*** * * * * * * * * * = & C-ºw a - " - * i -#: :Fº# : G : : º i . i i # :5. ſ : . ~º == f º C º º º # º . º i : ; . ; : i : t º : º ; E- : - Fºº s::::::: Hººge º : ei: . . --- - - - - - - sº : i. -º:s º : : º E. :sº S. # ; º : sº : : : # * *- - C. --~~ : : # : : : : C.E. º#- : 1: :i . i• *- ;: : : : : # g º : :# r : º : . i -: : ; 3. ; i. Gº i º . : º <> fºx ſ iº YººHº LIBRARYºof time gnºsmºlºſiºn Jºzº | #!!!!Nº! ! { } g|IIIlllllllº. A } || - º i - i ; º º = º #º-ºØº: E É- * , §§ jº II |||||||||III IIITITIRºſſIIIII IIIHITIE E | B | C3] Bé? RIVERSIDE TEXTBOOKS IN EDUCATION EDITED BY ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY RIVERSIDE TEXTBOOKS IN EDUCATION EDITED BY ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY RURAL LIFE AND EDUCATION. By E. P. CUBBERLEY, Professor of Education, leland Stan- ford Junior University. $1.50 met. Postpaid. THE HYCIENE OF THE SCHOOL CHILD. By L. M. TERMAN, Associate Professor of Edu- cation, Leland Stanford Junior University. $1.65 met. Postpaid. THE EVOLUTION OF THE EDUCATIONAL IDEAL. By MABEL I. EMERSON, First Assistant in Charge of the George Bancroft School, Boston. $1.00 met. Postpaid. HEALTH WORK IN THE SCHOOLS. By E. B. HoAG, M.D., Medical Director, Long Beach City Schools, Cal., and L. M. TERMAN. $1.60 met. Postpaid. DISCIPLINE AS A SCHOOL PROBLEM. By A. C. PERRY, J.R., District Superintendent of Schools, New York City. $1.25 met. Postpaid. HOW TO TEACH THE FUNDAMENTAL SUBJECTS. By C. N. KENDALL, Commissioner of Education for New Jersey, and G. A. MIRICK, formerly Deputy Commissioner of Education for New Jersey. $1.25 met. Postpaid. TEACHING LITERATURE IN THE GRAM– MAR GRADES AND HIGH SCHOOL. By EMMA M. BoleNIUS, formerly Instructor in Eng- lish, Central Commercial and Manual Training High School, Newark, N. J. $1.25 met. Postpaid. PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION. By E. P. CUBBERLEY. An press. É ſuiullſluiuluiulllllllllllllllllllllllllim]]|tullil]]lululllllllllllluſtullllllllllllinulllllllllllllllllllllllliºl||||Illuſ||||Iſtill||1till|||Intill|||Iillſ||liſtill Tºº" #! : TEACHING LITERATURE sº IN THE GRAMMAR GRADES | H AND HIGH SCHOOL º º EMMA MILLER BOLENIUS, A.M. º == FORMERLY Instructor IN ENGLISH - === #—# CENTRAL COMMERCIAL AND MANUAL #—# #—É TRAINING HIGH SCHOOL, NEWARK, N. J. É–= t#—# É–# HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY H #—: BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO H #—: (The ſiiueráite pregg &lambridge H #i III"Ill||liſtillſi"IIIllinull ſlurill||liºnſ||||Inſillſ|urlillºumillſ|uniſſil ſ III"ill||1ſtill||liſtill||lutil|||Illuſ|||ſtinill||1ſtill||lutillſ|uirill||11till H º | | | º | º COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY EMMA MILLER BOLENIUS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Qſìje 3&ibergiot 33rºgg CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS U o S e A. EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION THERE has been much criticism, during the past two dec- ades, of the teaching of English literature in our schools and colleges. The earlier teaching of English was characterized largely by a type of instruction which tried to inspire pupils through their contact with the classics of our language, and to awaken in them an enduring love of both poetry and prose. The work being in large part interpretation and somewhat inspirational in nature, calling for much from the teacher and less than in most other subjects from the pupils, teachers in other subjects more susceptible to drill tended to character- ize the instruction as “snap work.” Stung by this criticism, teachers of English went for a time to the other extreme, substituted a detailed analysis of a few masterpieces for the more extensive reading which had formerly been the prac- tice, and in time reduced the instruction to a monotonous and almost lifeless type of intensive study. Historical and mythological allusions were to be looked up, collateral read- ing was prescribed, notebooks were to be compiled, and the work was made so heavy, and often so uninteresting, that no charge of “snap * could be brought against it. As all questions of instruction have recently come to be studied more in the light of a sound pedagogy, certain changes in our ideas as to desirable means and ends in in- struction have resulted. One of these changes has been a marked reaction against a “grind” type of teaching in a subject so full of life and feeling as literature. It has been felt that it is possible to combine the inspirational element with some serious thinking and work, and thus to provide a type of instruction which will include the best of both the -º-, rººt *-*. ** Tº... ." , K-Tº S's sº tº .* * Sº f & * * * -5 §l r \\ * {-2} . *..., * *-*. --º- • * .. * “Tº & J.' *-39 ºf ‘s vi EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION previous types. To procure either teachers or text-books which could successfully combine the best of the two methods has not, however, been so easy. The present volume is an attempt, and it seems to me an unusually successful one, to strike a golden mean between the two methods in the teaching of English literature pre- viously described, and to reconcile the two attitudes toward the work. It combines in one cover the three most impor- tant things in a teacher’s equipment: (1) knowledge of the subject-matter, in this case, literature; (2) methods for im- parting the subject-matter to a class; and (3) suggestions for humanizing the study of literature and for correlating it with the lives of boys and girls. The book should prove of great value not only to actual teachers of literature in the grades and in the high school, but also to those in process of training for such work. The educational theory underlying the book is remarkably sound, the scope of the instruction outlined is most commendable, and the suggestions for more extensive study should prove very helpful indeed. The book has an added advantage in that it has been worked out during an important and varied experience on the part of the writer as a teacher of English, and of having been carefully tested in practice under actual schoolroom conditions. It is consequently hoped that this important volume of the series will find a large place for it- self as a desk book for teachers of literature in both public and private schools, as a textbook in courses for the training of teachers in literature in normal schools and colleges, and in reading circles for teachers in service. The style of the book and the character of the contents will also make it an attractive volume to the general reader interested in literary lines. ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY. PREFACE ENGLISH is the subject in which principals and parents are most vitally interested, for it is not only the groundwork of all the other studies but the foundation of culture. This book aims to give teachers of elementary and high- school English — as well as mothers and all others inter- ested in child training — a knowledge of the types of liter- ature and the most representative classics. It is intended to show definitely how to present the various kinds of liter- ature so that classes will appreciate the type, and will ac- quire a liking for the best books. The treatment of such forms as the ballad, the drama, the short story, the essay, etc., is so simple that children can readily understand them. By means of concrete teaching suggestions, sample lessons, and other devices, the application of practical methods to the various classics is made clear. A background knowl- edge of the history of English literature is also given, – the development of the language, development of prose and po- etry, insight into the lives of great writers, characteristics of the literary eras, growth of literature and its connection with the history of the people, the value and use of present-day literature, etc. ſº With the intention of making the book particularly use- ful as a textbook in normal schools and colleges and in teachers’ reading circles, the following characteristics have been developed: — 1. Prose and poetry are covered in one volume. 2. Technique is explained in such concrete terms that teachers can bring it down to the level of their classes. 3. The pedagogy of the book has been made as practical, cumulative, and definite in application as possible. viii PREFACE 4. Both theory and practice are combined in one volume. 5. Since methods of teaching the classics are of special value to the inexperienced teacher, twenty classics are treated in detail, and the others on the college entrance requirement list are discussed at some length. 6. Since the inexperienced teacher needs definite detailed direction, there have been included many sample lessons, which present actual methods of work. 7. Since elementary and rural school teachers must com- bine the various kinds of work, literature has been corre- lated with other studies, history, composition, art, music, etc. - At the ends of the chapters and also throughout the text are given such definite suggestions for study that students of literature can use the book as a course of study. The chief purpose of the book, however, is to humanize the teaching of literature, to raise it above a mere monotonous study of mechanical details and yet to make it an educative force in the lives of average boys and girls, and to bring out its character-building power. * Books of this sort are an evolution, an outgrowth of class- room experience. To all who by their helpful interest have encouraged the preparation of this book, the writer wishes to extend her sincere thanks. It is also fitting to recognize with a grateful word the hundreds of pupils whose interest in the study of the classics and improvement in taste have been strong incentives in offering to others the methods that in their case proved successful in arousing a better literary appreciation. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. WHAT Books MEAN To You . . What is literature? — The historical development of literature — Ways of studying literature — Why do people write? — How to take up a new book — What books should do — Helpful readings. CHAPTER I. WHAT IS POETRY P. The poetic temperament — Differences between prose and poetry — How poetry is like music — Meter in poetry — Poetic license — Kinds of poetry — Practical exercises — Reading poetry aloud — Helpful readings. CHAPTER II. THE BALLAD . . . gº Popular idea of the ballad; Jock o’ Hazeldean to music — The ballad a story: Teaching Jock o’ Hazeldean — Rise of the ballad in various lands—The wandering minstrel and his theme — Development of an English language and literature — Old Eng- lish ballads–Teaching The Twa Corbies — Old ballads to read — Qualities of old ballads — English literature between the Era of the Ballad and the Ballad Revival — Modern ballads — Draw- ing out the class–Comparison of the modern ballad with the old – Teaching war ballads; readings; Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome—Teaching sea ballads; readings—Teaching love ballads; readings – Teaching humorous ballads; readings — Miscellane- ous ballads; readings — The ballad and the music hall — Class work in the ballad — Helpful readings. (1) Col.ERIDGE's Rime of the Ancient Mariner System in planning assignments — Figures of Speech: A sample lesson — Class study of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner — The impression of the whole — The story in detail; a pupil’s outline— Thought-provoking questions — Helpful readings. (2) LONGFELLOw's Tales of a Wayside Inn The prototypes -— Sources of the several tales — The inter- ludes and composition – Pageantry — Class study of the tales — 20 X TABLE OF CONTENTS Paul Revere’s Ride; questions — King Robert of Sicily; questions — The Birds of Killingworth; questions — The Bell of Atri; ques- tions — Helpful readings. CHAPTER III. THE LYRIC . . . The subjective and the objective — What is a lyric? — Theme and emotion — What makes a great lyric? — The growth of the lyric; Who is Sylvia; To Lucasia, on Going to the Wars — Kinds of lyrics — Stanza, meter, and rhyme — The sonnet form — Teaching the sonnet; Longfellow’s Nature; sonnets to read in class—Teaching the ode; Collins's How Sleep the Brave and Jones's What Constitutes a State; odes for class study – Comparative study of Milton’s L’Allegro and Il Penseroso; a pupil’s outline — The elegy; Landor's Rose Aylmer; elegies and elegiac poems for reading – Teaching Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard; a pupil’s outline — The song, sacred and secular; unconscious memorizing – Hymns to memorize — Patriotic lyrics, a needed study; origins; readings — Folk-songs; enunciation; readings — Poems set to music; programme, “An Evening with Burns”; selections for class singing and special occasions — Character- building poems; selection of quotations to memorize; readings —Nature lyrics; timeliness; readings for autumn, winter, and Spring — Essentials in teaching the lyric — Helpful readings. (1) SHELLEY's To a Skylark Children their own teachers — Self-teaching: A sample lesson – Poetry and nature-study — Figures of speech — Structure of the poem; pupil’s outline — Suggestive questions — Shelley's lyric gift — Helpful readings. (2) BRYANT's Thanatopsis The teacher's problem — Bryant the author: A sample lesson – Bryant’s Americanisms — The poem as a whole — Drawing out the full content: A sample lesson; questions — Helpful read- IngS. CHAPTER IV. THE METRICAI, TALE What is a metrical tale? — Essentials of the tale — Types of metrical tales — Idyls of domestic life – Tales of the supernat- ural; teaching Coleridge's Christabel — Teaching Bryant's Sella; questions; topics for composition — Tales of reminiscence: Gold- Smith's Deserted Village — Teaching Byron's Prisoner of Chillon; TABLE OF CONTENTS questions — The tale with a moral purpose; Wordsworth’s Michael; questions — Love tales; felicitous phrases: Enoch Arden, Evangeline, The Courtship of Miles Standish, The Eve of St. Agnes — The appeal of the metrical tale — Helpful readings. (1) WHITTIER's Snow-Bound Right and wrong methods — The laboratory method in English – Whittier's life and surroundings — Subjects of Whittier's poems — Research in Snow-Bound: A sample lesson — Samples of pupils’ work — The lesson period; suggestions — Helpful readings. - (2) BURNS's Cotter’s Saturday Night The problem of the dialect poem — The approach: A sample lesson — Burns and the poem — Dictionary work — Thought- provoking questions — Helpful readings. (3) LONGFELLOw’s Building of the Ship The life of the author — Learning to know the poet — The ap- proach to the poem – Appreciation through discussion: A sample lesson; questions — The Ship of State — Helpful readings. (4) Low ELL's Vision of Sir Launfal The taste for more — The foundation of the poem — Struc- ture and theme – The background of chivalry; topics for discus- sion — The poem in detail; questions — Helpful readings. CHAPTER V. THE METRICAL ROMANCE The romantic movement — Metrical romances in England; . . Spenser's Faerie Queene — Study of Tennyson’s Princess — Helpful readings. (1) Scott's Lady of the Lake Setting the scene — The Scott country: A sample lesson — Structure of the poem; songs — The characters, scenes, and story — Questions for discussion — Reading aloud — Scott the poet – The influence of a classic — Helpful readings. CHAPTER VI. THE Epic . . . . . . . . Viewpoint and influence—What is an epic?—Rinds of epics— The ancient epic — The mythological background; suggestions — Sculpture, painting, and verse, the teacher's allies – Teaching the ancient epic: the Iliad and the Odyssey; questions; suggestions . 134 TABLE OF CONTENTS for composition — The modern epic – Arnold's Sohrab and Rus- tum in class — The mock-epic: Pope's Rape of the Lock; a résumé — The epic in the grades: Hiawatha by tableaux; programme — The spirit of a book — Helpful readings. (7) TENNYSON's Idylls of the King CHAPTER VII. THE DRAMA tº e º º º e The symbolism of the Idylls — Preliminary reading; growth of the Idylls theme — The Idylls in class — Plot, characters, setting — Dramatization and tableaux: programme, King Arthur and the Round Table — Tennyson's style – Tennyson the man — Help- ful readings. The dramatic instinct — Ancient origin of the drama — Rise of the drama in England — The great dramatic age — The later drama – Teaching the technique of the drama; diagram — Bringing Shakespeare to children — Shakespeare study — As You Like It in class – Twelfth Night; plot and underplot; a pupil’s outline — Macbeth; a study of forces — Hamlet; a study of motive — Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer — Milton's Comus; a suggestion – Progressive composition exercises in the drama: dramatic form; direct discourse; monologue; dialogue; dramatized story; original plays; moving-picture scripts — . 153 Pantomime and by-play aids to expression — Devices: a new use for Punch and Judy; a cardboard theater — The child and the theater — Helpful readings. (1) SHAKESPEARE AND The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare and his times — Ways of accumulating interest — The club idea, a suggestion — Elizabethan London and the theater — Shakespeare as an actor — The Merchant of Venice —Sources of the plot — Character, Setting, and action — Charting plot, underplot, and episode; sample of pupil’s work — Inductive study of character; sample of student's work—Gener- alizing questions — Acting out the parts — Helpful readings. (2) SHAKESPEARE's Julius Caesar The historical background — Preparing the way for appre- ciation – An impromptu production : A classroom experience — Study of the plot; a pupil’s synopsis — Life lessons in Julius Caesar — Helpful readings. TABLE OF CONTENTS xiii CHAPTER VIII. THE SHORT STORY . . . . . 187 What is the short story? — The novel and the short story — Materials of story-building — Evolution of the short story: myths; folktales; fables; parables; Bible tales; anecdotes; legends; mediaeval tales; fairy tales; The Spectator and The Sketch-Book — The modern short story; readings, foreign and American — Teaching the technique of the short story; questions — Three masters of the short story art: Stevenson, Kipling, and Poe — The Arabian Nights in class — Teaching Irving: Rip Van Winkle; questions and word-study — Teaching Hawthorne: The Snow Image, etc. — Studying Poe as a master of technique; readings; questions on the Tales — Dickens's Christmas Carol and A Child’s Dream of a Star — Ruskin’s King of the Golden River; analysis — The story element in Lamb's Essays: A Dissertation upon Roast Pig; Dream-Children — Stories and morals — Helpful readings. (1) IRVING's Legend of Sleepy Hollow How Irving wrote the story — The life of Irving — The Legend; plot, characters, workmanship; outline — How to deal with allu- sions; list — Developing appreciation; figures of speech — Imi- tation, a basis for composition; theme topics — Dramatization; a pupil’s synopsis — Helpful readings. (2) HAwTHORNE’s Great Stone Face Hawthorne, philosopher and artist – The use of diagrams — Analyzing the story; outline — Prototypes of characters — Helpful readings. CHAPTER IX. THE NOVEL . . . . . . . 214 Life narratives and the novel — The English novel in the mak- ing — The novel in the nineteenth century — Types of novels — Teaching the Vicar of Wakefield — The historical novel in class; The Tale of Two Cities, Hereward the Wake, Ivanhoe, Romola, etc. Teaching the novel of character; Cranford, Vanity Fair, David Copperfield, The Scarlet Letter, The House of Seven Gables, Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss — The novel of incident: Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Tom Brown's School Days—Cooper for young people; teaching The Last of the Mohicans — How to analyze the novel; diagram of plot — Memory and imagination in the novel- ist — Composition and the novel; theme topics — Helpful read- IIlg8. xiv. TABLE OF CONTENTS (1) Scott's Ivanhoe The author or the book—The life of Scott—Lockhart's biog- raphy; readings — The historical novel and Scott — Class work in Ivanhoe — Character-grouping – Progression of plot — Composition interests in Ivanhoe; topics — The appeal of Scott — Helpful readings. (2) GEORGE ELIOT's Silas Marmer A novelist in the making — What made her a great writer?— The value of Silas Marner — The theme of the book — The plot and underplot; chart — Character study – Visualizing the set- ting — Living the classic — Helpful readings. CHAPTER X. THE ESSAY The essay: definition and kinds — The development of prose —Teaching the Essays of Bacon; questions — The Spectator; study of life and manners — Lamb’s Essays of Elia; readings; study of personality — Macaulay's Essays; study of allusions and technique – Carlyle's essay on Burns; study of viewpoint; questions — Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies; study of the message; questions — The British essay in various fields — The growth of American letters — The American essay: Franklin's Poor Rich- ard’s Almanac; Emerson's Essays; Holmes’s Autocrat of the Break- fast-Table — Magazine literature in class – How to handle refer- ence reading — Composition and the essay; suggestions — Help- ful readings. (1) IRVING's Essays in the Sketch-Book Types of class work – The Author's Account of Himself: A sample lesson; questions — The Voyage: organization in introduc- tion, discussion, and conclusion; questions — Rural Life in Eng- land: summaries and abstracts — The Angler: the topical outline; sample of pupil’s work — The Country Church; drawing out class comment — The Christmas sketches — Christmas Eve and Christ- mas Day: writing abstracts; a pupil’s synopsis — The Christmas Dinner; reading aloud — Sketches of historical spots: Westminster Abbey, Stratford-on-Avon, The Mutability of Literature; visualiza- tion—How do you feel toward your Irving?— Helpful readings. (2) MACAULAY's Essay on Johnson Macaulay’s field — Macaulay the man; topics for discussion— The essay on Johnson in class — Boswell and Johnson — The 52 TABLE OF CONTENTS XV order of study — Structure of the essay — Macaulay's first essay: comparison with Carlyle’s — The worth of Johnson — Helpful readings. CHAPTER XI. THE ORATION e tº e is . . .293 Oratory in the past — Great public speakers of England — American argument and oratory — The oration: definition, types, structure — An easy speech for first analysis – Reasoning, de- ductive and inductive — Argumentative elements in the Declara- tion of Independence; questions — Study of Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech; questions — Composition exercises in the oration: para- graph speeches; debates in relay; occasional addresses; the club speech impromptu — The delivery of the oration; suggestions — Helpful readings. (1) WEBSTER’s First Bunker Hill Oration Webster as an orator – The monument—The dedication — The climaxes of the oration; outline – Intensive questioning— Helpful readings. (2) BURKE's Speech on Conciliation Why study Burke?– Adjusting the reference reading—Topics for investigation and discussion — The occasion of the speech — The first reading — The general plan of the oration — The sec- Ond reading: argument, structure, style — Intensive paragraph study — Recognizing essentials: A review lesson of Burke; ques- tions — Brief-making as a mind-trainer — The teacher's equip- ment – Helpful readings. BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 TEACHING LITERATURE IN THE GRAMMAR GRADES AND HIGH SCHOOL INTRODUCTION WHAT BOOKS MEAN TO YOU “Do you mean that if you and Jane and Tom were set down on a desert island you could teach English?” . “I most certainly do.” “Without equipment?” * “I would have equipment — my brain, another's brain; my tongue, another's tongue!” ADD to brain and tongue that wonderful treasure of possi- bilities called A Book, and you have the ideal condition for teaching literature to boys and girls. Literature is not a vague something to be filtered by measure through the unwilling minds of young folks. It is something powerfully alive, almost as powerfully alive as human action, for in it lies most of the inspiration that has impelled men to do and be. “Men's work in making books is all in vain,” says William Dean Howells, “if books in turn do not make men.” Wide-awake teachers realize that a disgracefully large number of children leave school before high-school age is reached. They feel keenly that these boys and girls should be given in the elementary grades such a taste for books and such a knowledge of them that they will crave the better sort in later life. They realize that in the grades and the first year of high school often lies the only chance for these pupils to get a background of knowledge that will deepen their love for books and widen their understanding of literature. * 2 TEACHING LITERATURE What is literature ? Webster gives us two definitions. Broadly speaking, he says: “Literature is the total of pre- served writings belonging to a given language or people.” In a more restricted sense is given this definition: “Litera- ture is the class or the total of writings, as of a given country or period, which is notable for literary form or expression, as distinguished, on the one hand, from works merely tech- nical or erudite and, on the other, from journalistic or other ephemeral literary writings.” - Another critic divides all literature into the literature of knowledge and the literature of power. The latter is aptly described by Henry van Dyke in The Spirit of America. He says: “Literature consists of those writings which inter- pret the meanings of nature and life, in words of charm and power, touched with the personality of the author, in artistic forms of permanent interest.” We have literature for all time and literature for a day. Newspaper matter is the most fleeting form that printed words can take; magazines follow; then come books that serve a distinct purpose for the time being. All of these are ephemeral. Dr. van Dyke strikes the keynote of “perma- nent interest * in books when he emphasizes in the above definition the three phases of interpretation, personality, and artistic form. The historical development of literature. The word liter- ature comes from a Latin word meaning letter. We speak of the writer as “a man of letters.” The derivation of the word suggests to the quick imagination the earliest form of literature, in which cave men carved on an exposed surface of rock their signs and pictures. Down the ages has come a long succession of writing materials. In Egypt, papyrus furnished material for ancient books; in Babylonia, the clay tablet. Hand-penned scrolls held the genius of Greece and Rome; and, in the Middle Ages, it was to sheepskin parch- INTRODUCTION 3 ment that the monks made their laborious transcriptions. Then came Gutenberg's invention of printing, which reached far beyond the mere mechanics of book-making and marked an epoch in the development of nations. Each country of note has produced its national literature. Homer, Herodotus, Xenophon, AEschylus, Sophocles, Eurip- ides, Aristophanes, Demosthenes, – think what these have done to stamp upon civilization Greek life and ideals, as shown in epic, history, drama, and oration. Virgil, Horace, Plautus, Terence, Livy, Cicero — the train of Latin writers achieved the same for Rome. And how quickly we associate such names as Goethe, Schiller, Voltaire, Tolstoy, Andersen, Shakespeare, and Ibsen, each with the nationality that pro- duced it! The study of a single national literature might well consume a lifetime, so great and wonderful is the Output. * In studying the literature of any people, we are impressed by the fact that poetry developed before prose. The reasons for this are not hard to find. The emotions of a people develop before the intellect matures, and the throb of emo- tion is best expressed in the rhythm of poetry. Therefore, ballads were sung over England from castle to castle long before Bacon composed his philosophical work, or Sidney the first literary criticism. Ways of studying literature. Have you ever thought of the many different things you can get out of a piece of liter- ature? It all depends upon the angle from which you view it. Looking at it from an historical point of view, you may regard it as (1) the outcome of certain forces and, in its turn, the producer of certain effects. Books dry in them- selves sometimes loom large from this point of view. The first English novel, Richardson's Pamela, which is read to-day by few except students of literature, is a notable example. Again, you may study literature as (2) a reflection .4 TEACHING LITERATURE of the national life of a people, or as a record of the customs and conditions of a certain era. The Spectator, for instance, presents an admirable picture of the days of Queen Anne. Or, again, you may look upon literature as (3) the expression of certain great movements, much as Dickens's Tale of Two Cities presents in fiction the French Revolution, or as Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom’s Cabin deliberately works up the anti-slavery movement. Last of all, you may study in it (4) racial tendencies. You may, on the other hand, view this piece of writing as the product of an individual. You may see in it (1) the expression of the author's personality. Lamb’s Essays of Elia yields rich returns for such study. Or, you may be absorbed only in (2) the story — the plot — of the book. A boy with Treasure Island in his hands cares little who wrote it; he is absorbed in the adventures. Then again, you may study (3) the style of the book; you may revel in its lucidity, its poetic imagination, or other qualities. Finally, you may group it with other works of the same kind and indulge in (4) comparison. Why do people write? The desire for self-expression is at the bottom of most writing. People look out over the world of nature and things; they receive impressions; they want to pass these on to others. They write sketches of travel or the out-of-doors. People observe the actions of men and women and children about them; they are impressed by the interplay of motive, cause, and result; their busy minds weave new webs of action; they write, each in his own kind, a novel. People watch the whirl of the world pass by; in the quiet of the firelit study they philosophize on life as they see it; their books appear as pertinent essays on men and things. Then, too, love of truth, of accuracy, of just evaluation inspires much of the weighty writing of the world. This man INTRODUCTION 5 wants to do justice to another character; he writes a biog- raphy. That man wishes to correct false ideas about great movements of the past; he writes a history. Still another weighs and estimates some literary work; he writes a criti- cism. And it may be that solely a passion for spreading knowledge inspires the writing of a book. Great diction- aries, encyclopaedias, compendiums, and reference books in general are monuments to the persevering endeavor and scholarship of their respective writers. Every book, then, is the reaction of an original heart and mind upon life and conditions. In all great books this reac- tion produces a philosophy of life. In its make-up, every book also bears the artistic sense of the author. Indeed, love of form, as form, has inspired some books. Love of the beautiful in form has been a moulding factor in almost all great books. People who write may be grouped into two big classes; those who look without and write, and those who look within and write. In other words, we have the objective and the subjective approach in treating material. Sometimes an author makes use of both. How to take up a new book. Every book deserves a Square deal. It is not fair to make up our minds about a person before meeting him. Neither is it fair to foster a preconception of a book before opening it. The reader should take up the book with unbiased mind and heart, ready to get its message. Many a reader is on the lookout to find his own ideas in what he reads. He is not willing to hear the case stated by another. He perverts what the author says by the bent of his own mind. Why not regard a book as the actual voice of a friend talking to us? Let us give the strictest attention. Let us heed with sympathy all he says. Let us try to put ourselves into his place and get his point of view. • 6 TEACHING LITERATURE Ruskin in Sesame and Lilies gives a powerful plea for the world of books, those silent friends of the great of the earth. “No wealth will bribe, no name overawe, no artifice deceive the guardian of those Elysian gates,” says he. “In the deep sense, no vile or vulgar person ever enters there. At the por- tières of that silent Faubourg St. Germain, there is but brief question, “Do you deserve to enter? Pass. Do you ask to be the companion of nobles? Make yourself noble, and you shall be. Do you long for the conversation of the wise? Learn to understand it, and you shall hear it. But on other terms?—no. If you will not rise to us, we cannot stoop to you.' . . . This, then, is what you have to do, and I admit that it is much. You must, in a word, love these people, if you are to be among them. No ambition is of any use. They scorn your ambition. . . . Mighty of heart, mighty of mind — ‘magnanimous’ — to be this, is indeed to be great in life; to become this increasingly is, indeed, to ‘advance in life’ — in life itself—not in the trappings of it. . . . He only is ad- vancing in life, whose heart is getting softer, whose blood warmer, whose brain quicker, whose spirit is entering into living peace. And the men who have this life in them are the true lords or kings of the earth — they, and they only.” The growing teacher never teaches the same thing the same way twice. Classic prose and verse alike will expand with each year’s teaching. There will seem to be so much more in them. In presenting a classic, teachers must know two things: (1) the qualities of the book, and (2) the qualities of the boys and girls. Only then can be given to each pupil the sort of help that suits his or her need; only then can a strong personal appeal be made to the pupils in class. The live teacher will know the author's purpose in writing a certain book; he will grasp the subject-matter, absorb its style, and know the personality that produced the book. Most of all, INTRODUCTION 7 he will not rest until he has found the heart of the book, the big thing that has commended it to passing ages. Each time that he teaches the same classic again he will come to it with a new viewpoint or an unbiased mind. What books should do. Books must develop a taste for reading. In many cases an inferior book bridges the gulf between trash and standard literature. Do not despise these books which waken interest in the better class of literature. Josiah Flynt in his Tramping with Tramps brings out the dangers of a common or depraved taste in reading. He says: — Let everything possible be done to keep these sensitive boys and girls, but particularly the former, from familiarity with crime. Do not thrust desperadoism upon them from the shop-windows through the picture-covered dime novel, and the flaring pages of the Police Gazette. It is just such teaching by suggestion that starts many an honest but romantic boy off to the road, when a little cautious legislation might save him years of foolish wandering and the State the expense of housing him in its reformatories later on. I write with feeling, at this point, for I know from personal experi- ence what tantalizing thoughts a dime novel will awaken in such a boy's mind. One of these thoughts will play more havoc with his youth than can be made good in his manhood. With parents and teachers rests the responsibility of making boys and girls enjoy wholesome reading. To accom- plish this end, the book must suit the needs of the reader or class. It must open up new fields of interest. It must stimulate thought. It must stir ambition. It must inculcate worthwhile views of life. It must give accurate information. It must serve as a pattern in testing literature and in pro- ducing literature. * * - To teach the classics so that pupils will like them is no simple task. Teachers need literary appreciation, a sense of historical accuracy, biographical insight, inspirational power, big heart and big mind, an impelling voice, and an 8 TEACHING LITERATURE idealism that is never discouraged. What a marvelous privilege is theirs, however, to develop imagination, to sow seeds of patriotism, to mould character, and to raise the ideals of young people! HELPFUL READINGS In connection with this chapter, the following books will prove stimulating: — Bates, Arlo: Talks on the Study of Literature; Burt: Literary Land- marks; Botta: Handbook of Universal Literature; Carpenter, Baker, and Scott: The Teaching of English; Chubb: The Teaching of English; Hinsdale: Teaching the Language Arts; Hosic: The Elementary Course in English; Hudson: An Introduction to the Study of Literature; Laing: Masterpieces of Latin Literature (collection); MacClintock: Literature $n the Elementary School; McMurry: Special Method in the Reading of English Classics; Olcott, F. J.: The Children’s Reading; Ruskin: Sesame and Lilies (King's Treasuries); and Wright: Masterpieces of Greek Literature (collection). The teacher of English should keep abreast of the theory and methods of her special field by reading standard educational maga- zines, especially The English Journal, the official organ of the National Council of Teachers of English. (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill.; $2.50 per year.) CHAPTER I WHAT IS POETRYP tº º e º e º a e We’re made so that we love First when we see them painted, things we have passed Perhaps a hundred times nor cared to see; And so they are better, painted — better to us, Which is the same thing. Art was given for that. God uses us to help each other so, Lending our minds out. BBownING: Fra Lippo Lippi. HAVE you ever thought what makes the poet what he is? First of all, the race to which he belongs sings through his pen. If Celt, the Irish mystery, pathos, and humor pervade what he says; if Saxon, the deep sea-love, war-love, fatalism, and substantiality of the Teutonic temperament; if French, the versatility, dash, religious zeal, and polish of the Nor- man knight. What a wonderful heritage, then, belongs to the English poet, whose forebears have come from all of these three peoples! What a wealth of synonym the conflu- ence of three such streams of descent has brought to our English tongue! Next, epoch and environment influence the poet. He sings of the happenings of his era; he reflects the customs of his day and his own actual surroundings. Whatever, then, has contributed to his making is, in turn, in his poems. Last, his personality and character are there. These influences, however, act upon any one, poet or not poet. We have to take into account the poetic temperament. The poetic temperament. What makes this poetic tem- perament? In what way is the poet different from ordinary men and women? The poet brings the ends of the world together to serve his purpose. His eye sees more than the eye of common man sees. He hears more of the sounds of life. He catches perfume better. All his sensibilities are keener. His ideas strike new and stirring combinations. 10 TEACHING LITERATURE Not of him can be said, as of Wordsworth's oft-quoted Peter Bell, - In vain, through every changeful year, Did nature lead him as before; A primrose by the river's brim A yellow primrose was to him, And it was nothing more. Extraordinary connotation is one of the powers of the poet. The suggestiveness of words appeals greatly to him. All literature, all history, all science, all nature, all the range of emotion in the human heart yield to him a wealth of allu- sion to quicken his ideas. The poet is a creator. His powerful imagination con- structs scene and character and situation. His intense fac- ulty of observation gives to these vividness. His tendency to reflect, to look within the confines of his own heart, gives moral weight. His downright sincerity rings true. His intense emotional power is a flashlight upon the picture of life. Add to these qualities human interest and he gives to the poem a strength that makes for permanency. Elizabeth Barrett Browning has admirably pointed out the lofty mission of the poet: — The poet hath the child's sight in his breast, And sees all new. What oftenest he has viewed, He views with the first glory. Fair and good Pall never on him, at the fairest, best, But stand before him holy and undressed In week-day false conventions, such as would Drag other men down from the altitude Of primal types, too early dispossessed. Why, God would tire of all his heavens, as soon As thou, O godlike, childlike poet, didst Of daily and nightly sights of sun and moon! And therefore hath he set thee in the midst, Where men may hear thy wonder's ceaseless tune, And praise his world for ever, as thou bidst. Differences between prose and poetry. It pays to train the mind to trace words back to origins. The names prose WHAT IS POETRYP II. and poetry come from the Latin and Greek respectively: the former meaning straight forward; the latter, something made, or created. Prose is the Ordinary language of men in speaking or writing; poetry is beautiful thought, imagina- tion, or emotion embodied in rhythmical form. “A poet,” says Dryden, “is a maker, as the word signifies.” Prose and poetry differ (1) in form and (2) in the appeal of the subject-matter. In prose, the thought is written in paragraph form, with a capital only at the beginning of sentences and proper words. In poetry, the words are measured off in definite lines, each beginning with a capital letter. Technically, each line of poetry is called a verse; but in the popular mind the word verse is often misapplied to the stanza, which is the equivalent of the paragraph in prose. If the two selections are read aloud, a second difference becomes evident. Poetry has a regular swing, which prose lacks; it has a recurring beat, called rhythm. Prose also has its ups and downs of inflection, but these do not occur regularly. A distinction in form that occurs between some poetry and all prose is rhyme, which is similarity of sound at the ends of certain lines of verse. Verse that does not rhyme is called blank verse. In thought-material and its appeal, as we have said, prose and poetry differ. Certain treatments of subjects do not belong to poetry. A scientific discussion of nature, for instance, takes form in prose, but an objective delight in the beauties of the outdoors finds voice in poetry. The one is Solely a matter of intellect; the other touches the heart, the emotions. Argument, explanation, discussion; history, art, science, all the “’ologies,” — these find adequate expression. in prose. Poetry, which springs from the emotions, appeals to the emotions; its recurring throb stirs both the sensuous and the deeper feelings in the listener. Therefore, personal experiences; racial experiences; the desires, ambitions, and 12 TEACHING LITERATURE joys of the human heart; the beauties and solemnities of nature; the pleasures of art; the relations of man to society, — all these may need the expression of poetic form. How poetry is like music. In introducing a class to the metrical form of poetry, speak of the wonderful rhythm that seems to pervade life. Children like to work out the rhythm of the universe. The blood beats in a pulse. Let them touch their wrists and feel the beat. The tide flows and ebbs. The waves beat in against the shore at regular inter- vals. Let them draw the succession of waves. The moon rises in thin crescent, grows full, and wanes at regular inter- vals. The seasons follow at expected times. Having caught the idea that the throb of the waves is somewhat like the beat of poetry, pupils see readily that music holds the same relation to poetry. You can then take a line of poetry and lead them to break it up into its units, which are called metrical feet. Each metrical foot would be the equivalent of either a half-bar or a bar of music. See if you can fit to music the jingle, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the first line of Longfellow’s Evangeline. The accent (z) stands for emphasis; the breve (~), for an unaccented sylla- ble. Always try to present an idea objectively. Young pupils remember it much better. In this measure of music, Yankee Doodle, we see, then, that the rhyming equivalent, Mary's Lamb, would fall into two-syllabled feet with the accent on the first syllable; and that each foot equals half a measure of music. Have the pupils sing, completing the Stanza : — —ſ) - H2A-H22–N- g- e—— g) FGBºži-f I - I # —l.. 1 º W Oh Mar - y had a lit - the lamb, Its –0 - – | L7 || L' s— |-s- 60 } E65° | } ; 2– w He H- H §4—y—y—º 2–w —H fleece was white as sn - ow, And ev - 'ry -where that WHAT IS POETRY? 13 An old German song in waltz time amply accommodates the syllables of Evangeline : — –0– E–F–F5– H I- —l H [ 24 Pººl) ; TT | | | | | | | Iſlº Al & " | Taº I 2- JT, | \SLM =E. Nº ><- -º. | Ne ><- > T. S. U-77 2.4% I U *S -g- ſ º -º- ſº r ~s This is . . the for - est . pri - me - val. The _ſ). L V . | } |-- ) [Lºſ Tº Tºº _ſº a `l | } I | I (TNPT E- * T 2- 2 | - 2 T] LS4– | TTC’ –––Fs—I tº ~EF=- U | T Y º- ſ —ſº- x *- : *- tº e | — | mur - mur - ing pines and . the hem - locks . . The placing of accents in scanning verse is not difficult" In two-syllabled feet the accent must be either first or second; therefore, this sort of verse is found in two varieties: The sun | that brief |December day Rose cheerless diver hills | of gray | Come and trip it ăs you go on the light fantas tic | toe | In most metrical feet of three syllables, the accent is usually found either first or last.* - I am monarch of ill | I sur vey, | } My right | there is none | to dispute | This is the | förest pri | mé val. The | mur mur ing | fines and the hem locks | There are, then, four common variations of metrical feet, according to the number of syllables in the foot and the position of the accent. These are:— The iambus v The trochee / J The anapest v - r The dactyl f v v * A third variation called the amphibrach, with the accent on the second syllable, is some- times noted, but it is rare. 14 TEACHING LITERATURE Meter in poetry. The word meter means measure. In poetry, meter includes the kind of poetical foot and the length of line. By the latter we mean the number of times the metrical foot is used in the line. These lines of poetry vary in length from one metrical foot to eight. Their names are taken from the Greek language and stand for one-measure, two-measure, three- measure, etc. Point out the use of the word meter as a measure in gas meter; of tri in triangle; of pent in pentagon; of oct in octagon; of mon in monarchy; and of hea in heavagon. In this way, five of the Several words are related to previous knowledge. º Monometer (monom'eter) — one foot Alway ! Dimeter (dim'eter) — two feet None but the brave. Trimeter (trim'eter) — three feet He made and loveth all. Tetrameter (tetram'eter) — four feet - Or sweetlest Shake speare Fancy's child. Pentameter (pentam'eter) — five feet The cur | few tolls the knell of parting day. Hexameter (hexam’eter) — six feet As one for knight|ly giusts and fierce encounters fitt. Heptameter (heptam'eter) — seven feet - The mellancholly days have come, the saddest of the year. Octameter (octam"eter) — eight feet Once upon a midnight | dreary, while I | pondered, weak and weary, In presenting technical points about poetry teachers must be careful not to make the reading of poems mechanical and dead. Only by tactful handling can the boy or girl be led to understand the art necessary to throw ideas into the poetic form. Pupils must be led to see that the poet has the same wonderful sense of harmony as the musician. WHAT IS POETRYP 15 Poetic license. Another difference between poetry and prose is the fact that the poet is allowed a certain liberty denied the writer of prose. This poetic license is an acknowl- edgment, not so much that poetry is more difficult to write, as that its shade of thought requires more flexibility in the forms of expression. The poet may use violent inversions, turning his words about from the straightforward order to get certain effects. He may omit letters in words to secure consistent meter. He may omit whole words and phrases, trusting that the quick sense of the reader will catch his meaning. The poet may use expressions no longer allowable in prose — anti- quated words called “archaisms,” which give quaintness and appeal. He often uses more words than the grammatical sense would warrant — the superfluity called “pleonasm.” He may use one part of speech for another; he may split infinitives; he may use or for either, and nor for neither, in a way entirely out of place in precise prose. Such liberties are allowed the poet only that he may secure his effects of musical appeal to the ear and emotional appeal to the heart. Kinds of poetry. There are three great kinds of poetic writing: narrative, lyric, and dramatic. Narrative poetry in its loftiest form is the epic, which deals with gods and heroes. In its next elaborate form, with a suggestion of fairy lore, it appears as the metrical romance. In still simpler form, it comprises the story of a life in ordi- nary circumstances and is generally termed a metrical tale. In briefest form, it is a single incident from a life and is called a ballad. Examples of these four great classes are Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the epic; Spenser's Faerie Queene, the metrical romance; Tennyson’s Enoch Arden, the metrical tale; and Longfellow’s Wreck of the Hesperus, the ballad. These four types rise in diverging lines from the ballad, an incident in the life of an individual, to the epic, 16 TEACHING LITERATURE an expression of the countless experiences and ideals of a T3C62. * * * >k * * ... * , xk * ... * * * * * * * * * * 3& * * * * >k * * * * EPic \, . . . * * * * >k # * * * * * > * * * >k * * * * * % :* * >k Nº. * * * METRICAL ROMANCE \ , k + k".” ". . .” + , %. ,< * * * >K+ + * >k, 3. * • * * * SL3:3: , ; METRICAL TALE Nº . Sk’.”:k BALLAD TYPES OF NARRATIVE POETRY AND THEIR RELATIVE VALUE Blackboard diagram showing the relative scope in any example of the four types: the ballad, the metrical tale, the metrical romance, and the epic. The stars indicate the increasing number of incidents and episodes; the wideming bands, the enlarging field and scope of each type. Lyric poetry also falls into four classes: songs, elegies, odes, sonnets. Elegies and odes are elaborate in structure and weighty in object. The former deal with death, – death either in general or as applied to a particular individ- ual; the latter are usually in praise of some person or thing. Sonnets are confined to fourteen lines, and the idea is devel- oped according to a prescribed scheme. Songs follow a musical pattern and deal with such a range of topics as love, war, loyalty, patriotism, friendship, nature, and deity. Sacred songs are called hymns. Dramatic poetry falls into the two great classes of tragedy and comedy, supplemented by the minor variations of farce, masque, morality play, miracle play, mystery play, inter- lude, opera, and grand opera. WHAT IS POETRYP 17 Practical exercises. Do all you can to quicken the poetry- sense and the prose-sense of pupils. Poems may be copied from books, thus emphasizing length of line and capitaliza- tion. The class may collect various types of poetry and group them according to foot and meter. Exercises in blank verse may be introduced by copying on the blackboard in ordinary prose paragraph style a half-dozen lines of blank verse; for instance: — This was the most unkindest cut of all; for when the noble Caesar saw him stab, ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, quite vanquished him: then burst his mighty heart; and, in his mantle muffling up his face, even at the base of Pompey’s statue, which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. O, what a fall was there, my countrymen! Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, whilst bloody treason flourished over us. The class will then change the prose version into blank verse by measuring off five feet for each line. A comparison with the original will be interesting." Amusing exercises may be made by changing several of the rhymes in writing a poem on the blackboard. Pupils will have a good deal of fun in finding the proper words to rhyme. The day is cold, and dark, and gloomy; It rains, and the wind is never tired; The vine still clings to the mouldering stone, And at every gust the dead leaves drop. And the day is dark and gloomy.” Have pupils try to find the rhyme for the first, second, and lastlines, and the rhyme for the third and fourth lines. Read- ing the poem both ways will help children to appreciate the beauty that associates itself with rhyme. A good game may be planned by cutting up a poem into its separate lines and pasting each on a slip of paper. Give to a pupil the lines that belong together in a stanza and let him fit them in place, as he thinks the poet wrote them. 1 See Julius Casar, Act III, Scene 2. . * Longfellow : The Day is Cold, and Dark, and Dreary, 18 TEACHING LITERATURE Reading poetry aloud. A poem is meant primarily to be read aloud. This is the only way in which the full beauty of the rhythm can impress pupils. Teachers should cultivate a sympathetic voice and an insight that will lead them to bring out what is in a poem. They should not rant; nor should they read in a sing-Song manner. In talking about literature quote as illustration bits of poems and paragraphs. Give these simply to make the lis- teners enjoy them and want more. Always stop before the class is tired. If attention wanders, look to yourself; for there is something wrong either in your method of discussion or in your manner of reading. At the end of the chapter is given a list of simple poems suitable for awakening interest, but each teacher must really compile his own list, because the poems must suit the needs of the individual class and the likes of the individual teacher. The first poem read to a class should be of such character that one reading by a sympathetic voice brings out its beauty or power. All that should be attempted at first is to arouse a feeling for poetry as harmony, a liking for its emo- tional stir, and a grasp of its unusual ways of saying things. Do not explain: many a good selection has been “done to death '' by inopportune explanation or forced interpreta- tion. Read so that the listeners enjoy the sound of your voice; bring out the meaning of the poem; and be satisfied if the class wants more. Professor Corson was right when he held that only through the human voice can the spiritual truth of poetry be communicated to others. HELPFUL READINGS Discussion of Poetry. The following books offer excellent supple- mentary reading, those marked with the asterisk being especially useful to pupils, for whom specific selection by pages should be made by the teacher: *Arnold: Essays in Criticism, Second Series (pp. 1– 55), the introduction to Ward's English Poets, vol. I.; Butcher: Aris- WHAT IS POETRYP 19 totle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art; Coleridge: Biographia Literaria (chapters Iv, xv, xvi.1, xviii, XIX, XXII); *Corson: A Primer of Eng- lish Verse; *Encyclopaedia Britannica: Article on Poetry; Fairchild: The Making of Poetry; * Gummere: A Handbook of Poetics; Hazlitt: Collected Works, ed. by Waller and Glover (Poetry in General, vol. v., pp. 1–19); Lanier: The Science of English Verse; Matthews: A Study of Versification; Neilson: Essentials of Poetry, Stedman: The Nature and Elements of Poetry; and Woodberry: Appreciation of Literature. Collections of Poetry. The following are recommended: Knowles: A Treasury of American Songs and Lyrics; Morse, L. K.: Melodies of English Verse (largely lyrical, suitable for elementary classes); Page: British Poets of the Nineteenth Century, and The Chief American Poets (good biographies); Palgrave: Golden Treasury (First Series); Quiller- Couch: The Oaford Book of English Verse (largely lyrical); Ritten- house: A Little Book of Modern Verse (contemporaneous American poets); Stedman: An American Anthology, and A Victorian An- thology; Ward: The English Poets, 4 volumes (excellent critical essays); Whiteford: Anthology of English Poetry (excellent, one volume, ar- ranged chronologically). - Simple Poems for awakening Interest. The following poems are suggested: Browning: How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Air; Campbell: Lord Ullin’s Daughter; Field: Little Boy Blue; Holmes: Grandmother’s Story of Bunker Hill, Old Ironsides, The Height of the Ridiculous, and The Last Leaf; Hogg: A Boy’s Song; Kingsley: Farewell; Longfellow: Eaccelsior, Paul Revere’s Ride, The Children, and The Village Blacksmith; Lowell: Aladdin, and The Sing- ing Leaves; Tennyson: The Charge of the Light Brigade, and The May Queen; Whittier: The Angels of Buena Vista; Wordsworth: Lucy Gray, The Reverie of Poor Susan, and We Are Seven. CHAPTER II THE BALLAD I never heard the old song of Percy and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet! SIB PHILIP SIDNEY. Popular idea of the ballad. In the minds of the masses, a ballad is something that can be sung, or even danced. The idea of the lyre really associates itself more with the ballad than with what we term lyric poetry, for in olden times the ballad was sung by the minstrel to the accompaniment of harp or lyre. Many ballads, therefore, have lines that serve as a refrain. Jock o’ Hazeldean, written by Sir Walter Scott, illustrates this singing quality. - The typical ballad measure took form as a stanza of four lines, with four accents in the first and third lines and three accents in the second and last lines. In Jock o’ Hazeldean two such measures are joined to form the stanza. The ballad a story. In the typical ballad “something’s doing”! In Jock o’ Hazeldean, for instance, the story opens with a situation, in which the lady, weeping for her absent lover, Jock, refuses to be comforted at the proffer of another's love. The plot thickens where the charms of the second lover are sung, and all that he can give her is presented enticingly; but she continues to weep for the absent Jock. In the last stanza the scene is set for the climaa: a wedding party has assembled for the marriage to the rival, but young Jock has unexpectedly returned and eloped with the pretty, weeping lady. How disappointed every one would be if the conclusion had been different — if the lady had not been faithful, if Jock had not returned, and if they two had not fled “o'er THE BALLAD 21 the border and awa’l” You see, the ballad has all the ele- ments of a short story. In presenting this ballad to a class, explain beforehand the Scotch words: sae, so; loot, let; fa’, fall; ha', hall; o', of; kirk, church; baith, both; bower, boudoir; wiſ, with. Dwell entertainingly on the mediaeval setting: chief of Errington, lord of Langley dale, peaceful hall, sword in battle, mettled hound, managed hawk, palfrey, forest queen, kirk decked at morning tide, taper, dame and knight, bower and hall, border and away. Then sing the song." Rise of the ballad in various lands. Early in the Middle Ages poetry of chivalry sprang up all over Europe. In France, it was in the dialect of Provence that the trouba- dours (a word from trobar, meaning to invent or find) sang their songs of love and war, which spread into Spain and Italy. The troubadour was the popular figure of the day. He sang his own poems. Indeed, he often composed them at the time of singing. When the great jousts were held, there was also a contest for poetical honors; and the Court of Love, made up of beautiful ladies, would award the prizes. In the north of France, poets called trouvères sang songs more warlike than those of their southern brethren. In Germany, the poets that sang their songs at tournaments, or from castle to castle, were called minnesingers (from the word Minne, love). These songs were accompanied by some instrument, like the lute. In earlier days the Anglo-Saxons at their feasts, while the mead passed round, had listened to the gleeman, or Scop, as he harped his accompaniment to songs of war or love or adventure in other lands. He had been singer, poet, his- torian. As years passed, these stories in verse changed with the color of the time, the place, and the singer; and the authorship of the ballad was lost. We find, in studying 1 Music given on page 22. JOCK O' HAZELDEAN Sir WALTER SCOTT Andaztſe moderato “Why weep ye by the tide, la-dye PWhy weep ye by the tide PI'll “Now let this wilfu' grief be done, And dry that cheek so pale, Young wed ye to my youngest son, And ye shall be his bride.And Frank is chief of Er-ring-ton, And lord of Lang-ley-dale. His ye shall be his bride,1a- dye, Sae comely to be seen”—But step is first in peace-ful ha', His sword in battle keen”—But aye she loot the tears down aye she loot the tears down fa', For Jock o' Haz-el-dean. “A chain o' gold ye shall not lack, Nor braid to bind your hair; Nor mettled hound, nor managed hawk, Nor palfrey fresh and fair; And you, the foremost o' them a', Shall ride our forest queen”— Dut aye she loot the tears down fa’ For Jock o’ Hazeldean. ', For Jock o’ Haz-el-dean. \º' The kirk was decked at morning tide, The taper glimmered fair, [bride, The priest and bridegroom wait the And dame and knight are there. They sought her baith by bower and The lady was not seen; ſha', She's o'er the border, and awa’ Wi' Jock o' Hazeldean. 24 TEACHING LITERATURE old ballads, that there may be different versions of the same story, each interpreted according to the individual tempera- ment of the minstrel. In 1066, when the Normans con- quered the English, French influence invaded England; France and England were almost like one big country. By the fifteenth century the land was flooded with ballads. Years before, the Provençal troubadours had adopted rhyme from the Moors of Spain. Rhyming then passed on to other countries of Europe and to England. - The wandering minstrel and his theme. What a picture of mediaeval times these wandering minstrels make! How welcome they would be as they wandered from castle to castle, bearing messages and carrying news of the day! How greatly such a life would appeal to those of venturesome minds! Each great family had its official minstrel, whose duty was to compose songs in commemoration of noble deeds done by the family and its friends. Shakespeare in A Winter’s Tale has vividly portrayed the wandering min- strel in the character of Autolycus; and Sir Walter Scott in The Lady of the Lake has created in Allan Bane another imperishable picture of the minstrel of old. In what would these people of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries be interested? In love, war, the sea, adventure, court life, the great outdoors. These are the themes of the ballads, and they appear in the guise of vari- ous incidents. Whom would the ballads please? Everybody — the court and the commons. Ballads were the first popu- lar writing — the “literary rag-time ’’ of the day. Handed down to us, they reflect the customs of their time, and show the obsolete spelling and archaic words. Development of an English language and literature. The literature of a people is closely interwoven with their his- tory. Early English history deals with the Celtic branch of the Aryans; for when the Romans during the time of Caesar THE BALLAD 25 touched the shore of the little island across from Gaul, they found the Celts in possession. Some four hundred years later, when the Saxons and Angles sailed over to its shores, they liked it so well that they stayed; drove the Celts into the wildernesses of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland; and brought in their Teutonic language, and unconsciously with it the name Angle-land. This was in 449. For five hundred years these Anglo-Saxons were building up a new country. They were welded together more firmly under King Alfred; they absorbed some of the Celtic element and adjusted themselves to the new conditions. - In 1066, when the Normans came from France, they brought with them a highly developed civilization. In a short time the country was in the grip of the French knights, and also in the grip of three languages: the French of the court, the Latin of the Church, and the Old English (or Saxon) of the common people. Scott in his historical novel Ivanhoe gives a vivid picture of the class strife of the times. During the three hundred years that follow, we find these French, Saxon, and Celtic languages being welded into a new tongue — English. Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales (1385) wrote the first great poetry in what might be called the beginning of modern English; a few years later, Caxton, the printer, fixed this Chaucerian language by scattering among the people his printed copies of the Canterbury Tales. It was during this later period (1476–91), when Caxton's printing establishment flourished, that the ballad reached its height. Up to this time, the only way to pass literature on from one to another, was in manuscript form or orally — the latter being the popular way. To summarize, we may say that up to the end of the fifteenth century, English literature had passed through two phases: (1) a formative period, when three great peoples — the Celts, the Saxons, and the Norman — contributed 26 TEACHING LITERATURE their individual elements to the formation of language, lit- erature, and life; and (2) a fivative period, when a great writer, Chaucer, gave to a dialect the needed predominance to make it conquer the other dialects, and the English printer, Caxton, by printing the work of this man, spread and fixed his use of language. This brings us nearly to the accession of Queen Elizabeth and the great outburst of poetry in the time of Shakespeare. Old English Ballads As I was walking all alane, I heard twa corbies making a mane; The tane unto the t'other did say, “Whar sall we gang and dine to-day?” “In behint yon auld fail dyke, I wot there lies a new-slain knight; And naebody kens that he lies there, But his hawk, his hound, and lady fair. “His hound is to the hunting game, His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame, His lady's ta'en another mate, So we may mak’ our dinner sweet. “Ye'll sit on his white hause-bane And I’ll pike out his bonny blue een: Wi’ae lock ' ' is gowden hair, We'll theek ou. --- t when it grows bare. “Mony a one for him makes mane, But mane sall ken where he is gane; O'er his white banes, when they are bare, The wind sall blaw for evermair.” Teaching The Twa Corbies. Tragedy, as ugly and re- pellent as that of Hamlet, lies back of the above ballad. The story is told in a conversation between two corbies, or carrion crows. Write the ballad on the board. Talk about the old Scotch words. Show how vowels are interchanged; as in alane, THE BALLAD 27 twa, mane, tame, whar, auld, maebody, hame, anither, bane, ae, mony, name, blaw, evermair. Look up such unknown expres- sions as fail dyke, turf bank; hause bane, neck bone; and theek, thatch or protect. Read the poem so that the listeners know what you are saying. Bring out the barbaric quality and the shudder. Note the use of conversation; for the ballad-maker has a way of jumping from one person to another, trusting that the listener will catch the change in voice. This plot deals with the eternal love triangle, which is either two men and a woman or two women and a man. In this case which is it? Ask the class: Of which knight do you have the more vivid picture? What do you know of the lady? Can you make up a story about her? Old ballads to read. The following old ballads also are well worth reading: Bewick and Grahame, Chevy Chase, Hind Horn, Johnny Armstrong, Katherine and Jaffray, Kemp Owyne, King Estmere, Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight, Lord Randal, Lord Thomas and Lady Margaret, The Nut Brown Maid, Our Guidman, Riddles Wisely Ea:- pounded, Robin Hood Ballads, Sir Cauline, Sir Patrick Spens, The Battle of Otterburn, The Cruel Brother, The Gay Gosshawk, The Maid Freed ºn the Gallows, The Wife of Asher's Well, Thomas Rhymer, Young Beichan, Young Waters. Qualities of the old ballad. There is something elemental about these ballads. The simplicity, the crudeness, the garrulous details, the meaty plot, the rapidity of move- ment, the beauty of meter, the superstition, the pathos, the naïveté, the downright honesty — all these qualities have given the ballad a firm place in our literature. It deals with primitive emotions — hatred, pity, love, superstition — and weaves its story about deeds of prowess and valor, and all those situations dear to lovers of romance. The minstrel 28 TEACHING LITERATURE sang well because he did it spontaneously and was inspired by his sympathetic audience. He did not linger to explain or describe. He plunged right in, without prosy introduc- tion, and struck the heart of his song. Constant practice was the best of schools to teach him effective expressions by which to characterize his ballad-people. These popular phrases, repeated throughout the ballad, are akin to Homer's epithets. English literature between the Era of the Ballad and the Ballad Revival. The years between the old ballad and the modern ballad are momentous. During the great Eliza- bethan age — that is, from about 1550 to 1625 — the drama reached its height — Shakespeare dominated literature; and likewise the metrical romance appeared in more refined and finished form. When the Tudors passed away with Eliza- beth, in 1603, James I (a Stuart) came to the throne. The Elizabethan impulse, however, continued for a quarter of a century. The Puritan period, which followed from 1625 to 1660, circled about the achievements of Milton. These two periods, the Elizabethan and the Puritan, might well be called the flourishing, or flowering, periods of English litera- ture. With the Restoration in 1660, French influence began to play upon English letters. In the time of Dryden, from 1660 to 1700, we find that more attention was given to form. This polish was carried to extremes in the following ages — in the Queen Anne (or Pope) period, from 1700 to 1750, and in the age of Dr. Johnson, from 1750 to 1800. We might call these periods the freezing-into form periods. At the end of the eighteenth century came a reaction against this artificiality. Robert Burns sang of the lowly human heart and the great outdoors. Wordsworth pondered on the humble in life and in his first volume, Lyrical Ballads, gave the simple modern ballad. One of the greatest helpers THE BALLAD - 29 in the movement was Bishop Thomas Percy, who in 1765 compiled The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. This collection of old English ballads and lyrics was a work of inestimable value, for (1) it preserved many traditional ballads which otherwise might have been lost, and (2) it was a fountain of inspiration to many later writers. Made at a time when English people were waking to the romance of past days, it did much to develop a taste for simple themes and emotions. Poets began to feel that the natural and the simple had greater appeal, after all, than the arti- ficial and the complex. In the century that followed, litera- ture was free again. Scott, Byron, Coleridge, Keats, Tenny- son, Browning, and others gave to the traditional ballad the modern touch. Modern Ballads Drawing out the class. “A ballad, then,” says the teacher, “is a short story, or incident, told in verse. Now, class, can you tell me if I have read any ballads to you?” Hands are raised, and the answers come: “How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aic. . . . Lord Ullin’s Daughter. . . . The Singing Leaves. . . . The Charge of the Light Brigade. . . . The Angels of Buena Vista. . . . Lucy Gray. . . . We Are Seven. . . . Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill. . . . Paul Revere’s Ride.” “Can you classify these ballads by telling in one word what they are about?” In a moment come the replies: “War! . . . Love! . . . Home! . . . Horses!” “Let us take up the war ballads first. Tell me in a few words about Paul Revere’s Ride. . . . Good! About Grand- mother's Story of Bunker Hill. . . . About The Angels of Buena Vista. . . . About The Charge of the Light Brigade. ... About How They Brought the Good News.” 30 TEACHING LITERATURE The class eagerly tells the gist of each poem and discusses the historical setting. Ask questions that make the children compare the poems: “In which ways are Paul Revere's Ride and How They Brought the Good News much alike? How are the horses the heroes? How is interest kept up? Compare Ximena and the grandmother who told the story of Bunker Hill. How do you know that both were brave? Why do you like to read these poems aloud? What makes The Charge of the Light Brigade so inspiring? Pick out three lines that might serve as mottoes for anybody.” The five war ballads are written in longer stanzas than the traditional ballad, and four of them in longer measure. The four remaining poems, however, are in typical ballad measure. Two deal with common country life; two, with knight and noble. Very lovely is Lowell’s ballad of The Singing Leaves. Perhaps you can lead the class to tell you that a fairing is a present from a fair. How are the three daughters described? How do you know that Walter the page read the youngest princess aright? What do you think the bird beneath the princess's bower eaves was? What did Walter the poet mean by: — “But in the land That is neither on earth nor sea, My lute and I are lords of more Than thrice this kingdom's fee.” So she brought to him “her beauty and truth . . . and broad earldoms three.” What did he bring to her? What does it mean, to make her “ queen of the broader lands he held of his lute in fee?” Comparison of the modern ballad with the old. The mod- ern ballad is inspired by the old traditional ballad. In most cases it follows the ancient style. There are, however, differ- THE BALLAD - 31 ences between the two. The modern ballad has a tendency to greater elaboration; to more descriptive effects; at times, to psychological interest. The verses are also more polished. The modern ballad is a creation of the individual poet; the ancient ballad was an evolution to which many minstrel minds contributed. Teaching war ballads. The historical setting of a war ballad should be clearly understood, either discussed before- hand or drawn from the class during the reading. The char- acters should be emphasized. The particularly fine idea about which the ballad weaves its story should be brought out with a thrill. These ballads are so dramatic that this is not hard to do; boys and girls love thrills. The teacher must be able to read with dash, and to teach pupils to read in the same way. Besides the ballads already mentioned, some of the follow- ing are suggested. Ask for the story — the who, the when, the where, and the what: BROWNING: An Incident of the French Camp and Pheidippides; BYRON: The Destruction of Sennacherib's Army and The Night Before Waterloo; CAMP- BELL: Hohenlinden and The Battle of the Baltic; HALLECK: Marco Bozzaris; HEMANs: A Ballad of Roncesvalles; KIPLING: Danny Deever and Fuzzy-Wuzzy; MACAULAY: Horativs, The Battle of Naseby, and Ivry; OsgooD: Driving Home the Cows; READ: Sheridan's Ride; SOUTHEY: The Battle of Blenheim; STEVENSON: Ticonderoga; TAYLOR: Song in Camp; TENNY- SON: The Revenge and The Defense of Lucknow; TICKNOR: Little Giffen; WHITTIER: The Pipes of Lucknow. “Would,” exclaimed Cicero, “that we still had the old ballads of which Cato speaks!” Thomas Babington Macaulay revived the spirit of classic Rome in his stirring ballads, The Lays of Ancient Rome. They give a glowing picture of the days when the proud Roman republic was mistress on land and sea. There is a 32 TEACHING LITERATURE healthy tone about them, and a martial ring to the lines that pleases boys. Horatius at the Bridge was the best thing since Scott, the critics said. “Sir Walter would have rejoiced in Horatius as if he had been a doughty Douglas. Now by our sire Quirinus It was a goodly sight To see the thirty standards Swept down the tide of flight. That is the way of doing business! A cut-and-thrust style, without any flourish. Scott’s style when his blood was up, and the first words came like a vanguard impatient for battle.” 1 Teaching sea ballads. Deeply rooted in the Anglo-Saxon heart is love of the sea. Note the description of the sea in the following ballads. It plays almost a personal part in them. What is the appeal of the sea? What qualities does it demand in men? Who is the hero? Where is the scene? What takes place? How do these ballads affect you? BROWNING: Hervé Riel; CoIERIDGE: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; FIELD: The Captain’s Daughter; HEMANs: Casa- bianca; KINGSLEY: The Sands of Dee and The Three Fishers; |RIPLING: Ballad of the Clampherdown; LONGFELLOW: Wreck of the Hesperus; SouTHEY: Inchcape Rock; WHITTIER: Skipper Ireson's Ride and The Three Bells of Glasgow. Teaching love ballads.” Most love ballads deal with a very dramatic incident. Sometimes this is merely suggested, as in The Twa Corbies, or it is told in detail. It sets us won- dering: Who are these people? Where did this take place? What is the trouble? What makes it worse? How is there a way out? What is the big happening? How does it turn out? The love ballad likes to linger in high life; it lives on 1 See Trevelyan's Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay, chap. IX, dealing with the years 1841–44. * The author has not attempted a rigid classification, for many ballads may be grouped under several heads. The Courtin', for instance, is tinged with humor. THE BALLAD . 33 chivalry and mystery and cruelty and elopements and sad, sad death! The following well repay reading: BURNS: Dun- can Gray; GAY: Black-eyed Susan; KEATS: La Belle Dame sans Merci; Low ELL: The Courtin’; Noy Es: The Highway- man; SCOTT: Lochinvar, Rosabelle, and The Outlaw; TENNY- SON: Lady Clare; WHITTIER: Maud Muller. Teaching humorous ballads. Some ballads are written with intent to stir a laugh. Humor is difficult. It is a subtle thing, too often elusive. We can, however, point to a few great humorous ballads and urge a reading of them. There were three sailors of Bristol City, Who took a boat and went to sea. , But first with beef and captain's biscuits And pickled pork they loaded she. Be so familiar with these ballads that you can swing them along and make the class giggle in appreciation. That is the only way to read a humorous ballad. If you cannot do that, let these ballads alone: BROWNING: The Pied Piper of Hamelin; BURNS: The De’īl’s awa’ wif the Ea:ciseman; CAR- ROLL: Father William (from Alice in Wonderland) and The Hunting of the Snark; CowPER: John Gilpin’s Ride; FIELDs: The Owl Critic; HolMEs: The One Hoss Shay and The Oyster- man; KIPLING: A Code of Morals; LEAR: The Owl and the Pussy Cat; THACKERAY: Little Billee; TROWBRIDGE: Darius Green and his Flying Machine. Miscellaneous ballads. Besides the ballads already dis- cussed are others that picture the homely life of the common people, that deal with animals, that are based on legends, that circle about gypsies, that celebrate historic incidents, that retell a myth, or that teach through their story a bit of wisdom. The following list contains examples of some of these various kinds: BROWNING, E. B.: A Musical Instru- ºnent; BROWNING, R.: Tray (verses 4–8); BURNs: High- land Widow’s Lament; HEMANs: The Landing of the Pil- 34 TEACHING LITERATURE grims; HUNT: Abou Ben Adhem; KEATs: Old Meg; KIPLING: Overland Mail, The Gift of the Sea, and Gunga Din; LONG- FELLOw: King Robert of Sicily, The Bell of Atri, and The Skeleton in Armour; LowRLL: The Finding of the Lyre and The Shepherd of King Admetus; MACKAY: The Miller of the Dee; MILLER, JoAQUIN: Columbus; MooRE: The Night. Be- fore Christmas; MoRRIs: Shameful Death; SOUTHEY: The Legend of Bishop Hatto; WoRDsworth: Fidelity and Simon Lee. - The ballad and the music hall. Music houses are con- stantly putting on the market variations of the popular ballad. There is the love song, with the girl played up strongly. There is the misunderstanding song. There is the appeal to patriotism, like The Blue and the Gray. There is the song that makes capital of locality, like The Trail of the Lonesome Pine. There is the plucky poor song, in which poverty wins success. Many of these are written to rag- time and are usually ephemeral. The only way to break girls and boys of a taste for a poor quality of popular song is to make them like the better type. Ballads are of great value in developing appreciation of good music as well as good literature. Class work in the ballad. The ballad offers much live material for work in writing and speaking: — 1. Retelling the story. Read the poem in class and then request a written account. Assign a different ballad to each pupil, and let him come before the class and tell the story in a one-minute talk. 2. Making up a story. A ballad that is merely suggestive, like The Twa Corbies, is good material. 3. Monologues and dialogues. The conversation of a ballad affords good training in either the fictional or the dramatic form. 4. Dramatization. Lowell’s Singing Leaves may be arranged as a little three-act drama. 5. Acting out. Whenever possible, clinch interest in a ballad by having several pupils act it out, using either the original conversation or conversation of their own making. THE BALLAT) 35 6. Writing original ballads. Incidents from school life or history may be written up in ballad meter. 7. Rearrangement. Sometimes a class will enjoy making a modern arrangement of an ancient ballad, putting the modern equivalent for the obsolete word. 8, Collecting ballads. A class enjoys being given outlet for their collecting instinct. You have explained what constitutes a ballad. Now let them bring to class samples of ballads. Scotch ballads, particularly, repay investigation, Pupils will come with eager accounts of The Blue Bells of Scotland, Bonnie Prince Charlie, etc. 9. Singing, Bring the music of ballads to class and all sing them. Re- member the test, that there must be a story in verse. 10. Pencil and brush work. The class will delight in making their own crude illustrations for ballads. