English Literature in the Ninth Grade. E-book. Formato PDF - 9780259633624

Questions for Discussion (see Sec. II.) It will readily be seen what essays and discussions should be had during the progress of the first reading, and what must be left till afterwards. It would be well to have the pupils mark in the margins the references to customs, dress, and superstitions, as well as the flowers and birds mentioned by the author, so that these things can readily be referred to. The date of the action, the locality of the scene, also the characters, principal and subordinate, should be kept in mind.

[Note - Attention given, during the first reading, to the elements, both poetic and dramatic, which serve to unite all the parts of the poem into one coherent whole, may do much to counteract the narrowing and fragmentary tendency of the later analytical work and study of details generally. Some of the following threads of unity may be noticed:

Unity of poetic form, including (a) metre, (b) blank verse, and (c) symmetry of parts, - Introduction, Part I., 5 Cantos; Part II., 5 Cantos; and Conclusion, same length as Introduction.

Unity of plot - the narrative of the fortunes of one central character, about whom the others revolve. From this unity of plot arise the subordinate unities of:

Time - the compass of one life;

Place - the spots visited by the central character;

Tone - the pervading tone of chastened melancholy, struck as a keynote in the Introduction by such words as "sad," "disconsolate," "wail," sounded again and again in the course of the poem, and repeated in the Conclusion;

Language - employed to sustain the tone and to give harmonious development to the theme;

Emotions - revealed in the poem or aroused in the reader.]

Sec. II. Questions For Discussion And Research.

Introduction: What is the tone of the first six lines? What in the text gives it that tone? In what lines is the real theme of the poem announced?