Question

Read the following paragraph from John Muir's essay "Calypso Borealis" and find at least three phrases that Muir uses to describe nature...

How long I sat beside Calypso I don't know. Hunger and weariness vanished, and only after the sun was low in the west I splashed on through the swamp, strong and exhilarated as if never more to feel any mortal care. At length I saw maple woods on a hill and found a log house. I was gladly received. "Where ha ye come fra? The swamp, that awfu' swamp. What were ye doin' there?" etc. "Mony a puir body has been lost in that muckle, cauld, dreary bog and never been found." When I told her I had entered it in search of plants and had been in it all day, she wondered how plants could draw me to these awful places, and said, "It's god's mercy ye ever got out."

Thank you!

Answer 1

"At length, I saw maple woods on a hill"
"The swamp, that awfu' swamp"
"Mony a puir body has been lost in that muckle, cauld, dreary bog"

Answer 2

• "At length I saw maple woods on a hill and found a log house."
• "...The swamp, that awfu' swamp..."
• "Mony a puir body has been lost in that muckle, cauld, dreary bog and never been found."

Step-by-step explanation:

Description of nature refers to the detailing of characteristics in a setting, the setting being a swamp and its surroundings.

The way this is described is with the main character pointing out their finding of a house, as well as some terrain details beside it. The woman inhabiting the house then proceeds to describe the swamp adjacent to her house as "awful" and as a death trap of wanderers with many others negative adjectives.

The comments of both these characters make for the description of nature in the setting.