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK General Reading. For the background of the Robin Hood Cycle, boys and girls will enjoy reading Howard Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. For a brief history of English literature, teachers are referred to such standard texts as Pancoast, Moody and Lovett, Hal- leck, Simonds, Scudder, etc. Brooke's Primer of English Literature is an excellent hand book. * Illustrative Material. At the end of Chapter XII, teachers are given the addresses of several firms that publish penny pictures to illustrate class work. For the ballad, the following are recommended, the catalogue numbers being given: Brown's Famous Pictures: Sheri- dam’s Ride, 2132; The Pied Piper of Hamelin, 1995; Perry Pictures: Holmes and the Constitution, 38; Launching of the Constitution in 1779, 196; Paul Revere, 114, 114b; The Constitution as it Looks Now, 200; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: series of seven pictures on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; Pied Piper of Hamelin, 68k, 69k; John Gilpin’s Ride, 1302b. Discussion of the Ballad. As helps for the discussion of the bal- lad, the following books are good: *Gummere: The Popular Ballad; Hazlitt: Lectures on the English Poets (on Burns and old English ballads); Henderson: The Ballad in Literature; *Lang: The Ballad (Ward's English Poets, vol. 1); Chambers’ Encyclopædia of English Literature, 1902, and Encyclopædia Britannica, 1910. Collections of Ballads. The following collections of ballads are ex- cellent for reference or for class use: Bates: A Ballad Book; Child: English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 8 volumes; Gummere: Old Eng- lish Ballads; Neilson and Witham: Representative English and Scottish Popular Ballads; Percy: Reliques of Ancient English Poetry; Sargent and Kittredge: English and Scottish Ballads; Scott: Minstrelsy of the 36 TEACHING LITERATURE Scottish Border (music of a number of ballads given); Sidgwick: Legend- ary Ballads; Ward: English Poets (pp. 203-248); Witham: Representative English and Scottish Ballads. For lists of ballads for reading, teachers are referred to the body of the chapter. (1) COLERIDGE’s “THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER” System in planning assignments. It is well to require some outside work in the English classes because this insures more careful reading and develops a sense of responsibility. Such work must not become tedious, however, and therefore should be assigned in such form, and with such explicit directions, that pupils will have no undue difficulty in accomplishing it and will appreciate the worth of the exer- cise. When teachers take their classes into their confidence, as it were, and show them the actual reasons for various assignments, pupils usually respond by showing more inter- est and doing better work. Assignments, besides being ad- justed to the needs of the class, should be of such character that they arouse in pupils the powers of initiative, responsi- bility, accuracy, and appreciation. Well-kept notebooks are as essential to the English classroom as they are to the science laboratory. - The assignment book should be planned ahead by the teacher. It is an excellent habit for pupils regularly to write these assigned lessons down in Small memorandum books at the beginning of the period. Such dictation becomes a brief, but valuable, exercise in neat handwriting, clear arrange- ment, and dispatch. The assignment books should be exam- ined at stated intervals; and the teacher should keep her own assignment book upon her desk So that absentees may refer to it and be put upon their own responsibility for mak- ing up assignments. The wholesome moral effect upon the pupil is even more to be considered than the saving of time for the teacher. THE BALLAD 37 Figures of Speech: A Sample Lesson Lesson after lesson had passed by, and still there were some pupils who floundered among figures of speech, not understanding them, and caring little to make the effort to understand. It is a good plan to approachºfigures of speech by way of slang and the accepted metaphors in ordinary conversation. The opportunity came suddenly one day when a mischievous little fellow tried to play a trick on a classmate. “Stung!” came a whisper. The teacher pretended not to see the point. “Stung!” she interpolated. “Who’s stung?” The mischievous youngster grinned. “Why, he is! He bºi 1 ° “Bit!” echoed the teacher. “Bit what?” “Why, he did n’t see the joke, so he bit — he got stung.” “Oh, you mean that he bit at a bee and it sturig him back!” . . . ." “No!” laughed the boy. “He was too slow to see the joke, and we fooled him!” “Oh, then you are just talking in pictures! Those words are not really true?” They looked non-committal at that. “Let us think of some words that are true and yet not really true.” The teacher smiled encouragingly as the suggestions came bit by bit. - “Somebody is lion-hearted. . . . Wind howls. (Only wolves howl.) . . . Winter reigns. (I thought kings reigned.) . . . Tom 's pigeon-toed. . . . He 's a grind. . . . That man 's Straight in business. . . . Swallowtail coat.” “What do these expressions really mean?” asked the teacher. - 38 TEACHING LITERATURE “That he is like a lion. . . . That the wind makes a noise like a wolf. . . . That the winter is like a king.” “Then we can make an idea stronger by finding out some other thing that it is like and comparing it to that. We find a resemblance, or similarity. If the thing seems to have any quality of a living being, we might speak of it as if it were alive.” They then discussed personification, simile, and metaphor. In this colloquial way, teacher and class next proceeded to talk about strengthening ideas by various means. First was the use of contrast. After a somewhat humorous dis- cussion, the class arrived at a more intimate knowledge of hyperbole, antithesis, and irony. As one little girl naïvely said: “With hyperbole, you exaggerate so hard that people can’t help but know you're exaggerating.” It was the idea of nearness, of close association, that the teacher tried to draw out in presenting metonymy and synecdoche. “Be- ware the bottle!” and “A sail! a sail!” are good examples. The suggestion is made to attack the subject of figures of speech from a fresh standpoint. Write the words carefully on the board, to impress them through sight. The final idea, “figures of speech,” may be brought out as a fanciful picture or figure standing back of the literal idea and increasing its power or appeal. Class study of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. No ballad repays close study in class better than Coleridge's masterpiece, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Says Lowell, in his address on unveiling the bust of Coleridge in West- minster Abbey: “Coleridge has taken the old ballad meas- ure and given to it, by an indefinable charm wholly his own, all the sweetness, all the melody and compass of a symphony. And how picturesque it is in the proper sense of the word. I know nothing like it. There is not a description in it. It is all picture.” THE BALLAD 39 For a clear understanding, obsolete words must be dis- cussed, figures must be explained, pictures must be clearly dwelt upon. Pupils must do this for themselves, not the teacher for them. Therefore, it is well to assign definite out- side work on the portions for each day and to have the pupils write down in their notebooks the results of their investigation or thought. Some teachers may choose the outline of the story, the obsolete words, or the figures of speech; others may prefer to give more definite questions. With elementary classes too much analytical work must not be undertaken. The pupils should be led to comprehend the meaning of the poem. Make them think. The impression of the whole. In studying this poem, you cannot help but feel the wonderful imagery — weird, gro- tesque, and romantic; you recognize back of it a powerful al- legory; you see the double setting of a story within a story; you thrill at the supernatural; you feel the music of rhyme and rhythm, the throb of the internal rhymes, and the fas- cination of alliteration; you project yourself back into the emotions of the Middle Ages. You recognize the ballad in- fluence in the metrical form, in the quaint expressions, in the repetition of certain phrases. The theme of the poem is given in the often quoted lines: — He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God that loveth us, He made and loveth all. Read this ballad aloud many times so that the magic of the words, the music of the phrasing, and the weird power of the scenes may act upon your listeners through the inter- pretation of your voice. Bring out the great message, so that it touches every pupil with its poignant appeal. The story in detail: outlines. In tracing out the story day by day, pupils should be introduced to the helpful pro- 40 TEACHING LITERATURE cess of outline-making. Such training helps them to recog- nize essentials, to detect the relative value of details, and to summarize. There should be much blackboard work in out- lining, and, for the mental training, pupils should be encour- aged to crystalize the classic in outline form, synopsis, or summary. The following outline, for instance, was worked out, day by day, by a first-year high-school student: — Part I. The Crime: Lines 1–20. 21–30. 31–40. 41–62. 63–78. 79–82. Mariner detains wedding-guest. Prosperous start from port. Guest hears music, but must stay. Ship drawn by storms to South Pole, through ice and awful sounds. Albatross for nine days bird of good omen; ship turns north. Mariner kills the bird. Part II. Physical Punishment follows Crime: Lines 83–90. 91— 96. 97–105. 107–118. 119–130. 131–138. 139–142. Going north without the bird. Companions condemn at first. Fair weather; companions approve, therefore are like accomplices. Ship is becalmed at equator. Suffering; albatross begins to be revenged. Spirit follows under the ship. Companions then turn, hang bird around mariner's neck as punishment. Part III. Life-in-Death, or Remorse, wins Mariner: Lines 143–153. 154–163. 164–166. 167–186. 187–202. 203–211. 2.12–223. Mariner sees something afar. Hails phantom ship. Flash of joy. Description of phantom ship. Specter-woman, Life-in-death, throws dice and wins the mariner from death. Remorse gets him. Effect in moonlight. Companions curse him and die. Remorse begins to work. Part IV. Living Creatures of the Deep; Physical Punishment gone: Lines 224–231. 232–252. Guest fears mariner is a ghost. Despises creature of the deep. THE BALLAD 41 253–262. Dead men's curses haunt him. 263–281. In the moonlight he watches the creatures of the deep. 282–287. Sees their beauty and suddenly can love them. 288–291. When hatred, turns to sympathy, the albatross drops from his neck. Part V. Recognition of the Mariner's Reform: Lines 292–300. 301–308. 309–826. 327–344. 345–349. 350–366. 367–380. 381–392. 393—409. 430–441. 442–451. 452–463. 464–485. 486–499. 500–5]3. Sleep and dreams. Rain. Wind and storm. Ship moves, manned by spirits of the deep. Guest’s fears. Troops of angelic spirits and sounds. Polar spirit makes ship go quietly. Ship starts suddenly, after stopping at the equator; mariner faints. º Two voices say that he has done penance. Part VI. Reaching Haven, sees Hermit: Lines 410–429. Supernatural power moves ship while mariner is in a trance. Penance and curse renewed. Crime expiated. Wind blows ship. Home again in harbor. Departure of Seraphs from dead men. Coming of hermit, boy, and pilot to shrive. Part VII. Shriving; Ship goes Down; Final Punishment and Forgiveness: Lines 514-541. 542–559. 560–573. 574–581. 582—590. 591—609. 610–617. 618–625. Boat comes to save. Ship sinks; mariner is saved. Rowing to land. Effect on rescuers. Asks to be shriven, but must tell tale at intervals. Penalty, to travel and tell his story. Hearing sounds from wedding, he compares his former desolation with social and religious pleasures. Mariner's final advice: love animals. Guest feels the lesson. Thought-provoking questions. By suggestive questions a teacher should lead pupils to think for themselves and to see beyond the mere story. She should encourage the drawing of comparisons and conclusions. 42 TEACHING LITERATURE . To whom is the old mariner talking? Where was this man going? What makes him stay and listen to the old man? Why do you suppose the mariner chose this man as a listener to his story? What characters are in the story? How many sailors? What queer spirits? What phantom creatures? Who from the church? How do these characters affect you? Are they dressed like the people of to-day? Do they talk like them? Do they act like them? What is the mariner like? . What is an albatross? Do sailors ever make pets of other animals? Are sailors superstitious folk? Was the mariner sorry that he killed the bird? How did the other sailors feel about it? How do you side when you see something wrong done? Do you come out flatly for what is right and kind? . What queer things happen in this story that make you think of fairies or demons? Who are in the phantom ship? For what does this woman, Life-in-death, stand? Which do you think is easier — to die or to suffer remorse? What is the use of remorse? . Can people do wrong without hurting others? Illustrate. What wants to avenge the albatross? How does the mariner suffer for killing a creature of God? Do we suffer in our bodies for wrongs we do? Illustrate. How do people carry with them pictures of wrongs they have committed? How does the poet make us see that this is true of the mariner? What is the matter with the mariner's heart? How does he feel toward other creatures of God? When does he begin to pray? Why could he not pray before? How do good angels help us to reform? How does the poet represent good angels? For whom do the Hermit and the Pilot stand? What does the mariner love when he returns to his own country? Has he learned a lesson? What? . Why do you like this ballad? Why is it a ballad? What is a Rime? What kind of verse is used most often? Do the lines rhyme? Pick out examples of internal rhyme, like the following: — “And he shone bright, and on the right.” Which stanzas do you like best? Quote them. Why do you like them? Which ones do you like because they make pictures for you? Which ones do you like because they sound so fascinating? Which ones do you like because they say good things? Pick out what you think are beautiful, or thrilling, or pathetic, or just wonderful, ways of saying things. Compare this ballad with the ancient ballads, like Sir Patrick Speng. Is there anything in this poem that makes you think that Coleridge must have known and loved Sir Patrick Spens as a ballad? . What is the great lesson of the poem? Do you ever need to hear this tale told to you? How are people unkind to animals? Do you think we have the right to keep pets, unless we can, and do, take care of them properly? How does a man betray his real character in the way he treats animals? What made the mariner's treatment of the alba- tross the worse? THE BALLAD 43 Whatever is done, the teacher should be so filled with love for the poem that teaching it will be a delight and studying it a revelation. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. For the best accounts of the life of Cole- ridge, teachers are referred to: Traill, H. D.: Coleridge (English Men of Letters Series), and Gillman, James: Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Illustrative Material. The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Cole- ridge, 46c; series of seven prints illustrating The Rime of the An- cient Mariner. The Doré illustrations should also be shown to the class, if possible. Additional Reading. The famous picture of Coleridge as a schoolmate of Lamb is given in Lamb’s Essays of Elia (Christ’s Hos- pital Five and Thirty Years Ago). Longfellow’s The Birds of Killing- worth and The Falcon of Ser Federigo are stories about birds which stand out in striking contrast to the albatross story. For comparison of the ballad form and phrases, read Sir Patrick Spens and compare it with Coleridge's ballad. Teachers will find food for thought in such essays as Dowden’s Studies in Literature (The Transcendental Move- ment) and Lowell’s Address on Unveiling the Bust of Coleridge in Westminster Abbey, May 7, 1885. (2) LONGFELLOw’s “TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN.” The prototypes. Longfellow’s conception of a group of men telling stories is not original with him. Boccaccio's Decameron is a collection of stories told by lords and ladies at a villa outside of Florence during a plague in the Middle Ages. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales carries the reader with “full nyne and twenty in a compainye ’’ as from Southwark to Canterbury they enliven the journey with spicy tales. At Sudbury, Massachusetts, some twenty miles from Cambridge, stands the famous Wayside Inn. Several of Longfellow's friends spent their summers there. These relaters of the tales, then, are modeled on actual people. That fact alone interests boys and girls. Musician: Ole Bull, famous Norwegian violinist. Spanish Jew: Israel Edrehi, dealer in Oriental stuffs, Boston. 44 TEACHING LITERATURE Theologian: Professor Daniel Treadwell, professor of physics at Harvard University. - Student: Henry Ware Wales, scholar, who had traveled much. Sicilian: Luigi Monti, a political refugee in America, for a time consul at Palermo. Poet: T. W. Parsons, translator of Dante. Landlord: Squire Howe at Sudbury Inn. Scene: The parlor at Sudbury Inn. Time: Two days — evening; morning and evening. - The sources of the several tales. These seven story-tellers take us to seven different fields of knowledge. The musician in his saga introduces the legends of the North. The Sicilian draws upon Italian folklore, the Decameron, and the Gesta Romanorum, and reconstructs the days of the Middle Ages in Italy. The Spanish Jew, taking from the wealth of the Talmud, carries us to Oriental lands. Squire Howe relates a wholly different type of tale, based on colonial history. Days of falconry, the sale of indulgences, the discovery of America, and mediaeval court life pass before us as the student speaks. From a dire account of the Inquisition, the theologian in the Legend Beautiful turns to the lesson of brotherly love, and then to the story of Elizabeth, a Quaker Priscilla that spoke as the heart directed. The poet con- tributes The Birds of Killingworth, Lady Wentworth, and Charlemagne, a flashlight on chivalry. Note the range. The interludes and composition. The interludes, preludes, and finales may be used to emphaiº-c narration without plot, description, exposition, argument, discussion in general, dialogue, monologue, and other devices. The second prel- ude, the fifteenth interlude, and the third finale afford good examples of narration without plot; the first prelude pre- sents the scene and the story-tellers; the second prelude, the scene; the ninth interlude, music; and the second finale, the third prelude, and the third finale are good description. Argument is well brought out in the third prelude and the sixteenth interlude. Exposition, while found more or less THE BALLAD 45 in all the interludes, is particularly good in the fourteenth. Description by effects is used in the first, third, and sixth interludes, and in the first and second finales. Excellent work in rhetoric can be based upon these parts. Do not allow the reading of these portions to become tire- some. This can be avoided in many cases by having the monologues and dialogues given in class by pupils. The fourth interlude dwells on the legends of the North; the fifth portrays the theologian’s joy that the reign of violence is over; the eighth voices the student’s opinion of Kambalu; and the seventeenth, the Jew’s comment on The Monk of Castel Maggiore. In other interludes are given dialogues and group conversations, which serve as fine training in reading, enliven the class period, ape a humble beginning in dramatic work, and show mature conversation in the making. Briefly, these dialogues are as follows: — Interlude 2: Discussion of the Decameron and Shakespeare by the theo- logian and the student. Interlude 7: Discussion of the rights of animals by the poet and the Sicilian. Interlude 9: Group discussion of the cobbler by the poet, the student, the Sicilian, and the musician. Interlude 10: Comparison of old and new tales by the poet and the student. Interlude 11: Discussion of dismal tales by the theologian and the student. Interlude 18: Comments of the poet, the theologian, the Sicilian, the student, and the musician. (Turn indirect discourse into direct, matching the iambic tetrameter verse.) Interlude 19: Praise of ballads and of poets sounded by the theologian and the student. Prelude 3: Group conversation. Prelude 13: Conversation of the Sicilian and the poet. Pageantry. The variety and richness of character and Setting in The Tales of a Wayside Inn make the stories admirable material for a pageant of some sort. One can easily fancy these creations of the poet’s mind coming back to the scene of the original story-telling. A pageant, possibly “Ghosts of the Wayside Inn,” might present first the seven 46 TEACHING LITERATURE story-tellers, and then let each summon the characters of his tales to speak or act their parts. The suggestion of a pageant is enough to set the quick-witted teacher at work devising pleasing effects of costume, singing, grouping, and dancing. After study of the tales, a class sees for itself the cosmopolitan array of characters — knight and monk, lord and lady, soldier and cabin boy, rabbi and angel, captain and viking, Quaker maid and courtly dame — a many- minded procession of men and women from all ages. Objec- tify them appropriately, and you strengthen the impres- sion of the individual tales and increase the pupils’ liking for the book of poetry. To like a whole book of poetry shows greater capacity than fondness for the short poem only. Class study of the tales. With young students it is wise to emphasize the story element. With older pupils, however, there should also be discussed the differences between prose and poetry, the kinds of meter, the metrical feet, and the various rhyme-schemes. The separate poems afford excel- lent examples, too good to be ignored. This work in versifi- cation should not be arduous or unattractive. It should lead pupils to make imitations in verse and should interest them in the art of Longfellow. The following questions are framed with elementary classes particularly in mind: — Paul Revere's Ride. Where did Longfellow get material for this poem? Where are the North Church, Middlesex, the Mystic, Medford, Lexington, Concord? Locate on a map. Trace the route. Where is there suspense in the poem? How does the poet make it? What must have been the feelings of the man in the belfry? Of Paul Revere waiting for the signal? Of Revere on his ride? Can you tell about any other famous rides? Or famous horses? Which words are associated with military life? Why was this ride important in our history? - King Robert of Sicily. Was this story original with Longfellow? What are King Robert's family connections? Where is he when the story opens? Why does he address the clerk? How was the word clerk used in those days? What does the Latin mean? What happens to the King? Describe the scene between the King and the sexton. What does King Robert find when he THE BALLAD 47 reaches the banquet room? What does the King say to the angel-king? How does the angel reply? What do the guests think or say to one another? What is Robert's punishment? Why an ape for a counsellor? How does the poet emphasize, It was no dream? What effects of the angel’s rule are noticed? Explain Saturnian reign. How is Robert the Jester treated? What steps are necessary to break down King Robert's undue pride? What lesson does Robert the Jester learn that Robert the King has failed to master? How long does it take him to learn this lesson? What lessons of life do people have to learn to-day? What does the last stanza tell you about the whole story? Seeline 21. (Compare with Lowell's Vision of Sir Launfal.) Make a collection of words that belong to the mediaeval church and court; as, seneschal, henchman, motley, etc. The Birds of Killingworth. What is the setting of this poem? Time? Place? How described? Who are the characters? What are they like? What arguments are made against the birds? For them? Let the class hold a court and give the speeches. What poems, stories, and novels do you know in which animals figure as characters? What contrasts are brought out here? Use the separate stanzas for reproduction or for reading aloud in class. º The Bell of Atri. Would this poem interest the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals? Why? What book does it suggest? What does the proclamation have to do with the story? Study the contrasts. What changes take place in the town? In the Knight of Atri'. In the horse? Dramatize the meeting at the market-place, the trial, etc. In which stanza is there repetition of the same words for effect? Discuss the probability of the tale. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. To become acquainted with the poet's life, any of the following books are helpful: “Carpenter: Henry Wads- worth Longfellow (Beacon Biographies); Fields: Authors and Friends (Longfellow, 1807–82); *Higginson: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American Men of Letters Series); Howells: My Literary Friends and Acquaintances; Longfellow, S.: Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, with Eaſtracts from His Journals and Correspondence (3 vols.); *Ken- nedy: Henry W. Longfellow (biography, anecdote, letters, criticism, and poems). Illustrative Material. To illustrate the life of the poet, the fol- lowing pictures are valuable: Perry Pictures: The Poet, 15; His Homes, 16, 17, 18; His Daughters, 19; The Armchair, 20; His Statue, 21; The Wayside Inn, 22; Paul Revere, 114, 114b. Critical Material. For criticism of the poet’s works, any of the following are useful: Lowell: A Fable for Critics, lines 469–502 (ele- mentary); Stedman: The Poets of America (pp. 180–225); Trent: 48 TEACHING LITERATURE A History of American Literature (pp. 395–408); Wendell: A Literary History of America (pp. 378–93); Pattee: A History of American Literature (pp. 259–73); Richardson: American Literature (pp. 50–97). Correlated Reading. This might well include the prologue of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and several of the tales for the teacher and the older pupils. Younger pupils can understand a simplified Chaucer or a modernized version. CHAPTER III THE LYRIC Bards of Passion and of Mirth, Ye have left your souls on earth! . . . Here, your earth-born souls still speak To mortals, of their little week; Of their sorrows and delights; Of their passions and their spites; Of their glory and their shame; What doth strengthen and what maim. Thus ye teach us, every day, Wisdom, though fled far away. KEATs: Ode to the Poets. IT is hard to tie down to cut-and-dried classifications a thing like literature, which is not only alive but growing. We can, however, roughly group all that is written into two great classes: the subjective and the objective. The subjective and the objective. In all literature the subjective is colored by the writer’s individuality; the objec- tive takes its character entirely from the facts or conditions portrayed, obliterating as much as possible the personality of the writer. In glancing over the field of literature, we see that most narrative and dramatic writing falls into the sec- ond group, the objective; and that lyric poetry falls into the first group, the subjective. Sometimes, however, the two types are blended. In narrative writing, except in the philosophic narrative, the author is simply the mouthpiece — the newsmonger — of certain definite facts that are expected to arouse in the reader a definite emotion. In the drama, the writer stands invisible behind the scenes and pulls the wires that make his puppets, the characters, move. Any dramatic poetry, whether drama or dramatic narrative, in which the writer pauses to insert his personal views or feelings, offends our sense of fitness. On the other hand, the lyric poet is definitely 50 TEACHING LITERATURE concerned with his personal opinions and emotions, for these are the indispensable features of lyric poetry. What is a lyric? We may define a lyric as a poem in which the writer expresses his feelings, his moods, his personality. Lyric comes from the word lyre, a harp. Like the ballad, the lyric was first sung to the accompaniment of harp, lyre, or lute. Theme and emotion. “What is this about?” and “How does the poet feel about it?” are two questions that come first to mind in studying any lyric poem. The themes of the lyric cover a great range: nature, country, home, family, friends, conduct, love, God — whatever emotion can touch. Lyrics about our country form our collections of patriotic songs; lyrics about our God form the hymnal of the church. There is strong feeling back of every lyric. In the poet’s heart and mind it has smouldered until it bursts out in the flame of expression. What range of kind and of intensity there is to human emotion! From the coarser type to the aesthetic, we find them seeking expression, often blending anger, fear, love, hate, joy, grief, shame, pride, regret, admiration, delight, exaltation! Dryden’s masterly ode, Alexander’s Feast, or the Power of Music, shows the play of this emotional power upon the listeners. These emotions may appear in various combinations. In the love song, for instance, may be mingled regret or admiration. Love of country may blend with defiance. But no matter what the emotions are or how they blend, the outburst, to be truly lyrical, should be spon- taneous, not forced, and sustained long enough to make an impression. g What makes a great lyric? Three things help to make the great lyric. These are (1) the author's feeling, or emotion; (2) the theme; (3) the form and style in which the author expresses both of these. THE LYRIC 51 Sincerity, intensity, and spontaneity characterize the feeling of the great lyric poem. If we suspect that the poet is “putting on,” is only weakly aroused, or does not really mean what he says, we lose interest. Then, too, the theme must be worthy of the emotion, and the form of the whole must please us by according with the technique of good verse-making. The style, with all its variations from the exquisite to the grand, must have some subtle beauty or power beyond the reach of prose. These three things, then, — feeling, matter, and manner, – combine in some rare excellence to make a lyric that lives. We might ask the question, “What makes a great lyrical poet?” Power to feel, a knowledge of life, a sense of fitness in poetic form and style – all these qualities have been a part of great lyric poets like Shelley, Burns, or Tennyson. The growth of the lyric. The lyric in English literature took definite form during the Middle Ages when the trouba- dours and trouvères of France brought their love songs into England. During the Elizabethan age it became immensely popular. Shakespeare, Jonson, Spenser, Sidney, Marlowe, Greene, Campion, and others of that “garden of singing birds "produced exquisite songs with a lilt that was entranc- ing. Note the dainty sweetness of Shakespeare's Song to Silvia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona: *— Who is Silvia? What is she, That all our swains commend her? Holy, fair, and wise is she; The heaven such grace did lend her That she might admirèd be. Is she kind as she is fair? For beauty lives with kindness. Love doth to her eyes repair To help him of his blindness; And, being help'd, inhabits there. 1 Act IV, Scene 2, * 52 TEACHING LITERATURE Then to Silvia let us sing, That Silvia is excelling; She excels each mortal thing Upon the dull earth dwelling; To her let us garlands bring. Elizabethan lyrics sometimes deteriorated to quaint con- ceits, acrostics, and artificial encomiums to “a lady’s eye- brow.” A conceit is a witty or ingenious expression in- tended to be striking or poetical, but often, in truth, insipid, far-fetched, or pedantic. This is our estimate of it to-day; but in the Elizabethan time, and for a hundred years after, it was held in high esteem as a mark of poetic cleverness. During the reign of the Stuarts, courtiers played with the lyric. Lovelace, Suckling, Herbert, Waller, and Herrick sang sprightly songs of love, of life, and of nature. These poems of the Cavalier poets are mostly in lighter vein, with occasional lines of rare beauty. To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars, written by Richard Lovelace, is a good example: — Tell me not, sweet, I am unkind, That from the nunnery Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind To wars and arms I fly. True, a new mistress now I chase, The first foe in the field; And with a stronger faith embrace, A sword, a horse, a shield. Yet this inconstancy is such As you too shall adore: I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honor more. During the eighteenth century, artificiality smothered genuine feeling. At the end of the century, however, litera- ture recovered from this tendency. Burns, Goldsmith, and Wordsworth led the way in a revolt against the artificial; nature and genuine feeling came again into their own. The first half of the nineteenth century listened to such an out- burst of lyrical song as the world has seldom heard — Scott, THE LYRIC 58 Coleridge, Byron, Keats, Shelley, and Wordsworth, followed by Tennyson and Browning. Kinds of lyrics. Lyric poetry falls into four groups: the ode, the elegy, the song, and the sonnet. The last two are differentiated especially by their form; the first two, by mood or emotion. The ode is a poem of usually elaborate struc- ture, written in the spirit of praise. The elegy expresses grief and deals with death. The song is any lyrical poem that is written in stanza form and can be set to music. The sonnet is limited to fourteen lines and prescribed meter and rhyme. Stanza, meter, and rhyme. There is great variety to the stanza form in our literature. At one time, during the eighteenth century, couplets — heroic couplets — were very popular. These were two iambic pentameter lines rhymed. Four lines may form a quatrain. Seven lines with rhyme- scheme are called a Chaucerian stanza, or rhyme royal. Eight lines with rhyme form the oltava rima stanza. Nine lines make the Spenserian stanza. Each of these has its peculiar meter and rhyme-scheme. There is much variation in length of line, number of lines, and rhymes. An enterprising teacher may point out the dif- ferences in these great types of stanzas by placing samples on the board and discussing the meter, length of line, and rhymes in each. The rhyme-scheme is usually designated by letters, a new letter for each new rhyme. On the blackboard can be placed patterns of these various types of stanzas: Heroic Couplet Rhyme Royal, or Chaucerian tº P V / w / v / V / G Stanza w f v / Yº ſº V / V / 0. V / v / V / \w f V / 0. * V / \' ſ .V / V / V / b Ballad Measure 9 / v / w / v / V / 0. v / w / w / w / 0. v / v / V / V / v / b V / V / w / b * / V / V / $y / V / b V / V / $2 / V / C $y / V / V / V / V / C V / v / y / b V / 9 / V / v / \º / C 54. TEACHING LITERATURE Ottava Rima Spenserian Stanza V / V / V / V / V / 0. V / V / V / V / 9 / 0. V / v / V / * / v / b V / V / V / V / V / b V / V / U / V / V / (1. $9 / V / V / V / V / 0. V / ty / V / V / w / b Sº f V / V / Sº W V / b v / v / v / w / w / Q. V / V / V / v, V / b y / V / V / V / is W. b V / V / $º W V / V / C V / V / V / V / V / C V / V / V / V / V / b * / V / V / V / V / C \! / V / V / w/ V / C $9 W v / y / v / V / v W. C. The sonnet form. The sonnet was introduced into Eng- land from Italy during the Elizabethan age. The Italian, or Petrarchan, model had fourteen lines in two sets: two quat- rains forming an octave, rhyming abba, abba; and six lines in two sets of three, rhyming abc, abo. Shakespeare varied this arrangement; he used three sets of four lines each, with a couplet at the end, the whole sonnet rhyming abab, calcd, eff, gg. Since Shakespeare's time other great sonneteers, like Milton, Wordsworth, Keats, and Elizabeth Barrett Brown- ing, have changed the rhyme-scheme to suit their purposes. During the Elizabethan age, Sonnet-cycles were im- mensely popular. These bore fanciful titles, like Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella, and were usually addressed to a lady in praise of her charms. The famous sonnet, On Sleep, for in- stance, is number XXXIX in the cycle of Sir Philip Sidney. The sonnet has been deservedly esteemed, and there are few poets who have not “tried their wings ’’ in it. It offers a chance for beautiful unity of impression. Compactness of thought is required — much must be said in few words. But, though short, it is a difficult form in which to win success; for the artistry must be perfect. Teaching a sonnet. In studying the sonnet with a class, it is wise to put on the board an example like Long- fellow’s Nature: — - THE LYRIC 55 As a fond mother, when the day is o'er, Leads by the hand her little child to bed, Half willing, half reluctant to be led, And leave his broken playthings on the floor, Still gazing at them through the open door, Nor wholly reassured and comforted By promises of others in their stead, Which, though more splendid, may not please him more; So Nature deals with us, and takes away Our playthings one by one, and by the hand Leads us to rest so gently, that we go Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay, Being too full of sleep to understand How far the unknown transcends the what we know. It is not hard, then, to show the general structure: the rhyme-scheme; the sustained simile expressed by the two great waves of thought, one in the octave and the other in the sestet; and the complete impression in few words. A sonnet like Wordsworth’s On the Eastinction of the Venetian Republic offers splendid chance for discussion of mediaeval customs and history. There is so much in most sonnets that classes must consider them very carefully to get the full thought. They are convenient for class discussion, however, because fourteen lines can easily be written on the black- board. Any of the following sonnets will repay class work: BROWNING, ELIZABETH: On a Portrait of Wordsworth, The Prospect, and Work; BYRON: Sonnet on Chillon; GILDER, RICHARD WATSON: On the Life Mask of Abraham Lincoln; KEATs: On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer and The Grasshopper; LANIER: The Mocking-Bird; LYLY: Apelles’ Song (from Campaspe); MIFFLIN: Sesostris; MILTON: On His Blindness and On the Late Massacre in Piedmont; ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL: Sibylla Palmifero, or Soul’s Beauty (for a picture); SHAKESPEARE: Let me not to the marriage of true minds (Cxvi) and When to the sessions of sweet silent thought (xxx); SHELLEY: Ozymandias; THOMAS, EDITH: Frost and 56 TEACHING LITERATURE The God of Music; WoRDsworth: Composed upon Westmin- ster Bridge, It is a Beauteous Evening, On the Eastinction of the Venetian Republic, Scorn not the Sonnet, The World Is Too Much with Us, and To Milton. Teaching the ode. The ode is written in a spirit of exalta- tion; it is a dignified strain in praise of some person or thing. It may be regular or irregular in structure. The metrical effects are often very beautiful. Among the great ode- writers in English are Milton, Dryden, Collins, Gray, Words- worth, Shelley, and Keats. It has been considered a duty of the poet laureate of England to contribute an ode upon great public occasions, and it was as poet laureate that Tennyson wrote his Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington. The following ode by Collins, written in 1746, is a good example of regular structure: — How sleep the brave, who sink to rest By all their country's wishes blest! When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, Returns to deck their hallowed mould, She there shall dress a sweeter sod Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. By fairy hands their knell is rung, By forms unseen their dirge is sung: There Honor comes a pilgrim gray, To bless the turf that wraps their clay; And Freedom shall awhile repair To dwell a weeping hermit there! Now compare this six-lined iambic tetrameter stanza, rhym- ing aabbcc, with an ode in irregular structure, William Jones's What Constitutes a State 2 What constitutes a state? Not high-raised battlements or labored mound, Thick wall, or moated gate; Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned; Not bays and broad-armed ports, Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride; THE LYRIC 57 Not starred and spangled courts, Where low-born baseness wafts perfume to pride. No — men, high-minded men, With powers as far above dull men endued, In forest, brake, or den, As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude; Men, who their duties know, But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain; Prevent the long-aimed blow, And crush the tyrant, while they rend the chain: — These constitute a state. - And sovereign Law, that state's collected will, O'er thrones and globes elate, Sits empress, crowning good, repressing ill; Smit by her sacred frown, The fiend Dissension like a vapor sinks; And e'en the all-dazzling crown Hides his faint rays, and at her bidding shrinks. How do the two differ in form? Make a stanza pattern for each, to demonstrate this difference. What is the purpose of each stanza? Which phrases need class discussion to bring out the full meaning? How do both odes use personifi- cation? Apply these two odes to our own country. A class may be roused to enthusiastic appreciation of the following great English odes: BURNS: To a Daisy and To a Mouse; BYRON: The Ocean (Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, canto IV); CAMPBELL: Ye Mariners of England; CoILINS: How Sleep the Brave and Ode to Evening; DRYDEN: Alez- ander's Feast and Ode on Saint Cecilia's Day; KEATs: Autumn, Bards of Passion and of Mirth, Lines on the Mer- maid Tavern, Ode to a Grecian Urn, and Ode to a Nightingale; MILTON: Il Penseroso and L’Allegro; SHELLEY:* Ode to the West Wind and To a Cloud; WoRDsworth: Ode on Intima- tions of Immortality, Ode to Duty, and She was a Phantom of Delight. Teachers must know the poem thoroughly. They must * To a Skylark is treated in detail on page 70. 58 TEACHING LITERATURE be familiar with the mythological allusions, the unusual words, with the whole substance and setting. These poems grow greater at each reading; they can be read aloud with increasing pleasure. They contain lines that may well serve as “touchstones of literature.” - Comparative study of Milton’s L’Allegro and Il Pen- seroso. These companion pieces, both great nature lyrics, are a wonderful revelation of the classical, both in treatment and substance. The following outlines, as made by a stu- dent, show the marks of similarity: — L'Allegro Il Penseroso 1- 10. Melancholy banished; fit- 1– 10. Joys banished; fitting par- ting parentage and home entage and home of Joy. of Melancholy. 11– 40. Mirth welcome! Descrip- 11-55. Melancholy welcome! De- tion; parentage of Mirth; Scription; parentage; com- companions. panions. 41–68. Pleasures of morning; the 56- 84. Pleasures of evening; the lark. nightingale. 69– 99. Noon and afternoon; land- 85–120. Midnight; study of phi- scape; country pleasures. losophy and tragedy. 100–116. Social evening pleasures at 121–130. Lonely morning. fireside. 117–134. Midnight; reading, or 131-150. Noonday; drowsing in a plays. beautiful spot. 135–150. Music lulls to sleep; soft 151–156. Music awakes; solemn airs. Organ music. 151–152. Desire to live with Mirth. 167–174. Aspirations of the pensive man; a hermitage. 175–176. Desire to live with Mel- ancholy. For many a pupil the poems are clouded by mythological allusions and obsolete words unless the teacher has tactfully opened his mind to the following words: — L’Allegro: Cerberus, Stygian, Cimmerian, Euphrosyne, Venus, Graces, Bacchus, Zephyrs, Aurora, Nymph, Hebe, Corydon, Thyrsis, Phyllis, Thes- tylis, Mab, Goblin, Hymen, Lydian, Orpheus, Elysian, Pluto, Eurydice; — wncouth, ebon, y-cleped, Sager, butcom, blithe, debonair, quip, crew, sweetbriar, eglantime, hawthorn, fallows, pied, jocund, rebeck, chequered, junkets, flail, lubber, matin, Saffron, mask, pageantry, sock, bout, wanton. THE LYRIC 59 Il Penseroso: Morpheus, Memnon, Ethiop, Sea-nymphs, Vesta, Saturn, Ida, Jove, Philomel, Cynthia, Hermes, Plato, Demons, Pelops, Troy, Musaeus, Orpheus, Pluto, Cambuscan, Camball, Algarsife, Canace, Tartar, Attic, Sylvan; — bestead, motes, pensioners, sable, stole, cyprus, commercing, chauntries, plat, curfew, bellman, pall, buskimed, turneys, garnish, consort, massy, ecstacies. What a background of knowledge these words reveal! What range of vocabulary ! To read through the poems without knowing the meanings of the words and allusions is like wending a way through a dark forest. It is too much of a risk to let pupils get their poetry in that way; it is likely to result in detestation of the poem. For these two poems, the unusual words may be put on the board and discussed. An enjoyable way of teaching mythology is by means of a symposium, each pupil taking the part of one of the Olympian gods or goddesses, and looking up his supposed character for autobiographical presentation in class. This background of mythology is necessary in order to com- prehend many of the great odes. The elegy. In an elegy, death is the theme, either death of a beloved friend or simply death in general. The treat- ment is dignified and solemn, tender, hopeful. The structure may be in stanza form or irregular. Landor's little master- piece, Rose Aylmer, is a beautiful tribute to the daughter of the fourth baron of Aylmer, who had been his companion in his walks about Swansea in Wales. We can see in it the working out of three ideas: how death comes to all, a tribute to the beloved one, and the feelings of him who mourns. Ah, what avails the sceptered race, Ah, what the form divine! What every virtue, every grace! Rose Aylmer, all were thine. Rose Aylmer, whom these wakeful eyes May weep, but never see, A night of memories and of sighs I consecrate to thee. 60 TEACHING LITERATURE The best of the great English elegies, – beyond the scope of elementary-school work, but within the comprehension of high-school students, – are, without doubt, Milton's Lycidas, lamenting the loss of Edward King; Shelley's Adonais, mourning the death of a brother poet, Keats; and Tennyson’s In Memoriam, honoring the memory of Arthur Hallam. Elegies and elegiac poems. The following are not above the understanding of boys and girls: BROWNING, ROBERT: Prospice; BRYANT: Thanatopsis; CowPER: The Loss of the Royal George; GRAY: Elegy in a Country Churchyard; HOLMES: Under the Violets; Hood: The Bridge of Sighs and The Death Bed; POE: Annabel Lee and The Raven; SCOTT: Coromach and Soldier, Rest; TENNYSON: Crossing the Bar and Break, Break, Break; WHITMAN: O Captain! my Captain (Lincoln); WoRDsworth: A slumber did my spirit seal, She dwelt among the untrodden ways, and Three years she grew. As elegies of animal pets, GRAY's On a Favorite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes and JoHN BOYLE O’REILLY's Dying in Harness will arouse interesting comment. Teaching Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Gray's famous elegy well repays careful study, simply for the sake of the magnificent lines contributed to literature. What boys will not thrill at “The paths of glory lead but to the grave,” if the story of General Wolfe’s quoting from the Elegy before storming Quebec is told to them! Go with the poet to the old graveyard at Stoke Pogis, at evening, and linger there with him as he ponders on the lowly dead in the churchyard and the high and haughty dead at rest within the church. One reading will prove insufficient; the poem demands loving discussion stanza by stanza. Let the chil- dren talk it out until, with your guidance, they get a glim- mer of the true meaning of the lines. These thirty-two stanzas Ought not to be passed out to children in cut-and- THE LYRIC 61 dried doses. One of the first things that teachers of litera- ture should learn is to break up a poem into its component parts, and to impress the general meaning of each. The Elegy falls into three big parts: (1) the setting, in the first three stanzas; (2) the thoughts about death; and (3) the epitaph, in the last three stanzas. The following outline — made by a pupil — is suggestive: — Stanzas 1– 3: The scene. Stanza 4: The lowly dead, to be made subject of thought. Stanzas 5– 7: What they miss: sounds in nature, homely pleasures, toil. Stanzas 8–9: Let not the mighty disdain them, because they too go to the grave. . - Stanzas 10–11: The lowly are not remembered; but can memorial bring back the dead to life? Stanzas 12–16: [To end of “Their lot forbid” in 17.] If given opportunity, what might they not have become? — undiscovered beauty, patriot, poet, ruler! Stanzas 16–19: If these lowly dead missed the honors of life, they also missed the crimes that accompany high life. Stanzas 20–21: Their rude tombstones. Stanzas 22—23: Need of sympathy at death. Stanzas 24–29: Inquiry as to the poet’s fate; and the world's possible reply. Stanzas 30–32: Epitaph: what he was; what he did; do not judge. Enliven the study of the poem by class discussion of topics like the following: — An English landscape at evening. The life of the peasantry. A com- parison of the wealthy and the lowly dead. Why these lowly did not become great. The disadvantages of wealth, position, power. Gray, as described by himself. Value of opportunity. Can one overcome environment? What contribute to success? Bring to class pictures of “ivy-mantled towers,” Stoke Pogis, an English church interior, examples of heraldry, por- traits of Milton and Cromwell, a cottage interior, a palace interior, and any others that will help to visualize the words of the poem. The song — secular and sacred. By song we mean any lyric that is in such stanza form that it can be set to music for singing. Songs fall into many classes according to the 62 TEACHING LITERATURE type of subject. Songs that appeal to great groups of people are patriotic songs, folk-songs, sacred songs (or hymns), etc. Other popular subjects are love, nature, war, the sea, the home, friendship, conviviality. Great song-writers of our literature, like Shakespeare, Burns, Moore, Tennyson, and Longfellow, should be studied intimately, and their songs Sung. It is amazing how much good literature can be stowed away in young minds if the teacher goes about it systemati- cally. Every day a few minutes may be given to discussion of some short poetic gem. This will lead to unconscious memorizing. Let the children teach you some short poems. Hymns to memorize. Some of our most beautiful hymns with real literary merit may well be read intelligently in school and perhaps memorized. The following list will at once arouse appreciative memories in teachers: ADDISON: The Spacious Firmament on High; BARING-GOULD: Now the Day is Over (for children); BISHOP BROOKS: O Little Town of Bethlehem; CARY, PHOEBE: One Sweetly Solemn Thought; BISHOP HEBER: Holy, holy, holy; Holm ES: Lord of all being, throned afar and O Lord of hosts, Almighty King; LYTE, H. F.: Abide With Me; MooRE: Come, ye Disconsolate; CARDINAL NEWMAN: Lead, Kindly Light; NEWTON: Glorious Things of Thee are spoken; PROCTER, ADELAIDE: The Lost Chord; RILEY: The Prayer Perfect (children); TATE, NAHUM: While shepherds watched their flocks by night; WATTs, ISAAC: O God, Our Help in Ages Past; WESLEY, C.: A Charge to keep I have; WHITING, WILLIAM: Eternal Father, Strong to Save (often sung at service on shipboard); WHITTIER: Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. A dozen of these beautiful hymns, scattered throughout the school year and memorized, will make an indelible impression on young minds. One little girl we know kept a sweet temper only through the help of a hymn her teacher THE LYRIC 63 had emphasized in school. Too many hymns are sung as mere words. Patriotic lyrics — a needed study. Several years ago a party of tourists, going up the Rhine from Cologne to May- ence, in passing the famous rock of the Lorelei sang with great gusto Heine's beautiful song. This was followed by The Watch on the Rhine. Then some one tried to sing an American patriotic song. At the first stanza everybody American sang; at the second, a few continued; at the third, two lonely voices sang the stanza, while the others had dropped out — because they did not know it. These were American teachers! Is it not mortifying sometimes not to know the words of our great patriotic songs? Then, have them memorized in school. And have them memorized properly, too. Again and again we have heard school children sing, “My country, ’t is of the sweet land of liberty!” Teachers ought to show children that America is an apostrophe to our country: we are talking to her as if she were a person. Then, the thee's will have their proper meaning. Talk about the origin of some of our great patriotic lyrics. How did Francis Scott Key happen to write The Star- Spangled Banner 2 Did it mean anything to him to see the flag so proudly flying? Put yourself in his place. Children will come to Hail, Columbia with renewed zest if they know that in 1798 F. Hopkinson wrote the original song, and that nearly a hundred years later, in 1887, Oliver Wendell Holmes added three stanzas. Sing the two sets of stanzas with an eye on the difference in conditions between 1798 and 1887. In singing America, remember that the same air is used for God save the King of England and for Heil, Kaiser, Dir of Germany. Why not, throughout the year, talk over carefully and memorize the words of some of the following patriotic 64 TEACHING LITERATURE lyrics: AUSTIN: To America; BENNET, H. H.: 'The Flag goes by; BROWNING, R.: Cavalier Tunes, The Lost Leader [explain the occasion], The Patriot; DRAKE: The American Flag; HoDMEs: Old Ironsides; HoPKINSON and Holm Es: Hail, Columbia; KEY: The Star-Spangled Banner; LONGFELLOw: Ship of State (conclusion of The Building of the Ship); Low- ELL: Once to every man and nation; SHAw: Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean; SMITH: America; WHITTIER: Laus Deo (selected stanzas). The national songs of other great nations also should be familiar to our boys and girls. Most important among these are Kipling's Recessional and Thomson’s Rule, Britannia, for England; Rouget de Lisle's Marseillaise, for France; Schneckenburger's Watch on the Rhine, for Germany; and the Russian Hymn. Folk-Songs. Each nationality has songs that are dear to the heart of the masses. We sing Scotch songs, Irish Songs, German songs. In our own country, the songs of Stephen A. Foster may be grouped as negro folk-songs. These national folk-songs should be sung with expression. When the melody is popular, there is always a temptation to slide over the words in careless fashion. The school should try to correct such a tendency. This can be done by using only the songs that have merit and by discussing their meanings. Tell the story of John Howard Payne's loneliness in the far-off, wonderful city of Paris, and how he wrote down his homesick feelings in words that can never die, and a class will find new and impressive significance in the threadbare Home, Sweet Home 1 There is hardly a collection of songs popular throughout this country that does not have in it the following: BAYLY, T. H.: Long, Long Ago; BoulTon: All through the Night (Welsh); CAREY: Sally in our Alley (British); FosTER: My Old Kentucky Home and The Old Folks at Home; LONGFEL- THE LYRIC 65 Low: Stars of the Summer Night (in The Spanish Student); MooRE: Believe me, if all those endearing young charms and The Last Rose of Summer (Irish); and WooDworth: The Old Oaken Bucket. Poems set to music." Children are natural singers. They readily respond to the suggestion to prepare programs and will work with wonderful zeal to learn their parts, if the whole thing is made alive. A class we know became so ab- sorbed in the poems of Burns that they gave as an evening's entertainment a mixture of tableaux, solos, group-singing, and readings. All the songs for group-singing were memo- rized with good will, and loved. As the idea may prove stimulating to others, we give the program. IN BONNIE SCOTLAND I. TABLEAUx. HomE SCENEs. (a) Cotter's Saturday Night Burns (b) Cuddle Doon Anderson (c) John Anderson, My Jo Burns II. TABLEAUx. ARMY SCENES (a) Blue Bells of Scotland (b) Annie Lawrie Douglas (c) Bonnie Prince Charlie Hogg (d) The Campbells are Comin' Duke of Argyll III. TABLEAUx. OTHER DAYs. (a) Auld Lang Syme Burns (b) Bonnie Doom Burns (c) Highland Mary Burns (d) Flow Gently, Sweet Afton Burns IV. READING. To a Mouse Burns W. TABLEAUx. Constancy AND FAREWELL. (a) Oh, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast Burns (b) Loch Lomond (c) Douglas, Tender and True - Craik (d) Better Bide a Wee - VI. TABLEAUx. OUTDOOR ScFNEs. (a) Comin' Thro' the Rye Burns (b) My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose Burns (c) My Heart’s in the Highlands Burns 1 For published airs for the songs in The Golden Treasury, see The English Journal, June, 1915, p. 387. 66 TEACHING LITERATURE Selections for class singing and special occasions. Two exquisite lyrics of Shakespeare's are set to music by Schu- bert and may be sung by the children. These are Who is Silvia 2 and Hark, Hark, the Lark / Other poems set to music and well worth singing in class are the following: ALLINGHAM: Robin Redbreast [autumn]; DICKENS: The Ivy Green; HEMANs: I come, I come [spring]; HOGG: My Love, she’s but a lassie yet; Jonson: Drink to me only with thine eyes; KINGSLEY: When all the world was young; MACKAY: What I love and hate; SHAKESPEARE: Blow, blow, thou winter wind, I know a bank, and Under the Greenwood Tree; STEVENSON: In Port, Northwest Passage, Shadow March, and Windy Nights; TENNYSON: Sweet and low, Tears, idle tears, and What does little birdie say 2 At Christmas, Thanksgiving, Lincoln's Birthday, and other celebrations, why not prepare a song that was written by a master? For Christmas, Lowell’s Peace on Earth and Tennyson's Ring out, wild bells, are excellent; for Easter, Sidney Lanier's delicate lyric, The Trees and the Master, is very beautiful. For Lincoln's Birthday, have the class recite Whitman's O Captain / My Captain / or Gilder's sonnet on The Life Mask of Abraham Lincoln. At New Year's time, when the whole world is making resolutions, wake up the class to the usefulness of a creed in life. Character-building poems. Children’s minds are more open than you may suspect to the influence of big ideas. Store their growing minds, then, with bits of philosophy on life, which will act as safeguards long after you are forgotten. Pupils should be led to select their own quotations for memorizing. There are many valuable ideas in the following poems: BLAKE: The Lamb and The Tiger; BROWNING, R.: Rabbi Ben Ezra; BURROUGHs: Waiting; CowPER: On the Receipt of my Mother’s Picture; ELIOT: The Choir Invisible; GUINEY, L.I.: The Kings; HolMEs: The Chambered Nautilus; THE LYRIC 67 Holi,AND: Heaven Is Not Gained; Jonson: Noble Nature; KIPLING: If ; LONGFELLOW: Eaccelsior, Resignation, The Bridge, The Psalm of Life, and The Village Blacksmith; MASEFIELD: Laugh and Be Merry; TENNYSON: Ring out, wild bells; WHITTIER: The Eternal Goodness; Wotton: A Happy Life. . Nature lyrics. There is such a wealth of nature poetry from which to choose, that many teachers are puzzled. Wordsworth and Bryant are two great nature poets. Tenny- son, Whittier, Lowell, Burns, and Emerson also show strong appreciation of nature. Group your nature poetry under three heads, – autumn, winter, and spring. The fact that a poem applies to the month in which it is read helps greatly in bringing out its force and beauty. Poems, like medicine, must be adminis- tered in due season. It would show a lack of foresight to teach Whittier's Barefoot Boy in December, or to find Snow- Bound on one's hands in June. April, May, and June are the time of the year for nature lyrics that deal with budding life; September and October, for poems that deal with declining life, or with autumn. There is a right time in the lives of boys and girls which, if the classic suits, catches up the bit of litera- ture and carries it memorably to the heart of the reader. Teachers will do well to incorporate somewhere in the reading of the year the following poems: — In autumn BROWNING: Home Thoughts from the Sea; BRYANT: Robert o’ Lincoln, The Fringed Gentian, and The Planting of the Apple Tree; CARMAN: A Vagabond Song; CowPER: The Poplar Field; EMERSON: The Humble Bee; HARTE: Grizzly; HowLLLs: In August; JACKSON: October’s Bright Blue Weather; MoRRIs: Woodman, spare that tree; THAXTER, C.: The Sandpiper; TIMROD: Hark to the shouting wind; TRow- 68 TEACHING LITERATURE BRIDGE: The Farm-Yard Song; VAN Dyke. The Whippoor- will; WHITTIER: Corn Song and The Huskers; WORDswortDI: The Solitary Reaper. In winter BYRON: Mont Blanc (Manfred, Act I, Scene 1); DICKENs: The Ivy Green; EMERSON: The Snowstorm; Gould, H. F.: The Frost; LANIER: Tampa Robins; LowLLL: The Vision of Sir Launfal (Prelude II); SILL: A Tropical Morning at Sea (contrast with our climate). In Spring BRYANT: The Waterfowl and The Yellow Violet; BROWNING: De Gustibus, Home Thoughts from Abroad, and Pippa's Song; BURNs: To a Daisy and To a Mouse; CAwÉIN: The Whippoor- will; EMERSON: The Rhodora; Hogg: The Skylark; LANIER: The Song of the Chattahoochee; Low ELL.: The Dandelion and The Vision of Sir Lawnfal (Prelude 1); RILEY: The First Bluebird; TAYLOR, J.: The Violet; TENNYSON: Flower in the Crannied Wall, The Brook, and The Throstle; THOMAs, E.: The Anemome; TIMROD: Katie (typical English scenery); VAN DYKE: The Maryland Yellow-throat; WHITTIER: The Bare- foot Boy; WoRDsworth: Daffodils, The Celandine, The Cuckoo, The Daisy, Lines written in Early Spring, The Green Linnet, The Rainbow, The Reverie of Poor Susan, and The Skylark. Essentials in teaching the lyric. Without indulging in too much technical discussion, teachers can bring to the notice of children many devices whereby the poet produces his wonderful effects. In reading Poe's Bells, the power of onomatopeia may be shown. Since with most poems figures of speech add beauty, the most-used figures, therefore, should be discussed. Work with Milton soon shows the value of allusion and the need for a background of myth- ology. Obsolete words, too, must be understood. In poems THE LYRIC 69 like Gray’s Elegy and Whittier's Snow-Bound, the poet’s use of inversion may be shown. Browning is fond of ellipsis, or omission of words or letters; and in others is found pleonasm. There are beautiful illustrations of internal rhyme in Poe's Raven. Point out the effects secured by alliteration. Chil- dren will begin to understand, then, why some lines appeal so wonderfully. They will appreciate the singing quality and the human interest in poetry. What are the three things most needful in class work with the lyric? (1) To help the child to understand what the poet means; not telling him, but leading him by judicious ques- tioning to catch the meaning. (2) To stir the heart of the child, by expressive reading and comment, so that he is able to feel the emotion that throbbed in the heart of the poet. (3) To store the child’s mind with lines and stanzas that will help him to appreciate more deeply the worth of poetry, to meet the problems of life better, and to get more joy in living. Do you remember Wordsworth’s Solitary Reaper ? Will no one tell me what she sings? — Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow For old, unhappy, far-off things, And battles long ago: Or is it some more humble lay, Familiar matter of to-day? Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain, , That has been, and may be again? Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang As if her song could have no ending; I saw her singing at her work, And o'er the sickle bending; — I listened, motionless and still: And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more. 70 TEACHING LITERATURE That is what happens to us with the lyric in verse. If it is written by a master, it lingers with us long after the pages have been closed. “Many are poets who have never penned,” wrote Byron in his Prophecy of Dante; and “A Small drop of ink . . . makes thousands, perhaps millions think.” . Let us read these lyrics with the poet’s heart! HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Study of the Lyric. Schelling’s English Lyric is an admirable book to give the teacher a fuller knowledge of the lyric. Collections of Lyrics. Collections of poetry in which the lyric is abundantly found are given at the end of Chapter I. For lists of lyrics for reading, teachers are referred to the body of this chapter. Illustrative Material. Pictures like the following are good: Brown’s Famous Pictures: The Village Blacksmith, 904; The Thompson Com- pany Blue Prints: Highland Mary’s Grave, 5108; Stoke Pogis, 4107; The Barefoot Boy (set of eight pictures). Critical Material. For expert criticism of many poets compressed in small space, there are few books better than Ward’s English Poets in four volumes. The following essays taken from these volumes are excellent for student reference work: Church on Wordsworth; Ar- nold on Gray and Keats; Dowden on Shakespeare; Gosse on Herrick and Moore; Pattison on Milton; Swinburne on Collins; A. W. Ward on Dryden and Jonson; and T. H. Ward on Elizabethan Miscellanies. (1) SHELLEY’s “To A SKYLARK’” Children their own teachers. “In education,” said Her- bert Spencer, “the process of self-development should be encouraged to the fullest extent. Children should be led to make their own investigations, and to draw their own infer- ences. They should be told as little as possible, and induced to discover as much as possible. . . . Those who have been brought up under the ordinary school drill, and have carried away with them the idea that education is practicable only in that style, will think it hopeless to make children their own teachers.” - THE LYRIC 71 A classic as short as Shelley's To a Skylark offers uncom- mon opportunity for children to use their own initiative; as it were, to teach themselves. Self-Teaching: a Sample Lesson “If you were teaching this poem to another class of boys and girls,” asks the teacher, “how would you do it?” A bright girl is quick with an answer: “I’d have them look up all the hard words first,” she says. “Very well, Mary,” says the teacher quietly, “you may come to my seat, and I will take yours. You may be our leader. See if you can find in the poem what the writer put into it.” - Mary is quick-witted. She assigns to her classmates the various stanzas of the poem and requests them to look up in their dictionaries the difficult words, and read the phrase in which the word occurs, so that the proper meaning is se- lected. The children fall to with a vim, as if it were a game. When the separate little committees are ready to report on their several words, she directs one of the pupils to go to the blackboard and write down the hard words as they are given. “Let us copy them down and study them,” she urges. “Use them sometimes,” she supplements, remembering the teacher's previous directions about diction. They take great pride in their self-compiled list: — blithe dell surpass joyance profuse embowered sprite languor unpremeditated wnbeholden rapture 8atiety wnbodied aerial hymeneal deem intense hue 77260.37/7°68 mortal &phere embodied triumphal crystal wrought deflowered chaunt fraught glow-worm vernal vaunt harmonious The class leader looks puzzled for an instant, then says brightly: “Suppose we have John read the whole poem 72 TEACHING LITERATURE through now, so we can get the entire impression. We ought to understand it, for we have the hard words. Please come to the front.” John reads the poem through without halting. The children either listen intently or follow closely in their own books, hearing with eyes as well as with ears. “Now, what do you get out of it?” asks Mary. There is a moment of silence, mortifying silence. Or is it only thought? Then come disconnected answers: “He’s talking to it, is n’t he? . . . He says what it's like. . . . He wants to be like it, does n’t he? . . . He likes its song!” “I have great trouble understanding this poem,” says the teacher in the class, as if she were a pupil, “because there are things I don’t hear every day. Will you please explain them?” The class rustles expectantly to find the teacher taking a hand in the game. “What are the expressions different from the ordinary?” asks the girl-teacher. A boy jumps to his feet: “There 's wert, that 's different; and silver sphere, — now just what does that mean?” “Please, teacher,” says a young mischief-maker from the front seat, “here’s another word like wert, only it’s spring- est.” “That’s the way they talk in poetry,” explains a girl. “It’s sort of old-fashioned, like the time when they said thee and thou. I can pick out a lot of such expressions to show that the poet uses them.” The poetic form of words, like wert, springest, wingest, o'er, bright'ning, dost, even, Sprite, panteth, ne'er, often puzzles young students. “Why does the poet make use of such funny expressions P” asks one. The discussion that follows makes clear the fact that poetic license permits the maker of verses to do a number of things. Among them are: — THE LYRIC 73 (1) Contractions for the sake of swing, or meter. O'er which clouds are bright'ning (2) Quaint or obsolete expressions. Methinks (3) Poetic forms of words. Pale purple even (4) One part of speech for another. The deep blue thou wingest (5) Inversion Bird thou never wert “What is that, when you speak of one thing as if it were something else?” asks a boy somewhat awkwardly. “I know,” blurts out Tom. “Figure of speech!” He is very complacent. “She said that was a metaphor.” “And there is another kind of figure,” supplements Mary, “that compares with like or as. That is a simile. There are a great many in this poem.” - As the time for discussion is up, the class is told to think about the things to which Shelley compares the skylark’s song, to talk about birds at home and bring much informa- tion to class, and to be ready to say what each would like to learn from birds or animals. The next class meeting is to be a combination of poetry and nature-study. Poetry and nature-study. Young people do not see the beauty, power, and exquisite quality of this poem at first reading. They have caught merely the lilt — the mechani- cal reading. At the next recitation there is to be a different method of approach: “Have you ever seen a skylark?” The class is eager to tell all they know about birds. They hunt up pictures of birds. They read in a bird book all about the skylark. They soon learn of the beautiful song of the lark, of its early and lofty flight in the sky. One girl paints a picture of the bird, which the teacher commends and pins up in a prominent place. Then they begin a hunt for all the poems they can find 74 TEACHING LITERATURE about birds, flowers, and little animals. The various mem- bers of the family at home become interested and offer contributions. A healthy interest in Mary’s studies or in John's is demonstrated by the other brothers and sisters. By the time all the suggestions are in, - and such corre- lated reading in nature poems can run side by side with the regular work on To a Skylark, - there is collected a very respectable list of poems." It is interesting to comment on the poet’s observation of nature and the scientist’s observa- tion of nature. Compare the poet’s figurative, suggestive description with the scientist’s accurate account. A good idea is to place on a prominent part of the black- board an appropriate short poetic selection to catch the eye. Constant view will fix such lines in pupils’ minds. They absorb them before they know it. BROWNING's Pippa's Song (Pippa Passes), TENNYSON's Flower in the Crannied Wall, and SHAKESPEARE's Hark, Hark, the Lark are ex- cellent in connection with this poem of Shelley’s. Figures of speech. As a figure of speech is a departure from the literal statement for the sake of effectiveness, grammar-school pupils ought to be familiar with the most- used figures: simile, metaphor, personification, and allitera- tion. This poem offers material for a good ten-minute dis- cussion of these. Simile Metaphor Like a cloud of fire. Golden lightnings. Like an unbodied joy. Silver sphere. Like a star. Intense lamp. Keen as are the arrows. Rain of melody. Like a poet hidden. Light of thought. Like a high-born maiden. Glow-worm golden. Music sweet as love. Flood of rapture. Like a glow-worm golden. Fountains. Like a rose. Crystal stream. 1 Given in the readings at the end of the chapter. THE LYRIC - 75 Alliteration Singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest. Sunken sun. Glow-worm golden in a dell of dew. Sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. Apostrophe Hail to thee, blithe spirit. Teach us, bird or sprite. Thou scorner of the ground. (Use of thy and thee and thou.) Personification Heavy-winged thieves. Structure of the poem. There are twenty-one stanzas, which pupils learn to break up into the following sections with running notes: — & I–VI: Description of the lark rising in song; in the sky unseen; song keenly clear and piercing; overflows heaven. VII-XII: What thou art most like: rainbow clouds; poet’s songs; maiden's love song; glow-worm’s light; rose's fragrance; vernal showers. XIII-XIV: Teach us thy thoughts: better than song of love or wine; or wedding chorus; or triumphal chant. XV-XVII: What has inspired thy song? Love without satiety; what \ dost thou know? XVIII-XIX: Compared with our attitude toward life; our songs. Could we appreciate the joy of the lark, if we knew no sorrow? XX-XXI: The lark's lyrical power better than music or poetry to the poet. Writer wishes for the lark’s power, to write poems that should stir the whole world, as the lark stirs the lis- tener. Suggestive questions. Teachers should bring out the meaning of the poem by definite questions. Excellent oppor- tunity is offered, for instance, to show the difference between poetic diction and straightforward prose. What form of subjective poetry is To a Skylark? What about the bird makes Shelley call it a spirit? Does it think out its song beforehand? What is a characteristic of its flight? How does the poet describe that? For what Word is deep used? How does the poet describe sunset? What is poetic in 76 - TEACHING LITERATURE the line, Pale purple even 2 Why is the moon called silver sphere? What are the arrows? To what does lamp refer? What would be the prose order of the line In the white dawn clear 9 Why does the poet use this arrangement P Note the various ways by which the writer makes us feel the piercing qual- ity of the song. Describe in your own words the pictures of sunset, twilight, the moon just before dawn, the moon peeping out from behind a cloud. Which line in the seventh stanza is a natural question after the second line of the first stanza, Bird thou never wert 9 What is most like the lark? What is a rainbow? Its cause? What pic- ture does “From rainbow clouds there flow not Drops so bright to see” make in your mind? Why has poetry been able to stir men’s minds and souls? To make them sympathize with things they had not heeded be- fore? What effect does the singing of hymns have on people? How does the poet describe the love song? In what does it recall the Middle Ages? or stories of knights and ladies? What is the aerial hue of the glow-worm? What name is applied to the winds for stealing the fragrance of the rose? Why twinkling grass 9 Why rain-awakened flowers ? How does this stanza rise to a climax in assertion? Look back and name the details that describe the lark's song as joyous and clear and fresh. Teach us, sprite or bird – spirit or bird. Does the poet go too far in at- tributing spiritual qualities to the lark? What two words stand for wedding- song? How does the poet express the idea, “There would be something lacking?” How does the poet say, “Of what would you sing? What in- spires you?” Love of nature, love of friends and family, mere joy of living, — these are sources of song! Note how the poet says that listlessness will not mingle with joy. What can be the source of the lark's crystal song? Memorize the eighteenth stanza: — - We look before and after, And pine for what is not: Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. Pick out expressions that stand for reminiscence and anticipation. Who are more prone to look ahead, the young or the old? To look back? Why? Which line expresses the close relation of laughter and tears? Do you think that the lark could sing so joyously if he had hate and pride and fear in his breast? Which do you think Shelley would call the treasure — prose or poetry? Why? - Shelley’s lyric gift. A poet must have in his soul a sense of music or he will never be able to speak rhythmically in his poetry. The poet, too, can learn much from the methods used by other poets. Both of these things — music in his THE LYRIC 77 own soul, and knowledge of poetry — can help him much, but much more will that spontaneous lyrical gift of the sky- lark help him. The last stanza of the poem was wonder- fully true of Shelley. He stands among poets, the most spontaneous, the most lyrical. Of him, indeed, was true: — Teach me half the gladness That thy brain must know, Such harmonious madness From my lips would flow The world should listen then— as I am listening now. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORE Biographical Material. The following are recommended: Dowden: The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley (2 vols.) and Symonds: Shelley (English Men of Letters Series). Illustrative Material. Pictures like the following are valuable: Brown’s Famous Pictures: The Song of the Lark, 195; Perry Pictures: Shelley, 89; Skylark, 9076. Critical Material. The following are suggestive: Arnold: Essays in Criticism (Second Series, pp. 205–53); De Quincey: Essays on the Poets; Myers: Essay on Shelley (Ward’s English Poets, vol. Iv); Bagehot: Literary Studies (vol. 1, pp. 246–300); Hutton: Literary Essays (Shel- ley and his Poetry, pp. 133–88). Correlated Reading. From the many poems on birds, insects, flow- ers, and nature in general, the following are particularly suitable for class work and outside reading: — Birds: — LAMPMAN's Reassurance. *BRYANT's Waterfowl. LANIER’s Tampa Robins. Robert of Lincoln. LONGFELLOW's Birds of Killing- DRUMMOND's (WILLIAM) Nightin- worth. gale. Herons of Elmwood. EMERSON’s Titmouse. Low ELL’s Nightingale in the Study. HERRICK's Robin Redbreast. POE’s Raven. *Lark. WoRDsworth’s Green Linnet. *Hogg's Skylark. Cuckoo. KEATs's To a Nightingale. ' *Skylark. Insects: — EMERSON’s Humble Bee. REATs's Grasshopper and the Cricket. HoLMEs's Katydid. LovELACE's Grasshopper. HUNT's Grasshopper and the Cricket. THOMAs's A Humble Balloonist. 78 TEACHING LITERATURE Flowers: — BLAKE's Sunflower. HERRICK's Primroses. BRYANT's Fringed Gentian. Low ELL’s Dandelion. BURNs's To a Daisy. SCOTT's Violet. EMERSON's Rhodora. WoRDsworth’s Daffodils. General Poems: — *BRowNING's Ah, did you once LoNGFELLow's Fiftieth Birthday of see Shelley plain! Agassiz. (2) BRYANT’s “THANATOPSIs” The One remains, the many change and pass; Heaven's light forever shines, Earth's shadows fly; Life, like a dome of many-colored glass, Stains the white radiance of Eternity, Until Death tramples it to fragments. – Die, If thou wouldst be with that which thou dost seek! Follow where all is fled! — Rome's azure sky, Flowers, ruins, statues, music, words, are weak The glory they transfuse with fitting truth to speak. SHELLEY: Adonais. The teacher’s problem. Thanatopsis is the sort of poem that requires a depth of reflection in the teacher. From her greater range of ideas, she must lead children to find for themselves some of the thoughts that make the poem great. She must help them to know it intimately. It is well to de- vise an interesting approach to a serious poem. This may sometimes be done through the life of the poet. Children are not particularly interested in the lives of authors unless, in some way, we connect the author with them. They also like surprises; they like to ferret out information, if we keep them on the qui vive. Let us approach Bryant by way of a famous line, “The child is father of the man.” Bryant the Author: A Sample Lesson “Is there anybody here with a brother or sister ten years Old?” e Three fourths of the class eagerly respond. “Well,” says the teacher, “I know of a little boy ten years old who wrote a poem about his school, and it was printed THE LYRIC 79 in the country newspaper. What do you think of that? . . . Anybody here thirteen years old?” Nearly every hand appears. “Well,” she continues, “this same boy, when he was thirteen years old, had something published in Boston. It was a political poem called The Embargo, or Sketches of the Times, a Satire by a Youth of Thirteen. How about that?” “Guess he was n’t a boy!” “Yes, he really was, for that was in 1807, and he was born in 1794.” Slight pause for the dates to sink in. “People could hardly believe it; so two years later, in 1809, when he published more verse, he put a note in the front of the book, saying that the writer was only fifteen years old.” “I’m fifteen!” comes from an overgrown boy in the front. “Where do you suppose this boy lived?” “You said he had the poem in a country newspaper. Then he must have lived in the country.” “You are right. Here is a picture of his father's house |Show picture] in Cummington, in the western part of Massachusetts. His father was the village doctor. Ought a boy like that go to college? [Answers of “Yes indeed!”] Why? . . . Well, he went to Williams College at Williams- town, not far from Cummington. What do you suppose he liked to do there?” “Study,” says one. “Take walks,” suggests another. “Read books. . . . Play football. . . . Debate.” “Imagine, if you were that boy, how you would love Wil- liams College! There was a very beautiful wild glen near, with rocks, trees, and a dashing torrent. This boy often tramped over to that glen; he liked to sit there alone, and think. He would look at the sky and the sun and the moun- tains in the distance; at the fine trees, the great stones, and the earth. He loved to listen to the brook, to watch the birds —” 80 TEACHING LITERATURE “He ought to be a Boy Scout,” earnestly interrupts a little boy. “When he was alone like that, he thought over serious things and formed his own opinions about them. Then he wrote these down in verse and hid them away in his desk. As his father did not have much money, the boy had to leave college to study law. In four years he was allowed to hang out his sign in a little town. What else do you think he did?” “Got married,” says a little girl. “Wrote more poems,” suggests another. - “You remember that he used to write poetry in that beau- tiful wild glen near Williams College? Some of those verses lay in the old desk until the boy was twenty-one years old, when his father found them. He read them in amazement; for he realized that his son must be a genius to put his thoughts into such beautiful verse. He was even more sur- prised to learn that the poem had been written when the boy was only sixteen. So, the father took the poem to Boston to a magazine called the North American Review, and showed it to the editors. Later, one of these men, Richard Henry Dana, said to the other: — “‘Ah, Phillips, you have been imposed upon; no one on this side of the Atlantic is capable of writing such verses.’ “But they were not imposed upon. This poem," published in 1817, made the young man famous. Even yet people be- lieved that the father must have written it; for he was a wise, cultured doctor. Four years later, the young man made the poem twice as long — the way we read it now.” By this time, the class feels intimately acquainted with this boy with brains, and is anxiously asking who he is, and what is the poem. If the teacher uses tact, she can carry the suspense through to the end. * For an account of the origin and publication of Thanatopsis, see Godwin’s Life of Bryant, vol. 1, pp. 97-101 and 148–55. THE LYRIC 81 “The boy grew to be a man, known beyond his little town. He was asked to make speeches; for he had formed such honest opinions on topics of the day that people wanted to know what he thought. And he wrote many poems, par- ticularly about things out-of-doors. The more he wrote, the more he grew tired of the law. What might he do?” “Get on a newspaper,” suggests a boy who carries papers. Then the teacher can describe vividly how Bryant rose to be editor-in-chief of the New York Evening Post, how he fought slavery, how he insisted constantly on dignity, ac- curacy, and refinement in newspaper writing, and how his splendid editorials and speeches showed his honesty in form- ing opinions, as well as his ability to express them. She can make the class feel that it pays to train themselves as boys and girls to ponder carefully, to think out reasons, and to form genuine opinions. She can show them the fruits of an upright, thoughtfi' life; not many men in public life have been so widely honored for wisdom, culture, and integrity. They are personally interested in the fact that in 1876, when he was eighty-two, his admirers presented him with a silver vase, beautifully ornamented with designs of all the flowers and birds of which he had sung in his poetry. Possibly, let the children guess who the great man is; let them prove their “guess” by citing from an encyclopædia or history of American literature. They will feel a proprietary interest in Bryant; it is as if they have discovered him. They think of him as the boy with brains who forced his own life to fit the dreams of his boyhood. Bryant's Americanism. Irving was the first American prose-writer to present America to foreign readers, but Bryant was the first poet to see, in our country, birds and flowers and trees different from the conventional yew and cypress, skylark and nightingale, of the Old World. George William Curtis says of Bryant’s poetry: “It could have been 82 TEACHING LITERATURE written only in America by an American naturally sensitive to whatever is most distinctly American.” The following poems will induce the student to read more of Bryant and will prove his right to the title of “The Amer- ican Wordsworth,” or “The Nature Poet”: The Yellow Violet; The Waterfowl; The Fringed Gentian (cf. with Words- worth’s flower poems); Robert of Lincoln (cf. with Shelley’s, Hogg’s, and Wordsworth’s Skylark and with Keats's Night- ingale); The Planting of the Apple Tree (cf. with Longfel- low’s Building of the Ship); The Forest Hymn; June (cf. with Lowell’s Vision of Sir Lawnfal, Prelude 1); The Past (con- sidered by Bryant to be better than Thanatopsis). The poem as a whole. The name Thanatopsis is always a source of interest. From consideration of optical and optician, pupils will guess the meaning of opsis. Let them guess the meaning of Thanatos after the poem is studied, when they will probably agree that the title is a view of death. Bryant — the boy of sixteen — in coining his word went directly to the classics. The place occupied in American literature by Thanatopsis is unique. We might call it the first great Amer- ican poem, written at a time when America was servilely im- itating the poetry of England. It is marked by clearness, vigor, and purity, and is pervaded by a solemn religious tone. In studying Thanatopsis pupils must first get the actual meaning of the words and then the full significance of the lines. It is a pleasure to watch eyes widen as class discussion forces out a deeper meaning and affiliates it with the chil- dren’s own lives. If a class is to like Thanatopsis — and is not that the aim in most teaching of literature? — do not preach, do not bring out the horror of the death chamber, do not be too solemn. Hold the poem up frankly in the clear light of the everyday and see just what Bryant says. Work from the boy’s point of view, and from the view-point of THE LYRIC 83 the college student who has history, science, geology, and archaeology in the foreground of his mind. Drawing out the Full Content: A Sample Lesson In serious poems of this sort it is very necessary to lead the class to appreciate the full content, or meaning, of the lines. Assignments for study of such a poem should always be made in logical sections. In the class discussions repro- duced here these natural breaks in the poem are designated, for they may be an aid to the young teacher. Thanatopsis is quoted in full, when the various lines are discussed. Such a poem put on the blackboard in sections for daily comment and questioning, can be brought within the comprehension of younger pupils more easily than if they glue their eyes on their books. Introduction, lines 1–17: The personification of nature. To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language; for his gayer hours She has a voice of gladness, and a smile And eloquence of beauty, and she glides Into his darker musings, with a mild And healing sympathy, that steals away Their sharpness, ere he is aware. “Is n’t it odd,” begins the teacher, “that we say father- land and mother tongue 2 ” We decide that fatherland stands for strength of manhood and mother tongue for beauty and eloquence of speech. Then why Mother Nature? “How is this personification of Nature shown? — this pretending that Nature is a person?” The class then picks out the words that have a personal significance: hold communion, Speak a language, voice of glad- ness, Smile, eloquence, sympathy. 