The following poems—one by Tennyson,[53] steeped in pain, perfect in its phrasing; the other by Kipling, rising to a conception of a true artist's work, never before so simply expressed—are both written in home words, little words, but words all know, words that carry to all a common meaning:—

"Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean: Tears from the depth of some divine despair Rise in the heart and gather to the eyes, In looking on the happy autumn fields, And thinking of the days that are no more.

"Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail That brings our friends up from the underworld; Sad as the last which reddens over one That sinks with all we love below the verge; So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more.

"Ah! sad and strange as in dark summer dawns The earliest pipe of half-awakened birds To dying ears, when unto dying eyes The casement slowly grows a glimmering square; So sad, so strange, the days that are no more.

"Dear as remembered kisses after death, And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feigned On lips that are for others; deep as love, Deep as first love, and wild with all regret; O Death in Life, the days that are no more!"

L'ENVOI.[54]

"When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried, When the oldest colors have faded, and the youngest critic has died, We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it— lie down for an aeon or two, Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew!

"And those that were good shall be happy: they shall sit in a golden chair; They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair; They shall find real saints to draw from— Magdalene, Peter, and Paul; They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all!

"And only the Master shall praise us, and only the Master shall blame; And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame; But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star, Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They Are!"

Avoid Hackneyed Phrases.

Much like general terms, which mean something or nothing, are expressions that have become trite and hackneyed. At some time they were accurate phrases, saying just what was needed. By being used for all sorts of purposes, they have lost the original thought of which they were the accurate expression. They have no freshness. The sounding phrases repeated in the pulpit, or the equally empty phrases of the scientist, however good they were at their inception, are, in the writing of many persons, but theological and scientific cant relied upon by ignorant people to cover up the vacuity of their thought. One's own expression, even though it be not so elegant and graceful, is better than any worn-out, hackneyed phrase. Think for yourself; then say what you have thought in the best language you can find yourself.

"Fine Writing."

"Fine writing," the subjection of noble words to ignoble service, is to be avoided. Mr. Micawber was addicted to this pomposity of language; and Dickens, by the creation of this character, has done literature a real service, by showing how absurd it is, how valueless for anything more than humor. "'Under the impression,' said Mr. Micawber, 'that your peregrinations in this metropolis have not as yet been extensive, and that you might have some difficulty in penetrating the arcana of the Modern Babylon in the direction of the City Road—in short,' said Mr. Micawber, in another burst of confidence, 'that you might lose yourself—I shall be happy to call this evening, and install you in the knowledge of the nearest way.'" Here are great words in profusion to dress out a little thought. "Fine writing" is as much out of taste as over-dressing. When the thought calls for noble expression, then all one's energies should be bent to finding noble phrases; but for common things common expressions are the only ones in good taste.

In Prose avoid Poetical Words.

Much like "fine writing" is the use of poetical words in prose. Enow, erstwhile, besprent, methinks, agone, and thine are examples of a large class of words which, though in perfectly good taste in poetry, are in extremely poor taste in prose. They are out of place; and so attract attention to themselves, not to the thought they express. When writing prose, avoid poetical words.

All of this comes at last to one rule: be exact, be accurate in the choice of words. Not a word that half expresses the thought, not even one that is pretty near, but the only word that exactly expresses the meaning, that word must be used. It is not a question of long or short, of Latin or Saxon, of general or specific; it is a question of accuracy or inaccuracy, the whole or a part, the whole or too much, of just right or about right. No one would entirely misunderstand the following sentence; and just as certainly no one would derive from these words the impression the author had when he wrote it. He has phrased it as follows: "Another direction in which free education is most valuable to society, is the way in which it removes the gulf affixed between the rich and poor." The boy wanted the opening sentence to sound big, and forgot that the first use of words is accurately to express the thought. In this sentence are the commonest errors in the choice of words. "Most valuable" says more than truth; "direction" says less than truth; and "affixed" does not say anything. Had the boy studied the dictionary, had he been familiar with the Bible, had he carefully considered the figure he introduced with the word "gulf," he would not have written this incongruous sentence; he would not have been inaccurate. Spare no pains in your effort to be exact. Search through the words of your own vocabulary; if these fall short, find others in the dictionary. Get the word that exactly expresses the thought. Let no fine-sounding or high-born word trick you into saying what you do not mean. Be master of your words; never let fine expressions enslave you. In a word, be accurate.

Such painstaking labor has its reward not alone in the increased power of expression; there is also a corresponding growth in the ability to observe accurately and to think clearly. No man can write such descriptions as Ruskin and Stevenson have written without seeing accurately; nor can a man speak with the definite certainty of Burke without thinking clearly. The desire to be accurate in expression drives a writer to be accurate in thinking. To think is the highest that man can hope from education. Anything that contributes to this highest attainment should be undertaken with joy. Whether planning a story or constructing an argument; whether excluding irrelevant matter or including what contributes to the perfection of the whole; whether massing the material so that all the parts shall receive their due emphasis; whether relating the parts so that the thought advances steadily and there can be no misunderstanding,—in all this the student will find arduous labor. Yet after all this is done,—when the theme, the paragraphs, and the sentences contain exactly what is needed, are properly massed, and are set in perfect order,—then comes the long labor of revision, which does not stop until the exact word is hunted out. For upon words, at last, we are dependent for the expression of our observation and thought. He is most entirely master of his thoughts who can accurately express them: clearly, that he cannot be misunderstood; forcefully, that he will not be unread; and elegantly, that he give the reader joy. And this mastery he evinces in a finely discriminating choice of words.

* * * * *

CHAPTER X

FIGURES OF SPEECH

Figurative Language.

There is a generally accepted division of language into literal and figurative. Language that is literal uses words in their accepted and accurate meaning. Figurative language employs words with meanings not strictly literal, but varying from their ordinary definitions.

Much of our language is figurative. When a person says, "He is a bright boy," he has used the word "bright" in a sense that is not literal; the use is figurative. In the following there is hardly a sentence that has not some variation from literal language.

"Down by the river there is, as yet, little sign of spring. Its bed is all choked with last year's reeds, trampled about like a manger. Yet its running seems to have caught a happier note, and here and there along its banks flash silvery wands of palm. Right down among the shabby burnt-out underwood moves the sordid figure of a man. His hat is battered, and he wears no collar. I don't like staring at his face, for he has been unfortunate. Yet a glimpse tells me that he is far down the hill of life, old and drink-corroded at fifty." (Le Gallienne.)

In the second sentence there are at least three figurative expressions. "Bed," "choked," and "trampled like a manger" are not literal. So, too, in the next sentence there are two beautiful variations from literal expression. Going on through the selection the reader will find frequently some happy change from literalness,—sometimes just a word, sometimes a phrase.

Figurative language is of great value. It adds clearness to our speech; it gives it more force; or it imparts to literature beauty. The last use is the most common; indeed, it is so common that sometimes the other uses are overlooked. However, when such a sentence as the following is read, the comparison is of value in giving clearness to the thought, although it does not state the literal truth.

"In the early history of our planet, the moon was flung off into space, as mud is thrown from a turning wagon wheel."

Force is often gained by the use of figurative language. The following is a good illustration:—

"Neither the perseverance of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dextrous and firm sagacity of English enterprise, ever carried this most perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has been pushed by these people [Americans]; a people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of manhood."

The next is an illustration of a figure used for beauty:—

"Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes To twinkle in their spheres till they return."

A figure of speech is any use of words with a sense varying from their literal definition, to secure clearness, force, or beauty of expression.

Figures add so much to the attractiveness of literature, that every one would like to use them. Yet figures should never be sought for. When they come of themselves, when they insist on being used, and are a part of the thought itself, and seem to be its only adequate expression, then they should be used. In most cases figures are ornaments of literature; it must be remembered that ornament is always secondary, and that no ornament is good unless it is in entire harmony with the thing it is to beautify. (See Preface, p. viii.)

When a figure suggests itself, it must be so clearly seen that there can be no mixing of images. Some people are determined to use figures, and they force them into every possible place. The result is that there is often a confusion of comparisons. The following is bad: "His name went resounding in golden letters through the corridors of time." Just how a name could resound "in golden letters" is a difficult question. Longfellow used the last phrase beautifully:—

"Not from the grand old masters, Not from the bards sublime, Whose distant footsteps echo Through the corridors of time."

Of the two hundred or more figures of speech which have been named and defined, only a few need be mentioned here. And the purpose is not that you shall use them more, but that you may recognize them when you meet them in literature.

Figures based upon Likeness.

There is a large group of figures of speech based upon likeness. One thing is so much like another that it is spoken of as like it, or, more frequently, one is said to be the other. Yet if the things compared are very much alike, there is no figure. To say that a cat is like a panther is not considered figurative. It is when in objects essentially different we detect and name some likeness that we say there is a figure of speech. There is at first thought no likeness between hope and a nurse; yet were it not for hope most persons would die. Thackeray was right when he said that "Hope is the nurse of life."

The principal figures based upon likeness are metaphor, epithet, personification, apostrophe, allegory, and simile.

A metaphor is an implied comparison between things essentially different, but having some common quality. Metaphor is by far the most common figure of speech; indeed, so common is it that figurative language is often called metaphorical.

"Tombs are the clothes of the dead; a grave is but a plain suit, and a rich monument is one embroidered."

"Let me choose; For as I am, I live upon the rack."

"The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep."

Only a little removed from metaphor is epithet. An epithet is a word, generally a descriptive adjective or a noun, used, not to give information, but to impart strength or ornament to diction. It is like a shortened metaphor. It is very often found in impassioned prose or verse. Notice that in each epithet there is a comparison; that the figure is based on likeness.

"Here are sever'd lips Parted with sugar breath."

"Base dog! why shouldst thou stand here?"

Personification is a figure that ascribes to inanimate things, abstract ideas, and the lower animals the attributes of human beings. It is plain that there must be some resemblance of the lower to the higher, else this figure could not be used. Personification, like the epithet, is a modification of the metaphor. Indeed, in every personification there is also a metaphor.

"When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees And they did make no noise."

"But ever heaves and moans the restless Deep."

