English: Composition and Literature

As has already been said, the iambus is the common foot of English verse. It is made of a short and a long syllable. At the beginning of a poem an unaccented syllable seems weak; and so very frequently the first foot of a poem is trochaic; often the first two or three feet are of this kind. At such a place the irregularity does not strike one. The following is an illustration:—

^			^		^		^
“Un	der	a	spread	ing	chest	nut	tree

	^		^		^
The	vil	lage	smith	y	stands;

280 The smith, a mighty man is he,

With large and sinewy hands;

And the muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands.”

In this stanza the prevailing foot is iambic, but the first foot is trochaic. In the following beautiful lines by Ben Jonson, there is the same thing:—

^			^		^		^
“Drink	to	me	on	ly	with	thine	eyes

And I will pledge with mine;

Or leave a kiss but in the cup

And I’ll not look for wine.

The thirst that from the soul doth rise

Doth ask a drink divine;

But might I of Jove’s nectar sup,

I would not change for thine.”

A similar substitution may occur in any other verse of the stanza; but we feel the change more than when it is found in the first verse. The second stanza of Jonson’s song furnishes an example of the substitution of a trochee for an iambus:—

“I sent thee late a rosy wreath,

^			^			^
Not	so	much	hon	or	ing	thee

As giving it a hope that there

It could not withered be,

But thou thereon didst only breathe

And sent’st it back to me;

Since when it grows and smells, I swear,

Not of itself, but thee.”

Of all the great poets, but few have been such masters 281 of the art of making musical verse as Spenser. The following stanza is from “The Faerie Queene;” and the delicate changes from one foot to another are so skillfully made that one has to look twice before he finds them.

	^		^		^		^		^
“A	lit	tle	low	ly	her	mit	age	it	was,

^			^		^		^		^
Down	in	a	dale,	hard	by	a	for	est’s	side,

^			^		^		^		^
Far	from	res	ort	of	peo	ple	that	did	pass

	^		^		^		^		^
In	trav	el	to	and	fro;	a	lit	tle	wide

	^		^		^		^		^
There	was	a	ho	ly	chap	el	ed	i	fied,

	^		^		^		^		^
Where	in	a	her	mit	du	ly	wont	to	say

	^		^		^		^		^
His	ho	ly	things	each	morn	and	ev	en	tide;

	^		^		^		^		^
There	by	a	crys	tal	stream	did	gent	ly	play,

^			^		^		^		^		^
Which	from	a	sac	red	foun	tain	wel	léd	forth	al	way.”

First and Last Foot. From the lines on “The Burial of Sir John Moore,” another fact about metres may be derived. The second and fourth lines apparently have one too many syllables. This may occur when the accent is upon the last syllable of the foot; that is, when the foot is an iambus or an anapest.

Again, the last foot of each line may be one syllable short. This may occur when the accent is on the first syllable of a foot; that is, when the foot is trochaic or dactylic. The scheme is like this:

^		^		^		^
“Tell	me	not	in	mourn	ful	num	bers

^		^		^		^
Life	is	but	an	emp	ty	dream.”

282 The last foot of a verse of poetry, then, may have more or fewer syllables than the regular number; still the foot takes up the regular time and cannot be deemed unrhythmical.

The first foot of a line, too, may contain an extra syllable; a good example has been given in the lines on page 273, beginning,—

“Ah, the autumn days fade out, and the nights grow chill.”

And the first foot of a line may lack a syllable, as in the first line of “Break, Break, Break,” by Tennyson.

In a line like the following, it is sometimes difficult to tell whether the syllable is omitted from the first or the last foot. If from the first, the verse is iambic, and is scanned like this:—

	^		^		^			^
	“Proud	and	low	ly,	beg	gar	and	lord.”

If the last foot is not full, the line is trochaic.

^		^		^			^
“Proud	and	low	ly,	beg	gar	and	lord.”

Now if the whole of “London Bridge,” from which this line is quoted, be read, there will be found several lines that are trochaic beyond question; and the last line of the chorus is iambic. The majority of trochaic lines leads us to decide that the verse is trochaic. From this example one learns to appreciate how nearly alike are trochaic and iambic verses. Both are composed of alternating accented and unaccented syllables; and the kind of metre depends upon which comes first in the foot. In Blake’s “Tiger, Tiger,” there is not a line that clearly shows what kind of verse the poet used. If the unaccented syllable is supplied at the beginning the poem is iambic; if at the end, it is trochaic.

