slp0/highflight

1. What does the author mean when he writes:

(a) Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
(b) And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
(c) Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
(d) Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
(e) You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
(f) High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
(g) I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
(h) My eager craft through footless halls of air.
(i) Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
(j) I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
(k) Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
(l) And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
(m) The high unsurpassed sanctity of space,
(n) Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Let's look at it one line at a time with a few suggestions -- BUT -- be sure to share your own ideas!

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth

1-A. What are "the surly bonds of earth?" Is he speaking of gravity?

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

1-B. Why does is his plane seem so "happy" that it dances and laughs?

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

1-C. Do you think "the tumbling mirth" are giant billowing clouds?

Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things

1-D. Have you ever seen the rays of the sun break through and "split" the sky on a cloudy day?

You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung

1-E. "Wheeling" and "soaring" are terms usually used to desribe birds in flight. What other maneuvers can birds to?

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there

1-F. When a plane reaches the top of it's climb, (apex) it will stall for a moment before beginning it's plunge back towards earth. It "hovers."

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

1-G. When you fly "with" the wind it can be very silent. When you fly against the wind it can be so noisy it sounds like "shouting." Many people who have gone on hot air balloon rides say that it is eerily silent.

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

1-H. The author had just flown higher than anyone else had ever flown.

Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,

1-I. Once you are above the cloud cover there is nothing to shield your eyes from the pure, brilliant color of the atmospehere.

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

1-J. His new plane was so powerful it made his high altitude achievement seem very easy.

Where never lark, or even eagle flew

1-K. He reached an altitude of 30,000 feet -- almost six miles straight up -- where there is not enough oxygen for any creature to survive.

And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod

1-L. The pilot/author's concsiousness is raised by this experience.

The high unsurpassed sanctity of space,

1-M. He realizes that he must be trespassing in the heavens.