Apostrophe is an address to the dead as if living; to abstract ideas or inanimate objects as if they were persons. It is a variety of personification.

"O Caledonia! stern and wild, Meet nurse for a poetic child!"

"Wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower, Thou's met me in an evil hour; For I maun crush amang the stoure Thy slender stem."

"Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour."

Allegory is a narrative in which material things and circumstances are used to illustrate and enforce high spiritual truths. It is a continued personification. Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" and Spenser's "Faerie Queene" are good examples of allegory.

All these figures are varieties of metaphor. In them there is always an implied, not an expressed, comparison.

A simile is an expressed comparison between unlike things that have some common quality. This comparison is usually indicated by like or as.

"Ilbrahim was like a domesticated sunbeam, brightening moody countenances, and chasing away the gloom from the dark corners of the cottage."

(Does this figure change to another in its course?)

"How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world."

Of retired Dutch valleys, Irving wrote:—

"They are like those little nooks of still water which border a rapid stream; where we may see the straw and bubble riding quietly at anchor, or slowly revolving in their mimic harbor, undisturbed by the rush of the passing current."

Figures based upon Sentence Structure.

There are a number of figures that express emotion by simply changing the normal order of the sentence. Among these are inversion, exclamation, interrogation, climax, and irony.

Inversion is a figure intended to give emphasis to the thought by a change from the natural order of the words in a sentence.

"Thine be the glory!"

"Few were the words they said."

"He saved others; himself he cannot save."

Exclamation is an expression of strong emotion in abrupt, inverted, or elliptical phrases. It is among sentences what the interjection is among words.

"How far that little candle throws its beams!"

"Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!"

Interrogation is a figure in which a question is asked, not to get an answer, but for the sake of emphasis.

"Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?"

"Fear ye foes who kill for hire? Will ye to your homes retire?"

"Am I a coward?"

Climax is a figure in which the intensity of the thought and emotion gradually increases with the successive groups of words or phrases. (See p. 211.)

"Your children do not grow faster from infancy to manhood than they [the American colonists] spread from families to communities, from villages to nations."

Irony is a figure in which one thing is said and the opposite is meant.

"And Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you."

"O Jew, an upright judge, a learned judge!"

Four other figures should be mentioned: metonymy, synecdoche, allusion, and hyperbole.

Metonymy calls one thing by the name of another which is closely related to the first. The most common relations are cause and effect, container and thing contained, and sign and the thing signified.

"From the cradle to the grave is but a day."

"I did dream of money-bags to-night."

Synecdoche is that figure of speech in which a part is put for the whole, or the whole for a part.

"Fifty sail came into harbor."

"The redcoats are marching."

Allusion is a reference to something in history or literature with which every one is supposed to be acquainted.

"A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Daniel!"

Men still sigh for the flesh pots of Egypt; still worship the golden calf.

There is no "Open Sesame" to the treasures of learning; they must be acquired by hard study.

Milton and Shakespeare are full of allusions to the classic literature of Greece and Rome.

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement made for effect.

"He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together."

"And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw Millions of acres on us, till our ground, Singeing his pate against the burning zone, Make Ossa like a wart!"

Exercises in Figures.

Name the following figures. Of those that are based upon likeness, tell in what the similarity consists. In many of the selections more than one figure will be found.[55]

1. "The long, hard winter of his youth had ended; the spring-time of his manhood was turning green like the woods."

2. A pig came up to a horse and said, "Your feet are crooked, and your hair is worth nothing."

3. "The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, but they were drawn swords."

4. "The lily maid of Astolat."

5. "O Truth! O Freedom! how are ye still born In the rude stable, in the manger nursed!"

6. "The birch, most shy and ladylike of trees, Her poverty, as best she may, retrieves, And hints at her foregone gentilities With some saved relics of her wealth of leaves."

7. "O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port grandly, or sail with God the seas!"

8. "Primroses smile and daisies cannot frown."

9. "How deeply and warmly and spotlessly Earth's nakedness is clothed!—the 'wool' of the Psalmist nearly two feet deep. And as far as warmth and protection are concerned, there is a good deal of the virtue of wool in such a snow-fall. It is a veritable fleece, beneath which the shivering earth ('the frozen hills ached with pain,' says one of our young poets) is restored to warmth."

10. "We can win no laurels in a war for independence. Earlier and worthier hands have gathered them all. Nor are there places for us by the side of Solon and Alfred and other founders of States. Our fathers have filled them."

11. "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgment was as a robe and diadem.

"I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.

"I was father to the poor; and the cause which I knew not I searched out.

"And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth."

12. "His head and his heart were so well combined that he could not avoid becoming a power in his community."

Spenser, writing of honor, says:—

13. "In woods, in waves, in wars, she wonts to dwell, And will be found with peril and with pain; Nor can the man that moulds an idle cell Unto her happy mansion attain: Before her gate high God did Sweat ordain, And wakeful watches ever to abide; But easy is the way and passage plain To pleasure's palace: it may soon be spied, And day and night her doors to all stand open wide."

14. "Over the vast green sea of the wilderness, the moon swung her silvery lamp."

15. "The peace of the golden sunshine was supreme. Even a tiny cloudlet anchored in the limitless sky would not sail to-day."

16. "A short way further along, I come across a boy gathering palm. He is a town boy, and has come all the way from Whitechapel thus early. He has already gathered a great bundle—worth five shillings to him, he says. This same palm will to-morrow be distributed over London, and those who buy sprigs of it by the Bank will know nothing of the blue-eyed boy who gathered it, and the murmuring river by which it grew. And the lad, once more lost in some squalid court, will be a sort of Sir John Mandeville to his companions—a Sir John Mandeville of the fields, with their water-rats, their birds' eggs, and many other wonders. And one can imagine him saying, 'And the sparrows there fly right up into the sun, and sing like angels.' But he won't get his comrades to believe that."

17. "We wandered to the Pine Forest That skirts the Ocean's foam; The lightest wind was in its nest, The tempest in its home. The whispering waves were half asleep, The clouds were gone to play, And on the bosom of the deep The smile of heaven lay; It seemed as if the hour were one Sent from beyond the skies Which scattered from above the sun The light of Paradise.

"We paused amid the pines that stood The giants of the waste, Tortured by storms to shapes as rude As serpents interlaced,— And soothed by every azure breath That under heaven is blown, To harmonies and hues beneath, As tender as its own: Now all the tree-tops lay asleep Like green waves on the sea, As still as in the silent deep The ocean woods may be."

18. "When a bee brings pollen into the hive, he advances to the cell in which it is to be deposited and kicks it off as one might his overalls or rubber boots, making one foot help the other; then he walks off without ever looking behind him; another bee, one of the indoor hands, comes along and rams it down with his head and packs it in the cell as the dairy-maid packs butter into a firkin."

19. "For thy desires Are wolfish, bloody, starved, and ravenous."

20. "What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!"

21. "And in her cheeks the vermeil red did shew Like roses in a bed of lilies shed."

22. He betrayed his friend with a Judas kiss.

23. "A true poet is not one whom they can hire by money and flattery to be a minister of their pleasures, their writer of occasional verses, their purveyor of table wit; he cannot be their menial, he cannot even be their partisan. At the peril of both parties let no such union be attempted. Will a Courser of the Sun work softly in the harness of a Dray-horse? His hoofs are of fire, and his path is through the heavens, bringing light to all lands; will he lumber on mud highways, dragging ale for earthly appetites from door to door?"

24. "Hath a dog money? is it possible A cur can lend three thousand ducats?"

25. "Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood."

26. They sleep together,—the gray and the blue.

27. "Have not the Indians been kindly and justly treated? Have not the temporal things—the vain baubles and filthy lucre of this world—which were apt to engage their worldly and selfish thoughts, been benevolently taken from them? And have they not, instead thereof, been taught to set their affections on things above?" (Quoted from Meiklejohn's "The Art of Writing English.")

28. "Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes."

29. "His words were shed softer than leaves from the pine, And they fell on Sir Launfal as snows on the brine, That mingle their softness and quiet in one With the shaggy unrest they float down upon."

30. Too much red tape caused a great amount of suffering in the beginning of the war.

31. "Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain."

32. "The old Mountain has thrown a stone at us for fear we should forget him. He sometimes nods his head, and threatens to come down."

33. "But pleasures are like poppies spread: You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white—then melts for ever; Or like the borealis race, That flit ere you can point their place; Or like the rainbow's lovely form Evanishing amid the storm."

* * * * *

CHAPTER XI

VERSE FORMS[56]

Preparer's note: In this chapter, the rhythms of the sample poetry lines were indicated with musical notes and rests. In this text version, an eighth note is indicated by e, a quarter note by q, and an eighth rest by r.

No pupil has passed through the graded schools without being told that he should not sing verses, though no one is inclined to sing prose. One can scarcely help singing verse, and one cannot well sing prose.

What is there about the form that leads a person to sing verses of poetry? For example, when a person reads the first lines of "The Lady of the Lake," he falls naturally into a sing-song which can be represented by musical notation as follows:—

^ ^ ^ ^ e q e q e q e q "The stag at eve had drunk his fill, ^ ^ ^ ^ e q e q e q e q Where danced the moon on Mon an's rill, ^ ^ ^ ^ e q e q e q e q And deep his mid night lair had made ^ ^ ^ ^ e q e q e q e q In lone Glenart ney's ha zel shade."

The second, fourth, sixth, and eighth syllables in each of these lines are naturally accented in reading, while the other syllables are read without stress. The eight syllables of each line fall naturally into groups of two, an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable, just as in the musical notation given, an unaccented eighth note is followed by an accented quarter.

In "Hiawatha" the accented syllable comes first, and the unaccented follows it.

^ ^ ^ ^ q e q e q e q e "By the shores of Gitchee Gumee, ^ ^ ^ ^ q e q e q e q e By the shining Big-Sea-Water, ^ ^ ^ ^ q e q e q e q e Stood the wigwam of No komis, ^ ^ ^ ^ q e q e q e q e Daughter of the Moon, No komis."

So, too, there are groups in which there are three syllables. The accent may fall on any one of the three. In the following stanza from "The Bridge of Sighs," the accent falls on the first syllable of each group.

