A COURSE OF STUDY IN LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

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W. F. Webster

The Course of Study which follows is presented, not because it is better than many others which might be made. For the purposes of this book it was necessary that some course be adopted as the basis of the text. The principles which guided in arranging this course I believe are sound; but the preferences of teachers and the peculiarities of environment will often make it wise to use other selections from literature. Of this a large “supplementary list” is given at the back of the book.

It is now a generally accepted truth that the study of English should continue through the four years of a high-school course. The division of time that seems best is to take Narration and Description in the first year. In connection with Description, Figures of Speech should be studied. The next year, Exposition and Paragraphs form the major part of the work. This may be pleasantly broken by a study of Poetry, following the outline in the chapter on Verse Forms. In the third year, while the work in literature is mainly the Novel and the Drama, Sentences and Words should be studied in composition, with a review of the chapters on Narration and Description. Towards the close of the year, Exposition should be reviewed and the study of Argument taken up. The fourth year should be devoted to the study of such College Requirements as have not been taken in the course, and to the study of the History of English Literature as given in some good text book.

In some instances, it will be found impossible to give so much time to the study of English. In such cases, the amount of literature to be studied should be decreased, and the work in the text book should be more rapidly done. The sequence of the parts should remain the same, but the time should be modified to suit the needs of any special environment.

xx

NARRATION.

Composition.

To give Spontaneity.

  1. External Form of Composition (p. 296).
  2. Marks for the Correction of Compositions (p. 300).
  3. Simple Rules for Punctuation (pp. 301-309).
  4. Forms of Discourse. Definitions (pp. 1-7).
  5. Choice of Subject (pp. 8-12).
  6. Study of Narration (pp. 13-48).
    1. Definition and General Discussion.
    2. Narration without Plot.
      Interest the Essential Feature.
    3. Narration with Plot.
      1. Selection of Main Incident of first Importance.
        It gives to the story
         Unity,
        ridding it of
         Long Introductions and Conclusions,
         Tedious Enumerations, and
         Irrelevant Details.
      2. Arrangement of Material.
        Close of Story contains Main Incident.
        Opening of Story contains Characters, Place, and Time.
        Incidents generally follow in Order of Time.
      3. Movement.
      4. Use of Description in Narration.
      5. Some General Considerations.

Literature.

The Great Stone Face, The Gentle Boy, The Gray Champion, Roger Malvin’s Burial, and other Stories. Hawthorne.

Tales of a Wayside Inn. Longfellow.

The Gold Bug. Poe.

xxi Marmion, or The Lady of the Lake. Scott.

A Christmas Carol, or The Cricket on the Hearth. Dickens.

The Vision of Sir Launfal, and other Narrative Poems. Lowell.

An Incident of the French Camp, HervÉ Riel, The Pied Piper, How they brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix. Browning.

Meaning of the Author, calling for
A Study of Words.
Outline of Story.
Turning Points in the Story.
Central Idea, or Purpose of the Story.

Method of the Author.
Is there a Main Incident?
Do all other Incidents converge to it?
Is the Order a Sequence of Time alone?
Is the Interest centred in Characters or Plot?

Style of the Author.
Compare the Works of the Author.

DESCRIPTION.

Composition.

To secure Accuracy of Expression (pp. 49-88).

  1. Definition and General Discussion.
    Difficulties in Language as a Means of Picturing.
    Value of Observation.
  2. Structure of Whole.
    1. To secure Unity.
      Select a Point of View.
    2. To secure Coherence.
      Arrange Details in Natural Order.
    3. To secure Emphasis.
      Arrange and proportion Treatment to effect your Purpose.
  3. xxiiParagraph Structure.
    Definition.
    Length of Paragraphs.
    Development of Paragraphs.
  4. Words.
    Specific rather than General.
    Adjectives, Nouns, and Verbs.
  5. Figures Of Speech (pp. 257-268).
    Based on Likeness.
    Based on Sentence Structure.
    Miscellaneous Figures.

Literature.

The Old Manse, The Old Apple Dealer. Hawthorne.

An Indian-Summer Reverie, The Dandelion, The Birch, The Oak, and other Descriptive Poems. Lowell.

