What is the poem Old Ironsides about?
Summary of Old Ironsides ‘Old Ironsides’ by Oliver Wendell Holmes speaks on the glory of the USS Constitution on the eve of its decommissioning. The poem begins with the speaker agreeing that the ship should be decommissioned. He asks that the “ensign” be torn down and eventually nailed to the mast of the ship.
What is the rhyme scheme of Old Ironsides?
‘Old Ironsides’ by Oliver Wendell Holmes is a three stanza poem which is separated into sets of eight lines, or octaves. The poem does not follow a specific or consistent rhyming pattern.
How many lines are in Old Ironsides by Oliver Wendell Holmes?
‘Old Ironsides’ by Oliver Wendell Holmes is a three stanza poem which is separated into sets of eight lines, or octaves. The poem does not follow a specific or consistent rhyming pattern. Instead, each stanza follows its own rhyme scheme, resulting in a varied and interesting tone when read aloud.
Why is the ship called the Old Ironsides?
The ship was given its nickname, “Old Ironsides,” during the War of 1812 after battling the HMS Guerriere ‘Old Ironsides’ became one of Holmes’ most well-known pieces after it was published in the Boston Daily Advertiser in September of 1830. Due to its popularity the ship was saved from decommissioning.
What was the purpose of writing the poem Old Ironsides?
The main idea or purpose of the poem was to commemorate Old Ironsides as it was set to be decommissioned. The tone of the poem is romantic and sentimental, as Oliver Wendell Holmes gives fantastical descriptions of the ship's glory days. In the first stanza, Holmes establishes the proud history of the ship.
What is the irony of the poem Old Ironsides?
- Irony: Holmes presents conflicting ideas through his poem. He wants to preserve the USS Constitution, but his idea to have it sink rather than be scrapped would have the same end result anyway.
What is Holmes celebrating in his poem Old Ironsides?
commemoration of “Constitution” >Old Ironsides.” The ship was preserved, its rebuilding was provided for in 1833, and in 1844 it began a circumnavigation of the globe.
What is the theme of Old Ironsides quizlet?
The poem is about a ship, the USS Constitution, which was condemned to be scrapped. Holmes describes the glory of it and how it is a symbol of America's freedom. Holmes talks about how the glory of the ship is that the "harpies of the shore" (greedy business men) will take the ship and use its scraps for profit.
What does the poet mean by the lines the Harpies of the shore shall pluck the eagle of the sea?
harpies are greedy or grasping people and the ship is the eagle of the sea. This is mythological allusion.
What does tattered mean in Old Ironsides?
In the first lines the speaker says that yes, they should “Tear her tattered ensign down!” He suggests that it has “waved” for a long time “on high” and it is time for it to retire. This is emphasized with the following line which describes how “many an eye” has seen it “dance” about in the sky.
What does Harpies of the shore mean?
With the lines 'The harpies of the shore shall pluck / The eagle (American symbol) of the sea,' Holmes demonstrates that it's often those who have the least to do with the ship or country's operations that are the most willing to allow it to fall into disrepair.
Which of the following best describes the style of Old Ironside?
Terms in this set (10) Which of the following best describes the style of "Old Ironsides"? It is similar to that of many European poems.
What is the central idea of Old Ironsides by Oliver Wendell Holmes?
Major Themes in “Old Ironsides”: Glory, Victory, and pride are some of the major themes layered in this poem. The poem centers on the holy ship that has served in various battles. Throughout the poem, Oliver Wendell Holmes expresses that the ship's history and its exemplary services should not be disregarded.
What does the ship symbolize in Old Ironsides?
"Old Ironsides" is a poem written by American writer Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. on September 16, 1830, as a tribute to the 18th-century USS Constitution. The poem was one reason that the frigate was saved from being decommissioned, and it is now the oldest commissioned ship in the world that is still afloat.
Why does the speaker believe it would be best to let the ship sink Do you agree explain?
Life is not forever, but nature is permanent. Why does the speaker think it would be better to let the ship sink? to be disgraced by being teared down or have it restored.
When was Old Ironsides written?