^ ^ e e e e e e "Touch her not scornfully; ^ ^ e e e e e e Think of her mournfully, ^ ^ e e e e e e Gently and humanly, ^ ^ e e e e e e Not of the stains of her; ^ ^ e e e e e e All that re mains of her ^ ^ e e e e e e Now is pure womanly."

The accent may be upon the second syllable of the group. This is not common. The following is from "The Three Fishers."

^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e e e e q "Three fishers went sailing out into the West, ^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e q e q Out into the West as the sun went down; ^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e e e e q Each thought on the woman that loved him the best; ^ ^ ^ ^ [e] e e e e e e e e e e q [And] the children stood watching them out of the town."

Or the accent may be upon the last syllable of the group. This form is very common. It is found in the poem entitled "Annabel Lee."

^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e e e e q "It was man y and man y a year ago, ^ ^ ^ e e e e q e q In a king dom by the sea, ^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e q e q That a maid en there lived whom you may know ^ ^ ^ e e e e q e e e By the name of An nabel Lee; ^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e q e e e And this maid en she lived with no other thought ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e q Than to love and be loved by me."

Poetic Feet.

If all these verses be observed carefully, it will be seen that in each group of syllables there is one accented syllable combined with one or two unaccented. Such a group of syllables is called a foot. The foot is the basis of the verse; and from the prevailing kind of foot that is found in any verse, the verse derives its name.

A foot is a group of syllables composed of one accented syllable combined with one or more unaccented. It will be noticed further that if musical notation be used, all of these forms are but variations of the one form, represented by the standard measure 3/8. They are:—

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ e q ; q e ; e e e ; e e e ; and e e e .

Accordingly there are five forms of poetic feet made of this musical rhythm. Of these, four are in common use.

An Iambus is a two-syllable foot accented on the last syllable. Verse made of this kind of feet is called iambic. It is the most common form found in English poetry. Example:—

"The stag at eve had drunk his fill."

A Trochee is a two-syllable foot accented on the first syllable. Verse made of this kind of feet is called trochaic. Example:—

"Stood the wigwam of Nokomis."

A Dactyl is a three-syllable foot accented on the first syllable. Such verse is called dactylic. Example:—

"Touch her not scornfully."

An Amphibrach is a three-syllable foot accented on the middle syllable. It is uncommon. Example:—

"Three fishers went sailing out into the West."

An Anapest is a three-syllable foot accented on the last syllable. Example:—

"It was many and many a year ago."

A Spondee is a very uncommon foot in English. It consists of two long syllables accented about equally. It occurs as an occasional foot in a four-syllable rhythm. No English poem is entirely spondaic. The four-syllable foot and the spondee are so uncommon that there is little use in the pupil's knowing more than that there are such things. The example below is quoted from Lanier's "The Science of English Verse."

^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e q e e q q "Ah, the autumn days fade out, and the nights grow chill ^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e e q q And we walk no more to gether as we used of yore When the rose was new in blossom and the sun was on the hill, And the eves were sweetly vocal with the happy whippoorwill, And the land-breeze piped its sweetest by the ocean shore."

Kinds of Metre.

A verse is a single line of poetry. It may contain from one foot to eight feet.

A line made of one foot is called monometer. It is never used throughout a poem, except as a joke, but it sometimes occurs as an occasional verse in a poem that is made of longer lines. The two lines which follow are from the song of "Winter" in Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost." The last is monometer.

"Then nightly sings the staring owl Tu-whit."

A line containing two feet is called dimeter. It also is uncommon; but it does sometimes make up a whole poem; as, "The Bridge of Sighs," already mentioned. Another example is:—

^ ^ "I'm wearing awa', Jean, ^ ^ Like snaw when it's thaw, Jean, ^ ^ I'm wearing awa' ^ ^ To the land o' the leal."

It is frequently met as an occasional line in a poem. Wordsworth's "Daisy" shows it.

"Bright Flower! for by that name at last, When all my reveries are past, I call thee, and to that cleave fast, Sweet, silent creature! That breath'st with me in sun and air, Do thou, as thou art wont, repair My heart with gladness, and a share Of thy meek nature!"

A line containing three feet is called trimeter. Example:—

^ ^ ^ "The snow had begun in the gloaming, ^ ^ ^ And busily all the night ^ ^ ^ Had been heaping field and highway ^ ^ ^ With a silence deep and white."

A line containing four feet is called tetrameter. "Marmion" is written in tetrameters. See the extract on p. 276.

A line containing five feet is called pentameter. This line is very common in English poetry. It gives room enough for the poet to say something, and is not so long that it breaks down with its own weight. Shakespeare's Plays, Milton's "Paradise Lost," Tennyson's "Idylls of the King,"—indeed, most of the great, serious work of the master-poets has been done in this verse.

A line containing six feet is called hexameter. This is the form adopted in the Iliad and the Odyssey of the Greeks, and the Aeneid of the Romans; it has been used sometimes by English writers in treating dignified subjects. "The Courtship of Miles Standish" and "Evangeline" are written in hexameter.

Verses of seven and eight feet are rare; they are called heptameter and octameter, respectively. The heptameter is usually divided into a tetrameter and a trimeter; the octameter, into two tetrameters. Poe's "Raven" and Tennyson's "Locksley Hall" are in octameters, and Bryant's "The Death of the Flowers" is in heptameters.

A verse is named from its prevailing kind of foot and the number of feet. For example, "The Merchant of Venice" is in iambic pentameter, and "The Courtship of Miles Standish" is in dactylic hexameter.

Stanzas.

A stanza is a group of verses, but these verses are not necessarily of the same length. Monometer, dimeter, and trimeter are not often used for a whole stanza; but they are frequently found in a stanza, introducing variety into it. A stanza made up of tetrameter alternating with trimeter is very common. The stanzas from "Annabel Lee" and "The Village Blacksmith," found on pages 278 and 279, are excellent examples.

Scansion.

Scansion is the separation of a verse of poetry into its component feet. Poetry was originally sung or chanted by bards and troubadours. The accompaniment was a simple strumming on a harp of very few strings, and was hardly more than the beating of time. The chanting must have been much like the sing-song that some people fall into when reading verses now. The first thing in scanning a line of poetry is to drop into its rhythm,—to let it sing itself. When the regular accent is felt, the lines can easily be separated into their metrical feet. Read these lines from "Marmion," and mark only the accented syllables.

^ ^ ^ ^ "And there she stood so calm and pale, ^ ^ ^ ^ That but her breathing did not fail, And motion slight of eyes and head, And of her bosom, warranted That neither sense nor pulse she lacks, You might have thought a form of wax Wrought to the very life was there; So still she was, so pale, so fair."

The marked verses have an accented syllable preceded by an unaccented syllable. Such a foot is iambic. There are four feet in each verse; so the poem is written in iambic tetrameter. In the same way, one decides that "The Song of Hiawatha" is written in trochaic tetrameter.

Variations in Metres.

In music the bar or measure is not always filled with exactly the same kind of notes arranged in the same order. If the signature reads 3/8, the measure may be filled by any notes that added together equal three eighth notes. It may be a quarter and an eighth, an eighth and a quarter, a dotted quarter, or three eighth notes. So, in poetry the verses are not always as regular as in "Marmion" and "Hiawatha," although poetry is more regular than music and there are usually few variations of metre in any one poem. A knowledge of the most common forms of variation is necessary to correct scansion.

The commonest variation in verse is the substitution of three eighths for the quarter and the eighth, or the eighth and the quarter. And the very opposite of this often occurs; that is, the substitution of the two-syllable foot for the three-syllable foot. The following, from "The Burial of Sir John Moore," illustrates what is done. Notice, however, that the beat is quite regular, and the lines lilt along as if there were no change.

^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e q e e e e e e "Not a drum was heard, not a fun eral note, ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e e e [e] As his corse to the ram part we hur[ried]; ^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e q e q Not a sol dier discharged his fare well shot ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e e e [e] O'er the grave where our he ro we bur[ied]."

In reading this the first time, a person is not likely to notice that there are three feet in it containing but two syllables. The rhythm is perfectly smooth, and cannot be called irregular. The accent remains on the last syllable of the foot.

In the following selection from "Evangeline," trochees are substituted for dactyls, yet there is no break in the rhythm. It does not seem in the least irregular.

^ ^ ^ q e e e e q e "Be hind them followed the watch-dog, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ q e e e e e e e e e e e e e q e Patient, full of im portance, and grand in the pride of his instinct, Walking from side to side with a lordly air, and superbly Waving his bushy tail, and urging forward the stragglers."

These examples are enough to illustrate the fact that one kind of foot may be substituted for another and not make the rhythm feel irregular. So long as the accent is not changed from the first syllable to the last, or from the last to the first, there is no jar in the flow of the lines. The trochee and the dactyl are interchangeable; and the iambus and the anapest are interchangeable.

We may take a step further. There are many times when some sudden change of thought, some strong emotion forces a poet to break the smooth rhythm, that the verses may harmonize with his feeling. Such a variation is like an exclamation or a dash thrown into prose. The following is taken from "Annabel Lee." The regular foot has the accent on the last syllable. It is anapestic, in tetrameters and trimeters. But note the shudder in the third line when the accent is changed on the word "chilling." The music and the thought are in perfect harmony.

"And this was the reason that, long ago, In this kingdom by the sea, ^ ^ ^ ^ e q e q e e e q e A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee; So that her highborn kinsman came And bore her away from me To shut her up in a sepulchre In this kingdom by the sea."

Another beautiful example is found in the last stanza of the same poem. It is in the first two feet of the fifth line. Here the regular accent has yielded to an accent on the middle syllable and there are two amphibrachs. Notice, too, how it is almost impossible to tell in the next foot whether the accent goes upon the second or upon the third syllable. It is hovering between the form of the first two feet and the anapest of the last foot.

"For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ e e e e e e e e e e e e And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling my darling my life and my bride, In her sepulchre there by the sea In her tomb by the sounding sea."

