HARVARD COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped September, 1900. Reprinted November, 1902. Norwood Press PREFACE EVERY teacher of English will use a classic in his own way. He will probably discover that, as the vocabulary of the average pupil is limited, much attention must be given to definition. The comparison of a dictionary definition of a word with the actual use of the word in literature has advantages. He may, moreover, with perfect safety proceed upon the supposition that the pupil is entirely ignorant of the literary qualities of a "classic," the setting in time and place, the means employed to make descriptions vivid, the arrangement of material in such a way as to maintain interest to the end, the method of sketching characters, and the development of them. as the story advances. Upon second reading discrimination of the commoner synonyms may be suggested by the author's own choice of words; and analysis, not mere naming, of figures of speech and other rhetorical devices may stimulate independent thought, and will certainly lead to an appreciation of them such as no text-book can give. The results of all will appear in the practical part of the work, the short essays which the pupil should be obliged to write from time to time. Evangeline needs little interpretation. This edition is intended to hint at, not to exhaust, the study of it. L. B. S. |