READING 



4941 



READING 



The Village Blacksmith. This is one of the 

 poems which is popular alike with children and 

 older people. It is so clear that a child can 

 understand it after a brief study, but it voices 

 truths and sentiments which make it of perma- 

 nent value. 



Introductory. If this is the first poem of 

 Longfellow's which has been assigned, a sketch 

 of the poet's life may well precede the study. 

 The biography on page 3494 will furnish am- 

 ple material. The teacher may present this, or, 

 still better, an entire reading or language period 

 may be given over to it, and the children them- 

 selves may prepare it. Assign to one pupil the 

 story of his ancestry and his childhood, to an- 

 other the account of his boyhood and young 

 manhood, and so on. Lay special emphasis on 

 the qualities which won him the name of "The 

 Children's Poet." 



Teacher's Preparation. 1. Read the poem 

 carefully. 



THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH 



T'ncler a spreading: chestnut tree 



The village smithy stands ; 

 The smith, a mighty man is he, 

 With large and sinewy hands ; 

 And the muscles of his brawny arms 



Are strong as iron bands. 



hair is crisp, and black, and long, 



His face is like the tan ; 

 His brow is wet with honest sweat, 



He earns what'er he can ; 

 And looks the whole world in the face, 



For he owes not any man. 



Week in, week out, from morn till night. 



You can hear his bellows blow ; 

 You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, 



With measured beat and slow, 

 Like a sexton ringing the village bell, 



When the evening sun is low. 



And children coming home from school 



Look in at the open door ; 

 They love to see the flaming forge, 



And hear the bellows roar, 

 And catch the burning sparks that fly 



Like chaff from a threshing-floor. 



He goes on Sunday to the church, 



And sits among his boys ; 

 He hears the parson pray and preach, 



He hears hla daughter's voice, 

 ing in the village choir, 



And it makes hla heart rejoice. 



It sounds to him like her mother's voice. 

 *!MK In Paradise! 

 eds must think of her once more, 



In the grave she lies; 

 And with his hard, rough hand he wipes 

 A tear out of his eyes. 



Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing, 



Onward through life he goes; 

 Each morning sees some task begun. 



Each .evening sees its close ; 

 Something attempted, something done. 



Has earned a night's repose. 



Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend. 

 For the lesson thou hast taught ! 



Thus at the flaming forge of life 

 Our fortunes must be wrought ; 



Thus on its sounding anvil shaped 

 Each burning deed and thought. 



2. Be sure that the pictures in the poem are 

 clear enough in your own mind so that you 

 can make the children see them. 



3. Go through the poem word by word, to 

 assure yourself that you can explain every term 

 used and can give concrete illustrations. 



4. Divide the poem according to its units of 

 thought. This division does not always coin- 

 cide with the stanza division. 



(a) Stanzas 1 to 3 present the smith and the 

 smithy. 



(6) Stanza 4 shows the children at the 

 smithy. 



(c) Stanzas 5 and 6 show the smith at 

 church. 



(d) Stanzas 7 and 8 set forth the lessons 

 which the poet has learned from his study of 

 the smith's life and character. 



5. Be able to tell, in interesting manner, the 

 history of the poem, and to give some of the 

 little details which make it seem alive: 



(a) This smithy stood for years on Brattle 

 Street, in Cambridge, under its great overarch- 

 ing chestnut tree. Many and many a time, on 

 his walks, Longfellow heard the clang of the 

 smith's hammer while he was still far off, and 

 as he came near saw the flying sparks. He, too, 

 like the children, must have stopped many a time 

 to "look in at the open door" and doubtless the 

 children laughed and talked with him. for 

 were never afraid of him. 



Many people had seen the smith at his work, 

 but only Longfellow possessed the genius to m.-ik.- 

 the smith and the smithy famous, and when. 

 some years after this poem was written. th<- 

 great chestnut tree was cut down to make room 

 for a dwelling house, the people of Cambridge 

 eagerly sought the chips as souvenirs. Out of 

 the wood of this tree was made an armchair, 

 which the children presented to the poet on his 

 seventy-second birthday. 



The Recitation. 1 II .-.- the poem read 

 aloud, each stansa by a different pupil. 



2. By questioning, lead the pupils to separate 

 it into its thought unit.- 



3. Have it read again according to this divi- 

 sion, letting one pupil read the first three stan- 

 taa, another the fourth stanza, a third the fifth 



