UNIT 4

THE SLAVE’S DREAM

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

M.A Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung

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 WARMING UP

A pitiable situation of a slave lying on the ground in the usa and dreaming of his native land
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 OBJECTIVES

After the lesson, the students will:

• Gain some knowledge about the author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Comprehend the poem “The slave’s dream”
• Be able to analyze the poem

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 OVERVIEW

4.1 About the author – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

4.2 Reading for comprehension

4.3 Literary analysis

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 4.1. ABOUT THE AUTHOR – HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland in

America in 1807. While still a student he developed
the habit of reading and writing. He taught at Bowdoin
College and Harvard University. After retiring from
Harvard, Longfellow devoted himself exclusively to
writing.
• The Slave’s Dream is one of the eight poems which
Longfellow wrote on the topic of slavery and formed a
part of his collection called ‘Poems on Slavery’,
published in 1842 as his first public support for
abolition of slavery.
• He was a writer of romantic literature.

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 4.2. READING FOR COMPREHENSION

The Slave’s Dream: Link

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Beside the ungathered rice he lay,

His sickle in his hand;
His breast was bare, his matted hair
Was buried in the sand.
Again, in the mist and shadow of sleep,
He saw his Native Land.

Wide through the landscape of his dreams

The lordly Niger flowed;
Beneath the palm trees on the plain
Once more a king he strode;
And heard the tinkling caravans
Descend the mountain road.

He saw once more his dark-eyed queen 6

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 4.2. READING FOR COMPREHENSION

The Slave’s Dream

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Before him, like a blood-red flag,

The bright flamingoes flew;
From morn till night he followed their flight,
O’er plains where the tamarind grew,
Till he saw the roofs of Caffre huts,
And the ocean rose to view.

At night he heard the lion roar,

And the hyena scream,
And the river-horse, as he crushed the reeds
Beside some hidden stream;
And it passed, like a glorious roll of drums,
Through the triumph of his dream.

The forests, with their myriad tongues, 7

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 4.2. READING FOR COMPREHENSION

Exercise 1: Read the poem carefully and answer the questions below
1. How is the slave introduced to the reader in the first stanza?
2. In the second stanza, he is striding along at a normal pace. What does this indicate?
3. Why does the slave move at furious speed in the fourth stanza?
4. What does be hear at night?
5. Why is the lifeless body referred to as 'fetter’?

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 4.2. READING FOR COMPREHENSION

Exercise 1: Answer
1. How is the slave introduced to the reader in the first stanza?
Ans: In the fist stanza, the slave is introduced as a reaper lying beside the “ungathered rice” with a sickle in his
hand. His breast was bare and his “matted hair” was buried in the sand. In his shadow of sleep he dreams of
his native land.
2. In the second stanza, he is striding along at a normal pace. What does this indicate?
Ans: It indicates that the slave was once a king and he dreams of himself striding majestically through the
plain. beneath the palm trees.
3. Why does the slave move at furious speed in the fourth stanza? Why does he feel this sense or
urgency?
Ans: ln the slave‟s dream, it is he who decides how fast he should ride and where he should stop because he
is the king and so he moves at a “furious speed”. The slave feels a sense of urgency because he longs for
freedom.

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 4.2. READING FOR COMPREHENSION

Exercise 1: Answer (cont.)

4. What does be hear at night?
Ans: The slave hears the roar of the lion. The scream of the hyena and the march or the river-horse at night.
Even nature seems to be shouting for liberty in his dream.
5. Why is the lifeless body referred to as 'fetter’?
Ans: The lifeless body of the slave is referred to as letter' because he at last obtains freedom. His soul breaks
and discards the “worn out” chain of enslavement.

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 4.2. READING FOR COMPREHENSION

Exercise 2: Answer the questions below

1.
(a) Who are ‘they ‘ in stanza 3?
(b) Who are they welcoming?
(c) Why does the sleeper cry?
2.
(a) Who is being referred to in stanza 5?
(b) Whose flight did he follow?
(c) Where was he going?
3. What was the slave doing in the beginning of the poem?
4. Which line in the poem tells us that the slave had been a special person in his native land?

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Exercise 2: Answer the questions below (cont.)

5. Why did the slave cry in his dream?
6. Which animals are mentioned in the slave’s dream?
7. What made the slave smile in his dream?
8. Why did the slave not feel the driver’s whip?

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Exercise 2: Answer
1.
(a) Who are ‘they ‘ in stanza 3? 🡪 ‘ They are the queen and her children
(b) Who are they welcoming? 🡪 They are welcoming the slave who is the father and the husband also.
(c) Why does the sleeper cry? 🡪 The sleeper cries by seeing the love of his family who kissed his cheeks and
hold him by the hand.
2.
(a) Who is being referred to in stanza 5? 🡪 ‘ Flamingoes ‘ is being referred to in these lines.
(b) Whose flight did he follow? 🡪 He followed the flight of flamingoes.
(c) Where was he going? 🡪 He was going to his native land.
3. What was the slave doing in the beginning of the poem? 🡪 In the beginning of the poem the slave was
lying near a field of “ungathered” rice. In his hand, he holds a sickle apparently for use in harvesting the crops.