84 TEACHING LITERATURE “What are some of the visible forms with which people can hold silent communion?” “Torrents . . . rivers . . . mountains . . . valleys . . . sky . . . birds . . . stones.” A deluge of answers! “What is the various language she speaks?” They decide that it is to fit all moods: sometimes to inspire as the mountains can inspire; sometimes to lull to sleep as only gentle brooks can lull. In other moods, the angry thun- der talks or the lightning startles. They have a very intim- ate discussion of the changes in nature, giving their own illustrations. They are beginning to think beyond the mere words of the poem. - “So Nature can help all moods — when we are sad or when we are gay. Do you know Nature? What does she say to you?” There follows a glowing recital of walks, fishing, nut- ting, swimming, climbing trees, hunting, and many other things dear to a boy’s heart. • “So that is getting to know Nature! Have you learned any of the secrets of the woods? . . . To some people the forest whispers its secrets; then we say, ‘So and so knows much about woodcraft.” Did Nature whisper her secretstothe Indians? . . . What does the farmer know of her secrets? . . . Who else knows?” - * They talk of predicting the weather, of clouds and winds, of animal behavior. They speak of Greek mythology as a personification of Nature. “Which classes, or professions, of men have listened to Nature?” The great scientists, the naturalists, the botanists, and zoölogists bid for notice. The class is eager to hear of Agas- siz, Burroughs, and Thoreau. They in turn will tell you to read Freckles and The Harvester, and the books of Stewart Edward White, William J. Long, Dallas Lore Sharp, and THE LYRIC - 85 Jack London. One boy describes what Luther Burbank is doing. Others tell of the museums they have visited and what they know in the way of nature lore. All this must be done rapidly, with a purpose — to make the boy eager to hear what nature has to say to him about death. When thoughts Of the last bitter hour come like a blight Over thy spirit, and sad images Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, And breathless darkness, and the narrow house, Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart; — Go forth, under the open sky, and list To Nature's teachings, while from all around — Earth and her waters, and the-depths of air — Comes a still voice. “What are the effects of the saddest thoughts we have?” “They come like a blight,” says the class, reading. . . . “They make us shudder. . . . We feel sick at heart.” “Yes, thoughts of death sometimes make us feel that way. Bryant mentions all the ugly things about death, but he says we are not to be embittered. What are we to do instead?” “We are to go out to Nature when any bad moods come — get out of doors.” “Yes, and we are to listen for the still voice. Where does it come from?” “From the earth, waters, and the depths of the air.” “Why, that’s the whole world, is n’t it? Why is it good to get out of doors if you feel moody? . . . [Physical exercise, sunlight, air.] . . . And so Mother Nature is going to teach us her view of death.” Lines 17–30: The economy of nature; “Dust to dust!” Yet a few days, and thee The all-beholding sun shall see no more In all his course; nor yet in the cold ground, 86 TEACHING LITERATURE Where thy pale form was laid, with many tears, Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist Thy image. Earth that nourished thee, shall claim Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again, And, lost each human trace, Surrendering up Thine individual being, shalt thou go To mix forever with the elements, To be a brother to the insensible rock And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain Turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould. Bryant is thinking in periods of time far beyond the hu- man “three-score years and ten.” How well he brings out the shortness of life — yet a few days! How forcefully he makes us see the unchangeableness, and the predominance, of the all-beholding sum! What has supported man all these years, fed him with her grain and animal food? The wonder- ful cycle of nature comes home to the boy with powerful im- pressiveness. Together we speak of the mineral kingdom, of the vegetable kingdom, of the animal kingdom, then of man at the pinnacle of the animal kingdom. The chemical like- ness found in all kinds of life seems, to the class, like a won- derful thing. “We eat cow, cow eats grass, grass eats earth, and then earth eats us up,” one little girl naïvely puts it. Lines take a deeper meaning if we read them often and thoughtfully. Soon the class begins to repeat snatches of Thanatopsis from memory. The teacher ought to be a good reader with a sympathetic voice. Lines 31–37: The mighty dead. Yet not to thine eternal resting-place Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down With patriarchs of the infant world — with kings, The powerful of the earth — the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre. THE LYRIC 87 These lines discuss the concourse of the dead. Instead of taking only at surface value such words as patriarchs of the infant world, kings, the powerful, the wise, the good, fair forms, hoary seers, let boys and girls furnish from history examples of men and women who deserve such titles. Bible stories are revived in talking about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Joseph, and other Old Testament heroes. There is a good deal of scattered information about kings tucked away in young minds: Alexander the Great, Nebuchadnezzar, Saul, Philip, George III, Alfred the Great, Henry VIII, David, Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Peter the Great, Rameses. “Who are the wise?” asks the teacher. “Reformers. . . . Preachers. . . . Philanthropists. . . . Teachers. . . . Philosophers!” One young Greek boy eag- erly tells of his hero, Socrates. Fair forms elicits Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Queen Louise, Queen Elizabeth, and Martha Washington. Hoary seers results in discussions of prophets like Hosea, of old gypsies, and of the Druids. What one pupil does not think of, another does. The children are thinking in concrete terms; they are forc- ing out all their thoughts on the subject. Lines 37–48. The mighty sepulchre. The hills Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, – the vales Stretching in pensive quietness between; The venerable woods — rivers that move In majesty, and the complaining brooks That make the meadows green; and poured round all, Old Ocean's gray and melancholy waste, – Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death, Through the still lapse of ages. And what is this mighty sepulchre? The class force them- selves to visualize the hills, the mountains, the valleys, the 88 TEACHING LITERATURE woods, the rivers, the brooks, and the ocean. Here is an ex- cellent chance to correlate geography. In five minutes in one class we have a bit of geology in the rock-ribbed hills; we think of the Palisades, the Rocky Mountains, the Alle- ghenies, the Alps, the Himalayas. One boy tells briefly what he has seen in the Yosemite Valley; others refer to “the forest primeval.” Rivers moving in majesty — are they not the Amazon, the Hudson, the Nile, the Mississippi P Tenny- son’s Brook, recited in part by a little girl, adds beauty to Bryant’s complaining brooks. And the dull boy of the class, who is a voracious reader of sea tales, – what a glorious time he has telling his mates about Old Ocean’s gray and melancholy waste! Why, before we are through, we are thinking in world- terms; for what a little lesson in astronomy are the last few lines! Sun, planets, stars, comets, – all in their place eter- nall And that still lapse of ages through Paleozoic times, the day of the cave man, the dawn of civilization, “the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome,” the Dark Ages, and up through the Modern Age! Lines 48–57: The proportion of the living to the dead. All that tread The globe are but a handful to the tribes That slumber in its bosom. — Take the wings Of morning, pierce the Barcan wilderness, Or lose thyself in the continuous woods Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound, Save his own dashings — yet the dead are there: And millions in these solitudes, since first The flight of years began, have laid them down In their last sleep — the dead reign there alone. Note the poetic expression in wings of morning, Barcan wilderness (Barca, an Eastern desert), Oregon (for Colum- bia), flight of years, the dead reign. The Oregon in 1817 was a silent spot compared with the valley of to-day. Emphasize THE LYRIC - 89 the passing of civilization. Bring out the force of Westward the course of empire holds its way. Boys and girls will work up interesting discussions of Egyptian mummies, parch- ments, and relics. They will tell you much about Indian re- mains, possibly bring you several Indian arrow-heads they have found, as reminders of the dead who reign. Lines 57—72: The personal note — the same fate for each of us. So shalt thou rest; and what if thou withdraw In silence from the living, and no friend Take note of thy departure! All that breathe Will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care Plod on, and each one as before will chase His favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave Their mirth and their employments, and shall come And make their bed with thee. How does the poet picture the world? Pessimists and op- timists still go on, blessing or cursing as was their wont. How well does he express the pursuit of the ideal, the reach- ing towards the dream which makes life worth while! We see the business world, the social world, the church world, the college world, the slum world, each chasing its favorite phantom. Why fear death? — it is the fate of all. As the long train of ages glides away, the sons of men, The youth in life's green spring, and he who goes In the full strength of years, matron and maid, The innocent babe and the gray-haired man, Shall one by one be gathered to thy side, By those who in their turn shall follow them. Lines 73–81: How to be ready to go. So live that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan that moves To that mysterious realm where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not like the quarry-slave at night 90 TEACHING LITERATURE Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him and lies down to pleasant dreams. “What does Bryant, after all, think about death?” asks the teacher, as she closes the discussion. “It’s just like going to sleep,” replies a little girl. Children are always interested in the story of the fish who understood all about the water in which it lived, but could not live in or understand the air. So with us; we live in a body in a material world. The purely spiritual world is to us what the air-world is to the fish. The fact that the fish can- not fully comprehend the air above it, does not prove that an air-world does not exist. - So we wind up the lessons by asking: — “What sort of life counts most? What can we carry beyond the grave? — Not the body – Bryant makes it clear that God has planned, in his wise economy, to have that go back to elements of earth. Good looks? . . . Strength? . . . Reputation? . . . Only character and personality could live beyond the grave. That is why we want our boys and girls to have the chance to go to school, to learn to be strong, to know how to conquer temp- tation, and to develop the best that is in them.” HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material: The following books are excellent: Bigelow: William Cullen Bryant (American Men of Letters Series); Bradley: Bryant (English Men of Letters Series); and Godwin: Biography of William Cullen Bryant (with extracts from his private correspond- ence). Illustrative Material: To illustrate Bryant’s life, Perry Pictures, numbers 5, 6, and 7 are satisfactory. - Critical Material: Both teacher and class will find the following books helpful: *Lowell: A Fable for Critics, lines 180–241 (elementary); *Pattee: A History of American Literature (pp. 155–63); Stedman: Poets of America (pp. 62–95); Trent: A History of American Literature (pp. 258–69); and Wendell: A Literary History of America (pp. 192– 204). CHAPTER IV THE METRICAL TALE I’ll tell you a story Of Jack-a-Manory, And now my story's begun; I'll tell you another 'Bout Jack and his brother, And now my story is done. Two essentials of a good story are emphasized in this old rhyme, foolish as it is, – the beginning and the ending. Unless the story opens with interest, few of us will continue reading it. Unless it have a climax worth pursuing, the paper upon which it is printed is wasted. If the poet would turn story-teller, he must be willing to abide by the rules of story-telling. There are, however, stories and tales. A tale is usually milder in action, and not worked up with the com- plication that marks the short story. It more often plods “the even tenor” of its way. What is a metrical tale? A metrical tale is a narrative in verse. It differs from other narrative poetry in length, in general treatment, and in subject-matter. In length the metrical tale lies between the ballad and the metrical ro- mance. The ballad is usually treated in a spirited way, with a sweep to it; the metrical romance permits of great play of fancy; the metrical tale, however, goes its way simply and evenly, with no loitering or dragging. Read agreeably at one sitting, it easily gives a single impression. It is more often of ordinary situations in life that the tale treats. If the supernatural plays a part, it is only in a minor way. Wildly exciting adventures and complicated love plots be- long rather to the metrical romance. - Essentials of the tale. In every metrical tale there are a 92 TEACHING LITERATURE where, a who, and a what. The reader must get a clear idea of the setting, the characters, and the action. Besides these, it is often wise to ask what was the author's purpose in writ- ing the tale. Action is not a thing of random jumps and leaps: it de- pends upon cause and effect; it leads up to a point of highest interest, a climax. Characters must be so vivid that we ac- cept them as real. To intensify the descriptions of setting and character, figures of speech are used. Contrast, too, is a powerful aid to the poet; black is always more pronounced if placed by the side of white. Types of metrical tales. According to the nature of the subject-matter, metrical tales may be grouped somewhat as follows: — (1) Simple home tales, including pictures of domestic scenes, often called idyls. Examples: Whittier's Snow-Bound and Burns's Cotter’s Saturday Night. (2) Supernatural tales. Examples: Bryant’s Sella and Burns's Tam o' Shanter. (3) Love tales. Examples: Tennyson’s Enoch Arden and Dora; Longfellow’s Evangeline and The Courtship of Miles Standish; Keats's Eve of St. Agnes. (4) Tales of reminiscence. Examples: Goldsmith's De- serted Village and Byron’s Prisoner of Chillon. (5) Tales with strong moral purpose. Examples: Long- fellow’s Building of the Ship and Wordsworth’s Michael. Idyls of domestic life. Rich in color and in the speech of common life are these tales. Character and setting rather than action absorb our attention. These poems, therefore, are exceedingly valuable because they give a picture of his- torical periods. Whittier's Snow-Bound constructs before our eyes the old New England; Burns's Cotter’s Saturday 1 See page 98. | THE METRICAL TALE 93 Night gives us the homely life of the country people of Scotland.” - Tales of the supernatural: Teaching Coleridge’s Christa- bel. Burns's Tam o'Shanter is too difficult to present to young pupils, but Coleridge's Christabel seems to hold their interest. We have tried it with groups of children, readin with all the thrills possible. - “The thing attempted in Christabel,” said the Quarterly Review, “is the most difficult of execution in the whole field of romance, — witchery by daylight, — and the success is complete.” The poem Christabel must be read dramatically to bring out its beauty. The lines sweep on with a wonderful, haunt- ing melody. The supernatural is repeatedly suggested. Two passages of marvelous power and beauty deserve special study: — The night is chill; the forest bare; Is it the wind that moaneth bleak? There is not wind enough in the air To move away the ringlet curl From the lovely lady's cheek — There is not wind enough to twirl The one red leaf, the last of its clan, That dances as often as dance it can, Hanging so light, and hanging so high On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky. There is music in those lines, the sort of music that thrills us in Kubla Khan. And what a powerful picture is drawn in the famous passage on broken friendship: — Alas! they had been friends in youth; But whispering tongues can poison truth; And constancy lies in realms above; And life is thorny; and youth is vain; And to be wroth with one we love Doth work like madness in the brain. And thus it chanced, as I divine, With Roland and Sir Leoline. 1 See page 106. 94 TEACHING LITERATURE Each spake words of high disdain And insult to his heart’s best brother: They parted — ne'er to meet again! But never either found another To free the hollow heart from paining — They stood aloof, the scars remaining, Like cliffs that had been rent asunder; A dreary sea now flows between, But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder, Shall wholly do away, I ween, The marks of that which once hath been. Such a passage, cut from the poem, might well be subject to class discussion. Pick out the phrases that are most striking. Coleridge had planned two more cantos. Let the class work out the rest of the story for themselves. In Gillman’s Life of Coleridge is given the following, which the teacher can present as a solution: — The bard finds the castle washed away. Geraldine learns that he knows her deception and, like the Weird Sisters in Macbeth, vanishes, and changes her appearance to that of the absent lover of Christabel. Courtship is resumed, but Christabel feels a great disgust for her former lover, yet she yields to her father’s en- treaties, and consents to go to the altar. The real lover returns at this moment and produces the ring which she had given him as a sign of betrothal. Defeated, the supernatural being Gerald- ine disappears. The castle bell tolls, the mother's voice is heard, the marriage takes place, and father and daughter are again reconciled. Above all things, do not take Christabel literally. If we hold the ecstasy, the witchery, the magic of poetry down to plain matter-of-fact, we kill it and turn it into foolishness. Teaching Bryant's Sella. In Sella there is a fairy ele- ment that will appeal to very young classes. By questions like the following, bring out the story: — What is Sella like? What did she long to do? Describe the finding of the slippers. What did the brothers do with them? What is the result of the finding of the slippers? Describe the companion of Sella on her first adven- ture with the slippers. What was this strange ocean-world like? How did THE METRICAI, TALE 95 the mother know that Sella was not dreaming? Describe the banquet under water. What wonderful things did Sella see? Have you read Kingsley’s Water Babies & Why did not Sella stay? What sad event took place? What effect did it have on each? Describe the wedding. How did the brother in- terfere with Sella? What happened to the slippers? Do you think the brother did right? How did Sella feel when she discovered their loss? De- scribe the scene. What effect did sorrow have on Sella's life? Should all loss affect us that way? What are you most interested in — the story itself, the nature descriptions, or the weird element? What power did the slippers give to Sella? Look up the story of Mercury. Do you like the water? What uses are served by water? For composition this poem offers many stimulating sug- gestions: — The Story of Sella. A Canoe Trip. Description of a Waterwheel. How We Took the Rapids. The Working of a Canal. A Water Carnival. An Adventure of a Fish. How to Swim. How I Followed a Brook. Kinds of Fishes. The Magic Ring (a story of Queer Life under Water. piercing the earth). My Pet Gold Fish. Tales of reminiscence: Goldsmith’s Deserted Village. The literary associations attached to certain places in Eng- land always interest us. The Lake Country is associated with Wordsworth; the Highlands, with Scott; the village of Stoke Pogis, with Gray; the country about Horton, with Milton; and the little village of Lissoy — the scene of Gold- Smith’s boyhood — with his poem The Deserted Village. In The Deserted Village are excellent description, faithful portraiture, melody, and grace. Children are more likely to be held by the descriptions of nature and people than by the accusations hurled at luxury. With facile pen, the poet sketches the former attractions of the village; the present desolation; his wish to come home to die; the blessings of retirement; evening sounds in the village; the character of the village preacher (his father) and his acts; the school- master; the tavern parlor; lowly joys compared with the joys of high life; opulence grown at the expense of the poor; 96 TEACHING LITERATURE the natural woman and the artificial woman, likening them to early and later England; the fate of the poor; the terrors of a new country for the emigrant, and his sad farewells. And he closes with the thought that a strong unspoiled peasantry is the salvation of a nation, and with the hope that his pen may make men think. Teaching The Prisoner of Chillon. Byron wrote The Prisoner of Chillon in two days, while he and Shelley were staying at an inn by Lake Geneva. He had seen the castle rising out of the water and had been deeply impressed by the tale of Bonnivard in the dungeon. In his verses he made him typical of any prisoner. g The poem is a fine example of unity and progression to- ward a climax, yet there is little action in it. The poet is concerned with situation, local color, and feeling, rather than with action. There is wonderful intensity of feeling — love of liberty, hatred of oppression, and, through the whole, deep pathos. It is the strange atmosphere, the weird setting, and the awful suffering, that appeal to us. By questions like the following, bring out the power of the poem: — Where is Chillon? How were castles built in those days? Why was Bonni- vard imprisoned? Who were his family? What suffering did he go through? What were the brothers like? What led up to the prisoner's falling into a swoon? At this climax, what was heard? How did nature gradually ease his stifled heart? What friends did the prisoner make? Compare his life now with his earlier life. How did he feel when at last men came to set him free? Read Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum. In what respects can the stories be compared? | The tale with a moral purpose: Wordsworth's Michael. Wordsworth’s Michael is a simple and pathetic pastoral, reflecting the strength of the straight life. The sheepfold of the story actually existed, and some of the facts were taken from the life of a family that once lived in Grasmere. By questions, draw out the details of the story: — THE METRICAL TALE 97 Describe the shepherd life. Picture the old man and wife, and their de- light in the young son. Dwell on the friendship between the father and son, and their mutual work. What part does the pile of stone play? What is the obstacle that enters their lives? How will they meet it? What preparations do they make? Why is the sheepfold unfinished? What happens to the son? Why does this probably happen? What must a boy have in going to a great city, if he would “make good”? What would you have done in this case? Pick out the lines that you like best. Is the language simple or or- nate? What lessons can you draw from the story? Love tales. Tennyson’s Enoch Arden and Longfellow's Evangeline are both treasure-houses of figurative language. Both deal with simple folk; and the tragedy of the two plots appeals to the young with their keen appreciation of the romantic. Evangeline has sung itself into the heart by its melody; its inexpressible beauty of meter. The Courtship of Miles Standish is a good short story in verse; but it does not reach the poetic beauty of Evangeline. It is an excellent story with which to catch the interest of children, and can be read without much explanation. Very different is the mediaeval romantic background of Keats's The Eve of St. Agnes. The characters stand out with vividness, heightened by contrast. Old Angela and the ancient Beadsman, the young hero, Madeline, the sleeping barons, – all are drawn with exquisite lines. This poem, like Christabel, must be read with strong leeway given to the unusual happening. The artistry of the poem is very fine; the introduction and the conclusion particularly are handled with consummate art. Keats has caught the feeling of the Middle Ages. In all these poems it pays to dwell appreciatively on felici- tous phrases. Remember what Matthew Arnold said about storing the mind with “touchstones of literature,” whereby other choice lines may be detected. This feeling for the beautiful, the strong, the melodious, the inevitable, or the purely pathetic in literature, must be encouraged by all pos- sible means. 98 TEACHING LITERATURE The appeal of the metrical tale. Such a tale written in the glow of emotion appeals to the emotions of the reader. It is the stir of feeling — and, added to this, the power of meter and poetic language — that helps to fix in an impressionable heart the facts of life as told in the poetic tale. The same facts read in plain prose would be forgotten. There are few metrical tales that can be read in one class period. Before resuming the reading, review the story. By discussion fix in mind the characters, the scenes, and the plot. Always read aloud the most holding parts; the outside reading of other portions should be covered in class discussion. Take up these poems with open mind and heart, ready to enjoy them with the fervor that comes with a first reading. Live with the characters; make their experiences yours. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Correlated Reading: Besides the tales mentioned in the chapter, the following are suggested: Chaucer: The Nun’s Priest's Tale; Keats: Isabella and Lamia; Longfellow: The Saga of King Olaf (Tales of the Wayside Inn); Masefield: The Daffodil Fields; Tennyson: Dora; Wordsworth: Ruth. Illustrative Material: For class work, the following pictures are use- ful: Perry Pictures: Evangeline, 1095, and Canterbury Pilgrims, 875; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: The Courtship of Miles Stand- ish (series of sixteen pictures); The Canterbury Pilgrims (series of twenty-six pictures); Evangeline (series of thirty-nine pictures); Tam o' Shanter, 5074, 5110. - (1) WHITTIER’s “SNOw-BOUND” Right and wrong methods. There are two ways to get the most out of a classic: in one, the teacher brings out the mean- ing for the class by continual explanation; in the other, he puts his wits to work and induces the students themselves to find what is in it. “I don’t know why,” said a teacher one day, “but my class got tired of Snow-Bound before I was half way through,” THE METRICAL TALE 99 — she was using the first method – “and it is such a beau- tiful poem, too! ” “This is only a fragmentary outline,” commented an older teacher as she took out of her book a piece of paper, “but it shows what our boys want to do for themselves in studying Snow-Bound. This is their working basis in investigating the poem — we merely plan out and guide.” . Learn to know the writer and the times — breadth. . Like the classic — appreciation. . Master details — full understanding, scholarship. . Develop initiative — elementary work in thesis. . Get a wealth of ideas — poring over the poem, memory. . Arouse other ideas — connotation. . Train judgment — comparison of characters, other poems; analysis. . Visualize, to develop imagination — pictures. . Deepen the emotional nature — feeling. The laboratory method in English. The old-fashioned plan in teaching literature was to cram into the mind of the child a bulk of information about the author and the poem. The old-time method taught all about a classic, but not once demanded that teacher and pupil together go straight to the classic and ask the poet what he meant. The newer method in English work is the laboratory method; it implies (1) ac- tual contact with the subject studied, and (2) conclusions based on personal investigation. Grammar-school students ought to do some individual work of this sort. Hold them responsible for certain definite preparation, like looking up unusual words in the dictionary, keeping an outline of the story, and noting the characters. With high-school students much more individual work should be undertaken. Results of study and investigation should be recorded in notebooks, which should be examined at stated times to find the improvement in the mechanical features of such work and the growth of the student in appre- ciation. When literature is recognized to be as serious a 100 TEACHING LITERATURE study as geometry or history, there will be greater effort on the part of the class to achieve distinction, and less “play- ing with the classics.” Whittier's life and surroundings. A Whittier atmosphere should be created. This can be done, first of all, by the use of pictures. Then, in taking up the life of the poet, have the students outline the facts from a history of American lit- erature, and give the main points in “one-minute talks.” Or, draw out by questions the most dramatic or the most vitally important moments of his life; as — A friend of Whittier's father brought two books in his saddle- bags, when he stayed all night at the Whittier home. To John he said: “I have something to show thee; I think thee will like the book.” It was a copy of Burns's Poems. The boy devoured it. When the old man left, he said: “Thee likes the book, John? Thee may keep it till I come back this way.” (Whittier's introduction to poetry.) When John was seventeen years old, his sister sent a poem of his to the Newburyport Free Press, edited by William Lloyd Garrison, then a youth himself, - later the great abolition leader. Whittier was helping his father mend a wall, when a passerby on horseback threw the paper to the young man. Imagine his feeling when he read his first poem in “The Poet's Corner”! Imagine the later in- terview when Garrison sought out the farm boy and pleaded with his father to give him a chance! In 1833, when Whittier came out boldly for abolition, he threw away all chances for a political career. He was regarded much as a violent anarchist is to-day. Later in life, he gave the follow- ing counsel to a boy: “My lad, if thou wouldst win success, join thyself to some unpopular but noble cause.” In 1838 he was mobbed in Philadelphia; Pennsylvania Hall was burned to the ground, - all because he was editor of The Pennsylvania Freeman. On December 18, 1865, when Whittier sat in silence in the Friends' Meeting-House at Amesbury, the bells pealed out the message that the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery had been passed. He came home and recited part of a poem. “It wrote itself, or sang THE METRICAL TALE 101 itself as the bells rang,” he wrote to Lucy Larcom. [From Laus Deo, stanzas 1, 2, 3, 9, 10 may well be read.] There is much in the biography of Whittier to encourage the country boy. Subjects of Whittier's poems. The question, “What would such a man be most likely to write about?” brought a quick response. “Abolition,” said one; “The country,” came from another; “Simple folks,” said a third; “Kinds of life in New England,” suggested another; “He was religious,” spoke up a boy in the rear; “And if he did not marry, he would like other people's children!” said a little girl up front. Before we started the poem, they were invited to prove their statements. By the time we were through the discus- sion there was an outline on the board, much as follows: — Country Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . The Barefoot Boy; The Corn Song. Simple Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maud Muller. Childhood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In School-Days. Fisher folk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Skipper Ireson's Ride. Patriotism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Frielchie; The Pipes of Lucknow. Abolition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laus Deo. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Eternal Goodness. Death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Telling the Bees. Research in Snow-Bound: A Sample Lesson “We are going to do some good work on Snow-Bound,” is the opening remark. “Let each student take out three sheets of theme paper. At the top of the first print Outline of Poem ; on the second, Dictionary Work ; on the third, Conno- tation. Out in the margins we will write the dates of assign- ments, and we will run the work separately on each sheet.” The class prepares the headings for three kinds of outside work for which they are responsible. Then come further directions: “I shall dictate the words each day; you will choose your own expressions for connota- tion and write down beside them briefly the things they made you think about, when reading. I have a fourth bit of I02 TEACHING LITERATURE original work at which I want each of you to have a chance. In college the students prepare original theses. Now, I pro- pose that you work out a little thesis on Snow-Bound. – How many of you would like to see which animals, flowers, and trees Whittier calls by name? In that way we can see how he deals with nature.” Up come a number of hands. “How many would like to hunt for Whittier's thoughts upon important subjects?” . . . More hands. “How many would like to study local color by gathering up all the old customs and quaint doings?” . . . More hands. Each student now has a subject for a little thesis," self- chosen, and therefore more interesting to him than if his teacher had assigned it. . “Keep on this fourth sheet of paper a list of points for your thesis, as they come up, writing down the number of the line. When the sheet is filled, take another. Keep the four kinds of work separate.” We then discuss the principle of a card catalogue and the advantages it has over the old- style scrapbook, where material was placed heterogeneously. When the Snow-Bound work is over, each student has a list of four hundred and eighteen new words defined; a paper of his individual connotations, readily showing his fertility of mind; a synopsis of the poem by sections; and this little thesis. Great pride is taken in keeping the papers as nice as possible; for all work is filed away in loose-leaf covers, so that improvement can be noted. The following samples of stu- dents’ work show that the pupils themselves can bring out the points of excellence as well as the average teacher. Samples of pupils’ work. Teachers may be interested in some of these outlines and reports as they were handed in at the end of the work in Snow-Bound : — 1 The meaning of thesis is explained ; the pupil is told how he should gather his data day by day, from the reading, and at the end draw his own conclusions about the author, basing these on his own notes. THE METRICAL TALE 103 A Pupil’s Synopsis : — Lines Lines 1- 18. Omens of the storm. 378–391. The elder sister; her death. 19– 30. Chores. 392–437. The younger sister; her 31–40. Coming of the Snow. death. 41–65. Transformation in the 438-479. The schoolmaster. morning. 480–509. His power. 66–92. Digging out 510–545. The guest. 93–115. Solitude. 546–462. Her strange wanderings. 116–142. Evening by the fire. 563–589. Let us not judge! 143–154. Moonlight on the Snow. 590–613. Breaking up for the night. 155–174. Around the fire. 614–628. Getting to sleep. 175–211. Reminiscence; immortality. 629–656. Cavalcade in the morning 211–255. The father's tales. to break roads. 256–283. The mother's tales of girl- 657–673. The doctor's call for the hood. mother to nurse. - 284–306. The mother's tales from 674–714. Spending a week snow- reading. bound. 307–349. The uncle’s stories of 715–739. Closing the Book of Mem- woodcraft. Ory. - 350–377. The aunt's stories of her 740–759. May others enjoy this girlhood. reminiscence! A Pupil’s Elementary Thesis : — In Snow-Bound Whittier mentions many animals. These are cows, horses, cattle, cock, oxen, sheep, house-dog, cat, tiger, bees, moose, hake, hawks, loon, trout, ducks, wild geese, porpoise, ram, sparrow, crane, teal, eagle, pigeon, partridge, mink, woodchuck, muskrat, and squirrel. Eight trees are mentioned: hemlocks, cypress trees, oaks, nuts, shagbarks, apple trees (by reference to apple-bees), palms, and olives. He also speaks of plants, like herd's grass, corn, beans, clover, huckleberries, aloe, hare- bells, violets, amaranths, lilies, and briar roses. Most of these are animals, trees, and flowers found in New England country. A Pupil’s Report on Local Color: — Lines Lines 10. Homespun clothes. 227. Trapping. 61. Cocked hat. 233. Village dance. 70. Buskins. 248. Tales of witchcraft. 120–131. Making the hearth-fire. 257. ISKnitting stockings. 136. Crane. 258. Indian raids. 156. Sitting around the fire. 316. Woodcraft. 170–174. Cider and nuts. 828. Little travel. 213. Riddles. 350. Unmarried women without oc- 214. Saying “pieces.” cupation. 104 TEACHING LITERATURE 361. Huskings and apple-bees. 595. Nine-o'clock bedtime. 362. Sleigh-rides. 601. Covering fire. 395. Motley-braided mat. 621. Snow falling on sleepers. 455. Students peddling. 634. Ox-carts breaking road. 458–459. School-teachers boarding 664. Nursing neighbors. around. 676. Almanac. 462. Rough country parties. Blind 677–678. Few books. man's buff, whirling plate, for- 679. Novels forbidden. feits. 689–707. Country newspaper. 592. Bull's-eye watch. Whittier's Ideas — a Pupil’s Report : — I. How we miss the dead (lines 179–199); II. Immortality (200–211); III. Memories of the dead (404–437); IV. Call to young teachers to arouse young people for freedom (481–509); V. Appeal not to judge others (562–589); VI. The brotherhood of religions (668–673); VII. Conditions after the Civil War (485-509); VIII. Value of remembrance (740–759). Connotation: — Line 29. Helmet — knights of the Middle Ages; Idylls of the King; picture of Sir Galahad; tournaments, Ivanhoe. Line 55. Domes and towers — St. Peter's at Rome; Capitol; Tower of Babel; Eiffel Tower. - Line 77. Cave — Mammoth Cave; Luray Cave; a book called Cudjo's Cave. These items, taken at random from pupils’ notebooks, show how boys’ and girls’ minds become active in reading, if encouraged. The words had been discussed during the read- ing of the poem in class and had made the period surprisingly interesting. The poem itself became so much more than mere words. This added meaning is a kind of effulgence that surrounds words. Some glow with it; and the educated man and woman enjoy the full content of the word, while the half- educated merely understand. Let us train our boys and girls to see the “color of words” and to smell “the perfume of syllables,” of which Lafcadio Hearn speaks. That is one of the delights of literature. Training in connotation will do wonders in developing appreciation. THE METRICAL TALE 105 The lesson period: Suggestions. In the lesson period ask a few questions before reading the poem: – What have we read? What do we take to-day? etc. — Then call for rapid reports on the thesis, after which continue the reading of the poem. During the reading, a few details about the characters in the Snow-Bound farmhouse add to the zest of the poem. The father died when Whittier was twenty-three; the mo- ther lived long. Uncle Moses Whittier, the father's younger brother (unmarried), and the unmarried aunt lived with them. The brother is Matthew. The elder sister is Mary, who sent off the first poem; the younger sister later kept house. The district schoolmaster boarded with them. Harriet Livermore, daughter of Judge Livermore of New Hampshire, boarded at Rocks Village, two miles away. In the poem she is the “half-welcome guest.” The lesson should consist of study of the poem, not study about it. From the outline or synopsis, that the pupils make for themselves, it is easy for them to pick out the purely nar- rative portions; the purely descriptive; and the lyrical which voice personal opinion and feeling. The narrative-lyric na- ture of the poem is readily seen. The meaning of the word idyl is better understood. Over four hundred words should be discussed and thoroughly ground into the vocabulary of the pupil. Allusions must be explained. Draw the meanings from the class, if possible, instead of telling them yourself. Poetry is meant, primarily, to be read aloud; therefore, read it yourself — and have pupils read it — with full expres- sion. Call for explanation, as you proceed. Let pupils memorize the parts that appeal to them. Let them discover the qualities of style for themselves. Lead them to visualize the portraits and the scenes and to understand the other passages. Since they have taught themselves largely by in- vestigation and thought in class, they will lay aside the book 106 TEACHING LITERATURE with both understanding and respect. Such a combination makes for the best appreciation. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR WITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. The following books furnish excellent bio- graphical material: * Carpenter: John Greenleaf Whittier (American Men of Letters Series); Claflin: Personal Recollections of John Greenleaf Whittier; Fields: Whittier : Notes on his Life and his Friendships; Pickard: Life and Letters of John Greenleaf Whittier (2 vols.). Illustrative Material. To illustrate Whittier's life, pictures like the following are good: Perry Pictures: numbers 25, 26, 27, 27b, 28, 29. Critical Material. For a criticism of the poet’s work, the following books will prove stimulating: Lowell: A Fable for Critics, lines 242– 803 (elementary); Pattee: A History of American Literature (pp. 833– 44); Richardson: American Literature (pp. 173–86); Stedman: Poets of America (pp. 95-133); Trent: A History of American Literature (pp. 408–19); Wendell: A Literary History of America (pp. 358–70). (2) BURNs's “THE COTTER’s SATURDAY NIGHT” Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. Is it not a pity that the sober, devout home of the past is giving way before the hurry of modern life! In reading Burns's The Cotter’s Saturday Night with a class, bring out the scenes as Burns depicts them, with such earnestness that the children will be impressed with the value of home life. The problem of the dialect poem. With a poem like this, the first duty is to understand the lines. It is often well to have some preliminary discussion of Scotch words, customs, dress, country, etc. If a class plunges right into the reading, it is like taking up a foreign classic. It is translation, not reading of literature. No teacher has the right to inflict on the young mind, at least in literature classes, a prosy step- by-step explanation of words. Sometime or other, boys and girls must become acquainted with the most common words in Scottish literature. Acquir- ing these words can be made a task or it can be so enlivened THE METRICAL TALE 107 that children hardly know that they are learning. If they have the printed page before them, and the teacher reads the Scotch words carefully, giving them the slight turn in vowel sound, or the omitted ending, that suggests their Eng- lish equivalent, children themselves will catch the meanings of many of the words. The customs described should be talked over, and the ideals of the people discussed. The Approach: A Sample Lesson With books closed, we begin a general talk: — “Where is Scotland? . . . Have you ever seen a Scotch- man? . . . A bagpiper! . . . How was he dressed? . . . You have read a book about Scotch life? . . . So the people form clans. How do you recognize these? . . . What is the mean- ing of tartan? . . . Are the people strong? . . . Why do moun- tains make people strong? . . . How did these clans feel to- ward one another? . . . Good! you have read Scott's Lady of the Lake and Stevenson’s Kidnapped 1 Scotch moors! What are they? . . . Yes, it is wonderful scenery. Now, how do Highlanders and Lowlanders differ from the English people in the south? . . . How in speech? . . . How in cus- toms?... So you have come across Scotch words? You know a Scotchman! Can you tell us some Scotch words he uses? Let us put them on the board. John, will you be our secretary?” The children now eagerly contribute all the Scotch words they have ever heard: — - Braes, bonny, sae, fu', mon, bairns, hame, blaw, frae, tak, amang, e'e, braw, guid, auld, lang, aft, wha, ken, nae, Sair, cannie, hae, wad, gie, oursels, cauld, stane, ca', mickle, drap. They talk about the bagpipers, the Sword dances, clans, bare knees, tartans, minstrels, moors, firths, Trossachs, kil- ties, sheep dogs, deerhounds, bluebells, the thistle, the 108 TEACHING LITERATURE heather, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Scotch songs, and Sir Walter. They are ready for much more of Scotland! Burns and the poem. Burns was twenty-six years old, and living on a farm in Mossgiel, when he wrote The Cotter’s Saturday Night. His brother Gilbert said: “He [Burns] frequently remarked that there was something peculiarly venerable in the phrase, ‘Let us worship God,” used by the sober head of a family introducing family worship.” In the Burns family, Robert used to conduct the service himself. Throughout the poem one is impressed with his familiarity with the Bible, Gray’s Elegy, Goldsmith's Deserted Village, old hymn tunes, Milton, Pope, and Scotch history. Dictionary work. In class work on The Cotter’s Saturday Night the following words demand comment: — Mercenary, meed, lays, sequestered, guileless, Sugh, pleugh, craws, moil, mattocks, cot, stacher, flichterin', ingle, carking, belyve, tentie, neebor, penny-fee, Spiers, uncos, gars, younkers, eydent, jauk, convoy, hafflins, rake, ben, strappan, blythe, kye, bate, laithfu', lave, thorn, dissembling, rath, halesome, parritch, Scotia, sowpe, hawkie, yont, hallan, chows, cood, weel-hained, kebbuck, fell, towmond, sin, lint, bell, sire, ha', lyart, haffets, wale, beets, progeny, plaint, Seraphic, seer, precept, Sage, Patmos, pomp, pageant, pompous, Sacerdotal, stole, haply, youngling, proffer, certes, lordling, cumbrous, contagion, coro- met, Wallace. Thought-provoking questions. The following questions may prove stimulating: — What does the quotation from Gray at the beginning tell you about Burns's purpose? How does Burns state this purpose? The cotter is a ten- ant of a small cottage, or cot, attached to a farm. Describe the close of a November day. What does the welcome tell you about the home-life? How do the young people spend the time? What do the parents do? Why do you think that is good advice? Who comes? What does the mother notice, and how does she feel about it? What do you think of the young man? How does Burns feel about a man who would deliberately make a girl care for him and then throw her over? How should all boys and men regard such a person? How should young men protect girlhood? How should a young girl protect herself? Describe the supper. Describe the family worship. Are you as familiar with the Bible as Burns was? Who was the royal bard? THE METRICAL TALE 109 Who was banished to Patmos? How do prayer, the Bible, and hymns help us? Picture the scene after the young people leave. What does Burns think of class distinction? What is the poetical name for Scotland? For other countries? What is the best wish he can make for Scotland? Why is luxury a contagion? How would a populace stand a wall of fire 9 Describe it in the light of recent wars. How did luxury affect Rome? Who was Wil- liam Wallace? Why do the patriot and the patriot-bard combine to inspire a country? What influence does a poet exert over a country? Prove your point. Compare this picture of home life with life as you know it. Which is better? What effect would such home life have on young people? Why must we guard our homes as we would ourselves? Pick out the stanzas that you like best. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. For the life of Burns, the following are good: Shairp, J. C.: Robert Burns (English Men of Letters Series) and Blackie, J. S.: Life of Burns (Great Writers Series). Illustrative Material. To illustrate his life and poems, the following are recommended: Perry Pictures: Burns and his Home, 81, 82; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Set of nine views from Ayr; set of three views from Dumfries; Highland Mary’s Grave, 5108. Correlated Reading. As additional reading, we suggest Tam o' Shanter as a contrast to the poem just studied, and several of the short poems, as Highland Mary, To a Mouse, To a Daisy, My louve's like a red red rose, etc. Critical Material. For critical comment on Burns and his work, teachers should know Carlyle’s Essay on Burns. Portions can be se- lected for pupils’ reference reading. (3) LONGFELLOw’s “THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP” “Let us develop the brain,” said a great American orator, “civilize the heart, and give wings to the imagination.” If teachers will bear in mind the mental, spiritual, and emotional appeal of every classic, and will try to touch in a definite way the brain, heart, and imagination of the child, a greater number of pupils will lay down their literature texts with a deeper, more genuine liking for poetry. The life of the author. Longfellow’s life easily spanned the middle of the nineteenth century, for he was born at Port- II.0 TEACHING LITERATURE land, Maine, February 27, 1807, and died at Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 24, 1882. It fell into three stages: a period of preparation (1807–29), including college work and over a year abroad studying languages; a period of develop- ment (1829–43), when he taught at Bowdoin College, mar- ried, went abroad again, and later held the chair of literature at Harvard; and a period of achievement (1843–82), when he finally gave all his time to writing. Many facts in the poet’s life impress boys and girls. They appreciate his long line of Harvard ancestry on the father's side, and the descent from John Alden and Priscilla on the mother's. It interests them to know that at Bowdoin he and Hawthorne were classmates. They like his perseverance in working up a practical knowledge of European languages by studying abroad. Imagine the young professor-to-be spend- ing eight months in Paris; a year in Spain, where he met Irv ing; and six months in Germany. His work in compiling and editing textbooks for his classes to use in the study of literature shows how handicapped teachers were eighty years ago. It is interesting to know that he lived and worked in Craigie House, Washington's headquarters in Cam- bridge. School-children love to hear how his seventy-fifth birthday (1882) was celebrated in the schools of the country by their own fathers and mothers. His beautiful, though sad, domestic life fascinates children, who come to regard him as their own poet; and his “Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra, and Edith with golden hair” as their friends. Learning to know the poet. “What was Longfellow's equipment?” we ask. Here it is, summed up as the boys and girls finally arrange it: — 1. Natural love for language — shown in early choice of letters as his career. 2. Knowledge of words — careful study of language. THE METRICAL TALE 111 8. Ideas, furnished by wide reading in English and other litera- tures. 4. Big heart, feeling — “The Household Poet.” 5. Natural aptitude for rhythm. The most popular short poems of the poet might well be read outside, while the longer poem is being studied in class. For such reading the following list is good: — Eaccelsior. The Day is Done. - Maidenhood. The Fiftieth Birthday of Agassiz. Paul Revere’s Ride. The Old Clock on the Stairs. The Arrow and the Song. The Psalm of Life. The Bridge. The Rainy Day. The Builders. The Skeleton in Armor. The Children. The Village Blacksmith. The Children’s Hour. The Wreck of the Hesperus. From these poems it is not hard to see the poet’s simplicity, sincerity, story-telling art, descriptive power, love of chil- dren, wide reading, and ennobling of the commonplace. It is easy to understand how he came to be called “Laureate of the common human heart.” The approach to the poem. Longfellow wrote The Build- ing of the Ship in 1849, when he was forty-two years old. It was when he lived in Portland as a small boy, however, that he gathered his strong impressions of the sea and ships and Sailors. - Let us approach the poem through its title. “What is a ship? . . . Can you name different kinds?” Brig, freighter, sloop, schooner, tug, ferryboat, torpedo-boat, battle-ship, ocean greyhound, frigate are contributed in the lively discussion. Then a boy who had been reading pirate stories adds the last, galleon. “We think of the ship, then,” the teacher continues, “as a vessel that sails the sea. Why is the building of a ship im- portant?” “Human life on board,” suggests the class, “no land in 112 TEACHING LITERATURE sight . . . storms . . . high winds . . . enemies.” One boy speaks of the Titanic disaster; another, of other wrecks and of meeting a derelict, or the hulk of a ruined vessel. So they decide that it is very important to build the ship “just right,” of right materials, right construction, and not in too much of a hurry. Appreciation through Discussion: A Sample Lesson Longfellow's poem, The Building of the Ship, is an excel- lent study in symbolism. The poem can be related (1) to the problem of living, (2) to the pupils’ background of in- formation, and (3) to the history of our country. In the following class discussion the lines for reading are given at the beginning of each section of the poem. Lines 1–16: The order and the promise. “Why is the shipbuilder addressed as Master?” begins the teacher. “For what is straight used? Why are the adjectives stanch, strong, and goodly well-chosen? How does the use of w's in the fourth line add to the melody? Note the personi- fication. Why was the master delighted with the order? Which two lines sum up the artist’s attitude toward his work? Of what does the Master's quiet smile remind the poet? Memorize the lines: — For his heart was in his work, and the heart Giveth grace unto every Art.” Lines 17–50: The model of the ship. “Why was it necessary for the shipbuilder to have a model? Does the inventor have an inward thought of his in- vention?” she asks. “He makes a model of it,” replies one; “and takes it to Washington and gets a patent.” “Then, those inward thoughts may be worth a good deal; it pays to learn to think and to imagine. In making his model, the poet says he used nicest skill; how is nicest used THE METRICAL TALE II3 here? What is the ordinary meaning? How does the poet use the words skill and art? One, the technique, or actual doing; the other the theory, or knowing how to do? Does an architect make a model, or plan? In writing a com- position do you make a plan, or outline? How did the ship- builder learn from others? He thought of the various ships that were built of yore. “Pretend that you are a shipbuilder. What ships would you think off — The Argo, in which the Argonauts sailed for the Golden Fleece? . . . The triremes of ancient Greece. . . . The Spanish Armada. . . . Columbus's Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. . . . Magellan’s ship that circumnavigated the globe. . . . The Viking ships of old. . . . Paul Jones's Bon Homme Richard. . . The Constitution.J. . . The Merrimac. ... The Monitor. . . . Old Ironsides.. . . The Maine. . . . The Titanic. . . . The Lusitania. Read Holmes's Old Iron- sides. How would the ship, Great Harry, compare with a modern ship? How does the poet compare it to a castle? Why did not the master follow the plan of the Great Harry? Describe the ship. Note the use of adjectives: beautiful, gallant, broad, sloping, docile. What three things are com- bined? . . . Freight, speed, and beauty. Good l’’ Lines 51–127: In the shipyard. “Which two lines does the poet repeat from the opening of the poem? Do they have a purpose? What sorts of tim- ber were gathered in the yard? What regions does the poet designate? What do you know about varieties of timber and their uses? Why is the ship called a wooden wall? Do you remember how the oracle at Delphi told the Athenians, dur- ing the Peloponnesian War, ‘to take to the wooden walls’? Why are the shadows long and level? Who builds this airy argosy 2 “Contrast the old Master and the fiery youth. What re- lation exists between them? Explain the significance of heir 114 TEACHING LITERATURE of his deacterity, heir of his house, and his daughter's hand. What is the connection? Why does the old man emphasize such points as lay Square, follow plan, choose with care, be- ware of the unsound 9 Does the building of a ship out of pine from Maine to Georgia, and the calling her Union, suggest anything the poet might have in mind? Does it pay to build square, and strong, and sound in all our affairs? Why? De- scribe the young girl as she appears at her father's door. Note how the poet constantly uses comparison to things of the sea. To what does he now compare the young girl? Read the poem, Maidenhood. To what the young man? What spurs the young man to do his best? The story, then, has opened with the scene, a shipyard; the characters, a merchant, a master shipbuilder, his ap- prentice, and his daughter; and the presenting of a situation about which the plot is built.” Lines 128–143: The task begun. “Why noble task? Picture the keel of a ship 2 We always begin with general outlines first, and then narrow down to details.” Lines 144–175: The evening rest. “Describe the father, daughter, and lover on the porch at evening? What might the father tell of, in his tales? [Wrecks; pirates; ships that never came back; the sailor's life; foreign lands.] Do these make you think of Captain Kidd and the Buccaneers? What is the charm of foreign lands? Which lands have greatest charm to you? What lands charmed Peary and Captain Scott? How did the tales affect the maiden? Why did the poet liken the sea to Death?’” Lines 176—257: Building the ship. “Describe the skeleton ship. Do you remember the Phantom Ship in Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner 9 How was black tar to be used? How does the poet appeal to sight, THE METRICAL TALE I15. smell, and hearing? Why was it good for the men to sing at their work? Why does the poet do well in calling the rudder a thought; the anchor, a giant hand? Describe the image at the bows. Who was the model? Who are spoken of as classic models? What do the names, Nymph, Goddess, Naiad, mean to you? “Why lordly pines, grand, majestic pines? Captive kings? Trace out the personification of pines. What floats at the mast-head? How will that flag be regarded by the wanderer in a foreign land? Ah! When the wanderer, lonely, friendless, In foreign harbors shall behold That flag unrolled, *T will be as a friendly hand Stretched out from his native land, Filling his heart with memories, sweet and endless.” Lines 258–284: Preparations for the bridal of ship and sea. “Who comes in splendor to view the union of the ship and the sea? What are all the splendors in which the sun is dight? In this union which stands for strength? Which for beauty? How does the poet personify the ocean? Note old, strong, uncontrolled, restless, beating heart, beard of snow, im- patient. What are the natural explanations of these poetic expressions? Describe the bride as the poet sees her. What are the snow-white signals 2 ” Lines 285–339: Bridal of the youth and maid. “Describe the wedding service. How is each one affected? Why is this pastor fitted to give advice? How does the poet compare the sailor's heart to a great ocean? Which words bring out such a comparison P” Lines 340–363: Launching the ship. “Have you read about, or seen, the launching of a ship? How was this ship launched? How does the poet make you See the ship move? Watch the climax. How does the crowd bid “Godspeed’ to the ship? How does the ocean receive it?” 116 TEACHING LITERATURE Lines 364–398: God speed ship ! wife 1 nation / “Note how the poet uses the idea of launch in three dif- ferent connections: the literal being the launching of the Ship; the symbolic, the launching of husband and wife on the matrimonial sea; and the launching of a Ship of State on the political sea. What qualities does the poet commend to the young wife? Would these prevail over the angry wave and gust in the average life? Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State, Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all its hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate! “Why is humanity hanging breathless on the fate of our American Ship of State? Has liberty been the dream of the older nations? Who helped form the Union? Think of those trying days after the Revolutionary War, when the Constitution (part of the Ship of State) was formed! Do you see George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and the other brave, wise men who helped build this Good Ship Union?” The Ship of State. In 1849, when the poem was published, our country was entering into the fearful storm that re- sulted in war. All the nations of Europe were watching the Ship of State sail the untraveled main of popular liberty. Could the brave, far-sighted Captain steer his craft between the Scylla and Charybdis of States’ rights and slavery? The last stanza struck fire in many hearts and was quoted the length of the land. The story is told that Noah Brooks, one day finding Lincoln reading the lines, began with Longfellow’s descrip- tion of the launching of the ship and repeated the poem to the end. As Lincoln listened to the last lines, his eyes filled with tears. How the good ship Union nearly went down on THE METRICAL TALE 117 the rocks of internal strife, no one knew better than the Captain. What must these stirring lines have meant to him! HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. See the list at the end of Chapter II; page 47. Illustrative Material : Pictures like the following should be used to illustrate the poem: Perry Pictures: Wreck of the Fishing Schooner, Gloucester, 1440; Surf at Nahant, Massachusetts, 1441; A Dry-dock, 195; and The Constitution, 199. Critical Material. See the list of readings given on page 47. Correlated Reading. Additional readings to throw light on the poem are: Bryant: Planting of the Apple Tree; Byron: Ocean (Childe Harold, canto Iv, CLXXVIII-CLxxxiv); Kipling: The Ship that Found Herself (in The Day's Work); and Whitman: O Captain! My Captain / (4) Low ELL’s “THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL” The taste for more. If a poem is difficult, it is well to lead up to it by presenting some of the easier work of the poet. In the case of Lowell, for instance, pupils will enjoy The Courtin', The First Snowfall, and Aladdin before taking up the longer work. These show the poet’s humor, his sympa- thetic understanding, and his grasp on life. They will often arouse a taste for the more difficult Vision of Sir Launfal, the most familiar of Lowell’s writings. The foundation of the poem. The legend in this poem is centuries old. According to tradition, the Holy Grail was the cup out of which Jesus partook of the Last Supper with his disciples. Joseph of Arimathea is supposed to have brought it to England, where it became an object of adora- tion to countless pilgrims. It was required of the keepers of the cup that they be pure in thought, word, and deed. When one of the later guardians of the cup broke the con- dition, it disappeared. After that, a favorite adventure of Knights of the Round Table was to go in search of the lost Holy Grail. Sir Galahad at last found it. I18 TEACHING LITERATURE This story has appealed to poet and romancer down through the ages. Sir Thomas Malory in his Morte d’Arthur gives the tale in quaint prose, not too difficult for young pupils. Tennyson has made the chaste young Knight Gala- had the hero of one of his most exquisite poems, Sir Galahad. How has Lowell made use of this legendary material? We quote his own words: — The plot (if I may give that name to anything so slight) of the following poem is my own, and to serve its purpose, I have enlarged the circle of competition in search of the miraculous cup in such a manner as to include, not only other persons than the heroes of the Round Table, but also a period of time subsequent to the supposed date of King Arthur's reign. Structure and theme. The poem consists of two preludes and two parts. The preludes are nature lyrics; the parts are a narrative in ballad form. The poem is also built upon con- trasts: Prelude I and Part I portray Spring and Youth; Prelude II and Part II, Winter and Old Age. Through the preludes the poet improvises—just as he describes the musi- cian at his instrument, building “a bridge from Dreamland for his lay.” So, too, with Lowell “nearer draws his theme,” until, the prelude ended, he strikes boldly into the tale. The poem shows well the narrative and lyric combined in one selection. - The theme, stated broadly as “What is real charity?” is expressed negatively in Part I: — That is no true alms which the hand can hold, He gives only the worthless gold Who gives from a sense of duty; and positively in Part II: — The Holy Supper is kept, indeed, In whatso we share with another's need; Not what we give, but what we share, For the gift without the giver is bare; Who gives himself with his alms feeds three, Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me. THE METRICAL TALE 119 The background of chivalry. By means of pictures, out- side reading, and class discussion, build up the background of the days of feudalism. Subjects like the following will stimulate the interest of the class: — Duties of the page. Lords and ladies. Duties of the squire. , The lady's token. The accolade. . The Crusades. Vows of knighthood. How sieges were conducted. Location and structure The quest of adventure. of castles. Famous knights: Arthur, Lancelot, Feudalism in England. Percival, Galahad. I(inds of armor; parts. Caparisoned horses. Heraldry. Minstrels. Tournaments. Falconry, etc. The poem in detail: questions. The following questions bring out both the lyrical and the narrative elements in the poem: — Prelude I: Which expressions suggest improvising? How does musician, painter, or writer “warm up to.” his work? Explain auroral flushes, Sinais. How does Lowell prove by specific instance that Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us? How about the beggar, the priest, the grave, the devil's booth 2 How does the poet describe a life of pleasure? What connection with the court fool? What are some of the bubbles people spend their lives in get- ting? — In utter contrast to the costliness of the things of Earth, what are the four grand free gifts? Note how the poet works up to a climax and bridges gracefully over to the next part. June! These lines (82–79) should be memorized either entire or in part. How does life murmur 9 How glisten ? Do you think of the birds, bees, the shine of an insect's wing? What is the flush of life? Why does the buttercup catch the sun in its chalice? Contrast the two birds. – What are the ac- companiments of spring? Note how the poet bridges over from the joy of nature to the joy in the heart. Lines 90–93 are a metaphor worthy of analy- sis. Why did Sir Launfal remember his vow? Part I : What does the introductory stanza tell us about Sir Launfal? Contrast summer and the gloomy castle. Describe the picture of the besieging army of trees. Note the cold seclusion of the proudest hall in the North Country. Might it not be a symbol of the cold pride in the heart of young Sir Launfal? — Bring out in detail the picture of the radiant young knight poised in the archway of the dark castle. How does the poet tell you additional facts about him? About the great age of the castle? — Contrast the castle and the young knight. What characteristics of the castle come out in Sir Launfal when he is tested? — Contrast Sir Launfal and the leper. 120 TEACHING LITERATURE What effect did the leper have on the young knight? How does the poet describe details? – How does the beggar regard the gold tossed in scorn? How can one give to that which is out of sight? - Prelude II: Lowell describes in a letter the occasion that prompted the description of winter. I walked to Watertown over the snow with the new moon before me and a sky exactly like that in Page's evening landscape. Orion was rising behind me, and as I stood on the hill just before you enter the village, the stillness of the fields around me was delicious, broken only by the tinkle of a little brook which runs too swiftly for Frost to catch it. My picture of the brook in Sir Launfal was drawn from it. But why do I send you this description — like the bones of a chicken I had picked? Simply because I was so happy as I stood there and felt so sure of doing something that would justify my friends. Try to open the pupils’ eyes to the beauties of the world about them. Ask questions that inspire observation: – What are the effects of the winter winds? Note the personification in the brook as a builder. Read Hannah Flagg Gould's poem, The Frost. Discuss the architectural terms in the description of the brook. How does ice form? Note the comparison of the forest to a cathedral. Study the differ- ent effects in this winter palace of ice. — In the next passage, figures of speech are worthy of notice. Note the contrast of the outside cold with the Christmas warmth. Compare the picture of the semeschal driving away old Sir Launfal, with the earlier description of Sir Launfal. The characters are reversed. Everything pertaining to a castle — exterior, interior, structure, etc. — absorbs the attention of students. In such words as crypt, arabesque, fret work, winter-palace, Yule-log, semeschal, window-slits, hall-fire, there is a wealth of illus- tration and association. * Part II: What atmosphere does the poet seek to create? How does he regard the river? Winter? Morning? Why is the crow effectively intro- duced? Note how the poet treats setting throughout the poem. – Com- pare Sir Launfal as he is now with the Sir Launfal of Part I. Turn to Part I and trace out the spiritual change in Sir Launfal. How does he now regard great possession, pomp, show? What sign does he now wear? How did he get it? — How does the old man dream? Do we ever dream in that way? What does he see in his “mind's eye”? Can you identify the figures of speech in barbed air, necklace of grass, etc.? THE METRICAL TALE 121 How is Sir Launfal’s musing interrupted? Is the description of the leper over-drawn? Why did the leper cower? Explain the reason for the desolate horror of his disease. — How does Sir Launfal greet the leper? Account for the difference in treatment. How are we prone to judge by externals? Cite various cases. – What miracle takes place? What does it suggest? Who is the leper? How does the miracle reach its climax? — Am I my brother's keeper? [Children can be led to see the good in others without regard for pride of birth, possessions, culture, or magnetism.] Note how the poet de- scribes by giving the effect. When does the knight find the cup at last? Not giving, but sharing with another! How can we help one another at home? In school? On the street? [Let the teacher draw practical applica- tions from the students, rather than preach the moral.] Proof is here that this whole tale was lived out in a single dream. What is the stronger mail 9 What are the results of Sir Launfal’s change of heart? How is the castle changed? How does point of view influence environment? Contrast this open castle with the exclusive, haughty pile that gloomed by itself apart. Summer, joy, youth crept joyfully in; and rich and poor, knight and serf, were welcome at the hall. A beautiful lesson of kindliness is taught in this story of a dream, or vision. Boys and girls will grasp the deeper meaning of the poem, which grows dearer with repeated study. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. Any of the following books are helpful: *Greenslet: James Russell Lowell, His Life and Works (American Men of Letters Series); *Hale: Lowell and His Friends; Howells: Liter- ary Friends and Acquaintances; and Scudder: James Russell Lowell, a Biography (2 vols.). Illustrative Material. The following pictures are excellent: The Thompson Company Blue Prints: From the series on Ivanhoe, the twelfth-century castle Coucy Aisne, France, 89e; and the ground plan, 40e; Perry Pictures: Lowell, 45, 46, 47; Watts's Sir Galahad, 940; Heidelberg Castle, 1605; Kenilworth Castle, 1501; The Tower of London, 1484; and Warwick Castle, 1500. Copies of Edwin Abbey’s paintings of the search for the Holy Grail (Boston Public Library) may be described or brought to class. Critical Material. For criticism of Lowell any of the following are within the grasp of a class: Lowell: A Fable for Critics, lines 618–27 (elementary); Pattee: A History of American Literature (pp. 288– 801); Stedman: Poets of America (pp. 304–49); Trent: A History of American Literature (pp. 429–52); and Wendell: A Literary History of America (pp. 393–407). - 122 - TEACHING LITERATURE Correlated Reading. Other poems to read in connection with the work on The Vision of Sir Lawnfal are Tennyson’s Sir Galahad and The Holy Grail. Malory’s Morte d'Arthur (in school edition), and Kipling’s Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Fairies will interest children in the local color of these early days. CHAPTER V THE METRICAL ROMANCE Metrical Romances (which in due time pass into Prose Romances); the old life of men resuscitated for us; it is a mighty word! Not as dead tradition, but as a palpable presence, the past stood before us. There they were, the rugged old fighting men: in their doughty simplicity and strength, with their heartiness, their healthiness, their stout self-help, in their iron basnets, leather jerkins, jack-boots, in their quaintness of manner and customs; there as they looked and lived. It was like a new-discovered continent in literature. THOMAS CARLYLE. The romantic movement. In literary history, the roman- tic movement is a re-assertion of imagination and sentiment in opposition to the formality of the classic tendency. You may remember that the romance languages — the French and Italian, for instance – are based upon the ancient Roman tongue and, in the Middle Ages, teemed with tales of chivalry, adventure, and love. These romances spread over into England, were im- mensely popular for a time, and then died out. An era of classicism followed, and reached a climax in Pope and his followers. But in 1798 a reaction came in favor of medi- aeval models. Chivalry, wonderful happenings, suggestive and picturesque nature, the natural feelings, and love of adventure again asserted themselves as forces in literature. Bishop Percy dug into the past and resurrected the ballad. Scott, Byron, and Coleridge breathed into their tales the spirit of the romantic that loved to linger with the far-off, the strange, and the unfamiliar. In the metrical romance, we may expect to find knights and ladies adventuring, giants, dwarfs, battles, tourna- ments, wizards, enchanters, castles, and all the machinery that goes with romanticism. The setting is picturesque; the characters are many; the plot is rambling. 124 TEACHING LITERATURE Metrical romances in England. Spenser's Faerie Queene, the greatest of English metrical romances, is too difficult for elementary-school pupils, but well repays study by older pupils; and with it should be read Lowell’s sonnet On Reading Spenser again, for Spenser was “the poet’s poet.” Book I, or even only canto I of the book, will prove worth while. Many of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (especially The Knight’s Tale) and Scott’s Lady of the Lake, Marmion, and The Lay of the Last Minstrel are good reading. Many of Byron's tales also are metrical romances. Tennyson’s Idylls of the King is romantic in theme, but largely epic in manner. His Princess is romantic in both. In studying these metrical romances, the class should dis- cuss the scene; the place and time; the characters, with the chief part each plays; and the events of the story. Study of Tennyson’s Princess. Did you ever make up a tale around the camp-fire, each one contributing his portion to the whole? Such a round-robin idea of tale-telling was in Tennyson’s mind when he wrote The Princess. The seven college boys, Lilia, and Aunt Elizabeth give a spicy setting to the whole. The scene is Vivien Place; the attraction is Lilia, the pretty daughter of their host; the tale-tellers are college boys visiting one of their number. The theme of the story they tell is woman’s place in the scheme of things. It shows how a fantastic “New Woman,” the Princess, came back to a sane view of human love and relationship. In The Princess, Tennyson presents a romantic tale of nine parts: a prologue introducing the group of English people outdoors; seven stages in the actual tale, each con- tributed by a different college boy; and a conclusion. Be- tween the parts are sung beautiful little songs, which reflect the stages in the development of the character and ideals of the Princess herself. With a delightful playfulness the poet, in mock-heroic but with tender touch, pictures the THE METRICAL ROMANCE I25 fantastic effort of the Princess Ida to solve the struggle of the sexes. * - ". . . . . .---------...- Maybe wildest dreams Are but the needful preludes of the truth. The poem is full of thought much beyond the comprehen- sion of a young mind. Nevertheless, the romantic story with its clash of arms, its disguises, its wealth of color, can be made interesting. The Prince, Cyril, and Florian — jolly good friends; the Princess Ida and her two helpers, acrid Lady Blanche and tender Lady Psyche; the young girl Melissa and the little child of Lady Psyche; the two gruff old fathers; the blustering brother Arac — they stand out as real in this far-off romance. As might be expected, love solves the Princess's problem, though not in the fashion of that olden day. Princess Ida finds a new solution for “women’s rights,” and for man's Status, too: — The woman’s cause is man’s: they rise or sink Together, dwarf'd or godlike, bond or free. . . . For woman is not undevelopt man, But diverse: could we make her as the man, Sweet Love were slain: his dearest bond is this, Not like to like, but like in difference. Yet in the long years liker must they grow; The man be more of woman, she of man; He gain in sweetness and in moral height. . . . Till at the last she set herself to man, Like perfect music unto noble words. . . . Self-reverent each, and reverencing each, Distinct in individualities, But like each other ev’n in those who love. Then comes a statelier Eden back to men. HELPFUL READINGS Biographical Material. References for the biography and criticism of Tennyson and Scott are found on pages 151-52 and 133, respectively. Critical Material. Lowell, in his Literary Essays, gives an excellent criticism of Chaucer (vol. III, pp. 291–366), and an essay on Spenser. 126 TEACHING LITERATURE Hazlitt's Collected Works (edited by Waller and Glover, vol. v., pp. 19–44) give a discussion of Chaucer and Spenser. Correlated Reading. As additional readings, we suggest such works as Chaucer: The Clerk’s Tale, The Knight’s Tale, and The Squire's Tale; Longfellow: The Golden Legend; and Scott: Marmion, The Lay of the Last Minstrel. Illustrative Material. To illustrate class work, the following pictures are recommended: Perry Pictures: 94, 94.B. (1) SCOTT's “THE LADY OF THE LAKE” For still the burden of thy minstrelsy Was Knighthood's dauntless deed, and Beauty's matchless eye. Scott: The Lady of the Lake. Setting the scene. From the Trossachs to the East Side of New York is a far cry. Scotch locality is a vague country to the American child. Scotch dialect is not unheard in England; but it is a curious thing to the children of this land. Ancient terms are not the familiars of boisterous boyhood. To interest child readers in a classic, it will pay to clear the way of the underbrush of vague locality, dialect, and unknown diction. Wise teachers, therefore, prepare the ground for appreciation; they put in the minds of the chil- dren certain ideas that may furnish the groundwork upon which, as pedagogy suggests, further knowledge can be raised. “I have so much trouble with The Lady of the Lake,” complained a teacher, “because the children are confused by the strange terms, and I feel that I ought to stop to explain them.” – No wonder children dislike a classic, when the teacher stops en route to explain every unknown term? Such a teacher has a right idea but a wrong method. It would be far better to read through with expressive voice and trust to Providence that the melodious sound of unknown geo- graphical places would arouse an emotional response. In any stirring narrative an interruption by the teacher, ex- cept at logical points, is deadly. Yet the teacher mentioned THE METRICAL ROMANCE 127 was on the trail of a valuable idea: that readers of poetry should be able to visualize it. She wanted the children to follow the stag, to see with their own eyes the lay of the land. How could she have done this and yet kept an unin- terrupted interest in the reading? The Scott Country: A Sample Lesson “How many of you have ever played hare and hounds?” asked a teacher of a large class, mostly boys. Up went a number of hands. There was a rustle of ex- pectancy. “Don’t you like lakes?” she resumed. “I do; and mountains, too.” Thistle-like mountains took form on the board, and banana-shaped lakes spread out in view. “We are going to have here the greatest game of hare and hounds, only it is n’t going to be a hare,” said the teacher. Pupils looked interested; several began copying the crude map. “. . . In this country there are some queer names; for instance, they call a lake a loch and a mountain Ben. The language is Gaelic. It was spoken by the ancient Britons, who were driven by the Romans, and later by the Saxons, up into the wild parts of Scotland. Here we have the High- lands. This is Loch Katrine; here is Loch Achray; and farther on, Loch Vennacher, making a string of lakes. Here is the wildest sort of pass between Loch Katrine and Loch Ach- ray; it is called the Trossachs. Now here is the River Teith. And look at these great mountain peaks: Benvoirlich up here; over here, Uam-var. On the top of Uam-var, what a wonderful view you would have through this valley of the Teith, with Lochs Menteith and Aberfoyle in the distance. Then, if you looked out toward the southwest you would see the mountain Benledi, and below that the Brig of Turk — brig means bridge. Beyond that, farther west, rise 198 TEACHING LITERATURE two big mountains, one on either side of the end of Loch Katrine. These are Ben-an and Ben-venue. What wonder- ful scenery it must be!” As she spoke, she had sketched on the board the places mentioned. “. . . They used to call this country Caledonia. It is a musical name for Scotland, is n’t it? And it was a great country for minstrels, and border fights, and queer customs. Would n’t it be wonderful if one of those old minstrels could rise up and sing again of those days in Scotland, when knights were brave and ladies fair! Sir Walter Scott thought of it so much when he was a boy that, when he grew to be a man, he wrote about it. Listen.” Then in a subdued voice, as if raising the dead minstrel to life by her wish, she read the opening verses of The Lady of the Lake, addressed to the Harp of the North. The chil- dren listened, intent on every word. “And if the old days came to life again, what would be different?” asked the teacher, as she turned from the book. Soon the class was launched into a discussion of Scotch dress, – the plaid and smood, - of customs, methods of fighting, music, etc. Adroitly the teacher brought out the meanings of hard words used in canto I, writing them on the blackboard as they were mentioned:– Falchion, pennons, signet, fay, pibroch, reveille, heather, cairn, linn, moor, mere, copsewood, dingle, knoll, cupola, minaret, pagoda, lady’s bower, shallop, and Orisons. --- When this background of knowledge was prepared, she reverted to the game of hare and hounds. Before the class she held a copy of Landseer's or Bonheur's painting of a stag and presented him as the pursued. Turning to the map, she put her finger on the space north of Uam-var. “This is Glenartney,” she said. “Suppose our stag is here. If you were that stag and a great hunting party pursued you, where would you try to escape?” THE METRICAL ROMANCE 129 Eagerly the boys picked out all possible avenues of es- cape, thereby unconsciously familiarizing themselves with the lay of the land and the geographical phraseology. Soon, the class was divided into two camps: one insisting that the stag escape to the south; the other, to the west. “You said the Trossachs were the wildest place of all,” insisted one little fellow. “That's where I’d want to go!” It was at this point of heated argument that the teacher said: – “Now, sit back and listen. Watch the country here, as I read.” * To an absorbed class she then read the story of the chase as told in the first canto of The Lady of the Lake. The game of the stag and hounds will not soon be forgotten. The boys followed with bated breath and eager eye, as step by step, the trail led from Glenartney to Uam-var, then through Cambus-more, along the Teith past Bochastle, on to Loch Achray, and wound up in the Trossachs between Ben-an and Ben-venue. When the stag escaped down into the blackest depths of the Trossachs, and the noble steed fell back dead, sighs of relief came from several in the class; they had completely and self-satisfyingly visualized the chase as Scott saw it. Furthermore, they were in the mood to visualize more. They were ready for a rapid reading of the canto, from stanza XI to the end. Their eyes were open to the wealth of color in Scottish flora, the pictur- esqueness of the strange girl in the shallop on Loch Kat- rine, the welcome to the island home. It was no hardship to remember such lines as The will to do, the soul to dare, or descriptions like those of the stag, of the view over Loch Katrine, of Ellen in her shallop, and of the strange knight. Structure of the poem. The whole poem of 4956 lines falls into six cantos, each canto like a chapter in a novel. 