King Bruce of Scotland flung himself down
In a lonely mood to think;
‘Tis true he was monarch, and wore a crown,
But his heart was beginning to sink.
For he had been trying to do a great deed,
To make his people glad;
He had tried, and tried, but couldn’t succeed;
And so he became quite sad.
He flung himself down in low despair,
As grieved as man could be;
And after a while as he pondered there,
“I’ll give it all up,” said he.
Now just at that moment a spider dropp’d
With its silken cobweb clue;
And the King in the midst of his thinking stopp’d
To see what that spider would do.
‘Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome,
And it hung by a rope so fine;
That how it would get to its cobweb home
King Bruce could not divine.
It soon began to cling and crawl
Straight up with strong endeavor;
But down it came with a slippery sprawl,
As near the ground as ever.
Up, up it ran, not a second it stayed
To utter the least complaint;
Till it fell still lower, and there it laid,
A little dizzy and faint.
Its head grew steady—again it went,
And traveled a half-yard higher;
‘Twas a delicate thread it had to tread,
A road where its feet would tire.
Again it fell and swung below,
But again it quickly mounted;
Till up and down, now fast, now slow,
Six brave attempts were counted.
“Sure,” cried the King, “that foolish thing
Will strive no more to climb;
When it toils so hard to reach and cling
And tumbles every time.”
But up the insect went once more,
Ah, me! ’tis an anxious minute;
He’s only a foot from his cobweb door,
Oh, say will he lose or win it!
Steadily, steadily, inch by inch
Higher and higher he got;
And a bold little run at the very last pinch
Put him into his native cot.
“Bravo, bravo!” the King cried out,
“All honour to those who try;
The spider up there defied despair,
He conquered, and why shouldn’t I?”
And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind.
And gossips tell the tale,
That he tried once more as he tried before,
And that time did not fail.
Studies in Reading: Fifth Grade (1914) | Eliza Cook (1818–1889)
Suggestions
Ask your students to do one or more of the following:
- Read the poem aloud.
- Copy the poem on Drawing and Writing paper. Illustrate the poem with a representative drawing.
- Determine the rhyme scheme of the poem (ABAB).
- Learn more about King Bruce of Scotland.
- What do these phrases mean?
- Lonely mood.
- Low despair.
- Silken cobweb clue.
- Ceiling dome.
- Slippery sprawl.
- Delicate thread.
- Anxious minute.
- Very last pinch.
- Native cot.
- Braced his mind.
- Rewrite the poem substituting your own explanation of the phrases above for the original phrases. Read your creation aloud. Which sounds better?
- Challenge: Draw an illustration reflecting as many of the phrases as you can.
- What is the theme of the poem?
- Tell the story in your own words.
- Older students can rewrite the poem in short story form.
- Choose another famous story. Compare/contrast to this poem.
Additional Resources
14 Forms of Writing for the Older Student: Poetry
Ideas for doing more with the poem.
