METRICS
I
THE STUDY OF METRICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
One of the novelties included in our experiments was the teaching of
metrics, hitherto reserved for high schools. The love shown by children
for poetry, their exquisite sensitiveness to rhythm, led me to suspect
that the native roots of poetry might be present in little children. I
suggested to Miss Maria Fancello, a teacher of literature in the high
schools and my colleague, to attempt such an experiment. She began with
children of different ages, and, together, we succeeded in discovering a
highly interesting department of education, the object of which might be
to give the mass of the people, prepared for life in the primary
schools, the basic elements of literary appreciation, thus opening a new
source of pleasure calculated also to increase general enlightenment. A
populace capable of enjoying poetry, of judging the beauty of verse, and
hence of coming in contact with the spirits of our greatest poets, would
be something quite different to the masses we new know. To find the like
we have to imagine the people of ancient story, who talked in poetry and
moved their bodies to the rhythm, thus laying the foundations of refined
civilization.
It is not our intention to describe in detail all we did in these
experiments. It will be sufficient to summarize the results, which may
suggest useful material end methods to others.
As soon as the children are somewhat advanced in reading, poetry, which
they loved so much in "Children's House," may be included in the
materials offered in partial satisfaction of their insatiable desire to
read. It is best to begin with poems composed of stanzas of different
lengths, the stanzas being printed at easily noticeable intervals from
each other. The lines may be counted, in teaching the two new words
"stanza" and "line." The process involved is a recognition of "objects,"
suggesting the first exercise in reading, where the children put _names_
on things; though here the situation is much simpler. At the same time
we have the exercise of counting the lines. In short, it is a review
exercise of the greatest simplicity.
The counting of the lines leads at once to the identification of such
groups as the couplet, quatrain, octave, etc. But little time is spent
on such a crude detail. The little ones almost immediately become
interested in the rhyme. The first step is the recognition of rhyming
syllables which are underlined with colored pencils, using a different
color for each rhyme. Seven-year-olders take the greatest delight in
this work, which is too simple to arouse interest in children of eight
or nine. Those of seven do such work about as quickly as those of ten,
the speed of the younger children being due apparently to their
enthusiasm, the slowness of the older to their lack of interest. We may
note in passing that these exercises furnish tests of absolute exactness
as to rapidity of work. Children of eight are able to go one step beyond
marking the rhymes with colored pencils. They can use the more
complicated device of marking lines with the letters of the alphabet:
aa, bb, cc, etc. Marking with numbers to the left the lines in their
order, and the rhymes with letters to the right, we get a specimen
result as follows:
1^{o} Rondinella pellegr_ina_ a
2^{o} Che ti posi sul ver_one_ b
3^{o} Ricantando ogni matt_ina_ a
4^{o} Quella flebile canz_one_ b
5^{o} Che vuoi dirmi in tua fav_ella_ c
6^{o} Pellegrina rondin_ella_? c
(Translation: "Wandering swallow, as you sit there on my balcony each
morning, singing to me your tearful song, what is it you are trying to
tell me in your language, wandering swallow?")
* * * * *
This brings out the difference between the alternating rhyme (a, b, a,
b) and the couplet (c, c), as well as the morphology of the stanza.
. . . . . . . .
In reading the lines over and over again to work out the rhyme scheme,
the children spontaneously begin to catch the tonic accents. Their
readiness in this respect is a matter of common observation. In fact, in
ordinary schools, the teachers are continually struggling against the
"sing-song" developed by children in reading poetry. This "sing-song" is
nothing more nor less that stress on the rhythmic movement.
On one occasion, one of our children, a little boy, had been spending
some time over a number of decasyllabic lines. While waiting in the
corridor for the doors to open at dismissal time, he suddenly began to
walk up and down "right-about-facing" at every three steps and saying
aloud: "tatatá, tatatá, tatatátta," right-about-face, then "tatatá,
tatatá, tatatátta." Each step was accompanied by a gesture in the air
with his little clenched fist. This tot was marching to the verse
rhythm, just as he would have marched to music. It was a case of
perfectly interpretative "gymnastic rhythm." His gestures fell on the
three tonic accents of the Italian decasyllable, the right-about marked
the end of the "verse"--the "turn" in the line, which he indicated by
"turning" himself around to begin over again.
When the children have reached such a stage of sensory development, they
have no difficulty in recognizing the tonic accents. For this purpose,
we have prepared sheets with poems written in a clear hand. The children
mark with a neatly drawn accent the letter on which the rhythmic accent
falls. The material should be systematically presented. We found from
experience that the children first discover the accents in _long_ lines
made up of _even-numbered_ syllables (parisyllabic lines), where the
accents recur at regular intervals and are clearly called for both by
sense, word accent and rhythm. We were able to establish the following
sequence for various Italian lines, which present a graduated series of
difficulties to the child in recognizing the accents:
1. Decasyllables: example:
S'ode a d=é=stra uno squ=í=llo di tr=ó=mba
A sin=í=stra risp=ó=nde uno squ=í=llo:
D'ambo i l=á=ti calp=é=sto rimb=ó=mba
Da cav=á=lli e da f=á=nti il terr=é=n.
Quinci sp=ú=nta per l'=á=ria un vess=í=llo:
Quindi un =á=ltro s'av=á=nza spieg=á=to:
Ecco app=á=re un drapp=é=llo schier=á=to;
Ecco un =á=ltro che inc=ó=ntro gli vi=é=n.
(MANZONI, _La battaglia di Maclodio._)
(Translation: "A trumpet call sounds to the right; a trumpet calls
answers to the left; all around the earth shakes with the charge of
horses and men. Here a standard is broken out to the breeze; there
another advances waving; here a line of troops appears, there another
rushing against it.")
2. Dodecasyllables: example:
Ru=é=llo, Ru=é=llo, div=ó=ra la v=í=a,
Port=á=teci a v=ó=lo, buf=é=re del ci=é=l.
È pr=é=sso alla m=ó=rte la v=é=rgine m=í=a,
Gal=ó=ppa, gal=ó=ppa, gal=ó=ppa Ru=é=l.
(PRATI, _Galoppo notturno_.)