130 TEACHING LITERATURE The poem opens with an invocation to the Harp of the North and closes with a farewell to the Harp. In each canto are several songs intimately connected with the story. These songs—the best being marked with an asterisk— are as follows: — Canto I: “Soldier, rest, thy warfare o’er.” Canto II: “Not faster yonder rowers’ might.” “Hail to the chief who in triumph advances.” Canto III: “He is gone on the mountain’’ (Coronach).” “The heath this night must be my bed.” “Ave Maria! maiden mild” (Hymn to the Virgin). Canto IV: Ballad, “Alice Brand.” “They bid me sleep, they bid me pray.” Canto VI: “Our vicar still preaches that Peter and Poule” (drinking- song). “Battle of Beal’ an Duine” (Minstrel song).” “And art thou cold and lowly laid” (A lament). “My hawk is tired of perch and hood” (Lay of the Imprisoned Huntsman).” The characters, scenes, and story. Teachers should have an accurate knowledge of the setting and characters of a narrative poem, for it is only out of a fullness of information that they can speak well. It is advisable often to try to group the characters of a story, showing the thread of connection, the contrasts, the type of life reflected in each. The chief characters in this poem are: James V of Scotland, disguised as the knight Fitz-James (Fitz, meaning son of); Douglas, who had helped to raise him, at present outlawed; Ellen, his daughter, loved by Fitz-James, Roderick, and Malcolm Graeme, herself loving the last; Roderick Dhu, cousin of Douglas, and chief of Clan Alpine; Margaret, his mother, and hostess of Ellen's Isle; Malcolm Graeme, Ellen's lover; and Allan Bane, minstrel of Douglas. The scenes are laid in the vicinity of Loch Katrine in the Western Highlands of Perthshire, and at Stirling Castle. The action covers six days, each canto being a day. The descriptions apply to character and life during the six- THE METRICAL ROMANCE 131 teenth century. The historical background is the parti- sanship of the Scotch clans; the theme, one of the adventures of James V of Scotland. The element of disguise, as usual, adds greatly to the interest of the story. The headings of the cantos show Scott’s instinctive feeling for the things boys like: The Chase; The Island; The Gathering; The Prophecy; The Combat; and The Guardroom. Questions for discussion. A poem like this should be thoroughly talked over. The following questions may be stimulating: — Who was Fitz-James? Why did he go about in disguise? What other stories are based on disguises? What kind of man was he? Which of Ellen's lovers do you like best? Why? How do you know that Ellen was high-born? What seem to have been the duties of Allan Bane? What connection had there been between the Douglas and Fitz-James? Why did Fitz-James dis- like Roderick Dhu? Compare Roderick and Malcolm. Describe the cus- tom of the Fiery Cross. What was the Scotch method of warfare? What parts do animals play in the story? Where is Scott's observation of nature shown? Describe Scotch hospitality. Which characters do you like best? Which events interested you most? Which place would you like best to visit? Which three stanzas would you like to memorize? Choose a portion to read aloud. Reading aloud. Good reading is natural reading. It is not ranting, not exaggeration of tone, not affectation of manner. By the inexperienced, these latter are often mis- taken for “ dramatic expression.” Teachers must read poetry over and over again, until they have fully absorbed the meaning, until they unconsciously voice the character or situation. Naturalness, sincerity, and sympathy will give them power to present effectively the content of what they read. Not until teachers have taught themselves to read in this manner, can they expect to train their pupils to read with enjoyment to others. Scott the poet. Scottis the “Great Modern Troubadour.” He has been called, too, the “Magician of the North.” It is true that he has a power often magical in his descriptive 132 TEACHING LITERATURE lines, in his sweep of narrative. He had an unerring sense of all that was poetic in the past history of Scotland. He could revive the days of long ago and people them with liv- ing forms. He loved nature and described with fidelity to detail. He had also strong sympathy for man. His verse sings itself; it has rare lyrical beauty. The wholesome bigness of the ideas, and the spirit of adventure, make him the boys’ and girls’ own poet. He loved people, dogs, horses, a good fight, and a stirring ballad. His was a big soul, - kind heart, brave hand, hospitable eye; never did there live a finer Scottish gentleman. The influence of a classic. It is in the influence of a classic that the power of literature lies. Did men read and forget, of little value would be the reading. When a stirring tale like The Lady of the Lake is studied in class, there should be, as the reading progresses, a miracle enacted in the class- room. Each boy that reads should be the Graeme or the Douglas; each girl, an Ellen on her isle. It was Emerson who said: — It is in the grandest stroke of the poet that we feel most at home. All that Shakespeare says of the king, yonder slip of a boy who reads in the corner feels to be true of himself. How the reader thrills with the sense of clannish loyalty as the Fiery Cross is carried from hand to hand! He feels a throb of sympathy when old Douglas refuses to stand out against the king, yielding loyalty because the king is king. With what quick tingling of the blood does he follow the stag over the heather or watch the combat at the ford! Oh yes, boys — and girls, too — live the scenes, if they are given the chance. What lessons of bravery, kindliness, loyalty, devotion, purity, family honor, can be taught unconsciously in an absorbed reading! - - “The major difficulty with our schools,” says Dr. Suz- Zallo in his Introduction to Dewey's Interest and Effort, “is THE METRICAL ROMANCE 133 that they have not adequately enlisted the interests and ener- gies of children in school work. Good teaching, the teaching of the future, will make school life vital to youth.” And it is just this that must be done with every classic studied: it must be made vital to youth. This can be done (1) by clearing the atmosphere of unknown words, obsolete terms, strange geographical names, etc.; (2) by furnishing the necessary background of knowledge for understanding the details of the story; and (3) by dwelling on events, scenes, and characters as if they were real happenings, places, and people. By doing these things you will make The Lady of the Lake “a ripping good tale.” What better compliment could you have in the vernacular of a fifteen- year-old boy? HELPFUL READINGS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. For the story of Scott’s life, two excellent books are: Hutton: Sir Walter Scott (English Men of Letters Series): and Lockhart: The Life of Sir Walter Scott (2 vols., especially vol. 1, pp. 198–200). Illustrative Material. To illustrate the work in Scott, the following penny pictures are excellent: Brown’s Famous Pictures: In the High- lands, 1217; Perry Pictures: Scott, 85, 86; Landseer's Monarch of the Glen, 913; Stag at Bay, 917; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: series of twenty-five on The Lady of the Lake. Critical Material. For criticism of Scott’s work, Stephen’s Hours in a Library is good. - Correlated Reading. The following additional readings in Scott are excellent: County Guy (Quentin Durward), Jock o’ Hazeldean, Lochin- var, Melrose Abbey (The Lay of the Last Minstrel, canto II, 1–18, 70– 128), and The Battle of Flodden (Marmion, canto v1, xxv-xxxiv). CHAPTER VI THE EPIC And though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are: One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. TENNYson : Ulysses. Viewpoint and influence. An epic lifts the human race from the humdrum to the plane of gods and goddesses, monsters and miracles. The reader threads his way to the top of the Snowy mountain peak and views life spread before him. For nearly three thousand years, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey have held their place as the masterpieces of a mas- terminstrel. Little is known of their author — indeed there is some questioning as to whether they were the product of one brain; but the blind Ionian singer, claimed by the seven cities of Asia Minor, will be in a larger sense claimed also by the cultured of every land. The influence of these two epics is beyond human estimate. The youthful Alexander slept with them under his pillow in a box of gold. In classi- cal education down from the Middle Ages they have held the honored place in the curriculum and have moulded char- acter in millions of school boys and girls." - What is an epic? An epic has characteristics of matter, manner, and form. The subject-matter concerns gods and heroes, mingling in intimate terms almost inconceivable to our practical twentieth-century minds. The action progresses in a leisurely fashion; the phraseology is sim- ple and straightforward; the characters are painted with THE EPIC 135 strong color. The plot has unity because the events circle about a great hero. By use of epithet and repetition, cer- tain features are so strongly impressed that long after the pages of Homer in the bethumbed school edition are for- gotten, the memory of “rosy-fingered Dawn” still lingers. Kinds of epics. The ancient epic was largely a matter of growth. Legends accumulated and were sung or recited again and again, until they crystallized in the most effec- tive rendition. Later epics are works of laborious art. The Iliad and the Odyssey were of slow growth; so was the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf. Fortunate is a nation if it produces one great epic. Greece lives in Homer. Old Rome comes to life in Virgil. Italy has the Divine Comedy of Dante; Germany has the Niebel- wngenlied; Spain, the Cid; Finland, the Kalevala. English literature justly values Milton’s Paradise Lost as its great- est epic. Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, while romantic in subject-matter, is strongly suggestive of the epic in form. An epic fragment is found in Matthew Arnold’s Sohrab and Rustum. In American literature, Longfellow, that diligent student of other literatures, produced something very close to a great Indian epic in his sustained poem, Hiawatha. In its Indian legends men and gods meet. The Ancient Epic The mythological background. Nothing more enraptures the imagination of the child than mythical tales of great nations. These stories of gods and heroes should be read in childhood. Then they make their strongest impression and give keenest pleasure. Boys and girls should be almost as familiar with the stories about the Greek gods and god- desses and with the life of the ancient Greeks as with early American history. The Olympian Council and their doings, the life on Mount Olympus, the method of warfare, 136 TEACHING LITERATURE the home life, dress, amusements, and tastes of the Greeks should be discussed. Pronunciation of difficult words ought to be explained, and both Roman and Greek names of the gods and goddesses emphasized. Information of this sort cannot be thrust down the throats of youngsters, but it may often be administered in sugar-coated form. For instance, a symposium in which the children impersonate the different gods and goddesses, and look up, therefore, their own life-histories, makes an inter- esting program for a class period." A Symposium offers a chance to combine two kinds of work, - oral composition and mythology. Sculpture, painting, and verse, the teacher's allies. In no other form of literature is there greater opportunity to visualize the classics by the aid of art than in the ancient epics. In studying about the gods and goddesses of Greece, why not bring copies of masterpieces from the great art galleries of Europe to your classes? Copies of the frieze of the Parthenon, or the Elgin Marbles, should also be shown. A map of Greece, a plan of the Acropolis, photographs of the public buildings of ancient Athens, the Parthenon, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum; pictures of Greek vases, pic- tures of the Seven Wonders of the World, - all these help to give the lasting impression, and lead pupils into that greater world of general culture. S, Students are eager to make their own collections. Twenty- five cents judiciously expended will vitalize the study of literature for many a boy and girl. A class book of pictures also may be made. One we knew of grew so large, on ac- count of the contributions taken from various magazines, that it became exceedingly valuable and entertaining. Children are born collectors — turn this instinct into profit- able ways. * For a description in full, see the author's Teaching of Oral English. THE EPIC 137 Appropriate poems deepen the impression made by my- thology. Mrs. Browning’s A Musical Instrument will be en- joyed in connection with Pan. Edwin Arnold’s stanzas on Atalanta and Shelley’s little Song of Proserpine are suitable for young classes. Byron's Colosseum (Manfred, Act III, Scene iv) may be read when the picture of the Colosseum is shown. Keats's sonnet, On first looking into Chapman’s Homer, should be memorized. Tennyson’s lines To Virgil may be given by a pupil when the class is through with the Æneid, and his magnificent poem Ulysses may be read after the Odyssey. Edith Thomas’s poem Moly emphasizes the value of integrity; Tennyson’s The Lotos-Eaters shows the struggle of a soul impelled to action but held back by self-indulgence. Teaching the ancient epic. The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Æneid are used in translation in the classroom. First ought to come preparation in mythology. Then, in reading concentrate on the story. Point out Homer's use of epithet. Dwell on the fine lines. It is the story, however, that should be emphasized. Make the story so alive with interest that it will stay with the boys and girls all their lives. Show how knowledge of these classics has influenced writers throughout the ages, how constant references to them appear in literature. Quote Marlowe's famous lines in connection with Helen of Troy: — Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Read Coleridge's comment on Ulysses and remember that these heroic figures help to mould boyish ideals: — Ulysses, in the Odyssey, shines by his own light, moves by his own strength, and demolishes all obstacles by his own arm, and his own wit. He receives no lustre from mere contrast; we admire his force, not his success; his battle, not his victory; his heroism, and not his triumph alone; we refer others to him, but himself to no other. 138 TEACHING LITERATURE The following questions are suggestive in connection with Homer's epics: — How do you account for the words, Iliad and Odyssey? Where was Ilium? Where was Ulysses's home? Why was Ulysses forced to take these long journeys? Trace his wanderings. Who are the chief characters in each poem? What are the chief events in each? Pick out certain qualities that Homer always associates with certain char- acters. What are the most thrilling scenes? Which characters do you like the best? Which experience would you have enjoyed most?— What was the cause of the Trojan War? On which side are you? How did the gods and goddesses side? What monsters have you met in these poems? — What is your idea of a hero? Who comes nearest to it in these poems? Which of the women do you like best? Are there any boys and girls in the stories? — What sports did the Greeks like? What was their idea of heaven? Of hell? What were their methods of fighting? How do these methods compare with methods used to-day? — Which gods and goddesses exerted a bad influence? Which were good? Compare Athene and Aphrodite. Which is the better ideal for woman? How was Helen's wrong against her husband paid for? Compare Penelope and Helen. Compare Ulysses, the great pagan hero, with our modern conception of a hero. In what did Ulysses fall short? — What have you learned of home life among the early Greeks? Of social life? of amusements? of religious worship? of traveling? of treatment of serv- ants? — Find the moral lessons back of the Greek myths. Composition work in connection with these epics can be made very interesting. Incidents may always be re- told. Conversations between characters may be imagined; scenes described; matters of policy argued. Ulysses may be transferred to modern life and a modern Odyssey com- posed. Paris the cad may be contrasted with the type of man a boy should admire; Helen the flirt, with the womanly woman as a girl should conceive her. Home life, as seen in IHector's home, may be pictured. The pages sparkle with ideas for composition. The Modern Epic Arnold’s Sohrab and Rustum in class. Matthew Ar- nold’s Sohrab and Rustum gives an excellent idea of the style of the epic. As it is less than nine hundred lines in length, THE EPIC 139 it can be read in class. The story is based upon a great Persian epic. A general idea of the lay of Asiatic land in Persia and Turkestan is advisable, but the looking-up of all geographical references is likely to prove tiresome; many words may be passed by, teachers depending upon sound for appeal, and general sense for an understanding. Soh- rab, Rustum, and the horse Ruksh stand out as gigantic figures. The poem is written in dignified iambic pentameters; it has some fine descriptions, incidents, and appealing lines. Matthew Arnold succeeds in taking the reader up to the frosty, star-lit mountain-top, where the epic loves to linger. The Mock-Epic — Pope's Rape of the Lock. A mock- epic is a narrative poem that adopts the grand manner of the epic, but applies it to a trivial subject. “The Rape of the Lock,” says De Quincey, “is the most exquisite monu- ment of playful fancy that universal literature offers.” The poem was written primarily to heal a breach between two families, and the characters are based upon actual people. The plot is built about the trifling incident of a lord’s snipping off a lock of a lady’s hair. Pope wrote the poem in about a week's time — only two cantos, however; and when it took so well, he added the remaining three cantos. He says in his dedication to Miss [Mrs.] Fermor: — You may bear me witness, it was intended only to divert a few young ladies, who have good sense and good humor enough to laugh not only at their sex’s little unguarded follies, but at their OWI]. In his first two lines, the poet sings his theme: — What dire offence from am’rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things! Canto I: Belinda still lies sleeping behind the curtains of her bed, although the sun is long since up. In a dream she receives a warning from her guardian sylph: — 140 TEACHING LITERATURE This to disclose is all thy guardian can: Beware of all, but most beware of man! — Her lapdog Schock, thinking that his mistress sleeps too late, wakens her; and Belinda goes to her dressing-table and begins her toilet. And now, unveiled, the toilet stands displayed, Each silver vase in mystic order laid, First, robed in white, the nymph intent adores, With head uncovered, the cosmetic pow'rs. A heav'nly image in the glass appears, To that she bends, to that her eyes she rears; Th’ inferior priestess, at her altar's side, Trembling begins the sacred rites of pride. Unnumbered treasures ope at once and here The various off’rings of the world appear; From each she nicely culls with curious toil, And decks the goddess with the glitt’ring spoil. This casket India’s glowing gems unlocks, And all Arabia breathes from yonder box. The tortoise here and elephant unite, Transformed to combs, the speckled, and the white, Here files of pins extend their shining rows, Puffs, powders, patches, Bibles, billets-doux. Now awful beauty puts on all its arms. Canto II: The Lady Belinda with her bosom friend Thalestris and their attendant knights, the Baron and Sir Plume, together with Clarissa and Dapperwit, Chloe and Sir Fopling, all go boating on the Thames. The Baron falls in love with a little curl on Belinda's neck and resolves to get it. Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare, And beauty draws us by a single hair. Canto III: At Hampton Court, the favorite palace of Queen Anne, the party leave their boat, and join the fash- ionable throng within. Here they play cards and talk, and of course the conversation is all about the scandal of the day. At every word a reputation dies! The Lady Belinda challenges the Baron to a game, and just here is a fine bit of mock-heroic. Nothing could be more THE EPIC 141 epic than the way Pope presents the two hands of cards as rival armies. The little sylphs perch on the lady’s cards and direct her play. The lady wins! Oh, thoughtless mortals! ever blind to fate, Too soon dejected, and too soon elate. Sudden, these honors shall be snatched away, And cursed forever this victorious day. It is luncheon time. Coffee is made, and over the scented cup the lady bends. The Baron’s chance! Lingering near, he borrows Clarissa’s “two-edged weapon” (the scissors), and, while the little guardian sylphs try frantically to prevent, snips off the coveted curl. “Let wreaths of triumph now my temples twine,” The victor cried, “ the glorious prize is mine!” Canto IV: We pass now to a scene of mock mythology — the cave of Spleen, a reminiscence, perhaps, of the cave of the winds in the Odyssey. Here comes Umbriel, a dusky sprite and enemy of the guardian sylphs. He begs a pun- ishment for Belinda. Spleen hands him a bag and a vial, and he hies him back to the picnic party on the shore. He empties the bag over the head of the Lady Belinda. Out pour shrieks that rend the skies. He breaks the vial — a torrent of tears! Then Belinda’s friend Thalestris com- mands her knight, Sir Plume, to interview the Baron and get back the curl. But Sir Plume has no success. Canto V: Lady Belinda threatens to cut off the rest of her curls, whereupon grave Clarissa harangues upon the worth of beauty: — Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll; Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul. Oh, tactless remark! The ladies fly to arms. The party divides. So when bold Homer makes the gods engage And heavenly breasts with human passions rage; 'Gainst Pallas, Mars; Latona, Hermes' arms; And all Olympus rings with loud alarms. 142 - TEACHING LITERATURE Thalestris conquers Dapperwit and Sir Fopling; Sir Plume is about to overcome Clarissa, when Chloe steps in and checks him with a frown. Belinda flies at the Baron, throws snuff into his face, and, stabbing him with a bodkin, – “Restore the lock! ” she cries, and all around “Restore the lock!” the vaulted roofs resound. But the lock cannot be found. The poet’s Muse alone dis- cerns it — a comet in the sky. - When those fair suns are set, as set they must, And all those tresses shall be laid to dust, This lock the Muse shall consecrate to fame, And 'midst the stars inscribe Belinda's name. The epic in the grades: Hiawatha in tableaux. Nothing do children in the grades love more than presenting plays. With the guidance of the teacher, they are ingenious in devising costume. They readily follow suggestions as to grouping. They can easily be taught pantomime; for children are natural mimics, unless made self-conscious. The following program has been given with great success. A good reader was chosen to read aloud the portions of the poem that the tableaux illustrated. HLAwaTHA Dramatis personae HIAWATHA. CHIBIABOs. PAU-PUK-KEEwis. NoFoMIs. THE ARROW-MAKER. MINNEHAHA. Indians in the Camp of the Arrow-Maker. Indians in the Camp of Hiawatha. Guests at Hiawatha’s Wedding-Feast. Synopsis TABLEAU I. HIAWATHA’s CHILDHood. There the wrinkled old Nokomis Nursed the little Hiawatha. TABLEAU II. HIAwarEIA THE YouTH. Out of childhood into manhood Now had grown my Hiawatha. THE EPIC 143 TABLEAU III. HIAwATHA’s DEPARTURE TO THE DACOTAHs. Thus departed Hiawatha To the land of the Dacotahs. TABLEAU IV. HIAWATHA’s WooſNG. I will follow you, my husband. TABLEAU V. HIAwaTHA’s WEDDING-FEAST. Part I. Pau-Puk-Keewis's Beggar Dance. Part II. Chibiabos's Love Song. Thus the wedding banquet ended And the wedding guests departed. Indian costumes are so easily secured, -from Camp-Fire Girls, for instance — that such a program can be easily arranged. The spirit of a book. The great office of the epic, as far as boys and girls are concerned, is twofold: (1) to put in their possession the great heroes of primitive ages, and (2) to make them like literature and wish for more. Stress, there- fore, should be laid on interest of event and on character. All the fascination of strange, far-off, romantic things should be used to spur the reader. The breadth of motive, the big vision, and the pure simplicity that belong to the epic are needed even in the twentieth century. HELPFUL READINGS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Illustrative Material. The following penny pictures are excellent to illustrate the epic: — Brown’s Famous Pictures: Parthenon, façade, 156; east front, 1049; metope, 945; frieze, 914; acropolis, 134. The Thompson Company Blue Prints: series of eight on the Iliad; se- ries of thirty-three on the Odyssey; series of thirty-one on the Æneid; Acropolis, 2000, 2006; Parthenon, 2007–29, 2128–47; Milton dictating “Paradise Lost,” 1364 b. Pictures of mythology are innumerable. The following list includes Some of the most famous. See catalogues of penny pictures for the numbers: — (a) Sculpture Apollo Belvedere. Venus (Aphrodite). Athena. ſº Hera (Juno). The Laocoön Group. Thorwaldsen's Hope. 144 TEACHING LITERATURE Niobe and her Youngest Daughter. Canova's Hebe. Canova's Perseus. The bust of Homer. Cellini’s Perseus. The Farnese Hercules. The Flying Mercury. Ceres. Penelope. Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne. (b) Painting Albani's Daphne and Apollo. Corot's Orpheus. Correggio's Moon Goddess. David's Paris and Helen. Gerard’s Thetis bearing the Ar- mor of Achilles. Guerin’s AEneas at the Court of Dido. Hardy’s Ulysses feigning Madness. Jalabert's Virgil Reading. Kaulbach’s Lady Moon. Klepper's Phaëton driving Apollo’s Chariot. Leighton's Orpheus and Eury- dice; Helen on the Ramparts. Neide's Psyche and Charon. Paignan’s Hector's Parting from Andromache. Poynter’s Atalanta’s Race. Regnault's Automedon with the Horses of Achilles. Reni’s Aurora. Rivière’s Circe and the Swine. Romano’s Apollo and the Muses. Sichel’s Medea. Tajetti’s Cupid and the Bow. Thumann’s Three Fates. Turner’s Ulysses deriding Poly- phemus. Vedder's Cumaean Sibyl. Velasquez's Forge of Vulcan. Correlated Reading. For outside reading in myths and legends, the following books are recommended: Greek myths: Bulfinch: Age of Fable; Church: Stories of the Old World; Gayley: Classic Myths; Guerber: Myths of Greece and Rome and The Story of the Greeks; Hawthorne: Tanglewood Tales (Cadmus, Minotaur) and The Won- der Book (Perseus, Midas, Pandora); Kingsley: Greek Heroes; Lamb: Adventures of Ulysses; or Mann: Greek Myths and Their Art. For the mythology of the Norsemen, read: Andersen: Norse Mythology; Baldwin: The Story of Siegfried; or Mabie: Norse Stories Retold. For Indian legends, read: Judd: Wigwam Stories; or Zitkala-Sa: Old Indian Legends. For stories of chivalry, read: Baldwin: The Story of Roland; Bulfinch: Age of Chivalry; Lanier: The Boy’s King Arthur; Malory: Morte d’Arthur; MacLeod: Stories from the Faëry Queene; Pyle: Men of Iron; or Scott: Tales of Chivalry. For study of the epic, read Guerber’s Book of the Epic, which covers the field admirably. Easy Adaptations of the Classics. Some of the easy adaptations of the classics suitable for the pupils’ reading are: Baldwin: Old Stories of the East; Church: The Story of the Iliad, The Story of the Odyssey, Stories from Virgil, and Stories from the Greek Tragedies; Walsh: Our Young Folks’ Josephus; Lanier: The Boys’ Mabinogion (into easy English from the Welsh) and The Boys' Froissart; White: Herodotus for Boys and Girls; Pliny for Boys and Girls; Plutarch for Boys and Girls; Wilson: The Story of the Cid. * THE EPIC 145 (1) TENNYSON’s “THE IDYLLs OR THE KING.” I am a part of all that I have met: Yet all experience is an arch wherethro' Gleams that untravel'd world, whose margin fades Forever and forever when I move. TENNYson: Ulysses. The symbolism of the Idylls. Tennyson, exponent of the Victorian age, scholarly gentleman of the nineteenth cen- tury, looked through the archway of his own experience into the fanciful realm of an earlier day, - that of Celtic mys- tery and charm, - and saw the courtly gentleman of legend, Ring Arthur, surrounded by his Table Round. Into this same fanciful realm, the poet projected nineteenth-century ideas and ideals. Into the men and women of Camelot, into the great knights of the Round Table and their ladies, into the person and character of great King Arthur himself, Tennyson wove a hidden meaning, — a great lesson for those who read with the eye of penetration. It is the story of the struggle of the Soul — the Ideals, the Higher Nature of man — over the Lower Nature, over the World of Sense. Arthur, born of magic, represents the spiritual man trying to establish an ideal kingdom: — I made them lay their hands in mine and swear To reverence the king as if he were Their conscience, and their conscience as their king, To break the heathen and uphold the Christ, To ride abroad redressing human wrongs, To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it, To lead sweet lives in purest chastity, To love one maiden only, cleave to her, And worship her by years of noble deeds, Until they won her; . . . Not only to keep down the base in man, But teach high thought, and amiable words . And courtliness, and the desire for fame, And love of truth, and all that makes a man. How can the teacher present this world of fancy and 146 TEACHING LITERATURE idealism to the growing boy and girl, so as to develop their appreciation of poetry and strengthen their ideals of life? Preliminary reading. To do justice to the work of a great poet, teachers ought to be intimately acquainted with other poems by the author. Wide-awake pupils will enjoy any of the following short poems of Tennyson: Dora, Flower in the Crannied Wall, Lady Clara Vere de Vere, Lady Clare, Ring out, Wild Bells, Sweet and Low (The Princess), The Brook, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The May Queen, Break, Break, Break, As through the Land at Eve We Went (The Princess), Sir Galahad, and Crossing the Bar. The long poem, Enoch Arden, is not beyond them. Often a boy or girl will begin with one of the short poems, and after learning to like Tennyson, will ask for the longer poem. Sing those that are set to music, - Sweet and Low, for instance. Copy other short poems on the blackboard and let the children absorb them. Very short lyrics like Flower in the Crannied Wall, Crossing the Bar, and Break, Break, Break, can easily be memorized. An enthusiastic teacher will deepen her own love of Tennyson, if she will ponder over such poems as Locksley Hall, Maud (especially xxII), OEmome, St. Agnes’ Eve, Sea Dreams, The Lady of Shalott, The Princess, and Ulysses. The deeper her own love of the poet, the greater will be the im- pression she can make upon her followers, the children in her classes. Although only the most representative of the Idylls are studied in class, the teacher ought to be familiar with the growth of the epic idea in Tennyson’s own mind. In 1832 appeared The Lady of Shalott; in 1842, The Morte d’Ar- thur, Sir Galahad, and Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. At intervals from this time until 1885, the following poems appeared: Dedication, The Coming of Arthur; Separate tales of the Round Table, as: Gareth and Lynette, Geraint THE EPIC 147 and Enid, Balin and Balan, Merlin and Vivien, Lancelot and Elaine, The Holy Grail, Pelleas and Ettarre, The Last Tour- nament, and Guinevere; The Passing of Arthur, and the Epi- logue to the Queen. &- The Idylls in class. Besides The Coming of Arthur, Lancelot and Elaine, Guinevere, and The Passing of Arthur, a class might profitably study The Holy Grail and Gareth and Lynette. The teacher should be familiar with the whole series, so as to have a knowledge of the events not explained in the Idylls chosen. Unknown words are irritating when one is reading. Why not use the hard terms of heraldry and knighthood as ma- terial for lessons in definition and spelling, before beginning the poem? Local color of the Middle Ages is summed up in such words as 8.D. Excalibur minster shrift a DOIR fairy changeling oriel simples 8/U11'6 falcon peerage tale of diamonds bower greaves puissance tarn casque hermit ramp tinct cuirass hern rathe unblazoned cygnet hind Samite weald devoir housel SC3, ULT wind gateway horn dole Image shield Chivalry should be the subject of a lesson. Consult a good history of the Middle Ages, and put before the child details in the lives of page, squire, and knight. Discuss knightly honor; draw comparisons between conditions of that time and this. Show (from the encyclopaedia or dic- tionary) the various heraldic devices. Induce pupils to read Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Fairies, for the local color of past times. Plot, characters, setting. The plot-germ of The Idylls of the King is the triangle of two men, King Arthur and his friend Sir Lancelot, and one woman, Guinevere. Sin creeps 148 TEACHING LITERATURE into Camelot, the City of Dreams, – the world-old sin of mortal passion, debasing the idealism of the court. What meannesses follow the trail of Lancelot and Guinevere! Through the treachery of Modred, Arthur's realm is dis- rupted. In a great battle Arthur slays Modred, but is him- self wounded. He begs Sir Bedivere to bear the magic sword Excalibur to the mere, where spirit hands are to re- ceive it. In the Prologue, Tennyson compares Prince Albert (the IPrince Consort) to King Arthur, wearing “the white flower of a blameless life.” In the Epilogue, he sums up the theme of his epic and dedicates the great poem to Queen Victoria:- But thou, my Queen, accept this old imperfect tale, New-old, and shadowing Sense at war with Soul. Tennyson calls the tale “new-old * because it is based on Malory's mediaeval prose tale, the Morte d’Arthur. The dramatis personae in this mediaeval pageant consist of kings and queens, knights and ladies, magicians and fairy creatures. Arthur is king of Camelot. Guinevere, his wife and queen, is daughter of Leodogram. Arthur himself is supposed to be son of old King Uther and his Queen Ygerne. As Bellicent is Arthur's half sister, her two sons, Gawain and Modred, are therefore indirectly related to Arthur. Merlin and Bleys are magicians. Among kings and knights are mentioned Aurelius, Rience, Gorlois, Anton, Ulfius, Brastius, Sir Anton, Sir Bedivere, the meek Perci- vale, pure Sir Galahad, Sir Torre, Sir Lavaine, the lord of Astolat, and Sir Lancelot, “the peerless knight.” The setting is Camelot, the city of Arthur; Astolat, Elaine's home; Almesbury, where is located the nunnery to which Guinevere fled; Tintagel, on the coast of Cornwall; and Cameliard. Dramatization and tableaux. After completing The Idylls of the King, a program may be rendered by the class. THE EPIC 149 The songs may be memorized, practiced, and sung by the class from memory, or sung by individuals. Let a pupil read the passages from the Idylls, while the tableaux are shown. Much ingenuity is called out in devising the costumes. Cheesecloth and cardboard in the hands of inventive young costumers can perform miracles. With some of the tab- leaux, a few lines of preliminary reading should be given, before the curtains are drawn. In the following program the cuttings are furnished by line reference. ARTHUR AND THE ROUND TABLE e & g e this old imperfect tale, New-old, and shadowing Sense at war with Soul. I. MUSIC.1 Morning, from the Peer Gynt Suite. Grieg. II. Songs of SPRING. (a) The Brook. Tennyson. (b) Flower in the Crannied Wall. Tennyson. III. TABLEAUx. The Coming of Arthur. (a) The Coronation. Lines 242 (“There came '') –308; 514–18. (b) The Marriage. Lines 1–25; 40–62; 81–93; 446–74; 475–501 (Chant). IV. SONG OF LovE. Swallow, Swallow. Tennyson. V. TABLEAUx. Faith Unfaithful. (a) In the Hall at Astolat. Lines 158–246; 260–68. (b) The Token. Lines 1–29; 240–351; 355– 79; 395–96. (c) The Hermit's Cave. Lines 443–522; 838–60; 868– 72. (d) The Lily Maid of Astolat. Lines 1146—54; 1230–68; 1274–79; 1319–33. VI. MUSIC. The Death of Asé, from the Peer Gynt Suite. Grieg. * Selections from Wagner's Parsifal would also make a most impressive introductory number. If the Peer Gynt Suite is too difficult, some bright selection that suggests youth and spring (Mendelssohn's Spring Song, for example) should be given at the opening and a dirge-like selection chosen for the sixth number. The song, Late, Late, so Late, may be sung behind the scenes when the reader reaches the words of the song. The tableaux should be shown during the suitable reading. - 150 TEACHING LITERATURE VII. TABLEAUx. The Passing of Arthur. (a) At the Convent. Lines 1–8; 137–80 (Song. Late, Late, so Late). (b) The Parting. Lines 406–18; 448–97; 524– 43; 557-68; 577–601. (c) The Passing of Arthur. Lines 372–432; 433–61. Tennyson's style. Tennyson was an accurate observer of nature; his poetry is full of exquisite pictorial effects, artistically beautiful as well as scientifically true. His songs are rare lyrics, and many are now set to beautiful musical accompaniment. Strong imagination illuminates the pages with brilliant imagery. Then, too, there is found the gnomic utterance, the maxim, which often expresses the feelings and ideas of the nineteenth century, for Tennyson was a true exponent of his age. Such qualities boys and girls are quick to pick out. Let them learn to recognize these characteristics themselves. Let them linger over favorite passages in the Idylls. In later years, possibly, the great message of the war of Sense against Soul will appeal with more forceful significance. May boys and girls find in the poem their ideal of true manhood — what are these formative school years for, if not to construct ideals by which to live! Tennyson the man. The life of Tennyson falls into signif- icant stages, each of which contributes toward his ideal of accomplishment. The boy Tennyson, born in 1809 in a pretty country rectory, was reared in a cultured family, with a father who prepared him for college; with a mother whose gentleness moulded him; with brothers and sisters who formed a miniature world. What tales were told and read! The Tennyson young folks created their own stories of knights and ladies adventuring, for in early boyhood young Alfred absorbed myth, legend, and ballad. As a youth at college, he was talented and meditative. His interests had already centered in poetry, but he also cultivated a THE EPIC 151 brilliant group of friends, Arthur Henry Hallam being the closest. Tennyson the man, devoting himself whole-heartedly to poetry in the face of poverty, lived a retired life, “medi- tating the thankless Muse!” When he published his first vol- ume of poems, he was bitterly attacked by the reviewers. Cut to the quick, he went back to his work, and for nine long years apprenticed himself to Poetic Art. What long years they were; for his dearest friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, his other self, had died! Read In Memoriam to see how death wrung the sensitive soul of the young author. Both blows— adverse criticism and the death of his friend — struck him at nearly the same time. It is no wonder that the nine years of quiet, patient labor deepened his soul and enlarged his outlook. But at forty-one years of age he began reaping the fruit of labor and of waiting. In 1850, he published. In Me- moriam, was appointed Poet Laureate by the Queen, and married, - thus beginning a life of domestic happiness and official recognition. The man of fifty gave to the world the first of the great Idylls of the King. The man of seventy- six laid down the pen of achievement — the stories of the Round Table were complete! A quarter of a century’s love and effort are in The Idylls of the King. Truly it grew and ripened like the epic. The life of Tennyson offers rare instances of persever- ance, thoroughness, gentlemanly honor, pluck in adversity, and loyalty in friendship. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS , FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. For the life of Tennyson, the following offer abundant material: *Lyall: Tennyson (English Men of Letters Series); and Tennyson, Hallam: Alfred, Lord Tennyson — a Memoir (two volumes). Illustrative Material. To illustrate class work, the following are ex- I52 TEACHING LITERATURE cellent: Perry Pictures, 94, 94b. The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Series of eight on Elaine; Tintagel Castle, 4303, 4287, 4288. Copies of Edwin Abbey’s pictures of The Legend of the Holy Grail (Boston Pub- lic Library) are splendid illustrative material. Critical Material. As a criticism of the work of Tennyson classes will enjoy Van Dyke’s Poetry of Tennyson. More mature pupils will find Stopford A. Brooke's Tennyson helpful. CHAPTER VII THE DRAMA Then will he fit his tongue To dialogues of business, love, or strife: But it will not be long Ere this be thrown aside, And with new joy and pride The little Actor cons another part; Filling from time to time his ‘humorous stage” With all the Persons, down to palsied Age, That Life brings with her in her equipage; As if his whole vocation Were endless imitation. - WoRDsworth: Intimations of Immortality. The dramatic instinct. The play impulse is deep in the heart of racial life. As the child develops, he passes through various stages from a primitive little Savage to a young gentleman who brushes his teeth, takes off his hat to the ladies, and in a general way can be trusted in the drawing- room. All through this development the dramatic instinct has been strong. The boy is not content only to read about Indians: he must himself be Big Chief. He is not satisfied to hear about the pioneer's building of his fort: he must make his own fort, and hold it with his comrades. Teachers now realize that it is not what is poured into little brains that educates, but what the little brains grasp for themselves through the exercise of their own faculties. What the teacher must do is to make the conditions right for such exercise, then be willing to sit back and let the boys and girls educate themselves. The acting impulse comes out in various ways. The earli- est expression of it is imitation. The baby waves its hand “By-by.” in imitation of its mother; it calls the dog “Bow- wow,” the train of cars “Choo-choo.” Gestures make the 154 TEACHING LITERATURE hands talk. Such ideas as “Halt!” “Please!” and “Down!” can be expressed without a sound from the lips. In the childhood of the race, gestures soon developed into panto- mime. Gesticulation and facial expression grew into a sort of art, very popular in the early ages, in the harlequin, the buffoon, the columbine, and still so in the clown of our circus. The dressing-up instinct is developed early in children, just as it is in the race. The barbarian loves to deck his body with skins, necklaces of teeth, and feathers, and to paint his skin in crude colors. The little girl dotes on delving into the old trunks in the garret and parading in great-grandmother's hoop skirt. The boy wants his Indian suit. Mankind, after the civilized ages had come, went through the craze for silks and velvets, satins and laces. Place a picture of a court dandy of Queen Anne's day beside a Harrison Fisher illustration of a modern hero and draw your own comparison. Woman’s tailor-made suit is a later invention than the farthingale or the ruff. Very early, man began to exercise his dramatic instinct through the voice. It probably was not very long before the cave man learned to exaggerate his adventures to make them seem more entertaining; soon he may even have invented an episode to bring an extra thrill about the cave fire. That first invented episode, – look at it with a grateful eye. It was the beginning of the art that lies back of the short story, the novel, the drama, and all the greatest poetry of the world. It was the first exercise of the imagination on the part of man. It was a fiction. Fiction (from the Latin fictio, to feign) means a devising, a making-believe. The cave man's first vocal contribution to the drama was his monologue to those sitting about the cave fire. His next was dialogue, when another joined in, and the two men in- dulged in spirited conversation. The comments of the others THE DRAMA 155 as this two-sided discussion progressed might be regarded as the prototype of the Greek chorus. It did not take these story-tellers long to find out that what pleased an audience was something thrilling that kept them in suspense — some great, insurmountable obstacle, which made the tale a clash between two forces. As soon as this was discovered, the modern plot had its inception; for the modern plot is nothing but the tying of an intricate knot and the untying of the same by forces of which the on- looker has at first no knowledge. - Ancient origin of the drama. One of the treasures of Sanscrit literature is the drama Sakoontala, written by the Hindu Shakespeare, Kalidasa. In our Old Testament, the Book of Job is a splendid drama, mighty in theme. In Greece, however, originated the traditions that influenced later drama. Great writers like AEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in tragedy, and Aristophanes in comedy, pro- duced masterpieces before which the world has marveled. The Greek drama, as well as the Hindu, had a religious beginning. In Greece, songs and dances were held at the sacrificial altar of Bacchus. The word tragedy means goat song. Comedies rose from village merry-makings during the vintage, the word comedy meaning village song. Panto- mime, dance, chorus, dialogue, costume, and action all played a part in the Greek drama. A picture of the ancient outdoor theater will interest a class; so will pictures of an- cient actors. The actor of tragedy wore a laced boot with thick soles to give him heroic stature; the actor of comedy wore a low-heeled light shoe. The first was called a cothur- nus, or buskin; the second, a sock. Actors also wore gro- tesque masks, devised both to symbolize the characters they impersonated and to throw out the voice. Certain iron-clad rules about the drama gradually arose in Greece. One was the rule of the Three Unities — Time, 156 TEACHING LITERATURE Place, and Action. The action of a play was supposed to take place during a day, and within a radius that could be easily walked; and was the development of a single plot, either wholly tragic or wholly comic. The Latin writers, chief among whom were Plautus, Terence, and Seneca, fol- lowed the lead of the Greeks in preserving these unities; though during the later periods of both Greek and Roman drama, more latitude was allowed in each of these. Rise of the drama in England. When Rome fell in 476 A.D., ancient literature and art went into obscurity and for over a thousand years Europe was darkened by surging hordes of crude barbarians. The Church during these years grad- ually formed itself into a hierarchy with the Pope at the head. It was in connection with the Church of Rome that the mediaeval drama lived, for plays during the Middle Ages were largely liturgical. At first they were performed inside the churches, but as time passed, the performance drifted to the outside. The performers at first were those connected with the Church, who tried to teach lessons to the masses by appeal to eye as well as ear. In England, town guilds later took up these religious plays for performance. Crude manuscripts show how the parts were performed. Miracle plays dealt with miracles of the Bible; mystery plays, with the mysteries of the life of Christ; morality plays — a step further in dramatic struc- ture — personified virtues and vices. The most popular morality play, revived not many years ago, was Everyman. The first real plays in England were the tragedy, Gorboduc; the comedy, Ralph Roister Doister; and the farce, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, written just before the Elizabethan age. The great dramatic age. The end of the fifteenth cen- tury witnessed a great awakening of the nations: curiosity to know where the world ends; desire to cross the seas, to seek ancient knowledge, and to participate in all sorts of THE DRAMA 157 activities. The fruits of this awakening, which is often called the Renaissance, came in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Men demanded to hear of life, and of life in its entirety and excitement. It happened that poetry was at a point of development where the drama could well utilize it. The prose of the age was too cumbersome to yield great satisfaction; perfection in prose-writing did not come till the nineteenth century. Predecessors of Shakespeare, particularly Christopher Mar- lowe, developed the drama into a five-act production, mod- eled on the ancient form. It was for Shakespeare, however, to break loose from classic models and bring forth a drama of his own, the Shakespearean. For years the two rival camps — the breakers-loose from stage traditions and the classicists — produced their dramas side by side. Shake- speare and Ben Jonson are the greatest exponents of the two. The later drama. After the death of Shakespeare in 1616, the drama continued for some time, but on an inferior plane. When the Puritans grew in power, they closed the theaters. This was in 1642. And for eighteen years the drama was regarded by the party in power as vile, a thing of the devil. When royalty was restored in 1660, play-going and play-writing were revived; but the coarseness of the age spoiled the Restoration drama. In the time of Queen Anne two playwrights produced sprightly plays that are popular even to-day. These were Sheridan, who wrote The Rivals and A School for Scandal, and Goldsmith, who wrote She Stoops to Conquer. But the great dramatic age was past. Prose developed highly in the nineteenth century, and men’s activities sought expression in the form of the novel, which mirrored life. The modern drama, however, is interesting reading. Shaw, Rostand, Synge, Maeterlinck, Ibsen, and others are popu- 158 TEACHING LITERATURE lar on the library shelf and run their season at the theater. The great poets of the last era were fond of writing closet dramas, better read than acted. Browning was particularly expert in the dramatic monologue, in which, through speech, character betrays itself. My Last Duchess and Up at a Villa— Down in the City are excellent examples. Teaching the technique of the drama. The word technique is originally from the Greek, the word meaning art, or making. You remember, the old “rules of the game * in writing drama were the three unities and the chorus. Shake- speare cut loose from these; his appreciation of character, and the change in character through the influence of en- vironment and event, led him to discard the unities of time and place. No character, he reasoned, - consciously or unconsciously, - could change unless given time for causes to work upon it. The action of a play also would be greatly limited by forcing it to occur in one place. In Shakespeare's plays, therefore, we have frequent changes of time and place, a well-defined action or plot, and splendid character- ization. Young pupils cannot appreciate an elaborate discussion of technique. They can, however, understand a division into acts, each of which contributes a definite something to the whole. A play must be introduced — we must know the characters, place, time, and certain facts upon which the plot rests. This naturally takes place in Act I. As we said before, plot is a clash of forces. These forces must develop. In Act II, therefore, we find the complicating forces (tying- up forces) at work. These reach a climax somewhere in the middle of the play, possibly Act III, when affairs for the hero are at the tottering point. Will he win or will he lose? That is the climax. The action turns, one way or the other. Sometimes a seemingly unimportant action may bring about the turning. Act IV brings in the resolving forces, those THE DRAMA 159 that will lead to the untying of the knot. The last act wit- nesses the conclusion: in a tragedy, death or ruin; in a comedy, happiness or success. Children will enjoy working out crudely the pyramidal development of a play. Climax or Turning-point Introduction Conclusion TEIE UNIDERLYING STRUCTURE OF THE PLAY Elementary blackboard diagram showing the main plan underlying every well-constructed tragedy or comedy. Various elements combine to make the ideal play. Stage Scenery portrays the setting. Costumes cheat us into be- lieving that the actors are the real characters, and the pres- ent age another. Incidents of the plot hang together by cause and effect. A plot must not have in it any incident that does not contribute vitally to the action; for plot is a chain of events, each event depending on one before and pro- ducing one to come. There must be no unlikely or forced coincidences. Emotion must be sincere. Characters must act in keeping with the qualities given them, and no char- acter ought to change unless something has had a chance to affect it. Costumes must suit the times portrayed. Set- tings must be historically correct. Actors must enunciate so that they can be heard well; they must forget themselves in the parts they portray; they must suit these parts physi- cally, and temperamentally. No play dare lag; suspense must carry it on. 160 TEACHING LITERATURE Bringing Shakespeare to children. It is a well-known fact that Shakespeare secured most of his plots from history or old romances, but this has little interest for children. What they want is the story itself. Charles and Mary Lamb did a kindness when they wrote the plots of these plays in simple language. Sometimes it pays to read one of their Tales from Shakespeare first, before taking up the drama; then, again, it may suit a class better to work out the story from the play itself and read the Lambs’ version afterwards, to bring the various threads together. Plot and sub-plot can in this way be made to stand out clearly. Shakespeare study. The most obvious qualities in the plays of Shakespeare are such as always make for perma- nency. He has wonderful blending of humor and pathos. He has a depth and breadth of sympathy that take in all classes. He describes men and women as they are for all time. He knows the workings of the human heart. Boys and girls must be led to like their Shakespeare for their own sakes. How to get this appreciation is the question. The hardest things to overcome are the strange words and strange constructions. Teachers must be careful not to make the reading of a Shakespearean play a lesson in etymology, but they must clarify the text. Many devices may be used to arouse such strong interest that the pupil of his own vo- lition conquers the strangeness of diction. The reading of parts will sometimes help; the assignment of characters for reports; the promise of a trip to the theater.” As You Like It. In class this comedy, with its engaging characters, situations, and mix-ups, will delight the pupils. The theme is a series of variations of love at first sight. Rosalind and Orlando, Phoebe and Rosalind, Silvius and Phoebe, Oliver and Celia, Audrey, William, and Touchstone 1 For lessons on the life of Shakespeare, the Elizabethan theater, and the life of the times, see the chapter on The Merchant of Venice, page 170. THE DRAMA I6I — these in some measure reflect the theme. The five acts might be summed up as (I) Banishment, (II) Disguise in the forest, (III) Rosalind’s love cure, (IV) The advent of Oliver, and (V) The solution, and happiness all around. Children love the disguises used so often in Shakespeare’s plays. They respond to the forest setting in this comedy. They like the songs. Under the Greenwood Tree; Blow, Blow, thou Winter Wind; What shall he have that Killed the Deer? It Was a Lover and his Lass; and Wedding is Great Juno’s Crown should be sung. Lines like “Sweet are the uses of adversity’ in Act II, Scene 1, and “All the world 's a stage,” in Act II, Scene 7, should be memorized; and the discussion of the “lie ’’ should be read aloud. Read many portions aloud in class and allow pupils to impersonate the characters. There are many interesting and vital subjects to discuss throughout the play: girlhood friendships (Celia and Rosa- lind); devotion of servitors (Adam and Orlando); the cyni- cal point of view (Jaques); violent crushes (Phoebe and Rosalind); the test of love (Rosalind and Orlando); the changes love makes (Oliver); humor as a help in life (Touch- stone); nature in our lives. Twelfth Night—plot and underplot. Another delightful plot is Twelfth Night. In old England the Christmas revels continued for twelve days after Christmas. Therefore you may expect this play to be full of fun. - The characters fall into three groups: those about Olivia; those about the Duke; and Sebastian and Antonio. On the blackboard, for discussion after the play is read, Olivia may be related to Sir Andrew, Malvolio, Viola, Sebastian, and the Duke. The main plot deals with mistaken love af- fairs, brings out the worth of true love, and introduces dis- guise and mistaken identity. The underplot presents the “taking-down " of Malvolio. 162 TEACHING LITERATURE The following outline of plot and underplot, made by a pupil, is suggestive and shows the plots “boiled down '' to essentials: — Plot Act I. Introduction, or Opening Situation The mix-up in love affairs. Olivia, refusing Orsino, falls in love with Or- sino's page, a woman in disguise. Act II. Development, or Entangling . Olivia reveals her love to page. Page admits love for master, Orsino. Act III. The Climaz, or Turning-Point Olivia, still refusing Orsino, is even more in love with the page. Coming of Sebastian, brother of the page, Viola, will turn the tables. Page is challenged. Act IV. The Untangling . . . . Sebastian unconsciously masquer- ades as his twin sister, Viola the page, and is married to Olivia. Act V. The Conclusion . Antonio's recognition of both Sebas- tian and Viola reveals the fact that they are brother and sister disguised. Olivia acknowledges her marriage to Sebastian. The Duke Orsino claims Viola as his bride-to-be. Three pairs are happy. Underplot Olivia reproves Malvolio’s self-love. Malvolio’s reproof of Maria leads her to make him the butt of a practical joke in a letter. Malvolio shows off and is imprisoned as mad. Tântalized, Malvolio is aided by the fool to write a letter for help. Malvolio’s letter, and later his plea, prove his sanity. He is released. Quotations worth remembering are “If music be the food of love ’’ (Act I), “If ever thou shalt love '' (Act II), “She never told her love ’’ (Act IV), and “Some are born great" (Act V). Teachers should point out the use of prose, where rollicking scenes or ordinary emotions are portrayed. Inter- esting views are given of the court fool and duelling. Macbeth — a study of forces. Macbeth is a tragedy, THE DRAMA 163 wonderful in structure. The witches are supernatural beings, usually interpreted as personifications of Macbeth’s own de- sires. The drama is strong meat for young people, but there are some striking and vital lessons: the power of suggestion, dangers of vacillation, wicked associations, peril of oppor- tunity, sin its own punishment, how and why sin accumu- lates, etc. A teacher, absorbed by the gigantic struggle of forces in this drama, can make boys and girls thrill with the solilo- quies of Macbeth, with Lady Macbeth’s arguments, with the weird trappings of the witches, the temptation, the mur- der, the banquet, and the sleep-walking scenes. The plot runs its upward path well for Macbeth, fulfilling the first prophecies. The plot runs its downward course with the working-out of the second set of prophecies, which Mac- beth’s inordinate ambition has demanded. The escape of Fléance at the time Banquo was murdered is the turning- point in the play. Hamlet — a study of motive. Study of Hamlet belongs in the senior year of high school. The problem is concerned with a dreamer — an idealist fronted by evil facts of life, so abnormal that they paralyze his power to do. Disillusion- ment, the poisonous vapors of suspicion, and a nature where humor turns to irony, result in a Hamlet that has set the world a-thinking. Was Hamlet mad? Lowell pointedly answers that question: i If we deprive Hamlet of reason, there is no truly tragic motive left. If Hamlet is irresponsible, the whole play is a chaos. How would any of us act if filled with sudden suspicion of a loved one? How would we behave if the cry for venge- ance came to us? Watch the struggle between Hamlet’s hesitation and his desire for action and pick out the points in the play that you regard as crucial. Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Of the later play- I64 TEACHING LITERATURE wrights, both Sheridan and Goldsmith are suitable for school work, but Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer is easiest for young pupils. The plot is based upon an actual happening, which you can read about in Irving's Life of Goldsmith. Two young men get into a private house by mistake, directed there as a practical joke by some one who told them that it was an inn. The daughter of the house plays maid, and naturally one young man falls in love with her. There is a delightful complication of happenings. By the use of pictures and outside reading about the period, these interesting days of the eighteenth century may be vivified. Milton's Comus—a suggestion. In the masque Comus, we have the dramatic elements of dialogue, setting, costume, Song, and dance arranged for presentation in a private house and for a special occasion. Young people can be interested in this masque, if the idea is held out that they can present it themselves outdoors (with cutting) or possibly write a little masque of their own for some special occasion. Show the effects made by costume, grouping, Song, and dance. The arguments may seem difficult, so try in all possible ways to put life into the lines. A hard thing is attacked sometimes with a hearty will, if it is designed to give pupils ideas for an entertainment of their own. Progressive composition exercises in the drama. Exer- cises to introduce pupils to dramatic form may be applied to poetry and prose. A ballad like Lowell's Singing Leaves can be written as dialogue, so that two pupils can give it. Abou Ben Adhem, by Leigh Hunt, is also good material. The teacher would, of course, have pointed out the use of the quotation marks in direct discourse in narrative. The customary arrangement of dramatic lines without quota- tion marks, but with the speakers’ names in the margin, and the stage directions interpolated where they belong, may be THE DRAMA 165 looked up. Changing indirect discourse to direct is also good practice. Writing a monologue by devising what a person would say under certain circumstances is an excellent first exer- cise in originality. The writing of dialogue, however, seems particularly to delight the hearts of youngsters. Give them a picture of two odd types of people, and let them tell you what the two are saying. There are few boys and girls who fail to make good, if started on something definite. The first step is merely writing down conversation; the next, writing in such a way that certain impressions are designedly made on the minds of the listeners. Here is one pupil trying to write a conversation between a hack-driver and a tramp, to show human fellowship. Here is another trying to write what a nursemaid is saying to her mistress, so that we shall see why the mistress is laughing. Poems and stories may be dramatized. Short stories, like Hawthorne's Snow Image and Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, have been dramatized by the writer's classes. In doing long pieces of work, it is advisable first to plan out scenes together in class and then to assign committees of several pupils to work together on single scenes. Portions of The Lady of the Lake, Ivanhoe, The Princess, Silas Marner, A Tale of Two Cities, The Court- ship of Miles Standish, and Evangeline can easily be drama- tized and presented. Impromptu dramatization is a good exercise to test the pupils’ knowledge of a story. We remem- ber with much pleasure the quick response that a class made to a suggestion to act out one of the Arabian Nights stories. The boys and girls were entirely unconscious of self. They sat down on magic carpets and danced off on imaginary horses, as if these acts were as ordinary as eating dinner. They made up conversations, worked in gesture, and showed facial expression to fit the parts. The dramatic presentation 166 TEACHING LITERATURE on the spur of the moment aroused a pleasurable emotion in their minds and forced home concretely the details. They will remember that story longer than the ones that were passed by with nothing but class discussion. - The writing of original plays for special school occasions — class day, for instance — must be taken in stages to be successful. Before an original play is written, it should be outlined in scenario form — a synopsis of the play, showing the scenes and the entrances and exits of the actors. A para- graph account of the plot should also be written. If the pupils have trouble condensing, there are probably too many incidents. There must be a single impression in a play; and if all the incidents contribute directly to that impression, the plot can usually be expressed briefly. The writer has found that older classes can do creative work in the drama, if the teacher insists on these steps in preparation: (1) Se- lection of several plot germs, or themes; (2) choice of a theme, and selection of characters and setting to fit it; (3) summary of the plot; (4) an outline of the incidents in a three-act division with entrances and exits; (5) the writing of Act I; (6) the writing of Act II; (7) the writing of Act III; (8) revision, with attention to by-play; (9) reading aloud. Writing moving-picture scenarios and scripts is also good practice. Photoplays may be prepared as review work on novels studied. Pupils may be urged to criticize the films they see in the moving-picture theaters. By discussion, classes, perhaps, can be led to prefer the better sort of photoplay to “blood-and-thunder ’’ melodrama. In presenting plays, it is well to consider Hamlet’s advice to the players; 1 for he sounds the essentials of good dra- matic reading. Pantomime and by-play as aids to self-expression. A story like Hawthorne's Snow Image, for instance, offers 1 Quoted in full on page 174. THE DRAMA + 167 excellent material for dramatic arrangement and training in pantomime and by-play. The characters may be assigned — father, mother, Violet, Peony, and the Snow-Child. Next, the story may be divided into sections or scenes. The con- versation, in the words of the author, may be taken out from the descriptive and narrative matter, and, finally, the actions of the characters may be worked out as by-play. Splendid work in pantomime may be given in portraying the imaginary snow-image. In the first part let the children play about a purely imaginary snow statue; when the west- wind breathes life into it, a child may quickly take the place of the imaginary snow-image and, later, when the image melts in front of the hot Heidelberg Stove, as quickly dis- appear. Devices. The study of dialogue may be vitalized by means of mimicry and the old-fashioned Punch and Judy. Young pupils particularly delight in thus objectifying their characters by means of paper dolls or dressed figures. This new use for Punch and Judy is especially good, because it shows dialogue in the making. Classes also delight in constructing a miniature cardboard theater, in drawing ground plans for scenes, in painting pic- tures of scenery, and in making little puppets to act as characters. There is no better way to familiarize them with traditions of the theater than by letting them act as their own playwrights and producers. The ability to write and present little plays may well be applied in history classes, for history and English are naturally correlated. The child and the theater. Plays like Peter Pan and Little Women are a delight to children. And, as they grow up, they can appreciate a Shakespearean play just as well, particularly if it has been presented to them in class. The drama is peculiarly an art for the people [says Percy Mac- Kaye in his Playhouse and the Play]: it epitomizes the hearts of I68 TEACHING LITERATURE millions in an individual; it is capable — as no other art is capa- ble — of summing up and expressing the vital conflicts and as- pirations of a race; the scope and gamut of a nation’s conscious- ness. It has power to rekindle the past, to foreshadow the future of mankind, by moving images which impress their form upon the plastic present. In essential dignity and power to inspire, it has the same rights to the reverence of a people as the spirit of religion, to which it is akin. Movements are afoot to give the drama the important place it should have in daily life. The Drama League of America,” for instance, is an organization of nation-wide importance, the object of which is “to stimulate an interest in the best drama and to awaken the public to the impor- tance of the theater as a social force and to its great educa- tional value if maintained on the high level of art and morals.” That children need the drama for their greater development is suggested by the establishment of the child- players at the Educational Theater in New York. We quote again from Percy MacKaye: — Poor, neglected, overworked in the sweatshops by day, they turn at night to their playhouse as to a place hallowed by the joy of life, and enact their plays like ritual hymns chanted to that resident deity of Delight. The Educational Theater for Children and young people is building a solid corner-stone for an ideal theater in America. It is not only imbuing our youngest genera- tions with reverence for a great public art, but it is modestly ex- emplifying for the intelligent public certain vital issues of the drama. ; So let us remember that “the play's the thing!” The word drama comes from a Greek word which means act. A drama is not a drama unless it is acted before the eyes. Children like to “speak pieces.” They will go to great trouble and take much time to memorize lines, if they know they will have a chance to present them. The age for un- conscious acting is before high-school years; therefore use * The National Headquarters are 736 Marquette Building, Chicago. THE DEAMA 169 the elementary period for making the dramatic impression as strong as possible. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Technique and Development of the Drama. For outside reading on the technique of the drama, pupils will find Woodbridge’s Tech- nique of the Drama invaluable. Teachers may supplement this in their own reading with Archer’s Playmaking : A Manual of Craftsmanship, or Professor Baker’s The Technique of the Drama. Reference reading in the development of the drama may be found in Katharine Lee Bates’s English Religious Drama and Brander Matthews's Study of the Drama, for pupils; for the teacher, in Moulton’s Ancient Classical Drama and E. E. Hale, Jr.’s Dramatists of To-day (Rostand, Hauptmann, Suder- mann, Pinero, Shaw, Phillips, Maeterlinck). Dickinson’s Chief Con- temporary Dramatists gives twenty plays from recent drama. Critical Material. For critical comment, students may be referred to selected pages of criticism from such essays as Coleridge’s Lectures on Shakespeare, De Quincey’s On the Knocking on the Gate in Mac- beth; and Hazlitt's Characters of Shakespeare's Plays. Correlated Reading. As additional reading giving sidelights on the drama, let pupils read such sketches as Sir Roger at the Play (Spec- tator, No. 335); Lamb’s Stage Illusion; and the paragraph on play- going in Old China. The Drama, a quarterly published by the Drama League of America (736 Marquette Building, Chicago, $3.00 a year), gives a complete play in each number. Helps in Staging Pageants and Plays. The following books deal with pageantry: Bates, E. W.; Pageants and Pageantry (history, directions, texts of Roman pageants, mediaeval pageants, colonial pageants; The Heart of the World, a pageant of letters); and Chubb : Festivals and Plays in School and Elsewhere. Simplifications of the plays of Shake- speare can best be found in Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare. The Educational Movement for the New American Drama (English Journal, March, 1912, p. 129) gives a description of the Drama League of America and its work; Pageantry in America (English Journal, March, 1914, p. 146) describes the possibilities of pageantry. Illustrative Material. To illustrate class work, the following penny pictures are helpful: Perry Pictures: Hamlet, 1001; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: As You Like It (series of 4); Coriolanus 119s, 120s; Hamlet (series of 12); King Lear (series of 19); Macbeth (series of 7); Midsummer Night’s Dream, 42s, 43s; Othello (series of 6); Romeo and Juliet (series of 9); The Tempest (series of 4); The Winter's Tale, 85s, 86s, 87s; Twelfth Night, 79s, 127s, 4066. 170 TEACHING LITERATURE y (1) SHAKESPEARE AND “THE MERCHANT OF VENICE’ The folks who lived in Shakespeare's day And saw that gentle figure pass By London Bridge — his frequent way — They little knew what man he was. The pointed beard, the courteous mien, The equal port to high or low, All this they saw, or might have seen, – But not the light behind the brow. The doublet’s modest gray or brown, The slender sword-hilt's plain device, What sign had these for prince or clown? Few turned, or none, to scan him twice. Yet ’t was the King of England's Kings! The rest with all their pomps and trains Are mouldered, half-remembered things — 'T is he alone that lives and reigns! T. B. ALDRICH: Shakespeare — the King 1 It is a red letter day when boys and girls meet Shakespeare. They must know the man, first of all. They must know where he lived, and among what conditions he grew to man- hood. They want to know what he did for a living. They like also to know the “crowd “ he went with, his friends. They must meet him face to face. Shakespeare and his times Ways of accumulating interest. The preliminary lesson in presenting any classic is like a skirmish into the enemy’s territory. If the literary sortie is well planned and con- ducted with telling dramatic effect, the campaign follows to a successful issue, and boys and girls leave the field of the masterpiece with a genuine desire for more. If the open- ing of activities is not well planned, the giants Inattention and Boredom win. Visual, auditory, and motor memory can all be employed in the opening attack. For instance, an alert teacher can place on the blackboard a poem like the introductory verses in this section, covering it from sight until the proper moment. A simple means of doing this is to buy a cheap THE DRAMA 171 window shade, or blind, and fasten it at the top of the blackboard, where it can be raised at the proper moment to expose the writing. It is better to have before the class only the things upon which they are to concentrate; if a strange poem appears written on the blackboard, some pupils will fasten eyes upon it and fail to follow the teacher. Furthermore, teachers may bring to the class pictures of places associated with Shakespeare. By pointing out special features, they can lead children to visualize the environ- ment of the great poet. Pupils will often jot down the names of pictures that please them. The following list of associations in Stratford-on-Avon will help tremendously in making children feel that this Shakespeare is a flesh-and-blood friend: — The house where Shakespeare was born. The grammar school where he studied. The ancient Forest of Arden, where he loved to roam. The Avon River. The “bank where the wild thyme grows.” The cottage of his mother, Mary Arden. Charlcote Hall, the home of Sir Thomas Lucy, and the stile across the road where the young poacher was caught. Anne Hathaway's cottage, one mile away at Shottery. Foundation walls of New Place, Shakespeare’s last home. Trinity Church, containing his birth record, the font where he was baptized, his grave beneath the chancel floor, the epitaph, and the mural bust. ** * *-* ~ * A rough map upon the board will locate London, Strat- ford-on-Avon, and the two roads then leading to London. Portraits and copies of busts of the great dramatist should be brought out, and the poem on the board displayed. Pic- tures of London Bridge, the theaters, the taverns, and other places of old London should be shown. The club idea, a suggestion. Do they want to read some- thing about this “ King of England’s Kings,” and about these places? They are keen on the scent of Shakespeare’s life, and will follow it through to the end with vigorous 172 TEACHING LITERATURE interest. They can tell you in class next day all about him. Let them form an English club for the period. With one of their own number in the chair, let them come to the front of the room and in one-minute talks tell you and the class about Shakespeare’s parentage, boyhood, tastes, marriage, and friends; about his seeking a living in a far place, his apprenticeship at the theaters, his playing of parts, and gradual entrance into the writing of plays; about his literary output and business ventures; about his return to his old home, his last days, his death and burial; and about his qualities of mind, and his place in the world of letters. Will they tell you about these things? If the appeal of parlia- mentary power is given to them in club organization for the period, they will tell eagerly and surprisingly. Teachers, as a rule, tell too much. They are the ones who get the thrill attendant upon telling of one they like. Why not let the children enjoy this, too? If you must do something, you teachers who are accus- tomed to “holding forth '' for the edification of your classes, let it be the giving of a graphic picture of Elizabethan days and ideals, — the spirit of adventure stealing out across the seas, the rise of the middle class, the freedom of life and thought, the demand for action, the versatility of the times, the boyish enthusiasm, the ardent imagination, the coming of new things, the seething of new ideas in that “melting-pot” of Elizabethan England. Elizabethan London and the theater. London of the Eliza- bethan day comprised about one hundred and fifty thousand souls. This is a decided contrast to the millions of population of the world’s metropolis to-day. It covered but a small part of the present area. Prominent then were St. Paul’s Cathe- dral, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Eastcheap, and old London Bridge with the quaint wooden houses upon THE DRAMA 173 it. There were creaking signs, rudely paved and badly lighted streets, no sewers, filthy gutters, the “kennel” ditch in the center of the street, narrow foot passages for pedestri- ans, foul alleys and courts, and water-spouts from the roofs of houses. Lawless persons roamed the streets. Traffic on the Thames was boisterous with the bluster of little places. It was Dr. Johnson who divided the people of London into two great classes, – the quarrelsome and the peaceful, - or those who “took the wall ” and those who “gave the wall.” Theaters could be erected only in the suburbs of the city. During the Elizabethan period, queer-looking structures appeared dotted about the outskirts of the town. The Globe Theater, for instance, was a wooden building shaped like a hexagon. The middle portion, open to the sky, was then called “the yard,” — now the pit, — and was filled with the “groundlings,” a boisterous element of apprentices, grooms, and others of the lower class. Around the pit were boxes in which sat such of the middle class as could pay the price. The stage was covered overhead, and had rushes on the floor. At either side, on the stage, was space for men of fashion to sit and watch the players. Performances were scheduled for three o'clock. They were announced by the raising of a flag and the blowing of a trumpet. If tragedy was to be presented, the bill was printed in red letters. At the third blowing of the trumpet, an actor in a black velvet mantle came forward and spoke the prologue. Placards announced the scene. Boys played the parts of women. During the performance, juniper was burned to purify the air. Few women attended. Orange- girls peddled fruit during the play. The theater-loving audi- ences demanded mystery, horror, disguise, claptrap of all sorts. They wanted life in its crude strength, with all the thrills rampant. “Rude as the theater might be,” says Green, “all the world was there.” The playhouse was the 174 TEACHING LITERATURE newspaper of the Elizabethans; the circulating library; the people’s forum. Shakespeare as an Actor. Shakespeare was an actor of considerable ability. His favorite parts were the ghost in Hamlet, old Adam in the comedy As You Like It, and cer- tain kingly parts. His conception of dramatic expression — as given in the advice to the players in Hamlet — is as appli- cable to stage conditions to-day as it was them. Note his de- mand for proper enunciation of words, restrained gesture, suitable expression and interpretation, and propriety. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trip- pingly on the tongue: but if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus; but use all gently: for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your pas- sion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings; who, for the most part, are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb-shows and noise. I would have such a fellow whipped for o’erdoing Termagant; it out herods Herod: pray you, avoid it. . . . Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'er- step not the modesty of nature: for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as 't were, the mirror up to Nature; to show vir- tue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure. Now, this overdone, or come tardy of, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the censure of the which one must, in your allowance, o'erweigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be players that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, that neither having the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed, that I have thought some of Nature's jour- neymen had made men, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably. . . . And let those that play your Clowns speak no more than is set down for them; for there be of them that will themselves laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spec- THE DRAMA 175 tators to laugh too; though, in the meantime, some necessary ques- tion of the play be then to be considered: that’s villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the Fool that uses it. Plays were sold to the theaters for a mere song and were not published. Webster and Jonson, when they printed their plays, were much criticized. During Shakespeare's life about sixteen of his plays were printed, and these prob- ably without his consent. The Merchant of Venice Sources of the plot. The Merchant of Venice well illustrates Shakespeare’s custom of going back to old tales for his plots. Some of the mediaeval manuscripts, like the Gesta Romanorum (Deeds of the Romans) were storehouses of literary material to thousands of writers who followed. There is also a historical basis for the play in the high feel- ing toward the Jew as a race. This feeling was particularly strong from the fourteenth century until the middle of the seventeenth. It was unjust, but it is a historical fact. In teaching this play, it is wise to pass over as lightly as pos- sible the racial bearing. Character, setting, and action. The original title given by Shakespeare was A Jew of Venice. The change to The Merchant of Venice is indicative of the fact that the author wished to throw to the front the other character. Techni- cally, Antonio is the main character; dramatically, Shylock is. The play is a comedy, for the main character is extri- cated from his difficulties. Recognizing that the action bor- ders at times upon the tragic, various critics have termed The Merchant of Venice a tragi-comedy. The ideal way is to read the play rapidly at first to get the story, then to read it carefully the second time to study characters, develop- ment of plot, descriptions, and fine lines. The characters fall into three groups clustered about An- tonio, Shylock, and Portia. Antonio represents the best 176 TEACHING LITERATURE class of Venice. He is protected by law; he has a host of friends, among whom is Bassanio. Shylock, on the other hand, is a resident of the Jewish Ghetto, hounded by law, hated by Christians, yet a power on the Rialto. Portia, a rich heiress, is in love with Bassanio, and he with her. Un- able to present his suit according to custom, Bassanio ap- peals to Antonio, with the result that his friend insists upon borrowing money to equip a retinue to accompany Bassanio to Belmont on his wooing. Antonio borrows the money from the Jew, Shylock. So sure is he that his ships will be in port inside of three months, that he signs a bond, pledging a pound of his own flesh if the debt is not paid when due. The plot that centers in the bond has its roots in the beau- tiful example of what one friend will do for another. Charting plot, underplot, and episode. There are two main plots, a sub-plot, and an episode in the play. These are briefly the bond and casket plots, the love affair of Lorenzo and Jessica, and the ring episode. These threads are run together through the five acts. Classes will enjoy working out with the teacher a chart, or diagram, of the various threads of plot. This should be done before their eyes, so that they can understand the structure of the play. The chart shown on page 177 was made by a pupil. The three sizes of stars show the relative values of points. In the diagram the somewhat pyramidal line is followed, although it is not in the usual vertical position. Boys and girls show a great deal of ingenuity in working out these plot-threads and can be trusted to do so, after the principle of rise and fall of the line of suspense has been explained. Inductive study of character. There is excellent oppor- tunity in this play to study characterization. How is our conception of a Shakespearean character formed? It is worth while to try to get an unbiased idea of a character. This can THE DRAMA 177 be done in various ways: by observing, (1) how he acts; (2) how he speaks and what he says; (3) how other people treat him; (4) what other characters say about him. It is Bassanio's love . . KAntonio will borrow money for Bassanio's wooing 8... ..