English: Composition and Literature

by W. F. Webster

CONTENTS

[Chapter I.—Forms of Discourse]

• [Composition]
• [English Composition]
• [Composition, Written and Oral]
• [Conventions of Composition]
• [Five Forms of Discourse]
• [Definitions]
• [Difficulty in distinguishing]
• [Purpose of the Author]

[Chapter II.—Choice of Subject]

• [Form and Material]
• [Author’s Individuality]
• [Knowledge of Subject]
• [Common Subjects]
• [Interest]
• [The Familiar]
• [Human Life]
• [The Strange]

[Chapter III.—Narration]

• [Material of Narration]
• [In Action]
• [The Commonest Form of Discourse]
• [Language as a Means of Expression]
• [Without Plot]
• [Plot]
• [Unity, Mass, and Coherence]
• [Main Incident]
• [Its Importance]
• [Unity]
• [Introductions and Conclusions]
• [Tedious Enumerations]
• [What to include]
• [xiv] [Consistency]
• [An Actor as the Story-teller]
• [The Omniscience of an Author]
• [The Climax]
• [Who? Where? When? Why?]
• [In what Order?]
• [An Outline]
• [Movement]
• [Rapidity]
• [Slowness]
• [Description and Narration]
• [Characters few, Time short]
• [Simple Plot]
• [Suggestive Questions and Exercises]

[Chapter IV.—Description]

• [Difficulties of Language for making Pictures]
• [Painting and Sculpture]
• [Advantages of Language]
• [Enumeration and Suggestion]
• [Enumerative Description]
• [Suggestive Description]
• [Value of Observation]
• [The Point of View]
• [Moving Point of View]
• [The Point of View should be stated]
• [Mental Point of View]
• [Length of Descriptions]
• [Arrangement of Details in Description]
• [The End of a Description]
• [Proportion]
• [Arrangement must be natural]
• [Use Familiar Images]
• [Simile, Metaphor, Personification]
• [Choice of Words. Adjectives and Nouns]
• [Use of Verbs]
• [Suggestive Questions and Exercises]

[Chapter V.—Exposition]

• [General Terms difficult]
• [Definition]
• [Exposition and Description distinguished]
• [xv] [Logical Definition]
• [Genus and Differentia]
• [Requisites of a Good Definition]
• [How do Men explain? First, by Repetition]
• [Second, by telling the obverse]
• [Third, by Details]
• [Fourth, by Illustrations]
• [Fifth, by Comparisons]
• [The Subject]
• [The Subject should allow Concrete Treatment]
• [The Theme]
• [The Title]
• [Selection of Material]
• [Scale of Treatment]
• [Arrangement]
• [Use Cards for Subdivisions]
• [An Outline]
• [Mass the End]
• [The Beginning]
• [Proportion in Treatment]
• [Emphasis of Emotion]
• [Phrases indicating Emphasis]
• [Coherence]
• [Transition Phrases]
• [Summary and Transition]
• [Suggestive Questions and Exercises]

[Chapter VI.—Argument]

• [Induction and Deduction]
• [Syllogism Premises]
• [Terms]
• [Enthymeme]
• [Definition of Terms]
• [Undistributed Middle]
• [False Premises]
• [Method of Induction]
• [Arguments from Cause]
• [Arguments from Sign]
• [Sequence and Cause]
• [Arguments from Example]
• [Selection of Material]
• [Plan called The Brief]
• [xvi] [Climax]
• [Inductive precedes Deductive]
• [Cause precedes Sign]
• [Example follows Sign]
• [Refutation]
• [Analysis of Burke’s Oration]
• [Suggestive Questions]

[Chapter VII.—Paragraphs]

• [Definition]
• [Long and Short Paragraphs]
• [Topic Sentence]
• [No Topic Sentence]
• [The Plan]
• [Kinds of Paragraphs]
• [Details]
• [Comparisons]
• [Repetition]
• [Obverse]
• [Examples]
• [Combines Two or More Forms]
• [Unity]
• [Need of Outline]
• [Mass]
• [What begins and what ends a Paragraph?]
• [Length of opening and closing Sentences]
• [Proportion]
• [Coherence and Clearness]
• [Two Arrangements of Sentences in a Paragraph]
• [Definite References]
• [Use of Pronouns]
• [Of Conjunctions]
• [Parallel Constructions]
• [Summary]
• [Suggestive Questions]

[Chapter VIII.—Sentences]

• [Definition and Classification. Simple Sentences]
• [Compound Sentences]
• [Short Sentences]
• [Long Sentences]
• [Unity]
• [xvii] [Mass]
• [End of a Sentence]
• [Effect of Anti-climax]
• [Use of Climax]
• [Loose and Periodic]
• [The Period]
• [Periodic and Loose combined]
• [Which shall be used?]
• [Emphasis by Change of Order]
• [Subdue Unimportant Elements]
• [The Dynamic Point of a Sentence]
• [Good Use]
• [Clearness gained by Coherence]
• [Parallel Construction]
• [Balanced Sentences]
• [Use of Connectives]
• [Suggestive Questions]

[Chapter IX.—Words]

• [Need of a Large Vocabulary]
• [Dictionary]
• [Study of Literature]
• [Vulgarisms are not reputable]
• [Slang is not reputable]
• [Words must be National. Provincialisms]
• [Technical and Bookish Words]
• [Foreign Words]
• [Words in Present Use]
• [Words in their Present Meaning]
• [Words of Latin and Saxon Origin]
• [General and Specific]
• [Use Words that suggest most]
• [Synecdoche, Metonymy]
• [Care in Choice of Specific Words]
• [Avoid Hackneyed Phrases]
• [“Fine Writing”]
• [In Prose avoid Poetical Words]

[Chapter X.—Figures of Speech]

• [Figurative Language]
• [Figures based upon Likeness]
• [Metaphor]
• [Epithet]
• [Personification]
• [xviii] [Apostrophe]
• [Allegory]
• [Simile]
• [Figures based upon Sentence Structure]
• [Inversion]
• [Exclamation]
• [Interrogation]
• [Climax]
• [Irony]
• [Metonymy]
• [Synecdoche]
• [Allusion]
• [Hyperbole]
• [Exercises in Figures]

[Chapter XI.—Verse Forms]

• [Singing Verse]
• [Poetic Feet]
• [Kinds of Metre]
• [Stanzas]
• [Scansion]
• [Variations in Metres]
• [First and Last Foot]
• [Kinds of Poetry]
• [Exercises in Metres]

APPENDIX

1. [Suggestions to Teachers]
2. [The Form of a Composition]
3. [Marks for Correction of Compositions]
4. [Punctuation]
5. [Supplementary List of Literature]

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