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

by Gilbert Sykes Blakely

Write a short composition on two of the following topics. Use plain, natural English, free from errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and correct in idiom. Before you begin, think what you are going to say. You will be judged by how well you write, not by how much.

1. The history of the writing of The Ancient Mariner, and its place in the development of English Literature.
2. The story of The Passing of Arthur.
3. Banquo.
4. The siege of Front-de-Bœuf's Castle.
5. The character of Oliver Goldsmith.

B—Intensive Reading

Explain the following passages:

a		And Cæsar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
		With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
		Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
		Cry "Havoc."
		—Julius Cæsar.

Who speaks, and when?

b		You shall digest the venom of your spleen,
		Though it do split you;...
		I'll use you for my ... laughter,
		When you are waspish.
		—Julius Cæsar.
c		Philomel will deign a song,
		In her sweetest, saddest plight,
		Smoothing the rugged brow of Night
		While Cynthia checks her dragon yoke
		Gently o'er the accustomed oak.
		—Il Penseroso.
d		Alas, what boots it with incessant care
		To tend the homely slighted shepherd's trade,
		And strictly meditate the thankless Muse?
		—Lycidas.

C—Rhetoric

1. Explain and illustrate the principle of coherence, (a) in the sentence, (b) in the paragraph.
2. Define and illustrate simple, complex, and compound sentences. Write a brief account of a happening of yesterday; first write it in simple sentences only, then rewrite it in complex and compound sentences.
3. Comment on the use of the italicized words in the following sentences:
   1. The quick fishes steered to and fro about the body.
   2. How terrible, in "The Ancient Mariner," are the dead throats singing spectral carols!
   3. Stars are my candles, and the wind my friend.