As has already been said, the iambus is the common foot of English verse. It is made of a short and a long syllable. At the beginning of a poem an unaccented syllable seems weak; and so very frequently the first foot of a poem is trochaic; often the first two or three feet are of this kind. At such a place the irregularity does not strike one. The following is an illustration:—

^ ^ ^ ^ q e e q e q e q "Under a spread ing chest nut tree ^ ^ ^ e q e q e q The vil lage smith y stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands."

In this stanza the prevailing foot is iambic, but the first foot is trochaic. In the following beautiful lines by Ben Jonson, there is the same thing:—

^ ^ ^ ^ q e e q e q e q "Drink to me on ly with thine eyes And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I'll not look for wine. The thirst that from the soul doth rise Doth ask a drink divine; But might I of Jove's nectar sup, I would not change for thine."

A similar substitution may occur in any other verse of the stanza; but we feel the change more than when it is found in the first verse. The second stanza of Jonson's song furnishes an example of the substitution of a trochee for an iambus:—

"I sent thee late a rosy wreath, ^ ^ ^ q e e q e e e Not so much hon oring thee As giving it a hope that there It could not withered be, But thou thereon didst only breathe And sent'st it back to me; Since when it grows and smells, I swear, Not of itself, but thee."

Of all the great poets, but few have been such masters of the art of making musical verse as Spenser. The following stanza is from "The Faerie Queene;" and the delicate changes from one foot to another are so skillfully made that one has to look twice before he finds them.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ "A little lowly hermitage it was, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Down in a dale, hard by a forest's side, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Far from resort of people that did pass ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ In travel to and fro; a little wide ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ There was a holy chapel edified, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Wherein a hermit duly wont to say ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ His holy things each morn and eventide; ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Thereby a crystal stream did gently play, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Which from a sacred fountain welled forth alway."

First and Last Foot.

From the lines on "The Burial of Sir John Moore," another fact about metres may be derived. The second and fourth lines apparently have one too many syllables. This may occur when the accent is upon the last syllable of the foot; that is, when the foot is an iambus or an anapest.

Again, the last foot of each line may be one syllable short. This may occur when the accent is on the first syllable of a foot; that is, when the foot is trochaic or dactylic. The scheme is like this:

^ ^ ^ ^ q e q e q e q e "Tell me not in mournful numbers ^ ^ ^ ^ q e q e q e q r Life is but an empty dream."

The last foot of a verse of poetry, then, may have more or fewer syllables than the regular number; still the foot takes up the regular time and cannot be deemed unrhythmical.

The first foot of a line, too, may contain an extra syllable; a good example has been given in the lines on page 273, beginning,—

"Ah, the autumn days fade out, and the nights grow chill."

And the first foot of a line may lack a syllable, as in the first line of "Break, Break, Break," by Tennyson.

In a line like the following, it is sometimes difficult to tell whether the syllable is omitted from the first or the last foot. If from the first, the verse is iambic, and is scanned like this:—

^ ^ ^ ^ r q e q e q e e e "Proud and low ly, beg gar and lord."

If the last foot is not full, the line is trochaic.

^ ^ ^ ^ q e q e e e e q r "Proud and low ly, beg gar and lord."

Now if the whole of "London Bridge," from which this line is quoted, be read, there will be found several lines that are trochaic beyond question; and the last line of the chorus is iambic. The majority of trochaic lines leads us to decide that the verse is trochaic. From this example one learns to appreciate how nearly alike are trochaic and iambic verses. Both are composed of alternating accented and unaccented syllables; and the kind of metre depends upon which comes first in the foot. In Blake's "Tiger, Tiger," there is not a line that clearly shows what kind of verse the poet used. If the unaccented syllable is supplied at the beginning the poem is iambic; if at the end, it is trochaic.

"Tiger, Tiger, burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Framed thy fearful symmetry?"

Silences may occur in the middle of a verse of poetry as well as at the beginning or the end. In the following nursery rhyme it is clear that the prevailing foot is anapestic, though several feet are iambic, and in the first two lines and the last line a single syllable makes a foot. Silences are introduced here as rests are in music.

r q r q r q "Three blind mice! r q r q e q See how they run! ^ ^ ^ ^ Hurrah, hurrah for the farm er's wife! ^ ^ ^ ^ She cut off their tails with a carv ing knife! ^ ^ ^ ^ Did you ev er see such a sight in your life e q r q r q As three blind mice!"

Like this is the scansion of Tennyson's "Break, Break, Break."

r q r q r q "Break, break, break! On thy cold gray stones, O sea! And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me."

In scanning, then, it is necessary—

First. To determine by reading a number of verses the kind of foot that predominates, and to make this the basis of the metrical scheme.

Second. To remember that one kind of foot may be substituted for another, at the will of the poet, introducing into the poem a delicate variety of rhythm.

Third. To keep in mind that the first foot of a verse and the last foot may have more or fewer syllables than the regular foot of the poem.

Fourth. That silences, like rests in music, may be introduced into a verse and give to it a perfect smoothness of rhythm.

Kinds of Poetry.

It is a difficult thing to give a definition of poetry. Many have done so, yet no one has been fortunate enough to have his definition go without criticism. In general, it may be said that poetry deals with serious subjects, that it appeals to the feelings rather than to the reason, that it employs beautiful language, and that it is written in some metrical form.

Poetry has been divided into three great classes: narrative, lyric, and dramatic.

Narrative poetry deals with events, real or imaginary. It includes, among other varieties, the epic, the metrical romance, the tale, and the ballad.

The epic is a narrative poem of elevated character telling generally of the exploits of heroes. The "Iliad" of the Greeks, the "Aeneid" of the Romans, the "Nibelungen Lied" of the Germans, "Beowulf" of the Anglo-Saxons, and "Paradise Lost" are good examples of the epic.

The metrical romance is any fictitious narrative of heroic, marvelous, or supernatural incidents derived from history or legend, and told at considerable length. "The Idylls of the King" are romances.

The tale is but little different from the romance. It leaves the field of legend and occupies the place in poetry that a story or a novel does in prose. "Marmion" and "Enoch Arden" are tales.

A ballad is a short narrative poem, generally rehearsing but one incident. It is usually vigorous in style, and gives but little thought to elegance. "Sir Patrick Spens," "The Battle of Otterburne," and "Chevy Chase" are examples.

Lyric poetry finds its source in the author's feelings and emotions. In this it differs from narrative poems, which find their material in external events and circumstances. Epic poetry is written in a grand style, generally in pentameter, or hexameter; while the lyric adopts any verse that suits the emotion. The principal classes of lyric poetry are the song, the ode, the elegy, and the sonnet.

The song is a short poem intended to be sung. It has great variety of metres and is generally divided into stanzas. "Sweet and Low," "Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon," "John Anderson, My Jo, John," are songs.

An ode is a lyric expressing exalted emotion; it usually has a complex and irregular metrical form. Collins's "The Passions," Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality," and Lowell's "Commemoration Ode," are well known.

An elegy is a serious poem pervaded by a feeling of melancholy. It is generally written to commemorate the death of some friend. Milton's "Lycidas" and Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" are examples of this form of lyric.

A sonnet is a lyric that deals with a single thought, idea, or sentiment in a fixed metrical form. The sonnet always contains fourteen lines. It has, too, a very definite rhyme scheme. Some of the best English sonnets have been written by Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Mrs. Browning.

Dramatic poetry presents a course of human events, and is generally designed to be spoken on the stage. Because such poetry presents human character in action, the term "dramatic" has come to be applied to any poetry having this quality. Many of Browning's poems are dramatic in this sense. In the first sense of the word, dramatic poetry includes tragedy and comedy.

Tragedy is a drama in which the diction is dignified, the movement impressive, and the ending unhappy.

Comedy is a drama of a light and amusing character, with a happy conclusion to its plot.

Exercises in Metres.

Enough of each poem is given below so that the kind of metre can be determined. Always name the verse form and write the verse scheme. Some hard work will be necessary to work out the irregular lines, but it is only by work on these that any ability in scanning can be gained. Always read a stanza two or three times to get the swing of the rhythm. Remember the silences, and the substitutions that may be made.

1. "I stood on the bridge at midnight As the clocks were striking the hour, And the moon rose over the city, Behind the dark church tower.

"Among the long black rafters The wavering shadows lay, And the current that came from the ocean Seemed to lift and bear them away."

2. "All things are new;—the buds, the leaves, That gild the elm-tree's nodding crest, And even the nest beneath the eaves;— There are no birds in last year's nest!"

3. "Meanwhile we did our nightly chores,— Brought in the wood from out of doors, Littered the stalls, and from the mows Raked down the herd's-grass for the cows; Heard the horse whinnying for his corn; And, sharply clashing horn on horn, Impatient down the stanchion rows The cattle shake their walnut bows; While, peering from his early perch Upon the scaffold's pole of birch, The cock his crested helmet bent And down his querulous challenge sent."

4. "You know, we French stormed Ratisbon: A mile or so away, On a little mound, Napoleon Stood on our storming day; With neck out-thrust, you fancy how, Legs wide, arms locked behind, As if to balance the prone brow Oppressive with its mind."

5. "Come, read to me some poem, Some simple and heartfelt lay, That shall soothe this restless feeling, And banish the thoughts of day.

"Not from the grand old masters, Not from the bards sublime, Whose distant footsteps echo Through the corridors of Time.

"For, like strains of martial music, Their mighty thoughts suggest Life's endless toil and endeavor; And to-night I long for rest.

"Read from some humbler poet Whose songs gushed from his heart, As showers from the clouds of summer, Or tears from the eyelids start;

"Who through long days of labor, And nights devoid of ease, Still heard in his soul the music Of the wonderful melodies."

6. "Hickory, dickery, dock, The mouse ran up the clock; The clock struck one, And the mouse ran down; Hickory, dickery, dock."

7. "Two brothers had the maiden, and she thought, Within herself: 'I would I were like them; For then I might go forth alone, to trace The mighty rivers downward to the sea, And upward to the brooks that, through the year, Prattle to the cool valleys. I would know What races drink their waters; how their chiefs Bear rule, and how men worship there, and how They build, and to what quaint device they frame, Where sea and river meet, their stately ships; What flowers are in their gardens, and what trees Bear fruit within their orchards; in what garb Their bowmen meet on holidays, and how Their maidens bind the waist and braid the hair.'"

