Introduction
The material trappings of Christmas – the tree, the lights, the presents, the dinner and its customs – are sometimes the only things left to cling to when faith wavers, as Tennyson found, mourning his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam.
THE time draws near the birth of Christ:
The moon is hid; the night is still;
The Christmas bells from hill to hill
Answer each other in the mist.
Four voices of four hamlets round,
From far and near, on mead and moor,
Swell out and fail, as if a door
Were shut between me and the sound:
Each voice four changes on the wind,
That now dilate, and now decrease,
Peace and goodwill, goodwill and peace,
Peace and goodwill, to all mankind.
This year I slept and woke with pain,
I almost wish’d no more to wake,
And that my hold on life would break
Before I heard those bells again:
But they my troubled spirit rule,
For they controll’d me when a boy;
They bring me sorrow touch’d with joy,
The merry merry bells of Yule.
Précis
Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem in memory of Arthur Henry Hallam tells how Tennyson lost interest in Christmas celebrations as his mourned his old friend. However, the pull of childhood memories meant that Christmas chimes brought him back from the edge of despair, and he could feel some happiness again. (49 / 60 words)
Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem in memory of Arthur Henry Hallam tells how Tennyson lost interest in Christmas celebrations as his mourned his old friend. However, the pull of childhood memories meant that Christmas chimes brought him back from the edge of despair, and he could feel some happiness again.
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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 45 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, despite, just, not, otherwise, since, unless, who.
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Tags: Poets and Poetry (55) Alfred, Lord Tennyson (4) Christmastide (11) Extracts from Literature (601) Extracts from Poetry (66)
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For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
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2 Again. Far. Trouble.
3 Birth. Goodwill. Merry.
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carting. courting. crating. creating. curating.