What metaphors does Holmes use to describe the ship in stanzas one and two of "Old Ironsides"?

In 1830, the 44-gun American warship Constitution, the inspiration for "Old Ironsides," was scheduled to be scrapped – that is, stripped of everything valuable or reasonable. What proposal is put forth by Holmes, in the last stanza of his poem?

What do you think Holmes wants the ship to symbolize?

The term,"Harpies," in line 15 of "Old Ironsides" is an allusion to predatory flying creatures in Greek mythology, which have bodies of vultures and heads of women. The name meant "snatchers" or "robbers." Why do you think that Holmes uses this allusion in his poem?

In Longfellow’s "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls," how does the title foreshadow the fact the traveler will not return?

Do you think Longfellow’s poem is about one specific traveler, or could it apply to all in general? Explain your answer.

© 2004 clipart.com
Personification is a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. Cite an example of Longfellow’s use of personification in "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls."

How does the division into stanzas reflect the passage of time in the poem? Example: Stanza One presents twilight darkening into night. What do stanzas two and three represent?
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls”

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveler hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveler to the shore.
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
OLD IRONSIDES

By Oliver Wendell Holmes
September 16, 1830

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar;
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o’er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee;
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered bulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale

answers to any of the questions will be very much appreciated thanx so much