(In this quotation we have blank verse; that is, verse that does not rhyme. It is iambic pentameter,—the most common verse in great English poetry. What poems are you familiar with that use this verse-form?)

8. "A wet sheet and a flowing sea, A wind that follows fast And fills the rustling sails And bends the gallant mast; And bends the gallant mast, my boys, While like the eagle free Away the good ship flies, and leaves Old England on the lee.

"O for a soft and gentle wind; I heard a fair one cry; But give to me the snoring breeze And white waves heaving high; And white waves heaving high, my lads, The good ship tight and free— The world of waters is our home, And merry men are we.

"There's tempest in yon horned moon, And lightning in yon cloud; But hark the music, mariners! The wind is piping loud; The wind is piping loud, my boys, The lightning flashes free— While the hollow oak our palace is, Our heritage the sea."

9. "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door— ''T is some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door— Only this, and nothing more.'"

10. "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country-seat, Across its antique portico Tall poplar trees their shadows throw; And from its station in the hall An ancient timepiece says to all,— 'Forever—never! Never—forever!'"

11. "Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year."

12. "Sweet and low, sweet and low, Wind of the western sea, Low, low, breathe and blow, Wind of the western sea! Over the rolling waters go, Come from the dying moon, and blow, Blow him again to me; While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps.

"Sleep and rest, sleep and rest, Father will come to thee soon; Rest, rest, on mother's breast, Father will come to thee soon; Father will come to his babe in the nest— Silver sails all out of the west Under the silver moon: Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep."

13. "See what a lovely shell, Small and pure as a pearl, Lying close to my foot, Frail, but a work divine, Made so fairily well With delicate spire and whorl, How exquisitely minute, A miracle of design!"

(If the pupils have Palgrave's "Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics," they have a great fund of excellent material illustrating all varieties of metrical variation. There are very few pieces of literature that illustrate so many varieties of metre as Wordsworth's "Ode on the Intimations of Immortality.")

* * * * *

APPENDIX

A. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS.

The Course of Study on pages xx-xxvi contemplates five days a week for the study of English. The text which is to be the subject of the term's work should first be studied for a few weeks. After it has been mastered, three days of each week should be given to literature and two to composition. In practice I have found it best to have the study of literature occupy three consecutive days,—for example, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This arrangement leaves Monday and Friday for composition. Friday is used for the study of the text-book and for general criticism and suggestion. On Monday the compositions should be written in the classroom. To have them so written is, at least during the first year, distinctly better. The first draft of the composition should be brought to class ready for amendment and copying. During the writing the teacher should be among the pupils offering assistance, and insisting upon good penmanship. Care at the beginning will form a habit of neatness, and keep the penmanship up to a high standard.

The arrangement suggested is only one plan. This works well. Many others may be adopted. But no plan should be accepted which makes the number of essays fewer than one a week; nor should the number of days given to literature be smaller than three a week.

During the second year, if the instructor thinks it can be done without loss, the compositions may be written outside of school hours and brought to class on a definite day. A pupil should not be allowed to put off the writing of a composition any more than a lesson in geometry. On Monday of each week a composition should be handed in; irregularity only makes the work displeasing and leads to shirking. Writing out of school gives more time for criticism and study of composition, and during the second year this extra time is much needed.

By the third year the pupils certainly can do the work out of school. As the compositions increase in length, more time will be necessary for their preparation. The teacher should, however, know exactly what progress has been made each week; and by individual criticisms and by wise suggestions she should help the pupil to meet the difficulties of his special case.

In order that the instructor may have time for individual criticism, she should have two periods each day vacant in which to meet pupils for consultation. To make this clear, suppose that a teacher of English has one hundred pupils in her classes. She should have no more, for one hundred essays a week are enough for any person to correct. If there be six recitation periods daily, place twenty-five pupils in each of four sections for the study of literature, composition, and general criticism. This leaves two periods each day to meet individuals, giving ten pupils for each period. These should come on scheduled days, with the same regularity as for class recitation. The pupil's work should have been handed in on the second day before he comes up for consultation, in order that the teacher may be competent to give criticisms of any value. The inspiration of the first reading cannot be depended upon to suggest any help, nor is there time for such a reading during the recitation.

There will be need of class recitation in argument. Ten days or two weeks are all that is necessary for text-book work. This should be done before pupils read the "Conciliation." In the reading constantly keep before the pupils the methods of the author.

Every teacher should be able to do what she asks of the pupils. No person would dare to offer herself as a teacher of Latin or algebra until she could write all the translations of the one and solve all the problems of the other. Yet there are persons who have the audacity to offer their services as teachers of English, when they cannot write a letter correctly, to say nothing of a more formal piece of composition. If an instructor in physics, who had asked his pupils to solve a problem in electricity, should say to each unfortunate person as he handed in his solution, "No, that isn't right; you'll have to try again," without offering any help or suggestion, and should continue this discouraging process until some bright pupil worked it out, or perhaps some one guessed it, we should say that such a person was no instructor at all. We might go so far as to question his intellectual competency. We certainly should think him quite deserving of dismissal. Still many teachers of English do nothing more than say, "It isn't right. Make it so." If the teacher does not know how to do the thing she asks the pupils to do, she should not be teaching. And even when she can do it, she will often benefit herself and the pupils by actually writing the composition. In this way not only does she gain command of her own powers of expression, but she finds out the difficulties with which the pupils have to contend. Every teacher of English composition should be able to do some creditable work in English; and every teacher of English should put this talent into actual use.

Numerous examples of correct paragraphs, well-made sentences, and apt words have not been included in the text. They have been omitted because they can be found in the literature study. It is better for pupils to find these for themselves. It will put them in the way of reading with the senses always alert for something good; and all good paragraphs and sentences lose something of their beautiful adaptation when torn from the place of their birth and growth.

So, too, there are no long lists of errors. One hundred pupils in a term make enough to fill a volume. When a teacher knows that Sentences is to be her next subject she should begin three months in advance to get a good collection of specimens. These should be classified so that they may be most usable. By the time the class comes to the study of Sentences some new, live material will be on hand for illustration.

In the pupils' exercises each week those errors should be singled out and dwelt upon which are the special subject of text-book work. If the pupils are studying Coherence in sentence structure, select all violations of this principle in the week's exercises, and by means of them nail that one principle down instead of trying to lay down the whole set of principles given in the chapter on Sentences. Alongside of this collection of mistakes in Coherence of sentences show the pupils the best examples of tight-jointed sentences to be found in the literature they are studying. Point out how these sentences have been made to hold together, and how their own shambling creations can be corrected.

Some teachers will fear the amount of literature required. It may seem large, especially in the first two years. It certainly would be quite impossible to read aloud in class all of this. However, that is not intended. There would be but sorry progress either in the course of study or in the power to analyze literature if the class time were taken up with oral reading of narration and description. The whole of a short story or one or two chapters of a novel are not too much for a lesson. The discussion of the meaning and the method of the author should take up the largest part of the time. Then such portions should be read aloud as are especially suited to an exercise in oral reading. In this way the apparently large list will be easily covered within the time.

Moreover, there is distinct gain in reading much. If only three or four pages be given for a lesson, the study of literature degenerates into a study of words. A study of words is necessary, but it is only a part of the study of literature. Such a method of study gives the pupil no sense of values. He does not get out into the wide spaces of the author's thought, but is eternally hedged about by the dwarfing barriers of etymology and grammar.

B. THE FORM OF A COMPOSITION.

THE MARGIN. It is the custom to leave a margin of about an inch at the left side of the page. In this margin the corrections should be written, not in the composition. There should be no margin at the right. The device of writing incomplete lines, or of making each sentence a paragraph, is sometimes adopted by young persons in the hope of deceiving the teacher as to the length of the composition. Remember that pages do not count for literature any more than yards of hideous advertising boards count as art. Write a full page with a straight-lined margin at the left.

INDENTION. To designate the beginning of a new paragraph, it is customary to have the first line begin an inch farther in than the other lines. This indention of the margin and the incomplete line at the end mark the visible limits of the paragraph.

THE HEADING. The heading or title of the composition should be written about an inch and a half from the top of the page, and well placed in the middle from left to right. There should be a blank line between the title and the beginning of the composition. Some persons prefer, in addition to the title, the name of the writer and the date of writing,—an unnecessary addition, it seems to me. If they are to appear, the name should be at the left and the date at the right, both on one line. The title will be on the next line below.

Jay Phillips. Jan. 27, 1900.

The Circus-Man's Story.

"There was once an old man whom they called a wizard, and who lived in a great cave by the sea and raised dragons. Now when I was a very little boy, I had read a great deal about this old man and felt as if he were quite a friend of mine. I had planned for a long time to pay him a visit, although I had not decided just when I should start. But the day Jim White's father brought him that camel, I was crazy to be after my dragon at once.

"When bedtime came, I had made all my plans; and scarcely had Nurse turned her back when I was on my way. It was really very far, but I traveled so swiftly that I arrived in a remarkably short time at the wizard's house. When I rapped, he opened the door and asked me in.

"'I came to see if you had any dragons left,' I told him. 'I should like a very good, gentle dragon,' I added, 'that would not scare Nurse; and if it is isn't too much trouble, I should want one that I could ride.'"

THE INDORSEMENT. When the composition is finished, it should be folded but once up and down the middle of the page. The indorsement upon the back is generally written toward the edges of the leaves, not toward the folded edge. I prefer the other way, however; and for this reason. If in a bunch of essays a teacher is searching for a particular one, she generally holds them in the left hand and with the fingers of the right lifts one essay after another. Indorsing toward the folded edge insures lifting a whole essay every time; while if the edges of the leaves be toward the right hand, too many or too few may be lifted.

The indorsement should contain: first, the name of the writer; second, the term and period of his recitation; third, the title of the essay; and fourth, the date. In describing the class and period, it is well to use a Roman numeral for the term, counting two terms in each year, and an Arabic numeral to denote the period of his recitation.

