Gilbert Sykes Blakely

“ Almost any student will read through a play with interest and enthusiasm, if he understands enough to keep the thread of the story. If much textual study is required with the first reading, the interest is weakened; but if the delight of a first reading leads to a second, a study of the text brings new delight, especially if the study is directed to the interpretation of the thought. ”

“ The lyric is a poem which voices the personal feeling, sentiment, or passion of the poet. The poet's feelings are the feelings of human nature, but purified and intensified by his genius. So they are as varied as human nature, but nobler and more beautiful. Lyric poetry, then, appeals to our various moods and often expresses that of which we have been vaguely conscious in ourselves. Sometimes, too, it inspires us to nobler and purer feeling and to higher conceptions of life.
The wise teacher seeks to awaken the interest and arouse the imagination of his pupils. ”

“ A good essay is indirectly valuable in affording illustration of the principles of composition and rhetoric, but it is directly of great value in stimulating thought and broadening the mind. Nowhere, however, is there greater need of a wise plan of work, since the teacher must overcome mental inertia on the part of the pupils, and usually they are not spurred on, as in novel reading, by their interest in the subject itself. ”

“ What qualities do Lady Macbeth and Portia of Belmont have in common, and at what point do their characters diverge? Which of the three required Idylls of the King, viz. Gareth and Lynette, Lancelot and Elaine, The Passing of Arthur, seems to you more beautiful, and why? Compare the life of Goldsmith with that of Dr. Johnson. Which life seems to you the more successful? ”

“ Moreover, the study of the novel is the study of life and character. It is of great human interest, and it may be made an important factor in developing the pupil's ambition, judgment, ideals, and character. Good stories grow in meaning with the growth of mental power. The Iliad and The Odyssey are full of delightful stories for boys and girls, but these same stories, securely fixed in the youthful mind, gain a deeper meaning from experience as the child develops into the man or the woman. Furthermore, interest in a good story leads to other interests. ”

“ The teacher must try to put himself into the attitude of a child and read the poem several times until the vividness of the pictures and the beauty of the language have captivated his imagination. Then he must attempt to put his pupils into the same frame of mind. At this point it is helpful to discuss the differences between prose and poetry, the beauty or horror of a vivid dream, and the real truth that often underlies a fairy story or a dream story. ”

“ Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great empire and little minds go ill together. If we are conscious of our station, and glow with zeal to fill our places as becomes our situation and ourselves, we ought to auspicate all our public proceedings on America with the old warning of the church, Sursum corda! ”

“ Carlyle in his Essay on Burns takes for granted the reader's familiarity with the poetry of Burns and the facts of his life, while probably only a few of the pupils who come to the study of this essay have more than a scanty knowledge of either of these subjects. It remains for the teacher, then, to select the most important facts and to bring them before the class by various means as fully as the time will permit, remembering in the choice and [Pg 88] presentation of subjects that it is of the utmost importance to get the student to approach the new book with interest and enthusiasm. ”

“ As a rule, the limitations of time make it impossible thoroughly to investigate many lines of study, and the teacher naturally follows his own taste in making selections.
Now the average high school student has limitations which we are bound to recognize. Accustomed as he is to reading fiction where description and explanation are [Pg 64] frequently used to aid the imagination and the understanding, he fails to appreciate the situations in a drama and the motives for the actions. Again, there are considerable difficulties of language which must be overcome by persistent work. ”

“ The content is still the important feature, but form demands far more attention than it does in prose. More care must be given to the first and second readings of a poem than of a novel, since certain difficulties of form and language cannot so readily be left to the student himself to master.
The comprehensive study will follow the same lines as in the prose narrative;—setting, plot, characters, central idea, and form. Before beginning certain poems, the teacher should bring up briefly some preliminary [Pg 32] topics for the purpose of interesting the class in what they are about to study. ”

“ The study of meter will be slight, and of language and grammar only enough for an understanding of the thought; while the study of structure, textual changes, development of Shakespeare's art, date of publication, etc., will be left out entirely. On the other hand, the needs of a fourth [Pg 65] year class would require a considerably different treatment of this same play. It may seem trite to say that the wisest plan is that which keeps the pupil interested in reading and re-reading the text. The more he reads the more he understands, and the more he understands the more he delights to read. ”

“ The fact that it is difficult leads the teacher to exercise great care in planning his work, especially in the matters that he presents to his class in preparation for the actual reading. The first difficulty lies in the fact that pupils are only vaguely acquainted with the conditions to which Burke constantly refers. The long story of the quarrel between the Colonies and the Mother Country is known to them in a superficial way. Any exhaustive study of the history of the time is out of the question ”

“ The purpose of the first step is to arouse an interest in approaching the story, and to prepare the pupil for an intelligent reading. In the case of some books it is of little importance, but in the case of others it is almost essential for success. Ap [Pg 9] preciation of the difficulties of the book and of the limitations of his pupils will enable the teacher to make the wisest choice of his material.
The second step is certainly the most important because it is fundamental. Students often read a book without any adequate conception of the facts of which it treats. ”

“ Conscious imitation has its place in developing the power to write, and it is no less valuable in gaining an appreciation of an author's style. The study of the essay offers the best opportunity for imitative work of this kind, since it is the essay that the student himself, in his school exercises, is continually trying to write. Care should be taken at this stage of the work not to ask pupils to discuss matters that are beyond their knowledge. ”

