REPRODUCTION, ABSTRACT, SUMMARY, ABRIDGMENT
=Literal Reproduction.=—The word _reproduction_ is often used in Rhetoric
in a somewhat general sense, to mean any version of another composition.
As we shall use it, the term means _literal reproduction_; in other
words, a version that follows the phrasing of the original as nearly as
the time given for study will permit. Writing of reproductions trains the
memory and adds immensely to one’s command of words.
Below are given lists of brief selections, most of them requiring
not more than ten minutes to reproduce. It is suggested that a given
paragraph or page be slowly read aloud to the class, two or three
times, and that the class afterward write the piece as nearly as
possible in the author’s words. _Each student should then insert in his
vocabulary book any new words or phrases that seem to him particularly
serviceable. These memoranda will prove invaluable later on, when similar
topics (not the same ones) are to be written about by the student
himself._ To illustrate: a student after reading two or three personal
descriptions might jot down for future use such phrases as the following:
_Eyes._—Laughing, startled, heavy-lidded, hazel, vacant, protruding,
lustrous, expressive, liquid, dreamy, speaking, glad. _Nose._—Aquiline,
Roman, beak-like, shapely, snub, sharp, insignificant. _Hair._—Grizzled,
frowsy, shaggy, glossy, dishevelled, unkempt, tumbled. _Manner._—Alert,
jaunty, affable, sprightly, haughty, pretentious, modest, diffident,
reserved, ostentatious, demure, animated. _Figure._—Gaunt, emaciated,
lank, vigorous, robust, grotesque, massive, insignificant, thick-set,
portly, sturdy, stalwart, erect, decrepit, fragile. _Expression._—Rueful,
crafty, frank, wistful, stolid.
MATERIAL FOR LITERAL REPRODUCTION
_Narration_
Miles, One Thousand and One Anecdotes: p. 30, Garcia; 33, Handel; 36,
Mozart; 43, Paganini; 74, A dull witness; 96, Mrs. Siddons; 105, 110,
Wellington; 106, Coolness; 132, Bad handwriting; 142, Dickens and
Thackeray; 218, Hill; 231, Newton; 231, Sidney Smith; 251, Scott; 253,
Lessing; 254, Geological; 255, Blackie; 268, Béranger; 273, A toast; 304,
A careful reader; 312, Webster; 316, Johnson; 318, Poetry and Pattypans;
322, Marryat; 323, Turner; 324, Dannecker; 328, Hugo and Coppée; 368,
Heroism of a workman; 370, Rochejaquelin; 371, Washington; 374, Lefevre;
378, Virchow; 378, Cham and Gille.
_Description_
_Persons._—Hawthorne: American Note Books. See Index, p. 448, for
paragraphs on characters, mostly men.
_Scenery._—1. _Sunrise._ Hawthorne: American Note Books, 75, 121, 315.
Thoreau: Spring, 99.
2. _Morning._ Hawthorne: American Note Books, 75, 177. Thoreau: Winter,
128, 137, 258.
3. _Afternoon._ Hawthorne: American Note Books, 96. Thoreau: Autumn, 21,
28, 182.
4. _Sunset._ Hawthorne: American Note Books, 112. Thoreau: Autumn, 3, 17,
90, 112, 152, 214, 259, 311, 327, 330, 345, 388, 429, 433. Winter, 23,
38, 40, 127, 155. Summer, 47, 246, 313, 332, 362.
5. _Sunlight._ Burroughs: Winter Sunshine, 102. Thoreau: Autumn, 289.
Winter, 114, 249.
6. _Moonlight._ Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter (Custom House). Ruskin:
Præterita, vol. ii., 166. Thoreau: Spring, 78. Summer, 95, 97, 117, 120,
176, 233, 239, 333. Winter, 215, 320, 322. Burroughs: Winter Sunshine, 43.
7. _Water._ Blackmore: Lorna Doone, vii. Thoreau: Spring, 87, 96, 101,
109, 154. Summer, 30, 117, 240, 243. Autumn, 111, 160, 182, 370, 400,
434. Ruskin: Præterita, vol. ii., 159 (The Rhone).
8. _Mountains._ Ruskin: Præterita, vol. i., 288. Bolles: At the North of
Bearcamp Water. See Index, p. 296, for many views of more than a score of
mountains.