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 4.2. READING FOR COMPREHENSION

Exercise 2: Answer (cont.)

4. Which line in the poem tells us that the slave had been a special person in his native land? 🡪 “Once more
a king he strode”; “They clasped his neck, they kissed his cheeks, they held him by hand”; “tells us that the
slave had been a special person in his native land.”
5. Why did the slave cry in his dream? 🡪 The slave cried in his dream because the image of a tenderly
devoted family apparently presents a stark contrast his current realities.
6. Which animals are mentioned in the slave’s dream? 🡪 Lion, horse and hynea are mentioned in the slave
dreams.
7. What made the slave smile in his dream? 🡪 Stanza 7: “The forests, with their myriad tongues, Shouted of
liberty; And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud, With a voice so wild and free,” When the people coming
together and raising their voices for freedom. During this point in the dream ‘ the slave smiles at the thought of
advent of freedom and liberty across the landscape.
8. Why did the slave not feel the driver’s whip? 🡪 Stanza 8 -The slave did not feel the driver’s whip because
his body was lifeless. He was at the land of sleep.

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 4.3. Literary Analysis

Exercise 3: Critically analyse the following lines and answer the questions with reference to the
context.
1. He saw once more his dark-eyed queen Among her children stand: They clasped his neck. they kissed his
cheeks, They held him by the hand!
a. What relation does the slave’s share with the dark-eyed queen? 🡪 The dark-eyed queen‟ is the wife of the
slave. Who had surrounded the queen! Ans:- Their children had surrounded the queen.
b. Why do the queen's children clasp his neck and kiss them! 🡪 The queen's children clasped his neck and
kissed him to show their love fhr him. This shows the warmth and the intensity of love that the slave shares
with his family.
2. Before him, like a blood-red flag. The bright flamingoes flew: From mom till night he followed their flight, O‟er
plains where the tamarind grew, Till he saw the roofs of Caffre huts,
a. Why are the flamingoes referred to as a blood-red flag‟? 🡪 the poet uses a simile to describe that the
flock of red flamingoes actually looks like red flags, they symbolize freedom.

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Exercise 3: Critically analyse the following lines and answer the questions with reference to the context
(cont.)
2.
b. Over which areas did the flamingoes fly? 🡪 The flamingoes flew from the plains where the tamarind grew till the
ocean rose to view.
c. What do the roofs of the Caffre huts indicate? 🡪 The roofs or the Caffre huts indicate the colony or settlements
of the Caffre tribes. The poet dreams of the days when he enjoys freedom, chasing flamingoes from one part of
his kingdom to the other end.
3. The forest. with their myriad tongues, Shouted of liberty: And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud, With a voice so
wild and free, 'that he started in his sleep and smiled At their tempestuous glee.
a. How did the forests shout out liberty? 🡪 The forests shout out liberty through their myriad tongues”.
b. Did the desert actually cry out or was it representing the slave's sense of freedom? 🡪 The desert actually did
not cry out but it represents the slave's sense of freedom.
c. Why did he smile in his sleep? 🡪 The “wild and free” voice of the forests and the desert makes the slave feel
happy and free
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 4.3. Literary Analysis

Literary devices
This is a great anti-slavery poem by Longfellow. In it he describes an African king who is lying in a field of rice, bound
for life as a slave. In this poem, Longfellow uses several literary devices.
1. Metaphors (Sleep is compared to mist and shadow):
Again, in the mist and shadow of sleep, He saw his Native Land
Wide through the landscape of his dreams The lordly Niger flowed;
🡪 His dreams are compared to a landscape.
2. Simile:
Before him, like a blood-red flag, The bright flamingoes flew;
🡪 He compares the flamingoes to a flag.
3. Personification:
The forests with their myriad tongues,
Shouted of liberty;
And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud,
With a voice so wild and free,
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 SUMMARY

The lesson covers 3 main parts:

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Reading for comprehension
• Literary analysis

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 GLOSSARY

1. Niger: The Niger river is the principal river of western Africa

2. Caravan /ˈkerəˌvan/: a group of people, especially traders or pilgrims, traveling together across a desert in
Asia or North Africa.
3. Bridle-rein /ˈbrīdl/ /reɪn/ : a leather strap, fastened to each end of the bit of a bridle, by which the rider or
driver controls a horse or other animal by pulling so as to exert pressure on the bit.
4. Martial /ˈmɑr·ʃəl/: related to war
5. Scabbard /ˈskabərd/ : a sheath for the blade of a sword or dagger, typically made of leather or metal.
6. Caffre /cafr/: (here) a name of a powerful tribe, later this word became an offensive and insulting word for a
Black African

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