The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Selections from the Sketch Book. Irving.

Selections from Childe Harold. Byron.

The Deserted Village. Goldsmith.

Julius CÆsar. Shakespeare.

Poems selected from Palgrave’s Golden Treasury.

Meaning of the Author (as under Narration).

Method of the Author.
Does the Author keep his Point of View?
Are the Details arranged in a Natural Order?
Has any Detail a Supreme Importance?
Are the Details treated in Proper Proportion?
Has the Whole a Unity of Effect? Do you see the Picture distinctly?
For what Purpose has the Author used Description?
Does the Author employ Figures?

Style of the Author.

xxiii

EXPOSITION, PARAGRAPHS, VERSE FORMS.

Composition.

To encourage Logical Thinking and Adequate Expression (pp. 89-127).

Exposition.

  1. Definition and General Considerations.
  2. Exposition of Terms. Definition.
  3. Exposition of Propositions.
    1. Clear Statement of the Proposition in a “Key Sentence.”
      This will limit
    2. The Discussion.
      1. What shall be included?
      2. What shall be excluded?
      3. How shall Important Matters be emphasized?
        Mass and Proportion.
         Expansion and Condensation.
         To effect these ends use an
      4. Outline.

Paragraphs (pp. 151-199).

  1. Definition.
  2. Length of Paragraphs.
  3. Development of Paragraphs.
  4. Principles of Structure.
    Unity.
     Mass.
     Coherence.

Verse Forms (pp. 269-291).

Poetry Defined.
Kinds of Feet.
Number of Feet in a Verse.
Substitutions and Rests.
Kinds of Poetry.

xxiv

Literature.

Essay on Milton. Macaulay.

Essay on Addison. Macaulay.

Commemoration Ode. Lowell.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Coleridge.

Intimations of Immortality, and other Poems. Wordsworth.

Selections from Palgrave’s Golden Treasury.

The Bunker Hill Oration, or Adams and Jefferson. Webster.

Sesame and Lilies. Ruskin.

Meaning of the Author.
Outline showing the Main Thesis with the Dependence
of Subordinate Propositions.

Method of the Author.
Does he hold to his Point and so gain Unity
Does he arrange his Material so as to secure Emphasis?
Does one Paragraph grow out of another?
Does each Paragraph treat a Single Topic?
Are the Sentences dovetailed together?
Does the Author use Figures?
Are the Figures Effective?
Are his Words General or Specific?

Style of the Author.
Is it Clear?
Has it Force?
Is the Diction Elegant?
How has he gained these Ends?

SENTENCES, WORDS, ARGUMENT.

Composition.

Sentences (pp. 200-234).

  1. Definition and Classification.
  2. Principles of Structure.
    1. Unity.
    2. Mass.
      1. xxv Prominent Positions in a Sentence.
      2. Periodic Sentences.
      3. Loose Sentences.
    3. Coherence.
      1. Parallel Constructions.
      2. Connectives.

Words (pp. 235-256).

Reputable Words.
Latin or Saxon Words.
General or Specific.
Figures of Speech.
The One Rule for the Use of Words.

Narration and Description Reviewed.

Exposition Reviewed.

Literature.

Argument (pp. 128-150).

  1. Kinds of Argument.
  2. Order of Arguments.
  3. Refutation.

Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. Addison.

The Vicar of Wakefield. Goldsmith.

Silas Marner. Eliot.

Ivanhoe. Scott.

Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare.

Conciliation with the Colonies. Burke.

COMPOSITION.

In the last year of the course, the compositions should be such as will test the maturer powers of the pupil. They should be written under the careful supervision of the teacher. xxvi They should be of all forms of discourse, and the subjects should be drawn from the subjects of study in the high school, especially from the literature.

LITERATURE.

Difficult Selections.

L’Allegro, Il Penseroso, Comus, and Lycidas. Milton.

Paradise Lost. Two Books. Milton.

Essay on Burns. Carlyle.

In Memoriam, The Princess, and other Poems. Tennyson.

Selections. Browning.

Selections. Emerson.

A History of English Literature

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