DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING
Your aim is to write an essay in imitation of the one written by Mr. Brooks. Read Mr. Brooks' essay so carefully that you will know just what to imitate.
Notice how easily and how pleasantly Mr. Brooks writes, and especially how he makes use of figurative language rather than of direct statement. Then, too, he uses some very striking expressions, such as “He desires neither typhoon nor tempest,” and “He paints old thoughts in shiny varnish.” At the same time he uses common expressions now and then, as if to give a touch of familiarity or of humor,—“He flaps to no great heights,” “He mends small habits,” “Who still sat in chimney corners and babbled through their toothless gums.” With it all, he gives a clear conception of the essayist and his work.
Try to imitate all this in your own writing. Avoid being stiff and formal, and try to write easily, familiarly, originally, and with dignity. Remember that your aim is to give pleasure rather than information.
FOOTNOTES:
[114] Leigh Hunt (1784-1859). A famous English essayist and poet, noted for his love of books. When he was imprisoned because of an article ridiculing the Prince Regent he sent for so many books that he made his prison a sort of library.
[115] Edmund Gosse (1849- ). A noted English poet, critic, and student of literature. Since he based much of his writing on close study he naturally wished for quiet.
[116] A castle in Spain, or a sheep-walk in Arcadia. Places of perfect happiness, where all desired things may be obtained. Arcadia is a mountain-surrounded section of Greece noted for its happy shepherd life.
[117] Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). The great French essayist who invented the familiar essay.
[118] William Hazlitt (1778-1830). An English essayist, lecturer, biographer and critic; a student of literature.
[119] Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). A British poet, novelist, short story writer and essayist, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. At various times he lived in France, Switzerland, the United States and the South Sea Islands. He was buried in Samoa.
[120] Cornhill. A famous street in London.
[121] The Restoration. The restoration of the English monarchy in 1660 after its overthrow by the Parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell.
[122] Samuel Pepys (1633-1703). An English business man, office-holder and lover of books. For nine years he kept a most personal, self-revealing diary, which he wrote in shorthand. The diary gives an accurate picture of the age in which he lived.
[123] James Boswell (1740-1795). A Scotch advocate and author, noted especially for his Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D., a book that many pronounce the best biography ever written. The work makes one intimately acquainted with Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), a great essayist, poet, biographer, play-writer, and author of a famous dictionary of the English language. Dr. Johnson was a leader of the learned men of his time.
[124] Frances Burney D'Arblay (1752-1840). An English novelist, author of Evelina, and a friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson. Her Letters and Diary give an intimate account of her entire life.
[125] Henry Crabbe Robinson (1775-1867). An English war-correspondent and social leader. His Diary gives intimate information concerning the great men of his time, with nearly all of whom he was personally acquainted.
[126] Blackfriars and the Globe. London theaters in which Shakespeare's plays were first produced.