...First steps with American and British authors

Front matter

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First Steps m

American ^British

Preface

Within the past few years the method of teaching English literature in our public schools has changed for the better. A systematic study of the texts of English classic authors is now very generally held to be an important part of the regular course in most schools of a higher grade. In brief, pupils study what great authors have written, and not what some one has written about authors. Little has been done, however, to provide students with a judicious and methodical introduction to the English classic texts. Little attempt has been to map out a special course of study, or to furnish such suggestive details as are needed in the classroom work. Before entering upon the formal study of any representative author, pupils should have also a thorough drill on simple pieces.

This book aims to supply such a want. It is intended to serve as the basis of a regular course of study in English literature. Enough material, supplemented by a goodly amount of illustrative matter, is furnished for a methodical introduction to our best authors. For a year's work at least, no other book is necessary except an occasional copy of an inexpensive school text. The arrangement of the book is such that the work upon each author may be abridged or extended as the time allotted for the iv PREFACE.

course, and the age and capabilities of the pupil, may permit. The details of the plan are more fully set forth in Chapters I. and II. Teachers will doubtless find a former work by the author called " Study of the English Classics," useful as a book of reference.

Some of the selections will have a familiar look to advanced students. Certain standard pieces never grow old. They are always new to each generation of young people. Our aim has been to select such pieces as are most interesting and suitable for classroom purposes. Hence some of the texts do not represent their authors at their best. The ambitious scholar should not rest content with merely studying this book. A text-book at the best is only a convenient and suggestive outline of the subject to be taught. Each and every topic in the succeeding pages should be more fully discussed and illustrated.

The thanks of the author are due to Messrs. Houghton,

Mifflin, & Co., G. P. Putnam's Sons, and others, for kind

permission to use selections from their copyrighted

authors.

ALBERT F. BLAISDELL.

Providence, R.I., December, 1887.

CONTENTS,

CHAPTER . FAGE

I. Introductory i

II. The Wreck of the Hesperus as a Model 7

III. The Norman Baron as a Model 30

IV. The Lord of Burleigh as a Model 54

V. Outlines for the Study of a Prose Selection ... 81

VI. Outline Course of Study in English Literature. . 126

VII. Henry W. Longfellow 141

VIII. Washington Irving 149

IX. John G. Whittier 162

X. Oliver Goldsmith .168

XI. William Cullen Bryant 184

XII. Thomas Gray 191

XIII. Nathaniel Hawthorne 198

XIV. Robert Burns 209

XV. Oliver Wendell Holmes 218

XVI. Sir Walter Scott 224

XVII. Alfred Tennyson 241

XVIII. Joseph Addison 249

XIX. Lord Byron 260

XX. William Cowper . 276,

XXI. William Shakespeare . 282.

XXII. John Milton 287

XXIII. Miscellaneous Subjects in English Literature . . 297.

INDEX 343

FIRST STEPS IN THE ENGLISH CLASSICS.

Chapter I. Introductory

i. Literature in General. — Literature in a general way has reference to the written productions of a nation, but in a more limited sense refers only to those writings which come within the .province of the literary art ; in other words, literature, as commonly spoken of, excludes scientific and technical works, and is synonymous with elegant or polite literature, or belles-lettres as the French call it.

Literature has often been defined. Emerson says it is the record of the best thoughts. "By literature," says Stopford Brooke, "we mean the written thoughts and feelings of intelligent men and women, arranged in a way that shall give pleasure to the reader." Says John Morley, " Poets, dramatists, humorists, satirists, masters of fiction, the great preachers, the character-writers, the maximwriters, the great political orators, they are all literature, in so far as they teach us to know men, and to know human nature. This is what makes literature a proper instrument for a systematic training of the imagination and sympathies, and of a genial and varied moral sensibility."

Strictly speaking, English literature refers only to the written productions of the British people. But inasmuch as the English-speaking world embraces two great nations, ' besides vast colonial dependencies, the term " English literature " is commonly used in its broad sense, referring thereby to the great classic authors who have written in the English language. English literature may thus include the writings of both British and American authors. If we wish to be exact, we may designate the literature of Great Britain as British literature, and that of the United States as American literature.

2. The Study of English Literature. — Why do we study literature ? The answer is brief. To be happy, and to do our whole duty, it is of paramount importance that we should habitually live with wise thoughts and right feelings. What will help us to this gracious companionship ? A deep and abiding love for all that is good in literature. Hence its study is earnestly commended to our interest and care. 1 "The object of literature in education," says John Henry Newman, "is to open the mind, to correct it, to refine it, to enable it to comprehend and digest its knowledge, to give it power over its faculties, application, flexibility, method, critical exactness, sagacity, address, and expression."

