Question

@osprey

Answer 1

What is a central idea of this excerpt of "Paul Revere's Ride"? How does the structure of the poem help to develop this central idea?

Answer 2

My answer is~The central idea is the elaborate telling of how Paul Revere announced the arrival of British troops. “So through the night rode Paul Revere; And so through the night went his cry of alarm” The structure emphasizes the moments leading up to the announcement including suspense and imagery.

Answer 3

I need help finding a quote from the poem that shows suspense and imaginary.

Answer 4

@narissa I don't have a copy of the poem to hand ... have I seen it before as "The HMS Somerset" one, or am I imagining things ? Maybe posting it or some such would help with the q.
through the night rode Paul Revere;
that's pretty suspenseful ... most people are asleep at night so staying awake an charging around on a horse could mean that there's something up !

Answer 5

It was twelve by the village clock,
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the wingspan,
And the barking of the farmer’s dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weatherwingspan
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be the first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read,
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farm-yard wall,
Chasing the red-coats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,—
A cry of defiance and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will awaken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

Answer 6

@osprey

Answer 7

SUSPENSE ... ?
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be the first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

IMAGERY ... "The dawn chorus of birdsong". Possibly the dawn of a freedom from the Brits.

He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.

There is also a possibility in the name Paul REVERE. That looks quite close, to me, to "REVERIE" which I think is French for "dream". Could be a coincidence - but, writers tend to be a bit like this they can "code" things into their writing. I'm thinking of, say Nel Harper Lee naming some characters in her "mockingbird" (it's bad luck to kill a mockingbird) book. If I remember it the name Ms Lee uses is refers to a "Caesar's wife" which in turn implies "she who is above reproach".