What is the subject of Lanier's best verse? Compare his melody and ideals with Poe's. Is Lanier's Song of the Chattahoochee as melodious as Tennyson's The Brook? Which is the most beautiful stanza in My Springs? What are the strongest and most distinguishing qualities of Lanier's verse? Which of these are especially prominent in The Marshes of Glynn and Sunrise, and which in Tampa Robins?
Compare Hayne and Timrod for artistic finish, definiteness, and spontaneity. Does Hayne or Timrod love nature more for herself alone? Select the best stanza from Timrod's The Lily Confidante and compare it with your favorite stanza from Lanier's My Springs. From each of the poems of Hayne suggested for reading, select some of the most artistic creations of his fancy.
Indicate the patriotism and the pathos in Father Ryan's verse.
Point out some unique qualities in Tabb's poetry. Is the length of his poems in accordance with Poe's dictum? Select some passage showing special delicacy or originality in describing nature.
What in Cawein's verse would indicate that he wrote his poems out of doors? Compare the definiteness of his references to nature with Hayne's. What specific references in Cawein's nature poems please you most? Compare Keats's poems On the Grasshopper and Cricket, Fancy, and stanzas here and there from The Eve of St. Agnes with Cawein's imagery and method of appealing to the senses.
Prose.—Take one of Poe's tales, and point out how it illustrates his theory of the short story given on p. 299. In order to hold the attention of an average audience, should you select for reading one of Irving's, Hawthorne's, or Poe's short stories? Should you use the same principle in selecting one of these stories for a friend to read quietly by himself?
Is Simms dramatic? In what particulars does he remind you of Cooper? In the selection from The Yemassee (Mims and Payne) are there any qualities which Poe indicates for a short story?
What is the secret of the attractiveness of the stories of Joel Chandler Harris? Point out some valuable philosophy of human nature which frequently crops out. What special characteristics of Uncle Remus are revealed in these tales? What are the most prominent qualities of Brer Rabbit? Why does the negro select him for his hero? What is the final result of Brer Fox's trick in The Wonderful Tar Baby Story? What resemblances and differences can you find between the animal stories of Harris and Kipling?
Why are Cable's stories called romantic? What remarkable feature do you notice about their local color? Give instances of his poetic touch and of his power to draw character. Does he reveal his characters in a plain, matter-of-fact manner, or by means of subtle touches and unexpected revelations?
Compare Page's negroes with Uncle Remus. What characteristics of Virginia life do the stories of Page reveal? What do you find most attractive in him as a story-teller?