which
are known as "the throne of Jemshid," after a mythical king.

=878. Chorasma.= A region of Turkestan, the seat of a powerful empire
in the twelfth century, but now greatly reduced. Its present limits
are about the same as those of Khiva. See note, l. 120.

=880. Right for the polar star.= That is, due north. =Orgunje.= A
village on the Oxus some seventy miles below Khiva, and near the head
of its delta.

=890. luminous home.= The Aral Sea.

=891. new bathed stars.= As the stars appear on the horizon, they seem
to have come up out of the sea.

=875-892.= Discuss the poet's purpose in introducing the remarkable
word-picture of these closing lines of the poem. See also note, ll.
231-250, _The Scholar-Gipsy._

SAINT BRANDAN [164]

In this poem Arnold has vividly presented a quaint legend of Judas
Iscariot, popular in the Middle Ages. Saint Brandan (490-577) was
a celebrated Irish monk, famous for his voyages. "According to the
legendary accounts of his travels, he set sail with others to seek the
terrestrial paradise which was supposed to exist in an island of the
Atlantic. Various miracles are related of the voyage, but they are
always connected with the great island where the monks are said to
have landed. The legend was current in the time of Columbus and
long after, and many connected St. Brandan's island with the newly
discovered America. He is commemorated on May 16."--_The Century
Cyclopedia of Names_.

=7. Hebrides.= A group of islands off the northwestern coast of
Scotland.

=11. hurtling Polar lights.= A reference to the rapid, changing
movements of the Aurora Borealis.

=18. Of hair that red.= According to tradition, Judas Iscariot's hair
was red.

=21. sate.= See note, l. 199, _Sohrab and Rustum_. (Old form of "sat,"
common in poetry.)

=31. self-murder.= After betraying Christ, Judas hanged himself. See
Matt, xxvii. 5 and Acts i. 18.

=38. The Leper recollect.= There is no scriptural authority for this
incident.

=40. Joppa=, or Jaffa. A small maritime town of Palestine--the ancient
port of Jerusalem. There is also a small village called Jaffa in
Galilee, some two miles southwest of Nazareth, which may have been the
place the poet had in mind.

Image the situation as presented in the first several stanzas. Why
locate in the sea without a "human shore," l. 12? Is there any
especial reason for having the time Christmas n