The story of our English literature began about twelve

1 " To create and maintain in every student the highest ideal of human life, is, or ought to be, the chief work of any higher school. There is no study like, that of the best literature to form and glorify such an ideal. It reveals possibilities, touches to finer issues, broadens thought, kindles faith, sets the soul free, quickens and greatens, as nothing else can.

"Arm in arm with a universal author, you are in living contact with the great facts and laws of nature and of human existence; you see them from the master's lofty standpoint, and your life is larger than before." — Homer B. Sprague.

INTRO D UCTOR Y. 3

hundred years ago, and is still going on. The roll-call of poets and prose-writers who have added to its treasures is long and splendid. To study English literature, is to become acquainted with the writings of the great authors who have made it what it is. It is to get at the characteristics of those master minds whose works have been universally accepted as classics. It is to read and re-read these masterpieces, in which moral truth and human passion are touched with a certain largeness and attractiveness of form, until their essence becomes a part of our real life. 1

This it is that makes the study of English literature, wisely selected and wisely studied, not the trifling occupation of a leisure hour, but a most efficient instrument for intellectual and moral discipline.

3. Methods of Study. The Old and the New. — The importance of a more or less extended course in English literature in schools of a higher grade is now generally recognized. Within a few vears the method of instruction has been changed for the better. Too much time in past years has been given to the routine study of some manual of English literary history, and too little attention paid to the methodical study of the writings of standard authors ; in brief, pupils have been taught to study merely about authors, and not to study authors.

The time-honored method, and the method that is occasionally employed, was to place in the hands of the pupil

1 " I need not tell you that you will find that most books worth reading once are worth reading twice ; and, what is most important of all, the masterpieces of literature are worth reading a thousand times. It is a great mistake to think that because you have read a masterpiece once or twice, or ten times, therefore you have done with it : because it is a masterpiece, you ought to live with it, and make it part of your daily life." — John Morley.

some compend of the history of English literature, and to require stated lessons from its several chapters, as in the old-time method of studying a text-book on chemistry or history.

The pupil may thus become familiar with certain facts and borrowed opinions about authors, and yet scarcely have read a line of the writings of the authors themselves. By this method a familiarity with English literary history is gained, rather than with English literature : for example, a pupil might be able to mention all the plays of Shakspeare, and yet have never read a line of one of his plays for himself, or had any opinion of his own about the great dramatist. In fact, by this method every requirement of the teacher could be met, and a creditable examination be passed, by a student who had never read a line of the authors under discussion. Again, so dreary and so repulsive did this process become to average young pupils, that very few were disposed in after-years to cultivate a more intelligent acquaintance with standard authors.

The first and highest aim in the study of English literature is thus lost sight of by this radically defective method of instruction. P"or, the main purpose of a necessarily brief course in this branch of study in our schools is to cultivate a taste for good literature, to stimulate a love for systematic and wholesome reading, and to illustrate the principles which should guide us in selecting healthful books and authors to be read in after-life. 1

1 " My object throughout the class-room study of English literature would be to cultivate an intelligent appreciation, a positive love, for those treasures of genius, those masterpieces of literary art, which are embodied in our mother tongue ; such a love as would be a delight, a sustaining, comforting, restraining influence, throughout life." — J. H. Gilmore.

INTRODUCTORY. 5

4. The Plan of This Book.— The defective method of instruction, to which we have alluded, has been superseded of late years, at least in most of our best schools, by the more sensible, and, in fact, the only true method ; viz., a methodical and thorough study of the text of a few great classic authors, supplemented by the necessary amount of oral instruction and collateral study.

Many able scholars and teachers have done much of late years, by their writings, to advance the study of English literature to its proper place in the school curriculum. Well-edited and inexpensive editions of our best authors, well-arranged for school use, are now easily obtained.

By this method it is obvious that pupils, and many teachers too, need, and should have, a goodly amount of help to enable them to study to the best advantage the texts of our standard authors : as in any other branch of school-work, explicit directions and practical suggestions are needed to help the student to a proper understanding of the subject.

Hence it has been our plan to prepare a useful and practical hand-book, which will furnish the young student with such general and particular directions, homely details and helps, as will serve as an introduction to a systematic course of study in English literature. In a general way, our plan is to study methodically the texts of a few representative authors, and not merely to read about many authors. It is to study what great authors have written, and not what some one has written about them. Every thing is made subordinate to this great aim.

