree that it is necessarily true? Who climbed Mount Sinai? What befell him there? What, then, does Lowell mean by saying that we climb Sinai daily without knowing it? Note the aspects of Nature mentioned in lines 13-20: skies, winds, the wood, the sea. The druids were priests of an ancient religion of Nature. The oak and the mistletoe were sacred to them. Why are the woods called druid? Sum up the meaning of these lines (13-20).

5. The lines next following (21-32) seem unrelated to each other, like a collection of proverbs, but by a little study you can see the relation and summarize the passage in a sentence or two.

6. You should commit to memory the lines describing June (33-56). At first thought they may seem unrelated to the story. Keep in mind the first stanza, telling about the organist, his lay, and the way in which he tries various themes until he finds one

First guessed by faint auroral flushes sent Along the wavering vista of his dream. These "faint auroral flushes" are present in this little poem about June, and the true theme bursts upon the poet-musician in lines 80-95.

7. Read carefully lines 96-108. What impression do you get as to the character of Sir Launfal from what he says about his armor? In the old romances a "maiden knight," that is, one just admitted to the order of knighthood,

was supposed to watch or keep vigil by his arms all night before setting forth on his quest. What lines does this fact explain here? What vow had Sir Launfal made? Do you get the impression of humility, or pride, as characteristic of the knight?

8. In lines 109-127 what confirmation of your last observation about Launfal's character do you find? Point out details that contrast the joy of Nature with the cold and forbidding castle.

9. Read carefully lines 128-139 and note the words that give you an impression of sound. What sounds are suggested? Why? What words suggest how Launfal looked in his armor? Note, as you leave the passage, that he was going into far distant countries. Has this idea been expressed before? What is its significance?

10. In lines 140-158 make note of the means by which the splendor of the knight is contrasted with the misery of the beggar. What effect had the sight of the beggar on Sir Launfal? What words are chosen by the poet to make clear this effect? If there was "morning in the young knight's heart," why should he have felt as he did when he saw the beggar?

11. The last fourteen lines of Part First are put in quotation marks. Does the beggar speak them to Sir Launfal, or do they represent what he thought as he looked at the piece of gold? Do they, in a way, represent the poet's comment? What is meant by

That thread of the all-sustaining Beauty
Which runs through all and doth all unite?

Is there any relation between this idea and what the poet has said, in the Prelude and in Part First, about the beauty of Nature? But how can "Beauty" have any relation to the beggar?

12. Read aloud lines 174-178, Prelude to Part Second. What vowel sound is prominent? What effect has it? What effect is gained by calling the snow five thousand summers old? 13. The Prelude to Part Second contrasts the cold of winter with the warmth and glow of the June weather described earlier in the poem. Yet beauty is the characteristic here. A critic has said that there is a contrast between the Christmas glee inside the castle and the wintry desolation without, yet the elfin palace of the brook is not desolate. Is this a fault? You may be helped to find an answer if you think back to the lines about the "all-sustaining Beauty." Point out the details by which the beauty of the ice-palace is brought out. There is happiness within the castle, but is it any less selfish than the kind of life implied in the description of the castle in Part First? What

14. What is the final impression of winter that the poet wishes to leave with you in the opening lines of Part Second? Point out the words that make clear this picture.

15. In line 250 what impression do you get from "his own hard gate"? Did he mind the loss of his castle? Why? What is the significance of line 255? Contrast Launfal's appearance now with what it was when he set out on his quest. Why did he call up the vision of a sunnier clime (261)? Note the details in this picture: the caravan, the hot desert, the oasis with its spring of cool water. How does the poet indicate the shock that Launfal felt when he heard the beggar's words and looked at him?

16. Note the details by which the poet gives you an idea of the glory that burst upon the knight. Did he realize how the water and the crust were transformed?

17. Did lines 328-333 surprise you? Where has Sir Launfal been all this time? With what line, near the beginning of Part First, should these lines be connected? You see now the meaning of the title of the poem.

18. Apply Lowell's definition of charity to deeds of charity with which you are familiar, such as the founding of hospitals and homes for the aged and friendless, Thanksgiving donations, etc. Discuss everyday opportunities for giving, such as Lowell defines.

One September night a family had gathered round their hearth and piled it high with the driftwood of mountain streams, the dry cones of the pine, and the splintered ruins of great trees that had come crashing down the precipice. Up the chimney roared the fire, and brightened the room with its broad blaze. The faces of the father and 10 mother had a sober gladness; the children laughed. The eldest daughter was the image of Happiness at seventeen, and the aged grandmother, who sat knitting in the warmest place, was the image of Happiness grown old. They had found the "herb heart'sease" in the bleakest spot of all New England. This family were situated in the Notch of the White Hills, where 20 the wind was sharp throughout the year and pitilessly cold in the winter, giving their cottage all its fresh inclemency before it descended on the valley of the Saco. They dwelt in a

19. Notch, the name commonly given to deep, close passes in certain mountains of the United States. Crawford Notch was the scene of the incident that suggested this story.

cold spot and a dangerous one, for a mountain towered above their heads so steep that the stones would often rumble down its sides and startle them at midnight.

The daughter had just uttered some 30 simple jest that filled them all with mirth, when the wind came through the Notch and seemed to pause before their cottage, rattling the door with a sound of wailing and lamentation before it passed into the valley. For. a moment it saddened them, though there was nothing unusual in the tones. But the family were glad again when they perceived that the latch was 40 lifted by some traveler, whose footsteps had been unheard amid the dreary blast which heralded his approach, and wailed as he was entering, and went moaning away from the door.

Though they dwelt in such a solitude, these people held daily converse with the world. The romantic pass of the Notch is a great artery through which the lifeblood of internal com- 50 merce is continually throbbing be