(Translation: "Ruello, Ruello, as fast as you can! O storm-winds of
heaven, lend us your wings; my loved one is lying near death; onward,
onward, onward, Ruello!")
3. Eight syllable lines (_ottonario_): example:
Solit=á=rio bosco ombr=ó=so,
A te vi=é=ne afflitto c=ó=r,
Per trov=á=r qualche rip=ó=so
Fra i sil=é=nzi in quest'orr=ó=r.
(ROLLI, _La lontananza_.)
(Translation: "O deserted wood! To your shade the sorrowing heart comes
to find some rest in your cool silence.")
4. Six syllable lines (_senario_): example:
Pur b=á=ldo di sp=é=me
L'uom =ú=ltimo gi=ú=nto
Le c=é=neri pr=é=me
D'un m=ó=ndo def=ú=nto;
Inc=á=lza di s=é=coli
Non =á=nco mat=ú=ri
I f=ú=lgidi a=ú=g=ú=ri.
(ZANELLA, _La conchiglia fossile_.)
(Translation: "Radiant with hope, the latest comer treads on the ashes
of a dead world, pursuing the glowing aspirations of ages not yet
ripe.")
NOTE: In the above selections the vowels in broad-faced type have been
marked with an accent by the child, to indicate the rhythmic beat.
We found, on the other hand, that greater difficulty is experienced by
the children in lines where the syllables are in odd-numbers
(imparisyllabics), the hardest of the Italian lines being the
hendecasyllable, which is a combination of the seven syllable and the
five syllable line, fused together with all their great varieties of
movement.
We established the following gradation of difficulties:
1. Seven syllable line (_settenario_): example:
Gi=à= ri=é=de Pr=í=mav=é=ra
Col s=ú=o flor=í=to asp=é=tto,
Gi=à= il gr=á=to z=é=ffir=é=tto
Sch=é=rza fra l'=é=rbe e i fi=ó=r.
(METASTASIO, _Primavera_.)
(Translation: "Now already flowery Spring returns; again the lovely
zephyrs dance amidst the grass and blossoms.")
2. Five syllable line (_quinario_): example:
Viv=á=ce s=í=mbolo
D=é= la fam=í=glia,
Le di=è= la tr=é=mula
M=á=dre a la f=í=glia,
Le di=è= la su=ó=cera
Bu=ó=na a la nu=ó=ra
Ne l'=ú=ltim' =ó=ra.
(MAZZONI, _Per un mazzo di chiavi_.)
(Translation: "As a vivid symbol of the home, they were passed on by the
dying mother to her daughter or to her son's wife.")
3. Nine syllable line (_novenario_): example:
Te tr=í=ste! Che a v=á=lle t'asp=é=ttano
I gi=ó=rni di c=á=ntici pr=í=vi;
Ah n=ó=, non dai m=ó=rti che t'=á=mano,
Ti gu=á=rda, frat=é=llo, dai v=í=vi.
(CAVALLOTTI, _Su in alto_.)
(Translation: "Alas, for thee, O brother! Yonder, songless days await
thee. Ah no, have no fear of the dead: they love thee! The living only
shouldst thou fear!")
4. Hendecasyllable: example:
Per me si v=á= nella citt=á= dol=é=nte,
Per me si v=á= nell'et=é=rno dol=ó=re,
Per me si v=á= tra la perd=ú=ta g=é=nte.
(DANTE, _Divina Commedia, Inferno_.)
(Translation: "Through me ye enter the city of sorrow; through me ye
enter the realm of eternal grief; through me ye enter the regions of the
damned").
* * * * *
The typical ending of these various lines is the trochee (-- U, _verso
piano_). The iambic (U --, _verso tronco_) and the dactyllic (-- U U,
_verso sdrucciolo_) endings (requiring respectively one syllable less
and one syllable more than the _verso piano_) constitute occasional
variations. We have found that these rarer lines are recognized rather
as curiosities than as difficulties by the children who easily refer
them to their respective normal types. They are accordingly presented in
our material along with the common verses of trochaic endings. Our
illustration of the five syllable line given above showed specimens of
the dactyllic ending (_sdrucciolo_, -- U U). Here is another example of
alternating trochaic (_piano_) and dactyllic endings:
In c=í=ma a un =á=lbero
C'=é= un uccell=í=no
Di nu=ó=vo g=é=nere....
Che s=í=a un bamb=í=no?
(L. SCHWARZ, _Uccellino_.)
(Translation: "There's a very strange little bird up in that tree! Why,
it's a little child!")
* * * * *
In the following decasyllables, the trochaic ending alternates with the
iambic (_tronco_):
Lungi, l=ú=ngi, su l'=á=li del c=á=nto
Di qui l=ú=ngi rec=á=re io ti v=ó='
Là, ne i c=á=mpi fior=í=ti del s=á=nto
Gange, un lu=ó=go bell=í=ssimo, io s=ó=.
(CARDUCCI, _Lungi, lungi_.)
(Translation: "I will take thee far, far away on the wings of my song:
there, among the flowery fields of the sacred Ganges, I know of a
beautiful spot").
* * * * *
Some difficulty arose, however, when we came to lines with alternations
of parisyllables and imparisyllables; though this new movement aroused
real enthusiasm among the children, who greeted it as a new and strange
music. It often happened that after the pleasurable effort of analyzing
a poem with lines alternating in this way, the pupils would choose as
"recreation" the study of lines of even-numbered syllables. Here is an
example of the new type:
Eran trec=é=nto, eran gi=ó=vani e f=ó=rti,
E s=ó=no m=ó=rti!
Me ne and=á=vo al matt=í=no a spigol=á=re
Quando ho v=í=sto una b=á=rca in mezzo al m=á=re:
Era una b=á=rca che and=á=va a vap=ó=re,
E alz=á=va una bandi=é=ra tricol=ó=re.
All'=í=sola di P=ó=nza s'è ferm=á=ta,
È stata un p=ó=co e p=ó=i si è ritorn=á=ta;
S'è ritorn=á=ta ed è ven=ú=ta a t=é=rra:
Sceser con l'=á=rmi, e a noi non f=é=cer gu=é=rra.