============================= Jay Phillips. II, 3. The Circus-Man's Story. Jan. 27, 1900. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PENMANSHIP. The penmanship should be neat and legible. Not all persons can write elegantly; but all can write so that their work can be easily read, and all can make a clean page. Scribbling is due to carelessness. A scribbled page points to a scribbling mind; clean-cut handwriting, perhaps not Spencerian, but a clear, legible handwriting is not only an indication of clear-cut thinking but a means and promoter of accurate thought. Moreover, as a business proposition, one cannot afford to become a slovenly penman. Every composition should be a lesson in penmanship, and by so much improve one's chances in the business world. And last, the teacher who has to read and correct the compositions of from one hundred to two hundred persons each week demands some consideration. No one but a teacher knows the drudgery of this work; it can be much lightened if each pupil writes so that the composition can be read without difficulty. By doing this, the pupil is sure of better criticism; for the teacher can give all her attention to the composition, none being demanded for the penmanship.

C. MARKS FOR CORRECTION OF COMPOSITIONS.

In correcting compositions certain abbreviations will save a teacher much time. Some of the common ones are given below. Underscore the element that needs correcting, and put the abbreviation in the margin. In case the whole paragraph needs remodeling, draw a line at its side and note the correction in the margin.

Cap. Use a capital letter. l. c. Use a small letter. D. See the dictionary for the correct use of the word. Sp. Spelling. Gr. A mistake in grammatical use of language. Cnst. The construction of the sentence is awkward or unidiomatic. Cl. Not clear. The remedy may be suggested by reference to certain pages of the text. W. Weak. As above, point out the trouble by a page reference. Rep. Repetition is monotonous; or it may be necessary for clearness. p. Punctuation. Cond. Condense. Exp. Expand. Tr. Transpose. ? Some fault not designated. It is well to use page reference. P Make a new paragraph. No P Unite into one paragraph. [Greek lower-case delta] Cut out. ^ There is something omitted.

[Transcriber's note: The paragraph symbol cannot be displayed with ascii characters. It is best described as a reversed "P" with two vertical lines. We have substituted an upper case "P".]

In addition to the above very common corrections, many others should be made. Instead of abbreviations, it will be better to refer the pupil to the page of the book which treats of the special fault. For instance, if there be an unexpected change of construction, underscore it, and write in the margin "226;" on this page is found "parallel construction" of sentences. It may be well to use the letters U., C., and M., in connection with the page numbers to indicate that the fault is in the unity, coherence, or mass of the element to be corrected. The constant reference to the fuller statement of the principles violated will serve to fix them in the mind.

D. PUNCTUATION.

Punctuation seeks to do for written composition what inflections and pauses accomplish in vocal expression. It makes clear what kind of an expression the whole sentence is: whether declarative, exclamatory, or interrogative. And it assists in indicating the relations of the different parts within a sentence. While there is practically uniformity in the method of punctuation at the end of a sentence, within a sentence punctuation shows much variety of method. Where one person uses a comma, another inserts a semicolon; and where one finds a semicolon sufficient, another requires a colon. It should be remembered that the parts of a sentence have not equal rank; and that the difference in rank should, as far as possible, be indicated by the marks of punctuation. Keeping in mind, also, the fact that the internal marks of punctuation,—the colon, the semicolon, and the comma,—have a rank in the order mentioned, from the greatest to the least, a writer will use the stronger marks when the rank of the parts of a sentence demands them, and the weaker marks to separate the lesser elements of the sentence. The sentences below illustrate the variety which may be practiced, and the use of punctuation to show the relation and rank of the elements of a sentence.

1. Internal punctuation is largely a matter of taste but there are definite rules for final punctuation.

2. Internal punctuation is largely a matter of taste; there are, however, definite rules for final punctuation.

3. Internal punctuation, the purpose of which is to group phrases and clauses which belong together and to separate those which do not belong together, and to indicate the relative rank of the parts separated, is, to a great extent, a matter of taste: on the other hand, there are definite rules for final punctuation, the object of which is to separate sentences, and also to assist in telling what kind of a sentence precedes it; that is, whether it be declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory.

Looking at the first sentence, we find two elements of equal rank separated by a comma. Some authors would prefer no punctuation at all in a sentence as short as this. Again, if one wished to make the two elements very independent, he would use a semicolon. There would be but little difference in meaning between no punctuation and a comma; but there is a wide difference in meaning between no punctuation and a semicolon. The independence caused by the use of the semicolon is felt in the second sentence, where the words are the same except one. In this sentence a colon might be used; and one might go so far as to make two sentences of it. Notice that in these two sentences the question is how independent you wish the elements to be, and it is also a question of taste. In the third sentence, there are elements of different rank. To indicate the rank, punctuation of different value must be introduced. The two independent elements are separated by a colon. A semicolon might be used, if a semicolon were not used within the second independent element. This renders the greater mark necessary. Look at the commas in the first independent element. The assertion is that "internal punctuation is a matter of taste." This is too sweeping. It is modified by an explanatory phrase, "to a large extent;" and this phrase is inclosed by commas. Moreover, the long clause indicating the purpose of internal punctuation is inclosed by commas. The use of a semicolon in the second part falls under the third rule for the semicolon. If one should substitute for this semicolon a comma and a dash, he could use a semicolon instead of a colon for separating the two main divisions of the sentence. However, the method in which they are first punctuated is in accord with the rules generally accepted. The simplest of these rules are given below but one must never be surprised to find a piece of literature in which the internal punctuation is at variance with these rules.

CAPITAL LETTERS.

1. A capital letter begins every new sentence.

2. A capital letter begins every line of poetry.

3. All names of Deity begin with a capital letter.

4. All proper names begin with capital letters.

5. All adjectives derived from proper nouns begin with capital letters.

6. The first word of every direct quotation begins with a capital letter.

7. Most abbreviations use capital letters.

COMMAS.

8. A series of words or a series of phrases, performing similar functions in a sentence, are separated from each other by commas, unless all the connectives are expressed.

"Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low,—an excellent thing in woman."

"Good my lord, You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I Return those duties back as are right fit, Obey you, love you, and most honor you."

But, "shining and tall and fair and straight," because all the connectives are expressed.

9. Words out of their natural order are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.

"To the unlearned, punctuation is a matter of chance."

10. Words and phrases, either explanatory or slightly parenthetical, are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.

"Then poor Cordelia! And yet not so; since, I am sure, my love 's More richer than my tongue."

However when phrases and clauses are quite parenthetic, they are separated from the remainder of the sentence by parentheses, or by commas and dashes. The comma and dash is more common, and generally indicates a lesser independence of the inclosed element.

"Then Miss Gunns smiled stiffly, and thought what a pity it was that these rich country people, who could afford to buy such good clothes (really Miss Nancy's lace and silk were very costly), should be brought up in utter ignorance and vulgarity."

11. The nominative of direct address, and phrases in the nominative absolute construction are cut off by commas.

"Goneril, Our eldest born, speak first."

"The ridges being taken, the troops advanced a thousand yards."

12. Appositive words and phrases are separated from the remainder of the sentence by commas.

"In the early years of this century, such a linen weaver, named Silas Marner, worked at his vocation, in a stone cottage that stood among the nutty hedgerows near the village of Raveloe, and not far from the edge of a deserted stone-pit."

13. When words are omitted, the omission is indicated by the use of a comma.

"Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor; Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despis'd!"

14. A comma is used before a short and informal quotation.

"In the bitterness of his wounded spirit, he said to himself, 'She will cast me off too.'"

15. A comma is used to separate the independent clauses of a compound sentence sufficiently involved to necessitate some mark of punctuation, and yet not involved enough to require marks of different ranks.

"But about the Christmas of the fifteenth year a second great change came over Marner's life, and his history became blent in a singular manner with the life of his neighbors."

6. Small groups of more closely related words are inclosed by commas to indicate their near relation and to separate them from words they might otherwise be thought to modify.

"In this strange world, made a hopeless riddle to him, he might, if he had had a less intense nature, have sat weaving, weaving—looking towards the end of his pattern, or towards the end of his web, till he forgot the riddle, and everything else but his immediate sensations; but the money had come to mark off his weaving into periods, and the money not only grew, but it remained with him."

SEMICOLONS.

17. A semicolon is used to separate the parts of a compound sentence if they are involved, or contain commas. It is also used to give independence to the members of a compound sentence when not very complex.

"The meadow was searched in vain; and he got over the stile into the next field, looking with dying hope towards a small pond which was now reduced to its summer shallowness, so as to leave a wide margin of good adhesive mud."

"As for the child, he would see that it was cared for; he would never forsake it; he would do everything but own it."

18. Semicolons are used to separate a series of clauses in much the same way as commas are used to separate a series of words.

"I love you more than words can wield the matter; Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty; Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare; No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor; As much as child e'er loved, or father found; A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable; Beyond all manner of so much I love thee."

19. A semicolon is generally used to introduce a clause of repetition, a clause stating the obverse, and a clause stating an inference.

(Many examples of the last two rules will be found in the discussion of compound sentences on pages 202, 203.)

COLONS.

20. A colon is used to introduce a formal quotation. It is frequently followed by a dash.

"Under date of November 28, 1860, she wrote to a friend:—

"'I am engaged now in writing a story—the idea of which came to me after our arrival in this house, and which has thrust itself between me and the other book I was meditating. It is Silas Manner, the Weaver of Raveloe.'"

"On the last day of the same year she wrote: 'I am writing a story which came across my other plans by a sudden inspiration, etc.'"

21. A colon is used to introduce a series of particulars, either appositional or explanatory, which the reader has been led to expect by the first clause of the sentence. These particulars are separated from each other by semicolons.

"The study of the principles of composition should include the following subjects: a study of words as to their origin and meaning; a study of the structure of the sentence and of the larger elements of discourse—in other words, of concrete logic; a study of the principles of effective literary composition, as illustrated in the various divisions of literature; and also a study of the aesthetics of literature."

"What John Morley once said of literature as a whole is even more accurate when applied to fiction alone: its purpose is 'to bring sunshine into our hearts and to drive moonshine out of our heads.'"