The order in which the plan of work is arranged is simply for convenience. Experience shows, that, as in any other line of school-work, the less difficult should come first. Before the formal study of any particular author is begun, pupils should have some experience in the proper method of studying a given piece ; hence, in the first few chapters, the texts of a variety of choice selections have been given, with full explanations. The arrangement of the book is such that the representative authors may be taken up in any order that may be deemed best. The general principle is, that the less difficult and more modern authors should come first in order. " From the modern and more easily apprehended specimens of English and American literature," says J. H. Gilmore, "I should work back to those which are more obscure and more difficult."

A word of caution may be necessary in reference to the analyses, examples, formal questions, etc. They are intended to be used simply as hints and helps ; hence they are not to be copied or re-arranged by the pupil, but are to serve as guides to him in his preparation for the classroom.

WRECK OF THE HESPERUS AS A MODEL.

Chapter II. The Wreck Of The Hesperus As A Model

General Plan of Study: Use of the Guide Analysis.

— In order to do thorough and systematic work in the study of English classic authors, each member of the class should follow the same general plan. For convenience, we may call this general plan of study which has been adopted in the following pages a "guide analysis." It is intended to serve as a general guide to the pupil. It is a kind of chart, by means of which the student may direct his course to a more systematic understanding of any standard production in English literature. 1

In its various forms, which will be more fully explained hereafter, the guide analysis will help the beginner to study, recite, and retain in the memory, the important points of a standard piece of prose or poetry.

After the student has become familiar with this general plan for the study of a simple poem, or easy prose selection,

1 " It is impossible, and, were it possible, it would not be desirable, to lay down a set of rules for the guidance of teachers in teaching the works named in the succeeding pages, which would meet the case of every teacher and of every class. Not only do teachers differ in their mental constitution ; not only do classes vary in ability, thoroughness of training, and in other respects : but the selections to be read differ in length, in subject, in form, and in character. All that we can do is to state the principles which should, in our opinion, be acted upon by teachers of English literature. The application of these principles must be made by the teachers themselves."

and has also acquired some skill in filling in orally, or by written exercises, whatever is necessary under the several headings, this analysis may be dropped for another form of the same general plan, called the " special analysis," which is to be specially adapted to every subsequent selection.

We have selected Longfellow's beautiful ballad, "The Wreck of the Hesperus," as our first piece to study. 1 It is simple and interesting. It merits our best efforts. We are now ready to begin its study, with the aid of the following guide analysis : —

GUIDE ANALYSIS : THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS.

I. Read the poem carefully and thoughtfully.

II. Recite the story of the poem.

III. The study of the text.

IV. The author of the poem : Henry W. Longfellow.

THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS.

HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.

It was the schooner Hesperus,

That sailed the wintry sea ; And the skipper had taken his little daughter,

To bear him company.

1 " Your great object should be to be thorough ; to learn but a little at a time, but to learn that little well. A very short poem, thoroughly comprehended in all its parts, will do to make a beginning upon. Any lesson of this sort that is really well learnt is a piece of solid work done ; it serves for a stepping-stone to the next piece." — Walter W. Skeat.

WRECK OF THE HESPERUS AS A MODEL. 9

Blue were her eyes as the fairy-flax, 5

Her cheeks like the dawn of day, And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds

That ope in the month of May.

The skipper he stood beside the helm,

His pipe was in his mouth, 10

And he watched how the veering flaw did blow

The smoke now west, now south.

Then up and spake an old sail6r,

Had sailed to the Spanish Main, — " I pray thee, put into yonder port, i 5

For I fear a hurricane.

" Last night the moon had a golden ring,

And to-night no moon we see ! "

The skipper he blew a whiff from his pipe,

And a scornful laugh laughed he. 20

Colder and louder blew the wind,

A gale from the north-east ; The snow fell hissing in the brine,

And the billows frothed like yeast.

Down came the storm, and smote amain 25

The vessel in its strength ; She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed,

Then leaped her cable's length.

" Come hither ! come hither ! my little daughter,

And do not tremble so ; 30

For I can weather the roughest gale That ever wind did blow."

IO FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH CLASSICS.

He wrapped her warm in his seaman's coat

Against the stinging blast ; He cut a rope from a broken spar, 35

And bound her to the mast.

" O father ! I hear the church-bells ring,

O say, what may it be ? "

" 'Tis a fog- bell on a rock-bound coast ! " —

And he steered for the open sea. 4 o

" O father ! I hear the sound of guns,

O say, what may it be? "

" Some ship in distress, that cannot live

In such an angry sea ! "

" O father ! I see a gleaming light, 45

O say, what may it be ? "

But the father answered never a word,

A frozen corpse was he.

