The wise teacher seeks to awaken the interest and arouse the imagination of his pupils. He tries to bring them into the right mood, but avoids putting himself between them and the poet. He must see that they understand the poet"s thought, but the appeal to the feelings he will best leave to the poet himself.
Repeated readings and the memorizing of important pa.s.sages are nowhere so important as in the study of lyric poetry. To make repeated readings useful, however, the teacher must convince the cla.s.s by questions, or the introduction of discussion, that they have overlooked some message of the poet"s. A general plan of study might include, first, wise preparatory work on the part of the teacher to bring the cla.s.s into the atmosphere of the poem; second, a mastery of the details of the poem; third, a study of the content of the poem as a whole and in parts; fourth, a study of form and structure; fifth, a study of the poem as an interpretation of the poet.
OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF L"ALLEGRO AND IL PENSEROSO
I. Preparation
A brief discussion of the meaning of lyric poetry will be helpful, with discriminations between it and other forms of verse.
The cla.s.s will be put in the right att.i.tude for study by an interesting account of Milton"s life up to 1632; his home influences; his education; his Puritan ideas; the difference between Puritanism in Milton"s youth and Puritanism in the days of the Commonwealth; and, especially, by a vivid picture of the surroundings of the poet at Horton.
II. Reading and Study
The first reading may be utilized to get a general idea of the poem, and to mark the thought divisions. Other readings will make the student familiar with the details of description, the allusions, the difficult words and constructions, the varieties of meter and rhyme. A comparison, point by point, between the two poems will be helpful. Such a one might be written in the notebooks after the plan suggested by Mr. Chubb in _The Teaching of English_, p. 298.
======+==========================++======+===================== Lines | _L"Allegro_ ||Lines | _Il Penseroso_ ------+--------------------------++------+--------------------- 1-10|Dismissal--of Melancholy || 1-10|of deluding joys 11-46|Invitation to Mirth || 11-54|to Melancholy 47-150|Progress of day of social ||55-174|of night of solitary | delights || | joys 42| (_a_) Lark"s Reveille || 56| (_a_) Evening 44| (_b_) "Dappled Dawn," || 67| (_b_) Nightingales | c.o.c.k, hounds, etc.|| | even-song 60| (_c_) Sunrise || 74| (_c_) Moonrise | (_d_) Sounds of labor || | (_d_) Curfew ======+==========================++======+=====================
III. Study of the Poem as a Whole
A comprehensive study will naturally follow the detailed study and may, to a certain extent, be a summary of the work already done.
CONTENT.--Contrast the two speakers in respect to their choice of companions; descriptions of morning and evening; their att.i.tude toward country life; their recreations and employments in the daytime and in the evening; and their tastes in music, worship, and the theater.
Must we suppose that these poems express conflicting views of different men, or may they represent views of the same man in different moods?
State in a single sentence the main idea of each poem.
FORM.--Indicate the meter of the normal line, or rather of the two types of lines most frequently used. What is the difference in effect between these two types?
What are the princ.i.p.al variations in the position of accented syllables?
in the number of syllables? in the kind of rhyme?
Do you like these poems because of their beauty of sentiment? beauty of figurative expression? beauty of description? some other form of beauty?
or because of all of these? Quote what seems to you most beautiful.
Is there anything notable in the choice of words? in their arrangement?
Do you find any pa.s.sages where words have been chosen because their sound corresponds to the sense?
THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.--(See outline for the study of _Lycidas_, p. 59.)
OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF LYCIDAS
I. Preparation
This poem is made somewhat difficult by reason of the formal and conventional terms of pastoral poetry. Therefore, in the preparatory work, the teacher should explain these terms; and should dwell on the circ.u.mstances that called forth the poem. The history of the times should be touched upon sufficiently to make clear the meaning of the two digressions in the poem.
II. Reading and Study
The first reading should enable the student to trace the line of thought; to mark the digressions; and to understand the general plan of the poem.
Other readings will include a careful study of the language, the meaning of the allusions, and, in detail, the poet"s thought.
III. Study of the Poem as a Whole
A comprehensive study of the poem as a whole should be profitable after the work indicated in II.
CONTENT.--What is the substance of the poet"s lament for his friend? As we read the poem do we think more of him or of Milton? How do you account for this?
What were Milton"s relations to King? Were they intimate, personal friends?
Put into a sentence the substance of each digression.
In what part of the poem do we find that the allusions to the supernatural are cla.s.sic and pagan? in what part, Christian? What corresponding difference is there in the tone of the poem?
FORM.--What relation do the first two paragraphs bear to the rest?
Where is the pastoral element first introduced?
At what places does Milton drop the pastoral form?
What is the effect of a change of person in the last eight lines?
Has the poem unity? Give reasons. How would the poet have justified his digressions?
How many syllables do you find as a rule in each line? How are the lines rhymed? Find several blank verse lines. What variations from the normal line do you note in the number of syllables and in the position of accented syllables?
Does the poet show deeper feeling in his lament for King or in the digressions?
In what way does the language differ from that of _L"Allegro_ and _Il Penseroso_? Account for the difference.
THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.--Find out what you can of Milton"s childhood home; his tastes and habits when a boy; his education; his perplexity about the choice of a career; his six years at Horton; his travels; his return home; his removal to London; his marriage; his prose writings; his spirit in controversy; his domestic life; his public life; his situation in 1660; his employment during the years of his retirement; the effect on his character, of controversy and the failure of his cherished ideals of government.
Into what three periods does his life naturally fall?
How does the character of his writings conform to these three periods?
What do _L"Allegro_ and _Il Penseroso_ reflect of his life at Horton? of his tastes? of his accomplishments? Do you find anything indicative of his Puritan sympathies? anything inconsistent with the Puritanism of his time?
Do you note any change of spirit from the earlier poems to _Lycidas_?