283 “Tiger, Tiger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Framed thy fearful symmetry?”

Silences may occur in the middle of a verse of poetry as well as at the beginning or the end. In the following nursery rhyme it is clear that the prevailing foot is anapestic, though several feet are iambic, and in the first two lines and the last line a single syllable makes a foot. Silences are introduced here as rests are in music.

	“Three		blind		mice!

	See		how	they	run!

	^		^			^		^
Hur	rah,	hur	rah	for	the	farm	er’s	wife!

	^			^			^		^
She	cut	off	their	tails	with	a	carv	ing	knife!

		^		^			^			^
Did	you	ev	er	see	such	a	sight	in	your	life

As	three		blind		mice!”

Like this is the scansion of Tennyson’s “Break, Break, Break.”

	“Break,		break,		break!

On thy cold gray stones, O sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter

The thoughts that arise in me.”

In scanning, then, it is necessary—

284 First. To determine by reading a number of verses the kind of foot that predominates, and to make this the basis of the metrical scheme.

Second. To remember that one kind of foot may be substituted for another, at the will of the poet, introducing into the poem a delicate variety of rhythm.

Third. To keep in mind that the first foot of a verse and the last foot may have more or fewer syllables than the regular foot of the poem.

Fourth. That silences, like rests in music, may be introduced into a verse and give to it a perfect smoothness of rhythm.

Kinds of Poetry. It is a difficult thing to give a definition of poetry. Many have done so, yet no one has been fortunate enough to have his definition go without criticism. In general, it may be said that poetry deals with serious subjects, that it appeals to the feelings rather than to the reason, that it employs beautiful language, and that it is written in some metrical form.

Poetry has been divided into three great classes: narrative, lyric, and dramatic.

Narrative poetry deals with events, real or imaginary. It includes, among other varieties, the epic, the metrical romance, the tale, and the ballad.

The epic is a narrative poem of elevated character telling generally of the exploits of heroes. The “Iliad” of the Greeks, the “Æneid” of the Romans, the “Nibelungen Lied” of the Germans, “Beowulf” of the Anglo-Saxons, and “Paradise Lost” are good examples of the epic.

The metrical romance is any fictitious narrative of heroic, marvelous, or supernatural incidents derived from history or legend, and told at considerable length. “The Idylls of the King” are romances.

285 The tale is but little different from the romance. It leaves the field of legend and occupies the place in poetry that a story or a novel does in prose. “Marmion” and “Enoch Arden” are tales.

A ballad is a short narrative poem, generally rehearsing but one incident. It is usually vigorous in style, and gives but little thought to elegance. “Sir Patrick Spens,” “The Battle of Otterburne,” and “Chevy Chase” are examples.

Lyric poetry finds its source in the author’s feelings and emotions. In this it differs from narrative poems, which find their material in external events and circumstances. Epic poetry is written in a grand style, generally in pentameter, or hexameter; while the lyric adopts any verse that suits the emotion. The principal classes of lyric poetry are the song, the ode, the elegy, and the sonnet.

The song is a short poem intended to be sung. It has great variety of metres and is generally divided into stanzas. “Sweet and Low,” “Ye Banks and Braes o’ Bonnie Doon,” “John Anderson, My Jo, John,” are songs.

An ode is a lyric expressing exalted emotion; it usually has a complex and irregular metrical form. Collins’s “The Passions,” Wordsworth’s “Intimations of Immortality,” and Lowell’s “Commemoration Ode,” are well known.

An elegy is a serious poem pervaded by a feeling of melancholy. It is generally written to commemorate the death of some friend. Milton’s “Lycidas” and Gray’s “Elegy in a Country Churchyard” are examples of this form of lyric.

A sonnet is a lyric that deals with a single thought, idea, or sentiment in a fixed metrical form. The sonnet always contains fourteen lines. It has, 286 too, a very definite rhyme scheme. Some of the best English sonnets have been written by Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Mrs. Browning.

Dramatic poetry presents a course of human events, and is generally designed to be spoken on the stage. Because such poetry presents human character in action, the term “dramatic” has come to be applied to any poetry having this quality. Many of Browning’s poems are dramatic in this sense. In the first sense of the word, dramatic poetry includes tragedy and comedy.

Tragedy is a drama in which the diction is dignified, the movement impressive, and the ending unhappy.

Comedy is a drama of a light and amusing character, with a happy conclusion to its plot.