(PRATI, _La spigolatrice di Sapri_.)
(Translation: "There were three hundred, young and strong! And now they
are dead! That morning I was gleaning in the fields; I saw a boat at
sea,--a steamer flying the white, red and green. It stopped at Ponza,
remained a while and then came back--came back and approached the shore.
They came ashore in arms, but to us they did no harm").
* * * * *
While the rhythmic accents were being studied, we found that the
discovery of the cæsura (interior pause) formed an interesting
recreative diversion. In fact this work aroused so much enthusiasm that
the children went from exercise to exercise, continuing at study for
extended periods, and far from showing signs of weariness, actually
increased their joyous application. One little girl, in the first six
minutes of her work, marked the cæsura of seventy-six ten-syllable lines
without making a mistake. An abundant material is necessary for this
exercise. Example:
Dagli atri muscosi, | dai fori cadenti,
Dai boschi, dall'arse | fucine stridenti,
Dai solchi bagnati | di servo sudor,
Un volgo disperso | repente si desta,
Intende l'orecchio, | solleva la testa,
Percosso da novo | crescente rumor.
(MANZONI, _Italiani e Longobardi_.)
(Translation: "From the damp atria, from the ruined squares, from the
forests, from the hissing forges, from the fields bathed with the sweat
of slaves, a scattered horde of men suddenly is roused. They listen,
lift their heads, startled at this strange increasing roar").
* * * * *
The step forward to the perception of the syllabic units of the line is
a purely sensory phenomenon: it is analogous to marking the time of
music without taking account of the measure divisions. Syllabiating
according to rhythm and beating on the table with the fingers solve
even the subtler difficulties such as dieresis and synalepha, in
recognizing the rhythmic syllables. Examples:
La | so | mma | sa | pi | en | za e'l | pri | mo A | mo | re
We print this verse in the above form, because it was thus divided by a
child in his very first spontaneous effort at syllabiation. As a matter
of fact, we present the material normally according to graded
difficulties, using over again for this purpose the materials used in
the study of accents. At this point also the accents themselves suddenly
acquire a new interest, for the child is able to observe on "what
syllable they fall." Thus his metrical study approaches completion, for
now he can readily acquire the nomenclature of metrics and
versification: _dodecasyllable_, _hendecasyllable_, etc. Then, combining
his knowledge of the numbers of syllables and the location of the
rhythmic accents, the child is at the point of discovering the rhythmic
laws of verse construction. We were expecting the children to begin
producing definitions like the following: "The dodecasyllable line has
twelve syllables and four accents which fall on the second, fifth,
eighth and eleventh syllables," etc. The spontaneous impulse of the
pupils led instead to the construction of "mirrors" or "checkerboards"
like the following:
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| |1| 2| 3|4| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10| 11 |12|13|
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
|Decasyllable _piano_ | | |3d| | |6th| | |9th| | | | |
| (trochaic) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| " _tronco_ (iambic)| | |3d| | |6th| | |9th| | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
|Eight syllable _piano_ | | |3d| | | |7th| | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| " " _tronco_ | | |3d| | | |7th| | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
|Dodecasyllable _piano_ | |2d| | |5th| | |8th| | |11th| | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| " _tronco_ | |2d| | |5th| | |8th| | |11th| | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+---------------------------+-+--+--+-+---+---+---+---+---+--+----+--+--+
The additional step to using the symbols of metrics was an easy one, and
a graphic diagram resulted much as follows:
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| Eight syllable | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10| 11| 12| 13|
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| (Title of | U | U | --| U | U | U | --| U | | | | | |
| Poem) +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| e.g. | U | U | --| U | U | U | --| | | | | | |
| "Il ritorno in +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| Italia" | U | U | --| U | U | U | --| U | | | | | |
| "Return to +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| Italy" | U | U | --| U | U | U | --| | | | | | |
| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | U | U | --| U | U | U | --| U | | | | | |
| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | U | U | --| U | U | U | --| | | | | | |
| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| "Solitude" | U | U | --| U | U | U | --| U | | | | | |
| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | U | U | --| U | U | U | --| | | | | | |
| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| Decasyllable | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10| 11| 12| 13|
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | U | U | --| U | U | --| U | U | --| U | | | |
| (Title of +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| Poem) | U | U | --| U | U | --| U | U | --| U | | | |
| "Passion" +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | U | U | --| U | U | --| U | U | --| U | | | |
| "The Oath of +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| Pontida" | U | U | --| U | U | --| U | U | --| U | | | |
| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | U | U | --| U | U | --| U | U | --| U | | | |
| "The Battle +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| of Macloud" | U | U | --| U | U | --| U | U | --| U | | | |
| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | U | U | --| U | U | --| U | U | --| U | | | |
| "Far, far +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| away" | U | U | --| U | U | --| U | U | --| | | | |
| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
The next development is a complete study of the stanza or strophe in the
form of a summary; the number of lines, the rhymes, the accents, number
and location of the syllables. To _distinguish_ between the stanzas is
also to classify them, which becomes a pleasing task for the children.
One little girl, who was making a summary study of four terzets of
Dante, suddenly called the teacher to inform her with an expression of
complete surprise: "See, the rhyme always begins at the last accent!"
She had before her:
Per me si va nella città dol_ente_;
Per me si va nell'eterno dol_ore_;
Per me si va tra la perduta g_ente_.
Giustizia mosse il mio alto fatt_ore_;
Fecemi la divina potest_ate_,
La somma sapienza e il primo am_ore_.
Dinanzi a me non fur cose cre_ate_....
(Dante: Inscription over Gate of Hell.)
So in metrics also the children, following the natural inclinations of
their growth, pass from sensory discipline, to intelligent cognition,
and graphic representation. Then they become the "explorers of their
environment," the "discoverers" of general laws.
