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The Rhodota
On BeingAsked,
Whenceis the Flower?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
In May, when sea winds pierced our solitudes,
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,
To please the desert and the sluggish brook.
The purple petals, fallen in the pool,
Made the black water with their beauty gay;
Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool,
And court the flower that cheapens his array.
Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
1 0 This charm is wasted on the earth and slcy,
The Rhodora
272
15
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing'
Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
I niver thought to ask, I never knew:
But, in my simple ignorance' suppose
brought you'
The self-same pbweithat brought me there
THINKINGABOUTTHE SELECTION
or different from the view of beauty expressedin "The Rhodora"?
Recalling
LITERATURE
1. (a) Whendoesthe speakerfind "the fresh ANALYZING
does
(b)
Where
woods"?
the
in
Rhodora
UnderstandingAPostroPhe
he find it?
viceinwhichawriter
2. (a) Accordingto the speaker,what question A p o s t r o p h e i s a | i t e r a r y d eobject'
an abinanimate
an
(b)
How
addresses
rhodora?
diiectly
the
ask
sages
tignt the
diEmerson
person'
does he suggestthe rhodorashould re- stractidea,or an absent "The Rhodora"'
in
flower
rectlyaddressesa
spond?
exspeaker
the
does
l.Whatistheeffectoftheuseofapostrophe?
how
line,
final
3. In the
How does Emerson'suse of apostropherein2.
existence?
rhodora's
plainthe
force the meaningof the Poem?
Interpreting
4. Whatlargerconceptdoesthe rhodorarepresent?
5. (a) How is the sages'attitudetowardnature
differentfrom the speaker'sattitude? (b)
Which attitudeseems to producea more
of nature?Explain
understanding
meaningful
your answer.
aboutthe speaker'sref6. Whatis unexpected
in line 15?
"simple
ignorance"
erenceto his
Emerson's
express
line
7. How does the final
all living
among
unity
belief in a spiritual
things?
LANGUAGE
UNDERSTANDING
FindingAntonYms
Antonymsare wordsthathavethe oppoForexmeaning'
site,or nearlythe opposite,
ample, the words s/uggish and active arc
antonYms.
Choosean antonymfor each of the following
words.
1. ARRAY:
a. rags b. gown c. display d' splendor
2. COURT:
a. desire b. propose c' shun d' madden
ApplYing
3. SAGE:
8. At anothertime, Ralph Waldo Emerson
a. wisdom b. fool c. herb d' flavor
wrote,"Thoughwe travelthe world over to
RIVAL:
4.
we mustcarryit withus or
findthe beautiful,
friend b. comPetitor c' teacher
a.
we find it not." Explainthe view of beauty
d.
PlaYmate
here'Howis it similarto
Emersonexpresses
278
New England Renaissance