Exercises in Metres. Enough of each poem is given below so that the kind of metre can be determined. Always name the verse form and write the verse scheme. Some hard work will be necessary to work out the irregular lines, but it is only by work on these that any ability in scanning can be gained. Always read a stanza two or three times to get the swing of the rhythm. Remember the silences, and the substitutions that may be made.

1. “I stood on the bridge at midnight

   As the clocks were striking the hour,

   And the moon rose over the city,

   Behind the dark church tower.

   “Among the long black rafters

   The wavering shadows lay,

   And the current that came from the ocean

   Seemed to lift and bear them away.”

2. “All things are new;—the buds, the leaves,

   That gild the elm-tree’s nodding crest,

   287 And even the nest beneath the eaves;—

   There are no birds in last year’s nest!”

3. “Meanwhile we did our nightly chores,—

   Brought in the wood from out of doors,

   Littered the stalls, and from the mows

   Raked down the herd’s-grass for the cows;

   Heard the horse whinnying for his corn;

   And, sharply clashing horn on horn,

   Impatient down the stanchion rows

   The cattle shake their walnut bows;

   While, peering from his early perch

   Upon the scaffold’s pole of birch,

   The cock his crested helmet bent

   And down his querulous challenge sent.”

4. “You know, we French stormed Ratisbon:

   A mile or so away,

   On a little mound, Napoleon

   Stood on our storming day;

   With neck out-thrust, you fancy how,

   Legs wide, arms locked behind,

   As if to balance the prone brow

   Oppressive with its mind.”

5. “Come, read to me some poem,

   Some simple and heartfelt lay,

   That shall soothe this restless feeling,

   And banish the thoughts of day.

   “Not from the grand old masters,

   Not from the bards sublime,

   Whose distant footsteps echo

   Through the corridors of Time.

   “For, like strains of martial music,

   Their mighty thoughts suggest

   288 Life’s endless toil and endeavor;

   And to-night I long for rest.

   “Read from some humbler poet

   Whose songs gushed from his heart,

   As showers from the clouds of summer,

   Or tears from the eyelids start;

   “Who through long days of labor,

   And nights devoid of ease,

   Still heard in his soul the music

   Of the wonderful melodies.”

6. “Hickory, dickery, dock,

   The mouse ran up the clock;

   The clock struck one,

   And the mouse ran down;

   Hickory, dickery, dock.”

7. “Two brothers had the maiden, and she thought,

   Within herself: ‘I would I were like them;

   For then I might go forth alone, to trace

   The mighty rivers downward to the sea,

   And upward to the brooks that, through the year,

   Prattle to the cool valleys. I would know

   What races drink their waters; how their chiefs

   Bear rule, and how men worship there, and how

   They build, and to what quaint device they frame,

   Where sea and river meet, their stately ships;

   What flowers are in their gardens, and what trees

   Bear fruit within their orchards; in what garb

   Their bowmen meet on holidays, and how

   Their maidens bind the waist and braid the hair.’”

(In this quotation we have blank verse; that is, verse that does not rhyme. It is iambic pentameter,—the most common verse in great English poetry. What poems are you familiar with that use this verse-form?)

1. 289

   “A wet sheet and a flowing sea,

   A wind that follows fast

   And fills the rustling sails

   And bends the gallant mast;

   And bends the gallant mast, my boys,

   While like the eagle free

   Away the good ship flies, and leaves

   Old England on the lee.

   “O for a soft and gentle wind;

   I heard a fair one cry;

   But give to me the snoring breeze

   And white waves heaving high;

   And white waves heaving high, my lads,

   The good ship tight and free—

   The world of waters is our home,

   And merry men are we.

   “There’s tempest in yon horned moon,

   And lightning in yon cloud;

   But hark the music, mariners!

   The wind is piping loud;

   The wind is piping loud, my boys,

   The lightning flashes free—

   While the hollow oak our palace is,

   Our heritage the sea.”

2. “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

   Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

   While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

   As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door—

   ‘’T is some visitor,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door—

   Only this, and nothing more.’”

3. 290 “Somewhat back from the village street

   Stands the old-fashioned country-seat,

   Across its antique portico

   Tall poplar trees their shadows throw;

   And from its station in the hall

   An ancient timepiece says to all,—

   ‘Forever—never!

   Never—forever!’”

4. “Listen, my children, and you shall hear

   Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

   On the eighteenth of April, in seventy-five;

   Hardly a man is now alive

   Who remembers that famous day and year.”

