B
The assistance that literature may give in reading, language, nature study, history and geography is set forth at length in other chapters of this volume, and the high school student is earnestly requested to examine those chapters carefully and utilize whatever appeals to him in his studies. Especially are the chapters on reading and language valuable. Usually the greater part of the criticisms passed upon high school work is aimed against weaknesses in English. No small portion of this criticism is just, and it comes to a considerable extent from the fact that theme work is usually assigned on subjects so abstruse and so far beyond the ready appreciation of the student that the youthful writer is more concerned in finding out what he is to write than in thinking how he shall write. The result is a carelessness that brings errors in construction and an entire lack of clearness and elegance in expression. Even the older pupils can learn more from writing upon simple subjects where the material is easily obtained and is in itself interesting than from the usual difficult and uninteresting subjects.
The close analysis of a masterpiece gives fine models of expression and furnishes the best of material for discussion. The use of capital letters and punctuation marks, spelling and the choice of words are all subjects for study and are all learned best from good models, such as are found in the masterpieces of literature. Students will soon learn that the rules of grammar are not always so hard and fast as they appear and that the practice of authors and publishers varies in minor things, especially in the use of commas and capital letters.
Some studies of special interest that may be based upon the masterpieces in Journeys will be given below. Many of the stories, poems and essays are accompanied by notes, queries and comments that will assist in making the studies profitable. Several good lessons may be derived from each topic and may be pursued at greater length by research in the volumes of reference in the school or public library.
Look in the Index of the tenth volume for the following topics and then find in the proper volumes the several selections named in the Index:
I. Ballads. Eight of the old English ballads and five more modern imitations are given. They are virile poems; simple, direct narratives. The old ones show the peculiarities of the old style English diction before poetry had been refined, while the later ones, breathing still the fire and originality of the earlier, are more polished and show the greater skill and accomplishments of the poets. The old ballads sprang spontaneously from the race, and doubtless many minds contributed to their phraseology, for they were sung and recited and passed on from mouth to mouth for generations before they were fixed in their present form.
II. Essays. In the list of essays (fourteen) are some of the most exquisite ever written and others that are full of information and inspiration. Dream Children is a perfect prose lyric; Some Children’s Books of the Past is an extremely interesting essay of the informational class. Besides the essays listed in the Index there are other selections in essay form that may be studied with profit. Here are some of them:
- 1. Abraham Lincoln, Volume IX, page 324.
- 2. The Arickara Indians, IV, 472.
- 3. The Buffalo, VII, 96.
- 4. Alfred the Great, IV, 260.
- 5. The Battle of Cressy, IX, 161.
- 6. The Battle of Hastings, IX, 330.
- 7. A Bed of Nettles, VIII, 209.
- 8. Brute Neighbors, VII, 260.
- 9. The Buccaneers, V, 359.
- 10. Stories of the Creation, IV, 159.
- 11. Trees and Ants That Help Each Other, VII, 306.
III. Fables. The names of more than thirty fables are given in the list. Comparative study of these fables, considering the animals most frequently mentioned, the correctness and naturalness of the traits ascribed to the different animals, the moral precepts inculcated by the fables, etc., will be found interesting and profitable.