* * *
Translator's Note: The basis of Italian verse is in the syllable count,
and the rhythmic accent. In English verse, however, the question of the
syllable count is dependent on a much more complex consideration:
syllable length; and syllable length, in its turn, is conditioned not
only by the phonetic situation in and around the syllable, but by
rhetorical stress as well. It is clear that Signora Montessori's
experiments on the simpler Italian line have little direct bearing, save
as an illustration of method, on the pedagogy of English Metrics. For
whereas, the principal classifications of Italian lines involve merely
the problem of syllabiation (complicated by dieresis and synalepha),
with a numerical terminology (_quinario_, _ottonario_, _decasillabo_,
etc.), the study of English versification demands an analysis of measure
(feet) and of number of feet, with a terminology relative to each:
trochee, iambus, dactyl, spondee, anapest, etc., hexameter, pentameter,
etc., to mention only the most obvious elements of a science which,
applied even to simple English verse, soon becomes extremely
complicated. How much, then, of the study of English metrics, beyond the
elementary concepts of stanza and rhyme, should be included in the
Montessori Advanced Method, and what order of presentation of facts
should be followed, still remains to be experimentally determined.
However, the most illuminating fact, as regards method, which detaches
from Signora Montessori's experiments with metrical forms, is that _long
parisyllables_ are more readily analyzed by children than
imparisyllables; and secondly that _short_ imparisyllables prove easier
than long imparisyllables. We might wish more explicit evidence that the
hardest parisyllable is easier, therefore more _natural_, than the
easiest imparisyllable--implied in Signora Montessori's presentation of
this subject. Even so, her conclusions are interesting, and from more
than one point of view. It will be recalled that the most ancient and
the most fortunate of the meters used in French, Spanish, and Provençal
poetry is precisely the decasyllable (_Song of Roland_, the Provençal
_Boecis_, etc.), whereas the favorite line of old Italian popular poetry
was the octo-syllabic verse. These are both parisyllables, though the
succession of _theses_, or rhythmic beats, is not quite analogous to
that of the modern Italian verses used in this experiment. It would
seem, in fact, as though the children initiated by Signora Montessori
into metrical studies, were actually traversing the earlier experiences
of their Latin race.
Doubtless the reason why the parisyllable submits more readily to
rhythmic analysis than imparisyllables, is that when the syllables are
in even numbers, the line tends to reduce to two simple rhythmic
groups--the decasyllable to groups of 4 and 6, with two rhythmic beats
in each group; the dodecasyllable to groups of 6 and 6 (therefore of 3
and 3 and 3 and 3); the octosyllables to groups of 4 and 4; the six
syllable to groups of 3 and 3. The imparisyllables on the contrary are
rarely capable of such division--of such _monotony_, if you wish. They
lend themselves to more complex rhythm, especially to "paragraphic"
treatment. They are distinctly the rhythms of erudite, "cultivated,"
"literary" poetry.
We should suspect, accordingly, that what appears in the above
experiments as _length_ is in reality _reducibility_ to simpler forms;
and that lines capable of such reduction should be given first in an
adaptation of Signora Montessori's method. It is, however, highly
improbable that in English, where the only constant element in rhythm is
the stress and not the syllable count, the line compounded of two
simpler rhythmic groups should prove easier for the child than either of
those simpler groups themselves. We see no reason to assume, for
instance, than an eight-stress line, reducible to two four-stress lines,
should be more readily analyzed than a four-stress line; or that a
seven-stress line, reducible to a four-stress and a three-stress line,
should be easier than either one of these. In fact, the predominance of
these simpler elements in the English feeling for these longer groups is
indicated by the fact that such compound lines are commonly broken into
their constituent parts when printed (cf. _The Ancient Mariner_), even
in cases where the isolation of these parts is not emphasized and
rendered natural by rhyme. It will be observed that in the Montessori
experiment the order of presentation was first, three-stress
(anapestic), then four-stress (iambic), then two-stress (iambic) lines.
This situation happens to correspond to that found in the commonest
popular English verse, which gives undoubted preference, as witness our
nursery rimes, to three-stress and four-stress iambics. Two-stress lines
constitute in reality four-stress lines divided by rhyme; just as, in
poems of distinctly literary savor, the two-stress line is further
reducible by interior rhyme to two one-stress lines.
THREE-STRESS LINES (TRIMETER)
_Iambic:_
O l=é=t the s=ó=lid gr=oú=nd
Not f=aí=l ben=eá=th my f=eé=t
Bef=ó=re my l=í=fe has f=oú=nd
What s=ó=me have f=oú=nd so sw=eé=t.
TENNYSON.
The m=oú=ntain sh=eé=p are sw=eé=ter,
But the v=á=lley sh=eé=p are f=á=tter;
We th=é=refore d=eé=med it m=eé=ter
To c=á=rry =ó=ff the l=á=tter.
We m=á=de an =é=xped=í=tion;
We m=é=t an h=ó=st and qu=é=lled it;
We f=ó=rced a str=ó=ng pos=í=tion,
And k=í=lled the m=é=n who h=é=ld it.
PEACOCK.
_Trochaic:_
Ha=í=l to the=é= blithe sp=í=rit!
B=í=rd thou n=é=ver w=é=rt,
Th=á=t from he=á=ven or ne=á=r it
Po=ú=rest th=ý= full he=á=rt....
SHELLEY.
_Anapestic:_
I am m=ó=narch of =á=ll I surv=é=y;
My r=í=ght there is n=ó=ne to disp=ú=te;
From the c=é=ntre all ro=ú=nd to the se=á=
I am l=ó=rd of the f=ó=wl and the br=ú=te.
COWPER.
_Dactyllic:_
Th=í=s is a spr=á=y the bird cl=ú=ng to,
M=á=king it bl=ó=ssom with ple=á=sure,
=È=re the high tre=é=-tops she spr=ú=ng to,
F=í=t for her n=é=st and her tre=á=sure.[10]
BROWNING.
FOUR-STRESS LINES (TETRAMETER)
_Iambic:_
Examples: Byron, _The Prisoner of Chillon_; Scott, _The Lady of the
Lake_; Milton, _Il pensieroso_.
We co=ú=ld not m=ó=ve a s=í=ngle p=á=ce,
We co=ú=ld not se=é= each =ó=ther's f=á=ce
But w=í=th that p=á=le and l=í=vid l=í=ght
They m=á=de us str=á=ngers =í=n our s=í=ght....