5. “Sweet and low, sweet and low,

   Wind of the western sea,

   Low, low, breathe and blow,

   Wind of the western sea!

   Over the rolling waters go,

   Come from the dying moon, and blow,

   Blow him again to me;

   While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps.

   “Sleep and rest, sleep and rest,

   Father will come to thee soon;

   Rest, rest, on mother’s breast,

   Father will come to thee soon;

   Father will come to his babe in the nest—

   Silver sails all out of the west

   Under the silver moon:

   Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep.”

6. “See what a lovely shell,

   Small and pure as a pearl,

   Lying close to my foot,

   Frail, but a work divine,

   291 Made so fairily well

   With delicate spire and whorl,

   How exquisitely minute,

   A miracle of design!”

(If the pupils have Palgrave’s “Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics,” they have a great fund of excellent material illustrating all varieties of metrical variation. There are very few pieces of literature that illustrate so many varieties of metre as Wordsworth’s “Ode on the Intimations of Immortality.”)

APPENDIX

A. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS.

The Course of Study on pages xx-xxvi contemplates five days a week for the study of English. The text which is to be the subject of the term’s work should first be studied for a few weeks. After it has been mastered, three days of each week should be given to literature and two to composition. In practice I have found it best to have the study of literature occupy three consecutive days,—for example, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This arrangement leaves Monday and Friday for composition. Friday is used for the study of the text-book and for general criticism and suggestion. On Monday the compositions should be written in the classroom. To have them so written is, at least during the first year, distinctly better. The first draft of the composition should be brought to class ready for amendment and copying. During the writing the teacher should be among the pupils offering assistance, and insisting upon good penmanship. Care at the beginning will form a habit of neatness, and keep the penmanship up to a high standard.

The arrangement suggested is only one plan. This works well. Many others may be adopted. But no plan should be accepted which makes the number of essays fewer than one a week; nor should the number of days given to literature be smaller than three a week.

During the second year, if the instructor thinks it can be done without loss, the compositions may be written outside of school hours and brought to class on a definite day. A pupil should not be allowed to put off the writing of a composition any more than a lesson in geometry. On Monday of each week a composition should be handed in; irregularity only makes the work displeasing and leads to shirking. Writing out of school gives more time for criticism and 294 study of composition, and during the second year this extra time is much needed.

By the third year the pupils certainly can do the work out of school. As the compositions increase in length, more time will be necessary for their preparation. The teacher should, however, know exactly what progress has been made each week; and by individual criticisms and by wise suggestions she should help the pupil to meet the difficulties of his special case.

In order that the instructor may have time for individual criticism, she should have two periods each day vacant in which to meet pupils for consultation. To make this clear, suppose that a teacher of English has one hundred pupils in her classes. She should have no more, for one hundred essays a week are enough for any person to correct. If there be six recitation periods daily, place twenty-five pupils in each of four sections for the study of literature, composition, and general criticism. This leaves two periods each day to meet individuals, giving ten pupils for each period. These should come on scheduled days, with the same regularity as for class recitation. The pupil’s work should have been handed in on the second day before he comes up for consultation, in order that the teacher may be competent to give criticisms of any value. The inspiration of the first reading cannot be depended upon to suggest any help, nor is there time for such a reading during the recitation.

There will be need of class recitation in argument. Ten days or two weeks are all that is necessary for text-book work. This should be done before pupils read the “Conciliation.” In the reading constantly keep before the pupils the methods of the author.

Every teacher should be able to do what she asks of the pupils. No person would dare to offer herself as a teacher of Latin or algebra until she could write all the translations of the one and solve all the problems of the other. Yet there are persons who have the audacity to offer their services as teachers of English, when they cannot write a letter correctly, to say nothing of a more formal piece of composition. 295 If an instructor in physics, who had asked his pupils to solve a problem in electricity, should say to each unfortunate person as he handed in his solution, “No, that isn’t right; you’ll have to try again,” without offering any help or suggestion, and should continue this discouraging process until some bright pupil worked it out, or perhaps some one guessed it, we should say that such a person was no instructor at all. We might go so far as to question his intellectual competency. We certainly should think him quite deserving of dismissal. Still many teachers of English do nothing more than say, “It isn’t right. Make it so.” If the teacher does not know how to do the thing she asks the pupils to do, she should not be teaching. And even when she can do it, she will often benefit herself and the pupils by actually writing the composition. In this way not only does she gain command of her own powers of expression, but she finds out the difficulties with which the pupils have to contend. Every teacher of English composition should be able to do some creditable work in English; and every teacher of English should put this talent into actual use.

