by hefnerbe | Mar 30, 2011 | 5. Indiana, II. Powhatan's Daughter
Line 1: “Morning glory” – F. Pursh Flora Amer. Septentrionalis I. 146 Ipomoea Nil.‥ Flowers beautiful pale blue, only open early in the morning, from which it has been called Morning-glory (OED). Line 2: “Lintel”- A horizontal piece of...
by hefnerbe | Mar 30, 2011 | 5. Indiana, II. Powhatan's Daughter
Line 26: “Nothing out of fifty-nine” 1859 marked the peak of the Colorado Gold Rush. Line 30: “Wagon-tenting” – Referring to the style of wagon with a canvas covered tent roof. Line 31: “jade” – A contemptuous name for a...
by hefnerbe | Mar 30, 2011 | III. Cutty Sark
Epigraph: “O, the navies old and oaken, O, the Temeraire no more!”- This is a quote from the last two lines of Herman Melville’s short poem Temeraire. The “Temeraire” is an old wooden war ship of the old English fleet. ...
by hefnerbe | Mar 30, 2011 | III. Cutty Sark
Line 59: “Turreted Sprites”- A turret has the shape of a long spiral. Sprites were known as a small or elusive supernatural being (OED). Line 64: “Opium and Tea”- Opium is produced from the dried latex taken from the poppy plant. Both were high-valued...
by hefnerbe | Mar 30, 2011 | IV. Cape Hatteras
Epigraph to Cape Hatteras by Walt Whitman: Robert Combs explains in his book Vision of the Voyage that, “The epigraph for ‘Cape Hatteras’…points toward a very different consummation—it is simply the end of life joyfully accepted…the title page of this poem points to...
