LESSON 20
THE AMERICAN FLAG

Joseph Rodman Drake. 1795-1820, was born in New York City. His father died when he was very young, and his early life was a struggle with poverty. He studied medicine, and took his degree when he was about twenty years old. From a child, he showed remarkable poetical powers, having made rhymes at the early age of five. Most of his published writings were produced during a period of less than two years. “The Culprit Fay” and the “American Flag”are best known. In disposition, Mr. Drake was gentle and kindly; and, on the occasion of his death, his intimate friend, Fitz-Greene Halleck, expressed his character in the well-known couplet:

“None knew thee but to love thee,

Nor named thee but to praise.”

When Freedom, from her mountain height,

Unfurled her standard to the air,

She tore the azure robe of night,

And set the stars of glory there:

She mingled with its gorgeous dyes

The milky baldric of the skies,

And striped its pure, celestial white

With streakings of the morning light;

Then, from his mansion in the sun,

She called her eagle bearer down,

And gave into his mighty hand

The symbol of her chosen land.

Majestic monarch of the cloud!

Who rear'st aloft thy regal form,

To hear the tempest trumpings loud,

And see the lightning lances driven,

When strive the warriors of the storm,

And rolls the thunder drum of heaven; —

Child of the sun! to thee 'tis given

To guard the banner of the free,

To hover in the sulphur smoke,

To ward away the battle stroke,

And bid its blendings shine afar,

Like rainbows on the cloud of war,

The harbingers of victory!

Flag of the brave! thy folds shall fly,

The sign of hope and triumph high!

When speaks the signal trumpet tone,

And the long line comes gleaming on,

Ere yet the lifeblood, warm and wet,

Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,

Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn

To where thy sky-born glories burn,

And, as his springing steps advance,

Catch war and vengeance from the glance.

And when the cannon mouthings loud

Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,

And gory sabers rise and fall,

Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall,

Then shall thy meteor glances glow,

And cowering foes shall sink beneath

Each gallant arm, that strikes below

That lovely messenger of death.

Flag of the seas! on ocean's wave

Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave;

When death careering on the gale,

Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail,

And frighted waves rush wildly back,

Before the broadside's reeling rack,

Each dying wanderer of the sea

Shall look at once to heaven and thee,

And smile to see thy splendors fly

In triumph o'er his closing eye.

Flag of the free heart's hope and home,

By angel hands to valor given,

Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,

And all thy hues were born in heaven.

Forever float that standard sheet!

Where breathes the foe but falls before us,

With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,

And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us?

STUDY GUIDE

A. Vocabulary Usage—Read the definitions, then fill in the blanks with the correct words.

1. baldric—a belt for a sword

2. regal—fancy/appropriate for a leader

3. harbinger—something that predicts or announces the arrival of something else in the near future

4. gory—showing a lot of bloodshed

5. foes—enemies

6. welkin—sky

a) The airplane is high up in the ______________________.

b) The dark clouds were a ____________________of the storm.

c) The prince was wearing _________________clothes.

d) They are not friends. They are _______________.

e) That movie showed a lot of blood. It was _______________.

f) He put the sword back in its ________________.

B. Comprehension Questions—Answer the following questions.

1. In the poem, what is The American Flag a symbol of?

2. What animal is associated with the American Flag?

3. What are some symbols of your country?

4. How many stars are in the American flag? Why?

5. Do you like this poem? Why or why not?

C. Opposites—Find words in the poem that are opposite to words in this exercise.

1. stanza 1—ugly: g _______

2. stanza 1—weak: m _____

3. stanza 4—calmly: w _____

4. stanza 5—devil: a ____

5. stanza 5—sink: f ____

6. stanza 5—above: b ______