Tuesday, February 4 A SEPTEMBER NIGHT by George Marion McClellan

Due NOW: Diction exercise.  If you were absent yesterday, please collect one. This will be due tomorrow. 

Coming up: vocabulary quiz from TASK 1 on Monday, February 10, handed out on Monday; another copy below

In class: September Night by George Mc Clellan (class handout / copy below); this is due tomorrow at the start of class, if you do not finish it in class. Extended time folks have until Thursday at the start of class.


George Marion McClellan (1860-1934) was a minister, teacher, fiction writer, and distinguished African American poet. He is best known for his two poetry collections, Songs of a Southerner and The Path of Dreams. In this poem, the speaker describes a September night in Anguilla, Mississippi

Name_________________________________  September Night by George Marion McClellan

(1)The full September moon sheds floods of light,

And all the bayou’s face is gemmed with stars,

Save where are dropped fantastic shadows down

From sycamores and moss-hung cypress trees.

(5)With slumberous sound the waters half asleep

Creep on and on their way, ’twixt rankish .reeds,

Through marsh and lowlands stretching to the Gulf.

Begirt with cotton fields, Anguilla sits

Half bird-like, dreaming on her Summer nest.

(10) Amid her spreading figs and roses, still

In bloom with all their Spring and Summer hues,

Pomegranates hang with dapple cheeks full ripe,

And over all the town a dreamy haze

Drops down. The great plantations, stretching far

(15)Away, are plains of cotton, downy white.

O, glorious is this night of joyous sounds;

Too full for sleep. Aromas wild and sweet,

From muscadine, late blooming jessamine,

And roses, all the heavy air suffuse.

(20)Faint bellows from the alligators come

From swamps afar, where sluggish lagoons give

To them a peaceful home. The katydids

Make ceaseless cries. Ten thousand insects’ wings

Stir in the moonlight haze and joyous shouts

(25)Of Negro song and mirth awake hard by

The cabin dance. O, glorious is this night!

The Summer sweetness fills my heart with songs,

I can not sing, with loves I can not speak.

Vocabulary

rankish- growing excessively or out of control

begirt-surrounded by; encompassing

Anguilla-a town in Mississippi

dapple- marked with rounded spots of color

muscadine-a grapevine species native to the South

katydids-an insect, also called a bush cricket, known for its loud mating calls.

Questions:

1.The setting of this poem is

A.    Moonlit river

B.     Vibrant rainforest

C.    Calm, sleepy bayou

D.    Wild Jungle

2. Part A

What does the speaker’s description of the setting reveal about Anguilla?

A.    The speaker describes Anguilla as only superficially beautiful, overlooking its history of cotton plantations.

B.     The speaker describes Anguilla as infested with various forms of wildlife, suggesting that it is difficult to live there.

C.    The speaker describes Anguilla as a drowsy, listless bayou, suggesting it is a dull town.

D.    The speaker describes the sounds, sights, and wildlife of Anguilla, showing its abundance of overwhelming beauty.

Page 2

3 PART B: Which piece of evidence from the poem best supports your response to Part A?

A.“With slumberous sound the waters half asleep / Creep on and on their way, ’twixt rankish reeds, / Through marsh and lowlands stretching to the Gulf.” ( Lines 5-7)

B.“The great plantations, stretching far / Away, are plains of cotton, downy white” ( Lines 14-15)

C.“O, glorious is this night of joyous sounds; / Too full for sleep. Aromas wild and sweet, / From muscadine, late blooming jessamine, / And roses, all the heavy air suffuse.” ( Lines 16-19)

D.“Faint bellows from the alligators come / From swamps afar” ( Lines 20-21)

4.

As used in line 21, what does the word “sluggish” mean?

A. disturbed

B. indifferent

C. drowsy

D. slimy

5.

What do lines 27-28 reveal about the speaker’s point of view?

A.The speaker feels excluded from the natural beauty of the bayou.

B.The speaker is speechless in awe of the bayou.

C.The speaker does not feel worthy of the bayou.

D.The speaker is not allowed to sing or speak about the bayou.

  

6.

Explain how the poem uses personification to describe the bayou in Anguilla. What effect does personification have on the meaning of the poem? Cite evidence from the text in your answer.

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Page 3

In the context of the poem, how do you view and experience nature? Do you have a favorite natural place or favorite way to experience nature, such as hiking? How does your favorite place in nature compare to the description of the poem’s setting? (minimum of 150 words) Make sure to use vivid adjectives to describe this place.

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TASK 1 vocabulary                     quiz on Monday, 10

1.bungalow (noun)- a small house or cottage that is either single-storey or has a second storey built into a sloping roof

2. barbarous (adj)- savagely cruel; exceedingly brutal.

3. disillusionment (noun)- a feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be.

4. optimism (noun)- hopefulness and confidence about the future

5. pessimism (noun)- a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen

6. nostalgia (noun)- a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past

7. remedy (noun)- a medicine or treatment for a disease or injury.

8. anecdote (noun)- a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

9. to escalate (verb)- to increase rapidly.

10. hostility (noun)- unfriendliness or opposition