“ Outline for the Study of Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration
Much may be expected from the study of this oration. It is one of the few books required for careful study. It will be taken up late in the high school course, when pupils are maturing rapidly. It is distinctly American, the work of probably our greatest orator. But it is not difficult; the meaning is not puzzling, the structure is simple. The teacher may reasonably require of his pupils great familiarity with the divisions of the speech, with the thought of each, and with the language. ”

“ Interpretation.—The writer of a historical novel aims to give a vivid picture of certain dramatic events in history. The writer of a novel of life and manners usually has some ideal of life or character, more or less clearly defined, that he endeavors to picture. Try to frame a statement of some truth the Vicar's life may fairly be said to illustrate which seems to you the central idea of the story. ”

“ It would seem, then, that the best way to interest boys and girls in these papers would be to introduce them briefly but vividly to the life of England in the days of Queen Anne, by the treatment of such topics as London, its size, population, and external appearance; public morals; frivolities of women; lawlessness of young men; the coffee-houses; newspapers, etc. Ashton's Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne and Chapter III of Macaulay's History of England will give the teacher a mass of material upon which he can draw to supplement the introduction in the text-book. ”

“ The preparation necessary for the first reading is very slight. If the imagination of the student can be aroused, [Pg 124] so that the occasion on which the Oration was delivered can be made to seem real and full of interest, he will read to better advantage. Webster's audience must be imagined, the number of people present, the different classes: the veteran, the old resident who saw the battle, the children and grandchildren of those who fell, and the distinguished visitor from France. A picture of Webster with some hints of his great reputation will help to complete the scene. ”

“ Care should be observed that in the study of details the larger unit be not forgotten. To this end the teacher, by frequent review, should make sure of a thorough mastery of the outline, and by questions should bring out the connection between details and main propositions. Parrot work, to which there is a strong temptation whenever hard thinking is called for, can be avoided by requiring the pupil to state in his own words the main ideas, which Emerson frequently embodies in epigrammatic form. ”

“ It is easy to select many good narrative and descriptive topics for oral and written composition, and here, as always, frequent writing is an aid to the understanding of the work of literature under discussion, as well as to the enlargement of the power of expression.
The study of meter ought to offer little difficulty if only a simple, practical knowledge is required, and yet a large number of pupils find it confusing. ”

“ The following plans of study for the English texts commonly used in secondary schools are presented in the hope that they may be suggestive to teachers of English who are struggling with the various problems which confront them. Each teacher, of course, must work out his own plan in accordance with the needs of his pupils and the conditions under which he works; but, as it is helpful to observe the class-room work of other teachers, so it may be helpful to see a fellow teacher's plans of work. ”

“ It may encourage a love of nature, stimulating to closer observation. It may awaken a love of history, or of travel, or of some of the innumerable interests of human activity.
Unfortunately, young people's delight in the reading of the novel is a [Pg 8] source of danger. The drama and the essay appear so full of difficulties that the student regards their study seriously, as a task, and finds it necessary to apply himself vigorously in order to master them. ”

“ It is impossible to conceive that the mechanism of language can be brought to a more exquisite degree of perfection. These poems differ from others as attar of roses differs from ordinary rose-water, the close-packed essence from the thin, diluted mixture. They are, indeed, not so much poems as collections of hints, from each of which the reader is to make out a poem for himself. Every epithet is a text for a stanza."
Quote from L'Allegro and Il Penseroso several phrases, lines, or passages that exemplify the statements in italics. ”

“ Interpretation.—What purpose do you think the author had in writing this book?
From this story, what would you judge were her ideas on sincerity? on the treatment of one's neighbors? on conformity to custom? on social rank? and on other matters of everyday life?
Method of Narration.—Who tells the story?
Does the narrator tell us only of the things that she sees and hears, or of other things as well? How is it in Ivanhoe? Would the story have to be changed essentially if it were told by Miss Matty, Miss Pole, or some other of the characters? Give your reasons. ”

“ The student will have little or no difficulty in following the narrative of these pages, and with the aid of [Pg 100] topics can be held strictly to account for the mastery of essential details. A good way, at first, is to assign, with the chapter for home reading, a list of topics to be studied, and later to require the pupils themselves to make out similar lists. The analysis of chapters is in itself valuable exercise and the use of topics for oral quiz and discussion is probably the best way for the daily study of such work. ”

“ It is desirable that the class be familiar with all of the Idylls. Such familiarity will give the student not only a greater interest in the ones especially assigned for study, but also a larger grasp of their meaning. ”

“ A brief study of the life and character of Emerson will help us to understand his message. Before assigning one of the essays for study the teacher should provide for the class a brief outline or analysis, and explain the general thought which it contains. The thought is often so difficult to follow that it is unwise to require the pupil to make his own outlines.
II. Reading and Study
With the aid of an outline or analysis the first reading should enable the student to get a fair understanding of the essay as a whole. ”

“ The aim of the first reading is to familiarize the pupil with the main facts of the play. General questions may be asked to guide the student, or directions given to note the progress of each scene in the development of the play. He should not be hindered, however, from as rapid a reading as he can make intelligently. ”