In closing, two anomalous works should be mentioned. His "Biglow Papers" are two series of satirical poems, ordinary verse rather than actual poetry, but very fine as satire. The former series, published in 1846, was directed against the Mexican war, and the latter, published during the Civil War, against the slavery party. They served to popularize the 'Yankee dialect,' here used for the first time. The second is the "Fable for Critics," a criticism in verse of his leading contemporaries, like the "Biglow Papers," full of wit and striking puns and keenly critical, though lacking in true poetic value. THE MAN 1. What similarity between Lowell's antecedents and those of Emerson? 2. How does his first choice of a profession resemble that of Bryant and Irving? 3. Whom did he succeed at Harvard and what chair did he fill in that institution? 4. Give his connection with journalism. 5. What diplomatic missions did he fill, and what other famous American authors had filled the same positions? 6. Did he, like Irving, Prescott, and Hawthorne, make any great use of his European experience for literary purposes? 7. What impression did he make in England? STYLE AND WORKS 1. Mention seven different lines along which Lowell directed his energies. 2. What is the principal defect in his style? 3. What are his strong points? 4. Mention his three best poems. His three best collections of essays. 5. Against what evil were the "Biglow Papers" directed? 6. What new element did they bring into American literature? 7. Name a favorite poem in the Yankee dialect. 8. Why is some of his verse scarcely to be considered poetry? FROM "THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL" 1. Compare "druid wood" with the opening lines of Longfellow's "Evangeline," VIII, 231, and explain the allusion. 2. Point out the best couplet in the extract. 3. What beautiful metaphor is near the close of the poem? 4. What analogy may we draw between the tide and the year-cycle? 5. What is the purpose of the first stanza? 6. Explain the line "Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold," and find examples in life to verify it. 7. What are the signs of summer? 8. How does this season of the year affect the human heart? 9. Compare the second stanza with the theme and the style of Wordsworth's "Ode on Immortality," XII, 324. FOR REFERENCE "Four Famous American Writers."--CODY. "James Russell Lowell."--SCUDDER. "American Prose Masters."--BROWNELL. "James Russell Lowell."--CURTIS. "Essays in London and Elsewhere."--JAMES. "Nature Knowledge in Modern Poetry."--MACKIE. "Stelligeri, and other Essays."--WENDELL. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES (1809-1894)