Teachers' outlines for studies in English, based on the requirements for admission to college

by Gilbert Sykes Blakely

COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS IN ENGLISH

COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION BOARD
(1905)

A—Reading and Practice[4]

Select one subject from each of the following groups and write upon each a composition at least two pages in length. Be careful to keep to the subject. Pay special attention to the structure of sentences and paragraphs.

• Group I
• • A scene from Ivanhoe in which one of the following characters is a principal figure: Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Wamba, Rowena, Isaac of York.
  • The Vicar finds Olivia.
  • The scene as it might have appeared to one standing just outside the castle gate, as Sir Launfal emerged from his castle in his search for the Holy Grail.
  • The ship of the Ancient Mariner is becalmed.

• Group II
• • Why does Ida finally consent to marry the Prince?
  • Was the Dumfries aristocracy justified in "cutting" Robert Burns?
  • Show how the Sir Roger de Coverley Papers deal with the foibles of the time of Addison.
  • What does the Spectator mean when he says that Sir Roger is "something of a Humourist"? Define Sir Roger's peculiar humor, and contrast it with that of some other character in the Sir Roger de Coverley Papers.
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• Group III
• • What elements in the character of Godfrey Cass account for his relief at his wife's death and his failure to care for his child; also for his confession to Nancy and resolve to adopt Eppie?
  • Tell the story of the caskets in The Merchant of Venice.
  • Which in your opinion is the superior character, Cassius or Antony? Give the reasons for your opinion.
  • What qualities in the character of Brutus are brought home to us in the last scene of Julius Cæsar? Trace in the action of the play the influence of any one of these qualities.

B—Study and Practice

The candidate is expected to answer four of the questions on this paper, selecting them in accordance with instructions under the headings.

I Take one part only, either a or b.

"Sir, let me add, too, that the opinion of my having some abstract right in my favor would not put me much at my ease in passing sentence, unless I could be sure that there were no rights which, in their exercise under certain circumstances, were not the most odious of all wrongs and the most vexatious of all injustice."

1. Name each clause by giving the grammatical subject, the verb, and the complement (if any). State the kind of clause. Give the reasons for your statements.
2. Parse the italicized words.

1. Comment upon the unity of the following sentence and give the reasons for your opinion.
2. "At this moment the clang of the portal was heard, a sound at which the stranger started, stepped hastily to the window, and looked with an air of alarm at Ravenswood, when he saw that the gate of the court was shut, and his domestics excluded."
3. In each of the sentences printed below tell whether the use of the italicized expression is right or wrong, and give the reason for your decision.

"At this moment the clang of the portal was heard, a sound at which the stranger started, stepped hastily to the window, and looked with an air of alarm at Ravenswood, when he saw that the gate of the court was shut, and his domestics excluded."

• p The congregation was free to go their way.
• q He said that he himself and I should go to-morrow, but that you would not go till next week.
• r Seated on an upright tombstone, close to him, was a strange unearthly figure, whom, Gabriel felt at once, was no being of this world.
• s After eating a hearty dinner our carriages were brought to the door.

II Take one part only, either a or b.

"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! We ought to elevate our minds to the greatness of that trust to which the order of Providence has called us."

Write one paragraph or two or more connected paragraphs on the passage given above. Let your answer show (1) the division of Burke's speech in which this passage occurs, (2) the relation of the idea here expressed to his plan for the government of America, (3) the manner in which his motions carry out this plan.

"It appears that Addison, on his death bed, called himself to strict account, and was not at ease until he had asked pardon for an injury which it was not even suspected that he had committed,—for an injury which would have caused disquiet only to a very tender conscience. Is it not then reasonable to infer that, if he had really been guilty of forming a base conspiracy against the fame and fortunes of a rival, he would have expressed some remorse at so serious a crime?"

Write one paragraph or two or more connected paragraphs on the passage given above. Show clearly to what reference is made in the last sentence.

III Take one part only, either a or b.

"Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the weird women promised, and I fear
Thou play'dst most foully for't: yet it was said
It should not stand in thy posterity,
But that myself should be the root and father
Of many kings. If there come truth from them—
As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine—
Why, by the verities on thee made good,
May they not be my oracles as well
And set me up in hope? But hush, no more."

In a paragraph or two show who is the speaker and what the passage suggests respecting his character.

Give the meaning of the italicized words and phrases.

"We wish to add a few words relative to another subject on which the enemies of Milton delight to dwell—his conduct during the administration of the Protector."

In a paragraph or two summarize Macaulay's views on the subject indicated in the passage given above.

IV Take one part only, either a or b.

"Mortals, that would follow me,
Love Virtue; she alone is free.
She can teach ye how to climb
Higher than the sphery chime;
Or, if Virtue feeble were,
Heaven itself would stoop to her."

By whom were these words said? to whom? when? where? under what circumstances? Show the relation of these lines to the opening lines of the poem; to the plot of the poem. Answer in a paragraph or two.

In Macaulay's Essay on Milton occurs the following passage:

"In none of the works of Milton is his peculiar manner more happily displayed than in the Allegro and the Penseroso. 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. Give your reasons for the selection of any one of these.

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