Halleck's New English Literature · Chapter 100Suggested Readings with Questions and Suggestions
This chapter is not translated yet. You are reading the original.
The Pre-Raphaelites.—Read Rossetti's The Blessed Damozel, Sister Helen, The King's Tragedy, Love's Nocturne, and Mary's Girlhood. All of these are given in Page's British Poets of the Nineteenth Century. Selections may be found in Bronson,[19] IV., Century, Oxford Book of Victorian verse, and Manly, I. Selections from Christina Rossetti's Pre-Raphaelite verse are given in all except Page.
From William Morris, read Two Red Roses Across the Moon, The Defence of Guenevere (Page's British Poets), and the selections from The Earthly Paradise in either Page, Century, Bronson, IV., or Manly, I.
What part did Ruskin play in this new movement? Point out the simplest, the most affecting, and the most pleasing stanza in The Blessed Damozel. What Pre-Raphaelite qualities in this poem have made it such a favorite? What are the chief characteristics of Rossetti's other verse? Note specially Miss Rossetti's religious verse.
What Pre-Raphaelite qualities do Morris's Two Red Roses across the Moon (1858) and The Defence of Guenevere (1858) show? Compare this early verse with the selections from The Earthly Paradise (1868-1870).
Macaulay.—Read either the Essay on Milton or the Essay on Addison (Eclectic English Classics or Gateway Series) or the selections in Craik, V., Manly, II., Century, or Dickinson and Roe's Nineteenth Century Prose.
Read History of England, Chap. IX., or the selections in Craik V., or Century, or Manly, II.
What are some of the qualities that cause Macaulay's writings to outstrip in popularity other works of a similar nature? What qualities in his style may be commended to young writers? What are his special defects? Contrast his narrative style in Chap. IX. of the History with Carlyle's in The French Revolution, Vol. I., Book V., Chap. VI.
Newman.—The best volume of selections is edited by Lewis E. Gates (228 pages, 75 cents). Dickinson and Roe's Nineteenth Century English Prose contains Newman's essay on Literature. Selections are given in Craik V., Century, and Manly, II.
Compare his style with Macaulay's and note the resemblance and the difference. Why did Newman call himself a rhetorician? What qualities does he add to those of a rhetorician? Select passages that show his special clearness, concreteness, also his rhetorical and argumentative power.
Carlyle.—Read the Essay on Robert Burns (Eclectic English Classics or Gateway Series); Sartor Resartus, Book III., Chap. VI. (Everyman's Library); The French Revolution, Vol. I., Book V., Chap. VI. (Everyman's Library). Selections may be found in Craik, V., Century, Manly, II., and Evans's Carlyle (Masters of Literature).
What marked difference in manner of treatment is shown in Macaulay's Milton or Addison and Carlyle's Burns? What was Carlyle's message in Sartor Resartus? What did Huxley and Tyndale say of his influence? What are the most noteworthy qualities of The French Revolution? What are the chief characteristics of Carlyle's style?
Ruskin.—In Vol. I., Part II., of Modern Painters, read the first part of Chap. I. of Sec. III., Chap. I. of Sec. IV., and Chap. I. of Sec. V., and note Ruskin's surprising accuracy of knowledge in dealing with aspects of the natural world. The Stones of Venice, Vol. III., Chap. IV., states Ruskin's theory of art and its close relation to morality. Excellent selections from the various works of Ruskin will be found in An Introduction to the Writings of John Ruskin, by Vida D. Scudder. Selections are also given in Century, Manly, II., Riverside Literature Series, and Bronson's English Essays (Modern Painters and Fors Clavigera). Sesame and lilies, The King of the Golden River, and The Stones of Venice are published in Everyman's Library.
What was the message of Modern Painters? of The Stones of Venice? of Fors Clavigera? Why is Ruskin called a disciple of Carlyle? Select a passage from Ruskin's descriptive prose and indicate its chief qualities.
Brontë, Bulwer Lytton, Gaskell, Trollope, Kingsley, Reade, Blackmore, and Barrie.—Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë), Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë), Last Days of Pompeii (Lytton), Cranford (Gaskell), Barchester Towers (Trollope), Westward Ho! (Kingsley), The Cloister and the Hearth (Reade), and Lorna Doone (Blackmore) are all published in Everyman's Library. Barrie's The Little Minister is included in Burt's Home Library. The works of the Brontë sisters will be much more appreciated if Mrs. Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë (Everyman's Library) is read first. The novels by the Brontë sisters, Mrs. Gaskell, Trollope, and Barrie record their impressions of contemporary life. The other novels are historical. Lytton gives a vivid account of the last days of Pompeii. Kingsley thrills with his story of the sailors of Elizabeth's time. Reade, who studied libraries to insure the accuracy of The Cloister and the Hearth, portrays vividly the oncoming of the Renaissance in he fifteenth century. Blackmore's great story, which records some incidents of the Monmouth rebellion (1685), is written more to interest than to throw light on history.
