braham oyer BY A. R. BRUBACHER, PÅ. D. AND DOROTHY E. SNYDER, B. A., PD. B. C⋅EM· NEW YORK CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 1912 199-2262 Edur 7 769 12.220 771 ऋ May 23, 1912. Dept. of Education Library TRANSFERRED TO HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY MAI 26 1921 COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY CHARLES E. MERRILL Co. PREFACE HIGH School English is here considered as a unit. During the secondary school period the pupil should become familiar with the structure of the English language by the study of the uncontroverted rules of usage embodied in Grammar; he should acquire the habitual use of forceful and appropriate language in speaking and writing by the practice of oral and written self-expression; he should form a discriminating taste for good literature by much reading, together with profitable discussions regarding the form and content of the literature read. This volume seeks to be a guide in such work. It is assumed that pupils have mastered those principles of English Grammar which form the necessary basis of correct expression. The appendix presents a brief topical review of grammar, punctuation, and capitalization, for those who need such review during the third or fourth year. Composition is presented as a complete study, including the sentence, the paragraph, and the four forms of discourse. It is assumed that the pupils have studied narration and description in detail before taking up the study of this book. Chief emphasis is therefore laid upon exposition and argument. Letter writing is placed in the appendix, where its forms and rules are given for reference and review. Pupils should be well grounded in the letter form before the third year. The authors urge, however, the continual practice of letter writing throughout the high school course in connection with all forms of discourse, emphasis being placed on content after form has been mastered. The letter as a literary form is treated in Chapter IX. The chapter on Words seeks to present an analytical study of the subject, by entering into the historical and formal nature of language. This chapter opens the way for much detailed work in the study of language for those classes which have sufficient knowledge of related foreign languages. Other classes should confine themselves to the more general aspect of the subject. The chapter on Criticism takes up literature from the pupil's point of view. It discusses those matters which will enable the pupil to understand the thought and estimate the true value of a piece of writing. The aim of the chapter is to develop critical reading. To this end the pupil is shown how to penetrate the thought, what to demand of the author, how to get at his purpose, what to enjoy in form and sentiment, how to form a correct taste. Typical criticisms by well-known writers, on familiar authors and books, are given as exercises. The aim is to give the individual reader the necessary tools for thoughtful, enjoyable reading. The chapter on Conversations about Books supplements the chapter on Criticism by presenting topics for familiar classroom or personal conversations about the books usually assigned for supplementary work. Here are suggested those matters which we like to discuss with a friend who has shared our book. By such familiar conversations we draw close to author and imagined character; thereby we enter the literary atmosphere of a book. Such critical reading and thinking prepare the pupil for future intelligent reading, and aid in the right choice of books. The selections from Burroughs's Birds and Poets, Fiske's Civil Government in the United States, Hearn's Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, Kittredge's Introduction to Eng lish and Scottish Ballads, Palmer's Self-Cultivation in English, and Bradford's Lee in Battle are used by permission of and by special arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Company; from Pragmatism, by William James, by permission of Longmans, Green & Co.; from The Golden Age, by Kenneth Grahame, by permission of the John Lane Company; from Two Kinds of Education for Engineers, by J. B. Johnson, by courtesy of Prof. F. E. Turneaure; from English Literature, by W. J. Long, by permission of Ginn & Company; from Discussions in Economics and Statistics, by F. A. Walker, by permission of Henry Holt and Company; from The World's Greatest Short Stories, by courtesy of Sherwin Cody and A. C. McClurg & Co.; from Hudson's Idle Days in Patagonia and McLaughlin's History of the American Nation, by permission of D. Appleton and Company; from The Literary Digest, "Raising the Maine," by permission of Funk & Wagnalls Company; from The Spectator, by permission of The Outlook Company; from Van Dyke's The Blue Flower, Brander Matthews's Parts of Speech in Essays on English, and Stevenson's Letter to Sidney Colvin, by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons; and from Bryce's American Commonwealth, and Hearn's Kotto, by permission of the Macmillan Company. A. R. BRUBACHER. Schenectady, N. Y., |