}; Conditions of the bond ( 1. . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . 3 4...LorenzöR&plan& . . . . . . . . . Shylock is bid to supper Act II º 5. . The elopementºk . N. . . . . . . . Shylock leaves for supper 6. . . . . . . . . . . . /. . . . . . . 7 ls. ſ 1. Antonio's losses 2. Giving ... Bassanio wins#Portia..!. Letter from A. leaves tº go to Antonio - ntonio Act III ſ .# Shylock refuses Antonio 4. Lovers ºf take charge . . . . . . / . . . . . . . . . . . . . §: Portia's plan 5. - 1...Asking for * rings. . . . . - legal trick Act IV - cakéhes Shylock; e is punished Act W — I : Bassanio and . . $ News that some of - # Lorenzo and Jessica Portia again Antonio's ships are to be given the united have returned Jew’s goods, after death well to allow pupils to choose the characters that they wish to study, and then to show them how to find the data in the 178 TEACHING LITERATURE play. One class in second-year work, for instance, furnished definite information in outline form, as follows: — The Character of Jessica built up from the Play Act II, 3. Says “Our house is hell. — ” Ashamed to be her father’s child. Strife at home. Will give up her faith to marry Lorenzo. Act II, 4. She managed, planned the elopement. Lorenzo's opinion that she will be the only salvation for her father. Act II, 5. Shylock’s injunction for Jessica not to clamber up to the casement and thrust her head into the public street sug- gests that she might have been in the habit of doing this. Launcelot's teasing words about a Christian's (Lorenzo's) passing by are not greatly respectful. Jessica tells a lie, when she repeats Launcelot's remark. She talks almost too much about her disguise as a boy. She steals some more ducats. ~ Lorenzo thinks her wise, fair, and true. Act II, 7. Salarino speaks of “Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.” Shylock cares more for his ducats than for his daughter. In the same manner, through Acts III and V, all refer- ences to Jessica, or her speeches, were weighed. In the end, the pupil tabulated results based on the facts found in the play. If the characters are chosen before reading, each pupil keeps his eye open for facts along the line of his choice; and, before he knows it, he has gathered his data. This original investigation is not too hard for young pupils. It cultivates a sense of accuracy and independence. Generalizing questions. At the end of the study of the play, pupils will enjoy using their knowledge in making gen- eralizations. The following questions will suggest others of this sort:- Which characters do you like best? Why? Which scene have you enjoyed most? Why? Which lines in the play do you like best? Why? Memorize Portia’s plea for mercy, remembering that strained means constrained. Quote examples of punning, of brilliant wit, of intense THE DRAMA 179 feeling, of character description, of observation of nature, of humor, of pathos, of beauty of allusion, of terse common sense, of customs of the day. Acting out the parts. Certain portions of this play, if not all of it, should always be read aloud in class. Indeed, some of the scenes might well be memorized and presented. The gradual twisting-up of tension in the courtroom scene and the unwinding of suspense toward the end make splendid material for juvenile dramatic attempts. Parts may be as- signed in class and the pupils may read in turn. There is so much in the play that carries one off one’s feet that a class must be given every opportunity to work up these thrills for themselves. The play of emotion in certain great crises is good material for student interpretation. Pupils should be encouraged to memorize striking passages. Lines like Portia’s “Quality of Mercy” grow appreciably dearer with the years. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical and Critical Material. In both biography and criticism of Shakespeare, teachers should make selection by pages for pupils’ reading. The following are recommended: Bagehot: Literary Studies (Shakespeare, the Man), vol. 1, pp. 37–87; Coleridge: Lectures on Shakespeare; Corson: An Introduction to Shakespeare; Dowden: A Shakespeare Primer; Jameson: Heroines of Shakespeare; Lee: Shake- speare's Life and Work; Lowell: Literary Essays (Shakespeare Once More) vol. III, pp. 1–95; Mabie: Shakespeare, Poet, Dramatist, and Man ; Rolfe: Shakespeare, the Boy; Ward, H. S., and Ward, C. W.: Shakespeare's Town and Times. These should be supplemented as additional reading by sketches like Irving’s Stratford-on-Avon (The Sketch Book), and novels that deal with Elizabethan days, notably Bennett's Master Skylark and Black's Judith Shakespeare. Illustrative Material. To illustrate The Merchant of Venice, the fol- lowing penny pictures are recommended: Brown’s Famous Pictures: Shakespeare at the Court of Elizabeth, 1122; and Shakespeare and His Friends, 1083; Perry Pictures: Shakespeare and Stratford-on-Avon, 73, 74, 74a, 74b, 74c, 740, 75, 75b; Thompson Company Blue Prints: series of eight on The Merchant of Venice. Correlated Reading. Besides this comedy and the plays described I80 TEACHING LITERATURE in the last chapter, pupils should be familiar with one or more of the following plays of Shakespeare: King Lear, Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Tempest. (2) SHAKESPEARE's “JULIUS CAESAR’” It was eleven o’clock. In the sunny English room the class had assembled. A Chinese boy sat in front of the teacher's desk; here and there a Russian with eager face waited for the work; a Greek boy’s dark eyes glowed in ex- pectation; the rest were more or less American. Assignment books lay open to take down the next lesson. They had “finished ” Julius Caesar. - The historical background. This had been a real play, for it had been a tremendous struggle of forces. The class had ; discussed the events leading up to the first triumvirate of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey; they had seen the three-man world crumble to a two-man world, and then to a world with Caesar supreme. They had followed the plot against Caesar, had seen Brutus beguiled by Cassius, had seen his struggle to be true to friend and country. They had watched the finesse with which Antony, the “limb of Caesar,” became his avenger, and with Octavius and Lepidus the former of another three-man world. They knew that an old law forbade crowning a king in Italy; they were familiar with the duties of tribune, consul, praetor, and other great officials. They had seen pictures of the Roman Forum, the Senate, Capitoline Hill, the Roman dress, augurs, etc. They were ready to show how the Caesar and the Brutus of Shakespeare differed from the Caesar and the Brutus of history. They had read Plutarch. They knew Froude. A study of Julius Caesar demands familiarity with the historical background. This should be acquired before the play is read in class. The events of the play begin February, 44 B.C., with the feast of the Lupercal and run THE DRAMA I81 to the battle of Philippi, in September, 42 B.C. The dram- atist has taken certain liberties with history; but he is more concerned with the play as a tragedy than as a historical drama. Then, there is Roman official life. Brutus was praetor. By questions bring out the facts in these political details. For instance:— What were Brutus's duties as praetor? How was he under special obligation to Caesar? Why did the tribunes cling to the Pompey party, and resist Caesar? What had Caesar done to deserve a triumph 2 How was a triumph conducted? Who was Lupercus, in whose honor the festival of the Lupercal was held? Why did the Romans revere the memory of Junius Brutus? How had Caesar reformed the calendar? What part did auguries play in public life? Preparing the way for appreciation. The great tragic fig- ure is Brutus, whose will is faced by two avenues of action, either of which will mean death: the one, death to his patri- otic sense; the other, death to his friend. Technically, Caesar is the main character, for he gives his name to the title; but emotionally, the hero is Brutus. The power of the great Caesar, however, lives on through the ghost and Antony, until death reaches the conspirators, and Caesar is avenged. Julius Capsar is filled with issues of absorbing interest to boys and girls. The teacher must emphasize the various ele- ments. There is the mob, for instance. What qualities does a mob usually reflect? How do such people behave? What part do they play in this drama? How do they talk? How do they regard government? These and similar questions make pupils find more in the mob scenes. Verse and prose are here with deliberate purpose. Prose comes from the commons, from Casca; Brutus in his great speech uses plain prose to convince the minds of his hearers. Antony, on the other hand, plunges into verse that, by its rhythmical appeal, stirs the heart and arouses the passions. Punning, so popular among the Elizabethans, is abundantly 182 TEACHING LITERATURE found. The play offers splendid opportunity to discover lit- tle leads that result in big things, veiled remarks that have a double meaning, moments of suspense, character-revealing words and incidents. Intense appreciation can be stirred in a responsive class, if the teacher opens their minds to these things. Sensitiveness to fine lines should be cultivated in study of the drama. No masterpiece studied gives better material for memory work. Boys can be swayed by the orations of An- tony and Brutus. There is a fire in these speeches that will in- flame the imaginations of the class, and glow in their hearts long after school is forgotten. An Impromptu Production — A Classroom. Eacperience The writer will never forget that day when the eleven o'clock class “finished ” Julius Caesar by giving in concert the great speeches of Brutus and Antony, which they had memorized. “We'll actit,” exclaimed the teacher. “Impromptu! Who will be Antony?” The very soul stood out in the face of Theophanes, the Greek boy. A firm pressure came into the lips of a Jewish boy, a student with a keen, logical mind. Quick as a flash, the teacher pointed: “You, Antony,” she said; “you, Brutus. The whole class will be the mob, with you as first citizen, you as second citizen,” etc. Then she withdrew to the back of the room, and turned the re- sponsibility over to the class. The young Greek caught an overcoat from its hook and laid it on a chair in the corner; then he tiptoed into the cor- ridor. He was Antony, waiting his cue. Brutus, meanwhile, came to the front. “Romans, countrymen, and lovers!” he began, “hear me for my cause, and be silent that you may hear.” THE DRAMA 183 Then followed those logical, dispassionate words falling with incisive power, and cutting men off from opposition, At the words, “the question of his death,” the door into the corridor opened, and Antony entered. He strode to the chair in the corner, picked up the overcoat, and, holding it in his arms, advanced toward the speaking Brutus. Not an ex- pression changed on the faces of those in the seats. Young Antony laid the folded coat full length upon the first bench, and raised his eyes to the mob. Clamors had broken out in praise of Brutus; they would crown him, make him Caesar, carry him home in triumph. But the young speaker pleaded for silence to hear the speech of Antony. I do entreat you, not a man depart, Save I alone, till Antony have spoke. And Brutus passed to the rear. If you could but hear what followed! Under the inspira- tion of a living, glowing Antony pleading for his friend, boys forgot that they were just boys. They cried their parts of disgust or approval, not waiting one for the other, but spon- taneously. The young Greek spoke of Caesar's triumphs, of his will, of how he loved the commons. He worked upon their emotions, stirring them up to denunciation of the “honorable men’’ as traitors. He drew them closer about the pitiful substitute for Caesar on the front seat— the class acting the parts in spite of themselves—and showed them “dead Caesar's wounds,” until many an eye glistened. Then skillfully the boy orator diverted the clamorous mob into definite action. How his voice rang out! But were I Brutus, And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue In every wound of Caesar, that should move The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. The mob cried out; and, unconsciously giving way to the 184 TEACHING LITERATURE appeal for action, rose to their feet. The teacher stopped them with upraised hand. Now let it work [said Antony]. Mischief, thou art afoot, Take thou what course thou wilt! That eleven o’clock period will not soon be forgotten. Theophanes the Greek went back to his native land when the war with the Turks broke out, and from the trenches sent a postal card to the teacher of the class. “I shall not forget,” it said, “the work with Julius Capsar. I think of those speeches many many times.” More often ought we teachers to clear the track and give the classic right of way. We so often impede the progress of the masterpiece by putting our own puny personalities in its way. Let the appeal of a drama come through dramatic rendering, even if pupils must pretend that an old overcoat is Caesar. There is glory in the fact that they can so pretend. Study of the play. The construction of the drama should be stripped of non-essentials. After the detailed outline of the scenes studied day by day has been made, this material should be epitomized. The following pupil’s outline presents in few words the gist of each scene, as well as the summing- up of each act. Act I. General Discontent: Sc. 1. Feeling of the rabble toward Caesar. Sc. 2. Stirring up the leaders against Caesar. Sc. 3. Revealing the plot to Casca. Act II. The Conspiracy: Sc. 1. Winning Brutus. Sc. 2. Prevailing over omens. Sc. 3. Artemidorus’ attempt to save Caesar. Sc. 4. Portia’s forebodings. Act III. The Assassination: Sc. 1. The murder of Caesar. Sc. 2. The funeral scene. Sc. 3. The fury of the mob. Act IV. Cºvil War: Sc. 1. Proscriptions. Getting rid of Lepidus. THE DRAMA 185 Sc. 2. Brutus and Cassius in camp. Sc. 3. Their quarrel and reconciliation. Plan for Philippi. Brutus's vision of the ghost. Act V. Punishment: Sc. 1. Parley between the generals. Sc. 2. Battle. Sc. 3. Battle. Deaths of Cassius and Titinius. Sc. 4. Death of Cato. Sc. 5. Death of Brutus. Recognition of Brutus's character by Antony. : Teachers of English should be on intimate terms with the masterpieces they are expected to teach. They ought to have a clear idea of the action of the play, and mental pic- tures of the various scenes and characters. They should be familiar with the fine lines; should be able to quote what is worth while; and should appreciate the diction, the wealth of allusion, and the various other literary qualities that com- bine to produce style. These things come through careful and loving study of a masterpiece. Life Lessons in Julius Caesar. — There is splendid chance here for the teacher to talk intimately about such subjects as civic duties, real patriotism, conflict of duties, standards by which to judge, the value of high ideals, the contemptible side of conspiracies, a man’s honor, the dangers of associ- ating below one’s level, politician versus statesman, the highest type of government, boss rule, modern conditions versus conditions of ancient Rome, the fallacy of thinking that assassination cures, the only cure for poor government, etc., etc. Relate the problems of the play to modern life, even to events in the lives of the boys and girls. How to choose when duties conflict, is a question that may confront young as well as old. How the gang organization, or spirit, may be misused, is a subject that the boy may have to face in his own life. George Herbert Palmer, Professor of Philosophy at Harvard, says: — 186 TEACHING LITERATURE The boy as soon as born is adopted unconsciously into some kind of moral world. While he is growing up and thinking of other things, habits of character are seizing him. By the time he comes to school he is encrusted with customs. The idea that his moral edu- cation can be fashioned in the same way as his geography is fan- tastic. The only possible effect that can come from instruction about morals is ethical enlightenment, which is not likely to im- prove performance at all. On the other hand, a course in ethical instruction for a young person is much more likely to be deleteri- ous. Only instructive action is swift, sure, and firm. 5 This “ instructive action,” whereby great moral lessons are taught in concrete form, is particularly striking in the play Julius Caesar. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical and Critical Material. See page 179. Historic Setting. Besides the standard textbooks in Roman history, pupils should look up historical conditions in such works as Froude's Caesar: A Sketch, and Plutarch’s Lives, in school edition. Illustrative Material. A series of sixteen blue prints on Julius Caesar is published by the Thompson Company. Correlated Reading. Besides Julius Caesar, pupils should be familiar with other historical plays of Shakespeare. Any one of the following is recommended for class work or home reading: Coriolanus, Henry V, King John, Richard II, Richard III. CHAPTER VIII THE SHORT STORY “Once upon a time —” THERE is a subtle magic in the words, “Once upon a time.” Children will draw near in loving acquaintance to the library lady who can enthrall them with a tale. There is a start of joyous anticipation when the bedtime yarn is suggested. Little wonder that the short story is popular! It has wide human appeal; it saves time for the reader; it holds him intent on adventure, mystery, or character por- trayal; it exhibits in Small compass a perfect technique. So great is its influence that periodical literature floods the market; newspapers adopt the “story ‘’ style; and, back of magazine and newspaper, a host of advertisers furnish the capital to finance the stupendous circulation of the short story. What is the short story? It is hard to define the short story because it is not a made thing, but a growing thing. It is an evolution. We might say a short story is the disen- tangling of a complicated situation, so that a single definite effect is made. Short story, tale, newspaper happening, travel article, novel, play, biography, autobiography, and diary all have one thing in common. They relate a happening, which takes place somewhere, and is part of the life of some character. These forms differ mainly in two great respects: (1) the matter with which they deal; and (2) the method in which this is presented. The newspaper happening, the travel story, the biography, the autobiography, and the diary 188 TEACHING LITERATURE deal with actual facts; the short story, the tale, the novel, and the play deal with fictitious fact, if you can conceive of such a paradox. This fictitious fact is the “universal truth.” which leads us to say, after reading a novel, “How true to life!” The first group tell their facts in actual order of occurrence; the second, however, for the purpose of sus- pense, hold back events, rearrange incidents, and take further liberties to turn out a thrilling story. The novel and the short story. The novel and the short story have much in common. In plot, the short story is more simple than the novel. It is confined to a single con- trolling incident, whereas the novel deals with many inci- dents and episodes. In characterization, the short story confines itself to one or more main characters essential to the plot; but the novel introduces many characters, some barely related to the plot. In presenting setting, the short story uses a few telling strokes, but the novel pauses for expanded description; the ideal short story usually ob- serves the unities of time and place, but the novel may stretch through a lifetime and pass from place to place. Few details mark the short story; many are used in the novel. Read at one sitting, the former leaves a single, concen- trated impression, which the novel on account of its greater length and complexity cannot leave. The short story focuses upon a small section of life; the novel is allowed the breadth of the world. A comparison of Stevenson's short story, Markheim, with his novel, Treasure Island, shows how this distinction was made by one who knew superbly his art of writing. The story, Markheim, gives a crisis in a man’s life; events take place in close succession and in the same house. The characters are four in number: Markheim, the dealer in antiques, the visitant, and the serving-maid. Treasure Island, on the other hand, deals with a number of char- THE SHORT STORY 189 acters — Billy Bones, Black Dog, Doctor Livesey, the Squire, Jim, Silver, and the Captain being most prominent. It covers the map pretty extensively, has incident and epi- sode galore, and runs a considerable length of time. Materials of story-building. Story materials comprise theme, incidents, characters, setting, and emotion, plus the writer’s style. The story is built upon a groundwork of incident, character, and setting. It was Stevenson who said that he could conceive of but three ways to approach a story in writing it: by means of (1) an incident about which characters group themselves; (2) a character that plays a significant part through incidents; and (3) a mood or feeling, which both incident and character reflect. Con- versation is a factor in the modern short story. In propor- tion as it is present, combined with action, it places the story in the field of the dramatic. What is style? It is a man’s personality coloring his words. It is his habitual manner of thinking, of grouping words, and of securing effects. It is the sum total of his heredity, environment, thought, will, and taste, expressed in his writings. In literature, it implies not only individu- ality, but originality and distinction. “Fine writing ” is not good style. It is like putting on Sunday clothes, when one has not been used to them. Last of all, every story has a title. This should be brief, apt, suggestive — and should pique the curiosity. Long titles that betray the contents have been outgrown. Evolution of the short story. Do not imagine for an instant that the short story is a strictly new thing. It is rooted in the past and many types of writing have contrib- uted toward its final form. Ancient fables, legends, myths, tales of the East, epics, mediaeval collections of tales, fabli- aux, anecdotes, parables, allegories have all played a part in the development of the modern short story. 190 TEACHING LITERATURE All great countries have their myths and folk tales, which very ostensibly relate historical events, explain beliefs or natural phenomena, or deal with the lives of heroes. Pupils in schools are familiarized with the myths of Greece and Rome, of the Norsemen, and the Indians. The beast fables of the early world were crystalized by AEsop and the Bidpai. La Fontaine's fables further de- veloped the same idea. In the fable we have characters, – animals or things personified, - incident, vague setting, and moral. The animals converse much as human beings would. The moral is attached to the tale in conspicuous form. George Ade's Fables in Slang are an original, humor- ous imitation of the ancient fable. A parable is a short, homely, fictitious narrative, which, under the facts of common life, also conveys a moral or spiritual truth. The most famous are the parables of the New Testament. Biblical tales, dating back hundreds of years before Christ, are splendid examples of simple, straightforward, powerful narrative, unadorned, but depending for impres- sion on the virility of the tale. Episodes in Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Daniel, together with the books of Ruth and Esther furnish excellent material for class study. The Old Testament abounds in striking meta- phor, parallelism, and forceful combinations of words. The narratives are swift, simple, and inevital ". . The characters are drawn with powerful strokes. • -- - Anecdote, legend, and allegory must also be mentioned in the evolution of the story. These forms were especially popular during the Middle Ages, and entered into the longer tales. An anecdote is a short account of a single incident. It abounds in biography, - for example, Boswell’s Life of Johnson. A legend is a story handed down from the past, confined to one or two localities, and dealing with char- acter or incident that may have a touch of the supernatural. THE SHORT STORY 191 The legend of the Holy Grail is a good example. An alle- gory is a metaphor carried out at length. Its characters are personifications; its incidents, symbolic; and its moral is pointed. The Pilgrim’s Progress of Bunyan is an allegory. During the Middle Ages great collections of tales were im- mensely popular. Mediaeval tales in the Gesta Romanorum have been the storehouse from which countless later writers have drawn. Boccaccio's stories passed from tongue to tongue. The beautiful Aucassin and Nicolette — a sort of novelette called a song-story – is well worth reading, espe- cially in Andrew Lang's version. All of these tales circulated throughout Europe, delighting the people. The fairy tale is lineal ancestor of the fantastic story or novel. Every country has had its stock of these tales. Hans Andersen of Denmark wrote fairy tales that for poetic imagination and tender pathos are unsurpassed. Then we have Celtic fairy tales; Italian fairy tales; French fairy tales; Russian fairy tales; Japanese fairy tales; Nor- wegian fairy tales; Indian fairy tales; and the Oriental fairy tales so superbly told in Arabian Nights. Andrew Lang in his vari-colored volumes occupies a prominent place on the book-shelves of many a young person. The short story was at first a sort of hybrid. It was fa- thered by the essay; it was mothered by the Elizabethan romance. Throughout The Spectator we find little stories that are leisure', ºián the style of the essay and yet are marked by the Ancident and character that belong to the short story. Note Addison's story of Constantia and Theo- dosia (No. 164 of The Spectator). A century passed, and Washington Irving wrote his tales. His art is a great step beyond the method of Addison. His characters are flesh and blood, his incidents are well chosen, his humor and pathos are evident, his working toward a final climax is pronounced. These tales of Irving, however, as compared with the modern short story, are plainly old-fashioned. The 192 TEACHING LITERATURE long-drawn-out introduction and leisurely development may be seen in Rip Van Winkle. The power of the story, however, is proved by the long life it has had in the popular mind and on the stage, where Joseph Jefferson’s imperson- ation of Rip has made it immortal. The modern short story. The strictly modern short story had birth with Poe and Hawthorne in this country and Gautier and Mérimée in France. Since that early day, a host of short-story writers have sprung up in this country and in England, France, Russia, and other countries of Europe. Chief among these are Stevenson and Kipling in England; Mérimée, Maupassant, Daudet, Coppée, Ana- tole France, and Balzac in France; Pushkin and Tolstoy in Russia; and Björnson in Norway. The following stories by these foreign writers are worthy of study: — ſMéRIMéE: Mateo Falcome. – DAUDET.: The Last Lesson. The Siege of Berlin. MAUPASSANT: The Necklace. * * The Piece of String. CoPPáE: The Substitute. FRANCE: Juggler to Our Lady. JBALZAc: In the Time of the Terror. TolsToy: Where Love is, There God is Also. PUSHKIN: The Shot. Norwegian—BjöRNson: The Father. Danish—ANDERSEN: The Steadfast Tim Soldier. (Doylie: Stories from Sherlock Holmes (Adventure of the Dancing Men). JACOBs: Change of Treatment. The Monkey’s Paw (In The Lady of the Barge). KIPLING: The Man Who Was. * = & The Brushwood Boy. (In The Day's Work). British- Without Benefit of º Q/ ) The Ship that Found Herself. The Drums of the Fore and Aft. STEVENSON: A Lodging for the Night. Markheim. The Sire de Maletroit's Door (In New Arabian Nights). French - Russian { THE SHORT STORY 193 In this country, short-story writers have written of all localities. Mary Wilkins Freeman, Alice Brown, Sarah Orne Jewett, James B. Connolly, and others have pictured life in New England and off the coast. The South has been portrayed by such writers as Joel Chandler Harris, George W. Cable, and Thomas Nelson Page. The West lives in the stories of Bret Harte and Hamlin Garland. The myriad life of the great city has well been shown by H. C. Bunner, O. Henry, Richard Harding Davis, Josephine Daskam Bacon, Myra Kelly, and others. With noteworthy stories like the following,' teachers ought to be familiar: — ALDRICH: Marjorie Daw; BUNNER: Zenobia's Infidelity; ANDREws: *The Perfect Tribute; Connolly: The Trawler ($2500 prize story); FREEMAN: The Revolt of Mother; HARRIS: * Uncle Remus Stories; HALE: My Double and How He Undid Me, and *The Man Without a Country; HARTE: Tennessee's Partner; HENRY, O.: The Chapar- ral Prince; JEWETT: The White Heron; PAGE: Meh Lady, and Marse Cham; SHARP: *Turtle Eggs for Agassiz (in The Face of the Fields); STOCKTON: *The Lady or the Tiger; WAN DYKE: *The Keeper of the Light (In The Ruling Passion). Teaching the technique of the story. It is sometimes difficult to classify short stories, because they can be ap- proached from so many different points of view. They may be classified according to theme, subject-matter, locality, method of development, mood, or most striking character- istic. The same material, for instance, may be treated from the standpoint of realism, romanticism, impressionism, or idealism. Emphasis may be thrown on action, or plot; on characters; on setting; or on mood or emotion. From such stressing would result (1) stories of adventure and action; (2) character studies or psychological stories; (3) stories of local color; (4) humorous, pathetic, weird, mystery, or love stories. A well-constructed short story falls into four parts: * Stories marked with the asterisk are good for reading aloud in class. 194 TEACHING LITERATURE an introduction, or opening situation; a development of events; a climax; and a conclusion. The introduction quickly sets the characters before the reader and presents a situation. The development of the story is a train of incidents or feelings which grow out of the opening situa- tion and lead to entanglement by means of an obstacle in- troduced. Sharp upon the entanglement comes the climax, toward which everything hitherto has pointed. This is a logi- cal, but not altogether expected, result of what goes before. The conclusion is the unforeseen solving of the final situation. How can we learn to judge a short story? Best, by breaking it apart to see how it brings about its effects. The following questions apply to most stories: — Is the title brief, apt, attractive, appealing? What is the theme of the story? In developing this, does the writer focus upon plot, characters, some emotion, or locality? Does the story make a single strong impression? Can it be read easily at one sitting? Does it appeal to juvenile or adult readers? What is the setting: time and place? Is description introduced in a way that wearies the reader? How is the setting built up? Which are the major characters? How do they contribute to the development of the plot? Are they clearly drawn? Are they true to life or overdrawn? Do they speak naturally? Is the conversation vivid, suitable, and given with dramatic effect? Are the characters described in detail, by suggestion, or through their own words and actions? Is the plot unified, – does each incident form a part? Is the plot consistent? Original or hackneyed? Probable or improbable? Strong or weak? How does the author create suspense? What is the difficulty at the beginning? What acts as obstacle? How does this gradually yield to a solution? Does the story observe the unities of time, place, and action? — The ideal short-story represents a crisis of some sort that takes place at a single spot and at a single time; all good stories observe unity of action. In what lies the appeal of the story? What feeling does it arouse? Humor? Pity? Sympathy? Would you call the treatment realistic, romantic, impressionistic, or idealistic? Do you want to read other stories by the same author? Is the story a detective, mystery, love, humorous, adventure, or surprise type of story? If none of these, make up a term to fit it. Compare the story with others of the same kind. THE SHORT STORY 195 Three masters of the short-story art. Stevenson, Kip- ling, and Poe, each in his individual way, are masters of the short-story art. Stevenson’s Markheim, Kipling’s With- ‘’ out Benefit of Clergy, and Poe's Cask of Amoniillado deal with the very bone and fiber of life. There seems to be not one unnecessary line. Words are moulded to the person- alities of the characters. There is a feeling of the inevitable, a feeling that the thing did happen thus, and only could happen thus. There is no introduction of extraneous ma- terial, no loitering, no vagueness of expression, no jumping at words. And yet how different are the threel Stevenson’s Mark- heim is a cross-section of the human heart with the essence of romance in conscience materialized under the name of Visitant. The development of Markheim’s soul in conver- sation with His Better Self is a powerful example of crafts- manship. The progression is entirely mental, psychological. Kipling's Without Benefit of Clergy shows his complete un- derstanding of conditions in India, his remarkable powers of description, his unfailing ability to project himself into another's personality. He assumes the point of view of the native woman and reveals a knowledge not only of her heart, but of her inherited thought. The wealth of detail, the short, sharp sentences, the concrete dialectic touches, the tender pathos, – all are Kipling at his best. In Poe’s Cask of Amontillado, we find the singleness of impression; the con- centrated cruelty; the dashing straight toward the grand climax; the crude, glaring terror, which we might call the chromo of emotion. Arabian Nights in class. Young pupils revel in Arabian Nights. The stories may be used for oral reproduction, the pupils telling the tale in relay, each coming to the front of the room to speak. The most satisfactory for class use are: The Fisherman and the Genie, The Story of the Enchanted 196 TEACHING LITERATURE Horse (five parts), Prince Ahmed (seven parts), Cogia Hassan Alhabbal (three parts), Aladdin (seven parts), Ali Cogia, Ali Baba (five parts), Abou Hassan (five parts), Three Sisters (five parts), Sindbad (introduction and seven voyages), The Barmecide Feast, and Prince Zeyn Alasnam (five parts). As preliminary work, it is necessary to tell how the Ara- bian Nights stories were supposed to have originated. The Fisherman and the Genie offers good material for work in monologue and dialogue. Several of the stories may be acted out in class, impromptu, and by the time these are successfully done, pupils may make up little Arabian Nights stories of their own. Teaching Irving. Four stories from The Sketch-Book worthy of careful reading are Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," The Spectre Bridegroom, and Philip of Pokanoket. - Rip Van Winkle is a tale that interests young or old. The story is begun in the old-style way of describing first the scene and then the characters. The modern short story usually plunges at once into the action. Questions like the following clarify the story: — Where are the Kaatskills? Of what nationality is the name Rip Van Winkle? At what time in American history is the story laid? What were Rip Van Winkle’s likes and dislikes? Who constituted his family? Describe the people who gathered at the inn. Narrate the adventure that befell Rip. Describe the little men. What put Rip to sleep? How did he feel when he woke up? What changes did he gradually notice? How was the village changed? Who finally recog- nized him? How did he spend his last days? What was old Peter Vanderdonk's explanation? What was the tradition about Henry Hudson and his men? To dramatize the story, which scenes would you pick out? Which characters would you choose? Look up the legend about the German king Frederick Barbarossa. Define legend, tradition. The foſlowing words are excellent for definition: — 1 For detailed study, see pages 202-10. THE SHORT STORY 197 Dismembered, barometers, latticed, gable, surmounted, chivalrous, obsequious, conciliating, malleable, termagant, impunity, insuperable, aversion, assiduity, fowling-piece, pestilent, patrimonial, galligaskins, incessantly, fain, precipitation, sages, philosophers, rubicund, listlessly, dapper, junto, patriarch, Sundial, vehemently, tranquilly, august, virago, reciprocated, knoll, impending, skulked, apprehension, jerkin, amphithea- tre, incomprehensible, outlandish, doublet, lack-lustre, reiterated, flagon, roisters, gambol, firelock, recurrence, apparently, connubial, rickety, meta- morphosed, disputatious, phlegm, haranguing, jargon, akimbo, austere, squall, identity, corroborated, ditto, cronies, chronicle, draught. Teaching Hawthorne. Hawthorne achieved his reputa- tion as a short-story writer from his Twice-Told Tales and Mosses from an Old Manse. He also wrote several collections of stories strictly for children: Grandfather’s Chair, with its stories of New England history; A Wonder-Book and Tangle- wood Tales, with classical myths retold. His stories are of four general types: (1) stories of allegorical or symbolic truth, as The Snow Image; (2) stories that reflect the early life of New England, as The Gray Champion; (3) sketches in the style of The Spectator, as A Rill from the Town Pump; and (4) history and myths retold. The Snow Image shows Hawthorne's delicacy of touch in his treatment of the children in the story. His portrayal is most artistic. It is interesting to note how the name Peony fits the boy, for Hawthorne repeatedly emphasizes the red cheeks of the little fellow. The mother, too, con- stantly comes before us with “thimbled finger” tapping on the pane, – the constant repetition of one striking detail reminding us of Dickens's method. Let classes contrast the mother’s character with the father’s practicality; for father and mother are opposites in temperament and in views. This the children unconsciously perceive; and Hawthorne, with his sure touch, makes the children themselves contrast their father and mother in speaking of them. Taken all in all, there is a chaste coldness about the story that accords with the title of the snow-child. 198 TEACHING LITERATURE If the story is read aloud, many profitable comments may be drawn from the children as they read. These are such ordinary but vital matters as asking permission, the close intimacy between mother and children, the apprecia- tion of the natural cold of winter rather than artificial warmth, the “pretend” spirit in play, etc. After the story has been read it should be discussed, beginning with the big, most evident points and working down to details. In the way of a moral, take what you will from the story, but let us remember not to allow grown-up materialism to deaden youthful idealism. Keep the play-spirit alive. Children have much of the Old-Greek creative mind that peopled the brooks with nymphs, the trees with dryads, the sun with Apollo the charioteer and the moon with Diana. The mythi- cal is the real in the child world. Hawthorne's stories have a quality all their own. In The Gray Champion, a story of early New England, are shown the author's feeling for colonial history, his power to pro- ject himself into another period, and his expert handling of a dramatic situation. David Swan, The Prophetic Pictures, and The Great Carbuncle present strong lessons in sym- bolic form. The Ambitious Guest is a deservedly popular story. In reading these stories, the class ought to have ac- cess to the author's Notebooks; for these reveal much as to the working methods of a great writer. Hawthorne nur- tured the germ of an idea until it took powerful form. Studying Poe as a master of technique. Edgar Allan Poe is our foremost master of the short story. Among his tales that repay reading are The Gold Bug, The Purloined Letter, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Black Cat, The Descent into the Maelstrom, The Cask of Amontillado, The Murders of the Rue Morgue, and The Fall of the House of Usher. As Poe was a master of technique, the questions framed 1 For The Greal Slone Face, see pages 210–13. THE SHORT STORY I99 for analysis of the best type of short story (given on page 194), are peculiarly applicable to study of his stories. In addition to these, the following are suggested: – If it is a detective story, what line of reasoning does Poe follow? Is the climax a surprise? Have you any other climax in view? Was the climax prepared for? Look back over the story and pick out seemingly insignificant details that loom large in the light of later events. Prove that Poe seems to understand the workings of the mind. Dickens's Christmas Carol and A Child’s Dream of a Star. In both The Christmas Carol and A Child’s Dream of a Star very valuable lessons are developed. The latter may be compared to Lamb’s Dream-Children. It is a simple little tale, might be called a fable, and has strong poetic qualities. Two years before the story was written Dickens's sister died. The Christmas Carol, a story that should be read by every boy and girl, has a strong moral, which the story form makes impressive. It seems to me a national benefit [says Thackeray], and to every man or woman who reads it, a personal kindness. The last two people I heard speak of it were women. Neither knew the other, or the author; and both said, by way of criticism, “God bless him!” As for Tiny Tim, there is a certain passage in the book regarding that young gentleman, about which a man should hardly venture to speak in print or in public, any more than he would of any other affections of his private heart. There is not a reader in England but that little creature will be a bond of union between the author and him; and he will say of Charles Dickens, as the woman just now, “GoD BLESS HIM!” What a feeling is this for a writer to be able to inspire, and what a reward to reap! Ruskin's King of the Golden River. Although this story is longer than the average, it embodies such a beautiful lesson that teachers should use it in classroom work. The story must be broken up into its stages of develop- ment. (1) A long introduction describes the fertility and loveliness of Treasure Valley and the cruel habits of its owners, Hans and Schwartz. (2) Events take form in West 200 TEACHING LITERATURE Wind's appearance as an old traveler, his kindly treatment by little Gluck, and the anger of the two other brothers. Through the decree of West Wind the valley is turned into a desert. While the three brothers are at their trade of gold- Smithing, the King of the Golden River appears to little Gluck and tells him the secret of turning the river’s water into gold. The elder brothers try to perform the miracle, but fail and incur the penalty. (3) Little Gluck tries and is successful because he is willing to sacrifice himself. (4) The waters of the river turn to gold through renewal of the fer- tility of the valley, which now blossoms like the rose. “So the inheritance which was lost by cruelty,” says Ruskin in summing up, “ was regained by love.” The story element in Lamb’s Essays. Charles Lamb is essentially an essayist, but in his Essays of Elia are several sketches that bear marks of the short-story structure. A Dissertation upon Roast Pig is a combination of essay and story. The introduction gravely announces that the art of roasting was inadvertently discovered; it then gives the story as it is supposed to be found in an old manuscript. This story is the portion to be used in class. It begins about the third sentence and runs half-way through the essay. In reading it we find the series of events, suspense, and the changing-around of situation that mark the true short story. There is much humor. In Dream-Children: a Revery, are shown great richness of feeling and delicacy of imagination. Hardly more than a fragile sketch, this bears in it the single impression, move- ment, and climax of the true short story. Lamb uses beautiful art in his side remarks relative to the acts of the children; he constructs a world of boys and girls and family background — and all out of fancy. These little boys and girls of Lamb’s imagination are worth meeting. Stories and morals. Classics in story form must be THE SHORT STORY 201 brought to boys and girls in such a way that they them- selves are for the time being the big characters of the book; they must live them out while reading and studying them. This vicarious experience needs but the transmuting touch of the teacher’s penetration, and apt correlation with school life, to make it a power in the development of pupils. “The business of the educator — whether parent or teacher,” says Professor John Dewey, “is to see to it that the greatest possible number of ideas acquired by children and youth are acquired in such a vital way that they become moving ideas, motive forces in the guidance of conduct.” The play of motive in the novel and short story, the work- ing out of right and wrong as crystalized in definite situa- tions, the inevitable way in which result follows cause in the best type of story — all these furnish criteria for con- duct. They show life in the making. Boys and girls see lines of conduct traced to their legitimate outcome, – either happiness or disaster, according to the character of the line of action. Is it not true, then, as William Dean How- ells says, that “Men's work in making books is all in vain, if books in turn do not make men”? HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Study of the Short Story. For the technique of the short story, Esenwein's Writing the Short Story and the little magazine called The Editor (Ridgewood, New Jersey, $2.00 a year) are excellent. In addition to these, teachers will find Liebermann’s The American Short Story and Heydrick’s Types of the Short Story (collection) helpful. Collections for Class Use. Among collections of stories suitable for class study, the teacher will find Matthews's The Short Story and Esen- Wein's Studying the Short Story both good. The latter has specific directions for analyzing short stories. The former presents the short story historically; the latter, according to type. Illustrative material. Pictures to illustrate great stories used in class are the following: The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Rip Van Winkle (series of ten); Dickens's Christmas Carol (series of twenty); Dickens's Cricket on the Hearth, 2e; Hawthorne's Snow Image, 21t, 22t. 202 TEACHING LITERATURE (1) IRVING’s “LEGEND OF SLEEPY Hollow ’’ To wing with mirth the weary hours, Or with romantic tales the heart to cheer. g LONGFELLow: In the Churchyard at Tarrytown. Over a hundred years ago there was a clever bit of liter- ary advertising that has seldom been equaled. A certain Diedrich Knickerbocker was represented as having disap- peared without paying his board bill, leaving behind in lieu of welcome Dutch coin nothing but a peculiar manuscript. After an elaborate description of the missing Diedrich, the advertiser went on to say that the creditors would publish the manuscript unless the owner returned. Shortly there was given to a reading public Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of New York. The success of the anonymous work was instantaneous. This was in 1809. Prefixed to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, in Irving's Sketch-Book, is the item Found among the papers of the late Diedrich Knicker- bocker, which shows that for a time longer Irving hid his identity behind his pen-name. How Irving wrote the story. Nathaniel Parker Willis, in speaking of The Sketch-Book, relates how Irving happened to write The Legend of Sleepy Hollow:— His writing of these stories was unlike an inspiration and en- tirely without any feeling of confidence which could be prophetic of their popularity. Walking with his brother one dull, foggy Sunday over Westminster Bridge, he got to telling the old Dutch stories which he had heard at Tarrytown in his youth, when the thought suddenly struck him: “I have it! I'll go home and make memoranda of these for a book!” And leaving his brother to go to church, he went back to his lodgings and jotted down all the data; and, the next day, in the dullest and darkest of London fogs, he sat in his little room and wrote out Sleepy Hollow by the light of a candle. - The life of Irving. There is no more delightful story to teach boys and girls than this same legend, penned “by the light of a candle.” So much in Irving pleases the reader, — THE SHORT STORY 203 his life, his rambles, his charming manner, his faithfulness to love, his whimsical humor, his position abroad, his pride in America. Children love to hear about his being named after George Washington, whom the nurse actually stopped on the street one day with the words: “Please, Sir, here 's a bairn was named after you!” They delight in his masquer- ading before the public as Diedrich Knickerbocker, and later as Geoffrey Crayon of The Sketch-Book. What a glimpse Irving had into the literary history of IEngland! His stay from 1815 to 1832 nearly coincided with Scott’s writing of the Waverley novels (1814–31). Cole- ridge, Southey, Blake, Campbell, Moore, Shelley, Scott, Byron, — all of these had given their share to the glorious poetic work of the early nineteenth century. Charles Lamb was writing his Essays; Jane Austen was bringing out her novels; Carlyle was beginning his career; Dickens, Tennyson, and the Brownings in the early thirties were finding their work. All this Irving saw. He met personally the men and the women who were making England’s literary history. His lovable personality made him a welcome visi- tor and an esteemed friend. In 1826 Irving was sent to Madrid as attaché of the American Legation. During this time he wrote The History of the Life and Voyages of Columbus, which received, besides three thousand guineas, a prize from George IV for histori- cal composition. In a short time he was appointed secretary to the American Legation at London. While he was in Spain, young Longfellow, just out of college, visited him. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Irving in Spain [wrote Long- fellow], and found the author, whom I had loved, repeated in the man. The same playful humor, the same touch of sentiment, the same poetic atmosphere, and what I admired still more, the entire absence of all literary jealousy, of all that mean avarice of fame which counts what is given to another as so much taken from one's self. Passing his house at the early hour of six one summer 204 TEACHING LITERATURE morning, I saw his study window already wide open. “Yes,” he said, “I am always at work at six.” Since then I have often remembered that sunny morning and that open window, so sug- gestive of his sunny temperament and his open heart and equally so of his patient and persistent toil. Although Irving breathed deeply of that vital literary at- mosphere abroad, he never lost his longing for an American home. After he returned in 1832, he traveled extensively in the United States, leaving our shores again in 1842 when he was sent as ambassador to Spain. When he returned, he lived at his beautiful home at Sunnyside on the Hudson, writing books, and beloved by his friends. Plot and characters. In the discussion of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the stages in the development of the story should be emphasized. This topical progression falls some- what as follows: — I. The Setting, paragraphs 1–7. II. Ichabod and his School, paragraphs 9–19. Ichabod Crane under various circumstances: (1) striding along the top of the hill; (2) administering justice at school; (8) convoying smaller children home on holidays; (4) lodging with farmers and helping out; (5) petting the children, even rocking the cradle; (6) leading the choir; (7) holding forth at the tea-table; (8) walking on Sundays with country maidens in the churchyard; (9) reading Mather's tales by the brook near the schoolhouse; (10) wending his way homeward in the twilight, singing tunes to drive away the spirits; (11) listening to the housewives' tales during the winter evenings and telling tales of his own; (12) journeying homeward in the snow at night, beset with fears of the Galloping Hessian. Paragraphs 8, 16, and 18, descriptive of Ichabod, are good for reading aloud. III. The Van Tassels and their home, paragraphs 20–25. The entire section is good for reading aloud. IV. Brom Bones, the rival, paragraphs 26–31. Brom Bones as: (1) a country athlete; (2) an umpire; (3) the leader of the gang; (4) the author of madcap pranks; (5) a leader of midnight raids; (6) a wooer, courting Katrina; (7) a rival, breaking into singing school; (8) a tease, smoking out the THE SHORT STORY 205 singing school; training the dog to imitate Ichabod’s sing- ing. Read aloud paragraph 26 for the description of Brom Bones. V. The Invitation, paragraphs 32–40. Paragraphs 32, 35, and 40 are especially good for reading aloud. VI. The Party, paragraphs 40–46. Scenes at the dance: (1) the negro fiddler; (2) the pyramid of negroes at the window; (3) Ichabod’s dancing; (4) his lady with him; (5) Brom Bones brooding in the corner. Paragraphs 40, 42, and 46 are good to read aloud. VII. The Tales, paragraphs 47–55. Contrast of young people and old people. VIII. The Rejection, paragraph 55. IX. The Ride Home, paragraphs 56–65. Paragraphs 59–65 are excellent for reading aloud. X. The Conclusion, paragraph 66 to end. Train pupils to recognize choice paragraphs in prose read- ing. Call often for their own selection of passages for class reading; insist on their expression of good reasons for their choice. By adroit questions and suggestions bring out: first, the subject-matter, the story; and, second, the work- manship, Irving's art in telling his story well. How to deal with allusions. Each separate allusion can be made the object of a search by some boy or girl, who threads a way through the encyclopaedia to find the informa- tion. Pretend that each pupil is a “committee of one,” and then see with what pride he reads a bit of dry matter to find what he wants and report on it. Here are twenty good allu- sions — the quarry in an interesting word hunt! ‘ſ 1. St. Nicholas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. * 3. Hendrick Hudson. . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. T 3. “Night-mare with her whole ninefold”. . . . . . . . . . . King Lear, Act III, Scene 4. T 4. Hessian trooper. . . . . . . . . . . . American History. T 9. ell-pot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dictionary. T 11, anaconda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. 206 TEACHING LITERATURE * 15. Cotton Mather . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. T 16. whippoorwill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. *| 16. “Linkéd sweetness long drawn out”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milton’s L’Allegro. "ſ 26. Herculean. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mythology. T 26. Tartar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. TI 26. Don Cossacks. . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopædia for Cossacks. Don is a river. "ſ 29. Achilles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mythology. T 32. Mercury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mythology. ‘ſ 37. Montero cap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kind of cap, originally a hunting Cap. ºf 46. St. Vitus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. ‘ſ 49. White Plains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopædia, geography. "| 51. André . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. ‘ſ 53. Sing Sing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encyclopaedia. T 55. Tête-à-tête. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Foreign phrases in Dictionary. Look up on a map the Hudson River, Tappan Zee, and Tarrytown. Try to locate on a sketch of your own the church, Wiley’s swamp, Major André's tree, the Sleepy Hol- low bridge, etc. Remember that any kind of research work with the young, whether it be with dictionary or encyclo- paedia, must be made worth while. It is only a means to an end, never an end in itself; for the object of all such work is to arouse a keener liking for the classic, an admiration for the author, and a pride in accurate Scholarship. Developing appreciation. This is a step beyond mere under- standing. It presupposes on the part of the teacher a sensi- tiveness to such matters as figures of speech, arrangement of words, use of allusions, and graceful forms of expression. This story offers splendid material for study of the simile, metaphor, personification, irony, and hyperbole: “ Pupils’ voices . . . like the hum of a bee-hive.” | 9.) “Shrub covered with snow, was like a sheeted spec- Simile: ter.” (I 18.) “Guinea fowls fretting about like ill-tempered house-wives.” (Tſ 21.) “Elbows stuck out like grasshoppers.” (Tſ 35.) THE SHORT STORY 207 ſ “ Appalling sound of birch as he urged some tardy loiterer along the flowery path of knowledge.” | 9.) “He was a kind of traveling gazette.” (Tſ 15.) “Troops of sucking pigs ’’. . . “stately squadrons of snowy geese,” . . . “convoying whole fleets Metaphor: of ducks '' . . . “regiments of turkeys.” (Tſ 21.) “Pigeons were snugly put to bed in a comfortable pie and tucked in with a coverlet of crust.” | 22.) “The whole family of cakes.” (T 42.) “Dreams and fancies infecting all the lands.” \ (T. 51.) “The sky wore a rich and golden livery.” (T. 36.) Personification: { .. Motherly teapot.” (T 42.) : “Hands that dangle a mile out of his sleeves.” (T 8.) “Feet that might have served for shovels.” (Tſ 8.) Hyperbole: Dilating powers of an anaconda.” (T 11.) “Dreaming of whole mountains of corn and oats, and whole valleys of timothy and clover.” ("[ 55.) Effective ;" Haunted fields and haunted brooks and haunted repetition: bridges and haunted houses.” (Tſ 17.) Imitation, a basis for composition. For older students this story offers excellent passages for imitation. After the class has noticed exactly how Irving expresses his idea, sug- gest that they choose another thought and express it in the same manner. In class work, the following paragraphs have been dissected and taken as models: * 8. | 18. | 19. T 24. | 25. | 32. T 33. T 42. Choose another character and make up a caricature. Express some emotion in exclamatory sentences. Use a periodic sentence to bring out an idea, introducing sus- pense. Describe another house with the same attention to detail that Irving uses. Watch the change in point of view. Compare two characters much as Irving did Ichabod and the knight. - Describe some gathering, using a metaphor. Make a contrast. Give a catalog description of something. 208 TEACHING LITERATURE * 55. Describe some other scene, introducing delicate humorous comments, as Irving did in this. * 60–65. Write up an incident that is a crisis of some sort. These exercises “hit two birds with one stone’’: (1) they give intensive study of paragraph development, and (2) they offer practice in composition under the guidance of a mas- ter. The art involved in literary success begins to impress the class. As one little fellow expressed it, “He certainly knows how !” Dramatization — the scenario. We cannot conclude this section without urging teachers to use The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for dramatization. From pupils’ work, the following synopsis is quoted: — DRAMATIS PERSONAE Baltus Van Tassel. . . . . . . A wealthy Dutch farmer, father of Katrina. Hans Van Ripper . . . . . . . A Dutch farmer, Ichabod’s landlord. Yost Van Houten. . . . . . . A Dutch architect. Doffue Martling. . . . . . . . . A Dutch farmer. ~. Diedrich Brunner. . . . . . . . A Dutch farmer. Abraham Van Brunt... . . . A country hero, nicknamed “Brom Bones,” a suitor of Katrina. Ichabod Crane. . . . . . . . . . A Connecticut schoolmaster, sojourning in Tarrytown, also in love with Katrina. Dame Van Tassel . . . . . . . Mother of Katrina. Dame Van Ripper. . . . . . . Wife of Hans. Dame Van Houten. . . . . . Wife of Yost. . Dame Martling. . . . . . . . . Wife of Doffue. Dame Brunner. . . . . . . . . . Wife of Diedrich. Katrina Van Tassel. . . . . . A Dutch maiden, whose hand is much sought. Heinie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brom Bones's dog. Gunpowder. . . . . . . . . . . . . Ichabod’s horse. Daredevil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brom's horse. “Brom Bones's Gang.” Katrina's Bosom Friends. A Negro Messenger. A Negro Fiddler. School children. TIME: End of the eighteenth century. PLACE: Tarrytown on the Hudson. THE SHORT STORY 209 SYNOPSIS ACT I, SCENE 1: The schoolhouse. - Singing school at night — Ichabod in love with Katrina — enter Brom Bones and his gang — sly fun at Ichabod’s expense. ScFNE 2: Same scene. School in session — lesson heard — invitation — a hur- ried dismissal of school. SCENE 3: Same scene. Ichabod prepares for the party — calls Hans Van Ripper who is passing – relates the contents of the note and bor- rows horse. ACT II, SCENE 1: The Van Tassel home. Ichabod gives Katrina a singing-lesson — also one in love-making — interruption by Brom Bones and the dog. SCENE 2: Same scene, arranged for the party. Final preparations for the party — Brom Bones relates tales — dance — refreshments — party breaks up — Icha- bod has a private interview and sudden dismissal. ACT III, SCENE 1: The road by the Sleepy Hollow bridge. Ichabod confronted by the specter — the race — the specter's revenge. ACT IV, SCENE 1: The Van Tassel home. W Marriage of Katrina and Brom Bones in progress — the country dance — news of Ichabod told by an old farmer — Brom Bones's amusement and sly comments — all drink the health of the missing Ichabod — then the health of the bride and groom. After a class has written its dramatic version of a story, it will surely want to produce it. If it can possibly be ar- ranged, have the play produced. Nothing will make a more indelible impression on the young mind. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. For the life of Irving, the following are excellent: Irving, P. M.: The Life and Letters of Washington Irving; and Warner: The Life of Irving (American Men of Letters Series). Critical Material. Elementary classes can appreciate Lowell’s Fable for Critics, lines 503–22. For older pupils the following are good: Pattee: History of American Literature (pp. 112–27); Richard- Son: American Literature (pp. 258–81); Trent: A History of Ameri- can Literature (pp. 220–34); and Wendell: A Literary History of Amer- ica (pp. 169–81). 210 TEACHING LITERATURE Illustrative Material. The following pictures illustrate class work: Perry Pictures: 1, 2; Sleepy Hollow, 2105; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: 14622, 14094, 14364, 14365. Additional Reading. Classes should be urged to read Rip Van Winkle, Philip of Pokanoket, and The Spectre Bridegroom. (2) HAWTHORNE’s “THE GREAT STONE FACE’” My glance comprehends the crowd, and penetrates the breast of the solitary man. HAWTHORNE. Hawthorne, philosopher and artist. Hawthorne was a man who loved solitude, seclusion, the lonely places of the earth — and yet he mingled with the pomp and liveliness of court life, and foreign travel. He had in him the power to look clear through the words and actions of men and women, to search the human heart for hidden motives. Students will be interested to see how in his notebooks he jotted down observations of character and ideas for stories. His life bears in it a great lesson: the necessity of a long term of apprenticeship to achieve success in any art. While his philosophy was maturing, his art also was taking form. Hawthorne is an artist in all of his work. The recital of events in The Great Stone Face, unpretending as it is, cloaks a great truth. In most of his tºld - ".e builds the story upon the skeleton of an ethical problem or a moral truth. The diction of this story is worthy of notice; the portrayal of character is fascinating to watch; the advancement of the story toward its climax is absorbing. The use of diagrams. Children appreciate the use of dia- grams to illustrate the growth of a story, -its progression. So, too, will they like a drawing that shows the relationship of characters. Lead pupils to put these drawings upon the board themselves. Analyzing the story. Besides the most obvious questions on the narrative, ask questions that make pupils look be- THE SHORT STORY 211 Ernest Old Stony Phiz Blood and Thunder Gathergold VALUE OF SUSPENSE Blackboard diagram showing the way a skillful story-teller handles his suspense, making each successive incident more arresting and vital, and gradually drawing the reader's interest up to the climax. yond the mere story. Break up the tale into its component parts: — I. The Introduction. Paragraphs 1–13. (a) The legend of the Great Stone Face. II. The Development of the Story. Paragraphs 14–74. (a) Gathergold, the money king. Wealth. Paragraphs 14–23. (b) Old Blood and Thunder, the soldier. Military fame. Para- graphs 24–36. (c) Old Stony Phiz, the statesman. Eloquence. Paragraphs 37–52. (d) The poet who failed to live up to his ideals. Genius. Para- graphs 53–74. III. The Climaz, Paragraphs 75–78. (a) Ernest, the preach... ºd seer. Character. Paragraphs 75–78. 8lood and Thunder Old Stony Phiz Great Stone Face Gathergold Ernest Poet VALUE OF CHARACTERS Blackboard diagram showing increasing resemblance of the various characters to the Great Stone Face, and their relative value in the story. 212 TEACHING LITERATURE IV. The Conclusion. Paragraph 79. (a) Fulfillment of the Prophecy. The four stages in the development of the story carry the boy Ernest through the four periods of boyhood, young manhood, middle age, and old age. In respective Order, they present the four false ideals that sometimes deceive: wealth, military fame, eloquent statesmanship, and genius. Mean- while, the highest of all ideals — character — has been growing toward perfection in the life of Ernest, because he fixed his eyes upon the thing he desired. It takes the dis- cernment of the poet, however, to point out to the people the resemblance of the old man Ernest to the Great Stone Face. In discussion bring out the powerful lesson of the story by such questions as — Taking the story as a whole, which do you think are the most in- teresting characters? Does Hawthorne intend to make them real flesh-and-blood people? Could they stand for certain types of people? What do you think the Great Stone Face stands for? What is the great lesson for us? What do we mean by an ideal? How do we form standards? Where could we read suggestions about forming the right standards? Look up the words ideal and standard. What is your idea of what you would like to become? What was it that helped Ernest form his ideal of what he wished to become? Having an ideal is not enough, we must meditate upon it, act upon it. What do you admire in different people you know? Could you make a composite idea, based upon qualities you admire in different people? Do some people have false ideals? About wealth, fame, glory, position, achievement, genius? Illustrate what you mean. Prototypes of characters. Ralph Waldo Emerson is the human counterpart of the Great Stone Face as embodied in Ernest. Says Hawthorne in The Old Manse : — It was good to meet him in the wood-paths, or sometimes in our avenue, with that pure intellectual gleam diffused about his presence like the garment of a shining one; and he is so quiet, so simple, so without pretension, encountering each man alike as if expecting to receive more than he could impart. But it was im- possible to dwell in his vicinity without inhaling, more or less, the mountain atmosphere of his lofty thought, which in the brains of THE SHORT STORY 213 some people, wrought a singular giddiness — new truth being as heady as new wine. It is not hard to identify Andrew Jackson as close kin to Old Blood and Thunder, and Daniel Webster as Old Stony Phiz, the “marvelously gifted statesman * with “always a weary gleam in the deep caverns of his eyes.” HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. For a full account of the life of Hawthorne, teachers may refer to Woodberry’s Nathaniel Hawthorne, in the American Men of Letters Series. Critical Material. Elementary classes will be able to follow the criticism in Lowell’s A Fable for Critics (lines 304–21). For older pupils Brownell’s American Prose Masters (pp. 63–130), Hutton’s Literary Essays (pp. 487–90); Pattee’s History of American Litera- ture (pp. 240–56), Richardson’s American Literature (pp. 330–90), and Trent’s A History of American Literature (pp. 350–66) are good. Illustrative Material. The following penny pictures are good: Perry Pictures: 11, 12, 13, 14. Additional Reading. As supplementary reading from Hawthorne's work, we suggest The Old Manse, The Snow Image, and The Prophetic Pictures. - -- CHAPTER IX THE NOVEL To teach men how they may grow independently and for themselves is, perhaps, the greatest service that one man can do for another. BENJAMIN JowetT. THE novel is the culminating point of many kinds of narration. Elements that have appeared separately before join in combination. Of the narrative forms, we shall first discuss briefly national history and personal history. Life narratives and the novel. History is based on fact. In the sense in which it is most used, it deals with a nation's growth and traces out cause and effect through a series of events. It reflects the life and character of the nation. In proportion as it is faithful to fact and acute in the search of cause and effect, it is accounted great. Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Carlyle's French Revolution, Motley’s Rise of the Dutch Republic, Green’s History of the English People, Fiske’s American Revolution, and other great works of history have furnished the background for many a historical novel. Personal life may also have its history. If this is written by another, it is called a biography; if by the person himself, an autobiography. These histories, too, must be true to fact, must work out the succession of events, and trace cause and effect. They differ from history only in scope, for they are grounded in the same essentials. Famous biog- raphies are Boswell’s Life of Johnson, Irving's Life of Goldsmith, Lockhart's Scott, Trevelyan's Life and Letters of Macaulay, Southey's Life of Nelson, and Nicolay and Hay's Life of Lincoln. Those who enjoy the autobiography will THE NOVEL 215 appreciate Franklin's Autobiography, Helen Keller's Story of My Life, and Mary Antin’s Promised Land. Personal history may also be presented in the travel sketch, the diary, memoirs, letters, and essays. Parkman's Oregon Trail, for instance, describes with wonderful fidelity the expedition made by Francis Parkman — a young col- lege man of twenty-three — and his cousin. The book pre- sents valuable pictures of Indian life that has passed away. Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast gives a stirring account of the life of a sailor. Both books were written from jour- mals and contain admirable narration and description. Stevenson's Inland Voyage and Travels with a Donkey carry the traveler through parts of Europe, relate little happenings, and abound in brilliant description and clever comment. The former records a canoe trip made in 1876 and was written from the log book kept during the trip; the latter narrates Stevenson’s travels through the Cé- vennes with a knapsack and the donkey Modestine. If you wonder whether you can interest boys and girls in it, try the chapter entitled “A Night among the Pines.” Thoreau’s Walden gives part of the author's life, interweaving it with description and comment in essay style. Most of Lamb's Essays of Elia, and letters and diaries like Pepys's Diary and the Journal of Madame d’Arblay are interesting either for the light they shed upon the times or their revelation of the writer's heart and mind. All of these deal with real facts and circle about real persons. It is only a step from this sort of writing to the fictitious life narrative, in which an imaginary character has experi- ences and passes through scenes real or imaginary. The earliest novels in England were of this type — Malory's Morte d’Arthur, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Swift's Gul- liver’s Travels, Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield. 216 TEACHING LITERATURE The English novel in the making. During the Middle Ages popular romances took form in four great cycles, which circled about (1) King Arthur and the Round Table; (2) Charlemagne and his peers; (3) Alexander the Great; and (4) the heroes of the siege of Troy. These romances filtered into England. In 1470, the first of these themes was pre- sented again, and in English almost modern, by Malory in his Morte d’Arthur. Although a romance, this has in it the elements of the novel. During the sixteenth century, we find several long narra- tives that are significant: Lyly's Euphues, for its style; Sidney’s Arcadia, as the first pastoral novel; Lodge's Rosa- lind, from which Shakespeare borrowed the plot of As You Like It; and Nash's The Unfortunate Traveler, or the Life of Jack Wilton, as the first picaresque novel, or story of roguery. During the seventeenth century there is little progression in novel-writing. In 1678 John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Prog- ress appeared and has ever since ranked as the greatest of allegories. Christian's journey through life typifies the life of every man. This book has been more popular than any other book except the Bible. The style is simple, earnest, vivid, and virile. The lesson is profound. It was during the first half of the eighteenth century, however, that the first real novel took form. Samuel Rich- ardson's Pamela (1740) was a series of letters that described the love-affair of a waiting-maid. Henry Fielding followed in 1749 with Tom Jones, a novel that set the pace for the modern plot. This was one of three that Coleridge selected from all literature for perfection of plot. However, before this time, various experiments in writing had foreshadowed the modern novel. Addison and Steele in The Spectator had made the first deliberate attempt to sketch portraits of men as they were, and to set before readers the customs and THE NOVEL 217 foibles of their own age. Defoe in his inimitable Robinson Crusoe (1719) used the minuteness of detail that goes to make the realistic novel. Many of these books would be scorned to-day if placed in comparison with the modern type of novel, but they marked an achievement in the evo- lution of prose fiction. Before the end of the century, the novel as a literary form was firmly established. Among the best of these novels were Sterne's Tristram Shandy, Smollett’s Peregrine Pickle, Fanny Burney’s Evelina, and Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield. * The novel in the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the nineteenth century various elements had contrib- uted to form the English novel. These can be enumerated as theme, plot, purpose, setting, characters, and author's style. They had not yet been combined into literary unity. Maria Edgeworth ushered in the nineteenth century with Castle Rackrent (1800), followed in 1812 by The Absentee. These portrayed Irish scenes and were greatly admired by Scott, who would have liked to do for Scotland what Miss Edgeworth did for Ireland — sketched her little corner of life superbly. Greater than Miss Edgeworth is Jane Austen, whose novels Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, etc., were published from 1811 to 1818. She handled English provincial life with realistic touch. She was a master of the novel of local color, or manners. With Frances Burney and Maria Edgeworth, she did much to create the modern wholesome type of girl. In 1814 Sir Walter Scott turned from poetry to prose. Two great series of novels resulted: those dealing with his- torical epochs; and those portraying Scotch life. These still stand as the greatest achievement in the historical novel. In the time of Queen Victoria, a group of novelists gradu- ally carried the form to perfection. Character-change was portrayed as it had never been done before. In 1837, with 218 TEACHING LITERATURE Pickwick Papers, Dickens began a long output of novels, which were to delight the British reading public for years. In 1848, both Thackeray's Vanity Fair and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre were published. Five years later, in 1853, appeared Mrs. Gaskell's delightful novel of quaint manners and customs, Cranford, which immortalized the little village of Knutsford. In 1859, George Eliot, already before the public as author of Scenes of Clerical Life, pub- lished Adam Bede, followed, in 1861, by that most artis- tically balanced novel, Silas Marner. Perfection of form was at last achieved. This artistry of workmanship found full expression in the novels of Stevenson: Treasure Island, issued in 1883; Kidnapped, in 1886; and The Master of Bal- lantrae, in 1889. In America, in the first half of the nineteenth century, two writers stand on equal footing with British novelists: Cooper, who has been called “the American Scott,” — his tales appearing from 1823 to 1841; and Hawthorne, who published The Scarlet Letter in 1850 and The House of the Seven Gables one year later. Types of novels. The word novel, from the Italian novella and the French nouvelle, means a short story. In our inter- pretation of the term, however, we think of a piece of prose, long enough to fill at least three or four hundred pages, in which certain characters, true to life, pass through certain well-defined experiences so interwoven as to form a plot. Novels are grounded in the strongest of our mental powers. Two of these, imagination and memory, are like opposite poles of a magnet; as they dominate novel-writing, they produce two great types: the romantic and the realistic. In the former, imagination has full sway; in the latter, story is pinned down to accuracy of detail. Anthony Hope’s Pris- oner of Zenda is a modern novel of romantic type; Thack- eray's Vanity Fair is a fine piece of realism. THE NOVEL 219 It is difficult to classify novels because they shade into one another. Action, character, setting, a definite emotion, or some primary object in writing may be especially em- phasized. Where the intention is to contrast with fidelity past customs and events, we speak of the production as a historical novel or romance. The following examples of these several kinds may prove helpful: the novel of adventure, Stevenson’s Treasure Island; the novel of character, Thack- eray's Vanity Fair; the novel of manners, or locality, Aus- ten’s Sense and Sensibility; the historical novel, Scott’s Ivanhoe and Dickens's Tale of Two Cities; the novel with a purpose, Dickens's Oliver Twist; the problem novel, Whar- ton's The House of Mirth and Ward’s Robert Elsmere; the humorous novel, Stockton’s The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine; the autobiographical novel, Dickens's David Copperfield and Eliot's Mill on the Floss; the detective novel, or novel of mystery, Collins's The Moonstone and Sir Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Teaching The Vicar of Wakefield. The plot ºf The Vicar of Wakefield is poorly constructed, without doubt; but the book is one of the most delightful domestic tales ever writ- ten. The charm, the humor, the wholesome details, the fi- delity to truth, the individuality of the vicar and his family — all these give it a cherished place on our library shelves. The theme of the story is that a good man will not be af- fected by adversities. Dr. Primrose through a series of mis- fortunes is reduced to poverty; then by a series of happy events is reinstated in the vicarage. A class may trace out the fall and later the rise of the vicar's fortunes; it may dis- cuss the qualities shown by the various members of the fam- ily; it may be on the lookout for descriptions of the customs and manners of the times, for clever sayings or bits of phi- losophy, and for odd words. Any of these will make a topic for an individual thesis. The most striking scenes may be 220 TEACHING LITERATURE talked over and the ballads noted. Regarding the author, one critic has said: “Goldsmith wrote the finest poem (The Deserted Village); the most exquisite novel (The Vicar of Wakefield); and with the exception, perhaps, of The School for Scandal, the most delightful comedy (She Stoops to Con- quer) of the period.” The way for either a teacher or a class to get most out of Goldsmith, is to read these three master- pieces, together with some sympathetic biography, such as Irving’s.” - The historical novel in class. The historical novel divides interest among three strong features: customs and manners of the day; events of plot; and the historical personage about whom the incidents circle. Ancient Egypt lives again in George Ebers’s Uarda and The Egyptian Princess. Lew Wallace in Ben Hur makes us see Roman dominance over the East and the growth of Christianity. Kingsley’s Hypatia brings to us the struggle between paganism and Christianity in the early centuries. Bulwer-Lytton, in The Last Days of Pompeii, reconstructs the early Roman empire. The wars of the German barons are shown in Charlotte Yonge's Dove in the Eagle's Nest. Reade's Cloister and the Hearth gives another phase of the Middle Ages. Scott covers seven centuries in his novels. Dickens's Tale of Two Cities puts before us in all their poig- nant and terrible detail the days of the French Revolution. Blackmore's Lorna Doone describes the life of the outlaw Doones in the seventeenth century. Stevenson’s Black Ar- row deals with the Wars of the Roses. Kingsley’s Hereward the Wake revives the Norman Conquest and takes us val- iantly with the Saxons. His Westward Ho! presents seven- teenth-century England. In Romola, George Eliot gives one of the finest pictures we have of the days of Savonarola at Florence. Thackeray's Henry Esmond takes us back into 1 For Irving's opinion of The Vicar of Wakefield, see his Life of Goldsmith, chaps, v, v1, and XVII. THE NOVEL 221 the England of Queen Anne's day. Cooper reconstructs the Indian frontier of our Eastern States, and Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter brings to life the very body and soul of Puritan New England. These great historical novels should be read at one time or another. Teachers can do no kinder thing for the young student — especially if he does not like bare details of history — than to introduce him to these books. Thousands of boys and girls have been led into difficult historical investigation by the suggestion that they read a novel that bears upon the period. If you find that the historical novels from the pens of these masters are too hard for any of your boys and girls, do not despise the easier novels of this sort. Henty’s Reign of Terror may induce a boy to push his way through Dick- ens's Tale of Two Cities, and the latter, in turn, may lead him to dip into Carlyle’s French Revolution. In study of the historical novel, the story comes first, to be followed by the discussion of characters, setting, purpose, and style. Character study is more important in the work of Thackeray, Dickens, and George Eliot. In Romola particu- larly, the deterioration of Tito Melema is worth study as a remarkable piece of characterization. Pupils may be in- duced to give oral reports of the period portrayed and the personages represented in the stories. All the novels offer opportunity to discuss such subjects as real manliness and womanliness, true loyalty, the finest patriotism, and various kinds of courage. Remember that in each book there is a heart to be found. With Kingsley, Reade, and Thackeray, a study of the life of the author is not necessary; with Scott, on the other hand, such study is almost as important as study of the novel, because his life has so much to give to boys and girls. The lives of Dickens, George Eliot, and Cooper also present vital facts for class discussion. Teaching the novel of character. Mrs. Gaskell in her de- 222 TEACHING LITERATURE lightful pictures of life in the quaint English town of Knuts- ford has given us the first psychological novel, a forerunner of George Eliot's. There is no heroine, no hero; we might call all Cranford the heroine. The book oscillates between the novel of character and the novel of manners. In studying Cranford, boys and girls must be led to revel in the queer little incidents that betray the times and to en- joy the gentle satire and delicate humor. They must by dis- cussion bring out the many side-lights upon the charac- ters. There are many choice parts for reading aloud. The scene may be arranged for presentation in pantomime or in dialogue, or may be fully dramatized. If a class is given the privilege of working out favorite parts for presentation be- fore the school, it is surprising what a fervor they develop toward a classic that might have been passed by as dealing with “stupid old ladies.” Thackeray's Vanity Fair has two women sharply con- trasted: the reprehensible adventuress Becky Sharp, amus- ing us and even calling out our admiration by her shrewd- ness, and Amelia Sedley, a colorless type of girl, negatively good. English society at the time of the battle of Waterloo is pictured in detail. Interest centers in the amazing experi- ences of Becky as she makes her way through the different grades of Society, developing the worst in herself as she goes. The title, taken from Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, repre- sents the world of society as that Fair where all the rogues and adventuresses crowd its booths and cheat one another. There is a strong element of cynicism running through the book. Dickens's David Copperfield is a novel that every boy and girl should read. It is largely autobiographical, and there- fore piques the desire to read more of the life of Dickens. The three types of boys — David, Traddles, and Steer- forth — will do more to waken young people to the de- THE NOVEL 223 sirable and undesirable in the choice of friends than a hun- dred lectures. For girls, the contrasted Dora and Agnes give a lesson that all that run can read. There are so many well-known characters here, — Uriah Heep, Mr. Peggotty, Micawber, whose names now stand for types, – that one is not really at home with books unless he knows who these people are. They confront us again and again, – upon the street, in business, and in social life. Dickens had the knack of seeing a character in caricature; by emphasizing one trait over the others, he succeeded in making his people very much alive, and often exceedingly humorous. Hawthorne was, first of all, a writer of romance. Witch- craft, the Supernatural, the unusual, the unknown, and the unexplained appealed deeply to him. Of these great ro- mances, the teacher ought to be familiar with The Scarlet Letter, — almost Shakespearean in the manner in which the consequences of sin are worked out, — with The House of the Seven Gables, – a romance of heredity, - and with The Marble Faun. Into the realm of the human soul he delved, and tried to solve the problems of sin, suffering, compensa- tion, and retribution, with which men and women have al- ways struggled. His style is readable and compelling, and shows the skill of the literary artist. Few writers get their effects in more simple language. Strong sincerity and moral truth are found in every page. It is little wonder that he holds highest rank among writers of American fiction. The House of the Seven Gables is a romance of heredity; it shows how malign influence works down through the centuries. A curse, traditional in the Hawthorne family, may have led to the vivid conception of the novel. In marked contrast to poor Hepsibah Pyncheon and her brother Clifford, who are the innocent sufferers from the curse, is simple little Phoebe with her sunny ways, – “like a prayer, offered up in the homeliest beauty of one’s mother tongue.” 