Question

spotlight benchmark: ela.10.r.1.2 - analyze and compare universal themes and their development throughout a literary text. paired benchmark - ela.10.rl.4 - analyze how authors create multiple layers of meaning and/or ambiguity in a poem. directions: 1. highlight and define the words you don’t know with a synonym. 2. high - lite note 5 lines that use layers of meaning to develop a universal theme. 3. explain how one universal theme is developed in this poem. 40 honored woods - rivers that move 41 in majesty, and the murmuring brooks 42 that make the meadows green; and, poured round all, 43 old ocean’s gray and melancholy waste,— 44 are but the solemn decorations all 45 of the great tomb of man. the golden sun, 46 the planets, all the infinite host of heaven, 47 are shining on the sad abodes of death. 48 through the still lapse of ages. all that tread 49 the globe are but a handful to the tribes 50 that slumber in its bosom/heart. - take the wings 51 of morning, pierce the barcan wilderness, 52 or lose thyself in the continuous woods 53 where rolls the oregon, and hears no sound, 54 save his own dashings - yet the dead are there: 55 and millions in those solitudes, since first 56 the flight of years began, have laid them down 57 in their last sleep - the dead reign there alone. 58 so shalt thou rest, and what if thou withdraw 59 in silence from the living, and no friend 60 take note of thy departure? all that breathe 61 will share thy destiny. the gay will laugh 62 when thou art gone, the solemn brood of care 63 plod on, and each one as before will chase 64 his favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave 65 their mirth and their employments, and shall come 66 and make their bed with thee. as the long train 67 of ages glide away, the sons of men, 68 the youth in life’s green spring, and he who goes 69 in the full strength of years, matron and maid, 70 the speechless babe, and the gray - headed man— 71 shall one by one be gathered to thy side, 72 by those, who in their turn shall follow them. 73 so live, that when thy summons comes to join 74 the innumerable caravan, which moves 75 to that mysterious realm, where each shall take 76 his chamber in the silent halls of death, 77 thou go not, like the quarry - slave at night, 78 scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed 79 by an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, 80 like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 81 about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. objective: analyze how an author uses layers of meaning to develop a universal theme in thanatopsis. *submit and turn in your poetic analysis.

Explanation:

1. For the first task of highlighting and defining unknown words with a synonym, one would need to read through the poem, identify unfamiliar words, and use a dictionary or thesaurus to find synonyms and provide definitions. For example, if the word "solemn" is unknown, a synonym could be "serious" and the definition could be "dignified and somber in manner or character".
2. To note 5 lines that use layers of meaning to develop a universal theme, one must first understand what universal themes are (e.g., life - death, love - loss, nature - humanity). Then, analyze the lines for double - meanings, metaphors, or other literary devices. For instance, lines like "The dead reign there alone" (line 57) can be seen as a literal statement about death in nature but also a metaphor for the finality and solitude of death.
3. To explain how a universal theme (such as the inevitability of death) is developed, one would look at the overall structure and imagery of the poem. The poem starts by describing nature's grandeur and then gradually shifts to the presence of the dead in nature, emphasizing that all living things will eventually die. It uses vivid imagery of nature (rivers, brooks, oceans) and the passage of time to convey this theme.

Answer:

1. This requires individual reading and research for word - identification and synonym - finding.
2. Some possible lines could be: "The dead reign there alone" (line 57), "All that breathe Will share thy destiny" (line 60 - 61), "As the long train Of ages glide away, the sons of men" (line 66 - 67), "So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan" (line 73 - 74), "To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death" (line 75). These lines use imagery and language to convey the theme of death.
3. The universal theme of the inevitability of death is developed. It emphasizes that all living things, regardless of age or status (from the youth in life's green spring to the gray - headed man), will face death. It starts from descriptions of nature and the vastness of the world and moves to the realization that death is a common fate for all, and ends with an exhortation on how to approach death with dignity.