BYRON.
_Trochaic:_
Examples: Longfellow, _Hiawatha_; George Eliot, _The Spanish Gipsy_.
W=é=stward, w=é=stward, H=í=aw=á=tha
Sa=í=led int=ó= the fi=é=ry s=ú=nset,
Sa=í=led int=ó= the p=ú=rple v=á=pors,
Sa=í=led int=ó= the d=ú=sk of =é=vening.
This line is much more common in its catalectic form:
H=á=ste thee n=ý=mph and br=í=ng with th=é=e
J=é=st and yo=ú=thful j=ó=llit=ý=,
Qu=í=ps and cr=á=nks and w=á=nton w=í=les,
N=ó=ds and b=é=cks and wre=á=thed sm=í=les....
MILTON, _L'Allegro._
_Anapestic:_
Examples: Goldsmith, _Retaliation_; Byron, _The Destruction of
Sennacherib_.
The sm=á=ll birds rejo=í=ce in the gre=é=n leaves ret=ú=rning,
The m=ú=rmuring stre=á=mlet winds cle=á=r through the v=á=le.
BURNS.
_Dactyllic:_
Examples: Byron, _Song of Saul_; Dryden, _An Evening's Love_.
=Á=fter the p=á=ngs of a d=é=sperate l=ó=ver,
Wh=é=n day and n=í=ght I have s=í=ghed all in va=í=n,
=Á=h what a ple=á=sure it =í=s to disc=ó=ver
=Í=n her eyes p=í=ty, who ca=ú=ses my p=á=in.
DRYDEN.
TWO-STRESS LINES
_Iambic:_
Examples: Herrick, _To the Lark_; Shakespeare, _Midsummernight's Dream_
(Bottom's Song).
The r=á=ging r=ó=cks
And sh=í=vering sh=ó=cks
Shall bre=á=k the l=ó=cks
Of pr=í=son g=á=tes.
SHAKESPEARE.
_Trochaic:_
Examples: George Eliot, _The Spanish Gipsy_; Campion, _Art of Poesie_.
Co=ú=ld I c=á=tch that
N=í=mble tra=í=tor,
Sc=ó=rnful La=ú=ra,
Sw=í=ft-foot La=ú=ra,
So=ó=n then wo=ú=ld I
Se=é=k av=é=ngement.
CAMPION.
_Anapestic_:
Examples: Shelley, _Arethusa_; Scott, _The Lady of the Lake_ (Coronach).
He is g=ó=ne on the mo=ú=ntain,
He is l=ó=st to the f=ó=rest,
Like a s=ú=mmer-dried fo=ú=ntain,
When our ne=é=d was the s=ó=rest.
SCOTT.
_Dactyllic_:
Examples: Tennyson, _Charge of the Light Brigade_; Longfellow, _Saga of
King Olaf_.
C=á=nnon to r=í=ght of them,
C=á=nnon to l=é=ft of them,
C=á=nnon in fr=ó=nt of them,
V=ó=lleyed and th=ú=ndered.
ONE-STRESS LINE
_Iambic_:
Example:
Thus Í
Pass b=ý=
And d=í=e
As =ó=ne
Unkn=ó=wn
And g=ó=ne.
HERRICK.
SEVEN-STRESS LINES (HEPTAMETER)
_Iambic_:
Examples: Howe, _Battle Hymn of the Republic_; Byron, _Stanzas for
Music_; Kipling, _Wolcott Balestier_; Coleridge, _The Ancient Mariner_.
Mine ey=é=s have se=é=n the gl=ó=ry =ó=f the c=ó=ming =ó=f the L=ó=rd.
HOWE.
_Trochaic:_
Example: Swinburne, _Clear the Way_.
Cle=á=r the w=á=y, my l=ó=rds and l=á=ckeys, yo=ú= have h=á=d your
d=á=y.
H=é=re you h=á=ve your =á=nswer, Éngland's ye=á= aga=í=nst your n=á=y.
_Anapestic:_
Example: Swinburne, _The Birds_.
Come =ó=n then ye dw=é=llers by n=á=ture in d=á=rkness and l=í=ke to
the le=á=ves' gener=á=tions.
_Dactyllic:_
Example: Anonymous.
Out of the k=í=ngdom of Chr=í=st shall be g=á=thered by =á=ngels
o'er S=á=tan vict=ó=rious,
All that off=é=ndeth, that li=é=th, that f=á=ileth to h=ó=nor his
n=á=me ever gl=ó=rious.
SIX-STRESS LINES (HEXAMETER)
_Iambic_ (alexandrine):
Example: Wordsworth, _The Pet Lamb_.
The d=é=w was f=á=lling f=á=st, the st=á=rs beg=á=n to bl=í=nk;
I he=á=rd a vo=í=ce: it sa=í=d, "Drink, pr=é=tty cre=á=ture, dr=í=nk!"
_Trochaic:_
Example: Swinburne, _The Last Oracle_.
K=í=ng, the w=á=ys of he=á=ven bef=ó=re thy fe=é=t grow g=ó=lden;
G=ó=d, the so=ú=l of e=á=rth is k=í=ndled w=í=th thy gr=á=ce.
_Anapestic:_
Examples: Tennyson, _Maud_; Swinburne, _The Garden of Cymodoce_.
And the r=ú=shing b=á=ttle-bolt s=á=ng from the thre=é=-decker
o=ú=t of the fo=á=m.
TENNYSON.
_Dactyllic:_
Examples: Swinburne, _Hesperia_; Longfellow, _Evangeline_.
Th=í=s is the f=ó=rest prim=é=val; the m=ú=rmuring p=í=nes and the
h=é=mlocks
Be=á=rded with m=ó=ss and with g=á=rments gre=é=n, indist=í=nct in
the tw=í=light.
LONGFELLOW.
EIGHT-STRESS LINES
_Iambic:_
Example: William Webbe, _Discourse of English Poetrie_.
Where v=í=rtue w=á=nts and v=í=ce abo=ú=nds, there we=á=lth is b=ú=t
a ba=í=ted ho=ó=k.
