Excerpt from before a painting
james weldon johnson

i knew not who had wrought with skill so fine
what i beheld; nor by what laws of art
he had created life and love and heart
on canvas, from mere color, curve and line. 4
silent i stood and made no move or sign;
not with the crowd, but reverently apart;
nor felt the power my rooted limbs to start,
but mutely gazed upon that face divine. 8

and over me the sense of beauty fell,
as music over a raptured listener to
the deep-voiced organ breathing out a hymn;
or as on one who kneels, his beads to tell, 12
there falls the aureate glory filtered through
the windows in some old cathedral dim.

what is the main purpose of the poem?
a) to show how museums are like cathedrals
b) to reveal how works of art can be religious
c) to try and put into words the power of a painting
d) to explore the relationship between art and worship

Article one: the new york tribune from december 5, 1859on leaving the jail, john brown had on his face an expression of calmness andserenity characteristic of the patriot who is about to die with a living consciousnessthat he is laying his life down for the good of his fellow as he stepped outof the door a black woman, with her little child in her arms, stood near his way. thetwain were of the despised race for whose emancipation and elevation to the dignityof children of god he was about to lay down his he stopped for a moment in hiscourse, stooped over, and with the tenderness of one whose love is as broad as thebrotherhood of man, kissed [the child) affectionately.article two: the cincinnati enquirer from december 3, 1859we rejoice that old brown has been hung. he was not only a murderer of innocentpersons, but he attempted one of the greatest crimes against society-the stirring upof a servile and civil war. he has paid the penalty for his crimes, and we hope his fatemay be a warning to all who might have felt inclined to imitate his aggressive conduct.now it is your turn. you need to synthesize the two articles mentioned above into one or two paragraphs. you may lookat the synthesized paragraphs above for an example, but your paragraph should be different. remember to follow theprocess hints mentioned earlier in this lesson.iuflad