McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XCVIII · Part 10: Elephants, the sea and a happy life

104. The Light of Other Days (Thomas Moore)

Goal: Your child reads a famous short poem about memory with feeling and says what the "light of other days" is.

⏱ About 25 minutes · 5 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

Thomas Moore's two-stanza poem: in the quiet of the night, memory brings back the smiles, tears and words of boyhood, and the friends now gone. (The page also has the definitions for "A Home Scene.")

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    The book says Thomas Moore (b. 1779, d. 1852) was born in Dublin, Ireland, and educated at Trinity College there. His best-known works include "Lalla Rookh" and "Irish Melodies," and he wrote a "Life of Lord Byron."

  2. Read aloud

    Read the poem aloud softly, more than once. It begins:

    Oft, in the stilly night,

    Ere slumber's chain has bound me,

    Fond memory brings the light

    Of other days around me;

    This poem was written to be sung. If you can find a recording of the song, listen to it together.

  3. Talk about it

    SayWhat is the "light of other days"? When does it come to the poet?

    SayIn the second stanza he says he feels like someone walking alone through a banquet-hall after the guests have left. What does that picture tell you about how he feels?

    Say"Stilly" is an old word for still or quiet. Why might a poet choose it instead of "still"?

  4. Tell it back

    Close the book.

    SayTell me what the poet remembers and how it makes him feel.

    A few sentences are enough.

  5. Memorize

    Learn the first four lines (above) by heart.

Tip

This poem is often sung. If your child likes it, look up the tune and sing it together.

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