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A song to the oak, the brave old oak,
Who hath ruled in the greenwood long;
Here’s health and renown to his broad green crown,
And his fifty arms so strong.
There’s fear in his frown, when the sun goes down,
And the fire in the west fades out;
And he showeth his might on a wild midnight,
When the storms through his branches shout.
In the days of old, when the spring with cold
Had brightened his branches gray,
Through the grass at his feet, crept maidens sweet,
To gather the dews of May.
And on that day, to the rebec gay
They frolicked with lovesome swains;
They are gone, they are dead, in the churchyard laid,
But the tree-it still remains.
He saw rare times when the Christmas chimes
Were a merry sound to hear,
When the Squire’s wide hall and the cottage small
Were filled with good English cheer.
Now gold hath the sway we all obey,
And a ruthless king is he;
But he never shall send our ancient friend
To be tossed on the stormy sea.
Then here’s to the oak, the brave old oak,
Who stands in his pride alone;
And still flourish he, a hale green tree,
When a hundred years are gone.
STUDY GUIDE
A. Focus on Adjectives-Using the clues, fill in the missing adjectives. Choose from: gray, brave, ancient, strong, stormy, wild, rare, ruthless.
1. The oak tree described in this poem is not scared of many things. It is very b___.
2. The oak’s arms or branches have a lot of power in them. They are very s___.
3. When there were storms, the weather was w___.
4. The colour of the oak’s branches is g___.
5. Times that don’t happen very often are r___.
6. Someone who doesn’t care about other people is r___.
7. Someone or something that is very old, is said to be a___.
8. If the weather is very rainy and windy, we say that it is s___.
B. Comprehension Questions
1. Why is this poem called “The Brave Old Oak”?
2. This tree is very old. What are some things that have happened in the life of this tree?
3. A “maiden” is a young woman, and a “swain” is a young man. Why do people sometimes like to be near trees?
4. When you were a child, did you like trees? Why or why not?
5. Why is a storm sometimes dangerous for trees? Explain.
C. Opposites-Find words in the poem that have the opposite meaning to words in this exercise.
1. narrow: b___
2. east: w___
3. calm: w___
4. alive: d___
5. kind: r___
6. young: a___
7. peaceful: s___
8. together: a___