Learning to Read
by Frances E. W. Harper

Very soon the Yankee teachers
Came down and set up school;
But, oh! how the Rebs did hate it,—
It was agin' their rule.

Our masters always tried to hide
Book learning from our eyes;
Knowledge didn't agree with slavery—
'Twould make us all too wise.

But some of us would try to steal
A little from the book,
And put the words together,
And learn by hook or crook.

I remember Uncle Caldwell,
Who took pot liquor fat
And greased the pages of his book,
And hid it in his hat.

And had his master ever seen
The leaves upon his head,
He'd have thought them greasy papers,
But nothing to be read.

And there was Mr. Turner's Ben,
Who heard the children spell,
And picked the words right up by heart,
And learned to read 'em, well.

Well, the Northern folks kept sending
The Yankee teachers down;
And they stood right up and helped us
Though Rebs did sneer and frown.

And I longed to read my Bible,
For precious words it said;
But when I begun to learn it,
Folks just shook their heads,


And said there is no use trying,
Oh! Chloe, you're too late;
But as I was rising sixty,
I had no time to wait.

So I got a pair of glasses,
And straight to work I went,
And never stopped till I could read
The hymns and Testament.

Then I got a little cabin—
A place to call my own—
And I felt as independent
As the queen upon her throne.

1.	ANALYZE HISTORICAL CONTEXT Who were the Rebs?
2.	AUTHOR'S MEANING What does the author mean by "knowledge didn't agree with slavery"?
3.	PARAPHRASE Restate this stanza in your own words.
4.	ANALYZE STYLE What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
5.	QUESTION What might have happened to Uncle Caldwell if a slave owner had discovered that he had reading material?
6.	MAIN IDEA What is the main idea of this stanza?
7.	POLITICAL CONTEXT Why were the Rebs unable to prevent Yankees from teaching literacy skills?
8.	CLARIFY Why did people shake their heads and tell Chloe that it was "too late"?
9.	CHARACTER What do Chloe's obtaining of a pair of glasses and teaching herself to read indicate about her?
10.	SYNTHESIZE Why do you suppose that the author structures the poem so that Chloe gets her own cabin only after she learns to read?