Dickens.—The first works of Dickens to be read are Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol, and David Copperfield. These are all published in Everyman's Library. Craik, V., gives "Mr. Pickwick on the Ice," "Christmas at the Cratchit's," and two scenes from David Copperfield.
Select passages that show (a) humor, (b) pathos, (c) sympathy with children, (d) optimism. Describe some one of the characters. Can you instance a case here a mannerism is made to take the place of other characterization? Is Dickens a master of plot? of style?
Thackeray.—Read Henry Esmond (Eclectic English Classics) and The English Humorists of the Fifteenth Century (Macmillan's Pocket Classics). Craik, V., and Manly, II. give selections.
Contrast the manner of treatment in Thackeray's historical novel, Henry Esmond, and in Scott's historical romance, Ivanhoe. Thackeray says: "The best humor is that which contains most humanity—that which is flavored throughout with tenderness and kindness." Would this serve as a definition of Thackeray's own style of humor? State definitely how he differs from Dickens in portraying character. Compare Thackeray's English Humorists with Macaulay's Milton and Carlyle's Burns. Which essay leaves the most definite ideas? Which is the most interesting? Which has the most atmosphere? How should you characterize Thackeray's style?
George Eliot.—Read Silas Marner (Eclectic English Classics or Gateway Series), or selections in Craik, V., or Manly, II. In what does the chief strength of Silas Marner consist,—in the plot, the characters, or the description? Does the ethical purpose of this novel grow naturally out of the story? Is the inner life or only the outward appearance of the characters revealed? Wherein do they show growth?
Stevenson.—Read Treasure Island (Eclectic English Classics or Gateway Series), Inland Voyage, and Travels with a Donkey (Gateway Series). From the essays read Child's Play, Aes Triplex (both in Virginibus Puerisque). Some of the essays and best short stories (including Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) are given in Canby and Pierce's Selections from Robert Louis Stevenson. From the volume of poems called Underwoods, read The Celestial Surgeon and Requiem. A Child's Garden of Verse may be read entire in an hour.
Compare Treasure Island with Robinson Crusoe. What are the chief characteristics of An Inland Voyage and Travels with a Donkey? Why is he called a romantic writer? As an essayist, compare him with Thackeray. What are the special qualities of his style?
George Meredith.—The Egoist is Meredith's most representative novel. The Ordeal of Richard Feverel and Diana of the Crossways are also masterpieces. From the Poems read Love in the Valley, The Lark Ascending, Melanthus, Jump-to-Glory Jane.
What is the central purpose of The Egoist? Select specially Meredithian passages which show his general characteristics. Can you find any other author whose humor resembles Meredith's? Would he naturally be more popular with men or with women?
Hardy.—Hardy's most enjoyable novel is Far from the Madding Crowd. The Return of the Native is one of his strongest works.
What are some of the most striking differences between him and Meredith? Which one is naturally the better story-teller? Where are the scenes of most of Hardy's novels laid? What is his theory of life?
Arnold.—Read Dover Beach, Memorial Verses, Stanzas in Memory of the Author of "Obermann" and Sohrab and Rustum (Page's British Poets of the Nineteenth Century, Bronson, IV., Manly, I.).
Is Arnold the poet of fancy or of reflection? How does his poetry show one phase of nineteenth-century thought?
Arnold's Essays, Literary and Critical are published in Everyman's Library. The best volume of selections from the prose writings of Arnold is the one edited by Lewis E. Gates (348 pages, 75 cents). Good selections are given in Craik, V., Manly, I. (Sweetness and light), Century (The Study of Poetry). Arnold's Introduction to Ward, I., is well worth reading.
What quality specially marks Arnold's criticism? Compare him as a critic with Coleridge, Macaulay, Carlyle, and Thackeray. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a style like Arnold's?
Pater.—Read the essay, Leonardo da Vinci (Dickinson and Roe's Nineteenth Century Prose, pp. 338-368), from Pater's "golden book," The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Literature. E.E. Hale's Selections from Walter Pater (268 pages, 75 cents) gives representative selections. Manly, II., and Century give the essay on Style.
What are the chief characteristics of Pater's style? Compare it with Macaulay's, Newman's, Ruskin's, and Matthew Arnold's. Has Pater a message? Does he show the spirit of the time?