_Trochaic:_
Examples: Tennyson, _Locksley Hall_; Poe, _The Raven_.
=Ó=pen th=é=n I fl=ú=ng the sh=ú=tter, wh=é=n with m=á=ny a fl=í=rt
and fl=ú=tter,
=Í=n there st=é=pped a st=á=tely r=á=ven =ó=f the sa=í=ntly d=á=ys
of y=ó=re.
POE.
_Anapestic:_
Example: Swinburne, _March_.
Ere fr=ó=st-flower and sn=ó=w-blossom f=á=ded and f=é=ll, and the
spl=é=ndor of w=í=nter had p=á=ssed out of s=í=ght,
The wa=ý=s of the wo=ó=dlands were fa=í=rer and str=á=nger than
dre=á=ms that fulf=í=l us in sle=é=p with del=í=ght.
_Dactyllic:_
Example: Longfellow, _Golden Legend_, 4.
Ónward and =ó=nward the h=í=ghway r=ú=ns to the d=í=stant c=í=ty,
imp=á=tiently be=á=ring
T=í=dings of h=ú=man j=ó=y and dis=á=ster, of l=ó=ve and h=á=te,
of d=ó=ing and d=á=ring.
FIVE-STRESS LINES (PENTAMETER)
_Iambic_ (Heroic pentameter):
Examples: Milton, _Paradise Lost_; Bryant, _Thanatopsis_, etc., etc.
Sweet A=ú=burn, l=ó=veliest v=í=llage =ó=f the pla=í=n
Where he=á=lth and bea=ú=ty che=é=r the l=á=boring swa=í=n ...
GOLDSMITH.
_Trochaic:_
Examples: Browning, _One word more_; Tennyson, _The Vision of Sin_.
Th=é=n metho=ú=ght I he=á=rd a m=é=llow so=ú=nd,
G=á=thering =ú=p from =á=ll the l=ó=wer gro=ú=nd.
_Anapestic:_
Examples: Browning, _Saul_; Tennyson, _Maud_.
We have pr=ó=ved we have he=á=rts in a ca=ú=se: we are n=ó=ble
st=í=ll.
TENNYSON.
_Dactyllic:_
Very rare in English.
. . . . . . . .
While the remainder of the exercises in syllabication and graphic
transcription, as described by Dr. Montessori, would seem to follow
naturally on the above exercises in the analysis of line stress, it is
clear that additional attention must be given to questions of
terminology. For the metrical syntheses performed in the tables at the
end of the preceding section will not be possible for English poetry
unless the child is able to identify the kinds of feet and the kinds of
lines. We suggest accordingly two supplementary drills with the card
system familiar to the child from his exercises in grammar. The first
consists of a list of words, each on a separate card, with the tonic
accent marked. Each word with its accent represents a foot (iambus,
trochee, anapest, dactyl), indicated on the card in graphic
transcription beneath the word:
wóndering
-- U U
Corresponding to each word is another card bearing simply the graphic
transcription and the name of the foot. The exercise, of the greatest
simplicity, is to pair off the cards, arranging the words in a column on
the table, putting after each the card that describes it. The cards,
when properly arranged, read as follows:
betweén U -- iambus
U --
móther -- U trochee
-- U
disrepúte U U -- anapest
U U --
wónderful -- U U dactyl
-- U U
A second stage of this exercise consists in offering a similar series of
cards where, however, the word-cards are without the indication of the
tonic accent and without the graphic transcription of the measure:
suggest U -- iambus
accent -- U trochee
underneath U U -- anapest
metrical -- U U dactyl
An identical exercise is possible for whole lines. The first stage
consists of naming the lines accompanied by the metrical transcription
with cards containing simply the transcription and the name of the
meter; in the second stage, the same lines are given but on cards
without the graphic transcription: for example:
1ST STAGE
Go where glory waits thee Trochaic trimeter
-- U -- U -- U -- U -- U -- U
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold
U U -- U U -- U U -- U U --
Anapestic tetrameter
U U -- U U -- U U -- U U --
Venus thy mother in years when the world was a water at rest
-- U U -- U U -- U U -- U U -- U U --
Dactyllic hexameter
-- U U -- U U -- U U -- U U -- U U --
2D STAGE
Go where glory waits thee Trochaic trimeter
-- U -- U -- U
It was but John the Red and I Iambic Tetrameter
U -- U -- U -- U --
etc., etc.
When these fundamental notions have been acquired the child is ready for
the more difficult problems of anacrusis, catalexis, irregular feet and
irregular pauses, which he can recognize in almost any poem of
considerable length by comparing the transcription of a given foot with
specimen transcriptions of regular lines, which are always accessible to
him.
FOOTNOTE:
[10] Most of our examples of various types and combinations of verse are
taken from Alden, _English Verse_, New York, Henry Holt.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
CHART FOR THE STUDY OF THE INDIVIDUAL CHILD
Copies of this Chart (pages 409-422) will be supplied, in convenient
form, by the publishers, Frederick A. Stokes Company, 443-449. Fourth
Avenue, New York, at 20 cents for the set. Diary pads are 10 cents
additional.
__________________SCHOOL DATA_______________________
_School Year 191_..............................
_Hours of Sessions_............................
_Vacations_....................................
_Subjects Taught_..............................
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
_Meals_........................................
_Teaching Staff_...............................
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
_Address of School_............................
_Rooms_........................................
_Consultations with Parents and Public_........
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
________________DATA ON THE CHILD___________________
_Family Name_.........._Names_............
_Date of Birth_................................
_Date of Entrance_.............................
_Age of Parents: Father_....._Mother_.....
_Occupations of Parents:_
_Father_.........................
_Mother_.........................
_Home Address_.................................
_Personal History of the Child_................
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
_Personal Appearance of the Child_.............
_Notes on Child's Family_......................
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
....................................................
_____________SCHOOL YEAR 191.. 191..________________
_Name_.............._Date of Birth_.......
....................................................
_Date of Entering School_................