9. _Landscapes._ Ruskin: Præterita, vol. ii., 78 (Rome). Hawthorne:
American Note Books, 441 (Gosport). Blackmore: Lorna Doone, iv. (Doone
Gate). Hugo: Les Misèrables (Field of Waterloo).
_Birds, Animals, and Insects._—See indexes of the following: Thoreau:
Spring; Summer; Autumn; Winter; Walden. Burroughs: Wake Robin; Winter
Sunshine; Birds and Bees. Miller: Bird-Ways; A Bird-Lover in the West.
Torrey: A Rambler’s Lease; Birds in the Bush. Merriam: A-Birding on a
Broncho. Bolles: From Blomidon to Smoky; The Land of the Lingering Snow;
At the North of Bearcamp Water. Gibson: Sharp Eyes.
_Buildings and Rooms._—Ruskin: Præterita, vol. i., 232 (chapel); vol.
iii., 5 (monastery). Scott: Ivanhoe, iii. (Saxon hall). Stevenson: An
Inland Voyage (Noyon Cathedral); The Amateur Emigrant (the second cabin).
Hawthorne: House of the Seven Gables, i.; Howe’s Masquerade (the Province
House). Irving: The Alhambra. (Palace of the Alhambra); Sketch Book
(Westminster Abbey). Lamb: The East India Office.
_Exposition_
Helps: Thoughts in the Cloister and the Crowd, 14, 27, 32, 33, 40, 42,
54, 61, 72. Brevia, 5, 14, 15, 22, 37, 91, 92, 94, 105, 113, 115, 161,
163.
Blake: Thoreau’s Thoughts, 4, 9, 21, 46, 89, 98, 100, 103, 108, 118, 123.
=Summary, Abstract, Abridgment.=—The ability to arrive at the substance
of an article or book and write it down, is demanded constantly in almost
every business and in every profession. An extremely brief statement
of the substance is called a _summary_. A longer statement, couched in
language independent of that used by the author, is an _abstract_. If the
article or book is shortened by the omission of the less important parts,
the language of the original being in general retained, the result is an
_abridgment_.
Almost any well-constructed composition lends itself to summary,
abstract, or abridgment. A story of Irving or Hawthorne, a chapter
of Parkman or John Fiske, an article in the _Forum_ or the _Nation_,
furnishes excellent material. Below are given typical pieces that may
be used, the shorter ones for summary, the longer for abstract or
abridgment. Stories can better be abstracted than abridged.
It is well to plan the proportions of your version. The scale of 1:6 (one
paragraph to six) will be found a good proportion on which to reduce the
longer pieces. Burke’s Speech On Conciliation would thus reduce to an
abstract or an abridgment of about twenty paragraphs. But this speech can
be reduced on a scale of 1:10 or even 1:20.
MATERIAL FOR SUMMARY, ABSTRACT, ABRIDGMENT
_Narration_
1. _Personal Contests_:—_Spartacus and Hermann_, A. J. Church: Two
Thousand Years Ago, p. 31 ff. _Christian and Apollyon_, Bunyan: Pilgrim’s
Progress, Fourth Stage. _Archery_, Scott: Ivanhoe, xiii. _David and
Goliath_, I Samuel xvii. _Nickleby and Squeers_, Dickens: Nicholas
Nickleby, xiii. _The Boat Race_, Hughes: Tom Brown at Oxford. _Siege
of the Round House_, Stevenson: Kidnapped, x. _The Three-Handed Duel_,
Marryat: Midshipman Easy. _The Tournament_, Scott: Ivanhoe, xii.
2. _Narrative chapters from_: Aldrich: Story of a Bad Boy. Burnett: The
One I Knew the Best of All. Hale: A New England Boyhood. Larcom: A New
England Girlhood. Howells: My Year in a Log Cabin. Warner: Being a Boy.
3. _Stories._—Hawthorne: The Snow Image; The Great Stone Face; Ethan
Brand; Legends of the Province House; The Great Carbuncle; David Swan;
The Vision of the Fountain; Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment; The Artist of the
Beautiful.