224 TEACHING LITERATURE It remains to speak of George Eliot, whose handling of character is masterly. Besides Silas Marner, Adam Bede is well worth reading with older classes. The author is splen- didly at home in the psychological novel; and classes can find no better opportunity to study the play of motive, the growth or deterioration of character, and the influence of environment. Most young pupils, however, will find all but Silas Marner too difficult. With exceptional eighth-grade classes, however, The Mill on the Floss may be read. The Novel of Incident. “If you should ever have a story of your own to tell, and want to tell it well,” said Donald G. Mitchell, “I advise you to take Robinson Crusoe for a model.” Yet Defoe, who wrote this greatest novel of ad- venture, so wonderful in its verisimilitude, had never seen the sea. How did he give it, then, and that strange desert island setting, such semblance of reality? The most inter- esting or romantic plot in the world is dull if this quality of reality is absent. The novel of incident also demands a live wire of interest; events as well as setting must seem plaus- ible; there must be no strange coincidences or accidents. Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Kidnapped are two splendid novels of adventure that will do wonders in making boys like books. Each boy, as he reads, is Jim adventuring. There is enough “doing ” to satisfy even the “movie- mad” boy or girl. Such books as these do not have to be ex- plained; readers follow the current of events with avidity. For the boy who is emerging in taste from the yellow- backed kind of novel, there is nobody better than Mark Twain. In Aspects of Fiction, Brander Matthews says: — He is one of the foremost story-tellers of the world, with the gift of the swift narrative, with the certain grasp of human nature, with a rare power of presenting character at a passionate crisis. There is not in the fiction of our language and of our country any- thing finer of its kind than any one of half a dozen chapters in Tom Sawyer, in Huckleberry Finn, in Pudd’mhead Wilson. THE NOVEL 225 Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days should be read, not only for the stirring events, but for the pictures of English school life. Few boys can resist chapters like “The Fight” and “Rugby and Football.” As the book shows Dr. Arnold’s method of developing a boy’s sense of responsi- bility and manly honor, it is invaluable in inculcating the same ideas in those who read it. Add to these, Cooper's stories of the sea and of the American forest, and we have a bulk of good stories that ought to satisfy. Cooper with young people. James Fenimore Cooper ought to come to boys and girls in their teens. He is the greatest American writer of the historical romance. His sea tales have value as results of his own experience; and his Leather- Stocking Tales are an imperishable picture of early life on the frontier. These five tales should be read in order, for then the student follows the hero Hawkeye and the woodsman Natty Bumppo, or Leatherstocking, from youth to old age: The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers, and The Prairie. The plot of The Last of the Mohicans is so well constructed that it is an excellent means of introducing classes to the technique of the novel. The plot, in a nutshell, is the ef- forts made by Magua to get possession of the daughters of Colonel Munro and thus avenge an old insult, and the foil- ing of those attempts by Hawkeye and his followers. The characters fall into three groups: Magua and his Hurons; Colonel Munro, Cora, Alice, Heywood, and Gamut; and Hawkeye, Chingachgook, and Uncas. The time of the story covers two weeks in the summer of 1757 and all the Scenes are laid in the forest in the neighborhood of Lake George and Fort Henry. The movement of the story is so Swift that the reader is carried on in spite of himself. There are faults in Cooper, but the boy or girl reader, en- Taptured with the Indian and forest world, will not see these; 226 TEACHING LITERATURE nor should they be made to see them when the great object is to inculcate love of good books. Later, when such a love is established, the critical faculties may be engaged in destructive as well as constructive criticism. How to analyze a novel. There are two main varieties of plot: (1) the loosely constructed plot in which incident follows incident almost at random and (2) the compact plot in which each incident is dovetailed into its special place, the plot in its entirety being like a beautifully matched puzzle where no part can be detached without harm to the whole. The first step, therefore, after reading a novel is to decide the type of plot; the next, to inquire if there is underplot, or sub-plot, and to find its connection with the main plot. Most classes can conceive of a novel-plot as a great moun- tain to be climbed; each episode must be a zigzag path bring- ing the reader nearer the climax, the mountain top. A dia- gram brings out concretely the ideas of progression and cumulative incident, as well as unity of design. Any line that diverts the reader to a side-trail would not form a legitimate part of the novel-trail to the mountain-peak. Characterization next absorbs the attention of the class, because creation of character is, after all, the greatest achievement of the novelist. Can you group the characters? Which are principal, or main, characters, – those abso- lutely necessary to the plot-development? Which are secon- dary characters? What parts do these play? Do they de- velop sub-plot? Do they reveal customs, serve purposes of humor, or act merely as the author's mouthpiece? Does the author describe his characters directly, or do they describe themselves through their words and acts? The latter is called the dramatic method and is of later introduction in the technique of novel-writing than the direct description by the author. Does the novelist stand by and comment upon the doings of his characters? Are the characters well drawn? THE NOVEL 227 * \\CONCLUSION INTEREST MOUNTAIN AND THE NOVEL TRAIL Sketch for blackboard diagram, showing the rise of suspense, the climax, and the con- clusion of the novel. Each ascending line represents an episode, X each minor incident, and * each minor climax. The najor climax is shown at the apex of Interest Mountain, and the conclusion (shown by the dotted line) descends the mountain on the opposite side. 228 TEACHING LITERATURE They should be true to life, and should act and speak in harmony with their conception. The modern novel abounds in spirited dialogue or con- versation. This should be a vital part of the story-develop- ment; it should suit the characters. There are many deft ways of weaving the by-play into the conversation, well worth study by a class. s How is the setting of time and place given? Is it woven into the story imperceptibly, thereby not tiring the reader, or is it inserted in “chunks” ” What is the underlying theme of the novel? What atmosphere predominates? What emotions have greatest play? Is there humor? Pathos? Does the novel deal with live questions of the day? Was there a definite purpose in writing it? Is there any artifi- ciality in arrangement of plot incidents whereby mystery or suspense is increased? Is it a detective novel? Does the author use letters, diaries, quoted matter of any sort? How does this help the progress of the plot? Who is telling the story? Can you differentiate events into character- revealing incidents and plot incidents? Which combine to make an episode? What purposes do these serve? — By questions of this sort details of technique may be discussed in class. Memory and imagination in the novelist. Experiences are of two kinds: those we really have in corpore; and those we get by proxy through reading, seeing, or hearing. The imaginative power, if strong, is a marvelous magician that can touch with the creative wand of visualization separate facts or ideas and “assemble '’ them in a newly created character, Scene, or bit of action. Memory, - the inner eye that Wordsworth speaks of in The Daffodils, — memory of all that has happened to us, of all that we have read as happening to others — is a gold mine of fictional material. The mind can revive experiences as they originally were, or THE NOVEL 229 can combine them in new plot-Schemes and locate them in new environments. It is the memory of speech peculiar to certain persons or localities that guides the writer in com- posing dialogue fresh yet true to the type. Memory gives the norm with which to compare all newly created charac- ters, all newly created scenes. The words realism, romanticism, and idealism lose much of their vagueness, if they are regarded simply as methods of work. Realism is the method whereby the novelist, not by the choice of detail of the romanticist, not by the subjective treatment of the idealist, but by accurate, impartial deline- ation gives an actual photograph of life. Carried too far, it leads to tiresome minuteness or sordidness. Romanticism, on the other hand, is the method whereby the author selects details of picturesqueness, adventure, mystery, remoteness of time, unusual experience, the supernatural, the spirit of chivalry, or fantasy, emphasizing these at his will, and mini- mizing others as it serves his art. Realism is like the nega- tive of a photograph, the proof with all its imperfections present; romanticism is like the photograph with its charms touched up, and its crudities toned down, as is always done in the finished photograph. Idealism is a step beyond, and different, in that it is not wholly objective. It is the method whereby the writer projects into character or scene his own ideals and ideas, treating it subjectively, much as the painter paints a soul into a portrait, tingeing the whole by his own idea. Composition and the novel. There is an excellent oppor- tunity to correlate composition with both the novel-form and the interests of boys and girls. The following topics have been used with success: — A History of Our Town. - The Biography of a Brother or Sister. My Own Autobiography. 230 TEACHING LITERATURE An Autobiography of a Dog. An imitation of the Oregon Trail, describing scenes and events on a vacation trip real or imaginary. A Canoe Trip, in imitation of Stevenson’s Inland Voyage. Vacation Sketches, in imitation of Stevenson's Travels with a Don- key. Stories of Camp. Our Backyard, in imitation of Thoreau’s Walden, describing some of the simple acts and habits of the denizens of the yard. Bugs and Birds as Neighbors. A Made-Up Diary of a Certain Period in History. My Own Diary. - An imitation of Robinson Crusoe, a boy or a girl marooned. An imitation of The Pilgrim’s Progress, whereby every student seeks the Hill of Knowledge, and meets difficulties in the way. A Story told by Letters, Telegrams, or Clippings. A Telephone Conversation that tells a story, giving only one side. A Monologue that tells a story. A Dialogue that tells a story. A Treasure Story, in imitation of Stevenson’s Treasure Island. A Story of Local Color, or Historical Period, dealing with Puritans, pioneers, or knights. A Robin Hood Adventure in Sherwood Forest. A Story woven about a Historical Incident. A Story woven about a Historical Personage. A Novel in miniature, using a daily theme for a chapter: the who, the where, the obstacle, what happened, what else happened, the climax, the conclusion. - A Birthday Book, with a story for each month to suit the month. It will add great interest if pupils are allowed to make little illustrations for their written work in the novel. All these exercises may be contributed to the School paper, and publication in the same held out as logical reward for the best efforts. . What we want is to inculcate in boys and girls sensitive- ness to the essentials of great fiction. It is only in this way that we can offset the monstrosities that sometimes appear between “yellow ’’ covers. Lead boys and girls to demand the true, the real, and they will lose a taste for the shoddy makeshift in the novel. THE NOVEL 231 HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Study of the Novel. For the development, criticism, and technique of the novel, the following will prove helpful: Besant: The Art of Fic- tion; Cross: The Development of the Novel; Dawson: Makers of Eng- lish Fiction; Horne: The Technique of the Novel; Jackson: Great English Novelists; Lanier: The English Novel; Matthews: The His- torical Novel; Perry: The Study of Prose Fiction; Raleigh: The English Novel; and Stoddard: The Evolution of the English Novel. Additional Readings in Biography, etc. Besides those suggested in the body of the chapter, any of the following will prove profitable: Addams: Twenty Years of Hull House; Barrie: Margaret Ogilvie; Eastman: Indian Boyhood; Evelyn: Diary; Flynt: Tramping with Tramps; Gaskell: The Life of Charlotte Brontë; Gilchrist: The Life of Mary Lyon; Gilder: Autobiography of a Tomboy; Jones: The Life of Edison; Nicolay: Boys' Life of Lincoln; Palmer: Alice Freeman Palmer; Stanley: Autobiography; and Stevenson: Vailima Letters. Additional Novels. Besides the novels mentioned in the body of the chapter the following are well worth reading. There are many others from which the teacher may make her own lists: — Elementary — Alcott: An Old-Fashioned Girl, Little Men, Little Women; Aldrich: The Story of a Bad Boy; Burnett: Little Lord Faunt- leroy; Connor: Glengarry Schooldays; Dodge: Hans Brinker; Howells: A Boy's Town; Merwin and Webster: Calumet K; Page: Two Little Confederates; Porter, G. S.: Freckles, The Girl of the Limberlost; Por- ter, E. H. : Pollyanna; Seton: Two Little Savages; Stockton: A Jolly Fellowship; Tarkington: Penrod; Warner: Being a Boy on a Farm; Webster: Daddy-Long-Legs; Wiggin: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, New Chronicles of Rebecca; Wyss: Swiss Family Robinson. Novels of Character, Life, and Mammers — Barrie: The Little Minister, Sentimental Tommy; Bronté: Jane Eyre; Craik: John Halifaac, Gentle- man; Deland: The Awakening of Helena Ritchie; De Morgan: Joseph Vance; Ford: The Honorable Peter Stirling; Harrison: Queed, An- gela's Business; Howells: A Hazard of New Fortunes, The Rise of Silas Lapham; Jackson: Ramona; Kipling: Kim; Lever: Charles O’Malley; Locke: The Beloved Vagabond; Lover: Rory O’More; Smith: Caleb West, Master Diver; Colonel Carter of Cartersville ; Tarkington: Mon- Sieur Beaucaire; Trowbridge: Cudjo's Cave; Westcott: David Harum; Wister: The Virginian. The Historical Novel — Churchill: Richard Carvel, The Crisis; Clemens: Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc; Doyle: The White Company; Hawthorne: The Marble Faun; Johnston: To Have and to Hold, The Long Roll, Cease Firing; Major: When Knighthood was in Flower; Mitchell: Hugh Wynne, Quaker; Moore: The Jessamy Bride; Page: Red Rock; Parker: In the Seats of the Mighty; Porter: 232 TEACHING LITERATURE Scottish Chiefs, Thaddeus of Warsaw; Weyman: A Gentleman of France, The House of the Wolf, The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day; Yonge: The Caged Lion. Travel, Outdoor Life, Animals — Kennan: Tent Life in Siberia; London: The Call of the Wild; Ollivant: Bob, Son of Battle; Seton: Wild Animals I have Known, The Trail of the Sandhill Stag, The Lives of the Hunted; White, S. E.: The Blazed Trail. Humor — Carroll; Alice in Wonderland, Through a Looking Glass; Habberton: Helen's Babies; Stockton: Rudder Grange. Illustrative Material. To illustrate the work in the novel the follow- ing are excellent: The Thompson Blue Prints: Adam Bede (series of seven); David Copperfield (series of five); Lorna Doone, 175e; Oliver Twist, 13e, 167e; The Tale of Two Cities, 18e, 169e; Romola (series of fifty-eight); The Marble Faun (series of forty-eight); and Pickwick Papers (series of four). (1) SCOTT’s “Ivan HOE’’ The author or the book. Years ago, the study of litera- ture meant nothing but lives of authors and quotations from their works, – a puny substitute for the real classic. To- day, literature is taught, wherever possible, not in the ex- cerpt, but in the entire selection. And the life of the au- thor enters into the teaching only if it has something of real worth to offer. There are several reasons why, in such cases, boys and girls should be almost as familiar with the author’s life as with his production: (1) the writer weaves his personality so much into his pages that these are not fully enjoyed unless the reader knows him; (2) the written production is so much an outgrowth of the life of the author, or of conditions which he was facing, that the book is not completely under- stood unless studied in the light of these facts. (3) the strength of character of the author has ennobling effect. In studying biography, we must remember that there is in- finitely more to the life of a great writer than dates and places. It is well to know the chief events of an author's life, his most important works, his style, his rank; but let this be but the stepping-stone to comprehend the influences THE NOVEL 233 that have made him what he was; and the influences that, in turn, radiate from him. These latter, still alive in the productions of his mind and heart, influence those that read his book, long after he is dead. The Life of Scott. There have lived few boys with more intense love for the past than young Walter Scott. A sickly child, lame, he was sent out to his grandmother in the coun- try, where his childish imagination fed upon old legends and ballads of Bonnie Scotland. Running wild over the moors, or dashing about on his Shetland pony, the little lad ab- sorbed Scotch scenery with an intensity that is revealed in his poems. With his first shillings he bought a copy of Percy’s Reliques. “I do not believe,” he said, “I ever read a book half so frequently or with half the enthusiasm.” When he went to the high school, telling stories to the boys was his chief pleasure. Already he was developing his art, for he watched the play of suspense and soon learned to use the devices that aroused most interest. “I made a brighter figure in the yards than in the class,” he said of himself. This legend-loving boy gathered in his mind a great store of ballads, songs, and traditions, which later he produced as The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. His literary art began as an avocation, for he was a lawyer by profession. Between his thirtieth and fortieth years, however, he threw his energies into verse and became known far and wide as the author of three great poems, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810). But in the south had risen a young poetic genius whose tales had caught the popular heart. By 1814 Scott was forced to admit that Byron had beaten him at his own game; and he turned to prose. One day, coming across an old manuscript of his own, he took it out and set to work to complete it. It was published anonymously as Waverley. Other novels followed, forming a 234 TEACHING LITERATURE series; England and Scotland hung spellbound, as these were issued, two a year. The real authorship at last leaked out, and Scott found himself more famous than before. Leslie Stephen, in his biography of Scott, says: — Scott now adopted the habits which enabled him to carry out his labours. He gave up his previous plan of sitting up late, rose at five, dressed carefully, was at his desk by six, and before the family breakfast had “broken the neck of the day’s work.” A couple of hours afterwards he finished the writing, and was his “own man” by noon. At Ashestiel he rode out, coursed with his greyhounds, or joined in “burning the water,” as described in Guy Mannering. He answered every letter the same day, and thus got through a surprising amount of work. Lockhart describes (ch. xxvi.1, p. 256) how in 1814 a youthful friend of his own was irritated by the vision of a hand which he could see, while drinking his claret, through the window of a neighboring house, unweariedly adding to a heap of manuscripts. It was afterwards identified as Scott’s hand, then employed upon Waverley; and the anecdote shows that he sometimes, at least, wrote into the evening. No nobler ideal of honor can be held out to boy or girl than Scott in his last years, when the failure of the publish- ing firm of Ballantine threw that immense debt upon his hands. His refusal to take advantage of the law of bank- ruptcy and his unconquerable determination to pay by the aid of his pen show his innate nobility. For seven years he drove his brain with the whiplash, and actually paid off f70,000 of the £117,000 debt. Under the strain of unremit- ting labor, however, his health broke. The greatest tribute to him, as a genius and a man, came when the ruler of England put at his disposal a battleship to take him to the Mediterranean in the hope that he might regain strength. But help came too late. Scott soon grew homesick for the hills and moors of his native land. Lock- hart describes with feeling his return to Scotland and the welcome given him by his family, friends, and dogs. The native bigness of the man spoke in his own words: — THE NOVEL 235 I am drawing near the close of my career; I am fast shuffling off the stage. I have been perhaps the most voluminous author of the day; and it is a comfort to me to think that I have tried to unsettle no man’s faith, to corrupt no man’s principle. This humble speaker of himself rose to the full measure of a man. He is the very stuff of which his own heroes are made. Put him into the boy’s life as an active force and you raise that boy’s conception of real heroism. Lockhart’s biography of Scott. The authoritative biog- raphy of Scott’s life was written by his son-in-law, J. G. Lockhart. From this splendid book the enterprising teacher can choose appropriate portions for reading aloud in class or for reference reading and reports. The following pages are excellent:*— The visit of the Wordsworths, I, 109–11; 139. Daily habits of work, tastes, love of animals, etc., I, 133–36; 265; 305–10; II, 490; 510–11; 365–66. Domestic life, children, I, 174–79; II, 354–55. Death of the dog Camp 1, 188. The Lady of the Lake, 1, 198–200. Waverley, 1, 203; 237–40; 243–44. Abbotsford, I, 209–11; 214–15; 216; 288; II, 324; 362–64; 367–73; 384–85; 432–34. Pyron, 1, 211–14; 251–54. Anecdote of the innkeeper, I, 219. Irving and Scott, I, 265; 288–92. Influence, I, 296. His sanctum, I, 299. How he wrote The Bride of Lammermoor, II, 342–43. An illness, II, 344; 351–52. Ivanhoe, II, 347–49. - Entertaining the king, II, 403–09. The visit of Miss Edgeworth, II, 420–21. Business troubles, II, 469; 472–73; 479–80; 483; 485; 492. At Windsor Castle, II, 500–01. His library, II, 518. His last illness, II, 567–70; 585; 587; 600-08. His character, II, 608–22. The historical novel and Scott. The Waverley Novels are , 1 From Lockhart's Life of Scott (two-volume edition). 236 TEACHING LITERATURE the most brilliant historical novels that have come from the hand of any one person. The author actually covers seven centuries of customs and character. Think of the fund of information necessary to do this! The eighteenth century is presented in The Heart of Midlothian, Waverley, Rob Roy, Redgauntlet. The seventeenth century is described in Old Mortality, Woodstock, The Legend of Montrose, The Fortunes of Nigel and Peveril of the Peak. Kenilworth, The Momas- tery, and The Abbot revive the previous century and the days of Elizabeth. If you are interested in fifteenth-century life, read Quentin Durward and Anne of Geierstein; in four- teenth, read Castle Dangerous and The Fair Maid of Perth. The twelfth century is depicted in Ivanhoe, The Talisman, and The Betrothed; and the eleventh, in Count Robert of Paris. “These historical novels,” says Carlyle, “have taught all men this truth, which looks like a truism, and yet was as good as unknown to writers of history and others till so taught: that the by-gone ages of the world were actually filled by living men, not protocols, state papers, contro- versies, and abstractions of men.” Class work in Ivanhoe. Certain historical elements make Ivanhoe very valuable for class work. These are the feudal system, as introduced into England by the Normans; na- tional strife between Norman and Saxon in England; the Jew and his relation to society; Robin Hood and his out- laws; the mediaeval conception of chivalry, the Crusades; the typical English jester, as seen in Wamba. Scott claimed the right of handling his material to suit himself. History he made incidental; the essential part was the play of human nature and the drawing of historic background. He tried, as Palgrave says, “to make beautiful the unholy tales which deserved the curse rather than the blessing of humanity.” Scott cared little for well-constructed plot. He felt at THE NOVEL 237 liberty to change his plot as the story progressed. On ac- count of the rapidity with which he wrote and the fact that he seldom revised, his novels, in places, show a lack of pol- ish, but it is unwise and unfair to let this mar the great worth of the work. Boys and girls are not keenly alive to niceties of style; why temper their admiration of Scott by dwelling on his shortcomings? The introductions need to be handled tactfully. Accord- ing to the old school, Scott packed much of his informational material – necessary to a real understanding of the situa- tion — in the opening chapters. Our young people, accus- tomed to the modern novel, often find these first pages tedi- ous. The teacher should in every possible way guide classes over this obstruction by preliminary discussion of the times or scenes. The reading is then illuminated in the light of what the class knows; in other words, dry informational matter is attached to their own knowledge. The effective- ness of a teacher's work with a classic is measured by the degree in which the pupils like it and the earnestness with which they pursue their work. If Ivanhoe is treated like a real story, - with many dramatic scenes or tableaux, — pupils will want to read more of Scott. There are many ways to arouse interest and set the pupils Working. Scenes may be given impromptu. Conversations may be taken by individual pupils impersonating respective characters, for Scott has made the chapters easy handling from the dramatic viewpoint. Committees may be ap- pointed to handle correlated matter such as customs, dress of ancient times, unusual words, queer allusions, etc. As- signment of a special phase of the book for a report at the end of the reading is also a good way of arousing individual responsibility. When possible, let the pupil choose his sub- ject, — something he is vitally interested in; that is the way to get the best work. Informal discussion or one-minute 238 TEACHING LITERATURE talks from the front of the room may give the progress of the story from day to day. Some teachers tell entirely too much; they seem to think that the young mind is incapable of grasping details, and they are on the alert to “trip up * offenders. Either of these attitudes — the garrulous method or the over-critical — is antagonistic to the best results in the class room. Character-grouping. The characters fall into four groups. These are the Saaoms, Cedric, the guardian of Rowena, Ath- elstane, betrothed to Rowena, Rowena herself, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, – “the disinherited knight,” — son of Cedric, Wamba the jester, Gurth the Swineherd, and Ulrica; the Jews, Isaac and Rebecca, who aided “the disinherited knight,” the former by giving him armor, the latter by nursing him; the outlaws, Alan-à-dale, Friar Tuck, the Mer- rie Men, and their leader Locksley (Robin Hood), who saved the captives in Front-de-Boeuf's castle; and the Nor- mans, Prince John, who had usurped the throne, Richard, called “the Black Sluggard,” De Bracy, in love with Row- ena, the Templar, — Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, — in love with Rebecca, Front-de-Boeuf, Waldemar Fitzurse, the Grand Master of the Preceptory, who tried Rebecca for sorcery, and Prior Aymer. Progression of plot. The progression of plot by a series of crises is well brought out by such scenes as: — The discussion of conditions by Gurth and Wamba. Dinner in Cedric's house, when Rowena champions Ivanhoe. The tournament. The unmasking of Ivanhoe. Cedric's toast to Richard at the castle of Ashby. Tebecca’s repulse of the Templar. Rebecca's account of the siege to the wounded Ivanhoe. Death of Ulrica in the flames. The freeing of Gurth. The trial of Rebecca. The combat: the coming of Ivanhoe; and the death of the Templar, The reappearance of Athelstane. THE NOVEL 239 These various scenes serve distinct purposes. Some carry the action forward, others reveal character; some are in- tended for relief or contrast, others are meant for spectacu- lar effects. Let the class determine the purposes. The class may pick out the train of incidents by which the story is carried forward; let them discuss the qualities of the various people in the story, dwelling on their looks, dress, behavior, and part in the plot. Let them watch how the various threads are woven together. By judicious question- ing, the teacher can quicken discernment. Remember, how- ever, not to sacrifice liking of the classic in the effort to sharpen discernment. Composition interests in Ivanhoe. Abundant material for interesting exercises is found in this classic: — One-minute talks before the class, and written themes. (a) The life of Scott: boyhood, tastes, profession, pets, domestic life, stages in his career, friends, travels, writings, business ventures, Abbotsford, idea of honor, family, disposition and character, death and burial. (b) Scott's writings: his reading, his knowledge of Scotch life, first attempts at writing, his poetic tales, how he came to . write a novel, his conception of the historical novel, his desire in writing, his most important works with an estimate of each, qualities of his poetry, qualities of his prose fiction, his rank as a writer. - (c) Customs, characters, theme in the novel studied. Dramatization of scenes. (a) Monologues, dialogues, or group conversations as Scott gives them, or in pupils' words. (b) Acting out of dramatic scenes, preparing dramatic form. (c) Tableaux and pantomime. Reference reading. Notes. Outlines. (a) Outlines of material gathered from looking up chivalry, the feudal system, etc. Moving-picture scenarios and scripts. (a) Working up parts of the novel for presentation as a moving- picture: the brief statement (scenario) first; dividing this into stages of action, with captions for each; between cap- 240 TEACHING LITERATURE tions, giving a detailed account of the action as portrayed on the film. Story-Writing. - (a) Making up an adventure for one of the following: Robin Hood, Richard on his way from Germany to England, the Templar, Ivanhoe, Rebecca on her way back to Palestine, Wamba. (b) Making up a story about some dramatic moment in history. The appeal of Scott. Scott was to his day what the mov- ing-picture is to ours. He satisfied the craving for life, ac- tion, and tableau. That he was prince of romanticists is shown by his liking for the supernatural, for adventure, mystery, battle, contrast and color, for revival of the past. “I am sensible,” he himself says, “that if there is anything good about my poetry or prose either, it is a hurried frank- ness of composition, which pleases soldiers, sailors, and young people of bold and active dispositions.” Broad, striking effects characterize his work. He paints big can- vases in crude color. There are dangerous situations, and heroic men to meet them. All his life he admired Miss Edgeworth’s delineations of manners and character, but was forced to admit that “the bow-wow strain * was his. “Scott needed a certain largeness of type,” said Hutton, “a strongly marked class-life, and, where it was possible, a free out-of-doors life, for his delineations. No one could paint beggars and gypsies, and wandering fiddlers, and mercenary soldiers, and peasants, and farmers, and lawyers, and magistrates, and preachers, and courtiers, and states- men, and best of all perhaps queens and kings, with any- thing like his ability.” HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. See page 133. Illustrative Material. Brown’s Famous Pictures: Abbotsford, 2147, 2148, 2149; Edinburgh Castle, 880; Perry Pictures: Author and Home, THE NOVEL 241 85, 86; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: series of seventy-five pictures on Ivanhoe. Critical Material. Bagehot's Literary Studies (The Waverley Novels, vol. II, pp. 85–126). (2) GEORGE ELIOT’s “SILAS MARNER ‘’ Oh, may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence. GEORGE ELIOT. Mary Ahn Evans, otherwise George Eliot, has joined the “ choir invisible * of literary men and women whose words ring down through the years. She is with those whose writ- ings ennoble the reader, point out the path of duty, and bring him into the larger life of all humanity. A novelist in the making. “You may try,” says Cross, her biographer, “but you can never imagine what it is to have a man’s force of genius in you, and yet to suffer the slavery of being a girl.” From a sickly, timid little child, Mary Ann Evans grew to Superb intellectual maturity. Somehow, she had a feeling that she was destined for great things. She had an indomit- able perseverance that could not meet failure. In the forma- tive years from nine to thirteen, her passion for reading in- creased, and she absorbed Waverley, Lamb, Bunyan, John- son, and Defoe. In her later school days, she excelled in composition, French, German, and music. At sixteen — just when our own girls are in the midst of high school stud- ies — she left school “for good.” In two years, the death of her mother left her manager of the household. Although only a girl of eighteen, she was soon a fine little housekeeper, and, at the same time, continued her studies in Italian, Ger- man, and music. Her mind was filled with all sorts of in- formation, for she was always on the intellectual qui vive, curious to know. Very strict ideas about fiction she had at this time, thinking it wrong to “make up * stories. 5 242 TEACHING LITERATURE When she was twenty-one, the family moved to a manu- facturing town, and Mary Ann exchanged the background of rural England for the stir and stress of town life, in which she met people more nearly her intellectual equals. During her twenties, she became interested in translations. She met delightful people in Miss Harriet Martineau, J. S. Mill, Carlyle, Froude, Parker, Spencer, and Emerson. She was singularly dependent upon friendship, for her nature de- manded some one to lean upon. When she was thirty, her father died. The brilliance of her talents attracted attention in the magazine world, and she was, for a time, assistant editor of The Westminster Review. It was George Henry Lewes who first suggested that she try her hand at fiction. “You have description, wit, and philosophy,” he said, “ and these go a good way towards the production of a novel.” Encouraged by this expert advice, she wrote The Sad Fortunes of Mr. Amos Barton, and her career as George Eliot began. This was the pen-name that she signed to the story – George after Lewes, and Eliot because it sounded well. The criti- cisms were so very encouraging that the author, though shy, was tempted to be more ambitious. It was not long before, as Scudder says, she was “alive to the solemn and for- mative powers of heredity and environment, and their shaping force in the determination of duty.” Already she had evolved a definite aim in writing: — If art does not enlarge men's sympathies, it does nothing mor- ally. The only effect I ardently long to produce by my writings is that those who read should be better able to imagine and feel the pain and joys of those who differ from themselves in everything but the broad fact of being struggling erring human creatures. The personal material woven into The Mill on the Floss makes it autobiographical. With Adam Bede, George Eliot was ranked among the first novelists. Her characters were THE NOVEL 243 beginning to live in the popular mind. Mrs. Poyser, for in- stance, was quoted in the House of Commons: “It wants to be hatched over again, and hatched different’’; and other clever quips of Mrs. Poyser's, like “There 's no denyin' that women are foolish, but God Almighty made them so to match the men,” were in vogue. Romola was suggested to the mind of the novelist while on a visit to Florence. And her painstaking methods were shown in her compre- hensive reading to get historical background and local color. Few historical novelists have been as thorough in the pur- suit of accuracy. What made her a great writer? The personal charac- teristics of a great writer are always of exceptional interest, because usually reflected in, or influencing, his works. What qualities did George Eliot have, that we can incul- cate in literature classes as an ideal? (1) She was womanly. Feminine duties always interested her. She is one of our best portrayers of womanly char- acter. (2) She was in sympathy with advance movements. (3) She was an industrious student. Her biographer and husband, Mr. Cross, has spoken of her “limitless persistency in application.” This infinite capacity for hard work has been defined, again and again, as close kin to genius. (4) She had developed a wide culture. She cultivated a keen appreciation of the best literature. The Bible and Milton were her special favorites. She loved quiet ob- Servers of life like Goldsmith, Lamb, Cowper, and Jane Austen. Her fine contralto voice was peculiarly fitted for reading aloud. She mastered French, German, Italian, and Spanish sufficiently well to translate classics. She appre- ciated the value of scientific studies, and understood the in- fluence of environment. She was familiar with philosophy, history, pedagogy, psychology. 244 TEACHING LITERATURE (5) She had a retentive memory. Even in youth her mind was filled with a curious mixture of information. (6) She had keen observation. The fidelity with which she has sketched the rural folk of middle England is proof of this. (7) She had humor. (8) She had great depth of pathos, which was always con- trolled and never melted into sentimentalism. (9) She was a moralist, a born teacher, though prone to over-emphasize the moral lesson. Like Thackeray's, her asides have power. Conscience pervades her novels. Acts bear irrevocable fruit in good or ill. “George Eliot shows man what he may be,” observes the critic, “in terms of what he is.” - - (10) She possessed to a striking degree the analytical faculty, and the ability to form generalizations. The psy- chological aspects of her novels illustrate this. (11) With her great reflective power, she had the strange combination of the creative faculty. Her own experiences she worked over, not taking them literally, but transmut- ing them by the golden touch of fancy into perfected plot. (12) She had unusual breadth of view. She understood both the strength and weakness of character, and the in- fluence of both environment and circumstance upon it. (13) She was subject to inspiration. “In her best writing,” wrote Cross, “George Eliot said there was a not herself which took possession of her, and that she felt her own personality to be merely the instrument through which this spirit was acting.” Much of her work, therefore, seemed to her inevitable. She says of character-drawing: “I am unable to alter anything in relation to the delineation or development of character, as my stories always grow out of my psychological conception of the dramatis personae.” The value of Silas Marner. Why should a class study THE NOVEL 245 Silas Marner 9 First, because the book stands as a consum- mate piece of the story-telling art. Tributes like the follow- ing voice this opinion: – The quaint and idyllic charm of the piece, the perfection of tone and keeping, the harmony of the landscape, the pure deep human- ity of it, all make it a true and exquisite work of high art. (Frederic Harrison: Early Victorian Poets.) In some particulars Silas Marner is the most remarkable book in our language. (Sidney Lanier: English Novel.) Such tribute to Silas Marner as art is due not a little to the perfect construction of the piece. There is not a wasted de- tail; everything fits into everything else with a nicety that is remarkable. Second, because it contains some wholesome moral lessons for boys and girl “For lessons of deliberate kindness, careful truth, unwavering endeavor,” says F. W. H. Myers in his Essays Modern, “one could not ask a more convincing teacher.” Third, because in short length — for a novel — is given a plot that may well serve as a pattern in study of other prose fiction. - The theme of the book. Glance a moment at the following quotations and pick out the dominant thought in both: — A child, more than all other gifts, That earth can offer to declining man, Brings hope with it and forward-looking thoughts. In old days there were angels who came and took men by the hand and led them away from the city of destruction. We see no white-winged angels now. But yet men are led away from threat- ening destruction: a hand is put into theirs, which leads them forth gently to a calm and bright land, so that they look no more back- ward; and the hand may be a little child’s. The first, written by the poet-philosopher, Wordsworth, was quoted on the title-page of Silas Marner; the second, from chapter XIV of the same book, voices in prose the theme of the story. Here is the problem of a man awry with the world. How can he be brought back into proper 246 TEACHING LITERATURE relationship with his fellows? Why is he in this inharmoni- ous condition? Can the causes that put him there be re- moved? Given a problem like this, the imagination of the fiction-maker catches fire. Plot evolves; other characters group themselves about the misfit hero; a background of locality takes form; by a chain of circumstances, act leads to act, motives play upon each other, and the man awry with the world is brought back to his own place. How can it be done? Ask George Eliot; for in the novel Silas Marner that is the problem that confronted her. The plot and underplot. The structure consists of a main plot and an underplot which contributes to it in a definite manner. The main plot might be termed the humanizing of Silas Marner by the aid of a child’s influence. The under- plot consists of Godfrey Cass's love-affairs. Two people connected with Godfrey touch the main plot: Dunstan, by stealing Silas's money; and the wife Molly, by bringing the child that creeps in and takes the place of the stolen gold. The unfortunate and mortifying marriage with the woman Molly almost wrecks Godfrey’s love-affair with a high type of woman, Nancy Lammeter. Godfrey’s sin against Molly brings deserved punishment in a childless home and Eppie's refusal to fill it. Dunstan meets his punishment when he steps into the stone pit. The compensation of life comes to Silas in the golden head that glowed where the pot of gold had been. Chapter I can stand alone as an excellent example of the story-teller's art. In twenty-two chapters a definite struc- ture of plot is reared, six main characters follow out their destinies, and sixteen years elapse. The introduction runs to the phrase, “This is the history of,” in the second chapter. The story develops by a series of events to the climax, — the refusal of Eppie to “be adopted ” by Godfrey, and her choice of her foster father Silas in preference to her real father. The conclusion runs from chapter xx to the end. THE NOVEL 247 (Con- | clusión Ma - $ºple | hypocºl: Mar Aaron %X | is punishmeº for "er's Rew. L PVisit to NW/ Xygodite: ºldless Home *-antern § | dſ Godfre, *. % ºš loſſeº. S re USed Ption & % N by EBE; ev. >k K k ( ##3. of sº!, (\O's ...arawº” * Mărăşă.º.º.g 2% º 3||W 3°'ſ wº /2 Nº. oOl gºë ið 9 Introducin (1) Introducing. S 9 S +: 1.92 Iſſ) the Cass É. Marner's Early Histog 3S > }= º:#; ’S E. y (Loss of Friendship, do | * ºment Love, Religion) _*: I'- | Olly at Lantern Yard H O ANALYSIS OF “SILAS MARNER” Showing the working-out of the two concurrent plots of the novel, and their interdependence upon each other. Character-study. In a novel, as we have said, characters usually fall into two groups: main characters, or those necessary to the plot; and secondary characters, or those not necessary to the plot but contributing humor or helping to reveal character. 248 TEACHING LITERATURE Six characters stand out as principal in this novel: Silas Marner, Eppie, Godfrey and Dunstan Cass, Nancy Lam- meter, and Molly, the first wife. There are over twenty-five Secondary characters typical of rural England and drawn with exceptional skill. Dialect creates strong local flavor. For instance, the oft-quoted dictum of Mr. Macey's: — “There 's allys two 'pinions; there 's the 'pinion a man has of himsen, and there 's the 'pinion other folks have on him.” “Your voice is well enough,” complains Ben Winthrop, “when you keep it up your nose. It 's your inside as is not right made for music.” . And then Dolly with her witticisms and homely truth: — “Men's stomachs are made so comical,” she says, “they want a change.” “If we've done our part, it is n’t to be believed as Them as are abóve us will be worse nor we are and come short of Their 'n.” “For all we’ve got to do is to trusten, to do the right thing as far as we know and to trusten.” Many character-revealing incidents occur. The breaking of the brown pot; Godfrey and the dog; the quarrel in the Red House parlor; the selling of Wildfire; Marner's meeting with Jem; Godfrey’s interview with the Squire; the yellow gown; Godfrey’s recognition of the dead woman; his con- fession to Nancy, — each of these serves a special purpose. Character is not static in George Eliot's novels. People change for better or worse, but there is always a cause for the change. Retribution follows sin, as surely as the sea- sons change. Visualizing the setting. Boys and girls may be interested in building up a picture of rural England at the end of the eighteenth century. They enjoy working out a sketch of the village, placing the Cass house close by the church, and put- ting in the homes of the Lammeters and the Osgoods just where they think they would be. The writer distinctly re- members one class that picked out a big red house near the THE NOVEL - 249 high school as similar to the Cass's home. It was funny, but they came to regard this as their property. That quaint old house of dingy red, standing high from the street, like flot- Sam cast up by the tide of progress, easily transplanted it- self to the village of Raveloe. Whenever you can get a tangible focus of interest in teaching, you simplify the prob- lem of holding attention. Then, too, pictures quicken the visualizing power. Weaving, looms, quarries, old-fashioned methods of travel, old English inns, dress of the period, churches, – all are fine material for one-minute talks. Public libraries will furnish books; and state libraries, in many instances, will send books to rural districts. The use of dialect brings up the interesting subject of dialect in general. Some telling strokes can be made by the teacher in bringing out the difference between the speech of the Cass, Osgood, and Lammeter families and that of the unlettered folk, who use dialect. Enough may be said to “ point a moral and adorn a tale,” but it must be said tact- fully. Such concrete illustration of the fact that gross use of one's mother tongue places one in an inferior class of so- ciety does not have to be repeated often to make an impres- Sion. Living the classic. “We feel in reading these books,” says Dowden in his Studies in Literature, “ that we are in the presence of a soul and a soul that has had a history.” The strength, the virility, that George Eliot put into the story of Silas Marner, we want our girl and boy readers to get with as full force as their individual natures will permit. There is no cut-and-dried way of getting best results in teaching a classic; the presentation must be adjusted to the needs and capacities of the individual pupils and to the needs of the class. We may draw certain conclusions about the best way to teach a masterpiece with the majority of classes, basing the conclusions upon the success that has accompanied cer- 250 TEACHING LITERATURE tain methods in the majority of cases; but we must always be alert for the class that proves the rule, that exceptional class – whether sub-normal or super-normal in appreciation matters little — which demands a change in method to suit its individual needs. With many students, dramatic presentation of some sort makes the greatest impression. The writer can see in mind's eye a young athlete – one of those boys who instinctively dislike English — as he sat before the class, in entirely im- promptu work, and gave in his own words a monologue of Godfrey’s torturing problem, to speak or not to speak the truth to his father. The class listened, absorbed; the young fellow in front of them forgot himself, was Godfrey Cass for the moment, and in splendidly unconscious manner voiced his inmost thoughts as Godfrey. Dialogue may also be handled in the same manner. Profitable discussions may lead pupils to see the vital re- lations of certain subjects with the problem of living. The evils of bad companionship, the perils of the double life, the dangers of dallying with temptation, the cruelties of super- stition, the need of neighborliness, the redemptive power of love, the value of good women as friends, the temptations of an inharmonious home, and the force of trifles in making and betraying character — subjects such as these should be talked over. How did these things work out in the novel Silas Marmer ? How do they usually work out in life? Let the class contribute other instances. By skillful questioning conversation can gradually be drawn to a focus, until the class wakes up to a realization that matters of straight-living, downward paths, evil com- panionship, happy homes, warped character, bad habits, and social service touch their own lives vitally. Dolly Win- throp was as much a social worker in her way as the modern exponent. Eppie's firm refusal “to be a lady,” brings home THE NOVEL 251 to many a girl the pitiful Smallness of snobbery, living be- yond one’s means, and Social climbing, and emphasizes the beauty of creating a harmonious home with the materials at hand. The love-affair of Eppie and Aaron can preach a powerful sermon to boys and girls, if it is contrasted with Godfrey’s first marriage. Sowing wild oats? A skilled teacher can make the dangers and disgusts of such squandering of boyhood and youth so strong that a chivalrous determina- tion to have his own home, and to have it right, will grow in the hearts of boys and guard them. Flirting? The simplicity of Eppie and the genuine niceness of Nancy lead a girl to realize that flirting belongs to the Molly type of woman and, in many cases, leads to poverty of heart. Relate the problems of Silas Marmer to the lives of young people, and the classic will make unexpected appeal. A boyhood and girlhood philosophy can be worked out by members of the class, embodying ideas of Friendship, Love, Home, Duty, various relations sustained by boys and girls. The only philosophy that is worth much to them is one on the level with the boy and girl, - one that will yield results. The classic Silas Marner can be of practical appeal, if the vital portions are emphasized. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical Material. For the biography of George Eliot, the fol- lowing are recommended: Cross: The Life and Letters of George Eliot; and Stephen: George Eliot (English Men of Letters Series). Critical Material. For criticism of her work, we refer the teacher to Cross: The Development of the Novel; Dowden: Studies in Literature; Harrison: Studies in Early Victorian Literature; Lanier: The English Novel; and Myers: Essays Modern. - Illustrative Material. The following penny pictures are good: Perry Pictures: 101; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Life of George Eliot (series of thirteen); Silas Marner, 122e, 123e, 124e. CHAPTER X THE ESSAY The choice of books, like that of friends, is a serious duty. We are as responsible for what we read as for what we do. SIR JOHN LUBBoCK. THE playwright remains behind scenes. Nor does the skillful novelist intrude any side remarks into his story. The essayist, however, is always present in his essay: where- fore the choice of an essay rivals the choice of a friend. Of all prose, the essay is the most direct avenue of expression for the writer’s self, for his personality and fancy, for all the intimate turns of expression that are peculiarly his. Wise choice of these essayist-friends is most vital to us, because through them we can grow into their greater ex- panse of soul and outlook. “The educated man,” said Huxley, “ has learned to love all beauty, whether of nature or of art, to hate all vileness, and to respect others as him- Self.” The essay: definition and kinds. “The essay is properly a collection of notes,” says the Century Dictionary, “indi- cating certain aspects of a subject or suggesting thought concerning it, rather than the orderly or exhaustive treat- ment of it. It is not a formal siege, but a series of assaults, essays, or attempts, upon it. Hence the name.” According to method of treatment, essays fall into two great classes: formal and informal. The informal essay held high rank during the eighteenth century, Steele and Addi- son being able exponents. The formal essay was standard- ized in the nineteenth century by such writers as Macaulay, Carlyle, Ruskin, and Huxley. These two kinds also differ THE ESSAY 253 in characteristics and in aim. Informal essays are written for amusement, reform, or satire;-formal essays, on the other hand, aim to give a fair view of a subject by building up a body of opinion based upon definite standards of criti- cism. In style, the informal essay is easy, conversational, rambling, following the personal whim of the writer; the formal essay, however, is carefully constructed, follows a definite method of development, and presents a critical, sci- entific attitude toward the subject-matter. The informal essay shows the writer's personality more than the formal. It deals with entertaining comments on manners and cus- toms, or bits of instruction woven in description and ex- position; while the formal essay presents definite and ac- curate information in an impersonal way. Essays range over a considerable field. The philosophical essay deals with abstract thought, so well handled by such masters as Bacon and Emerson. The critical essay in the hands of Macaulay, Arnold, Carlyle, Lowell, Hazlitt, and others throws appreciative light upon literature. Then, there is the aesthetical essay dealing with art and its canons, an essay admirably presented by Ruskin and Emerson. There is the essay about nature, in which field Thoreau and John Burroughs excel. There is the historical essay, by which men like Macaulay, Carlyle, and Froude have vitalized peri- ods or people of historical prominence. There is the essay of life and manners, best developed in the works of Addison and Irving. There is the short biographical essay. And, there is the merely conversational essay — the stuff of which inti- mate, brilliant talk is made — better handled by Charles Lamb and Oliver Wendell Holmes than any other writers. The development of prose. To trace the growth of prose, let us glance at the development of English literature. To emphasize essentials we have traced (1) growth of language, (2) periods, and (3) prominent writers. 254 TEACHING LITERATURE fºa, alº. Celtic Period (Earliest times to 449 A.D.). The Mingling of Lan- | Anglo-Saxon Period ( 449–1066). ſjudges: Norman Period (1066–1350). The Forming of an English | Age of Chaucer (1350–1400). Language: Age of Caxton (1400–1550). First printing establish- ment. The Beginning of English | Elizabethan Age (1550–1625). Sidney, Hooker, Bacon. Prose: Puritan Age (1625–1660). Browne, Walton, Bunyan, Milton. Restoration Period (1660–1700). Dryden. The Popularizing of Prose | Age of Queen Anne (1700–1750). Pope, Addison, Swift, Steele," through the Periodical, etc. etc. Age of Dr. Johnson (1750–1800). Johnson, Goldsmith, Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Burke, Gibbon, Boswell, etc. The Maturing of Prose in ſ Age of Scott (1800—1830). Scott, Austen, Coleridge, De Quincey, etc. UThe Victorian Age (1830–1901). Thackeray, Dickens, Eliot, Carlyle, Macaulay, Ruskin, Arnold, Spencer, Newman, Huxley, Darwin, etc. Various Lines: Prose was slow in coming to maturity. During the Eliza- bethan age, it was so distorted in its efforts to be euphuistic that it failed of effect. Three writers, however, deserve mention: (1) Sir Philip Sidney, who may be said to have written the first critical essay in his Defense of Poesie; (2) Francis Bacon, who developed the philosophical essay; and, (3) Bishop Thomas Hooker, who founded during this period the first school of English prose, a prose with elaborate structure, harmonious cadence, dignity, and freedom from conceits. His style, grounded in classical models, had some of their faults, the sentences only too often being long and involved; yet this type of prose prevailed until nearly the end of the seventeenth century, when it was displaced by the more virile type of Dryden. There are two men, however, noted for delightful prose style, – Sir Thomas Browne and Isaac Walton. In 1643, Browne published his Religio Medici, and ten years later Walton, his Compleat Angler, which is the best thing yet on fishing. Sir Thomas Browne had a lovable personality, quaint, kindly humor, and a broad charity. He was greatly admired by Charles Lamb. Walton's Lives marked the beginning of modern biographical writing. Milton, too, wrote prose of power. THE ESSAY 255 His Areopagitica was the first great plea in English for the freedom of the press. It was Dryden, however, who took this rather cumber- some prose of these early days and, by casting off from previous models, laid the broad outlines of a later prose style. He shortened sentences, wrote naturally, and did not depend upon ornamentation for effects. We find him em- phasizing clearness of thought, precision in choice of words, brevity, balance, antithesis, euphony, and other qualities which are part of our modern conception of good writing. The paragraph also took modern form and developed a thought-unity and coherence. These Šensible changes in prose style worked out admirably in the next century in making a prose simple enough for the people to follow, and facile enough for conversational uses. In the sketches of Addison prose acquired an ease and elegance that have been greatly admired. Essays became so popular that Pope even wrote them in verse, directing them into abstruse lines. Early in the nineteenth century we find a great outlet for prose in the periodicals established, notably The Edin- burgh Review in 1802, The Quarterly Review in 1808, Black- wood's Magazine in 1817, and The Westminster Review in 1824, the last a London magazine; the others, Scotch. These periodicals did much to develop literature, for they brought before the public such men as Macaulay and Carlyle. Dur- ing this century, English prose style came to a glorious maturity that found expression in all the prominent literary forms, particularly the novel and the essay, and reflected modern life in all its phases. The Victorian Era is to prose what the Elizabethan Age was to dramatic poetry. Teaching the Essays of Bacon. In Bacon’s day it was the opinion that anything worth consideration ought to be pub- lished in Latin. In 1597, however, ten little essays appeared in the vernacular and met with instantaneous success. 256 TEACHING LITERATURE They were merely observations from notebooks, put to- gether in essay form and not considered by the author im- portant enough for expression in Latin. In 1625 appeared the complete number, fifty-eight. No wonder the essays were popular! They were pithy and packed with wisdom; they cut into the heart of the thought, and were brilliantly epigrammatical instead of tiresomely given to the circumlocutions of the prose of that day. The structure was not like that of the well-organized nineteenth- century essay; it was rather an accumulation of thoughts upon a basic idea, over which all of Bacon’s great learning threw side-lights. He wished “to contrast these common- places into certain acute and concise sentences; to be as skeins, or bottoms, of thread which may be unwinded at large, when they are wanted.” Of Studies, Of Revenge, Of Travel, and Of Gardens may be brought to young classes; in addition to these, Of Truth, Of Adversity, Of Great Place, Of Discourse, Of Friendship, Of Honor and Reputation, Of Riches, and Of Simulation and Dissimulation may be used with older students. The following questions may be suggestive for class dis- cussion: – * * What phases of the subject does Bacon touch? How does he use Latin’ Does he have a topical outline in mind? State it. Pick out the introductory sentences, the concluding sentences. How does Bacon’s wide learning show itself? How does his character betray itself? Does he look at things as we do? Is there anything that suggests his own day or career? Pick out sentences that are worth remembering as guides in conduct. Are his sen- tences long or short? What kind of sentence does he like? What figures of speech? Pick out sentences which might serve as good models in your own work. How does Bacon use antithesis? . The Spectator — a study of life and manners. These es- says of Addison and Steele, contributed to The Spectator, served a fourfold purpose: (1) they presented the first ex- cellent characterization in prose outside of the drama and thus advanced the art of the novel; (2) they gave birth to THE ESSAY 257 the modern essay; (3) they vernacularized English prose style. “Whoever wishes to attain an English style familiar but not coarse,” was the dictum of Dr. Johnson, “ and ele- gant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison.” (4) They have left us our most vivid picture of eighteenth-century life and manners. The era of Queen Anne was epoch-making in the develop- ment of English prose, because pamphlets, newspapers, and magazines spread among the people a good standard style. From 1709, three times a week for two years The Tatler, edited by Richard Steele, appeared with its political news, gossip of the clubs and coffee-houses, and essays on the manners of the age. March 1, 1711, the first number of The Spectator came out. “The general purpose of this paper,” said the dedication, “is to expose the false arts of life, to pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity, and affectation, and to Tecommend a general simplicity in our dress, our discourse, and our behaviour.” There was to be no political news, a significant fact; and it was proved by the instantaneous success of the papers that there was a place for the strictly literary magazine. His best essays [said Macaulay in speaking of the contributions of Addison] approach near to absolute perfection; nor is their excellence more wonderful than their variety. . . . On the Monday we have an allegory as lively and ingenious as Lucian’s Auction of Lives; on the Tuesday, an Eastern apologue, as richly colored as the tales of Scheherazade; on the Wednesday, a character de- scribed with the skill of La Bruyère; on the Thursday, a scene from common life, equal to the best chapters in the Vicar of Wakefield; on the Friday, some sly Horatian pleasantry on fash- ionable follies, on hoops, patches, or puppet shows; and on the Saturday, a religious meditation, which will bear a comparison with the finest pages of Massillon. In teaching these papers, the life and manners of the pe- riod should be thrown into the limelight. There should be 258 TEACHING LITERATURE detailed outside reading on such varied subjects as the status of the country squire, hunting customs, modes of travel, coffee-houses, clubs, theaters, superstitions, condi- tion of politics, the beau, the belle, the dress of the period, the amusements, London life, streets, a fashionable life, gardens, the library, trade, etc. The Roger de Coverley Papers are the most popular portion of The Spectator. Before beginning these, a class ought to read the first essay published, entitled The Spectator, and trace the resemblance to Addison. The second essay (on The Club) also should be read for the broad outlines of the vari- ous characters. Flesh-and-blood pictures of the poor relation in Will Wimble, the merchant in Sir Andrew Freeport, the fop in Will Honeycomb, and, best of all, the country gentle- man in Sir Roger take form as the reading continues, and as incidents and comments furnish side-lights. The playful humor, the power to vivify the times, the smoothness and elegance of style, the lofty moral sentiment, shrewd observation of character, pointed comments on life and manners, delicate satire, kindly spirit, and gossipy tone, the inexhaustible run of thoughts, the manliness and human sympathy—these are a few of the qualities that have com- mended The Spectator to readers. By discussion and reading aloud, try to lead pupils to appreciate the personalities back of the papers. Lamb’s Essays of Elia — study of personality. A true follower of Addison is Charles Lamb, whose essays, pub- lished in 1822, found response in the hearts of all lovers of books. Lamb was a fine-grained romanticist, an ardent ad- mirer of the Elizabethans, a happy observer of the humors of his own day, a man whimsical and sympathetic. Lamb is just Lamb. Through the essays shines his per- sonality. His brave manliness, his devotion to his sister Mary, his simple pursuance of duty, his loving circle of THE ESSAY 259 friends must be known by a class before they appreciate the essays. His witticisms, his insight into character, his wisdom, his self-betrayal, his felicitous phrase, his tender pathos, his charm, his whimsicality, his fine ideals, his quaintness — do you, for your part, help pupils to see and feel these traits in the essays? The name Elia was taken from a clerk in the South Sea House and attached in fun to the first essay. Bridget was his sister Mary. Many of the essays have personal references, – The South Sea House, for instance, The Old Benchers of the Inner Temple, Christ’s Hospital Five and Thirty Years Ago, Mackery End in Hert- fordshire, and Blakesmore in H-shire. Dream-Children is a little classic of pathos; A Dissertation upon Roast Pig, and The Praise of Chimney Sweepers, on the other hand, are splendid examples of wit and humor. Besides these, Old China, A Chapter on Ears, Mrs. Battle's Opinions on Whist, Barbara S., and other favorites may be read. It spoils Lamb's essays to try to analyze them; they must simply be accepted and enjoyed. The richness of his lan- guage and his wealth of ideas are well illustrated in the fol- lowing paragraph from Poor Relations: — A Poor Relation is the most irrelevant thing in nature, — a piece of impertinent correspondency, — an odious approximation, — a haunting conscience, — a preposterous shadow, lengthening in the noontide of our prosperity, - an unwelcome remembrancer, — a perpetually recurring mortification, — a drain on your purse, — a more intolerable dun upon your pride, - a drawback upon success, - a rebuke to your rising, — a stain in your blood, – a blot on your 'scutcheon, — a rent in your garment, — a death’s head at your banquet, — Agathocles' pot, — a Mordecai in your gate, – a Lazarus at your door, − a lion in your path, – a frog in your chamber, – a fly in your ointment, — a mote in your eye, — a triumph to your enemy, - an apology to your friends, – the one thing not needful, - the hail in harvest, — the ounce of sour in a pound of sweet. Is that not an astounding procession of metaphors! 260 TEACHING LITERATURE The essays of Macaulay — study of allusions and tech- nique. “The most restive of juvenile minds,” said Gosse, “if induced to enter one of Macaulay’s essays, is almost certain to reappear at the other end of it gratified, and to an appreciable extent, cultivated.” Macaulay has led thou- sands of readers into more intensive reading along historical and literary lines. His essays fall into two groups: histori- cal and critical. The essays, Lord Clive and Warren Hast- ings, illuminate English history; while the essay Frederic the Great develops Continental history. Chief among his es- says of literary criticism are those on Milton, Addison, John- son, Goldsmith, and Madame d’Arblay. In 1825, when the first essay, Milton, was sent to Jeffrey of The Edinburgh Review, it brought out the response: “ The more I think, the less I can conceive where you picked up that style.” From 1825 to 1845, during the labors of a busy life, Ma- caulay found time to contribute nearly half a hundred es- says to periodicals. These are so admirably constructed and so well express such rhetorical qualities as lucidity, force, brevity, virility, and imagery, that they repay careful read- ing. They are journalistic in style, painted in glowing color with skillful strokes of the brush. Both the essays and the life of Macaulay should be familiar property. Trevelyan's Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay has many passages which may be read aloud or used for reports. The ideal way in studying an essay is to read it three times: (1) rapidly, to get the main divisions of thought, author's purpose, and general style of treatment; (2) care- fully, to get a full understanding; (3) appreciatively, to dwell on beauties of style, use of imagery, allusion, etc. Defi- nite assignments should be given. Topical outlines may be made. Committees may hunt out difficult words, allu- sions, etc., so that the appeal of the essay is unobstructed. Teachers should have the best passages read aloud in class | THE ESSAY 261 and often call for students’ selection of passages for reading. Types of sentences, the use of guide, or topic, sentences in paragraphs, the development of paragraphs, the use of fig- ures of speech, the use of antithesis or of contrast, — these can all be practically demonstrated. Yes, Macaulay was inaccurate at times, when his enthusi- asm or love of brilliant effects carried him into exaggeration; but let us not over-emphasize this in presenting Macaulay to the class. What we should want most is to make young people enjoy him enough to seek voluntarily a second essay. There is no greater tribute to a series of lessons on such a great essayist than to find boys and girls calling for other works by the same author. Study of an essay ought to familiarize boys and girls with three kinds of reading: (1) Rapid reading, to cover much ground easily; (2) reference reading, or consultation, to find a particular fact in indexes, guides, and reference books quickly; (3) careful reading, to get the thought of a passage exactly. With these essays there should be parallel reading. Milton's poems, for instance, should accompany the essay on Milton; papers from The Spectator, the essay on Addison; portions of Boswell, the essay on Johnson. Frances Burney’s Evelina and Journal will make the essay on Madame d’Ar- blay more real, for the latter was Frances Burney. Even pupils in elementary schools will enjoy the description of Frances Burney’s girlhood efforts at writing and the ac- count of her term of service to the queen, that five-year martyrdom described with a wealth of detail that recon- structs for us the life and manners of the court. Macaulay had a fascinating way of blending history and literature, — for one does influence the other, — and with many of the lit- erary essays reading about the historical period will greatly illuminate. The essays on Milton, Addison, and Goldsmith should be read to create an enjoyment of literary criticism. 262 TEACHING LITERATURE Shrewd teachers will use these essays as focal points for all sorts of reference reading, and other investigation of books and magazines at the public library. Let these great contributions to the leading periodicals of the last century be stepping-stones to help our boys and girls into the mature magazine of our own day. Carlyle's essay on Burns — study of viewpoint. “We love Burns, and we pity him,” wrote Carlyle in his essay on Burns, “ and love and pity are prone to magnify.” This criticism of a Scotchman by a Scotchman has in it a tender appreciation that makes this essay one of the most satis- fying criticisms of Burns in our language. The poems of Burns mentioned in the essay should be read and sung. The class should clearly distinguish Car- lyle’s opinions of literature and life from the portions that deal concretely with Burns. There can be no better individ- ual work on the essay than outlining it by topical divisions or condensing each paragraph into a single sentence. Classes should discuss such subjects as: – What is your conception of a good biography? Name several. What was the occasion of the writing of this essay? How was Carlyle fitted to write such a review? What do you know about Burns's life? Which of his poems have you read? What is the purpose of criticism? Of what does Carlyle speak in the introduction? In the exposition (paragraphs 6–70) what four big points are taken as heads? Describe the personality of the poet as Carlyle saw it. What intellectual and moral qualities are found in Burns's poems? What emotional qualities? What of Burns's technique? What is a poetical endowment? What are the finest qualities in literature? What do we mean by technique of a poem? How do Burns's songs rank? What other Scottish literature do you know? How did Burns's poems grow out of his life? Trace rapidly the events of his life. What lessons can we learn? What comments does Carlyle make upon Burns's life? What is Carlyle's judgment of his poetry? Find samples of loose and periodic sentences. Pick out effective figures of speech. What means of transition does the writer use? Are there any digressions that violate the unity of the whole? How does Carlyle use capitals? What type of allusion does he use? Find examples of vividness, simplicity, balance, contrast, interrogation, directness, swiftness, energy, -odd use of words. Pick out sentences that impress you as great. THE ESSAY 203 In connection with the essay should be read The Hero as a Man of Letters, in Heroes and Hero-worship, for Johnson, Burns, and Rousseau are taken as literary heroes. Ruskin’s Sesame and Lilies — study of the message. Ruskin had a splendid message for the world, and right nobly did he give it. He aimed to show men and women the beauty of nature, of people in relation to it and to one another, and the beauty of art. His socialistic ideas have been carried out in later days, and his two little lectures upon the reading of books and the education of girls are still moulding character in boys and girls of this country and England. Where did Hºget his title Sesame and Lilies 2 What is the chief topic of each essay? Break up the essays into large sections for discussion. How does each paragraph contribute to the discussion? How does Ruskin make you feel that he is lecturing? How does he classify books in the essay Of Kings’ Treasuries? What is his conception of a book? How does he think we should read books? What does he prove in his analysis of the passage from Milton’s Lycidas? What motives does he mention for securing an education? What part would books play in seeking an education? For what does a book stand? What must we do to develop a fine appreciation of the best books? What does Ruskin mean by the peerage of words? From what languages do English words come? What are some of the faults in reading mentioned by Ruskin? What does Ruskin mean by a vulgar person? What is Ruskin’s conception of a gentleman or a gentlemanly nation? In what five ways does he arraign England? How does he prove his points? Does any one of these charges apply to us as a nation or a community? Pick out things in your community that Ruskin would not approve. What would he be likely to think of bill- boards? In what ways do communities try to practice compassion? How does Ruskin present the idea magnanimous 9 What does he mean by True Kingship 2 What would Ruskin like to see done all over England? In Of Queens' Gardens how does the author summarize his first lecture on Books 2 How does he lead up to his new topic? What does Ruskin think of the mission and rights of woman? What is his method of treatment of the subject? Which great men of past ages does he call on for testimony about woman? What facts does he get from Shakespeare, Scott, Dante, the Greeks, Chaucer, Spenser, and the Egyptians? How does he interpret the buckling on of the knight's armor by his lady's hand 2 What is his idea of marriage? What is the place of each sex in the home? The duties? How does he regard the home? What kind of education will fit woman for the 264 TEACHING LITERATURE sort of position and power that Ruskin conceives to be hers? In his opin- ion how should the education of boys and girls differ? What is Ruskin's opinion of novel-reading? What should be the character of a girl’s reading? What qualities would he like to see her develop? What is Ruskin’s opinion of the English custom of governess—teaching? Compare this method with ours. How does he bring in Joan of Arc to illustrate a point? How does he arraign England again? What is Ruskin's opinion of woman’s place in the state? How does Ruskin interpret the term lady ? Of what does he accuse the women of England? What picture is drawn of the good woman? Read the most poetic passages aloud. How does he draw a powerful conclusion? What message can our boys and girls get from this essay? Do you agree with him in all particulars? Apply much that he says to yourself and to this country. The British essay in various fields. Victorian literature reflected closely the life of the people and their varied in- terests. Besides the essays of Macaulay and Carlyle, Pater's Appreciations, Arnold’s Essays in Criticism, Stephen’s Hours $n a Library, and his work in the Dictionary of National Biography, Thackeray's The Four Georges and English Hu- morists of the Eighteenth Century, Hazlitt's essays on lit- erature, Coleridge's Biographia Literaria and Lectures on Shakespeare, De Quincey’s sketches of the literary men he knew, and Stevenson's Virginibus Puerisque are well-known examples of literary criticism. In science, also, we find the essay form used. Huxley’s A Piece of Chalk, for instance, is commended as “a perfect example of the handling of a common and trivial subject so as to make it a window into the Infinite.” It is unusually good material for study of logical development, paragraph formation, transitions, and summaries, and a splendid example of the popularization of technical knowledge. Thoreau and Burroughs, on this side of the water, have done the same thing in their loving study of the world about them. Aliveness to modern con- ditions is demonstrated by such essays as Newman’s Idea of a University, Huxley’s On the Advisableness of Improving Natural Knowledge and A Liberal Education, and Ruskin's Crown of Wild Olives. THE ESSAY 265 The growth of American letters. It is well for teachers to consider what America has achieved in the way of litera- ture. During the early history of the country we had not developed confidence; our writings were imitations rather than original matter. Franklin, Bryant, and Irving did much to teach the talent of the country to rely upon itself. Our literature is still young. In looking back over the years, we find that it falls into somewhat the following periods: A Colonial period, 1607–1765; a Revolutionary period, 1765–1800; and a National period, from 1800 to the present time, which subdivides into: (1) a period before the War, 1800–1865, and (2) a period after the War, from 1865 to the present time. During colonial days Benjamin Frank- lin was the most original writer. The Revolutionary period abounded in political speeches and papers for occasions, but people were too busy for what we generally call literature. With the opening of the nineteenth century, however, imita- tion of the mother country gradually died out. New York became a live literary center. Washington Irving, Cooper, Bryant, Drake, Halleck, Poe, Webster, and others gave America position in such types of writing as the essay, the novel, the poem, and the oration. Then came the days when Boston developed about it a circle of literary men —Haw- thorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell, Whittier, Parkman, Motley, Garrison, Phillips. These two groups of men established our position as an independent force in literature. Within the last fifty years the circle of writers has greatly widened. In the novel and the short story we are prolific, justifying the old assertion that “ of making many books there is no end.” We are still looking for “the great Ameri- can novel ”; but in the short-story field America, perhaps, leads the world. The American essay. Franklin has done more than any 266 TEACHING LITERATURE other American to give us ideas of common sense and sagac- ity in business dealings. Young pupils will appreciate the wit and wisdom of Poor Richard's Almanac as gathered into the remarks which were prefixed to the almanac of 1757; the anecdote of the whistle; and the dialogue between Franklin and the Gout. These abound in the wit, shrewd- mess, simplicity, and vigor of the plain speech of the peo- ple. In his Autobiography, Franklin describes how he used copies of The Spectator papers for imitation in forming his own style of writing. For Irving's excellent work in the essay, see the following section. In 1841 and 1844 there appeared from the pen of Emerson two volumes that were momentous in the development of the American essay. Self-Reliance, Compensation, Manners, and Friendship are filled with treasures of thought, which the young mind can hew out for itself. There can be no profitable work in tracing out development of ideas in these essays, because they are more like Bacon’s Essays, or like Proverbs. Simply let pupils absorb the thoughts, and apply them; for these essays ought to be inspirational in the lives of boys and girls. What joy when the reader finds them “open sesames '' to that world of universal truth which all long to enter! Note Emerson’s concreteness and wealth of illustration, his fine ideals, calm Sweetness, graciousness, and gentility of the old school. There is a universality in the writings of Emerson which, as in Shakespeare's plays, will keep them alive. Pupils should by all means memorize choice sentences for the worth of their axiomatic quality. The Atlantic Monthly, so named by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, appeared for the first time in 1857 with James Russell Lowell as editor. Lowell accepted on condition that Holmes himself would be a contributor. The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table began in the first number and won THE ESSAY 267 great attention to the magazine. The humor, wit, sanity, shrewd observation, kindly spirit, gossipy quality, and de- lightful conversational flavor of these essays make them excellent reading for classes. Lowell’s own essays, found in My Study Windows and Among my Books, give expression to his literary opinion, and hold high rank. Magazine literature in class. Teachers must not forget that right now literature is in the making. This is true of all types of literature, even of the essay and oration. There are usually portions of the President’s Message, editorials in first-class newspapers, and essays in current periodicals that may be read and discussed in class. The timeliness of much of the matter aids greatly in developing interest. Cur- rent events should be presented to classes in the better sort of periodical rather than through the medium of the cheap newspaper. Boys and girls should be taught to like such magazines as The World’s Work, The Outlook, The Review of Reviews, The New Republic, and The Independent, The Survey, The Nation, and The Forum. The finer literary magazines, as Harper’s and Scribner’s, and others of standard quality, should be introduced grad- ually to pupils, and the effort made to induce a reading. Excellent material may also be found in The Outlook, The Atlantic Monthly, The World's Work, and The Independent for further reading in the essay of the day. A number of teach- ers — the writer among them — have used these magazines as textbooks and found that students were able to present reports of such reading. Discussion of various magazines, their relative merits, their make-up, etc., helps to raise the standard of the pupils’ taste. Many of our so-called classics first appeared in the better periodicals of their day, but the fact that the magazine of to-day roots itself firmly in the myriad life of the present is its strongest appeal to boys and girls. 