autobiography and selected essays-第6章

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to　infuse　life　into　the　driest　of　subjects；　in　other　words；　to

HUMANIZE　his　knowledge；　and　in　the　estimation　of　Matthew　Arnold；

this　is　the　true　work　of　the　scholar；　the　highest　mission　of　style。





III



SUGGESTED　STUDIES　IN　SUBJECT…MATTER；　STRUCTURE；　AND　STYLE





Although　fully　realizing　that　the　questions　here　given　are　only

such　as　are　generally　used　everywhere　by　instructors　in　English；

the　editor　has；　nevertheless；　included　them　with　the　hope　that　some

one　may　find　them　helpful。



The　studies　given　include　a　few　general　questions　and　suggestions

on　subject…matter；　structure；　and　style。　　The　questions　on

structure　are　based　on　an　analysis　of　the　whole　composition　and　of

the　paragraph；　those　on　style　are　based　on　a　study　of　sentences　and

words。　　Such　a　division　of　material　may　seem　unwarranted；　for；　it

may　be　urged；　firmness　of　structure　depends；　to　a　certain　extent；

upon　sentence…form　and　words；　and　clearness　of　style；　to　a　large

extent；　upon　the　form　of　the　paragraph　and　whole　composition。　　The

two；　certainly；　cannot　be　in　justice　separated；　and　especially　is

it　true；　more　deeply　true　than　the　average　student　can　be　brought

to　believe；　that　structure；　〃MIND；　in　style〃　as　Pater　phrases　it；

primarily　determines　not　only　clearness；　but　also　such　qualities　of

style　as　reserve；　refinement；　and　simple　Doric　beauty。　　Since；

however；　structure　is　more　obviously　associated　with　the　larger

groups；　and　style　with　the　smaller；　the　questions　have　been

arranged　according　to　this　division。





I。　Suggestions　for　the　Study　of　Subject…Matter。





1。　To　whom　does　Huxley　address　the　essay？



2。　Can　you　see　any　adaptation　of　his　material　to　his　audience？



3。　How　would　A　Piece　of　Chalk　be　differently　presented　if　given

before　a　science　club？



4。　Does　Huxley　make　his　subject　interesting？　　If　so；　how　does　he

accomplish　this？



5。　Is　the　personality　of　Huxley　suggested　by　the　essays？　　See　Life

and　Letters；　vol。　ii；　p。　293。





II。　Suggestions　for　the　Study　of　Structure。





A。　Analysis　of　the　whole　composition。



1。　State　in　one　complete　sentence　the　theme　of　the　essay。



2。　Analyze　the　essay　for　the　logical　development　of　the　thought。



a。　Questions　on　the　Introduction。

　　　In　the　introduction；　how　does　the　author　approach　his　material？

　　　Does　he　give　the　main　points　of　the　essay？

　　　Does　he　give　his　reasons　for　writing？

　　　Does　he　narrow　his　subject　to　one　point　of　view？

　　　Is　the　introduction　a　digression？



b。　Questions　on　the　Body。

　　　Can　you　find　large　groups　of　thought？

　　　Are　these　groups　closely　related　to　the　theme　and　to　each　other？

　　　Do　you　find　any　digressions？

　　　Is　the　method　used　in　developing　the　groups　inductive　or　deductive？

　　　Is　the　method　different　in　different　groups？

　　　Are　the　groups　arranged　for　good　emphasis　in　the　whole　composition？



c。　Questions　on　the　Conclusion。

　　　How　does　the　author　conclude　the　essay？

　　　Does　the　conclusion　sum　up　the　points　of　the　essay？

　　　Are　any　new　points　suggested？

　　　Is　the　thought　of　the　whole　essay　stated？

　　　Do　you　consider　it　a　strong　conclusion？



3。　Make　out　an　outline　which　shall　picture　the　skeleton　of　the

essay　studied。　　In　making　the　outline　express　the　topics　in　the

form　of　complete　statements；　phrase　the　thought　for　clear　sequence；

and　be　careful　about　such　matters　as　spacing　and　punctuation。



B。　Analysis　of　paragraph　structure。



1。　Can　a　paragraph　be　analyzed　in　the　same　manner　as　the　whole

composition？



2。　Can　you　express　the　thought　of　each　paragraph　in　a　complete

sentence？



3。　Can　you　find　different　points　presented　in　the　paragraph

developing　the　paragraph　topic；　as　the　large　groups　of　the　whole

composition　develop　the　theme？



4。　Are　the　paragraphs　closely　related；　and　how　are　they　bound

together？



5。　Can　any　of　the　paragraphs　be　combined　to　advantage？



