Tom Brown at Rugby: VI, 208. The Adventure of the Windmills: VIII, 289. B. Essays. Childhood: VI, 375. Dream Children: IX, 271. The Gettysburg Address: X, 272. II. POETRY. 1. Structure of Poetry. A. Rhyme. The Country Squire: VII, 278-281. The Daffodils: VII, 287-288. The Old Oaken Bucket: VII, 298-300. Boat Song: VII, 306-307. 2. Kinds of Poetry. A. Epics. a. Heroic Epics. Death of Hector: V, 47. b. Lesser Epics. Saint Nicholas: II, 117. Pied Piper of Hamelin: IV, 30. Incident of the French Camp: IV, 324. B. Lyrics. a. Songs. (1) Sacred. Nearer Home: IV, 271. Lead, Kindly Light: V, 285., (2) Secular. Annie Laurie: VI, 369. Auld Lang Syne: VII, 9. Those Evening Bells: VIII, 180. (3) Patriotic. Battle Hymn of the Republic: VI, 131. America: VIII, 405. b. Odes. To the Fringed Gentian: VII, 290. To H. W. L.: IV, 224. c. Elegies. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard: VII, 154. d. Sonnet. e. Drama. The Tempest: IX, 286. CHAPTER IX HOW TO READ FICTION 1. Different Kinds of Literature IF there were but one kind of literature, it would be an easy matter to give the few directions that would be necessary to make good readers. In reality there are, however, several types, so different in their purpose, style and content that the reader must study them in many different ways if he would get the varied and inspiring messages. To appreciate what this means, let us look over the field. For our purposes, as has been said, true literature, as distinguished from the practical literature of fact, may be grouped under the two general heads of poetry and prose. At first thought the difference between the two seems wide and unmistakable. Poetry differs from prose not only in form, but also in rhythm, music, beauty and sentiment. The former is usually more figurative, and aims to stimulate the imagination more keenly and to enthral the feelings more completely. Upon a closer consideration it is seen that poetry and good prose have much in common, and that often it is really but a question of form, for lyric beauty glows in the phrases of our finest prose, and both heart and soul are moved by its powerful appeals. There are narratives and arguments in both poetry and prose, and essays in the form of both. For this reason our general method of study may be the same for both, except when form alone is considered. The simplest and most universal form of literature is found in the catchy little nursery rhymes which the children of the nation learn at their cradles from the lips of their elders. In these, if careful search be made, may be found most of the elements which in broader and more complex forms appear in the favorite selections of maturer years. Following the nursery rhymes appear the fables, fairy tales, myths and legends that have formed the literature of earlier races and have come down to us to be amplified and placed in modern form for the children of this age. It has been said that in every child is seen the history of the race, and that from infancy to manhood he typifies every stage of progress the race has seen. In early years he loves the fables where animals speak, feel and act like human beings; for in former times mankind believed the fables to be truth. A child peoples his world with fairies, good and bad, and believes in the limitless power of magic. A little later he loves the deeds of the legendary heroes and revels in the marvelous acts of the more than human beings in whom the ancients believed. Later the stirring adventures of the real heroes of discovery and exploration, the heroic exploits of warriors on land and sea, and the courageous acts of noble men and women in every walk in life appeal to him; while still later, real history seizes the imagination of the youth, who now looks for the causes of things and learns to trace out their effects. He learns to reason and to separate truth from falsehood. Casting aside the wild tales of boyhood, he gathers up instead the facts of life and experience, and draws his inspiration from the noble works of the world's greatest writers. 2. Reading Stories N the development of literary taste, fiction plays as prominent a part as fact, and to fiction, considered in its broadest sense, every child is deeply indebted. Many err in thinking that a stern diet of facts is the only nutriment the child mind needs, and still others err only in a less degree when they look upon fiction as perhaps a necessary evil, but one which must be avoided as much as possible and set aside at the earliest possible moment. All fiction has in it some elements of truth, and they are the sources of the inspiration which comes to children when, in their world of make-believe, they live with their beautiful and heroic friends of the story books. To read fiction properly is to get from it the truth, which, however, is often liable to be lost by the reader in the excitement of the tale, or to pass undetected in the easy-running sentences. As fictitious narratives in prose and poetry in the great majority of cases form the larger part of |