Does birth or station in life determine the man? Lines 7, 8. Explain these lines. Lines 29-40. What do these lines mean? In the following what is omitted? Man's (27); It's (38); o'er (39). Why did Burns use the word "coward-slave"? Does the poet say a man is "king of men" because he is poor? What makes a man a king among his fellowmen? Scotch words and their English equivalents: a'--all; wha--who; gowd--gold; hamely--homely; hodden--gray--coarse gray cloth; gie--give; sae--so; birkie--clever fellow; ca'd--called; coof--dunce; aboon--above; guid--good; maunna fa'--must not try; gree--prize. Words and Phrases for Discussion. "toils obscure" "pith o' sense" "guinea stamp" "ribband" "star" "belted knight" * * * * * SELECTIONS FROM SHAKESPEARE 1. MERCY MERCHANT OF VENICE, ACT IV., SCENE I. The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath; it is twice blessed; It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes. 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes The thronéd monarch better than his crown; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings: But mercy is above the sceptred sway: It is enthronéd in the hearts of kings, It is an attribute of God himself: And earthly power doth then show likest God's, When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew, though justice be thy plea, consider this,-- That, in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation; we do pray for mercy; And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy. HELPS TO STUDY. Biographical and Historical: William Shakespeare, the greatest of English poets, indeed one of the greatest of the world's poets, was born in 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon. As a young man of twenty-two, after his marriage with Anne Hathaway, he went up to London, where he became connected with theaters, first, tradition says, by holding horses at the doors. The next twenty years he spent in London as an actor, and in writing poems and plays, later becoming a shareholder as well as an actor. The last ten years of his life were spent at Stratford, where he died at the age of fifty-two. This was the time of Queen Elizabeth and is known as the Elizabethan Age. It was the age richest in genius of all kinds, but especially in the creation of dramatic literature. In the foregoing selection, Portia, disguised as a lawyer, makes this famous speech in pleading the cause of Antonio against Shylock. Notes "strained"--restrained "shows"--is the emblem of Words and Phrases for Discussion. "temporal power" "sceptered sway" "Earthly power doth then show likest God's When mercy seasons justice" * * * * * 2. THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN AS YOU LIKE IT, ACT II, SCENE 7.