“Old Ironsides” was first published in 1836 in Poems. The volume, Holmes’s first, earned the young poet a reputation as a humorist, but critics also noticed what several termed the “manly sentiment” of his more serious poems. “He knows how to be sentimental without silliness, and vigorous without violence,” an anonymous reviewer commented in The Yale Literary Magazine in 1837. The reviewer notes that Holmes avoids the “sin” of clever writers: “a disposition to run as near to mawkishness as possible without falling into it.” On the contrary, the reviewer gently accuses Holmes of failing to exploit the more serious side of his vision. If anything, the reviewer suggests, “there is too little sentimentality; and we could wish he had allowed himself more latitude where he shows himself most capable.” Another anonymous critic, writing in a 1837 volume of The North American Review, remarks upon the “easy and natural flow” of Holmes’s lyrics. Discussing “Old Ironsides,” the critic says that “the strain upon the plan by the Navy Department for breaking up the Frigate Constitution, an unhappy suggestion of some one who was probably more familiar with national shipyards than national feelings, will rank among the best martial songs of England.”
How many quatrains are in Old Ironsides?
“Old Ironsides” is written in three, eight-line stanzas, but each stanza really consists of two quatrains (four-line units of verse) consisting of alternating tetrameter and trimeter lines. This means that each first and third line has four stressed syllables, or beats, while each second and fourth line has three stressed syllables. Quatrains written in this manner are called ballad stanzas. Since ballads often address heroic and romantic themes, Holmes may have chosen this form to capture the reader’s emotions.
What does Holmes mean when he says "Tear her tattered insignia down"?
When he says, “Ay, tear her tattered insignia down!” what he really means is that it should continue to fly, just as he suggests sinking the ship when his true desire is to save it. Using this approach, he was able to stir readers out of their apathy regarding the ship’s destruction and let them see their own lack of will reflected in the his attitude. In modern, post-Freudian times, we have come to call this technique “reverse psychology”: manipulating someone to agree with your position by pretending to want the opposite. In “Old Ironsides,” Holmes plays off of the passivity of the general public in two ways. By claiming so fervently that the Constitution should not only be decommissioned but should be dumped out into the middle of the ocean, he stirs any emotions for the old ship that might still remain within people who had forgotten how much they cared. By using vibrant, thundering imagery, he raised the sense of excitement that the passive public had allowed to fade away over years of peacetime. The issue is cast as a struggle between the villainy of the land-bound harpies of the shore and the heroism that is represented by the eagle of the sea. By taking the stance that all is lost, that they might as well give in to the forces of cowardice, Holmes was able to make his audience approach the idea of saving the Constitution as if they had thought of it themselves.
What was Oliver Holmes's social class?
Oliver Wendell Holmes was a member of upper Boston society , which was referred to as the Boston Brahmins (the word denotes the highest caste in the rigid Hindu social structure). At the time, the country had fewer than thirteen million citizens. The population was concentrated along the Eastern Seaboard, where three-fourths of the citizens lived—the area west of the Appalachian Mountains had some settlements and a few large cities, but those were considered the frontier. Progress into the wide-open heart of the country had come from the south and from New England. New Orleans, for instance, had a population of 46, 000, and Cincinnati had 24,000, while Chicago, later to be the country’s second largest population, was just a wilderness outpost. By comparison, the country’s largest city, New York, had 200, 000 citizens, and Holmes’s Boston, relatively small for an established eastern city, had 60, 000. Most of the country’s population lived on farms, taking advantage of the fertile soil and open space available in the relatively new country, on land that they or their parents had settled.
Where did Sherlock Holmes go to school?
Holmes was born August 29, 1809, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1830, and after a year spent studying law, decided to follow his wishes and pursue a career in medicine. He went to France to study at the Ecole de Medicine in Paris, considered one of the finest medical schools of its day. Holmes returned to the United States in 1835 and the following year received his medical degree from the Harvard Medical School. On June 15, 1840 he married Amelia Jackson and established a practice in Boston. During this time he was also a prolific writer of medical essays, a researcher, a professor at Harvard, a practicing physician, and a poet.