5°

Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark,

With his face turned to the skies, The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow

On his fixed and glassy eyes.

Then the maiden clasped her hands, and prayed

That saved she might be ; And she thought of Christ, who stilled the wave 55

On the Lake of Galilee.

And fast through the midnight dark and drear,

Through the whistling sleet and snow, Like a sheeted ghost the vessel swept

Towards the reef of Norman's Woe. 60

WRECK OF THE HESPERUS AS A MODEL. I 1

And ever, the fitful gusts between,

A sound came from the land ; It was the sound of the trampling surf

On the rocks and the hard sea-sand.

The breakers were right beneath her bows, 65

She drifted a dreary wreck, And a whooping billow swept the crew

Like icicles from her deck.

She struck where the white and fleecy waves

Looked soft as carded wool, 70

But the cruel rocks they gored her side Like the horns of an angry bull.

Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice,

With the masts went by the board ; Like a vessel of glass, she stove and sank. 75

Ho ! ho ! the breakers roared.

At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach,

A fisherman stood aghast, To see the form of a maiden fair,

Lashed close to a drifting mast. 80

The salt sea was frozen on her breast,

The salt tears in her eyes \ And he saw her hair, like the brown seaweed,

On the billows fall and rise.

Such was the wreck of the Hesperus, 85

In the midnight and the snow.

Christ save us all from a death like this,

On the reef of Norman's Woe !

EXPLANATION OF THE GUIDE ANALYSIS.

I. Read the Poem carefully and thoughtfully. — Before coming into the class, read the poem aloud and silently. As a part of the home preparation, read and re-read the piece selected for the day's recitation, until it is well understood. Come to recitation prepared to read it aloud with some attention to elocution ; that is, take special pains to express clearly the thought with such modifications of the voice as the sentiment requires. Short poems, and the best passages in long poems, should be committed to memory, and recited. 1

II. Recite the Story of the Poem. — The poem having been studied carefully as a part of the home preparation, and read in the class-room with some intelligence, and with proper feeling and emphasis, the pupil is now prepared to recite the "story" of the poem orally.

This should be done first without reference to the text, telling the story in easy, familiar words. Then, with the text of the piece before him, the pupil should translate it into simple prose, transposing and changing the original wording as he may be able. This may be made a class exercise. Let one pupil begin, and have others follow, each taking up the story where his classmate leaves off.

During this exercise, both teacher and pupils may make

1 " Let such pieces be learned well by heart. This should be made a necessarypart of the out-school work, — of ' preparation.' While something more than the memory is to be thought of, and a mere loading of that faculty is before all things to be deprecated, the memory is not to be neglected. It is no trivial blessing to have the memory furnished in one's youth with what is worth remembering to the end of one's life, and grows more and more precious as we grow older, and discern better its virtues." — J. W. Hales.

WRECK OF THE HESPERUS AS A MODEL. 13

such comments and criticisms as will afford a better idea of the story, if it is a narrative, or to form a more accurate mental picture of the scene described. These comments should not, however, interfere with the interest of the story or description, but should serve simply as helps to a better understanding of the piece.

III. Study of the Text. — In the study of English classic authors, the main thing to be aimed at by the pupil is to clearly and fully understand the meaning of the piece selected for study, and to appreciate the beauty and nobleness of its thoughts and language.

Hence the explanation of allusions, the pointing out of the figures of speech, the derivation of words, and other minor matters, should be strictly subordinated to this great aim. Yet a large amount of information may be imparted, and a very valuable training given, by devoting a certain amount of time to such matters.

Every student of English literature has already a considerable store of facts. Let him now turn to good account this stock of information. Even in a simple poem, like "The Wreck of the Hesperus," nothing should be overlooked that will help to a better understanding of the poem. Let the pupil ask himself questions, and do his best to answer them. Let him say to himself, as he studies each passage, " Now, do I understand this ? " No pupil should ask of another what he can think out or find out for himself. The habit- of independent search, however humble may be the first efforts, is of the greatest benefit.

The ability to answer any ordinary question on the text of a given lesson is a fair test of the pupil's having properly prepared his lesson. It must be remembered,

14 FIRST STEPS TV ENGLISH CLASSICS.

that, at the most, printed questions are only suggestive. They may serve, however, to give a hint, to awaken a thought, and to suggest the idea of a question which can be readily clothed in words.