6。　Read　from　Barrett　Wendell's　English　Composition　the　chapter　on

paragraphs。　　Are　Huxley's　paragraphs　constructed　in　accordance　with

the　principles　given　in　this　chapter？



7。　Is　the　paragraph　type　varied？　　For　paragraph　types；　see　Scott

and　Denny's　Paragraph　Writing。



C。　Comparative　study　of　the　structure　of　the　essay。



1。　Do　you　find　any　difference　between　Huxley's　earlier　and　later

essays　as　regards　the　structure　of　the　whole；　or　the　structure　of

the　paragraph？



2。　Which　essay　seems　to　you　to　be　most　successful　in　structure？



3。　Has　the　character　of　the　audience　any　influence　upon　the

structure　of　the　essays？



4。　Compare　the　structure　of　one　of　Huxley's　essays　with　that　of

some　other　essay　recently　studied。



5。　Has　the　nature　of　the　material　any　influence　upon　the　structure

of　the　essay？





III。　Suggestions　for　the　Study　of　Style。





A。　Exactly　what　do　you　mean　by　style？



B。　Questions　on　sentence　structure。



1。　From　any　given　essay；　group　together　sentences　which　are　long；

short；　loose；　periodic；　balanced；　simple；　compound；　note　those

peculiar；　for　any　reason；　to　Huxley。



2。　Stevenson　says；　〃The　one　rule　is　to　be　infinitely　various；　to

interest；　to　disappoint；　to　surprise　and　still　to　gratify；　to　be

ever　changing；　as　it　were；　the　stitch；　and　yet　still　to　give　the

effect　of　ingenious　neatness。〃



Do　Huxley's　sentences　conform　to　Stevenson's　rule？　　Compare

Huxley's　sentences　with　Stevenson's　for　variety　in　form。　　Is　there

any　reason　for　the　difference　between　the　form　of　the　two　writers？



3。　Does　this　quotation　from　Pater's　essay　on　Style　describe

Huxley's　sentences？　　〃The　blithe；　crisp　sentence；　decisive　as　a

child's　expression　of　its　needs；　may　alternate　with　the　long…

contending；　victoriously　intricate　sentence；　the　sentence；　born

with　the　integrity　of　a　single　word；　relieving　the　sort　of　sentence

in　which；　if　you　look　closely；　you　can　see　contrivance；　much

adjustment；　to　bring　a　highly　qualified　matter　into　compass　at　one

view。〃



4。　How　do　Huxley's　sentences　compare　with　those　of　Ruskin；　or　with

those　of　any　author　recently　studied？



5。　Are　Huxley's　sentences　musical？　　How　does　an　author　make　his

sentences　musical？



C。　Questions　on　words。



1。　Do　you　find　evidence　of　exactness；　a　quality　which　Huxley　said

he　labored　for？



2。　Are　the　words　general　or　specific　in　character？



3。　How　does　Huxley　make　his　subject…matter　attractive？



4。　From　what　sources　does　Huxley　derive　his　words？　　Are　they　every…

day　words；　or　more　scholarly　in　character？



5。　Do　you　find　any　figures？　　Are　these　mainly　ornamental　or　do　they

re…enforce　the　thought？



8。　Are　there　many　allusions　and　quotations？　　Can　you　easily

recognize　the　source？



7。　Pater　says　in　his　essay　on　Style　that　the　literary　artist

〃begets　a　vocabulary　faithful　to　the　colouring　of　his　own　spirit；

and　in　the　strictest　sense　original。〃　　Do　you　find　that　Huxley's

vocabulary　suggests　the　man？



8。　Does　Huxley　seem　to　search　for　〃the　smooth；　or　winsome；　or

forcible　word；　as　such；　or　quite　simply　and　honestly；　for　the

word's　adjustment　to　its　meaning〃？



9。　Make　out　a　list　of　the　words　and　proper　names　in　any　given　essay

which　are　not　familiar　to　you；　write　out　the　explanation　of　these

in　the　form　of　notes　giving　any　information　which　is　interesting

and　relevant。



D。　General　questions　on　style。



1。　How　is　Huxley's　style　adapted　to　the　subject…matter？



2。　Can　you　explain　the　difference　in　style　of　the　different　essays

by　the　difference　in　purpose？



3。　Compare　Huxley's　way　of　saying　things　with　some　other　author's

way　of　saying　things。



4。　Huxley　says　of　his　essays　to　workingmen；　〃I　only　wish　I　had　had

the　sense　to　anticipate　the　run　these　have　had　here　and　abroad；　and

I　would　have　revised　them　properly。　　As　they　stand　they　are

terribily　in　the　rough；　from　a　literary　point　of　view。〃



Do　you　find　evidences　of　roughness？







THOMAS　HENRY　HUXLEY





AUTOBIOGRAPHY　＇1＇





And　w