Numerous examples of correct paragraphs, well-made sentences, and apt words have not been included in the text. They have been omitted because they can be found in the literature study. It is better for pupils to find these for themselves. It will put them in the way of reading with the senses always alert for something good; and all good paragraphs and sentences lose something of their beautiful adaptation when torn from the place of their birth and growth.

So, too, there are no long lists of errors. One hundred pupils in a term make enough to fill a volume. When a teacher knows that Sentences is to be her next subject she should begin three months in advance to get a good collection of specimens. These should be classified so that they may be most usable. By the time the class comes to the study of Sentences some new, live material will be on hand for illustration.

In the pupils’ exercises each week those errors should be singled out and dwelt upon which are the special subject of 296 text-book work. If the pupils are studying Coherence in sentence structure, select all violations of this principle in the week’s exercises, and by means of them nail that one principle down instead of trying to lay down the whole set of principles given in the chapter on Sentences. Alongside of this collection of mistakes in Coherence of sentences show the pupils the best examples of tight-jointed sentences to be found in the literature they are studying. Point out how these sentences have been made to hold together, and how their own shambling creations can be corrected.

Some teachers will fear the amount of literature required. It may seem large, especially in the first two years. It certainly would be quite impossible to read aloud in class all of this. However, that is not intended. There would be but sorry progress either in the course of study or in the power to analyze literature if the class time were taken up with oral reading of narration and description. The whole of a short story or one or two chapters of a novel are not too much for a lesson. The discussion of the meaning and the method of the author should take up the largest part of the time. Then such portions should be read aloud as are especially suited to an exercise in oral reading. In this way the apparently large list will be easily covered within the time.

Moreover, there is distinct gain in reading much. If only three or four pages be given for a lesson, the study of literature degenerates into a study of words. A study of words is necessary, but it is only a part of the study of literature. Such a method of study gives the pupil no sense of values. He does not get out into the wide spaces of the author’s thought, but is eternally hedged about by the dwarfing barriers of etymology and grammar.

B. THE FORM OF A COMPOSITION.

The Margin. It is the custom to leave a margin of about an inch at the left side of the page. In this margin the corrections should be written, not in the composition. There should be no margin at the right. The device of 297 writing incomplete lines, or of making each sentence a paragraph, is sometimes adopted by young persons in the hope of deceiving the teacher as to the length of the composition. Remember that pages do not count for literature any more than yards of hideous advertising boards count as art. Write a full page with a straight-lined margin at the left.

Indention. To designate the beginning of a new paragraph, it is customary to have the first line begin an inch farther in than the other lines. This indention of the margin and the incomplete line at the end mark the visible limits of the paragraph.

The Heading. The heading or title of the composition should be written about an inch and a half from the top of the page, and well placed in the middle from left to right. There should be a blank line between the title and the beginning of the composition. Some persons prefer, in addition to the title, the name of the writer and the date of writing,—an unnecessary addition, it seems to me. If they are to appear, the name should be at the left and the date at the right, both on one line. The title will be on the next line below.

Jay Phillips.

Jan. 27, 1900.

The Circus-Man’s Story.

“There was once an old man whom they called a wizard, and who lived in a great cave by the sea and raised dragons. Now when I was a very little boy, I had read a great deal about this old man and felt as if he were quite a friend of mine. I had planned for a long time to pay him a visit, although I had not decided 298 just when I should start. But the day Jim White’s father brought him that camel, I was crazy to be after my dragon at once.

“When bedtime came, I had made all my plans; and scarcely had Nurse turned her back when I was on my way. It was really very far, but I traveled so swiftly that I arrived in a remarkably short time at the wizard’s house. When I rapped, he opened the door and asked me in.

“‘I came to see if you had any dragons left,’ I told him. ‘I should like a very good, gentle dragon,’ I added, ‘that would not scare Nurse; and if it is isn’t too much trouble, I should want one that I could ride.’”

The Indorsement. When the composition is finished, it should be folded but once up and down the middle of the page. The indorsement upon the back is generally written toward the edges of the leaves, not toward the folded edge. I prefer the other way, however; and for this reason. If in a bunch of essays a teacher is searching for a particular one, she generally holds them in the left hand and with the 299 fingers of the right lifts one essay after another. Indorsing toward the folded edge insures lifting a whole essay every time; while if the edges of the leaves be toward the right hand, too many or too few may be lifted.