IV. The Author of the Piece. — The moment we become interested in the personal life of the author whose works we are studying, his writings assume a new interest, and that which was becoming dull and irksome will soon prove a source of real pleasure and profit.

Even in the most elementary work, the somewhat monotonous study of the text may be enlivened by interesting gossipy incidents, anecdotes, illustrations from periodicals, and literary references, easily culled in these days of abundant books and papers.

A few facts about the life and times of an author are of much greater value than many petty details, unimportant dates and facts, and verbose criticisms. 1 The study of the text is of the first importance ; the details of the life and times of each author are of comparatively little value, and should always take a secondary place in class-room work. :

Having just read "The Wreck of the Hesperus," we may not unnaturally wish to know something of the person who wrote it. We have been charmed with its simplicity and pathos. Who, then, was its author ? The text says it was Henry W. Longfellow. Who was Longfellow ? When and where did he live ? What else did he write ? Have you read any other of his writings ?

1 " It is better to read thoroughly one simple play or poem, than to know details about all the dramatists and poets. The former trains the brain to judge of other plays or poems : the latter only loads the memory with details that can at any time be found, when required, in books of reference." — F. G. Flkay.

WRECK OF THE HESPERUS AS A MODEL. 15

The following " Outline of Life " may be of service to the pupil : —

Outline of Life : Henry W. Longfellow. Suggestive Topics. — When and where born ; where did he attend college ? what famous author was his classmate ? college professorship; travels in Europe; his first literary work ; professor at Harvard ; resigned in 1854, but continued to live in Cambridge until his death in 1882; some of his principal productions, — prose, poems, translations ; something about the " Craigie House," in which Longfellow lived for so many years ; Longfellow's personal appearance.

EXERCISE.

A FEW QUESTIONS 0N T THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS.

What is the meaning of the word Hesperus? Is this an appropriate name for a vessel ? What is the meaning of the word skipper? How does a skipper differ from a master or captain? In the first line of stanza 2, explain the figure of rhetoric in detail. Explain the figure in the second line of stanza 2. What is meant by a veering flaw? Was it a sign of danger? What is meant by "sailed the Spanish Main '•'? Is the word hurricane used literally, or poetically ? Explain the " golden ring " round the moon. What does the second line in the same stanza mean? Explain the phrase, "snow fell hissing in the brine." Distinguish between the literal and poetical use of the word brine. Explain how the " billows frothed like yeast." What is meant by cable's length ? How can a vessel be said to shudder? Why does the little girl think that she hears the church-bells ring ? Explain how the fog-bell is used to warn mariners of danger. What is the biblical reference in stanza 14 ?

TO THE TEA CHER. — To train the young student to select the most suitable parts of a piece for study outside of the class-room, the teacher should direct his pupils, for a few lessons at least, to underline with pencil sundry words, phrases, or passages.

Attention is thus called to such important literary, geographical, or historical references as are found in almost every selection. Practice will soon teach the pupil to seize upon the salient points of any simple piece, without leaning upon so poor a crutch as a pencil.

Example. — Words to be checked ivith pencit, and explained ', in the first ten stanzas of " The Wreck of the Hesperus : " schooner, Hesperus, wintry sea, skipper, fairy-flax, hawthorn-buds, helm, veering flaw, Spanish Main, hurricane, golden ring, billows frothed like yeast, frighted steed, cable's length, stinging blast, broken spar, fog-bells, rock-bound, open sea.

l6 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH CLASSICS.

SELECTIONS FOR STUDY.

We are now prepared to study the following poems on the same general plan as "The Wreck of the Hesperus." While it is not advisable to follow too closely any one's particular suggestions, yet the same general directions should be insisted upon to insure good results.

THE INCHCAPE ROCK.

ROBERT SOUTHEY.

No stir in the air, no stir in the sea, The ship was still as she could be ; Her sails from heaven received no motion ; Her keel was steady in the ocean.

Without either sign or sound of their shock, The waves flowed over the Inchcape Rock ; So little they rose, so little they fell, They did not move the Inchcape Bell.

The Abbot of Aberbrothok Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock ; On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung, And over the waves its warning rung.

When the rock was hid by the surge's swell, The mariners heard the warning bell ; And then they knew the perilous rock, And blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothok.

SELECTIONS FOR STUDY. I J

The sun in heaven was shining gay ;

All things were joyful on that day ;

The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled round,

And there was joyance in their sound. 20

The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen, A darker speck on the ocean green : Sir Ralph the Rover walked his deck, And he fixed his eye on the darker speck.