Reading Poem & Meaning
Selected Poems
Educational PoemsLearning to Read
Very soon the Yankee teachers
Came down and set up school;
But, oh! how the Rebs did hate it,—
It was agin’ their rule.
Our masters always tried to hide
Book learning from our eyes;
Knowledge didn’t agree with slavery—
‘Twould make us all too wise.
But some of us would try to steal
A little from the book,
And put the words together,
And learn by hook or crook.
I remember Uncle Caldwell,
Who took pot-liquor fat
And greased the pages of his book,
And hid it in his hat.
And had his master ever seen
The leaves up on his head,
He’d have thought them greasy papers,
But nothing to be read.
And there was Mr. Turner’s Ben,
Who heard the children spell,
And picked the words right up by heart,
And learned to read ’em well.
Well, the Northern folks kept sending
The Yankee teachers down;
And they stood right up and helped us,
Though Rebs did sneer and frown.
And, I longed to read my Bible,
For precious words it said;
But when I begun to learn it,
Folks just shook their heads,
And said there is no use trying,
Oh! Chloe, you’re too late;
But as I was rising sixty,
I had no time to wait.
So I got a pair of glasses,
And straight to work I went,
And never stopped till I could read
The hymns and Testament.
Then I got a little cabin—
A place to call my own—
And I felt as independent
As the queen upon her throne.
Overview Short Summary
The speaker describes the struggle and joy of learning to read after being denied education. The poem shows reading as a path to dignity, independence, and self-respect.
Classroom Use Why This Poem Fits Back to School
This poem is especially useful for older students because it shows that learning is not just a school routine; it can be a form of freedom. It fits keywords around back to school poems for students and poems about reading.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Education and freedom: Reading becomes a symbol of independence.
- Perseverance: The speaker refuses to believe it is too late to learn.
- The value of teachers: Teachers play an important role in opening access to knowledge.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is determined, proud, and hopeful. The mood is serious but empowering.
There is no Frigate like a Book
There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away,
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears a Human soul.
Overview Short Summary
Dickinson compares a book to a ship, a horse, and a chariot. The poem says that reading can carry anyone into new places, ideas, and experiences.
Classroom Use Why This Poem Fits Back to School
This short poem is a strong choice for the first day of school, a classroom library display, or a welcome back reading board. It supports keywords such as back to school poem for students and welcome to classroom poem.
Literary Technique Imagery and Symbols
The poem uses travel imagery. The book becomes a ship, a horse, and a chariot, symbolizing the power of reading to move the mind.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is admiring and imaginative. The mood is light, inspiring, and full of wonder.
The Schoolboy
I love to rise in a summer morn,
When the birds sing on every tree;
The distant huntsman winds his horn,
And the skylark sings with me:
O what sweet company!
But to go to school in a summer morn,—
O it drives all joy away!
Under a cruel eye outworn,
The little ones spend the day
In sighing and dismay.
Ah then at times I drooping sit,
And spend many an anxious hour;
Nor in my book can I take delight,
Nor sit in learning’s bower,
Worn through with the dreary shower.
How can the bird that is born for joy,
Sit in a cage and sing?
How can a child, when fears annoy,
But droop his tender wing,
And forget his youthful spring?
O father and mother, if buds are nipped,
And blossoms blown away;
And if the tender plants are stripped
Of their joy in the springing day,
By sorrow and care’s dismay,
How shall the summer arise in joy,
Or the summer fruits appear?
Or how shall we gather what griefs destroy,
Or bless the mellowing year,
When the blasts of winter appear?
Overview Short Summary
A child loves the freedom of a summer morning but feels unhappy and restricted at school. The poem warns that fear and harshness can damage a child’s joy in learning.
Classroom Use Why This Poem Fits Back to School
This poem is useful because it reminds teachers and parents that a welcome back to school poem should not only celebrate school, but also understand students’ first-day nerves and need for kindness.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Freedom and learning: The poem contrasts natural joy with strict classroom control.
- Childhood sensitivity: Children need encouragement, not fear.
- Education with care: The poem suggests that learning should protect curiosity.
Craft Literary Devices
- Metaphor: The child is compared to a bird in a cage.
- Imagery: Birds, buds, blossoms, and seasons create a natural picture of childhood.
- Rhetorical questions: The speaker questions whether children can flourish under fear.
A Psalm of Life
What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
“Life is but an empty dream!”
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
“Dust thou art, to dust returnest,”
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Finds us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,–act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing
Learn to labor and to wait.
Overview Short Summary
This poem urges readers to live actively, work bravely, and make each day meaningful. It is a strong motivational poem for a new school year.
Classroom Use Why This Poem Fits Back to School
For older students, this poem works as a first day of school poem about effort, goals, and personal growth. Its final message, “learn to labor and to wait,” connects naturally with classroom discipline and long-term learning.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Purposeful action: The poem encourages readers to use the present well.
- Growth: Each tomorrow should find us farther than today.
- Legacy: Our actions can encourage others.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is urgent, uplifting, and motivational. The mood is brave and forward-looking.
My Heart Leaps Up
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
Overview Short Summary
The speaker feels joy when seeing a rainbow and connects that wonder to childhood, adulthood, and old age. The poem celebrates the lasting importance of a child’s sense of wonder.
Classroom Use Why This Poem Fits Back to School
This short poem fits a welcome back classroom display because it reminds students that curiosity and wonder are not childish things to leave behind; they are part of lifelong learning.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Wonder: The rainbow symbolizes joy and curiosity.
- Childhood: The poem values the child’s way of seeing the world.
- Continuity: Early feelings shape the person we become.
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