Wilkins: A Humble Romance; The Bar Lighthouse; A Lover of Flowers;
Gentian; A Conflict Ended; A Village Singer; Sister Liddy; A Gala Dress;
A Village Lear; The Revolt of Mother.
Sir Roger de Coverley Papers: Spectators No. 110, 112, 113, 116, 118,
122, 123, 132, 269, 329, 335, 359, 383, 517.
4. _History._—Green: History of the English People. _Bæda_, vol. i.,
ch. 2, pp. 64-67. _Hastings_, vol. i., ch. 4, pp. 113-114. _Rising of
baronage_, B. iii., ch. 1, pp. 240-244. _Calais_, B. iv., ch. 2, pp.
422-425. _Armada_, B. vi., ch. 6, pp. 444-446. _Return of Napoleon_;
_Waterloo_, B. ix., ch. 5, pp. 385-389.
McMasters: History of the People of the United States. _Marietta_,
vol. i., 513-515. _Death of Hamilton_, vol. iii., 52-53. _Leopard and
Chesapeake_, vol. iii., 258-259. _Monroe’s journey_, vol. iv., 377-380.
Fiske: Critical Period of American History. The Continental Congress,
vol. i., ch. 3. Valley Forge, vol. ii., ch. 9.
Rolfe, W. J.: Tales from English History in Prose and Verse.
Yonge: Book of Golden Deeds.
_Description_
1. _Schools._—See The Schoolmaster in Literature. (American Book Co.)
2. _Towns._—Hale: Seven Spanish Cities. Howells: Three Villages; A Boy’s
Town. Stedman: New York City (_St. Nicholas_, 20:403, ’93). Stockton:
St. Augustine (_Ibid._, 21:206, ’94).
=Exposition.=—1. Nordhoff: Politics for Young Americans. 2. Van Dyke:
How to judge a picture. 3. Krehbiel: How to understand music. 4. Wagner:
Courage. 5. Camp: American Football. 6. Stagg and Williams: American
Football. 7. Bassett: Machinist’s trade (_Harper’s Young People_, 64:682,
’91). The Printing Trade (_Ibid._, 64:624, ’91). The following articles
from _The Youth’s Companion_: 8. Journalism for girls (64:657, ’91). 9.
Civil Service (64:245, ’91). 10. Why men must die (67:426, ’94). 11.
Medicine as a profession (64:258, ’91). 12. Success in railway life
(65:505, ’92). 13. Wholesome lunches (67:83, ’94). 14-18. Advice to young
musicians (64:310, 418, 321, 362). 19. Separate functions of the Senate
and House of Representatives (63:633, ’90). 20. Self-Education (65:494,
’92). 21-23. The girl who thinks she can write (64:447; 65:458, 734).
24. Trusts (67:538,’94). 25. Uses of the census (63:89, ’90). 26. Monroe
Doctrine (67:388, ’94). 27. Arbitration (67:48, ’94). 28. Good government
clubs (67:448, ’94).
_Argument_[52]
1. A property qualification for municipal suffrage is desirable.
_Affirmative._ White: _Forum_, x. 357 (Dec. 1890). Eliot:
_Forum_, xii. 153 (Oct. 1891).
_Negative._ Bryce: American Commonwealth, i., chaps, i., iii.
2. An eight-hour working day should be adopted by law.
_Affirmative._ Webb and Cox: The Eight Hours Day.
_Negative._ Walker: Atlantic Monthly, lxv. 800 (June, 1890).
3. Municipalities should sometimes give work to the unemployed.
_Affirmative._ _Forum_, xvi. 655 (Feb. 1894). Coit _Forum_,
xvii. 276 (May, 1894).
_Negative._ _Nation_, lvii. 481 (Dec. 28, 1893).
4. The housing of the poor should be improved by municipalities.
_Affirmative._ Riis: How the Other Half Lives.
_Negative._ White: Improved Dwellings for the Laboring Classes.
5. Burke: On Conciliation with the American Colonies.
6. Chatham: On Removing Troops from Boston.[53]
7. Beecher: Liverpool Speech.[53]