Choose a number of paragraphs, for example, 8, 9, 12, 21, 28, 29, and make an analysis to discover the topic sentence, if there is one, and the method of development.
What figure of speech is strikingly illustrated in paragraphs 13 and 14?
Examine the most emotional passages like paragraphs 12-17 to note the sentence structure and choice of language.
THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.--What do we know of Webster's parentage? his boyhood? his college life? his experience as a schoolmaster? the beginning of his career as a lawyer? his rapid success? his first term in Congress? his success as an orator? the importance of his work on the Dartmouth College case? his position on the great questions between North and South? the effect on his reputation of his Reply to Hayne? the effect on his reputation of his seventh of March speech? the great traits of his character?
Relate some of the anecdotes that illustrate his chief characteristics.
OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS
I. Preparation
A careful study of this address should include familiarity with the matters discussed and an analysis to show the structure of the essay.
The most natural preparation for the first reading will be to recall the time and circumstances of the address, and to tell what part Madison and Hamilton had in preparing it.
II. Reading and Study
The first reading should be done, if possible, at a single sitting, and should enable the student to get the main points of the address and to appreciate the way in which Washington regarded the people.
The second reading should be made with special attention to the preparation of a detailed outline; to an analysis of the thought; and to a study of the paragraph structure.
III. Study of the Address as a Whole
CONTENT.--What were Washington's reasons for declining a third term?
Are they such that all our presidents should follow his example?
Explain what Washington meant by a "unity of government."
Give the various reasons that the people ought to have for cherishing this idea of unity.
What does Washington say about sectionalism?
To what extent had the country already suffered from it?
Discuss party-spirit,--its nature, its tendencies, its good compared with its evil.
Compare Washington's remarks with Addison's discussion on party-spirit in the _Sir Roger de Coverley Papers_.
Do we now suffer from any of the evils that Washington points out as resulting from party-spirit?
What relation do religion and morality bear to each other and to government?
How would Washington have us deal with foreign powers?
To what extent do we in our day follow his ideal?
What was his advice concerning political connection with foreign nations?
To what extent do we follow it?
FORM.--Summarize the introductory paragraphs, compare them with the introduction in Webster's _First Bunker Hill Oration_, and note the difference in purpose and method.
What is the purpose in paragraph 7?
Find other paragraphs in the address that have a similar purpose.
Examine several paragraphs (for example, 9, 10, 16, 17), note the topic sentence, if there is one, and the methods of development.
Compare this address with Webster's _First Bunker Hill Oration_ with respect to the logical connection of the main topics, the choice of language, and the effectiveness of the conclusion.
[1] _The Life of Sir Walter Scott_, by J. G. Lockhart, London, 1898.
[2] See suggestions for teaching "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," in _The Teaching of English_, by Percival Chubb, pp. 161-166.
[3] Though there may be some doubt as to whether _The Deserted Village_ is strictly a lyric, the plan of study will naturally follow that of lyric poetry.
APPENDIX
COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS IN ENGLISH
COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION BOARD
(1905)
A--Reading and Practice[4]
_Select one subject from each of the following groups and write upon each a composition at least two pages in length. Be careful to keep to the subject. Pay special attention to the structure of sentences and paragraphs._
GROUP I
1 A scene from _Ivanhoe_ in which one of the following characters is a principal figure: Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Wamba, Rowena, Isaac of York.
2 The Vicar finds Olivia.
3 The scene as it might have appeared to one standing just outside the castle gate, as Sir Launfal emerged from his castle in his search for the Holy Grail.
4 The ship of the Ancient Mariner is becalmed.