The Brownings.—From Elizabeth Barrett Browning, read Cowper's Grave, the Cry of the Children, and from her Sonnets from the Portuguese, Nos. I., III., VI., X., XVIII., XX., XXVI., XXVIII., XLI., XLIII.
Mrs. Browning's verse comes from the heart and should be felt rather than criticized. Fresh interest may, however, by given to a study of her Sonnets from the Portuguese, by comparing them with any other series of love sonnets, excepting Shakespeare's.
Robert Browning's shorter poems are best for the beginner, who should read Rabbi Ben Ezra, Abt Vogler, Home Thoughts from Abroad, Prospice, Saul, The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Baker's Browning's Shorter Poems (Macmillan's Pocket Classics) contains a very good collection of his shorter poems. Representative selections from Browning's poems are given in Page's British Poets of the Nineteenth Century, Oxford Book of Victorian Verse, Bronson, IV., Manly, I., and Century.
Browning's masterpiece, The Ring and the Book (Oxford Edition, Oxford University Press) would be apt to repel beginners. This should be studied only after a previous acquaintance with his shorter poems.
Define Browning's creed as found in Rabbi Ben Ezra. Is he an ethical teacher? Is there any similarity between his teaching and Carlyle's? What most interests Browning,—word-painting, narration, action, psychological analysis, or technique of verse? See whether a comparison of his Prospice with Tennyson's Crossing the Bar does not help you to understand Browning's peculiar cast of mind. What qualities in Browning entitle him to be ranked as a great poet?
Tennyson.—From his 1842 volume, read the poems mentioned on page 556. From The Princess, read the lyrical songs; from In Memoriam, the parts numbered XLI., LIV., LVII., and CXXXI.; from Maud, the eleven stanzas beginning: "Come into the garden, Maud"; from The Idylls of the King, read Gareth and Lynette, Lancelot and Elaine, The Passing of Arthur (Van Dyke's edition in Gateway Series); from his later poems, The Higher Pantheism, Locksley Hall Sixty Years After, and Crossing the Bar.
The best single volume edition of Tennyson's works is published in Macmillan's Globe Poets. Selections are given in Page's British Poets of the Nineteenth Century, Bronson, IV., Oxford Book of Victorian Verse, Manly, I., and Century.
In The Palace of Art, study carefully the stanzas from XIV. to XXIII., which are illustrative of Tennyson's characteristic style of description. Compare Locksley Hall with Locksley Hall Sixty Years After, and note the difference in thought and metrical form. Does the later poem show a gain over the earlier? Compare Tennyson's nature poetry with that of Keats and Wordsworth. To what is chiefly due the pleasure in reading Tennyson's poetry: to the imagery, form, thought? What idea of his faith do you gain from In Memoriam and The Passing of Arthur? In what is Tennyson the poetic exponent of the age? Is it probable that Tennyson's popularity will increase or wane? Select some of his verse that you think will be as popular a hundred years hence as now.
Swinburne.—Read A Song in Time of Order, The Youth of the Year (Atlanta in Calydon), A Match, The Garden of Proserpine, Hertha, By the North Sea, The Hymn of Man, The Roundel, A Child's Laughter.
The most of the above are given in Page's British Poets of the Nineteenth Century, Bronson, IV., Manly, I., Century, Oxford Book of Victorian Verse.
Compare both the metrical skill and poetic ideas of Swinburne and Tennyson. Can you find any poet who surpasses Swinburne in the technique of verse? What are his chief excellencies and faults?
Kipling.—Read The Jungle Books. The following are among the best of his short stories: The Man Who Would be King, The Brushwood Boy, The Courting of Dinah Shadd, Drums of the Fore and Aft, Without Benefit of Clergy, On Greenhow Hill.
From his poems read Mandalay, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, Danny Deever, The 'Eathen, Ballad of East and West, Recessional, The White Man's Burden; also Song of the Banjo, and L'Envoi from Seven Seas, published by Doubleday, Page and Company.
Why is The Jungle Book called an original creation? What are the most distinctive dualities of Kipling's short stories? Point out in what respects they show the methods of the journalist. How does Kipling sustain the interest? What limitations do you notice? What is specially remarkable about his style? What are the principal characteristics of his verse? What subjects appeal to him? Why is his verse so popular?
Minor Poets.—Read the selections from Clough, Henley, Bridges, Davidson, Thompson, Watson, Dobson and Symons in either The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse or Stevenson's The Home Book of Verse. The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges is inexpensively published by the Oxford University Press. Dobson's verse has been gathered into the single volume Collected Poems (1913).
What are the chief characteristics of each of the above authors? Do these minor versifiers fill a want not fully supplied by the great poets?