22. A colon is used to separate the major parts of a very complex and involved sentence, if the major parts, or either of them, contain within themselves semicolons.

"For four years he had thought of Nancy Lammeter, and wooed her with a tacit patient worship, as the woman who made him think of the future with joy: she would be his wife, and would make home lovely to him, as his father's home had never been; and it would be easy, when she was always near, to shake off those foolish habits that were no pleasures, but only a feverish way of annulling vacancy."

23. A colon is sometimes used to mark a strong independence in the parts of a compound sentence.

"He didn't want to give Godfrey that pleasure: he preferred that Master Godfrey should be vexed."

THE DASH.

24. A dash is frequently used with a colon to introduce a formal quotation. The quotation then begins a new paragraph.

(Example under colon.)

25. A dash is used alone or with a comma to inclose a phrase or clause which is parenthetic or explanatory.

"'But as for being ugly, look at me, child, in this silver-colored silk—I told you how it 'ud be—I look as yallow as a daffadil.'"

(Example under comma.)

26. A dash is used to denote a sudden turn of the thought.

"I've no opinion of the men, Miss Gunn—I don't know what you have."

"'It does make her look funny, though—partly like a short-necked bottle wi' a long quill in it."

27. A dash is frequently used when the composition should be interrupted to indicate the intensity of the emotion.

"No—no—I can't part with it, I can't let it go,' said Silas abruptly. 'It's come to me—I've a right to keep it.'"

"And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life! Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more, Never, never, never, never, never!— Pray you, undo this button:—thank you, sir.— Do you see this? Look on her,—look,—her lips,— Look there, look there!"—

28. A dash is sometimes used alone before an appositive phrase or clause.

"For the first time he determined to try the coal-hole—a small closet near the hearth."

PERIOD, EXCLAMATION POINT, INTERROGATION MARK.

29. A period closes every declarative sentence.

30. A period is used after abbreviations.

31. An exclamation point follows an expression of strong emotion.

32. An interrogation mark follows a direct question.

33. An interrogation mark is sometimes used in the body of a sentence, when the writer wishes to make the assertion forceful and uses a rhetorical question for the purpose.

"The shepherd's dog barked fiercely when one of these alien-looking men appeared on the upland, dark against the early winter sunset; for what dog likes a figure bent under a heavy bag?—and these pale men rarely stirred abroad without that mysterious burden."

34. Quotation marks inclose every quotation of the exact words of another. When one quotation is made within another, the inner or secondary quotation is inclosed with single marks, the main or outer quotation is included within the double marks.

(Examples of both may be found above.)

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING PUNCTUATION.

At the time the pupils are studying the rules for punctuation they are reading Hawthorne or some other author equally careful of his punctuation. In his writing they will find numerous examples of the rules for punctuation. Let them take five rules for the comma, finding all the examples in five pages of text. In the same way furnish semicolons, colons, and dashes. When the rules have all been learned, they should be able to give the reason for every mark they find in literature. Next place upon the board paragraphs not punctuated, and have the pupils punctuate them. Remember that there is not absolute uniformity in the use of the comma, semicolon, and colon; though in each author there is a general adherence to the principles he adopts. Punctuation should be consistent. Insist that the pupil punctuate his written work consistently.

E. SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF LITERATURE.[57]

HAWTHORNE . . . . . . . A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. TENNYSON. . . . . . . . Enoch Arden. LONGFELLOW. . . . . . . Tales of a Wayside Inn. WHITTIER. . . . . . . . The Tent on the Beach. MACAULAY. . . . . . . . Lays of Ancient Rome. DICKENS . . . . . . . . A Christmas Carol. KIPLING . . . . . . . . Wee Willie Winkie, and Other Stories. KIPLING . . . . . . . . The Jungle Books. HAWTHORNE . . . . . . . Twice-Told Tales. HAWTHORNE . . . . . . . Mosses from an Old Manse. DICKENS . . . . . . . . The Cricket on the Hearth. BROWN . . . . . . . . . Rab and his Friends. OUIDA . . . . . . . . . A Dog of Flanders. HALE. . . . . . . . . . The Man without a Country. DEFOE . . . . . . . . . Robinson Crusoe. POE . . . . . . . . . . The Gold-Bug. SCOTT . . . . . . . . . Marmion. SCOTT . . . . . . . . . The Lady of the Lake. BROWNING. . . . . . . . Herve Riel, an Incident of the French Camp, and other Narrative Poems. FRANKLIN. . . . . . . . Autobiography. COOPER. . . . . . . . . The Last of the Mohicans. LONGFELLOW. . . . . . . Evangeline. LONGFELLOW. . . . . . . Miles Standish. DAVIS . . . . . . . . . Gallegher, and Other Stories. MAUPASSANT. . . . . . . Number Thirteen. MISS WILKINS. . . . . . Short Stories. MISS JEWETT . . . . . . Short Stories. POPE. . . . . . . . . . The Iliad. ALDRICH . . . . . . . . Marjorie Daw. LOWELL. . . . . . . . . The Vision of Sir Launfal, and Other Poems. IRVING. . . . . . . . . Tales of a Traveller. IRVING. . . . . . . . . The Sketch Book. POE . . . . . . . . . . The Fall of the House of Usher. WHITTIER. . . . . . . . Snow-Bound. BURROUGHS . . . . . . . Sharp Eyes; Birds and Bees; Pepacton. GOLDSMITH . . . . . . . The Deserted Village. SCOTT . . . . . . . . . Ivanhoe. DICKENS . . . . . . . . David Copperfield. SHAKESPEARE . . . . . . Julius Caesar. SHAKESPEARE . . . . . . The Merchant of Venice. IRVING. . . . . . . . . Rip Van Winkle. IRVING. . . . . . . . . The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. BRYANT. . . . . . . . . Selected Poems. GRAY. . . . . . . . . . An Elegy in a Country Churchyard. TENNYSON. . . . . . . . The Princess; Idylls of the King. DICKENS . . . . . . . . The Pickwick Papers. BURNS . . . . . . . . . Selected Poems. DRYDEN. . . . . . . . . Alexander's Feast. BYRON . . . . . . . . . Childe Harold. GEORGE ELIOT. . . . . . Silas Marner. COLERIDGE . . . . . . . The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. MACAULAY. . . . . . . . Essay on Milton. RUSKIN. . . . . . . . . Sesame and Lilies. EMERSON . . . . . . . . Friendship; Self-Reliance; Fortune of the Republic; The American Scholar. ARNOLD. . . . . . . . . On the Study of Poetry; Wordsworth and Keats. LOWELL. . . . . . . . . Emerson, the Lecturer; Milton; Books and Libraries. HOLMES. . . . . . . . . The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. ADDISON . . . . . . . . The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. WORDSWORTH. . . . . . . Intimations of Immortality, and Other Poems. KEATS . . . . . . . . . Selected Poems. SHELLEY . . . . . . . . Selected Poems. SHAKESPEARE . . . . . . Macbeth. SHAKESPEARE . . . . . . A Midsummer Night's Dream. SHAKESPEARE . . . . . . As You Like It. WEBSTER . . . . . . . . Bunker Hill Monument Oration; Adams and Jefferson. GOLDSMITH . . . . . . . The Vicar of Wakefield. MILTON. . . . . . . . . L'Allegro; Il Penseroso; Comus; Lycidas. DE QUINCEY. . . . . . . Confessions of an English Opium Eater, and Other Papers. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN . . . Selected Essays. THACKERAY . . . . . . . Henry Esmond. STEVENSON . . . . . . . Virginibus Puerisque. STEVENSON . . . . . . . Memories and Portraits. SCHURZ. . . . . . . . . Abraham Lincoln. GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS . Selected Addresses. CHARLES LAMB. . . . . . Essays of Elia. STEVENSON . . . . . . . Travels with a Donkey. STEVENSON . . . . . . . An Inland Voyage. BURKE . . . . . . . . . Conciliation with the Colonies. LINCOLN . . . . . . . . Cooper Union Address; Gettysburg Speech. CHAUCER . . . . . . . . Prologue, and Two Canterbury Tales. MILTON. . . . . . . . . Paradise Lost, and Sonnets. CARLYLE . . . . . . . . Essay on Burns. TENNYSON. . . . . . . . In Memoriam, and Lyrics. BROWNING. . . . . . . . Rabbi Ben Ezra; Saul; A Grammarian's Funeral. THOREAU . . . . . . . . Walden. AUSTEN. . . . . . . . . Pride and Prejudice. GEORGE ELIOT. . . . . . Romola. SHAKESPEARE . . . . . . King Lear. SHAKESPEARE . . . . . . Hamlet. MACAULAY. . . . . . . . Essay on Johnson. THACKERAY . . . . . . . Vanity Fair. LOWELL. . . . . . . . . Democracy; Lincoln. STEVENSON . . . . . . . Lantern Bearers; A Humble Remonstrance; Gossip about Romance.

* * * * *

INDEX

Abstract vs. concrete, 89, 90.

"Adams and Jefferson," Webster's, quotation from, 176.

Adjectives, 78.

"Alice in Wonderland," a story without facts, 25.

Allegory, 261.

Allusion, 263.

Amphibrach, 273.

Analogy, use of, 137.

Anapest, defined, 273; interchangeable with iambus, 278.

"And," use of, 192.

Andersen, Hans Christian, his "Tannenbaum," 12.

Anecdotes in exposition, 97.

"Annabel Lee," quotations from, 271, 278, 279.

Anti-climax, 210.

Antithesis, 227.

"Apologia," Newman's, quotation from, 160.

Apostrophe, 261.

Argument, 4, 128-137; from cause, 133; sign, 133-137; example, 137.

Arnold, Matthew, quotation from, 159; quotation to illustrate repetition, 167; to illustrate sentence structure, 222.

Arrangement, in narration, 29-32; description, 74, 75; exposition, 108-114; argument, 138-141; sentence, 222, 223.

Association of ideas, 103.

"Autumn Effect, An," quotation from, 17.

"Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," its purpose, 7; beginning, 29; length of sentences in, 33; time for the action, 36.

Balanced sentences, 227, 228.

