U1 The Cremation of Sam McGee Word Meaning

Define

A writer’s choice of words is never random. In fact, writers have always chosen their words carefully, to achieve a
specific effect. Consider poets, for example. In the late seventeenth century, some poets chose flowery language,
such as “keeper of the fleecy people” instead of “shepherd,” to avoid using ordinary words. Today, although the
language of poetry may sound more like the language we speak, poets still use figures of speech, such as similes
and metaphors, to make the reader stop to understand something in an unexpected way.

Now consider the relationship between word choices and informational texts. These days, many writers are using
technical terms--words with specialized meanings--to educate readers, to make their writing more precise, or to
explore a scientific or technical subject. But technical terms need to be read in context. The noun bus, for
example, has a different meaning in a text about spacecraft (where it may mean “a craft that carries a detachable
device”) than it does in a short story where it describes a vehicle that takes a character to school.

Variations in word meaning are reminders that, when in doubt about any unfamiliar word or phrase, readers need
to look for context clues or consult a dictionary or other reference source.

Identification and Application:

●Think about why a writer makes specific word choices.

●Consider why certain words or phrases, such as figures of speech or idioms, are used in a text. What is
their effect on the tone or meaning?

●Determine whether or not the language of a poem is appropriate to the subject (or topic). If a word seems
strange or unexpected, why might the poet have used it? What is its effect?

●Examine each word or phrase that is difficult to understand. Use context clues, a word’s part of speech
(noun or verb?), or a dictionary to figure out the meaning. Check the meaning in a dictionary.

Model

“The Cremation of Sam McGee,” a well-known narrative poem by Robert W. Service, includes challenging vocabulary,
idioms and slang, and shortened or abbreviated words that may be unfamiliar to readers. To understand these words,
readers can use context clues to figure out the meaning. For example, they can look at the way a word functions in a line
or stanza, or they can use the overall meaning of a stanza as a context clue to the meaning of the word or phrase.

Read these lines from the first stanza of the poem:

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;

Readers may be unfamiliar with the word “moil” in the second line, but they can recognize that the word is being used as a
verb to describe an action. Readers can also use the meaning of lines 1-3 of the stanza as another clue. These lines
include the phrases “midnight sun” and “Arctic trails,” which convey that the action is taking place in the Arctic. The phrase
“men who moil for gold” in the second line describes the prospectors who search for gold in the Klondike—work that is very
difficult. When taken together, all these clues suggest that the poet deliberately chose the word “moil,” possibly for its
alliteration (“ m en who m oil”) or for the fact that it suggests “toil,” with which it rhymes. To verify that the meaning of the
word is “to work hard,” you can look it up in a print or online dictionary, such as at http://www.merriam-webster.com/ .

Model

The first stanza includes another word that may be unfamiliar to readers: “marge”:

But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

“Marge” is being used as a noun in this context. Now consider the overall meaning of the lines. The queerest thing ever seen by the Northern Lights was “on the
marge of Lake Lebarge.” What normally surrounds a lake? One answer is the shore. However, the word “shore” does not rhyme with “Lebarge.” To keep to the
rhythm and rhyme scheme he had already created, the poet instead thought of the word “margin” (a word meaning “outer edge”) and shortened it to “marge.”

The poem also includes slang as well as idioms —phrases with a meaning other than the literal meaning of their individual words. Think about the meaning of
the idiom “cash in” in line 19, in stanza 4:

He turned to me, and “Cap,” says he, “I'll cash in this trip, I guess;
And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request.”

Context clues can help readers figure out the meaning of the idiom “cash in.” Clearly, the idiom is being used as a verb. It is also a slang term and sounds like
the ordinary speech of the miners. Sam hopes that if he does “cash in,” Cap will take care of his last request. A last request is the final thing someone asks for
before dying. Therefore, “cash in” must mean “to die.”

As you come across unfamiliar words in any text you read, remember to look for context clues. Also, keep your browser open to an online dictionary so that you
can confirm your guess about the meaning. Above all, think about why the poet chose the specific word over another word. Ask yourself, What effect does this
word choice have on the tone of the poem? On the meaning of a particular stanza? Was it the best word or phrase to choose in the context of the stanza or
poem? Why?

Your Turn

Read stanza 10 (lines 41-44) from “The Cremation of Sam McGee, ” and use context clues to figure out the
meaning of the expression “in a trice.” Then answer the follow-up questions.

Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and

a derelict there lay;

It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it

was called the “Alice May.”

And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I

looked at my frozen chum;

Then “Here,” said I, with a sudden cry, “is my

cre-ma-tor-eum.”

Multiple Choice

Part A

What does the expression “in a trice” mean?

• 1. “in a very short time”

  
  

• 2. “in my imagination”

  
  

• 3. “in a few words”

  
  

• 4. “just in time”

  
  

Multiple Choice

Part B

What context clues helped you determine the meaning of “in a trice”?

• 1. Cap “came to the marge of Lake Lebarge.” He was just in time.

  
  

• 2. Cap saw that the boat “was called the ‘Alice May.’” It doesn’t take long to read a name on a boat.

  
  

• 3. Cap “thought a bit” about the boat. He used his imagination.

  
  

• 4. Cap said, “‘Here . . . is my cre-ma-tor-eum.’” He used only a few words.