268 TEACHING LITERATURE How to handle reference reading. Books of reference, as well as indexes like Poole's Indea; and The Reader’s Guide for periodical literature, should become familiar property. Classes should be taught how to make bibliographies; how to take notes on cards, to arrange these, and thus to build up, logically, a well-constructed essay. Even young pupils can be taught to work up such outside reading systemati- cally by taking an easy subject as The Education of our New England Poets, and seeking in the encyclopaedia or a history of American literature the facts that pertain to each poet. These notes can then be grouped effectively for presentation. To learn how to organize material to the best advantage, there is no better master than Macaulay. His essays may first be broken up into the large sections, which, in turn, may be divided under smaller heads. Original topical out- lines may be made for practice, — not written up; simply an exercise in accumulation and organization of thought. For review an excellent scheme is to have pupils prepare an essay outline of the material covered. Composition. and the essay. “It is the merest truism,” says Professor Corson,” “that the leading aim in the teach- ing of English should be: (1) to enlarge the student’s vocab- ulary and, (2) to cultivate a nice sense of the force of words which constitute a large proportion of every language, whose meanings are not absolute, but relative and conditional, being variously modified and shaded according to their organization in the expression of thought and feeling; and, (3) the (sole end of 1 and 2) to speak and write good live English, of the best verbal material and texture, and closely fitting the thought which it clothes.” Deliberate imitation of the masters is a good way to learn their use of diction and of rhetorical devices. It is the method pursued by the apprentice in any other trade; and 1 The Aims of Literary Study. THE ESSAY 269 writing, we know, is a trade as well as an art. Imitate Car- lyle's Heroes and Hero-Worship in an essay on “The Hero of To-day ’’; imitate Addison's work in The Spectator by getting out a series of brief essays, three times a week, gently satirizing the phases of school life, – entitling the production, say, “The Quiet Observer”; imitate Macaulay's essays by writing up the life and achievements of a favorite in lit- erature or history; imitate Lamb by taking some trivial sub- ject and throwing all possible side-lights upon it; imitate Holmes by pretending to have in your club some quaint character, who “ holds forth *; imitate Irving’s excellent summarizing sentences with some of your own. Before writing an essay, pupils should narrow down to something definite both in regard to the substance of the essay and the style by asking themselves questions like the following: Is the essay intended to teach, to preach, to re- form, or simply to entertain? Shall it deal largely with fact or with fancy? Shall it follow a definite plan or ramble at will? What shall be the approximate length? Can the essay be colored by anything from the writer's own experience? In the way either of material or of treatment, is it possible to add an original touch to the work? The essay should be not only well planned, but elaborated after the first writing. Then, pupils ought to revise their essays and enliven them by all the varied devices used by the best essayists. Variety of sentence and paragraph structure may be deliberately in- troduced, illustrative matter multiplied, allusions thought of, and figures of speech inserted where they add effec- tiveness. There are ways of arousing interest in the essay form. For occasions like Arbor Day, Memorial Day, Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthdays, Christmas, and Thanksgiv- ing, special essays may be prepared by classes. Book re- views may be embodied in essay form. Reviews of other 270 TEACHING LITERATURE students’ themes may be prepared in the form of critical essays. An essay may be prepared by a pupil in its entirety or it may be blocked in, in class, and the several portions distributed among the pupils for actual writing. Such an “Essay in Relay ” calls out the best efforts of the class; competition adds zest. The school paper should be a popular outlet for the best essays produced by the pupils; local papers can sometimes be persuaded to give space to school productions with gen- uine quality. The writer has found, from experience, that occasional publication of students’ work in papers that are read by grown-ups adds dignity and practical value to class- room instruction. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Collections of Essays. Teachers are referred to Hamilton Wright Mabie's Essays Every Child Should Know, and Fuess's Selected Essays. Additional Reading. Besides the essays mentioned in the chapter, any of the following may be used for reading: Arnold: Sweetness and Light; Bennett: How to Live on Twenty-four Hours a Day; Briggs: College Life, and To College Girls; Brown: What is Worth While; Bryce: Promoting Good Citizenship; Burroughs: A Bunch of Herbs, Birds and Bees, Fresh Fields, Sharp Eyes; Chesterton: Varied Types; Crothers: By the Christmas Fire, The Gentle Reader, and The Toryism of Travellers (Atlantic Monthly); Dobson: De Libris; Drummond: The Greatest Thing in the World; Fiske: Essays Historical and Literary; Galsworthy: The Inn of Tranquility; Harrison: The Choice of Books; Hearn: Out of the East; Hubbard: A Message to Garcia; Jerome: Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow and Three Men in a Boat; Lubbock: The Pleasures of Life; Mitchell: Dream Life, and Reveries of a Bachelor; Palmer: Self-Cultivation in English; Perry: The American Mind and American Idealism; Repplier: A Happy Half Century, Essays in Idle- mess, and Varia; Smiles: Self-Help. In connection with work on The Spectator the historical and social background of the period is well given in the famous third chapter of the first volume of Macaulay’s History of England. Illustrative Material. Penny pictures of essayists and of persons and places prominent in their essays should be secured. THE ESSAY 271 (1) Essays IN IRVING’s “SKETCH-BOOK” To a true poet-heart add the fun of Dick Steele, Throw in all of Addison, minus the chill, With the whole of that partnership's stock of good-will Mix well, and while stirring, hum o'er, as a spell, The fine old English gentleman, simmer it well, Sweeten just to your own private liking, then strain, That only the finest and clearest remain, Let it stand out of doors till a soul it receives From the warm lazy sun loitering down through green leaves, And you’ll find a choice nature, not wholly deserving A name either English or Yankee, – just Irving. Low ELL: Fable for Critics. Diedrich Knickerbocker? Jonathan Old Style? Launce- lot Langstaff? Geoffrey Crayon? No, these are just Irving! The pseudonym, or pen-name, seemed to have a fascination for him, as it has had for others. Dickens masqueraded as “Boz,” and delightful comment upon it is found in Mrs. Gaskell's Cranford. Charles Lut- widge Dodgson, staid university professor and authority upon mathematics, was none other than “Lewis Carroll,” who wrote Alice in Wonderland. On the title-page of The Sketch-Book stands the name “Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.” (Gentleman]. That Irving regarded himself as a solitary observer of men and manners appears from his use on the title-page of the following quotation from Burton: – I have no wife nor child, good or bad, to provide for. A mere spectator of other men's fortunes and adversities, and how they play their parts; which, methinks, are diversely presented unto me, as from a common theatre or scene. Types of class work. Irving's Sketch-Book is the greatest ally among the masterpieces for the teacher of rhetoric. The topic, or guide, sentence, paragraph development, or- ganization of material, use of figures of speech and allusion, kinds of description, story-telling — these fundamentals of literature in the making find concrete and satisfactory ex- pression in this classic. A wise teacher will combine prin- 272 TEACHING LITERATURE ciples of composing with appreciation of literature in deal- ing with these sketches. Since even good things may become tiresome if carried too far or if not varied, the following types of work must be blended as delicately as possible and used with common sense: — Dictionary work — definitions of words, etc. Reference work — looking up allusions, etc. Analytical work — finding the guide sentence of a paragraph, etc. Outlining – following out the development of a paragraph, etc. Synthetic work – taking the subjects of paragraph discussion and arranging them in a topical outline, etc. Appreciation — recognizing figures of speech, etc. Dramatization — changing stories with conversation into regular dra- matic form; writing dialogue to suit sketches; dramatizing stories completely, etc. The best of the sketches fall into distinctive groups: (a) stories like Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Specter Bridegroom, and Philip of Pokanoket; 1 (b) sketches of simple types and experiences, as The Voyage, The Angler, The Country Church, and Rural England; (c) sketches of old English customs, as The Stagecoach, Christ- mas Eve, Christmas Day, and Christmas Dinner; and (d) sketches of historic spots, as Westminster Abbey, The Muta- bility of Literature, Little Britain, and Stratford-on-Avon. The Author’s Account of Himself: A Sample Lesson The sketch entitled The Author’s Account of Himself might well be taken for close study, sentence by sentence. Such intensive work demands a short selection, else the pupils lose interest; this sketch is of ideal length. It is sur- prising what lessons can be found here: meanings of words, pronunciations, sentence-structure and development, punc- tuation, statement of guide sentences, use of figures of speech and allusion, difficult uses in grammar, qualities of style, personality of the writer. Some of these subjects may * See pages 196–97. THE ESSAY 273 be assigned to the entire class; others may be given to some of the abler pupils; still others may be taken up in class by the teacher. If it is permissible, it is a good plan to have pupils, first of all, mark lightly in the space of indention at the beginning of each paragraph the number which it is. It is also well to have numbers lightly inserted at the begin- ning of each sentence when a paragraph is taken up for minute discussion, for these marks facilitate reference. The following lesson may prove suggestive: — “Now, class, let us read together the introductory quotation to this sketch. When did this man Lyly live? How do you know it was long ago? Compare his sentence with one of Irving's. What conclusion do you reach about our language? Why would an author's account of himself be inter- esting? Can you think of others who wrote such accounts? [The Spectator.] What might we expect in such a sketch? “Read through the first paragraph again. What is it about? Does the writer express that thought anywhere? [The first sentence.] Then that is the guide sentence, is n’t it? How many sentences does Irving use to expand that idea of his fondness for visiting and observing strange characters and manners ? [Seven.] Can you tell me briefly the gist of each sentence. [The second, “he’s lost as a child exploring.” The third, “he’s fond of observing as a boy.” The fourth, “his holiday rambles.” The fifth, “thus learning of famous local places.” The sixth, “he knew all the popu- lar gossip.” The seventh, “the customs of neighboring villages and the In- dians.” And eighth, “his outlook from a distant hill told him how big the world was.”] How nicely every sentence plays a distinct part in the para- graph! Irving must have had the whole thought well planned in his mind before writing. Are you fond of exploring? Can we always trust popular gossip? Why not? Why are story-tellers always interested in popular gossip? “Some of you have trouble with your commas. In the third sentence we See exactly how a clause put first must be cut off by commas. Notice how well Irving handles his participles and infinitives. Can you tell me the actual use in each case, whether as noun or adjective: “Fond of visiting new scenes, and observing”? In the fourth sentence, “in the surrounding country,” is this the same use? In the seventh sentence, which use is given in “by noting their habits and customs, and conversing”? Which word did you have to look up in your reading of this? [Terra incognita.) “Read the second paragraph again. Can you pick out the guide sentence? [The first.) Does Irving in any way link this paragraph with the preceding, so that it reads more smoothly? [By the use of this.] Those little links between paragraphs are a great help in getting what we call sequence and 274 TEACHING LITERATURE coherence. Watch them. Now what does the second sentence do for this guide sentence? [It gives details. It tells how.] Do you ever read books of travel? [Jules Verne; Dana’s Two Years before the Mast.] Good! Do you think Irving loved to do these things? How do you know that even in speaking about them, he is emotionally moved? Is there anything in the sentence that shows emotion? [The exclamation mark.] Does this last sentence sound like plain prose or poetic prose? What makes it sound somewhat like poetry? [It’s all turned around. — The words sound well.] Which of the words would you find in poetry? Pick them out. [Parting ships. Waft. Distant climes.] Were schools as good then as now? Where can we get a good description of an old-fashioned school?” After a discussion of the words, rambling, devouring, parting, bound, longing, and lessening, the class passed on to the third paragraph. The questions on the remaining portions of the sketch we shall give briefly: — “Read again the third paragraph. Does any word connect it with the preceding paragraph? Which is the guide sentence? — So, reading without thinking is not worth much! Do you agree with his opinion of our own country? Where have you traveled? What does the third sentence do? Then it is a summarizing sentence. Pick out the eight things Irving men- tions. To what does he compare some of these? A lake could not really be an ocean of liquid silver, could it? This is not a literal statement, then, yet it makes us see these lakes much more vividly. What do you call such imaginative phrases? [Figures of speech.) Pick out other figurative expres- sions. Notice the punctuation of this summarizing sentence. The eight things mentioned are separated by semicolons, and after the last is placed a comma and dash. A summarizing sentence has two parts: the details, and the conclusion based upon them. Name some of her lakes. Her great mountains. Her fertile valleys. Her tremendous cataracts. Her boundless plains. Deep rivers. And trackless forests. In reading, always try to see all that the words suggest. If you do not do this, you are likely to be reading mere words. . “Read the fourth paragraph. What is the topic? Note how Irving usu- ally has a guide sentence expressed. How much this adds to the clearness! What are some of the masterpieces of art? How does highly cultivated society show itself? What are some of the queer customs? Pick out the sentence that contrasts Europe and America. Note that, in a balanced sentence like this, the ideas are usually contrasted; form is similar. How is the sentence punctuated? In which sentence does the author try to cover a big field in a sort of restatement? Note the use of the dash to show his passing from thing to thing. What places come to mind when you read of the ruins of Europe? “In the fifth paragraph what device does the writer use to connect his new topic with what went before? [Besides all this.] Did he use a device THE ESSAY 275 in the fourth paragraph? [But] Where in this new topic is there quiet humor? How does Irving play humorously with his idea about great men? Do you think he is really reasoning? “Pick out the guide sentence in the sixth paragraph. How does he re- strict his observation? [A stroller.] What does he next liken himself to? [A painter drawing sketches and coloring them.] How does he next restrict this statement? [To the painter who seeks out-of-the-way places and follows his own bent.] Can you now account for the title of the book? What is the author's purpose in the book? Locate the places mentioned at the end of the sketch. How are the following words used in connection with other words: roving, shifted, sauntering, caught, filled, finding, studied, following 9 “What have you learned about Irving from this sketch? [Observation; fondness for out-of-the-way places; appreciation of nature, art, history; sense of humor; independence; love of reading; propensity for traveling; sociability; humility.] Where do you find these qualities cropping out in the sketch? “What have you learned about the way in which Irving writes? [His use of a guide sentence in his paragraphs, his clearness, his connecting the paragraphs well, his emotional writing at times, his summarizing sentence, balanced sentence, his humor and kindly spirit, his large vocabulary, his keen observation, his thinking out all he wants to say before he writes, his knowledge.]” The next step is to set pupils at outline work on the sketches, searching for the guide sentences and writing them down in Irving’s own words. This is merely training in re- cognizing the main thought of a paragraph, and must be cultivated before pupils can outline in their own words. All this work in paragraph structure can be handled satis- factorily, if the steps are made cumulative. The Voyage — introduction, discussion, conclusion. For boys and girls The Voyage repays careful study because it will give them by proxy an experience which few of them will realize in their own lives. There is excellent chance to introduce the class to the three big divisions that character- ize the development of the average essay: introduction, dis- cussion, and conclusion. The first two paragraphs intro- duce; the next eleven describe the voyage and are equivalent to the discussion; the last four paragraphs describe the land- ing, and are equivalent to the conclusion. This breaking-up 276 TEACHING LITERATURE of an essay into these three parts is the first step in learning Organization. It is an exercise in analysis. Later the ele- ments of the outline will be used synthetically, when pupils are to organize their own ideas. The boy first takes the clock to pieces; then he tries to put it together. The next step in teaching organization is to group guide sentences together so that some form sub-points under oth- ers. There is a good example of this in The Voyage, – paragraphs 8, 9, 10, and 11, which deal with the storm. The four kinds of writing, usually classed as narration, description, exposition, and argumentation, are found blended in some of these sketches. In The Voyage, for in- stance, there is opportunity to show exposition, description, and narration in the making. The sketch begins with exposi- tion; for the two introductory paragraphs tell why an ocean voyage is good preparation for a trip through Europe. Life at sea is described graphically in the scenes viewed from the deck, in the pictures of the wreck, and of the landing at the pier. Narration is well done in the captain’s story and the account of the storm. The teacher can readily show how narration and description are developed by giving details; and how short sentences give vividness, and suggest rapid- ity of action. : The following questions may suggest others: — Make out a list of words that are peculiar to sea voyages. How does ocean travel to-day differ from that of Irving's day? What does Irving pick out as peculiar to the sea? If you were describing the land, what might you select? What kind of sentence is the one that gives a tribute to the ship? How is it framed? What famous ships can you name? What other inventions besides the ship have proved remarkable in hastening the progress of the world? Could you describe one of these in much the same way as the tribute to the ship? Why is a derelict, or wrecked ship at sea, dangerous? Where throughout the sketch does Irving's emotion show itself, and in what form? Contrast the inside and the outside of the cabin on the night of the storm. In the captain's story note the who, when, and where at the beginning; the details culminating in the what ; and the con- clusion. How do short sentences add to this narrative? What impressions THE ESSAY 277 did Irving get of the English coast? Who are described on the pier? De- scribe the scene between the sailor and his wife. What is the striking con- trast between Irving and the others on the pier. Classes ought to read Kipling's story, The Ship that Found Herself, Coleridge's description of the phantom ship in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Byron's descrip- tion of the wreck in Don Juan, canto II, 51–53, and his description of the ocean in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, CLXXVIII-CLXXXVI. Pupils will also enjoy re-reading the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens in connection with this sketch of the sea. Connect by as many threads as possible these various classics and you will find the impression of each deepened. Interest in this sketch will often lead pupils to plunge into a reading of Cooper. Rural Life in England—summaries and contrasts. “We come from reading Rural Life in England,” said Richard Henry Dana, “as much restored and cheered as if we had been passing an hour or two in the very fields and woods themselves.” This sketch can well be read at one sitting and the guide sentences noted. Students soon realize that usually these come first in the paragraph. Special study of summarizing sentences may be made in class; teachers must remember that reiteration drives home the ideas of a previous lesson. The summarizing sentence is only the small unit in a proc- ess which can be applied to bigger things; and analysis of Irving's use of summarizing sentences will lead a pupil to master the writing of summaries, even long abstracts. In paragraphs 1, 8, 9, and 14 are summarizing sentences worth discussing in class. The contrasts in this sketch are also worthy of consideration, particularly in paragraph 2. Let the class discuss Irving's conception of the English gentleman, a comparison of town and country life, and his reasons why the country is an ideal spot in which to live. 278 TEACHING LITERATURE In some classes, debates can be arranged in connection with this sketch, the subject being The Country versus The Town as a Place of Residence. The Angler —the topical outline. In The Angler there is excellent opportunity to teach organization from the stand- point of the topical outline. The following heads, for in- stance, were worked out by pupils from the discussion, and the paragraphs grouped under them: – Introduction: The Influence of Izaak Walton, | 1. Discussion: (1) American Angling, ſº 2–7. (a) Description of party. (b) Where they fished. (c) How the day was spent. (d) The village boy's success. (e) The feast. (2) English Angling, IT 8–13. (a) Where. (b) Who. (c) How the day was spent. (3) Angling and its Effects, T 14–15. (4) The Old Angler's Life, his home and family, - || 16–21. Conclusion: Blessings on old Izaak Walton! TI 22. The last part repays careful reading in class. Let the pupils note the definite details in the description of the angler's home and family. Suggest their comparing this scene with a scene in David Copperfield. Discuss fishing. Both boys and girls are interested in writing about making an aquarium, meeting odd characters, arranging dens, etc. The real fishermen in the class may even develop a curiosity to dip into the pages of The Compleat Angler of Izaak Wal- ton. Van Dyke's Fisherman's Luck and Little Rivers may interest others. The Country Church — class comment. After reading The Country Church, pupils may group their own comments about three main heads: the church itself; the congregation, especially the villagers, the country folk, the vicar, the no- THE ESSAY 279 ble families, the new-rich family and its sons and daughters; and the contrast between “the unpretending great and the arrogant little.” In this sketch the most valuable lessons for American youth are the keen observations upon character and be- havior. Snobbishness, social climbing, and ill-breeding are put in such a light that boys and girls are impressed. Help- ful discussions can be held upon such subjects as behavior in church, and toward our fellows; what makes a gentleman; what makes a lady; the value of family breeding; and du- ties we owe our neighbors. Dwell upon the humor in the sketch. Comparison may be made with other descriptions of churches, as in Westminster Abbey and Stratford-on-Avon. Some classes can be interested in Sir Roger at Church, in The Spectator. The Christmas sketches. It is a delightful experience if these Christmas sketches can be studied in the month of December. They should be taken in the following order: Christmas, The Stagecoach, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Christmas Dinner. The class must meet the boys in the old English stage- coach on their way home from boarding-school, see little old Bantam, their pony, and watch their welcome at the home among the trees. They must go with Irving to Bracebridge Hall and meet the Squire and his son Frank Bracebridge. They must by all means get well acquainted with Master Simon and the merry lads and lasses at the Hall. They will see the Oxonian and the lieutenant; they will come to know the vicar; they will enjoy the carols and dances of the coun- try folks. Excellent descriptions of English life are found in these sketches, descriptions particularly valuable because they are of a time even then passing by. There is much in good old customs to commend them. The celebration of Christmas in the Merrie England of a hundred years ago 280 TEACHING LITERATURE might have some striking suggestions for us. Make classes wish that they could have the same kind of good times when December twenty-fifth comes along, and you will do the first thing toward revival of kindly Christmas hospitality and spirit. These sketches might well be used for exercises in making abstracts. Have the sketch read out of class; then as an exercise, ask that the substance be written down in not more than two or three hundred words. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — writing abstracts. In the sketch, Christmas Eve, Irving takes us out to Brace- bridge Hall. We pass the gate and lodge, are welcomed by an old dame, and follow the Snowy path up to the house. The son, Frank Bracebridge, tells of his father's interest in the games of Christmas. Then follows a wonderful glimpse of real English people at home: the troop of dogs, the house and gardens; the games in the servants’ hall; the welcome by the family; the assembled relatives in the big hall and their games; the description of the hall, the Yule log, the Squire in his chair; the repast in the supper room, the Squire's simple meal, the mince pie; Master Simon's popularity. A demonstration in writing abstracts may well be put upon the blackboard in this fashion: express in less than twenty words the gist of each paragraph; group by braces the paragraph-topics that might be spoken of in the same sentence; compose in class sentences that express these ideas and write them on the board where they can be com- pared with the original outline. Nothing reaches the dull boy and girl better than doing the thing before their eyes. Blackboards should be used repeatedly for theme work, - sometimes every three feet of space assigned to a pupil, while the rest write at their seats. Errors may be checked off before the eyes of the class; good points may be empha- THE ESSAY 281. sized; changes for the better, demonstrated. All may con- tribute suggestions for improvement, thus stimulating dis- cernment. The following synopsis for Christmas Day was made by a student and used as the basis for such a summary, or abstract: — T1: The early morning carol outside Irving's bedroom door. 2: The children's serenade. 3: The beauty of the morning and of the scene. 4: Family prayers in the small chapel of the house; the squire's reading; Master Simon's responses. 5: The carol. 6: Irving's praise of morning worship. 7: A good, old-fashioned breakfast. 8: The walk about the grounds with Master Simon, Frank Bracebridge, and the dogs. 9: The look of proud aristocracy in the old mansion. 10: The discussion of peacocks. 11: Reasons for the Squire's interest in peacocks. 12: Master Simon's fund of information. 13: The Squire's insistence upon the family's attending church. 14: Frank Bracebridge's description of Master Simon's choir. 15: Description of the village church and the vicarage. 16: Description of the parson. 17: His interest in old books and customs. 18: His objection to mistletoe in the church. 19: The interior decorations. 20: Master Simon’s ceremonious behavior. 21: The individual members of the choir. 22: The singing of the anthem. 23: The erudite sermon on Christmas. 24: The parson’s living in the past. 25: Expressions of good-will after church. 26: The beauty of the country on the walk home. 27: The Squire's lamentations over the passing of the good old customs. After certain thoughts have been singled out for treat- ment in one sentence, the class must decide which idea ought to be put in the prominent position of subject. The other thoughts can be grouped about the subject and the predi- cate, either in phrase or clause form. If several thoughts seem to be equally important, it is evident that the com- pound form of sentence is demanded. By such exercises 282 TEACHING LITERATURE coördination and subordination in sentence structure are more clearly understood. The Christmas Dinner — reading aloud. There are few classes that will not be absorbed in the sketch of The Christ- mas Dinner if stress is placed upon customs. Let this sketch be used especially for reading aloud in class, as well as for discussion of customs, for comparisons with American life, for ideas about entertaining, for a sort of climax to all the work on these Christmas sketches. Old Christmas carols may be sung. Classes may be put on the trail of such delightful stories as Kate Douglas Wig- gin's Birds' Christmas Carol, Dickens's Christmas Carol, and Van Dyke's The Other Wise Man. Sketches of historic spots — visualization. In the sketch Westminster Abbey, the use of pictures will greatly vitalize class work. A progressive teacher will take pains to collect, for the purpose of greater visualization, all sorts of pictures of the Abbey and its interior. Furthermore, interest in Lon- don, which should be a natural outgrowth of the study of the sketch, can be stimulated by pictures of the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge, the British Museum, the Bank of England, the Parliament buildings, the Thames, Fleet Street, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Cir- cus, Hyde Park, and other places of note. In this sketch, all words of architectural bearing might be selected for spe- cial attention, and a ground-plan might be made of the build- ing. The justly commended passage on Organ music might be memorized. The sketch Stratford-on-Avon takes the reader over a definite route, which classes enjoy working out. The teacher should also contribute pictures that relate to Shakespeare. Excellent topical outline work can be done in this sketch because the progression is by very decided stages. The Mutability of Literature is difficult, but we have had THE ESSAY 283 successful work upon it by making capital of the dramatic element. The conversation is supposed to take place in the library at Westminster Abbey. A little old quarto brought to life talks with Irving. Make the pupils feel that the book is really alive; find out when it must have been written; lis- ten to the way it talks about its day and the present day. Let some one act as the book; let some one else be Irving. The teacher has a good chance, during discussion of the quarto's remarks, to bring in a few of the most important phases in the development of English Literature. How do you feel toward your Irving 2 Washington Irving! [said Charles Dickens]. Why, gentlemen, I don’t go upstairs to bed two nights out of the seven without taking Washington Irving under my arm. In Advice to a Student, Edward Everett says: — If he wishes to study a style which possesses the characteristic beauties of Addison’s, its ease, simplicity, and elegance, with greater accuracy, point, and spirit, let him give his days and his nights to the volumes of Irving. Said William Makepeace Thackeray: — “Be a good man, my dear.” One can’t but think of these last words of the veteran Chief of Letters, who had tasted and tested the value of worldly success, admiration, prosperity. Was Irving not good, and, of his works, was not his life the best part? In his family, gentle, generous, good-humored, affectionate, self-denying; in society, a delightful example of complete gentlemanhood; quite unspoiled by prosperity; never obsequious to the great (or, worse still, to the base and mean, as some public men are forced to be in his and other countries); eager to acknowledge every contempo- rary’s merit; always kind and affable to the young members of his calling; in his professional bargains and mercantile dealings deli- cately honest and grateful; one of the most charming masters of our lighter language; the constant friend to us and our nation; to men of letters doubly dear, not for his wit and genius merely, but as an exemplar of goodness, probity, and pure life. Let your enthusiasm for Irving over-run into your classes. Let them imitate his sentences; let them build up their own 284 TEACHING LITERATURE themes as he built his; let them talk him out in the class room, much as they would recount a visit to an old friend. The sooner you put your classes on terms of intimacy with the author of The Sketch-Book, the better will be their chances of forming a creditable English style. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical and Critical Material. See pages 209–10. Illustrative Material. Perry Pictures: Westminster Abbey, 1485; Poet's Corner, 1486, 1486b; Shakespeare, 78; Home, 74, 74a; Stratford- on-Avon, 74b, 74c, 74d, 75, 75b; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Stratford-on-Avon (series of nine); Westminster Abbey (series of ten). Guide-books, elaborately illustrated books about England and English life, and magazines articles may be used to supplement the work. Additional Reading. Sir Roger in Westminster Abbey (The Spectator, No. 329) and A Sunday at Sir Roger's (The Spectator, No. 112). (2) MACAULAY’s “LIFE OF JOHNSON ?” It [history] should invest with the reality of human flesh and blood beings whom we are too much inclined to consider as personified qualities in an allegory; call up our ancestors before us with all their peculiarities of language, manners, and garb; show us over their houses, seat us at their tables, rummage their old-fashioned wardrobes, explain the uses of their ponderous furniture. — MACAULAY. Macaulay's field. This purpose, which Macaulay so well carried out in his monumental work on the history of Eng- land, guided also his treatment of literary personages. From the time of his first essay, that on Milton, published in 1825 by The Edinburgh Review, his graphic pen turned out pic- tures that revived great eras of all the large countries of Europe — essays on Dante, Petrarch, and Machiavelli reconstructing Italian life; essays on Frederic the Great and Mirabeau — Germany and France respectively; essays on Bacon and Burleigh — the Elizabethan age; essays on Milton, Dryden, Hunt's Comic Dramatists of the Restoration, and Bunyan — the seventeenth century; essays on Croker's treatment of Boswell's Johnson, Madame d’Arblay, Addi- son, Goldsmith, and Pitt, — the eighteenth century; and THE ESSAY 285 the essay on Moore’s Byron, — the nineteenth. So thor- oughly did Macaulay treat the lives of these persons that we have, on completing the essay, not only a view of the life and achievements of the person described, but a vivid pano- rama of the times in which he lived. Macaulay the man. Macaulay was a man of diverse and powerful talents, any one of which would warrant atten- tion. In him we find combined the gifts of journalism, of oratory, of literary criticism and appreciation, of statesman- ship, and, best of all, the gift of being a particularly de- voted friend, son, and brother. He was a man who reflected the age in which he lived and also influenced it. Pupils should, by all means, make the acquaintance of Macaulay. His manliness, his devotion to his family, his strict independence of thought and action, his rigorous hon- esty, self-sacrifice, practical patriotism, and cheeriness of disposition — these are qualities worth holding before boys and girls in the formative years. Trevelyan's Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay, a most readable account of his life, is considered one of the best biographies in the language. There are many interesting topics for discussion: — Birth and Parentage of Macaulay, His Precocity as a Child, His School Days, His Life at Home, His College Days, His First Writings, His Social Life and Popularity, His #. Political Career, The Beform Bill, His Great Speeches, The Copyright Bill, His Work in India, His Magazine Writings, His History, Honors that Came to Him, His Travels, His Poems, His Achievements and Rank, His Ideas about Writing, His Style as a Writer, How He Left his Mark on Politics and on Literature. The Life of Johnson in class. In the ripeness of expe- rience and style, Macaulay three years before his death wrote for the Encyclopaedia Britannica his famous essay entitled The Life of Johnson. This was not his first effort to present the life of the great Dictator of the previous century; for, in 1831, in the exuberance of his youthful en- thusiasm, he wrote a book review of Croker's edition of 286 TEACHING LITERATURE Boswell’s Life of Johnson, which was published in The Edinburgh Review. The later account of Johnson’s life is tempered with the wisdom of years and revised carefully, so that as a biographical essay it now ranks next to The Life of Pitt. After pupils feel that they know Macaulay, there are two ways to approach the essay itself, choice of either of these methods being governed by the character of the class. The essay on Johnson is a tissue of life and times, interwoven. With some classes we have immediately read the essay after study of the life of the author; with others, we have found that interest was doubled by a further preliminary reading about the times in which Johnson lived. In the lat- ter method, classes at first reading had a pleasurable sensa- tion when they came to such words as ordinaries, Grub Street, siath form, and gentleman commoner. Macaulay drew his allusions largely from six different fields: the history of England, educational systems, past writers of England, living writers of Johnson's day and other men he knew, Johnson's London, and great classical writers of early times. Interesting reports may be made of such phases of school life in England as the public schools of Eton, Harrow, and Rugby; the meanings of words like gentleman commoner, form, etc.; and the various colleges found at Oxford and Cambridge. Great writers of Greece, Rome, and the Renaissance — Demosthenes, Cicero, Hor- ace, Virgil, Petrarch, Politian, and Boccaccio — may be talked over. A rapid survey may be made of English his- tory, bringing it up to the times of Johnson; such writers as Thomson, Gay, Fielding, Swift, Richardson, Young, Sheri- dan, Jonson, Goldsmith, Dryden, Frances Burney, and Gray may be briefly commented on and placed where they belong in the development of English literature. Johnson's London can be revived by reports from outside reading, and such THE ESSAY --" " 287 places as Drury Lane, Covent Garden, Grub Street, South- wark, Fleet Street, the Mitre Tavern, and the coffee-houses and ordinaries may be discussed. Then the other men of the day, brilliant in all lines of activity — Garrick, Chester- field, Burke, Reynolds, Gibbon, Boswell — should be made as “alive ’’ as possible before taking up the essay. Man- ners and foibles of the age, amusements, literary character- istics, and various topics that suggest themselves to teach- ers, will aid in visualizing one of the most interesting epochs in English life. If such preliminary information is not se- cured in some way, classes will have to trace out these allu- sions during the reading. Boswell and Johnson. One of the queerest friendships in all literary history is that between the mighty Dr. Johnson and the little James Boswell. Yet, queer as that friendship was, it resulted in a work which has brought undying glory to both men. Boswell lives through his labor in writing the life of Johnson; Johnson lives through the faithful espionage and transcriptions of his follower, Boswell. The Life of Johnson, by Boswell, is acknowledged to be the finest biog- raphy in our literature. The methods pursued by the Scotchman, unpleasantly dog-like as they were at the time, resulted in a faithful pen-picture of a great life, a life great not so much for its achievements in the field of literature, — and these were mountainous, – but a life great in the intrinsic worth of actual manhood. - The order of study. The essay should first be read rapidly to get the general structure, the main divisions of thought, and the style of treatment. No pupil objects to reading forty pages of an absorbing novel; this essay of about the same length affords excellent training in forcing the young mind to stick to solid reading until it is done. There is a moral power in learning to force one's self to do hard things. At the second reading, the main divisions should be out- 288 TEACHING_LITERATURE lined, - possibly by paragraphs, – and the subject-matter discussed in full. Hard words must be looked up; allusions must be understood and their relation to the matter in hand brought out; elements of the author's style must be empha- sized as the reading progresses. Pupils will soon note for themselves his clear presentation, his vivacity, splendid imagery, wealth of information, and short, Snappy sen- tences; his working up of striking “effects *; his use of guide sentences and his orderly development; his power of coherence and careful transition; his condensation; repeti- tion for effect, or for the sake of coherence; and his use of balance and contrast. They may perhaps see at times his over-use of rhetorical devices and newspaper style, his tendency to exaggerate, to sacrifice depth to brilliance. Nevertheless, there is no better writer to make boys and girls appreciate better things in literature and history. He is an excellent model for imitation. Structure of the essay. After a rapid reading of the essay, a class decided that Johnson's life, as Macaulay wanted us to see it, consisted in “getting there,” and in “holding forth '' after such position was won. They therefore sug- gested that the main exposition of the essay dealt with Johnson's literary career and comprised paragraphs 10–49. There had to be a beginning to the essay and an end. The beginning, they decided, was a rapid survey of Johnson's life until he struck out for London with a few guineas in his pocket, three acts of Irene in manuscript, and nothing but his own character and a few paltry introductions “to back him.” The end was the last three paragraphs describing his illness and death. In discussing the first twenty-eight years of his life as described in paragraphs 1–10, the class followed him from Lichfield to Oxford, and then back to Lichfield. They lo- cated these places on the map. In talking over his early THE ESSAY 289 days, they kept an eye on his preparation for a literary career. They sought the expression of character that would show what sort of man he would grow to be. They caught at all his mannerisms and built up his personality. Then they followed him to London. ºf In paragraphs 10–33, Macaulay describes the difficulties of the literary profession in London during the early part of the eighteenth century and shows us how, step by step, Johnson, as a literary adventurer, ploughed his way to a self-supporting position in the profession. His efforts in various kinds of literary expression are fluently brought out: the contributions to Cave's Magazine, and later the essays in the Rambler and the Idler; the imitations of classical models in his London and The Vanity of Human Wishes; his excursion into biography in The Life of Savage; his play, Irene; his would-be novel, Rasselas; and the proposed edition of Shakespeare. Macaulay holds these various literary efforts up to the light of judgment and, through all, makes us feel Johnson's indomitable perseverance and stable character. That a turning-point is about to appear is suggested by the opening of paragraph 34: “By such exertions as have been described,” says Macaulay, “Johnson supported him- self till the year 1762. In that year a great change in his circumstances took place.” This refers to a pension of three hundred pounds a year (about fifteen hundred dollars). It led him from the drudgery of hack writing to his literary dictatorship. & In paragraphs 35 to the end, Macaulay describes how Johnson lived the life of a literary dictator from 1762 until 1784. His edition of Shakespeare was pushed off his hands, his conversational career with the Literary Club reached its height, his big-hearted nature overflowed to his friends and dependents, his political pamphlets appeared but did 290 TEACHING LITERATURE not add to his fame, his travels in the Hebrides were a tri- umphant tour with Boswell at his heels in adulation, his style unbent from the painful Johnsonese of his earlier works, – due to the influence of his conversation, — and his Lives of the Poets appeared as a fitting climax to his other literary works. The last three years of his life Macau- lay passes over quickly in closing his essay. - Macaulay's first essay — comparison with Carlyle. Twen- ty-five years before Macaulay wrote his famous Life of Johnson, his essay on the great dictator appeared in The Edinburgh Review of 1831. The exuberance of Macaulay's early style is well shown in the following paragraph about Johnson's idiosyncrasies: — Johnson grown old, Johnson in the fulness of his fame and in the enjoyment of a competent fortune, is better known to us than any other man in history. Everything about him, his coat, his wig, his figure, his face, his scrofula, his St. Vitus's dance, his rolling walk, his blinking eye, the outward signs which too clearly marked his approbation of his dinner, his insatiable appetite for fish-sauce and veal-pie with plums, his inextinguishable thirst for tea, his trick of touching the posts as he walked, his mysterious practice of treasur- ing up scraps of orange-peel, his morning slumbers, his midnight disputations, his contortions, his mutterings, his gruntings, his puffings, his vigorous, acute, and ready eloquence, his sarcastic wit, his vehemence, his insolence, his fits of tempestuous rage, his queer intimates, old Mr. Levett and blind Mrs. Williams, the cat Hodge and the negro Frank, all are as familiar to us as the objects by which we have been surrounded from childhood. This essay of Macaulay’s aroused a response in Carlyle who also wrote an essay on Boswell’s Life of Johnson, which was published in Fraser's Magazine in 1832. We quote the paragraph on Johnson's contradictions. Classes should compare the styles of these two great writers, Macaulay and Carlyle, and their treatment of the same subject- matter. In the following paragraph Carlyle’s rugged energy and sincerity blend with keen sympathy for his subject. THE ESSAY 291 Nature had given him a high, keen-visioned, almost poetic soul; yet withal imprisoned it in an inert, unsightly body: he that could never rest had not limbs that would move with him, but only roll and waddle: the inward eye, all-penetrating, all-embracing, must look through bodily windows that were dim, half-blinded; he so loved men, and “never once saw the human face divine.” Not less did he prize the love of men; he was eminently social; and the approbation of his fellows was dear to him, “valuable,” as he owned, “if from the meanest of human beings”: yet the first impression he produced on every man was to be one of aversion, almost of disgust. By Nature it was further ordered that the imperious Johnson should be born poor: the ruler-soul, strong in its native royalty, generous, uncontrollable, like the lion of the woods, was to be housed then in such a dwelling-place: of Dis- figurement, Disease, and lastly of a Poverty which itself made him the servant of servants. Thus was the born king likewise a born slave: the divine spirit of Music must awake imprisoned amid dull-croaking universal Discords; the Ariel finds himself encased in the coarse hull of a Caliban. So is it more or less, we know (and thou, O Reader, knowest and feelest even now), with all men: yet with the fewest men in any such degree as with Johnson. The worth of Johnson. Samuel Johnson lives, in the judgment of later ages, through himself, not through mere events of his life, not through his books. Upon first study, he may seem like a literary ogre — a Gargantuan type of man—but on nearer acquaintance his delicacy of heart and human sympathy are revealed. Macaulay admirably sums up the chief reason why we want our boys and girls to know Johnson. He says: — But, though the celebrity of the writing may have declined, the celebrity of the writer, strange to say, is as great as ever. Boswell’s book has done for him more than the best of his own books could do. The memory of other authors is kept alive by their works. But the memory of Johnson keeps many of his works alive. The old philosopher is still among us in the brown coat with the metal buttons and the shirt which ought to be at wash, blink- ing, puffing, rolling his head, drumming with his fingers, tearing his meat like a tiger, and swallowing his tea in oceans. No human being who has been more than seventy years in his grave is so well 292 TEACHING LITERATURE known to us. And it is but just to say that our intimate acquaint- ance with what he would himself have called the anſractuosities of his temper, serves only to strengthen our conviction that he was both a great and a good man. It is his bigness of character, brave independence of thought, freedom from cant, freshness of point of view, and sturdy persistence in the face of great odds that make his life an inspiration to others. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical and Critical Material. For the life of Macaulay, read Trevelyan’s Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay. For criticism, teachers will find helpful the following: Bagehot's Literary Studies (vol. II, pp. 1–43) and Minto's English Prose Literature (pp. 77–131). Illustrative Material. Brown’s Famous Pictures: St. Paul’s Cathé- dral, 135; British Museum, 1038; Perry Pictures: Reynolds’s Johnson, 873b; Macaulay, 93. CHAPTER XI THE ORATION Sincerity and pure truth in every age still pass current. — MonTAIGN.E. THE French essayist Montaigne in the lines quoted has well characterized the cause of the popularity of the oration through the ages. Genuineness of heart and power of logic grounded in truth — these two things are essential to it. Oratory in the past. Down through the ages there has come a splendid line of classical orators. In the time of Moses, you may remember, it was Aaron who had the golden tongue. In the days of the apostles, Paul’s gift of eloquence converted thousands. To the Greeks, oratory was the gift of the gods. Demosthenes' speeches against Philip of Macedon and his oration against Æschines are still re- vered wherever the language of ancient Greece is known. The classical conception of the oration passed from the Greeks to the Romans, whose Cato and Cicero held spell- bound the ancient senate of Rome. Boys and girls will find the classical atmosphere of the old Roman oration in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, in the speeches of Brutus and Antony. Great public speakers of England. The history of Eng- land furnishes stirring examples of fine oratory. There were men who gave the fiber of their brains and the fervor of their hearts to British policies. In the decade before 1776, the danger of losing her colonies aroused in Pitt and Fox and Burke brilliant oratory and elaborate reasoning. Fifty years later the need for reforms in England found advocates in Macaulay, Disraeli, and Gladstone. 294 TEACHING LITERATURE When Macaulay made his first speech on the Reform Bill, the Speaker told him that he had never seen the House stirred to such a state of excitement. “Whenever he rose to speak,” said Gladstone, “it was a summons like a trum- pet to fill the benches.” Macaulay called out the greatest talents of the Opposition, even Sir Robert Peel himself, for he had the fiery passion of Demosthenes. He looked at questions from a high moral point of view and was himself a magnificent example of the purely disinterested speaker, filled with zeal for the good of his country. His hand was free from taint and his tongue was his own to say exactly what his judgment dictated. Ten years after the speech on the Reform Bill, he came out in Parliament for the Copy- right Bill, and his speeches upon this measure are con- sidered among the finest in the language. It stands as testimony to the wisdom of his suggestions that the bill has stood until this day practically in its original form. American argument and oratory. The colonists, Burke complained, were all lawyers, ready to tear an argument to tatters, and sharp and shrewd in knowing the right and wrong of a case. That was the beginning of American ora- tory. Pupils must by all means know Patrick Henry’s fa- mous speech on the floor of the Virginia Legislature. They must be acquainted with Washington’s lofty utterances upon memorable occasions, especially his farewell to office. Best of all, they should know Lincoln's two inaugural addresses, his address at Cooper Union upon the slavery question, his last public address, and his classic speech at Gettysburg. Because of its beautiful simplicity and power, the Dedica- tion at Gettysburg has been inscribed upon the walls of one of the great universities of England. Clay’s and Webster's speeches, also; Calhoun’s, Everett's, Henry O. Grady’s, – how can one enumerate out of the many excellent exam- ples of oratory in this country! No crisis has ever arisen THE ORATION 295 in our history that has not brought its great men to the fore. Besides the political address, America has been rich in the occasional address and the lecture. Emerson’s address The American Scholar, for instance, played a great part in establishing our intellectual independence and in inculcat- ing ideals of true scholarship. Such an address as this com- pares well with English lectures like Huxley's A Liberal Education or Newman’s Idea of a University. The oration: definition, types, structure. An oration is an elaborate, formal treatment of a subject intended to be spoken in public. It makes its appeal to the intellect, the emotions, or the will of the audience. The ideal oration appeals to all three. In olden times the emotional was stressed; in modern times it is the intellectual appeal that draws men into action. But both aim to influence will, for the oration belongs to that class of writing designated as persuasive. There are four general types of public speeches: sermons, lectures, political speeches, and pleas. Alike in the need of excellent delivery, these differ in their several aims. Be- sides these four kinds of public speeches, we have the toast, the after-dinner speech, the eulogy, and other occasional addresses. With the exception of those addresses which are meant primarily to entertain, we find that the best of orations have been characterized by (1) a substantiality of subject-matter, (2) a clear, coherent, effective manner of development, and (3) an earnestness in delivery. Facts and arguments are ar- ranged in the most logical way, and advance by a series of lesser climaxes toward one big climax, after which there is a final appeal to the emotions in order to bring a response in act. In an argumentative speech the outline of subject- matter is called the brief. 296 TEACHING LITERATURE An easy speech for first analysis. Teachers will find Sena- tor West’s little speech in defense of the dog a good selection to use to bridge over into study of the finer types of oration. It has — on account of its subject-matter — an appeal for boys and girls, and so baldly presents certain oratorical features that pupils cannot fail to see them. GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY: The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that come from encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he re- mains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its jour- neys through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by THE ORATION 297 the grave will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death. How well the first paragraph leads up to the discussion of the dog’s friendship for man! The speaker covers the whole field of desertions and reaches a close by speaking of one friend that never deserts, the dog. Then, concretely, the next paragraphs describe in detail what a dog will do for his master, and reach a climax in the picture of the faithful animal stretched by his master's grave. Three important means of development are used in this oration: forceful opening-up of the subject; concrete illustration; and work- ing toward a climax. Reasoning — inductive and deductive. There are two great methods of reasoning: the inductive and the deduc- tive. In the inductive method, certain facts are cited, and conclusions drawn from them. We thus go from the par- ticular case to the general observation based upon it, to- gether with others of its kind; facts are bundled together, and labelled with a generalization. This is the method of laboratory work and research. In the deductive method, the opposite procedure takes place. Certain general prin- ciples, or axioms, are stated, and particular cases are fitted under these accepted conclusions. In deductive reasoning the logical grouping of statements is called a syllogism. Pupils can follow such a simple syllogism as the often re- peated example: — All men are mortal. (Major premise.) John is a man. (Minor premise.) Therefore, John is mortal. (Conclusion.) That what is true of the whole is true of all the parts is the foundation of a syllogism. The major premise must be uni- versally true. The minor premise must be one of this all; and therefore, whatever is true of all, as given in the major 298 TEACHING LITERATURE premise, must be true of one included in the all. Weaknesses in the use of the syllogism are called fallacies, or false lines of reasoning. Argumentative elements in The Declaration of Independ- ence. In The Declaration of Independence, classes can be made to see the value of a suitable introduction; statement of deductive argument with, first, the general theory, or truth, and then the cases under it; the statement of facts; and a conclusion, which determines a line of action. Jeffer- son states, first, certain general principles which every- body accepts, – “self-evident ’’ truths, or axioms. He then proves, by citing particular cases, that these rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have been tam- pered with. Classes may pick out the general statement which serves as major premise; they may select the state- ments that furnish the minor premises; and then come to the conclusion of Jefferson; to wit: — We, therefore, . . . do solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown . . . ; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. In class discussion bring out the essentials of the doc- ument. The following questions will be provocative of others: — Who wrote The Declaration of Independence 2 When? For what purpose? Find out any interesting details about its presentation to Congress. Why was Jefferson peculiarly fitted to prepare such a declaration? What is given in the introductory paragraph? Define dissolve. What bonds united the colonies with England? Why do the laws of nature entitle the colonies to separate station? What is meant by self-evident 9 Which self-evident truths are stated? Are all men created equal? In what sense is the word used here? What is the meaning of inalienable 9 What are these rights? Why are governments instituted? Where do governments THE ORATION 299 get their power? What is the legitimate reason for abolishing a government? Did Jefferson approve of no government? What would he have thought of anarchy? What should guide in the choice of a new government? What is the prudent course? What is a legitimate cause for throwing off a govern- ment? How does he introduce the colonies? How have the colonies used prudence? How have they been long-suffering? What does Jefferson undertake to prove? Pick out eighteen grievances. How is each begun? How is each emphasized? Pick out, from your knowl- edge of history, specific instances illustrating these statements. What has been the attitude of the colonies, throughout this time of oppression, toward the king? Toward their British brethren? How does the conclusion begin? Is the manner informal or formal? How many statements are made in the conclusion? How do these statements naturally follow? Pick out phrases that make us feel the solemn, legal character of the declaration. What powers does Jefferson mention as belonging to free nations? How did the colonies redeem that pledge of giving their lives, their for- tunes, and their most sacred honor? Can you think of any one who put his whole fortune at the call of the colonies? Mention an American who did not redeem the pledge to give “most sacred honor.” Pick out sentences that every patriotic American ought to know by heart. Study of Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech. “I am never easy, when handling a thought,” said Lincoln, “till I have bounded it north, and bounded it south, and bounded it east, and bounded it west.” This condensation and crystal- lization of thought Lincoln achieved excellently well in his speech delivered on the battlefield at Gettysburg. In sev- eral hundred words — fewer than some men use merely in introductions to their subjects — he brought the great mes- sage of the battlefield home to American hearts. In these few words he spoke his message completely yet simply, with the irrefutable logic and quiet passion of the greatest ora- tory. On November 19, 1863, the battlefield at Gettysburg was dedicated as a National Cemetery. Edward Everett was the orator of the occasion. At the close of his address, com- posed in the manner of the great classical orations and de- livered with the finish of the first orator of the time, Lincoln rose and spoke his few words. Silence greeted him when he sat down; the audience was too deeply stirred to respond, 300 TEACHING LITERATURE and Lincoln left the field under the impression that his speech had been a failure. But it did not take long for the people of the country to let him know that he had moved them profoundly, and that their silence had been the great- est tribute they could give. Classes will be interested in Elsie Singmaster's Gettysburg and in the story of The Perfect Tribute, by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews. In this great speech there should be pointed out to pupils the rhetorical devices whereby effects upon an audience are made — the use of figures of speech, repetition for effect, climax in arrangement of phrases, antithesis, and the force- ful expression. The effectiveness of the simple, plain word in arousing emotion; the abandonment of claptrap and all cheap means of stirring the hearts of hearers, – these are magnificently demonstrated here. It is a vindication of Anglo-Saxon. It is a battle won for plain words, simple dig- nity, genuine feeling, and hard, honest fact as powers in speech. Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in lib- erty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met upon a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a por- tion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is alto- gether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we can- not consecrate — we cannot hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have con- secrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfin- ished work which they who fought here have thus far so THE ORATION 301 nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to that great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Now, re-read the speech in the light of the following ques- tions: — When was the address delivered? Where? Under what circumstances? At what stage of the Civil War? Sketch rapidly the events of the war up to this point. Who was Edward Everett? Give the main facts in the life of Lincoln. How did he fit himself for public speaking? Which are his most talked-of speeches? - Said Lincoln: “I have never had a feeling, politically, that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in The Declaration of Independence.” What part of the speech refers to this public document? What is a poetic way of giving a date? In the first two paragraphs which words bring out the contrast in time? How does Lincoln effectively narrow down to the occasion for the speech? Read the last paragraph of The Declaration of Independence and draw a connection between it and what the dead at Gettysburg have done. Where is there repetition for emphasis at the be- ginning of sentences? In 1776 to what proposition was a dedication made? How did this proposition apply to the cause of the Civil War? How did Lincoln feel toward slavery? - How did Lincoln make use of contrast in his last paragraph? Explain the meanings of dedicate, consecrate, hallow. Note how they rise in forcefulness, making a climax. Who really consecrated the ground? In Lincoln's mind, how will the world view the dedication? What was the best of all dedica- tions for each citizen to undertake? Is that still true to-day? How could the people prove that the dead had not died in vain? Explain the phrase, of the people, by the people, for the people. Of what two births did Lincoln Speak? Which sentences impress you as having great power? Which have you heard quoted? Every boy and girl in this country should know by heart the Gettysburg Speech. They should know it so thoroughly that it will stir their hearts. Great orations resound in the Soul long after they are studied; passages linger in memory and when one least expects it, or at a crucial moment, speak forcefully again. 302 TEACHING LITERATURE Composition exercises in the oration. Oral composition should be strongly featured in studying the oration. Pupils in secondary schools cannot be expected to compose the long speech required of college students, but they can do very effective work in shorter speeches, either in history or English classes. Debates in relay can be prepared; these cover much ground and are worked up in sections by the pupils, each one of whom holds himself responsible for a short portion of the entire speech. An effective delivery in relay can be given after the whole thing is written and mem- orized. Occasional addresses may be given on all appropri- ate holidays. These ought to be short, pointed, and applied to school life as much as possible. Right through the year run opportunities for the teacher who is alive to them: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Lincoln's Birthday, Washing- ton's Birthday, Memorial Day, each calls for its own speech. Arbor Day and conservation of resources may be combined in an address. Such public occasions as Clean-up Week and Mothers’ Day may be likewise utilized. Literary societies offer varied opportunity for practice in speech-making. Famous orations may be memorized and delivered. Original orations may be thought out, organ- ized, written, memorized, and delivered. Short original speeches may be outlined, and given impromptu. Speeches entirely impromptu — but always on a subject about which the speaker might be expected to have his thoughts already in mind — may be given in the meeting, when Society busi- ness is discussed. Classes must be taught that there are several vitally im- portant steps in the preparation of an oration. First, the subject must be restricted to a workable theme; next, it must be expanded by thought-gathering through reading and re- flection, after which the results of such investigation are organized in a brief. This is the first stage. The next stage THE ORATION 303 of the work is to write up the address. Ideas having been gathered, the pupil can now concentrate on matters of style: he works over his sentences and paragraphs until they are clear, coherent, concise, and convincing. It is hardly necessary to say that every piece of work should be revised and rewritten. In an oration, such revision ought to be based upon the effect when the speech is read aloud. The final stage is to memorize the speech, and to practice it so that the full meaning is brought out, together with the emotional appeal. Delivery of the oration. A good speaker has poise, good voice, power of memory, and ability to arouse an emotional stir in his listeners. Affectation is execrable. The speaker who cannot be heard is almost as bad. Teach pupils to speak naturally, to address their remarks to the farthest of their hearers, to enunciate deliberately, to take their time, to be in earnest, to be natural, and to keep in close touch with their audience in making their points. Even weak-voiced girls can learn to throw out their voices to carry to the end of a long room. There are five methods of delivering an ad- dress: (1) to write it out and read it; (2) to write it out and memorize it; (3) to outline it and write out the introduction, conclusion, and main heads, which are then given from memory, the rest eactempore; (4) to outline the speech and give it all eactempore; (5) to give the speech entirely im- promptu. Constant practice is necessary to give a speaker an easy and dependable delivery. The secret of good speech-making is not profound: it lies in thinking to the purpose; in gathering a good fund of in- formation; in developing a good style; in cultivating a well- trained voice, a pleasing manner, and an ability to sense the worth of a subject and the mind of the audience. Added to this, there must be practice, practice, and again practice. A study of oratory can be of great use to boys and girls, for 304 TEACHING LITERATURE it is kin to conversation and will give them that convincing address which is a valuable social and business asset. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Reference Material. As a manual of parliamentary procedure, Roberts's Rules of Order is recommended. The elements of debating can be found in either W. T. Foster’s Argumentation and Debating, or L. S. Lyon’s Elements of Debating. Pros and cons on popular subjects for debate are given in books like Askew's Pros and Cons and Craig's Pros and Cons. For the development of oratory, teachers will find Sears’s History of Oratory helpful. Additional Reading. Besides the orations referred to in the chapter, the following collections are recommended: Ringwalt: American Ora- tory, Shurter: Masterpieces of Modern Oratory, and Wagner: Modern Political Orations (British). Illustrative Material. To illustrate class work, the following penny pictures are recommended: Brown’s Famous Pictures: Demosthenes, 1643; Perry Pictures: Patrick Henry delivering his Great Speech, 1383f; Lincoln, 125; Trumbull’s Signing of the Declaration of Independence, 1389; Macaulay, 93. The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Webster addressing the United States Senate, 202d; Washington delivering his Inaugural Address, 1894; Trumbull’s Signing of the Declaration of In- dependence, 16d; Facsimile of the Declaration of Independence, 187d. (1) WEBSTER’s “FIRST BUNKER HILL ORATION” I had a teacher once who helped me to think for myself — the first of my real teachers; and what the others gave me came through the door that he opened. – HENRY WAN DYKE. Of all the various kinds of writing, the argumentative and persuasive types afford most opportunity to make pu- pils think for themselves. This ability to form opinions independently of others is one of the most valuable traits the school can develop; for if boys and girls graduate from School without the power of independent thinking, they enter life handicapped. Webster as an orator. Daniel Webster is the greatest orator this country has produced. He stands side by side with the famous speakers of history. His own ideas of true THE ORATION 305 eloquence are given in his oration on the lives of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. He says: — True eloquence, indeed, does not consist in speech. . . . The clear conception, outrunning the deductions of logic; the high purpose; the firm resolve; the dauntless Spirit, speaking on the tongue, beaming from the eye, informing every feature, and urging the whole man onward, right onward to his object — this, this is eloquence. The life of Webster has in it such rugged strength that it is worth serious consideration by classes. His parentage, his early life in New Hampshire, his schooling at Phillips Exeter Academy, his college training, his appearance, his career as a lawyer, his gradual rise to success, his political life and opinions, and his great speeches, – these all are ab- Sorbing topics for class investigation. His public career as an orator began when he was a lad of eighteen, for while he was yet a junior at Dartmouth, the people of the college town of Hanover invited him to deliver their Fourth-of-July oration. This effort was probably schoolboyish, but it shows that already his talents were drawing him into public life. In the midst of troublous times, when men, even men of character, veered one way or the other, hardly knowing what was right at the time, Webster seemed to see with the eye of vision, and stood immovable as a rock. He based his faith upon the greatness of this nation and the necessity of preserving it forever. “He is a magnificent specimen,” said Carlyle in speaking of him. “As a logic fencer or parlia- mentary Hercules, one would incline to him at first sight against all the extant world. The tanned complexion; the amorphous crag-like face; the dull black eyes under the preci- pice of brows, like dull anthracite furnaces needing only to be blown; the mastiff mouth accurately closed, - I have not traced so much of silent Berserker rage that I remember of in any man.” .306 TEACHING LITERATURE Webster had the rare combination of equally strong quali- ties of intellect, heart, and will. His intellect probed straight into a subject and found its issues; his emotional power was such that he could convey with great appeal the facts he presented; his stanch independence of character added weight to his words. At his death in 1852, the whole nation felt his loss, either as a defender of principles or as a lion in the path of opposition. The monument. The Bunker Hill Monument is made of huge blocks of granite and stands two hundred and twenty- one feet high. On top is an observatory, the apex of which is a single stone that weighs two tons and a half. The monument has a long and interesting history. On June 18, 1775, the day after the battle, General Joseph Warren was buried upon the hill. As General Warren had been presiding officer of the Masonic Lodge of Massachu- setts, this organization got permission the next year to take up the remains and have a funeral with their customary ceremonies. Permission was granted, with the understand- ing that nothing would be done that would prevent the Government’s erecting a monument on the site. Following closely upon this, in 1777, a resolution was adopted by the Continental Congress to the effect that monuments should be erected to Generals Warren and Mercer. But nothing was done. Seventeen years later, in 1794, the Masons of Charlestown voted to put up a monument themselves, and accordingly a wooden pillar with a gilt urn on top was erected. In 1824 an association was formed to gather funds for an appropriate monument to commemorate all who fell in defense of American liberty at the battle of Bunker Hill. Enthusiasm was aroused, and it was decided to lay the corner- stone on the fiftieth anniversary of the battle, June 17, 1825. Lafayette, who was touring the country as the people's guest, was invited to be present, and all the survivors of the THE ORATION 307 battle were brought to the scene free of expense. This lay- ing of the cornerstone was the occasion of the First Oration on the Bunker Hill Monument. The completion of the monument was delayed because of lack of funds. In 1843, on the sixty-eighth anniversary of the battle, however, final services were held, and Daniel Webster was again the orator of the day. The dedication. In his surroundings at the time Webster had every incentive for success. The weather was fine. Thousands of people came to Charlestown to see the spec- tacle. A magnificent procession moved from the State House at ten o’clock in the morning out to Bunker Hill. First came the militia, then in barouches about two hundred veterans of the Revolutionary War, then the Bunker Hill Monument Association, then the Masonic Fraternity, then General Lafayette with other invited guests, then, at the end, a great number of societies. As the various organizations ap- peared in full regalia, you can imagine the wealth of color and interest. The procession moved out to Bunker Hill, and on the northern side Webster took his stand before a vast and appreciative concourse of people. If ever there was an audience to inspire man to do his best, it was this, with all the appeal of local interests, of past achievement, of stirring memories. Webster more than rose to the occa- sion. He overtopped even his own oratorical successes. “In the First Bunker Hill Oration,” says Henry Cabot Lodge, “Mr. Webster touched his highest point in the difficult task of commemorative oratory. In that field he not only stands unrivaled, but no one has approached him. The innumerable productions of this class by other men, many of a high degree of excellence, are forgotten, while those of Webster form part of the education of every Ameri- can schoolboy, are widely read, and have entered into the literature and thought of the country.” 308 TEACHING LITERATURE The climaxes of the oration. Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration is a series of magnificent climaxes. No audience could long endure the strain of continuous, tense emotion; oratory must rise and fall emotionally or the audience will become either deadened to effects or too highly stirred. These climaxes are splendidly built up in this oration. During the reading, classes can easily divide the speech into the following separate sections, or “flights of ora- tory ‘’: — ‘ſ'ſ 1–5. The occasion. 6–7. The consecration of the monument. 8–11. Growth in the fifty years since 1775. 12–17. A tribute to the veterans. 18–23. The battle, – how nobly our citizens stood together. 24–26. Lafayette. 27–35. The progress of the last fifty years. 36–40. Revolutions, the birth of liberty. 