---------------+-------+-------------+-----+--------------------------+
| |Cephalic | | NOTES ON CHILD'S PHYSICAL
| |Index |.....| DEVELOPMENT
| +-------------+-----+
| |Transversal | | ..........................
| HEAD |Diameter |.....|
| (mm.) +-------------+-----+ ..........................
| |Antero-post. | |
| |diameter |.....| ..........................
| +-------------+-----+
| |Circumference|.....| ..........................
+-------+-------------+-----+
| Index | | ..........................
| of Weight |.....|
+---------------------+-----+ ..........................
| Index of | |
ANTHROPOLOGICAL| Stature |.....| ..........................
NOTES +---------------------+-----+
| Stature | | ..........................
| (sitting) |.....|
| (m.) | | ..........................
+---------------------+-----+
| Thoracic | | ..........................
| circum. |.....|
| (m.) | | ..........................
+---------------------+-----+
| Weight | | ..........................
| (Kg.) |.....|
+---------------------+-----+ ..........................
| Stature | |
| (standing) |.....| ..........................
| (m.) | |
_______________SCHOOL YEAR 191..-191..______________
_Name_........_Date of birth_.............
....................................................
------------+--------------------+-----------
| STATURE IN METERS | NOTES
MONTH +----------+---------+
| Standing | Sitting |
------------+----------+---------+
_September_ |..........|..........| ...........
+----------+---------+
_October_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_November_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_December_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_January_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_February_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_March_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_April_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_May_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_June_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_July_ |..........|..........|............
+----------+---------+
_August_ |..........|..........|............
SCHOOL YEAR 191..-191..
_Name_.........................................
_Date of Birth_................................
------------+--------------------------------------------
MONTH | WEIGHT IN KILOGRAMS
------------+----------+----------+----------+-----------
| 1st week | 2nd week | 3rd week | 4th week
| | | |
_September_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_October_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_November_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_December_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_January_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_February_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_March_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_April_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_May_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_June_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_July_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
| | | |
_August_ |..........|..........|..........|..........
(_Family Name_) (_Names_)
NAME IN FULL..............................................
SCHOOL YEAR 191..-191..
PSYCHOLOGICAL DIARY
----------------------------------------------------------
_Diary_ | _Name of_ | _Page Number_
| _Child_ |
--------+-----------------+-------------------
|
191.. | Month.............Day...............
----------------------------------------------------------
GUIDE FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL OBSERVATION
WORK.
NOTE:
When a child begins to show constant application to a
piece of work.
What this work is and how long he remains at it (speed
or slowness he shows in completing it, the number of
times he repeats the same exercise).
Individual peculiarities in application to particular
tasks.
To what tasks the child successively applies himself
on the same day and with how much persistency to each.
Whether he has periods of spontaneous activity at work
and on how many days.
How the child's need of progress is manifested by him.
What tasks he chooses and the order in which he
chooses them; the persistency he shows in each.
His power of application in spite of distractions
about him that might tend to divert him from his work.
Whether after a compulsory distraction he takes up
again the task that has been interrupted.
CONDUCT.
NOTE:
Orderliness or disorderliness in the actions of the
child.
The nature of his disorderliness.
Whether there are any changes in conduct as his
working ability develops.
Whether, as his activities become more orderly, the
child gives evidence of: accesses of joy; periods of
placidity; expressions of affection.
The part the children take and the interest they show
in the progress of their schoolmates.
OBEDIENCE.
NOTE:
Whether the child answers readily when he is called.
Whether and at what times the child begins to show
interest in what others are doing and to make
intelligent effort to join in their work.
The progress of his obedience to _calls_.
The progress of his obedience to _commands_.
What eagerness and enthusiasm the child shows in his
obedience.
The relation between the various phenomena of
obedience and (a) the development of his working
capacity; (b) changes in conduct,
----------------------------------------------------------
School Year 191..-191..
PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE CHILD
----------------------------------------------------------
SCHOOL YEAR 191..--191..
BIOLOGICAL HISTORY
PARENTS:
_Age of parents at marriage_........................
_Are the parents related to each other?_............
_Sickness and diseases of the parents?_.............
....................................................
CHILD:
_Were pregnancy and parturition normal?_............
....................................................
_Was the nursing done by the mother, or artificially?_.....
_The child's health during the first year:_..........
....................................................
_Subsequent sicknesses of the child:_...............
....................................................
_Date of teething, learning to walk, and learning to speak:_.....
....................................................
....................................................
SCHOOL YEAR 191..-191..
SOCIAL HISTORY
FATHER:
_Age, education and occupation:_....................
....................................................
MOTHER:
_Age, education and occupation:_....................
....................................................
----------------------------------------------------
_Are accounts kept in the family?_..................
....................................................
_Family habits (amusements, home life)_.............
_Number of persons in the family (how many adults, how many
children)_............................................
....................................................
_Does the family employ servants?_..................
_How many wage earners in the family?_..............
_Does the family have income from property?_........
_Does the family keep roomers or boarders?_.........
_Is the housekeeping satisfactory?_.................
SCHOOL YEAR 191..-191..
ETHICAL EXAMINATION
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MORAL HISTORY
CRITERIA OF PRAISE AND PRIDE IN THE FAMILY
NOTE:
What is commended in the family, e.g., devoutness,
patriotism, or their opposites, affectionateness,
honesty, modest, neatness, generosity, kindness,
independence, etc. The social relationships between
husband and wife (rights, privileges, or equality).
Special distinctions of family members (public honors,
acts of courage, etc.).
CRITERIA OF BLAME AND EXCUSE IN THE FAMILY
NOTE:
What complaints are made in the home against members of the
family, e.g., drinking, lack of affectionateness, gambling, irreligion,
disorderliness, lawlessness, extravagance, laziness, etc.
EDUCATIONAL CRITERIA IN THE FAMILY
NOTE:
What concept do the parents have of education? e.g., severity
gentleness, rewards, punishments, understanding of children, the
freedom accorded the children, etc.
MOTHER'S OPINION OF HER CHILDREN
NOTE:
What care is taken of the child and what rights are recognized by
the family as belonging to him.
