The aim of this edition of the _Vision of Sir Launfal_ is to furnish
the material that must be used in any adequate treatment of the poem
in the class room, and to suggest other material that may be used in
the more leisurely and fruitful method of study that is sometimes
possible in spite of the restrictions of arbitrary courses of study.
In interpreting the poem with young students, special emphasis should
be given to the ethical significance, the broad appeal to human
sympathy and the sense of a common brotherhood of men, an appeal that
is in accord with the altruistic tendencies of the present time; to
the intimate appreciation and love of nature expressed in the poem,
feelings also in accord with the present movement of cultured minds
toward the natural world; to the lofty and inspiring idealism of
Lowell, as revealed in the poems included in this volume and in his
biography, and also as contrasted with current materialism; and,
finally, to the romantic sources of the story in the legends of King
Arthur and his table round, a region of literary delight too generally
unknown to present-day students.
After these general topics, it is assumed that such matters as
literary structure and poetic beauty will receive due attention. If
the technical faults of the poem, which critics are at much pains to
point out, are not discovered by the student, his knowledge will be
quite as profitable. Additional reading in Lowell's works should be
secured, and can be through the sympathetic interest and enthusiasm of
the instructor. The following selections may be used for rapid
examination and discussion: _Under the Willows, The First Snow-Fall,
Under the Old Elm, Auf Wiedersehen, Sunthin' in the Pastoral Line,
Jonathan to John, Mr. Hosea Biglow to the Editor of the Atlantic
Monthly_, and the prose essays _My Garden Acquaintance_ and _A Good
Word for Winter_. The opportunity should not be lost for making the
students forever and interestedly acquainted with Lowell, with the
poet and the man.
The editor naturally does not assume responsibility for the character
of the examination questions given, at the end of this volume. They
are questions that have been used in recent years in college entrance
papers by two eminent examination boards.