The indorsement should contain: first, the name of the writer; second, the term and period of his recitation; third, the title of the essay; and fourth, the date. In describing the class and period, it is well to use a Roman numeral for the term, counting two terms in each year, and an Arabic numeral to denote the period of his recitation.

300 Penmanship. The penmanship should be neat and legible. Not all persons can write elegantly; but all can write so that their work can be easily read, and all can make a clean page. Scribbling is due to carelessness. A scribbled page points to a scribbling mind; clean-cut handwriting, perhaps not Spencerian, but a clear, legible handwriting is not only an indication of clear-cut thinking but a means and promoter of accurate thought. Moreover, as a business proposition, one cannot afford to become a slovenly penman. Every composition should be a lesson in penmanship, and by so much improve one’s chances in the business world. And last, the teacher who has to read and correct the compositions of from one hundred to two hundred persons each week demands some consideration. No one but a teacher knows the drudgery of this work; it can be much lightened if each pupil writes so that the composition can be read without difficulty. By doing this, the pupil is sure of better criticism; for the teacher can give all her attention to the composition, none being demanded for the penmanship.

C. MARKS FOR CORRECTION OF COMPOSITIONS.

In addition to the above very common corrections, many others should be made. Instead of abbreviations, it will be better to refer the pupil to the page of the book which treats of the special fault. For instance, if there be an unexpected change of construction, underscore it, and write in the margin “226;” on this page is found “parallel construction” of sentences. It may be well to use the letters U., C., and M., in connection with the page numbers to indicate that the fault is in the unity, coherence, or mass of the element to be corrected. The constant reference to the fuller statement of the principles violated will serve to fix them in the mind.

D. PUNCTUATION.

Punctuation seeks to do for written composition what inflections and pauses accomplish in vocal expression. It makes clear what kind of an expression the whole sentence is: whether declarative, exclamatory, or interrogative. And it assists in indicating the relations of the different parts within a sentence. While there is practically uniformity in the method of punctuation at the end of a sentence, within a 302 sentence punctuation shows much variety of method. Where one person uses a comma, another inserts a semicolon; and where one finds a semicolon sufficient, another requires a colon. It should be remembered that the parts of a sentence have not equal rank; and that the difference in rank should, as far as possible, be indicated by the marks of punctuation. Keeping in mind, also, the fact that the internal marks of punctuation,—the colon, the semicolon, and the comma,—have a rank in the order mentioned, from the greatest to the least, a writer will use the stronger marks when the rank of the parts of a sentence demands them, and the weaker marks to separate the lesser elements of the sentence. The sentences below illustrate the variety which may be practiced, and the use of punctuation to show the relation and rank of the elements of a sentence.

1. Internal punctuation is largely a matter of taste but there are definite rules for final punctuation.
2. Internal punctuation is largely a matter of taste; there are, however, definite rules for final punctuation.
3. Internal punctuation, the purpose of which is to group phrases and clauses which belong together and to separate those which do not belong together, and to indicate the relative rank of the parts separated, is, to a great extent, a matter of taste: on the other hand, there are definite rules for final punctuation, the object of which is to separate sentences, and also to assist in telling what kind of a sentence precedes it; that is, whether it be declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory.

Looking at the first sentence, we find two elements of equal rank separated by a comma. Some authors would prefer no punctuation at all in a sentence as short as this. Again, if one wished to make the two elements very independent, he would use a semicolon. There would be but little difference in meaning between no punctuation and a comma; but there is a wide difference in meaning between no punctuation and a semicolon. The independence caused by the use of the semicolon is felt in the second sentence, where the words are the same except one. In this sentence 303 a colon might be used; and one might go so far as to make two sentences of it. Notice that in these two sentences the question is how independent you wish the elements to be, and it is also a question of taste. In the third sentence, there are elements of different rank. To indicate the rank, punctuation of different value must be introduced. The two independent elements are separated by a colon. A semicolon might be used, if a semicolon were not used within the second independent element. This renders the greater mark necessary. Look at the commas in the first independent element. The assertion is that “internal punctuation is a matter of taste.” This is too sweeping. It is modified by an explanatory phrase, “to a large extent;” and this phrase is inclosed by commas. Moreover, the long clause indicating the purpose of internal punctuation is inclosed by commas. The use of a semicolon in the second part falls under the third rule for the semicolon. If one should substitute for this semicolon a comma and a dash, he could use a semicolon instead of a colon for separating the two main divisions of the sentence. However, the method in which they are first punctuated is in accord with the rules generally accepted. The simplest of these rules are given below but one must never be surprised to find a piece of literature in which the internal punctuation is at variance with these rules.

