Introduction
We find in a churchyard people who had the same talents as the great figures of English history and poetry, but not their chance to achieve fame.
PERHAPS in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with
celestial fire;
Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed,
Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.
But knowledge to their eyes her ample page
Rich with the spoils of time, did ne’er unroll;
Chill penury repressed their noble rage,
And froze the genial* current of the soul.
Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
Some village Hampden, that with
dauntless breast,
The little tyrant of his fields withstood;
Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood.**
In Gray’s time, ‘genial’ was used to describe mild and pleasant climate or weather.
** John Hampden (c.1595-1643) was an English general who challenged King Charles I’s abuse of his authority as King; Oliver Cromwell led England’s shortlived (and bloody) Republic from 1649 until his death in 1658.
Précis
In remote churchyards across the country, people lie buried who were just as talented and courageous as more famous (and infamous) people are; their poverty or lack of education meant, however, that their talents were never discovered, and their deeds, often heroic in their own way, touched the lives of only a few. (53 / 60 words)
In remote churchyards across the country, people lie buried who were just as talented and courageous as more famous (and infamous) people are; their poverty or lack of education meant, however, that their talents were never discovered, and their deeds, often heroic in their own way, touched the lives of only a few.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, besides, may, unless, until, whereas, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
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.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Do. Ecstasy. Page.
2 Ample. Hand. Lyre.
3 Living. Penury. Pregnant.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Current. 2. Desert. 3. Bear. 4. Cave. 5. Bore. 6. Fire. 7. Rich. 8. Rest. 9. May.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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