41–44. Our duty. Intensive questioning. Teachers must develop a sense of values in studying the oration. In this form of literature as well as in the essay there is temptation to be lost in a forest of detail. A line-by-line, page-by-page discussion waxes deadly in its monotony. Teachers must see things in the large, as it were, and teach their classes also to recog- nize essentials. The following questions on the various stages of the speech may prove suggestive: — *I'ſ 1–5. What were the day, the place, and the purpose of assembling? Why should feelings of sympathy, joy, and gratitude be found in the faces of that audience? In the second paragraph, how does the speaker effec- tively combine short and long sentences? How does he narrow down in his sentences beginning with We? Who was President at this time? What great events had happened to the country? How big was the country in 1825? How much of the Revolutionary days did Webster live through? How old was he at the time of the speech? What picture does he draw of Columbus? Read aloud the passage. What does Webster say of the dis-, covery of the country, the first settling, and the Revolution? To what colonies does he refer? How had our country at that time strengthened her THE ORATION 309 position and demonstrated it abroad? How had she grown? What exalted character was associated with the monument? TT 6–7. To what society does Webster refer? [Webster was president at that time.] What were the solemnities suited to the occasion? Who were the cloud of witnesses 2 Where have you heard that expression before? How does Webster describe the monument? What is the object in laying the memorial? What should be the value of monuments of such character, and of patriotic exercises? How does the speaker feel toward militarism? Read aloud the last part of paragraph 7, which begins, We wish. Where is there effective repetition of those two words? Who are referred to by the words, $nfancy, weary and withered age, labor, desponding patriotism 2 Pick out the exclamation. What use does it serve? TT 8–11. What are the events upon which Webster prides the nation? Pick out phrases that bind these four paragraphs together and aid transi- tion. Did you know that the first railroad on this continent was built to carry blocks of granite to be used in the monument? Compare the country in 1825 with the country to-day. How many millions do we number now? How many States are we now? Which were the twenty-four states men- tioned in the speech? Where are our frontiers now? How did the orator compare Europe with America? What revolution did he mean? What thrones were concerned in it? What did he mean by free governments from beyond the track of the Sun ? Mention some of the conditions that have improved, which he sums up in the tenth paragraph. In the eleventh para- graph, how does Webster lead up to his next topic? *|T| 12–17. What is the meaning of venerable 8 Read aloud the twelfth paragraph, with its comparison of the scene of conflict and the present scene of peace. How is emotion shown? Read Holmes's Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill. How does Webster eulogize the brave men who are dead? Which one does he name? What do you know about these? Who was the first great martyr 2 Read aloud Webster's eulogy of General Warren. Note his stirring comparisons. [General Warren was only thirty-four years old, President of the Provincial Congress, and a man of warm patriotism and fine culture.] Which little paragraph seems to perform the duty of bridging over from one topic to the next? Of what places did he remind the veterans? What do you know about these battles? Read the seventeenth paragraph aloud to see how Webster rises in his emotional climax. The last sentence is worthy of careful consideration. How do you feel toward old soldiers? "[T] 18–23. Look up the causes of the Revolutionary War, and the events that precipitated the battle of Bunker Hill. What did Webster say of Boston and Salem? What did it mean to the colonists to have the port of Boston shut up by the British? How did sympathy for Boston spread over the colonies and show itself? How did New England respond after Lexington and Concord? Compare the Latin quotation with Webster's own words, one cause, one country, one heart. What were the results of the battle? What were some of the Revolutionary State papers to which Webster refers? What were the recent wars in England? How old was Lafayette at that time? 310 TEACHING LITERATURE TT 24–26. What do you know about the life of General Lafayette? Name other foreigners who aided us in the Revolutionary War. Read the twenty- fifth paragraph aloud and note the use of figurative language. How does Webster build up the scene for Lafayette? When were eulogies given to the men mentioned? Who is this Lincoln? *|| 27–35. What figure of speech does Webster use at the end of the twenty-seventh paragraph? Discuss as fully as you can the community of opinion and knowledge of which Webster spoke. Give examples of improve- ment in personal conditions. What had been done in politics and govern- ment? What were the political parties of that day? Read aloud the com- parison between our Revolution and the French Revolution. What figure is used? Why did America escape the experience of France? Give all the rea- sons you can. How did Webster compare the empire of knowledge with the material empire? What was Webster's opinion of monarchy? "[* 36–40. What were Webster's ideas about peace? Of what revolutions did he speak? Read aloud the last part of the thirty-seventh paragraph for the imagery with which he presents true liberty. Describe conditions of freedom in South America. Read aloud the masterly fortieth paragraph, in which Webster describes South America as emerging above the horizon. What do you know of the present status of the countries in South America? Their relation to us? ‘I’ſ 41–44. What was the position of America among the nations of the world at the time Webster made his speech? Define propagandists. Why was it then so necessary that popular government should succeed with us? How did Solon and Alfred found states? Where and when? What duties devolved upon Americans? Mention these in detail. Read aloud the last four paragraphs. How is appeal to the will made in the last paragraph? By use of the imperative sentence? How do these ideas of duty apply to-day? Read Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech and note how the same dignified tone resounds in both speeches. Memorize por- tions of the Bunker Hill Oration and deliver them with all the warmth of feeling possible. HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical and Critical Material. For the life of Webster, Lodge’s Daniel Webster in the American Statesmen Series is recommended. For criticism, Fiske’s Essays Historical and Literary (vol. 1) offers excellent material in the essay Daniel Webster and the Sentiment of Union. Pat- tee’s History of American Literature (pp. 184–88) is good. Additional Reading. Both Choate’s Funeral Oration on Webster and Everett’s Oration on the Death of Webster are good. Webster may very THE ORATION 3II well be made a starting-point in correlating American history with the history of American literature. School textbooks, like those of Brander Matthews, Pancoast, Trent and Erskine, Pattee, Richardson, Tappan, etc., are recommended. - Illustrative Material. Brown’s Famous Pictures: Bunker Hill Monument, 46; The Minute Man, 50; Perry Pictures: Webster, 144, 144b; Trumbull’s Battle of Bunker Hill, 1885; Bunker Hill Monument, 1884; The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Webster addressing the United States Senate, 202d. (2) BURRE’s “SPEECH ON CONCILIATION witH AMERICA.” The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. — St. PAUL: II CorINTHIANs, III, 6. IN that admirable little book, The Aims of Literary Study, Professor Hiram Corson applies this old idea of the spirit and the letter to modern conditions in teaching literature. He says: — I have just said that a teacher without inspiring power should have nothing to do with conducting literary studies. The teacher who unites in himself a fulness of intellectual and spiritual vitality, in whom the “what knows” and the “what is ” work harmoni- ously together, is an epistle known and read of all his students. The younger are quicker, often, to discover such vitality, or the want of it, than adults are. After a recitation or a lecture, they feel their faculties refreshed or dulled, according to the vitality or non-vitality of their teacher. Of all classics taught to the young mind, none needs more inspirational and vital teaching than Burke's Conciliation with America. It can be hounded to death by the painfully painstaking, worthy teacher. Or, it can be made an eye- opener to human conditions and a surprising developer of thought, in the hands of an equally painstaking but broader- minded teacher with more power of personality. Why study Burke? No speech is better fitted for study by American students than this oration of Burke's. It is hard, but in the mental life — as in the physical — exercise makes strong. Burke's broad view of conditions and men; his insight into American character; his logical presentation; 312 TEACHING LITERATURE the working-out of a great piece of argumentation, part by part, tracing the various lines of reasoning; and the strain upon attention in reading rapidly a long speech; — these are invaluable to boys and girls in training to meet the problem of life. Burke is the best tonic on the college-entrance re- quirement list for inert, sluggish minds, if a teacher with power handles the study. Information should be gathered by the pupils themselves in outside reading. Of course, the teacher can relate all this necessary background of information, relate it entertain- ingly, too, much to the enjoyment of the class; but is it not better for class rather than teacher to have the benefit of preparation? When enthusiastic teachers work up material which by rights should be developed by their classes, they are simply taking, in misplaced kindness, the benefits of such training. There is a moral satisfaction in getting things for one’s self. Burke spells opportunity. Can pupils do such work? Study of Burke is made in the senior year of high-school training, when pupils are either getting ready to enter college or preparing to take their places in the world's work. In either case they should be able to handle reference reading, to give detailed and inter- esting reports, and to cover a large number of references. Note-taking, which is expected of the college freshman, must be taught in the high school. Adjusting the reference reading. The teacher should have in mind two groups of reference reading, — easy books and harder books, - and should use judgment in making assignments, – what might be one boy's meat will prove another boy’s poison. Biography comes in sugar-coated or condensed version for the young and in full dose for the mature pupil. Some of the class will need the sugar-coated dose or the abridgment; others will be neglected if not given the more difficult reading. Teachers must know the capa- THE ORATION 313 cities of their various students and prescribe for them as carefully as a physician would for his patients. Topics for investigation and discussion. Preliminary work deals with two subjects: historical conditions in England and in America; and the personnel of the great men who meet in the arena of public dispute. Reading about the historical conditions cited by Burke brings to students an excellent blending of American and British history. They find with amazement that in some parts of England there were duplicated the very conditions against which America rebelled. American history, there- fore, suddenly attaches itself to world history. Taking the date of the speech, March 22, 1775, as a focal point, the class works back over a hundred years of English history, and from that far-distant point in the seventeenth century traces out, step by step, the conditions that produced the irritation. The eye of the class is fastened upon king and Parliament. It follows the various ministries as they come and go, and notes their respective policies. It traces these out from the Navigation Acts down to the bill for discus- sion, — the Grand Penal Bill, about which this speech of Burke's circles. Prominent men who played their parts at this crucial time should also be made vivid through bio- graphical reading. The Hanoverian kings, the ministers, particularly Pitt and Lord North, the leading patriots in the colonies, and the orator Burke should be made as alive as possible. Discussion in class of the popular topics of that day will help the pupils to understand Burke's speech more clearly. Helpful topics are: The great political parties, the lack of representation within England herself, her other colonial possessions, her general attitude toward her colonies, the French and Indian wars, American remonstrances under oppression, the personnel of the houses of Parliament, etc. 314 TEACHING LITERATURE There is much more to consider than simply English his- tory. England’s policy toward France and Holland, the wars on the continent of Europe, the popular and the gov- ernmental attitudes toward citizenship from the days of Greece and Rome down to Burke's day, the qualifications for citizenship, and modes of taxation, also have a bearing upon the subject. By the time such reading and discussion are finished, pupils have a substantial foundation for Burke's reasoning. The occasion for the speech. Before the class reads the speech, the occasion for its existence should be thoroughly understood. The Grand Penal Bill, conceived by Lord North, restricted trade of the colonies of New England to England and her dependencies and also put limitations upon the Newfoundland fisheries. It is referred to as the “Grand Penal ’’Bill because Burke regarded it as a punitive meas- ure leveled particularly at Massachusetts. The bill was not popular in Parliament and raised a storm of opposition in America. To meet this situation, then, Lord North pro- posed certain conciliatory measures that can be summed up as the almost complete exemption from taxation of those colonies that would voluntarily agree to contribute to the common defense and to support the English Government. In other words, Lord North was holding out a bait to the colonies. It was on this Conciliatory Measure of Lord North’s that Burke spoke. Teachers should connect this fact with the title of the speech. The first reading. When the class knows all the facts in the case that the average member of Parliament might have known at that time, it is right to undertake the first reading of the speech. Teachers may suggest to pupils that they imagine themselves in the seats of Parliament actually lis- tening to Burke. The speech was heard at one sitting; it should, if possible, be read first at home at one sitting. In the THE ORATION 315 last year of the high school there should be much practice in rapid reading and test of the assimilation of essentials in the matter read. Pupils must be taught — and they can be taught only through practice — to see quickly the big trains of thought in a speech or an essay. They must be led, step by step, to recognize essentials. They must teach themselves not to be obstructed by detail. Burke's speech can well be the climax for all such work in rapid reading. If the speech is read entire, time must be provided for a longer home preparation of a lesson to which one hour is usually allotted. Resourceful teachers can arrange the lit- erature work for the week so that two days’ assignments are omitted and thus allow the class to prepare in advance sev- eral other subjects, thereby lightening their work on the day Burke is to be read. Only by such an arrangement should the English teacher claim more than her portion of time. Teach- ers often forget, in making assignments, that their particular lesson is only one of a number that must be prepared for the coming day. Pupils should, if possible, go off by themselves to preclude interruption during their rapid reading of the speech. They should time themselves for the report the next day. They should not stop to examine notes. They must get just what they would understand at first hearing. Members of Parlia- ment would be likely to remember the broad lines of subject- matter, and perhaps not all of that, rather than matters of detail. The general plan of the oration. Burke followed the can- ons laid down by the classical oration. You may remember that there were three great kinds of ancient oratory: (1) the panegyric, or eulogy, which indulged in praise; (2) the judicial, or forensic, which dealt with the legal points of past actions and took the side of defense or accusation; and (3) the de- liberative, which advocated, or dissuaded from, policies in 3.16. TEACHING LITERATURE legislation. Burke's speech is the third, the deliberative, type. In the classical speech the introduction falls into two parts, the exordium and the status, the two together being called the proem. The object of the exordium, or very begin- ning of the speech, is to get the good-will and attention of the audience, to present the reason that brought the speaker for- ward, to conciliate the judge, and to give the occasion of dis- cussion. The object of the status is to get right down to the business in hand by stating the proposition. In the body of the speech, often called the discussion, or brief proper, both direct and indirect arguments (the latter called refutation) are presented. The conclusion, or peroration, closes the ora- tion with an appeal for action. After the first reading of Burke's speech pupils can readily pick out the main divisions, which are somewhat as follows:– I. Introduction, or Proem, TT 1–14. Exordium, "[T 1–8. Status, I'ſ 9–14. - II. Discussion, or Brief Proper, 15–139. III. Conclusion, or Peroration, TT 140–43. Resolutions. The second reading: argument, structure, style. Classes should look up such subjects as deductive and inductive reasoning; the syllogism; the suppressed premise; argument from cause, by exclusion, by sign, by elimination, by reductio ad absurdum," by analogy, etc., and apply their knowledge to Burke's speech. . The oration ought to be outlined in detail, paragraph by paragraph. Then, the organization of material in direct and indirect arguments should be shown in the form of a brief. Burke introduces refutations, or indirect arguments, at in- tervals, wherever they serve his purpose. The first refutation, 1. To reduce to an absurdity in argument. THE ORATION 317 — that against force — comes early in the speech. The fol- lowing are the other points refuted: – Let us force them to obey, even if we go to war. We have the right to tax. If we repeal the revenue laws, the colonies will immediately at- tack the trade laws. The colonies will go further. Let them have a representative here in Parliament. The colonies will make this concession apply to all. It will dissolve the unity of the empire. North’s plan is better than Burke's. Burke's plan gives no revenue. Before taking up detailed study of Burke’s speech, para- graphs should be numbered for ready reference. These fall into such easily assignable portions as paragraphs 1–14, 15– 35, 36–47, 48–68, 69–87, 88–111, 112–135, 136–143; and these groups should either be assigned in their entirety or, if too long, be broken at a logical point; that is, between sub- topics. Intensive paragraph study. In these sections certain paragraphs offer excellent material for close study. In the introduction, for instance, paragraphs 8, 9, and 10 should be read aloud and the intensity and imagery of the sen- tences noted. The following paragraphs will repay close study along the lines suggested: – ‘ſ 9: The theme. 10: Development of guide sentence by telling what the idea is not — My idea is nothing more.” 14: Statement of the question; transitional sentence. 20: Development by reasons — The export trade. 25: Imagery (censured as florid). 30: Imagination; picturesqueness; vision. 31: Refutation — I am sensible, sir. 33: Reasoning. 34: Use of repetition. 1 School editions of the speech are paragraphed differently; the quotations given above will help in identifying the paragraphs. •. 3.18 TEACHING LITERATURE 38: Syllogism; development of paragraph. 41: Keen analysis — Sir, I can perceive. 43: Imagery (florid). 44: Summary. 53: Condensation — The temper and character. 54: Reasons. 59: Breadth of view. 63: Development by interrogation — In this situation. 66: Refutation; Burke's theory of government. 75: Interrogation. 77: Parenthetical and personal – In forming a plan. 85: Interrogation. 87: Contrast. 89: Precedent. 90: Condensation — My resolutions therefore. , 95: Interrogation; imagery; terse sentences. 108: Interrogation and intensity. 111: Antithesis — The question now, on all this. 123: Breadth of view. 127: Reasons. 135: Contrast — Compare the two. 136: Intensity running into artificiality. 140: Study of paragraph development. 141: Interrogation and answer – Is it not the same? 142: Breadth of view. 143: Figure of speech. Paragraphs 84, 92, 94, 97, 99, 101, 103, 105, 109, 117, and 118 are concerned with resolutions worthy of careful con- sideration; the first in the County Palatine of Chester, the second, Burke's resolutions in regard to America. There is, of course, much more in each of the above paragraphs than the special feature mentioned; it is wise, however, to con- centrate upon definite points in close study. Recognizing Essentials: A Review Lesson on Burke The class did not dread the final review of Burke's speech because they had attacked it with intelligence, persistence, and interest; and, out of the mass of details that had puzzled them at first, it had yielded an orderly and logical exposition of a live problem. These seniors had projected themselves THE ORATION 819 back into pre-Revolutionary days through the medium of outside reading and class discussion; they had looked at this great question, first from the American standpoint, and then from the British. They were now on their mettle, eager to show that they had a grasp both of the lines of reasoning and the conditions with which it dealt. The following might well serve as (1) a stenographic re- port of questioning in the large and (2) a key to the big points to which the teacher wished to give final emphasis: — I. The Colonial Problem : What was it? * (1) The American point of view: How many colonies were there at this time? Which were most active in the dispute? Who were the most active patriots? How was America governed up to the time of the speech? What governmental bodies were found in America? How had the Colonial Prob- lem been aggravated? What documents had been prepared to present the case of America? (2) The British point of view: Which ministers had tried to handle the Colonial Problem? Why were the colonies of great value to England? How did she want them to serve a greater value? Why? What was the attitude of the king toward the American colonies? Of Pitt? Of Lord North? Of Burke? Of other people in England? What relations existed between Lord North and the king? Were there instances in England of “taxation with- out representation”? What is meant by “rotten boroughs”? How were the colonies, Ireland, Wales, etc., governed? II. What had been done about it? — (1) In England: What were the policies of the Whigs and Tories? How did the king feel? What attitude did prominent statesmen take toward the colonies? Cite instances. Tell briefly the substance of the Navigation Laws, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, the Boston Port Bill, etc. What effect did these acts have upon America? (2) In America: How had these acts of Parliament been received? Which colonies were active in opposition? What official action was taken against British policies? Had there been any action in an organized body? What? What direct opposition by ideas, or by acts, can you cite? ITI. The Bill before the House. What was the Grand Penal Bill? (1) Burke versus Lord North on the Conciliatory Measure: Had Burke any previous acquaintance with the Colonial Problem? What was the Con- ciliatory Measure? Why was it necessary to propose such a measure?. When was Burke's address delivered? How does he interpret the word concilia- tion ? (2) Burke's arguments: What proposition does Burke undertake to prove? 320 TEACHING LITERATURE Break the speech up into its two big parts: Why England ought to concede; and how. How does Burke prove that the material resources of the colonies demand conciliation? Mention these in detail. How does Burke pause to re- fute the suggestion that England force the colonies to her will? Next, how does Burke show that spiritual forces in the colonies demand conciliation? What does he pick out as the greatest characteristic of the Americans, and how does he show that this quality waxed strong? Give six reasons to ac- count for it. If the British problem is how to deal with this violent outburst of liberty on the part of the colonists, consider what are the three ways of dealing with it. What three ways does Burke mention? Do these cover the case? Which of these three methods had Parliament been using? Does Burke think it possible to change the fierce spirit of liberty? Why? What reductio ad absurdum does he present in discussing their prosecution of the colonies as criminal? How does he use the process of elimination in his argument? (3) Burke's interpretation of conciliation: What “boon” do the colonists ask? What is Burke's idea of a compromise? (4) Burke's definite suggestions: With what other colonies had England had similar trouble in earlier times? How did she deal with them? What results? How does Burke, then, make use of analogy? How did these condi- tions compare with conditions in the American colonies? Does Burke pro- pose to tax through representation? Does he propose that delegates go to Parliament as representatives of the colonies? What does he propose in place of direct representation in Parliament? What steps must be taken by law to make the colonies legally able to tax instead of being taxed by im- position? Does Burke think the Provincial Assemblies are equal to this duty? Why? Prove that Parliament has already recognized this ability on the part of the colonies? How does Burke produce definite documentary proof? Had the colonies been liberal? What immediate steps would Burke take to cure the bad feeling in the colonies? Which laws would Burke have repealed? Give his arguments against them. g (5) How Burke meets opposition to his plan: What suggestions current among statesmen and others does Burke stop to refute? State these sepa- rately and tell exactly how he meets each. How does he meet his main antagonist, Lord North? Compare the two conceptions of conciliation, as he describes them: his and Lord North's. (6) How Parliament acted: How does Burke appeal to Parliament in his peroration? What quality does he want them to exercise toward the colo- nies? What lofty sentiment does he offer in summing up the treatment he wants accorded to America? How did the members actually vote upon the resolutions presented? What were these resolutions? Why do you think Burke lost? What further action did Parliament take? Trace quickly the entrance into actual war between the mother country and the colonies. (7) How would you have voted 2 Do you agree with the lines of reasoning? Which of the refutations struck your case? Find reasons why the speech failed. THE ORATION 321 (8) Why this speech is studied in school: Pick out various kinds of argu- ment. Select the qualities that you think make it an example of great ora- tory both in argument and in style. Brief-making as a mind-trainer. “Reading furnishes the mind only with the materials of logic,” says Locke; “it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” There should be opportunity for students to work out their own briefs upon questions within their power. These exercises should follow the regular stages of (1) reading to get information; (2) note- taking to insure accuracy; (3) organization of material in topical or outline form to secure unity and clear and cohe- rent arrangement; (4) writing up of the outline in a brief to test logical development. The difference between an out- line and a brief is not one of ideas, but of form: the brief con- sists of complete sentences, with the subordinate clauses in- troduced by for; the outline, of phrases. Reading in current periodicals may be guided by consul- tation of Poole's Indez and the Reader’s Guide. Bibliogra- phies of reading may be made and authorities weighed. All books and articles that yield facts for use in the brief ought to be carefully considered from the standpoint of authorita- tive value. Where quotation of words — or merely of ideas — is made, credit should be given to the author. When the words are quoted exactly, quotation marks must be used. Assimilation of the material gathered is the first step in preparing the brief; for upon the author's power to utilize and work over will depend the effectiveness of this exercise. A brief which is simply a restating of another's arguments is not a creditable or a very helpful piece of work. The worst effects of this sort of cribbing are the stunting of originality, the growth of the habit of depending on others, and the in- dulgence in literary cant. Plagiarism or the copying of some one else’s ideas in slightly different form makes the boy or girl a literary “parrot,” as well as a hypocrite. Pupils can 322 TEACHING LITERATURE grow strong only through their own efforts. Teachers ought to encourage the formation of opinion but demand facts and reasons upon which such opinion rests. Pupils themselves can be led to force out opinion. Nothing in the whole range of study will do more to aid this habit than work in argu- mentation. Organization of the material in the form of a brief is excellent training in compression, coherence, clear- ness, and proportion. The teacher's equipment. We, as teachers, must first of all know our subject so thoroughly that we can concentrate upon the needs of the pupils in class rather than on the text. Second, we must know more than the mere subject-matter of a great oration: we must know the times and the occasion that produced it; we must know what is particularly fine in the expression of the ideas. Then, too, we must respect these great speeches; if possible, heartily like them. We must glory in the mind and heart that produced them. Only when we grasp a great speech in this many-sided way will we bring to our classes that “intellectual and spiritual vitality " of which Professor Corson has spoken, the inspirational power that makes the learning of hard things a satisfaction for the sake of the good that comes from them. The teacher’s privilege. Our business, as teachers, is to make boys and girls like better friends in books. “Will you go and gossip with your housemaid or your stable boy,” asks Ruskin pertinently, “when you may talk to Kings and Queens?” This raising of the taste of young people can be done in two ways: (1) by refining their own natures and (2) by opening their eyes to the attractive features of books that seem to be beyond them. A dry classic, after days of study, often becomes so illuminated that students leave it with regret — as if the scales had fallen from their eyes! You remember it was Wordsworth who said, in speaking of books: — THE ORATION 323 You must love them ere to you They will seem worthy of your love. Do we sometimes forget that the book is new to the child, although hackneyed to the teacher? What a privilege it ought to be to teach a great piece of art again and again, each time with stronger appeal and broader effectiveness. Think of the avenues of approach that can be devised to meet the changing capacities of classes. Think of the fund of information that a teacher can gather about a single masterpiece, as she teaches it again and again. How many teachers confine themselves to the condensed notes of the single school edition and ignore the vast field into which each year they could go for refreshment of their own understand- ing of the classic, and for fuller comprehension of its worth ! There is no joy for the English teacher greater than lead- ing a class to like big, fine things in reading. This does not come suddenly; in most cases it is the result of patient growth and Supervision. If we can get our boys and girls to feel as Keats did upon reading Chapman’s Homer, we have accomplished a great thing: — Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken. Are we helping them “to discover * masterpieces? HELPFUL READINGS AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR VITALIZING CLASS WORK Biographical and Critical Material: Morley's Edmund Burke (English Men of Letters Series); Minto's English Prose Literature (pp. 440–61). Historical Conditions: Fiske : American Revolution (vol. 1); Essays Historical and Literary; Green: A Short History of the English People; Thackeray: The Four Georges; Morris: The Age of Queen Anne; Early Hanoverians; Lecky: History of England in the Eighteenth Century, etc. Illustrative Material: The Thompson Company Blue Prints: Foz, 379C; Pitt, 388c, 389e; Houses of Parliament (twelve); George IV, 1234}c. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 (1) Allyn & Bacon, Boston. (2) Henry Altemus, Philadelphia. (3) American Book Co., N.Y. (4) D. Appleton & Co., N.Y. (5) T. Y. Crowell Co., N.Y. (6) De Wolfe & Riske Co., Boston. (7) Doubleday, Page & Co., N.Y. (8) E. P. Dutton & Co., N.Y. (9) Editor Co., Ridgewood, N.J. (10) Ginn & Co., Boston. (11) Harper & Bros., N.Y. (12) D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. (13). Hinds, Noble & Eldredge, N.Y. (14) Henry Holt & Co., N.Y. (15) Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. (16) J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia. (17) Longmans, Green & Co., N.Y. (18) Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, Boston. (19) Macmillan Co., N.Y. (20) G. P. Putnam's Sons, N.Y. (21). B. H. Sanborn & Co., Boston. (22) Scott, Foresman & Co., Chicago. (23) Charles Scribner's Sons, N.Y. (24) Sibley & Co., Boston. (25) Silver, Burdette & Co., N.Y. (26) Parker P. Simmons, 3 E. 14th St., N.Y. (27) Small, Maynard & Co., Boston. (28) F. A. Stokes Co., N.Y. (29) Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago. Anderson, R. B. Norse Mythology (22). $2.50. Archer, Wm. Playmaking: A Manual of Craftsmanship (27). $2. Arnold, M. Essays in Criticism (19). 2 vols. $1.50 ea. Ashmun, M. Prose Literature for Secondary Schools (15). .80. Askew, J. B. Pros and Cons (8): $.60. Bagehot, W. Literary Studies (17). 3 vols. $1.25 ea. Baldwin, J. Story of Roland (23). $1.50. Story of Siegfried (23). $1.50. Bates, Arlo. Talks on the Study of Literature (15). $1.50. Bates, E. W. Pageants and Pageantry (10). $1.50. Bates, K. L. A Ballad Book (24). .50. The English Religious Drama (19). $1.50. Besant, W., and James, H. The Art of Fiction (6). .75. Betts, G. H. The Recitation (15). .60. Bigelow, J. William Cullen Bryant (15). $1.25. IBlackie, J. S. Life of Burns (26). .40. Bolenius, E. M. The Teaching of Oral English (16). $1. Botta, A. C. L. Handbook of Universal Literature (15). $2. Boynton, P. A. London in English Literature (29). $2. Bradley, W. A. Bryant (19). .75. Brewer, E. C. The Reader's Handbook (16). $2. Brooke, S. A. A. Primer of English Literature (3). .35. Tennyson, Art and Relation to Modern Life (20). $2. Brownell, W. C. American Prose Masters (23). $1.50. Bulfinch, T. Age of Chivalry (5). .35. Age of Fable (8). .35. IBurt, M. E. Literary Landmarks (15). .75. g Carººs§. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (27). .50. John Greenleaf Whittier Q ). S.L. º Carpenter, Baker & Scott. The Teaching of English (17). $1.50. Chubb, P. Festivals and Plays in School and Elsewhere (11). $2. The Teaching of English (19). $1. tº ſº Church, A. Stories from Virgil (5). .35. Story of the Iliad (19). .25. Story of the Odyssey (19). .25. Claflin, Mrs. M. B. Personal Recollections of John Greenleaf Whittier (5). 30. Coleridge, S. T. Biographia Literaria (8). .35. Lectures and Notes upon Shakespeare (8) .35. Corson, H. A. Primer of English Verse (10). $1. Introduction to Shakespeare (12). $1. The Aims of Literary Study (19). .75. peare (12) Craig, A. H. Pros and Cons (13). $1.50. Craik, H. (ed.). English Prose Selections (19). 5 vols. $1.10 ea. Cross, J. W. The Life and Letters of George Eliot (5). $1.25. Cross, W. L. The Development of the Novel (19). $1.50. Curtis, E. W. The Dramatic Instinct in Education (15). $1. Darton, F.T. H. Tales of the Canterbury Pilgrims Retold (28). $1.50, De Quincey, T. Essays on the Poets (15). $1. Dickinson, T. H. Chief Contemporary Dramatists (15). $2.75. * Note that numbers in parentheses following titles of books indicate their publishers. BIBLIOGRAPHY 325 Dowden, E. A Shakespeare Primer (3). .35. Studies in Literature (23). $2.25. Esenwein, J. B. Studying the Short Story (13). $1.25. Fairchild, A. H. R. The Making of Poetry (20). $1.50. e * = tº Fields, A. A. Authors and Friends (15). $1.50. Whittier: Notes on His Life and His Friendships (11). .50. * & tº - Fiske, John. American Revolution (15). 2 vols. $2 ea. Essays Historical and Liter- ary (19). $3. Fost;W. }. Argumentation and Debating (15). $1.25. Froudé, J. A. Caesar: A Sketch (11). .60. Fuess, C. M. Selected Essays (15), .40., ... Gayley, C. M. Classic Myths in English Literature (10). $1.50. Greene, J. R. Short History of the English People (3). $1.20. Greenslet, F. James Russell Lowell (15). $1.25. e Guerber, H. A. Myths of Greece and Rome (3), $1. The Book of the Epic (16): 81.50. Gummere, F. B. A. Handbook of Poetics (10). $1. Old English Ballads (10). .80. The Popular Ballad (15). $1.50. * e Hale, E. E. James Russell Lowell and His Friends (15). $3. |Bale, E. E., Jr. Dramatists of To-day (14). $1.50. Halléck & Barbour. Readings from Literature (3). 2.85. Harrison, F. Studies in Early Victorian Literature (17). $1.25. g Hazlitt, W. Complete Works (19). 8 vols. $1 ea. Lectures on English Poets (19). $1. Characters of Shakespeare's Plays (19). $1. Henderson, T. F. The Ballad in Literature (20). .40. Heydrick, B. A. Types of the Short Story (22). .30. Higginson, T. W. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (15). $1.10: g Hinchman, W. S., and Gummere, F. B. Lives of Great English Writers (15). $1.50. Hinsdale, B. A. Teaching the Language Arts (4). $1. Horne, C. F. The Technique of the Novel (11). $1.50. Hosic, J. F. The Elementary Course in English (29). .75. Howells, W. D. My Literary Friends and Acquaintances (11). $2.50. Hudson, W. H. An Introduction to the Study of Literature (12), $1.25. Hutton, R. H. Literary Essays (19). $1.50. Sir Walter Scott (19). .40. Irving, W. Life of Goldsmith (10). .40. James, W. Talks to Teachers on Psychology (14). $1.50. Jameson, Mrs. A. B. Shakespeare's Heroines (2). .40. Judd, M. C. Wigwam Stories (10). .75. Rennedy, W. S. Henry W. Longfellow (18). $1. Kingsley, C. Greek Heroes (8). .35. Kipling, R. Puck of Pook's Hill (7). $1.50. Rewards and Fairies (7). $1.50. Knolls, F. L. A Treasury of American Songs and Lyrics (8). .50. Laing, G. J. Masterpieces of Latin Literature (15). $1.50. Lamb, C. Adventures of Ulysses (12). .25. Essays of Elia (8). .35. Lamb, C. and M. Tales from Shakespeare (8). .35. Lanier, S. The Boys' Froissart (23). $2. The Boys' King Arthur (23). $2. The Boys' Mºon (23). $2. The English Novel (23). $2. The Science of English Verse Lee, S. Shakespeare's Life and Works (19). .80. Lewes, G. H. Principles of Success in Literature (1). .50. Liebermann, E. The American Short Story (9). S1. Lockhart, J. G. The Life of Sir Walter Scott (5). S2.50. Lodge, H. C. Daniel Webster (15). $1.25. Longfellow, S. Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (15). $6. Lowell, J. R. Fable for Critics (15). .30. Literary Essays (15). $6. Democracy and Other Essays. (15). 2 Lyall, A. C. Tennyson (19). .75. Lyon, L. S. Elements of Debating (29). $1. McClintock, P. L. Literature in the Elementary School (29). $1. Mabie, H. W. Essays Every Child Should Know (7). .90. Shakespeare, Poet, Dramatist, Man (19). $1. Mackay, C. D. How to Produce Children's Plays (14). $1.20. MacLeod, C. A. Stories from the Faëry Queene (28). $1.50. McMurry, C. A. Special Methods in Reading of English Classics (19). 75. Manly, J. M. English Poetry (10). $1.50. English Prose (10). $1.50. * Matthews, B. A Study of Versification (15). $1.25. Introduction to American Liter- ature (3). $1. Study of the Drama (15), $1.25. The Short Story (3). $1. Minto, W. English Prose Literature (10). $1.50. Morley, J. Life of Edmund Burke (19). .40. Morris, E. E. Early Hanoverians (17)., $1. The Age of Anne (17). $1. Moulton, R. Literary Study of the Bible (12). $2. 326 BIBLIOGRAPHY Myers, F. W. EI. Essays Modern (19). $1.50. Neilson, W. A. Essentials of Poetry (15). $1.25. Neilson and Witham. Representative English and Scottish Popular Ballads (15). .40. Olcott, F. J. The Children's Reading (15). $1. Page, C. H. British Poets of the Nineteenth Century (21). $2. The Chief American Poets (15). $1.75. Palgrave, F. T. Golden Treasury (19). .25. Palmer, G. H. Self-Cultivation in English (15). .35. Pancoast, H. S. An Introduction to English Literature (14). $1.35. Pattee, F. L. A History of American Literature (25). $1.20. Perry, B. The Study of Prose Fiction (15). $1.25. Raleigh, W. A. The English Novel (23). $1.25. Richardson, C. F. American Literature (20). $3.50. Rittenhouse, J. B. The Little Book of Modern Verse (15). $1. Roberts, J. T. Rules of Order (7). .75. Rolfe, W. J. Shakespeare the Boy (11). $1.25. Sargent, H. C., and Kittredge, G. L., English and Scottish Ballads (15). $3. Schelling, F. A. The English Lyric (15). S1.50. Sears, L. History of Oratory (22). $1.50. Shairp, J. C. Robert Burns (19). .40. Shuman, E. L. How to Judge a Book (15). $1.25. Shurter, E. D. Masterpieces of Modern Oratory (10). $1. Sidgwick, F. Legendary Ballads of England and America (16), .75. Simonds, W. E. A Student's History of English Literature (15). $1.25. Stedman, E. C. An American Anthology (15). $2.00. A Victorian Anthology (15). $1.75. Nature and Elements of Poetry (15). $1.50. The Poets of America (15). $2.25. The Victorian Poets (15). $2.25. Stephen, L. George Eliot (19). .75. Stoddard, F. H. The Evolution of the English Novel (19). $1.50. Symonds, J. A. Shelley (19). .40. Tennyson, H. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (19). $4. Thackeray, W. M. The Four Georges (8). .35. Thayer, W. R. The Best Elizabethan Plays (10). $1.25. Traill, H. D. Coleridge (19). .40. Trent, W. P. A History of American Literature (4). $1.40. Trent, W., and Erskine, J. Great American Writers (14). .50. Trevelyan, G. O. Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay. (11). $2. Van Dyke, H. Counsel on the Reading of Books (15). $1.50. The Poetry of Tenny- son (23). $1.25. tº - Walker, H. The English Essay and Essayists (8). $1.50. Walsh, W. S. Young Folks' Josephus (16). $1.25. Ward, H. S., and C. W. Shakespeare's Town and Times (16). $1.50. Ward, T. H. The English Poets (19). 4 vols. $1 ea. Warner, C. D. The Life of Irving (15). $1.25. Wendell, B. A Literary History of America (23). $3. e e White, T. S. Herodotus for Boys and Girls (20). $1.75. Pliny for Boys and Girls (20). $2. Plutarch (20). $1.75. Whiteford. Anthology of English Poetry (21). $1.10. Wilson, C. D. The Story of the Cid (18). $1.25. - Woodhºy, G. E. Appreciation of Literature (7). $1.50. Nathaniel Hawthorne (15). $1.25. Woodbridge, E. The Technique of the Drama (1). .80. Wright, J. H. Masterpieces of Greek Literature (15). $1.50. Zitkala-Sa. Old Indian Legends (10). .50. INDEX Abide with me, 62. Abou Ben Adhem, 84, 164. Absentee, The, 217. . Acting, 34, 153–54; Arabian Nights, 196; Arthur and the Round Table, 148–50; Comus, 164; Cranford, 222; Educational Theater for Children, 167–69; Ivanhoe, 239; Hiawatha, 142–43; Julius Caesar, 182— 84; Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 208–09; Mer- chant of Venice, 179; Pantomime and by- play, 166–67; Silas Marner, 250; Shake- speare's advice, 174–75. Adam Bede, 218, 224, 242. Addison, Joseph, 252,253,254, 260, 261, 284; work of, 216–17; teaching The Spectator, 256–58; imitation, 269. Adomais, 60, 78. AEmeid, The, Teaching, 137–38. AEsop, 190. Ah, did you once see Shelley plain, 78. Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 193, 231; Shake- speare — the King, quoted, 170. Alexander's Feast, 50, 57. Alvøe in Wonderland, 271. Allegory, 190–91; Pilgrim’s Progress, 216. Allingham, William, 66. Allusions, 10, 58–59, 237; Snow-Bound, 105; Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 205–06; Macau- lay’s use, 286–87. America, 63, 64. American Flag, The, 64. Among my Books, 267. Andersen, Hans Christian, 3, 192. Andrews, Mary Raymond Shipman, 193,300. Anecdote, 190; of the Whistle, 266. Anemone, The, 68. Angels of Buena Vista, The, 19, 29, 30. Annabel Lee, 60. Annie Lawrie, 65. Apelles's Song (Campaspe), 55. - Appeal, poetry, 18,39, 46; 51; 62; 67; 69; 98; 132; 134; 165–66; 168–69; prose, 187, 221, 224, 240, 249–50, 260, 267, 301. Appreciation, ballad, 34; how to develop, 97, 99, 205–08; preparing the way, 126, 181— 82; three-fold appeal, 109; visualization, 127, 129; vitalization, 132—33. Appreciations, 264. Agonch to a classic, 111–12; 126–29; 232– 3 Arabian Nights, 165, 191; teaching, 195–96. Arcadia, 216. Arnold, Edwin, 137. Arnold, Matthew, 18, 77, 97, 253, 254, 264, 270; teaching Sohrab and Rustum, 135, 188– 39 Arrow and the Song, The, 111. Artificiality in lyric, 52. A8 a fond mother, sonnet quoted, 55. Assignments, logical division of subject-mat- ter, 83; method in giving, 36,99, 101; range, 39, 101–02; time limit, 315. As You Like It, 174, 216; teaching, 160–61. Atalanta, 187. Auld Lang Syne, 65. Austen, Jane, 203, 217, 219, 243, 254. Austin, Alfred, 64. Autobiography, Franklin’s, 215, 266; 187, 214–15, 242. Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, The, 266–67; imitation of, 269. Bacon, Francis, 3, 253, 254,266; teaching The Essays, 255–56. Bacon, Josephine Daskam, 198. Ballad, the, collections, 35, 36; detailed sug- estions for teaching Rime of Ancient §ariner, 36–43; history, 21–24, 28–29; modern ballads, Jock o' Hazeldean quoted with music, 20–23, 29–35; readings, 27, 31, 32, 33; structure, 15, 20–21, 27–28, 30–31; teaching old ballads, Twa Corbies quoted, 26–28; Tales of a Wayside Inn, 43–48. Ballad of Roncesvalles, A, 31. Ballad of the Clampherdown, 32. Barbara Frietchie, 101. Bards of Passion and of Mirth, 57. Barefoot Boy, The, 67,68, 101. Barrie, James M., 167, 231. Battle of the Baltic, The, 31. Battle of Blenheim, The, 31. Battle of Naseby, The, 31. Bell of Atri, The, 34; teaching, 47. Ben Hur, 220. Believe me, if all those endearing young charms, 65. Bells, The, 68. Beowulf, 135. Bible, 108, 155, 156; style, 190, 243. Bibliography, how to make a, 268, 321. |Bibliographical readings, ballad, 35–36, 48, 47–48; books, 8; drama, 169, 179–80, 186; epic, 144, 151–52; essay, 270, 284, 292; lyric, 70, 77–78, 90; metrical romance, 125– 26, 188; metrical tale, 98, 106, 109, 117, 121; novel, 231–32, 240, 251; oration, 304, 310–11, 823; poetry, 18–19; short story 201, 209–10, 213. tº Biography, adjusting the reading, 312–13; Boswell's Johnson, 287; emphasizing dra- matic moments, 100–01; great examples, 214; Lockhart's Scott, references, 235; mo- tive in writing, 5; reasons for studying, 232–33; story element, 187; suggestions for teaching biography of Bryant, 78–83, 90; Burns, 108, 109; Eliot, George, 241–44, 251; Hawthorne, 210, 213; Irving, 202–04; 271, 283; Johnson, 287–92; Longfellow, 328 INDEX 47, 109–11; Macaulay, 285, 292; Scott, I31–32, 133, 233–35; Shakespeare, 170-72, 174–75, 179; Tennyson, 150–52; Webster, 305–06, 810; Whittier, 100–01, 106. Birds of Killingworth, The, 48, 44, 77; teach- ing, 47. Birds' Christmas Carol, The, 282. Black Arrow, 220. Blackboard, a device, 170–71; game, 17; map drawing, 127–28; outlining, 40; Sonnet, 55; summary making, 280–82; unconscious memorizing, 74; understanding, 83; versi- fication, 17. Black-eyed Susan, 38. Blackmore, Richard D., 220. Blake, William, 66, 78, 203. Blank verse, 11, 17. Blow, blow, thou winter wind, 66, 161. Bonnie Doom, 65. - Books, personal feeling, 1–7; uses, 6; what is due a new book, 5. Boswell, James, 190, 214, 254, 261, 284, 286, 287, 290. Boy's Song, A, 19. Break, break, break, 60, 146. Bridge, The, 67. Bridge of Sighs, The, 60. Brief, 302, 316, 821–22. Brontë, Charlotte, 218, 231. Brook, The, 68, 88, 146. Brooks, Phillips, 62. Brown, Alice, 193. Browne, Thomas, 254. Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, ballad, 33; son- net, 54, 55, 137, 203; sonnet on The Poet, quoted, 10. Browning, Robert, ballads, 19, 29; 30, 81, 82, 33; lyrics, 60, 64, 66, 67, 68, 78; dramatic monologues, 158; 203. Brushwood Boy, The, 192. Bryant, William Cullen, 67,265; detailed sug- gestions for teaching Thanatopsis, 78–90; lyrics, 60, 67, 77, 82; sample lesson on life, 78–81, 82, 90; teaching Sella, 94–95. Builders, The, 111. Building of the Ship, The, detailed suggestions for teaching, 111–17. Bulwer, Edward (Lord Lytton), 220. Bunner, H. C., 193. Bunyan, John, 191, 215, 241, 284; discussed, 216; 222, 230, 254. Burke, Edmund, 254,287, 293,294; as orator, 311–12; detailed suggestions for teaching Speech on Comciliation, 311–21. Burney, Frances, 217, 261, 286. Burns, Robert, 28, 33, 51, 52; detailed sug- gestions for teaching The Colter's Saturday Night, 106–09; influence on Whittier, 100; programme, 65; songs, 62, 65; teaching Carlyle's essay on Burns, 262–63. Burroughs, John, 66, 253, 264, 270. Byron, George Gordon, 123, 137, 203, 233, 277; ballads, 29, 31; lyrics, 55, 57, 68, 70; tales, 92, 123; teaching The Prisoner of Chillon, 96. Cable, George Washington, 193. Campbell, Thomas, 19, 31, 57, 203. Canterbury Tales, The, 25, 43. Captain’s Daughter, The, 32. Card index, 102, 268. - Carlyle, Thomas, 109, 203, 214, 221, 242, 252, 253, 254, 255, 264; quoted, 123, 236, 262,305; comparison with Macaulay, 290– 91; imitation of, 269; teaching the essay on Burns, 262–63. Carman, Bliss, 67. Carroll, Lewis, 33, 232, 271. Cary, Phoebe, 62. Casabianca, 32. Cavalier Tunes, 64. Cawein, Madison, 68. Caxton, William, 25, 254. Celandine, The, 68. Chambered Nautilus, The, 66. Change of Treatment, A, 192. Chaparral Prince, The, 193. Characterization, 92, 130, 222–24, 256: Eve of St. Agnes, 97; George Eliot, 24.4; Haw- thorne, 197–98; inductive study, 178; Ivanhoe, 238; novel, 226; Silas Marner, 247–48; Spectator, 216–17, 258; Tales of a Wayside Inn, 45–46; unities, 158. Charge of the Light Brigade, The, 19, 29–30, 146. Charge to keep I.have, A, 62. Chaucer, Geoffrey, 25, 43, 48, 98, 124, 125, 126, 254, 263: * Chevy Chase, 27. Child's Dream of a Star, A, 199. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, 277. Children, The, 19, 111. Children’s Hour, The, 111. Choir Invisible, The, 66. Christabel, teaching, 93–94; 94; 97. Christmas sketches (Sketch-Book),272; teach- ing, 279–82. Christmas Carol, A, 199,282. Classics: easy adaptations of foreign, 144; essentials in presenting, 6; influence, 6. Class singing, selections for, 66. Clerk's Tale, 126. Clive, Essay on Lord, 260-62. Cloister and the Hearth, The, 220. Club, An English, 172. Code of Morals, A, 33. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 29, 32, 97, 114, 123, 169, 179, 203, 216, 254, 264, 277; de- tailed suggestions for teaching Rime of Ancient Mariner, 36–43; teaching Christa- bel, 93–94; style, 38. Collecting instinct, utilizing, 35, 136. Collins, Wilkie, 219. Collins, William, teaching How Sleep the Brave, 56–57. Colosseum, The, 137. Columbus, 34. Compleat Angler, The, 278, Composed upon Westminster Bridge, 56. Composition, ballad, 34–35; drama, 164–66; how to prepare an essay, 268–70; how to repare an oration, 302–03; Huxley's iece of Chalk, 264; Iliad, Odyssey, 138; imitation, 207–08, 268–69; interludes of Tales of Wayside Inn, 44–45; Ivanhoe, 239– 40; Sella, 95; Sketch-Book, 271–72; sum- maries and abstracts, 277–78. Comus, how to enliven work in, 164. INDEX 329 Connolly, James B., 193. Connotation, 10, 99, 101–02, 104. Contrast, 97, 118, 239; value, 92. Cooper, James Fenimore, 218, 221, 265, 277; teaching Last of the Mohicans, 225–26. Corn Song, The, 68, 101. Coronach, 60. Correlation: Thanatopsis, 88; English and history, 167; literature and life, 278–79. Costume, 143, 155. Cotter's Saturday Night, The, detailed sugges- tions for teaching, 106–09. Couplets, heroic, 53. Courtin', The, 32, 33, 117. Courtship of Miles Standish, The, 92, 97, 165. Cowper, William, 33, 60, 67,243. Cranford, 218, 271; teaching, 221–22. Crossing the Bar, 60. Crown of Wild Olives, A, 264. Cuckoo, The (Wordsworth), 68, 77. Daffodils, The, 68, 7.8, 228. Daisy, The (Wordsworth), 68. Dana, Richard Henry, Jr., 215, 274. Dandelion, The, 68. Danny Deever, 31. D’Arblay, Macaulay’s Essay on Mme., 260, 261, 284. Darius Green and his Flying Machine, 33. David Copperfield, 219, 222–23, 278. avis, Richard Harding, 193. Day is cold, and dark, and dreary, The, 17. Day is done, The, 111. Dear Lord and Father of mankind, 62. Death Bed, The, 60. º Declaration of Independence, The, teaching, 298–99; 301. Defense of Lucknow, The, 31. Defoe, Daniel, 215, 217, 224, 230, 241. De Gustibus, 68. De’il’s awa’ wi' the Ea:ciseman, 33. Delivery of oration, 303–04. De Quincey, Thomas, 77, 139, 169,254,264. Pº Village, The, 92, 108, 220; teaching, 5–96. Destruction of Sennacherib's Army, The, 31. Development: American literature, 265: drama, 155–58: English literature, 24–25, 28–29, 51–53, 123–24, 156–58; novel, 216– 18; prose, 253–55; short story, 189–92. Diagrams, analysis of Silas Marmer, 247; Interest Mountain and Novel Trail, 227; Jock o’ Hazeldean, 22–23; music, 12–13; plot, underplot and episode of Merchant of Venice, 177; types of narrative poetry and relative value, 16: structure of a play, 159; value of characters, of suspense, 211. Dialect, how to handle, 106–08, 249. Dialogue, 34, 45, 154, 164,#167, 196, 228,250. Diary, 187; Pepys's, 215. Dickens, Charles, 66, 68, 197, 203, 217–18, 223, 254, 271, 282, 283: teaching stories, 199; David Copperfield, 219, 222-23, 278; Tale of Two Cities, 4, 165, 219, 220, 221. Diction, work in, 21, 26–27, 58–59, 71, 99, 101, 106–07, 108, 198, 147, 160, 197, 272. Dissertation upon Roast Pig, A, 259; teaching, 200 Dora, 92, 98, 146. Dove in the Eagle's Nest, A, 220. Doyle, Conan, 192, 219. Drake, Joseph Rodman, 64, 265. Drama, detailed suggestions for teaching Merchant of Venice, 175–79; Drama League of America, 168; history, 153–58; Julius Casar, 180–86; teaching Shakespeare; 160– 63, 170–75; technique, 158–59. Dramatization, cardboard theater, 167; Chil- dren’s Educational Theater of N.Y., 168; class rendition, 179, 182—84, 237, 239, 272; original play writing, 166; outdoor pre- sentations, 164; pageantry, 44–46; pro- grammes of tableaux, 65, 142–43, 148–50; Punch and Judy, 167; stories, 84, 164-66, 208–09. Dream-Children: a Revery, 199, 200, 259. Drink to me only with thine eyes, 66. Driving home the cows, 31. Drums of the Fore and Aft, The, 192. Dryden, John, 11, 28, 254, 284, 286; odes, 50, 56, 57; prose, 255. Duncan Gray, 33. Dying in Harness, 60. Edgeworth, Maria, 217, 240. Egyptian Princess, The, 220. Elegy, 16, 53, 59–60; readings, 60; Rose Aylmer quoted, 59; teaching Gray's Elegy, 0–61. Eliot, George, 66, 165, 218, 219, 220, 221, 254; life, 241–43: writer, 221, 224, 242–44; detailed suggestions for teaching Silas Marner, 244–51. Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 67, 68,77, 132, 212– 18, 242, 253, 265, 295; teaching the Es- says, 266. English Humorists, The, 264. - Enoch Arden, 15, 92, 146; teaching, 97. Epic, ancient epic, 135–38; detailed sugges- tions for teaching Idylls of the King, 145– 52; discussed, 134–35, 143; Hiawatha, 142– 43; modern epic, 138–52; Rape of the Lock, 139–42; Sohrab and Rustum, 138–39; teach- ing the Iliad and Odyssey, 137–38. . Essay, composition, 268–70; current litera- ture, 267-68; detailed suggestions for teaching Sketch-Book, 271–84; Emerson, 266; essay on Burns, 262–63; Essays of Elia, 258–59; history, 253–55, 264-67; Macaulay, 260–62; Macaulay's Johnson, 284–92; Sesame and Lilies, 263–64: The Spectator, 256–58: teaching Bacon's Essays, 255–56. Essays, Bacon’s, teaching, 255–56. Essays of Elia, 4, 43, 200, 203, 215, 269: teaching, 258–59. Essays, Macaulay’s, teaching, 260–62, 284– 92. Essay on Burns, 109; teaching, 262–63. Essay on Milton, Maucalay’s, 260, 284. Eternal Goodness, The, 67, 101. Eternal Mother, strong to save, 62. Evangeline, 12–13, 92, 97: 165. Evans, Mary Anne. See Eliot. . Eve of St. Agnes, The, 92: teaching, 97. Evelina, 217, 261. Everett, Edward, 283, 294, 299, 310. Eaccelsior, 19, 67. 330 INDEX Rables, 190; AEsop's, 190; Fable for Critics, 47, 90, 121, 271. Faërie Queene, 15, 124. Farewell, A, 19. Farewell Address, Washington's, 294. Farmyard Song, The, 68. Father William, 33. Fidelity, 84. Field, Eugene, 19. Fields, James T., 32, 33, 47, 106. Fielding, Henry, 216, 286. Fiftieth Birthday of Agassiz, The, 78, 111. Figures of speech, 78, 74–75, 97, 206–07, 817– 18; fresh point of attack, 37–88. Finding of the Lyre, The, 34. First Bluebird, The, 68. First Bunker Hill Oration, The, detailed sug- gestions for teaching, 804–11. First Snowfall, The, 117. Fiske, John, 214, 270, 810. Flag goes by, The, 64. Flow gently, sweet Afton, 65. Flower in the crannied wall, 68, 146. Folk tales, 190. Foot, the metrical, 12–13. Forest Hymn, The, 82. Four Georges, The, 264. g Franklin, Benjamin, 215; teaching, 265–66. Frederick the Great, Essay on, 260. Freeman, Mary E. Wilkins, 193. French Revolution, The, 214, 221. Fringed Gentian. The, 67, 77, 82. Frost, The (Gould), 67. Frost, The (Thomas), 56. Fuzzy-Wuzzy, 31. Gareth and Lynette, 146, 47. Garland, Hamlin, 193. Gaskell, Elizabeth C., 218,281,271; teaching Cranford, 221–22. Gay, John, 33, 286. Gettysburg Specch, The, 294, 810; quoted, 800–01; teaching, 299–801. Gettysburg, 300. Gibbon, Edward, 214, 254, 287. Gift of the Sea, The, 34. Gilder, Richard Watson, 55, 66. Glorious things of Thee are spoken, 62. God of Music, The, 56. Gold Bug, The, teaching, 198–99. Golden Legend, The, 126. Goldsmith, Oliver, 52, 217, 243, 260, 261, 286; Deserted Village, 92, 95–96, 108, 220; She Stoops to Conquer, 157, 163–64, 220; The Vicar of Wakefield, 215, 217, 219–20. Gould, Hannah F., 68, 120. Grady, Henry W., 294. Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill, 19, 29– 30, 309. Grasshopper, The (Lovelace), 77. Grasshopper and the Cricket, The (Hunt), 77. Grasshopper and the Cricket, The (Keats), 55, 77 Gray, Thomas, 69, 108, 286; odes, 56; teach- ing the Elegy, 60–61. Great Stone Face, The, detailed suggestions for teaching, 210–13. Green Linnet, The, 68, 77. Guiney, Louise I., 66. Gulliver's Travels, 215. Gunga Din, 84. Guy Mannering, 284. Hail, Columbia, 63–64. Hale, Edward Everett, 121, 193. Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 31, 265. Hamlet, 26, 174–75; teaching, 163. Happy Life, A, 67. H º EIark, the Lark, 66. Hark to the shouting wind, 67. Harris, Joel Chandler, 193. Harte, Bret, 67, 193. Hastings, Essay on, 260. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, detailed suggestions for teaching The Great Stone Face, 210–13; teaching The Snow Image, 197–98; writings, 144, 165, 166–67, 198, 210, 212–13, 218, 221, 228. Hazlitt, William, 19, 35, 126, 169, 253, 264. Hearn, Lafcadio, 104, 270. Heaven is not gained, 67. Heber, Reginald, 62, Height of the Ridiculous, The, 19. Hemans, Felicia, 31, 32, 38, 66. Henry Esmond, 220–21. Henry, O. (Sidney Porter), 198. Henry, Patrick, 294. Hereward the Wake, 220. Heroes and Hero-Worship, 263, 269. Herons of Elmwood, The, 77 Herrick, Robert, 52, 77, 78. Hervé Riel, 82. Hiawatha, 135; teaching, 142–43. Highland Mary, 65, 109. Highland Widow’s Lament, The, 38. Highwayman, The, 33. Historical novel, 221, 233–34, 235–36. History, 214. Hogg, James, 19, 35, 65, 66, 68, 77, 82. Hohenlinden, 31. Holland, Josiah Gilbert, 67. Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 19, 29, 30, 33, 60, 62, 64, 66, 77,253,265, 266–67, 269. Holy Grail, The, 122; teaching, 147–48. Holy, holy, holy, 62. Home, Sweet Home, 64. Home Thoughts from Abroad, 68. Home Thoughts from the Sea, 67. Homer, 8, 15, 28, 184, 185, 141; teaching, 187–88. *, . * * Hood, Thomas, 60. Hooker, Richard, prose of, 254. Hope, Anthony (Hawkins), 218. Horatius at the Bridge, 31. House of Seven Gables, The, 218, 228. How Sleep the Brave, quoted, teaching, 56–57. How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aiz, 29–30. How to make a brief, 321–22. How to prepare an essay, 269; a play, 166; an oration, 802. Howells, William Dean, 47, 67, 121, 201, 231. Huckleberry Finn, 224. Hughes, Thomas, 225. Humble Balloonist, A, 77. Humble Bee, The, 67, 77. Hunt, Leigh, 34, 77, 164, 284. Hunting of the Snark, The, 33. INDEX 331 Huskers, The, 68. Huxley, Thomas Henry, 252, 254, 264, 295. Hymns, teaching, 16, 62–63. EIypatia, 220. I come, I come, 66. I know a bank, 66. e Idylls of the King, The, detailed suggestions for teaching, 145–50. , 67. l Penseroso, 57; teaching, 58–59. Iliad, The, 15, 134, 143–44; teaching, 187–88. Imitation, acting, 153–54, 165–67; of authors, 207–08, 268–69, 288; verse, 85, 46. In August, 67. In Memoriam, 60, 151. In Port, 66. In School Days, 101. Inchcape Rock, 82. Incident of the French Camp, An, 81. Inland Voyage, An, 215, 230. - Interest, ways of accumulating, poems for awakening, 19 Irving, Washington, detailed suggestions for teaching Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 202,204– 09; imitation of, 269; qualities, 191–92, 275, 283–84; life, 202–04; pen-names, 202, 271; referred to, 164, 165, 179, 210, 214, 253, 265, 266; Sketch Book, 271–83; teaching Rip Van Winkle, 196–97. Isabella, 98. Ivanhoe, 25, 104, 165; detailed suggestions for teaching, 232–40; composition, 239–40. Ivry, 31. Ivy Green, The, 66, 68. Jackson, Helen Hunt, 67, 231. Jacobs, W. W., 192. Jane Eyre, 218. Jefferson, Thomas, teaching the Declaration of Independence, 298, 801. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 198. Jock o’ Hazeldean, 21–23. John Anderson, my Jo, 65. John Gilpin’s Ride, 33. Johnson, Samuel, 28, 173,241, 254, 257, 261, 268; teaching Macaulay's Life of Johnson, 285–92. Jones, William, teaching What constitutes a State, 56–57. Jonson, Bem, 51, 66, 67, 157, 175, 286. Journal of Madame D’Arblay, 215, 261. Julius Casar, detailed suggestions for teach- ing, 180–86; game, 17; life lessons, 185– 86; oratory, 293. June, 82. Katie, 68. Katydid, The, 77. l{eats, John, 33, 34, 49, 55, 57, 77, 82, 92, 97, 98, 187; ballad, 29 lyrics, 54, 56; teaching Eve of St. Agnes, 97. Keeper of the Light, The, 193. Kelly, Myra, 193. - Kenilworth, 286. Rey, Francis Scott, 63, 64. É."; 107, 218, 224. Kings, The, 66. King Lear, 180, 205. 170–72; King of the Golden River, The, teaching, 199– 200. King Robert of Sicily, 84; teaching, 46–47. Kingsley, Charles, 19, 32, 66, 95, 144, 220, Q 221. Kipling, Rudyard, 31, 32, 33, 34, 64, 67, 117, 122, 147, 192, 231, 277; discussed, 195. Knight's Tale, The, 124. Kubla Khan, 93. L'Allegro, 57; teaching, 58–59. La Belle Dame sans Merci, 38. Laboratory method, 99–100, 105. Lady Clara Vere de Vere, 146. Lady Clare, 33, 146. Lady of Shalott, The, 146. Lady of the Lake, The, 24, 233, 235; detailed suggestions for teaching, 126–33. Lady or the Tiger, The, 193. Lamb, Charles, 4, 48, 144, 160, 169, 199, 215, 241, 253, 254; imitation, 269; teaching Essays of Elia, 200, 258–59. Lamb, Charles and Mary, 160, 165. Lamb, The, 66. Lamia, 98. Lampman, Archibald, 77. Lancelot and Elaine, teaching, 147–48. Landing of the Pilgrims, The, 33. Landor, Walter Savage, 59. Language, development of the English, 24- 2 Lanier, Sidney, 19, 55, 60, 68, 77, 144, 281, 245. Lark, The (Herrick), 77. Last Days of Pompeii, The, 220. Last Leaf, The, 19. Last of the Mohicans, The, 225–26. Laugh and be merry, 67 Laus Deo, 64, 101. Lay of the Last Minstrel, The, 124, 126, 138, 233. Lays of Ancient Rome, 31. Lead, Kindly Light, 62. Lear, Edward, 33. Leatherstocking Tales, The, teaching, 225–26. Legend, 190–91. Legend of Bishop Hatto, The, 84. Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The, 196, 272; de- tailed suggestions for teaching,.202–210; dramatization, 208–09; 165; imitation, 207–08. Legend of the Holy Grael, The, 117–18. Lesson, dramatized, an impromptu produc- tion, 182–84; appreciation through discus- sion, 112–16; approach to a dialect poem, 107–08; approach via title, 111–12; corre- lation of composition and literature, 272– 75; drawing out the full content, 88–90; figures of speech, 37–38; intensive question- ing, 308–10; life of an author, Bryant, 78- 81; recognizing essentials, 818–21; research in s...}. 101–04; self-teaching, 71– 78. Let me not to the marriage of true minds, 55. Liberal Education, A, 264, 295. Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay, 32, 214, 260, 285. . - Life of Abraham Lincoln, 214. Life of Goldsmith, A, 164,214, 220. 332 INDEX Life of Johnson, Boswell's, 190, 214, 284, 286, 287. 290 Life of Johnson, Macaulay's, detailed sugges- tions for teaching, 284–92. Life of Nelson, 214. Life of Scott (Lockhart), 214; 235. Lincoln, Abraham, 116, 294, 310; teaching the Gettysburg speech, 299–300. Lines on the Mermaid Tavern, 57. Limes written in Early Spring, 68. Literary societies, 802. Literature, current, 267-68; defined and clas- sified, 2; influence, 1, 184, 200–01, 293–95; national, 3; subjective and objective, 49; ways of studying, 3–4; why people write, 4–5. Little Billee, 33. Little Boy Blue, 19. Little Griffin, 31. Local color, drama, 159; essay, 256–58, 279- 80, 282–83; middle ages, 119, 147; novel, 220–21, 228, 237, 248–49; pageantry, 45– 46; pupil’s report, 102–03; Scotland, 106– 08, 126–29; story, 206. Lockhart, J. G., 183, 214; references, Life of Scott, 235. Lochinvar, 33, 183. Locksley Hall, 146. Lodging for the Night, A, 192. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 12, 13,15, 17, 32, 34, 48, 92, 203, 265; ballads, 19, 29, 30, 32, 84, 111; Courtship of Miles Standish, 97; Evangeline, 97; detailed suggestions for teaching Tales of Wayside ;: 43–48; epic, Hiawatha, 135, 142–43; life, 109–10, 203; lyrics, 62, 64, 67, 77, 78; qualities of poetry, 110, 111; sonnet on Nature, quoted, 55 Lord Ullin's Daughter, 19, 29–30. Lord of all being, throned afar, 62. Lorna Doone, 220. Loss of the Royal George, The, 60. Lost Chord, The, 64. Lost Leader, The, 64. Lotos Eaters, The, 137. Lovelace, Richard, To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars, quoted, 55, 77. Lowell, James Russell, 38, 67, 125, 163, 179, 209, 253, 265, 271; ballads, 19, 29–30, 32, 33, 84, 117; detailed suggestions for teaching Vision of Sir Lawnfal, 68, 82, 117–22; essayist; 125, 179, 266–67; Fable for Critics, 47, 90, 106, 121, 209,213; lyrics, 19, 64, 66, 68, 77, 78, 117, 124. Lucy Gray, 19, 29. Lycidas, 60, 263. Lyly, John, 55,216. Lyric, the, character-building poems and na- ture lyrics, 66–68; detailed suggestions for teaching To a Skylark, 70–78; detailed suggestions for teaching Thanatopsis, 78– 90; elegy, readings, Rose Aylmer quoted, 59–60; essentials in teaching the lyric, 68– 70; growth of lyric, 51–53; poems set to music, 65; structure and treatment, 49–51, 53–54; teaching Gray's Elegy, 60–61; teach- ing L’Allegro and Il Penseroso, 58–59; teaching the sonnet, readings, Nature quoted, 54–56; teaching the ode, readings, § How Sleep the Brave and What Constitutes a State quoted, 56–58; teaching sacred and secular songs, readings, 61–65. Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 252, 253, 254, 255, 257, 270; as an orator, 293–94; ballads, The Lays of Ancient Rome, 31–32; detailed suggestions on teaching the Life of Johnson, 284-92; imitation, 269; man and his field, 284–85; style, 260–62, 268, 288; teaching his essays, 260–62, 284, 286. Macbeth, 94; teaching, 162–63. Mackay, Charles, 34, 66. MacKaye, Percy, 167–68. Magazines, school use of, 267; British, 255; Queen Anne's day, 257–58. - Maidenhood, 111, 114. Malory, Thomas, 122, 144, 148, 215, 216. Man without a Country, The, 198. Man who was, The, 192. Marble Fawn, The, 223. Marco Bozzaris, 31. Marjorie Daw, 198. Markheim, 188–89, 192, 195. Marlowe, Christopher, 51, 187, 157. Marmion, 124, 126, 133,233. Marse Chan, 193. Maryland Yellowthroat, The, 68. Master of Ballantrae, The, 218. Maud, 146. Maud Muller, 33, 101. May Queen, The, 19, 141. Meh Lady, 193. Memorizing, applied to masterpieces, 63, 66, 86, 149, 162, 168, 179, 182–84, 266, 801; systematic plan, 62; use of blackboard, 74. Merchant of Venice, The, detailed suggestions for teaching, 170–80. Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, The, 35. Meter, 12–14, 17. Metrical romance, 15–16, 91; detailed sug- gestions for teaching The Lady of the Lake, 126–33; in England, 124; romantic move- ment, 123; teaching The Princess, 124–26. Metrical tale, tºpºa, 98; Building of the Ship, 109–17; Cotter's Saturday Night, 106– 09; detailed suggestions for teaching Snow- Bound, 98–106; Deserted Village, 95–96; Love-tales, 97; Michael, 96–97; Prisoner of Chillon, 96; Sella, 94–95; structure and its kinds, 91–92; teaching Christabel, 93–94; Vision of Sir Lawnfal, 117–22. Michael, teaching, 96–97. Midsummer Night's Dream, A, 180. Mifflin, Lloyd, 55. Mill on the Floss, The, 219, 224, 242. Miller, Joaquin, 34. Miller of the Dee, The, 34. Milton, Essay on, 284. Milton, John, 28, 68, 108, 243, 254, 255, 263; Comus, 164; epic, Paradise Lost, 135; elegy, 60; ode, 56; prose, 255; sonnets, 54, 55; teaching L’Allegro and Il Penseroso, 57, 58– 59 Mocking Bird, The, 55. Moly, 137. Monkey's Paw, The, 192. Monologue, 34, 44–45, 154, 165, 196,250. Mont É. (Byron's), 68. INDEX 333 \ Moonstone, The, 219. Moore, Tom, 62, 65, 203. Morality plays, 156. Morris, William, 34. Morte d’Arthur, 122, 148, 215, 216. Mosses from an Old Manse, teaching, 197— 9 8. Motley, John Lothrop, 214, 265. Moving picture scenarios, Ivanhoe, 239–40. Moving picture scripts, writing, 166. Murders of the Rue Morgue, The, teaching, 198–99. Musical Instrument, The, 33, 137. My Double and how He Undid Me, 193. My Heart's in the Highlands, 65. My Last Duchess, 158. My love, she’s but a lassie yet, 66. My luve’s like a red, red rose, 65, 109. My Study Windows, 267. Mystery plays, 156. Mythology, in epic, 135–37; in evolution of short story, 190; in child’s world, 198; Milton's, 58–59; readings, 144; use of sym- posium, 59. Naturalness, 131, 303. Nature lyrics, 67–68. Newman, John Henry, 62, 254, 264, 295. Night before Waterloo, The, 31. Nightingale, The, 77. Nightingale in the Study, The, 77. Noble Nature, 67. Northwest Passage, The, 66. Note books, 36, 99, 102. Novel, notes, how to take, 268; 821; composi- tion, 229–30; detailed suggestions for teach- ing Ivanhoe, 232–41; historical novel, 220– 21, 235–36; history, 214–18; teaching the novel of character, Cranford, 221–24; teach- ing the novel of incident, 224–25; teaching Cooper, 225–26; teaching Silas Marner, 241–51; teaching Vicar of Wakefield, 219– 20; types and technique, 214-15, 217–19, 226–29. Noyes, Alfred, 83. O Captain! My Captain! 60, 66, 117. O little town of Bethlehem, 62. - O Lord of Hosts, Almighty King, 62. O’Reilly, J. B., 60. Obsolete words, 58–59, 72. Ocean, The (Byron), 57, 117. October’s Bright Blue Weather, 67. Ode, 16, 53; comparison of, 56; Autumn, 57; Death of the Duke of Wellington, 56; Duty, 57; Evening, 57; Grecian Urn, 57; Intima- tions of Immortality, 57, 153; readings, 56; ose Aylmer, 59; St. Cecilia’s Day, 57; West Wind, 57. Odyssey, 15, 134, 141, 143–44; teaching, 137–38. Oenone, 146. Oh, wert thou in the cauld blast, 65. Old Clock on the Stairs, The, 111. Old Ironsides, 19, 64, 118. Old Meg, 34. Oliver Twist, 219. On a Favorite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Gold- fishes, 60. On First Looking into Chapman's Homer, 55, 137. On His Blindness, 55. On a Portrait of Wordsworth, 55. On Reading Spenser Again, 124. 0m Receipt of my Mother's Picture, 66. On Sleep (Sidney), 54. On the Advisableness of Improving Natural Knowledge, 264. On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic, 55, 56. On the Knocking on the Gate in Macbeth, 169. On the Late Massacre in Piedmont, 55. On the Life Mask of Lincoln, 55, 66. Once to Every Man and Nation, 64. One Hoss Shay, The Wonderful, 33. One sweetly solemn thought, 62. Oral composition, biography, 100; club idea, 172; literary society,302–03; parliamentary procedure, 172; with classics, 34, 195–96, 221, 237, 239, 249, 302. Oration, composition, 302–03; delivery, 303– 04; detailed suggestions for teaching Burke's Speech on Comciliation, 311–23; de- tailed suggestions for teaching Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration, 304–11; history, 293–95; how to write, 302–03; kinds and technique, 295–98, 315–16; teaching the Declaration of Independence, 298–99; teach- ing the Gettysburg Speech, 299-301. Oregon Trail, The, 215, 230. Organization, 268, 275–76, 278, 316, 321–22. Other Wise Mam, The, 282. Outlaw, The, 33. Outline, blackboard work, 75, 204–05, 211– 12, 254, 308, 319–21; composition, 275–76. 278; samples of pupils’ work, 40–41; 58, 61, 99, 103–04, 162, 178, 184–85, 278, 281; value, 39–40, 101–02, 316–17, 321. Overland Mail, The, 34. Owl and the Pussy Cat, The, 33. Owl Critic, The, 38. Oysterman, The, 33. Ozymandias, 55. Page, Thomas Nelson, 193,231. Pageantry, 45–46. Palgrave, Francis T., 19, 236. Pamela, 3, 216. Pantomime, 154, 166–67, 239. Paradise Lost, 135. Parkman, Francis, 215, 230, 265. Parliamentary procedure, 172. Passing of Arthur, The, teaching, 147. Past, The, 82. Pater, Walter, 264. Patriot, The, 64. Patriotic songs, 50, 63–64; examples, 64. Paul Revere's Ride, 29–30, 111; teaching, 111. Peace on Earth, 66. Pedagogy, applied, adjusting assignments to individual and class, 36, 312; aim in teach- ing English, 268, 328; appeal of dramatic, 182–84 (See Drama); attaching to previous knowledge, 14, 196, 237; author or book, 232; avenues of appeal, 170–71; blending types of work for best results, 271–72; change of method to suit individual needs or exceptional class, 249–50; connecting by 334 INDEX many threads to deepen impression, 277; correlation, 88; dangers of forced interpre- tation or inopportune explanation, 18, 308; drawing from class instead of telling, 105, 118, 238; educating through self-activity, not “pouringin,” 153,312,321–22; enliven- ing technique, 14; forcing out thought on a subject, 86; how to increase visualization, 126–29; humanizing teaching, 73–74, 182— 33, 188, 167–69, 171–72, 185–86, 200–01, 249–51, 269–70, 279–80, 302, 307, 318–19; impressing through sight, 88: laboratory method, 99–100, 101–04; necessity of as- similation, 321–22; need of a working- basis, 99; objectifying to strengthen im- pression, 12, 46; preparing ground for ap- preciation, 106–08, 196, 127–29, 180–82; right and wrong methods, 98–99; sugar- coated information, 136; system in plan- ning assignments, 86; tangible focus of interest to hold attention, 249; thinking in concrete terms, 86; value of pageant, 45– 46; value of reiteration, 277; value of self- choosing, 102; value of self-teaching, 70– 73; value of timeliness, 66. Pepys, Samuel, 215. Percy, Thomas, 29, 35, 128, 233. Perfect Tribute, The, 193, 300. Pheidippides, 81. Pickwick Papers, The, 217–18. Pictures, aid to visualization, 73, 99, 128, 136, 155; aid to composition, 165; with classics, 35,43, 61, 70, 98, 109, 121, 136–37, 171, 179, 240–41, 249, 251, 282–83. Piece of Chalk, A, 264. Pied Piper of Hamelin, The, 33. Pilgrim’s Progress, The, 191, 215, 216, 222, 230 Pipes of Lucknow, The, 31, 101. Pippa's Song, 68, 7.4 Plagiarism, warning against, 321-22. Planting of the Apple Tree, The, 67, 82, 117. Plot, 4; 164, 166, 175, 177; metrical tale, romance, epic, 92, 97, 98, 114, 123, 135; novel, 216, 218, 220, 224, 225, 226–28, 236–39, 246– 47; short story, 188, 193–94, 204–05, 210– I2. Poe, Edgar Allan, 68, 192, 195, 265; studying Poe, 198–99. Poet, The, sonnet quoted, 10. Poet laureate, 56. Poetic license, 15, 72–73. Poetry. See Chapters I–VII. Poole's Indez, 268, 321. Poor Richard’s Almanac, 266. Fº Alexander, 28, 108, 123, 254; teaching pe of the Lock, 139–42. Poplar Field, The, 67. Prayer, Perfect, The, 62. Pride and Prejudice, 217. Primroses, 78. Princess, The, teaching, 124–25; 146, 165. Prisoner of Chillon, The, 92; teaching, 96. Procter, Adelaide A., 62. Programme, Hiawatha, 142–48; in Bonnie Scotland (Burns), 65; King Arthur and the Round Table, 145; Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 208–09. drama, 155–56, 158–59, 161–62, 163, Promised Land, The, 215. Pºff, Development of, 253–55. See Chapters Prospect, The, 55. Prospice, 60. Psalm of Life, The, 67, 111. Puck of Pook's Hill, 122, 147. Pudd’mhead Wilson, 224. Punch and Judy, 167. Questions, Author’s Account of Himself, 273– 75; Bacon’s Essays, 256; ballad, 29–30, 82; Bell of Atri, 47; Birds of Killingworth, 47; Bryant's Life, 78–81; Building of the Ship, 112–16; Cotter’s Saturday Night, 108– 09; Declaration of Independence, 298–99; essay, 269; Essay on Burns, 262–63; First Bunker Hill Oration, 308–10; Gettysburg Speech, 301; Great Stone Face, 212; How Sleep the Brave, 56–57; Iliad, 138; Julius Casar, 181; King Robert of Sicily, 46–47; Lady of the Lake, 181; Merchant of Venice, 178–79; Michael, 97; novel, 226–28; Odys- sey, 138; Paul Revere’s Ride, 46; Poe’s Tales, 199; Prisoner of Chillon, 96; Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 42; Rip Van Winkle, 196; Sella, 94–95; Sesame and Lilies, 268– 64; Shelley's To a Skylark, 75–76; short story, 194, 198; Singing Leaves, 30; Sketch Book, 196,273-74,376-77; Speech on Con- ciliation, 319–21; Thanatopsis, 83–90; Vi- 8ion of Sir Lawnfal, 119–121; Voyage, 276– 77; What constitutes a state, 56–57. Rabbi Ben Ezra, 66. Rainbow, The, 68. Rainy Day, The, 111. Rape of the Lock, The, teaching, 139–42. Raven, The, 60, 69, 77. Reade, Charles, 220, 221. Reader's Guide, 268, 321. Reading, adjusting, 312–13; aloud, 18, 31, 33, 98, 105, 126, 131, 142, 160, 179, 193, 204–05, 282; current literature, 262, 267– 68,321; dangers of the dime novel, 7, 230; dialogue, 45,237,250; essay, 260, 288–89; first reading of oration, 314–15; handling reference reading, 262–68, 321–22; how to develop a liking, 7, 221, 224, 260; kinds of reading, 261; mechanical reading, 18; sug- gestions for teaching Burke's Speech, 311– 23; suggestions for teaching First Bunker Hill Oration, 304–11. Realism, 217, 218, 224, 229. Reassurance, 77. Recessional, The, 64. Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, 29, 35,233. Resignation, 67. Responsibility, developing, 205–06. Revenge, The, 31. Reverie of Poor Susan, The, 19, 68. Revolt of Mother, The, 193. Rewards and Fairies, 122, 147. Rhetoric. See Composition. Rhodora, 68, 78. Rhyme, 11, 17, 24; rhyme-scheme, 53; royal, 63. Rhythm, 11, 12–18. ' Richardson, Samuel, 3, 216, 286. INDEX 335 Riley, James Whitcomb, 62, 68. Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 32, 114, 277; detailed suggestions for teaching, 36–43. Ring out, Wild Bells, 66, 67, 146. Rip Van Winkle, 165, 192, 210, 272; teaching, 196–97. Rivals, The, 157. Robert o’ Lincoln, 67, 77, 82. Robin Hood, 230, 238; ballads, 27. Robin Redbreast, 66, 77. Robinson Crusoe, 215, 217, 224. Roger de Coverley, Sir, 169, 284; teaching, 256–58. Romola, 220, 221, 243. Rosabelle, 33. Rose Aylmer, quoted, 59. Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 55. Rule, Britannia, 64. Ruskin, John, 6, 8, 252,254; Sesame and Lil- ies, 263–64; teaching King of the Golden River, 199–200. Saga of King Olaf, 98. St. Agnes Eve, 146. Samples of pupils' Diagrams. Sandpiper, The, 67. Sands of Dee, The, 32. Scarlet Letter, The, 218, 221, 223. Scenario, preparing a, 239. School for Scandal, The, 157, 220. School paper, use of the, 230, 270. Scorn not the sonnet, 56. Scott, 20–23, 24, 25, 32, 33, 35–36, 60, 78, 104, 107, 123, 124, 126, 144, 165, 208, 219, 221, 254, 263; detailed suggestions for teaching The Lady of the Lake, 126–33; Ivanhoe, 232–41. Sella, 92; teaching, 94–95. Sense and Sensibility, 217, 219. Sesame and Lilies, 6; teaching, 263–64. Sesostris, 55. Setting, 228; visualizing, 248–49, 127–28. Shadow March, 66. * Shakespeare, William, detailed suggestions for teaching Julius Casar, 180-86; de- tailed suggestions for teaching Merchant of Venice, 175–80; life, 170–75; referred to, 3, 17, 24, 28, 45, 51, 52, 55, 94, 157, 205, 216, 263, 293; songs,62; sonnets, 54; teach- ing plays, 160–63; unities, 158; Who is Silvia, quoted, 51–52. Shameful Death, 34. Sharp, Dallas Lore, 193. Shaw, Bernard, 157. She dwelt among the untrodden ways, 60. She Stoops to Conquer, 157, 220; teaching, 163–64. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 51, 137, 82; detailed suggestions for teaching To a Skylark, 70– 77; elegy, 60; odes, 56, 57; sonnet, 55. Shepherd of King Admetus, The, 34. Sheridan, Richard B., 157, 164, 220, 286 Sheridan's Ride, 31. Sherlock EIolmes, 192, 219. Sº, that Found Herself, The, 117, 192, Simila Palmifero, 55. Sidney, Sir Philip, 3, 20, 51, 54, 216, 254. work. See Outlines, Silas Marner, 165, 218, 224; detailed sugges- tions for teaching, 241–51. Sill, Edward Rowland, 68. Simon Lee, 34. Singing Leaves, The, 19, 29, 30, 34, 164. Singing, 21–23, 35, 64–65, 146, 149. Singmaster, Elsie, 300. + Sir Galahad, 122, 146. Sir Patrick Spens, 27, 42, 43, 277. Skeleton in Armour, The, 34. Sketch Book, The, 196, 269; detailed sugges- tions for teaching Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 202–10; Rip Van Winkle, 196–97, 210; separate sketches, 271-84. Skipper Ireson's Ride, 32, 101. Skylark, The (Hogg), 68, 77, 82. Skylark, The (Wordsworth), 68, 77, 82. lumber did my spirit seal, A, 60. Smith, Samuel F., 63, 64. Smollett, Tobias, 217. Sº, Image, 165, 166–67; 213;teaching, 197- 9 Snow-Bound, 67, 69; detailed suggestions for teaching, 98–106. Snowstorm, The, 68. Sohrab and Rustum, 135; teaching, 138–39. Soldier, Rest, 60. Solitary Reaper, The, 68, 69. Songs, As You Like It, 161; class singing, 66; folk-songs, 64–65; Idylls of the King, 149- 50; Lady of the Lake, 130; old English carols, 279,282; Princess, 124;set to music, 65–66; special occasions, 66; Tennyson, 150. Song, 16, 34, 62–64; examples, 61-66. Song in Camp, A, 31 Song of Proserpine, 137. Song of the Chattahoochee, The, 68. Sonnet, 16, 53, 54–56. Southey, Robert, 31, 32, 34, 203, 214. Spacious firmament on high, The, 62. Spectator, The, 4, 191, 197, 216–17, 261, 269, 273, 279; teaching, 256–58. Speech on Conciliation, Burke's, detailed sug- gestions for teaching, 311–23. Spencer, Herbert, 70,242, 254. Spenser, Edmund, 15, 51, 124, 125, 126. Squire's Tale, The, 126. Stanza, 11, 17, 53–54. Star Spangled Banner, The, 63, 64. Steadfast Tin Soldier, The, 192. Steele, Richard, 216–17; 252, 254; teaching Spectator, 256–58. Stephen, Leslie, 133, 234, 251, 264. Sterne, Laurence, 217. Stevenson, R. L., essay, 215, 264; imitation, 230; novel, 107, 218, 219, 220, 224; poetry, 31, 66; short story, 188, 192, 195. Stockton, Frank, 193, 219, 231, 232. Story, The, suggestions for teaching The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 202–10; referred to, 20, 34, 91, 240, 265; structure, 187–89, 193–95; teaching Arabian Nights, 195–96; teaching Rip Van Winkle, 196–97; teaching Hawthorne, 197–98; teaching Poe's Tales, 198–99; teaching King of the Golden River, 199—200. Story of my Life, The, 215. Structure. See Technique, Outline. ' Summary, Deserted Village, 95–96; how to 336 INDEX write, 277–78, 280–82; King of the Golden River, 199–200;Macaulay's Life of Johnson, 288–90; Rape of the Lock, 139–42. Sunflower, The, 77. - Swallow, swallow, 149. Sweet and Low, 66, 146. Swift, Jonathan, 215. Symbolism, 112, 116, 118, 145, 155. Symposium, 59. Synge, J. M., 157. Tableaux, Bonnie Scotland, 65; Hiawatha, 142–43; Idylls of the King,148–50; Ivanhoe, 237, 238, 239. - Tale. See Story, Mctrical Tale. Tale of Two Cities, A, 4, 165, 219, 220, 221. Tales, Poe's, teaching, 198–99. Tales from Shakespeare, 160. Tales of a Wayside Inn, detailed suggestions for teaching, 43–48. Tam O’Shanter, 92, 109. Tampa Robins, 68, 77. Tatler, The, 257. Taylor, Bayard, 31. Teacher, equipment, vi; qualities needed by, 7; the growing, 6. Teaching, Arabian Nights, 195–96; As You Like It, 160–61; Bacon’s Essays, 255-56; ballads, 20–21, 26–27, 29–36; Bell of Atri, 47; Birds of Killingworth,47; Building of the Ship, 109–17; Christabel, 93–94; Comus, 164; Conciliation with America, 311-23; Cotter’s Saturday Night, 106–09; Courtship of Miles Standish, 97; Cranford, 221–22; Declaration of Independence, 298–99; Elegy in a Country Churchyard, 60–61; Emerson's Essays,266; Enoch Arden,97; Essays of Elia, 258–59; Essay on Burns, 262–63; Evange- line, 97; Eve of St. Agnes, 97; First Bunker Hill Oration, 304–11; Gettysburg Speech, 299–301; Great Stone Face, 210–13; Hamlet, 163; Hawthorne's stories, 197–98; Idylls of the King, 145–52; Iliad, 135–38; Irving's stories, 196–97, 202–10; Ivanhoe, 232–41; Jock o’ Hazeldean, 20–23; Julius Caesar, 180–86; King Robert of Sicily, 46–47; Lady of the Lake, 126–33; L’Allegro, 58–59; Last of the Mohicans, 225–26; Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 202–10; Life of Bryant, 78–81; Life of Johnson, 284–92; Macaulay's Es- says, 260–62, 284–92; Macbeth, 162–63; Merchant of Venice, 170–80; meter, 12–17; Michael, 96–97; Odyssey, 135–38; Paul Re- were’s Ride, 46; Poe’s Tales, 198–99; Prin- cess, 124–25; Prisoner of Chillon, 96; Rape of the Lock, 139–42; Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 36–43; Sella, 94–95; Sesame and Lilies, 263–64; Sketch-Book, 196–97, 202– 10, 271–84; Silas Marner, 241–51; Snow- Bound, 98–106; Sohrab and Rustum, 138– 39; Spectator, 256–58; Tales of a Wayside Inn, 43–48; Thanatopsis, 83–90; To a Sky- lark, 70–78; Twa Corbies, 25; Vicar of Wakefield, 219–20; Vision of Sir Launfal, 117–22; Twelfth Night, 161–62. Tears, idle tears, 66. Technique, drama, 155–56, 158–59, 162, 166– 67, 177; delivery, 174–75; essay, 268–69, 275–76, 278, 287–88; novel, 205, 217–18, 226–29, 247–48; oration, 295, 297–98, 802– 03, 308, 316, 321–22; short story, 188–89, 193–94, 195, 198–99, 204–08, 211–12; verse, 1–5, 20, 53–54, 56, 158. Telling the Bees, 101. Tennessee's Partner, 193. Tennyson, Alfred, ballads, 19, 29, 80, 31, 83; life, 125–26, 150–51; lyrics, 51, 60, 66, 67, 68, 88; metrical tales, 92, 97, 98, 104; re- ferred to, 104, 165, 203; style, 150; teach- ing the Idylls of the King, 145–52; teaching The Princess, 124-25. Thackeray, William Makepeace, 33, 199, 218, 219, 220–21, 222, 254, 264, 283. Thanatopsis detailed suggestions for teaching, 78–90; quoted, 88–90. Thaxter, Celia, 67. Thesis, 102, 103, 219, 237. Thomas, Edith, 55, 56, 68, 77, 187. Thomson, James, 64, 286. Thºu, Henry David, 215, 230, 253, 264, Three Bells of Glasgow, The, 32. Three Fishers, The, 32. Three Years She Grew, 60. Throstle, The, 68. Ticonderoga, 31. Tiger, The, 66. Timrod, Henry, 67, 68. Titmouse, The, 77. To a Cloud, 57. To a Daisy; 57, 68, 78, 109. To a Mouse, 57, 65, 68, 109. To a Skylark, 82; detailed suggestions for teaching, 70–77. To a Waterfowl, 68, 77, 82. To America,.64. To Lucasta, quoted, 52. To Milton, 56. To Virgil, 137. Tom Brown’s School Days, 225. Tom Jones, 216. Tom Sawyer, 224. Travels with a Donkey, 215, 230. Trawler, The, 193. Tray, 33. Treasure Island, 4, 188–89, 192, 218, 219, 224, 230. Trees and the Master, The, 66. Tºyan, George O., 32, 214, 260, 285, Tristram Shandy, 217. Tropical Morning at Sea, A, 68. Trowbridge, John Townsend, 33, 68, 104. Turtle Eggs for Agassiz, 193. Twa Corbies, quoted, 26; teaching, 26–27; Twain, Mark, 224, 231. Twelfth Night, teaching, 161–62. Twice-Told Tales, teaching the, 197–98. Two Years before the Mast, 215, 274. Uarda, 220. Ulysses, 134, 137, 146. Uncle Remus Stories, 193. Under the Greenwood Tree, 161. Under the Violets, 60. Unities, the, 155–56. Up at a Villa — Down in the City, 158. INDEX 337 Wagabond Song, A, 67. Van Dyke, Henry, 2, 68, 152, 193, 278, 282, 04 304. Vanity Fair, 218, 219, 222. Versification. See Poetry. Vicar of Wakefield, The, 215, 216, 217; teach- ing, 219–20; 257. Village Blacksmith, The, 19, 67, 111. Violet, The (Scott), 78. Violet, The (Taylor), 68. Virginibus Puerisqué, 264. . . . Vision of Sir Launfal, The, 47,68, 82; detailed suggestions for teaching, 117–22. Visualization, 105, 126–29, 228–29, 248–49, 282–83. Waiting, 66. Walden, 215, 230. allace, Lew, 220. Walton, Isaac, 254, 278. Washington, George, 116, 294. Water Babies, The, 95 Watts, Isaac, 62. Waverley Novels, The,935–36; detailed sugges- tions for teaching Ivanhoe, 232–41. We are Seven, 19, 29. Webster, Daniel, detailed suggestions for teaching the First Bunker Hill Oration, 804–11; life, 304–06. Wesley, Charles, 62. Westward Ho, 220. What Constitutes a State, quoted, 56–57; teaching, 56-57. - What does little birdie say, 66. When all the World is Young, 66. When in the sessions of sweet silent thought, While shepherds watched their flocks by night, 62. Whippoorwill, The (Cawein), 68. Whippoorwill, The (van Dyke), 68. White Heron, The, 193. Whitman, Walt, 60, 66, 117. Whittier, John G., ballads, 19, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33; detailed suggestions for teaching Snow- Bound, 98–106; life, 100–01, 105; lyrics, 62, 64, 67, 69, 78; metrical tale, 92. Who is Silvia, quoted, 51–52, 66. Wiggin, Kate Douglas, 231, 282. Windy Nights, 66. Winter’s Tale, A, 24. Without Benefit of Clergy, 192, 195. Woodman, spare that tree, 67. Wordsworth, William, ballads, 19, 29, 34; lyrics, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 60, 68, 69, 77, 78; referred to, 153, 228. Work, 55. World is too much with us, The, 56. Wreck of the Hesperus, The, 15, 32, 111. Writing. See Composition. Ye Mariners of England, 57. Yellow Violet, The, 68, 82. Yonge, Charlotte, 220, 232. Zenobia's Infidelity, 193. 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