CAPITAL LETTERS.

1. A capital letter begins every new sentence.
2. A capital letter begins every line of poetry.
3. All names of Deity begin with a capital letter.
4. All proper names begin with capital letters.
5. All adjectives derived from proper nouns begin with capital letters.
6. The first word of every direct quotation begins with a capital letter.
7. Most abbreviations use capital letters.

COMMAS.

1. A series of words or a series of phrases, performing 304 similar functions in a sentence, are separated from each other by commas, unless all the connectives are expressed.

   “Her voice was ever soft,

   Gentle, and low,—an excellent thing in woman.”

   “Good my lord,

   You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I

   Return those duties back as are right fit,

   Obey you, love you, and most honor you.”

   But, “shining and tall and fair and straight,” because all the connectives are expressed.

2. Words out of their natural order are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.

   “To the unlearned, punctuation is a matter of chance.”

3. Words and phrases, either explanatory or slightly parenthetical, are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.

   “Then poor Cordelia!

   And yet not so; since, I am sure, my love ’s

   More richer than my tongue.”

   However when phrases and clauses are quite parenthetic, they are separated from the remainder of the sentence by parentheses, or by commas and dashes. The comma and dash is more common, and generally indicates a lesser independence of the inclosed element.

   “Then Miss Gunns smiled stiffly, and thought what a pity it was that these rich country people, who could afford to buy such good clothes (really Miss Nancy’s lace and silk were very costly), should be brought up in utter ignorance and vulgarity.”

4. The nominative of direct address, and phrases in the nominative absolute construction are cut off by commas.

   “Goneril,

   Our eldest born, speak first.”

   “The ridges being taken, the troops advanced a thousand yards.”

5. Appositive words and phrases are separated from the remainder of the sentence by commas.

   “In the early years of this century, such a linen weaver, named Silas Marner, worked at his vocation, in a stone cottage that stood among the nutty hedgerows near the village of Raveloe, and not far from the edge of a deserted stone-pit.”

6. 305 When words are omitted, the omission is indicated by the use of a comma.

   “Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor;

   Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despis’d!”

7. A comma is used before a short and informal quotation.

   “In the bitterness of his wounded spirit, he said to himself, ‘She will cast me off too.’”

8. A comma is used to separate the independent clauses of a compound sentence sufficiently involved to necessitate some mark of punctuation, and yet not involved enough to require marks of different ranks.

   “But about the Christmas of the fifteenth year a second great change came over Marner’s life, and his history became blent in a singular manner with the life of his neighbors.”

9. Small groups of more closely related words are inclosed by commas to indicate their near relation and to separate them from words they might otherwise be thought to modify.

   “In this strange world, made a hopeless riddle to him, he might, if he had had a less intense nature, have sat weaving, weaving—looking towards the end of his pattern, or towards the end of his web, till he forgot the riddle, and everything else but his immediate sensations; but the money had come to mark off his weaving into periods, and the money not only grew, but it remained with him.”

SEMICOLONS.

1. A semicolon is used to separate the parts of a compound sentence if they are involved, or contain commas. It is also used to give independence to the members of a compound sentence when not very complex.

   “The meadow was searched in vain; and he got over the stile into the next field, looking with dying hope towards a small pond which was now reduced to its summer shallowness, so as to leave a wide margin of good adhesive mud.”

   “As for the child, he would see that it was cared for; he would never forsake it; he would do everything but own it.”

2. Semicolons are used to separate a series of clauses in 306 much the same way as commas are used to separate a series of words.

   “I love you more than words can wield the matter;

   Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty;

   Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare;

   No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor;

   As much as child e’er loved, or father found;

   A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable;

   Beyond all manner of so much I love thee.”

3. A semicolon is generally used to introduce a clause of repetition, a clause stating the obverse, and a clause stating an inference.

(Many examples of the last two rules will be found in the discussion of compound sentences on pages 202, 203.)

COLONS.

