Reference Books

27-29, and 36-38 refer to the reviewer of Keats' poems in 'The Quarterly Review.' In stanza 30 'The Pilgrim of Eternity' is Byron and the poet of Ierne (Ireland) is Thomas Moore. 231 ff: the 'frail Form' is Shelley himself. 

41. KEATS. One day. Above, pages 294-298. Read 'The Eve of St. Agnes,' the 

'Ode to a Nightingale,' 'Ode to a Grecian Urn,' and others of the shorter poems. 1. Note definitely for citation in class passages of strong appeal to the various senses and of beautiful melody and cadence. 2. Just what are the excellences of 'The Eve of St. Agnes'? Is it a narrative poem? 3. Consider classical and romantic elements in the poems. 

42. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VICTORIAN PERIOD, AND MACAULAY. Two days, with written discussion, of Macaulay. Above, pages 299-309. read either (1) one of the essays, for example that on Olive or Bacon or Pitt or Chatham or Warren Hastings, or (2) a chapter in the History. Good chapters for the purpose are: 3, 5, 8, 15, 16, 20, 25. The following topics may be used for written discussions, or may be assigned to individual students for oral reports in class. Oral reports should be either written out in full and read or given from notes; they should occupy five or ten minutes each and may include illustrative quotations. 1. The effect of Macaulay's self-confidence and dogmatism on the power of his writing and on the reader's feeling toward it. 2. His power in exposition; e.g., the number and concreteness of details, the power of selection, emphasis, and bringing out the essentials. 3. Structure, including Unity, Proportion, Movement. 4. Traits of style; e.g., use of antithesis and figures of speech; sentence length and balance. 5. How far does his lack of Idealism injure his work? Has he the power of appealing to the grand romantic imagination? 6. His power in description. 7. Power as a historian. Compare him with other historians. 

43. CARLYLE. Two days. Above, pages 309-314. Unless you are already familiar with 'Sartor Resartus' read in it Book II, chapters 6-9, and also if by any means possible Book III, chapters 5 and 8. Otherwise read in 

'Heroes and Hero-Worship' or 'The French Revolution.' (The first and third books of 'Sartor Resartus' purport to consist of extracts from a printed book of Teufelsdrockh, with comments by Carlyle; the second book outlines Teufelsdrockh's (Carlyle's) spiritual autobiography.) In 'Sartor Resartus': 

1. Make sure that you can tell definitely the precise meaning of The Everlasting No, The Center of Indifference, and The Everlasting Yea. Look up, e. g. in 'The Century Dictionary,' all terms that you do not understand, such as 'Baphometic Fire-Baptism.' 2. Your general opinion of his style? 3. Note definitely its main peculiarities in (a) spirit; (b) vocabulary and word forms; (c) grammar and rhetoric. 

44. RUSKIN. Two days. Above, pages 314-319. Most convenient for the purposes of this study is Tinker's 'Selections from Ruskin' (Riverside Literature Series). Everything there is worth while; but among the best passages are 'The Throne,' page 138, and 'St. Mark's,' page 150; while pages 20-57 are rather more technical than the rest. Among Ruskin's complete works 'Sesame and Lilies,' 'The Crown of Wild Olives,' and 

'Praterita' are as available and characteristic as any. Subjects for written or oral reports: 1. His temperament and his fitness as a critic and teacher. 2. His style--eloquence, rhythm, etc. 3. His power of observation. 

4. His power in description. Consider both his sensitiveness to sense-impressions and his imagination. 5. His expository power. 6. His ideas on Art. How far are they sound? (In the 'Selections' there are relevant passages on pages 164, 200, and 233.) 7. His religious ideas. How far do they change with time? 8. His ideas on modern political economy and modern life. How far are they reasonable? (Perhaps 'Munera Pulveris' or 

'Unto This Last' states his views as well as any other one of his works.) 

9. Compare with Carlyle in temperament, ideas, and usefulness. 

45. MATTHEW ARNOLD. Three days. Above, pages 319-325. The poems read should include 'Sohrab and Rustum' and a number of the shorter ones. The discussion of the poems may treat: The combination in Arnold of classic and romantic qualities; distinguishing traits of emotion and expression; and, in 'Sohrab and Rustum,' narrative qualities. If you are familiar with Homer, consider precisely the ways in which Arnold imitates Homer's style. Of the prose works best read 'Culture and Anarchy,' at least the introduction (not the Preface), chapters 1, 3, 4 and 5, and the Conclusion. Otherwise read from the essays named in the text or from Professor L. E. Gates' volume of Selections from Arnold. Consider more fully any of the points treated above. If you read the 'Essays on Translating Homer' note the four main qualities which Arnold finds in Homer's style. 

46. TENNYSON. Two days. Above, pages 325-329. Special attention may be given to any one, or more, of the statements or suggestions in the text, considering its application in the poems read, with citation of illustrative lines. Or consider some of the less simple poems carefully. E. g., is 'The Lady of Shalott' pure romance or allegory? If allegory, what is the meaning? Outline in detail the thought-development of 'The Two Voices.' Meaning of such poems as 'Ulysses' and 'Merlin and the Gleam'? 

47. ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING AND ROBERT BROWNING. Two days. Above, pages 

329-335. In general consider the application of the statements in the text; and in the case of Robert Browning consider emotional, dramatic, descriptive, and narrative power, poetic beauty, and adaptation of the verse-form to the substance. Interpret the poems as carefully as possible; discussions may consist, at least in part, of such interpretations. 

48. ROSSETTI, MORRIS AND SWINBURNE. Above, pages 335-341. Students might compare and contrast the poetry of these three men, either on the basis of points suggested in the text or otherwise. 

From this point on, the time and methods available for the study are likely to vary so greatly in different classes that it seems not worth while to continue these suggestions.