Ballad, defined, 285.

"Barbara Frietchie," a narrative poem, 4.

Bates, Arlo, quoted, 35.

Beauty, gained by use of figurative language, 258.

Beginning of a story, 29.

Bellamy, Edward, his "Looking Backward," 7.

"Biglow Papers," quotation from, 51.

"Birthmark," Hawthorne's, 24.

Blake, William, "Tiger, Tiger," quoted, 282, 283.

"Bonnie Brier Bush, Beside the," 25.

Bookish words, 242.

"Break, Break, Break," quotation from, 283.

"Bridge of Sighs, The," quotation from, 270.

Brief in argument, 138, 139.

Browning, Robert, vivid narration of, 23.

"Burial of Sir John Moore, The," quotation from, 277.

Burke, Edmund, quotation from his speech on "Conciliation with the Colonies," 116; that speech analyzed, 142-147; quotations to illustrate paragraph structure, 171, 175, 177, 188; quotations to show sentence structure, 200, 209, 214, 226.

Burroughs, John, his knowledge of his field, 9; quotations from, 158, 160.

"But," use of, 192.

Capital letters, 303.

Cause and effect, 133-136.

Characters, number of, 35.

Chaucer, Geoffrey, quotation from, 245.

Choice of subject, 8-12.

Choice of words, 78-80, 239-255.

"Cinderella," 12.

Clearness and coherence, 180-193, 224, 225.

Clearness gained by use of figurative language, 258.

Climax, 139-141, 211, 218; defined, 262.

Coherence, 20; in narration, 31, 32; in description, 74, 75; in exposition, 116-118; in paragraphs, 180-193; in sentences, 224, 225.

Colons, 306, 307.

Comedy, 286.

Commas, 303, 304.

Comparisons, use of, 77, 98; paragraph of, 165; confusion of, 259.

Composition, 1; oral and written, 2; conventions of, 2.

"Conciliation with the Colonies," Burke's speech on, quoted, 116, 171, 175, 177, 188, 214, 226; analyzed, 142-147.

Conclusion of a story, 23.

Concrete facts, use of, 89, 90.

Conjunctions, use of, 190, 191.

Connectives in sentences, 228, 229.

Consistency, 25.

Cooke, Josiah P., his essay on "Fire," 8.

"Copyright," quotations from Macaulay's speech on, 159, 172.

Correction, marks for, 300.

Curtis, George William, quoted, 111.

Dactyl, defined, 272; interchangeable with trochee, 278.

"Daisy, The," Wordsworth's quotation from, 274.

"Darkness and Dawn," 8.

Dash, 307, 308.

"David Copperfield," description quoted from, 65.

"David Harum," its construction criticised, 22.

Davis, Richard Harding, small number of characters in his books, 35; simple plot in his "Gallegher," 36.

Deduction, 129.

Definition, a, 91-94.

Description, 4, 49-80; an aid to narration, 34; and exposition, 91.

Description and painting, 50.

Details, in narration, 22-25; paragraph of, 163.

Dickens, Charles, his "Nicholas Nickleby" as an exposition, 5; description from his "David Copperfield" quoted, 65; quotations from Mr. Micawber's conversation, 253.

Dictionary, use of, 237.

Differentia, 92, 93.

Digression, 22.

Dimeter, 274.

Discourse, forms of, 3-7.

"Discussions and Arguments," Newman's, quotation from, 97.

Dramatic poetry, 286.

Dynamic point of sentence, 221.

Elegy, the, 285.

Eliot, George, her "Silas Marner," 13; quotation from, 152-156.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, primarily an essayist, 9.

Emotional statement, 115.

Emphasis, how secured, 110-112, 115, 116, 217-219.

End of a paragraph, 175-179; of a sentence, 208-212.

"English Composition," Wendell's, quotation from, 94.

Enthymeme, 130.

Enumeration vs. suggestion, 52.

Enumerative description, 54.

Epic, the, 284.

Epithet, 260.

"Evangeline," quotation from, 277, 278.

Events, order of, 29, 30.

Everett, Edward, description from, quoted, 71.

Examples, paragraph of, 171.

Exclamation, 262.

Exclamation point, 308.

Exclusion of details, 22, 23, 26.

Exposition, 4, 89-120; and description, 91.

Facts in stories, 25.

"Faerie Queene, The," quotation from, 281.

"Fall of the House of Usher, The," descriptions in, 34; quotation from, 69, 71.

Familiar images, 76.

Farrar, Canon, as a writer of sermons, 8.

"Feathertop," 13.

Figurative language, 257; value of, 258.

Figures of speech, 77, 250, 257-268.

Fine writing, 253.

"First Snow-Fall, The," quotation from, 274.

Fiske, John, his "History of the United States," 25.

Foot, a, in poetry, 272; one kind may be substituted for another, 277-281; first and last foot of a verse may be irregular, 281, 282.

Force, gained by use of figurative language, 258.

Foreign words, 243.

Francis I. quoted, 113.

"Function of Criticism at the Present Time," Arnold's, quotation from, 222.

"Gallegher," simple plot of, 36.

General terms, 89, 248-252.

Genung, J. F., on paragraph structure, 162.

Genus and differentia, 92, 93.

"Gold Bug," length of sentences in, 33.

Good usage, 222, 223, 239-245.

Grant, U. S., his "Memoirs" have no plot, 16.

Hackneyed phrases, 253.

Haggard, Rider, 12.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, a story writer, 9; his "Feathertop," 13; his descriptions in "The Marble Faun," 34; quoted, 50; quotations from, about "The Old Manse," 58, 59; descriptions from his "House of the Seven Gables" quoted, 66; from "The Old Apple Dealer," 67.

Heading of essay, 297.

Heptameter, 275.

"Herve Riel" as a piece of narrative, 23.

Hexameter, 275.

"Hiawatha," quotation from, 270.

"Historical Sketches," Newman's, quotation from, 52-54.

Hood, Thomas, "The Bridge of Sighs" quoted, 270.

"House of the Seven Gables," descriptions quoted from, 66.

Hugo, Victor, his description of Waterloo quoted, 67.

Huxley, Thomas, example of his use of comparison, 98; quotation from, to illustrate paragraph structure, 161.

Hyperbole, 263.

Iambus, defined, 272; the common foot of English verse, 272, 279; interchangeable with anapest, 278.

"Idea of a University," quotations from, 95, 171, 193, 203, 210, 247.

Illustrations, their value, 97.

"Impressions de Theatre," quotation from, 63.

"Incident of a French Camp, An," as an example of a short story, 23.

Incident, the main, 20, 21.

Incidents, order of, 29, 30.

Inclusion of material, 24.

Indention of paragraph, 297.

Individual arrangement of paragraph, 181-188.

Individuality of author, 8.

Indorsement of essay, 298.

Induction, 128, 132.

Interest, 11, 12.

Interrogation, 262.

Interrogation point, 308.

Introduction of story, 23.

Inversion, 262.

Irony, 262.

Irrelevant matter, 22, 23.

Irving, Washington, as a story writer in the third person, 27; description from, quoted, 54; short characterization quoted, 70; description of a coachman quoted, 75; quotations to illustrate paragraph structure, 164, 183; to illustrate sentence construction, 202, 203, 219, 220, 229.

Jonson, Ben, quotation from, 280.

"Jungle Books," 12; quotation from, 78.

"Kidnapped," quotations from, 15, 165; its unity, 27.

"King Lear," its plot, 16; quotation from, 60.

Kingsley, Charles, "The Three Fishers" quoted, 271.

Kipling, Rudyard, his "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," 7; his "Jungle Books," 12; his use of climax, 21; as a story-teller, 22, 27; small number of characters in his stories, 35; quotation from his "Light that Failed," 60; description quoted from his "Jungle Books," 78; quotation to illustrate sentence construction, 201; his "L'Envoi" quoted, 252.

"Lady of the Lake, The," quotation from, 269.

Language vs. painting, 49-52.

Lanier, Sidney, "The Science of English Verse," cited, 269; quoted, 273.

Latin words, 245-248.

Le Gallienne, Richard, his essay on pigs, 10; quoted, 257.

"Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The," 27, 29; description in, 34; quotation from to show paragraph structure, 163, 183; to show sentence structure, 202, 219.

Lemaitre, Jules, criticism of Zola quoted, 63.

Length, of a description, 63, 64; of a paragraph, 151-156; of a sentence, 178, 179, 204, 205.

"L'Envoi" to "The Seven Seas," quoted, 252.

"Les Miserables," its intricate plot, 16; quotation from, 67.

"Light that Failed, The," quotation from, 60.

"Little Dorrit," large number of characters in, 35.

"Little Red Riding Hood," 12.

Logical definition, 91.

"London Bridge," quotation from, 282.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, "Hiawatha" quoted, 270; "Evangeline" quoted, 277, 278; "The Village Blacksmith" quoted, 279, 280.

"Looking Backward," as a novel with a purpose, 7.

Loose sentences, 212, 214, 215.

Lovelace, Richard, quoted, 112.

Lowell, James Russell, his "Sir Launfal," 13; quotation from "Biglow Papers," 51; from a "Song," 52; from "To W. L. Garrison," 89; from "The First Snow-Fall," 274.

Lyric poetry, 285.

Lytton, Lord, quotation from, 241.

Macaulay, Lord, quotation on Milton from, 96; quotation to illustrate comparison, 98; his essay on "Milton" analyzed, 106; last sentence of that essay quoted, 111; that essay as an example of proportion in treatment, 114; his denunciation of Charles I. quoted, 115; further quotations from his "Milton," 117; his speeches on "Copyright" and the "Reform Bill" quoted, 159, 172, 193; quotations from the "Milton" to illustrate paragraph structure, 164, 166, 168, 178, 182, 184.

"Macbeth," 13.

Maclaren, Ian, 25.

Main incident, 20-26.

Major term, 129.

"Marble Faun, The," description in, 34.

Margin of composition, 296.

"Marmion," 27, 29; quoted, 276.

Mass, 20; in description, 64-75; in exposition, 108-114; in paragraphs, 174-178; in sentences, 207-212.