144. Ode to Mt. Blanc (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

The lesson, step by step

1. Words and meanings

   Look over the notes and definitions printed at the end of the lesson before you start, so names and hard words don't trip up the reading.

   Look at a picture of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, before reading.

   Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.

2. About the author

   The book says Coleridge (1772–1834) was born in Devonshire, England, and educated at Christ's Hospital and Cambridge. Poverty led him to enlist in the army, but his gifts got him out. He is best known for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Genevieve and Christabel, and was a celebrated talker. It says he fell short of his powers, partly from lack of energy and partly from too much opium.

3. Read aloud

   Read it aloud with a grand, slow voice. It is a hymn.

   Listen for these lines:

   Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star

   In his steep course?

4. Talk about it

   SayWhat time of day is it? What does the poet see?

   SayWhom does he call on to praise God: list the things in nature he names.

   SayWhy might a mountain make a person think of God?

   SayThis is the last lesson in the book. Why might the editors have ended here?

5. Narration

   Your student describes the scene of the poem and its feeling.

6. Memorize or copy

   Learn the opening lines:

   Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star

   In his steep course?

7. Looking back

   Ask your student to name three selections from this book they would like to read again, and why. Write the list inside the cover.