1. A colon is used to introduce a formal quotation. It is frequently followed by a dash.

   “Under date of November 28, 1860, she wrote to a friend:—

   “‘I am engaged now in writing a story—the idea of which came to me after our arrival in this house, and which has thrust itself between me and the other book I was meditating. It is Silas Manner, the Weaver of Raveloe.’”

   “On the last day of the same year she wrote: ‘I am writing a story which came across my other plans by a sudden inspiration, etc.’”

2. A colon is used to introduce a series of particulars, either appositional or explanatory, which the reader has been led to expect by the first clause of the sentence. These particulars are separated from each other by semicolons.

   “The study of the principles of composition should include the following subjects: a study of words as to their origin and meaning; a study of the structure of the sentence and of the larger elements of discourse—in other words, of concrete logic; a study of the principles of effective literary composition, as illustrated in the various divisions of literature; and also a study of the æsthetics of literature.”

   “What John Morley once said of literature as a whole is even more accurate when applied to fiction alone: its purpose is ‘to bring sunshine into our hearts and to drive moonshine out of our heads.’”

3. A colon is used to separate the major parts of a very 307 complex and involved sentence, if the major parts, or either of them, contain within themselves semicolons.

   “For four years he had thought of Nancy Lammeter, and wooed her with a tacit patient worship, as the woman who made him think of the future with joy: she would be his wife, and would make home lovely to him, as his father’s home had never been; and it would be easy, when she was always near, to shake off those foolish habits that were no pleasures, but only a feverish way of annulling vacancy.”

4. A colon is sometimes used to mark a strong independence in the parts of a compound sentence.

   “He didn’t want to give Godfrey that pleasure: he preferred that Master Godfrey should be vexed.”

THE DASH.

1. A dash is frequently used with a colon to introduce a formal quotation. The quotation then begins a new paragraph.

   (Example under colon.)

2. A dash is used alone or with a comma to inclose a phrase or clause which is parenthetic or explanatory.

   “‘But as for being ugly, look at me, child, in this silver-colored silk—I told you how it ’ud be—I look as yallow as a daffadil.’”

   (Example under comma.)

3. A dash is used to denote a sudden turn of the thought.

   “I’ve no opinion of the men, Miss Gunn—I don’t know what you have.”

   “‘It does make her look funny, though—partly like a short-necked bottle wi’ a long quill in it.’”

4. A dash is frequently used when the composition should be interrupted to indicate the intensity of the emotion.

   “‘No—no—I can’t part with it, I can’t let it go,’ said Silas abruptly. ‘It’s come to me—I’ve a right to keep it.’”

   “And my poor fool is hang’d! No, no, no life!

   Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,

   And thou no breath at all? Thou’lt come no more,

   Never, never, never, never, never!—

   Pray you, undo this button:—thank you, sir.—

   Do you see this? Look on her,—look,—her lips,—

   Look there, look there!”—

5. 308 A dash is sometimes used alone before an appositive phrase or clause.

   “For the first time he determined to try the coal-hole—a small closet near the hearth.”

PERIOD, EXCLAMATION POINT, INTERROGATION MARK.

1. A period closes every declarative sentence.
2. A period is used after abbreviations.
3. An exclamation point follows an expression of strong emotion.
4. An interrogation mark follows a direct question.

5. An interrogation mark is sometimes used in the body of a sentence, when the writer wishes to make the assertion forceful and uses a rhetorical question for the purpose.

   “The shepherd’s dog barked fiercely when one of these alien-looking men appeared on the upland, dark against the early winter sunset; for what dog likes a figure bent under a heavy bag?—and these pale men rarely stirred abroad without that mysterious burden.”

6. Quotation marks inclose every quotation of the exact words of another. When one quotation is made within another, the inner or secondary quotation is inclosed with single marks, the main or outer quotation is included within the double marks.

(Examples of both may be found above.)

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING PUNCTUATION.

At the time the pupils are studying the rules for punctuation they are reading Hawthorne or some other author equally careful of his punctuation. In his writing they will find numerous examples of the rules for punctuation. Let them take five rules for the comma, finding all the examples in five pages of text. In the same way furnish semicolons, colons, and dashes. When the rules have all been learned, they should be able to give the reason for every mark they find in literature. Next place upon the board paragraphs not punctuated, and have the pupils punctuate them. Remember that there is not absolute uniformity in the use of 309 the comma, semicolon, and colon; though in each author there is a general adherence to the principles he adopts. Punctuation should be consistent. Insist that the pupil punctuate his written work consistently.

E. SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF LITERATURE.57