APPENDIX II
SUMMARY OF THE LECTURES ON PEDAGOGY DELIVERED IN HOME
AT THE _SCUOLA MAGISTRALE ORTOFRENICA_ IN 1900
This appendix contains a summary of a few of my lectures delivered in
1900 in the Scuola Magistrate Ortofrenica in Rome and published in
pamphlet form for the benefit of the teacher-students who were attending
that course. A number of distinguished physicians were at the same time
lecturing in the school on various subjects--such as Psychology,
Esthesiology, Anatomy of the Nerve Centres, etc. I had reserved for
myself the teaching, or rather the development, of a special pedagogy
for defective children, along the lines previously laid down by Itard
and Séguin.
In the summary of these old lectures of mine are included some of my
experiments with certain subjects taught in the elementary grades. They
show that the origin of my present work with older children is to be
sought in my teaching of defectives.
I still possess, as documentary relics of this course, a hundred copies
of a pamphlet entitled: _Riassunte delle lezioni di didattica della
Prof^{ssa} Montessori, anno 1900, Stab. Lit. Romano, via Frattina 62,
Roma._ More than three hundred teachers followed my course, and are able
to bear witness to the work done there.
I republish the following excerpts not because I consider my work so
important as to merit the preservation of all the documents touching on
its origin, but to prevent the giving of undue prominence to those
remnants of my earlier attempts and studies which are still to be found
in the Scuola Magistrale Ortofrenica in Rome.
"The child should be led from the education of the
muscular system to that of the nervous end sensory
systems; from the education of the senses to concepts;
from concepts to general ideas; from general ideas to
morality. This is the educational method of Séguin."
However, before we begin education, we must prepare
the child to receive it by another education which is
to-day regarded as of the very first importance. This
preparatory education is the foundation on which all
subsequent education must be based, and the success we
obtain in it will determine the success of our
subsequent efforts. by preparatory education I here
mean _hygienic education_, which in defective children
sometimes includes medical treatment. That is why the
educational method for defectives is sometimes
described as _medico-pedagogical_.
Those who realize that importance of feeling and
internal sensation in education will understand that
the bodily organism must function properly in order to
respond to our educational efforts. We must preserve
good health where good health exists: we must restore
it where it is lacking.
We are therefore under strict obligation to pay close
attention to nutrition and to the condition of the
vital organs. Every one is aware of the close relation
existing between general sensibility and morality.
Criminals and prostitutes show very scant
sensitiveness to pain and to tactile stimuli. The same
situation is frequently apparent in defectives; hence
the necessity of restoring the tactile sense with
adequate attention to hygiene.
We cannot educate the muscles to perform a given
coordinate movement if they have lost their power of
functioning (as in paresis, etc.). Education, properly
so-called, must be preceded by a medical treatment to
restore the muscles, if possible, to good health.
It will be impossible to educate, for example, the sense of hearing, if
some pathological situation has produced partial deafness. We cannot
educate the sense of smell if the excessive excretion of mucus prevents
external stimuli from acting on the ends of the sensory nerves.
Obviously, we need a medical treatment to remove these diseased
conditions.
MEDICAL EDUCATION
_General baths:_ When not too prolonged they develop
the sensibility of the nervous papillæ. They give tone
to the cellular and muscular tissues, especially to
the skin.
_Hot and cold baths_ given alternately are a powerful
educational instrument in attracting the attention of
a child to his external environment.
_Local hot baths_ may be given to areas deficient in
sensibility. For instance, try bathing the hands if
tactile education proves impossible, or bathe the feet
if the defect in standing upright or in walking comes
from the insensitiveness of the soles.
_Local cold baths:_ Given to the head while the
patient is entirely covered in warm water are a tonic
to the scalp; they facilitate the knitting of the
bones of the skull and the formation of wormian bones,
preventing also cerebral congestion. They stimulate
and regularize the cerebral circulation. Such baths
are particularly useful for hydro-cephalics and
micro-cephalics, but all patients are benefited by
such baths, which are the most generally useful of
all.
_Steam baths_ develop perspiration which at times is
completely absent or partial in defectives, causing
serious physical disturbances. These baths,
furthermore, predispose the nerve ends to the most
intense sensitiveness.
Such baths are, however, not to be used on epileptics
or on children suffering from rickets, weak
circulation or general debility.
In general, _local steam baths_ are used especially
for hands and feet, and also for the tongue.
_General cold baths_ are used in cases of
super-excitation, motor-hyperactivity, excessive
sensitiveness to pain and touch. These baths must be
accompanied by constant cold lotions on the head.
Baths may be accompanied, with good results, by
_massage_ and _rubbing_.
_Rubbings_ may be given dry or with water, alcohol,
aromatic creams or ointments.
Local rubbings may be applied: (a) _To the spine_,
carefully avoiding the lumbar region so as not to
excite the sexual sensibilities. Dry rubbings should
be made with a piece of flannel and continued until
the skin reddens. They are especially useful after hot
baths followed by cold douches. (b) _To the chest_ to
stimulate respiration. (c) _To the abdomen_ to
correct various internal disorders (here, however,
massage is more efficacious). (d) _To the joints_
(rubbings with aromatic creams and with alcohol are
very effective).
A brief rubbing with alcohol or creams can be followed
with good effect by massage in the case of abdomen and
joints. Massage on the abdomen stimulates circulation
in the intestines and intensifies and regularizes the
movements of the muscular walls.
Massage has a surprising effect on the muscles of the
joints; it shocks the muscular fibers in their
innermost parts and sets them in motion; it
regularizes the functioning of the muscles by reducing
excessive contraction and restoring deficient
contractibility. Emaciated muscles are regenerated,
the muscular bulk is vigorously augmented, while the
fat tissues are absorbed.
The repetition several times a day of bathing, rubbing
and massage has produced real miracles of physical
regeneration.
FEEDING
Intestinal disturbances have a direct influence on the
functional power of the central nervous system. They
merit, therefore, special consideration. For in
defectives an intestinal inflammation may produce
symptoms of meningitis, and a disorder in digestion
even unattended by fever may occasionally give rise to
convulsions.
The hygiene of feeding which is almost the same as
that for normal children must therefore be rigorously
observed.
The general rule is list the children should have
regular meals and be allowed nothing whatever to eat
between meals. It is commonly believed that a piece of
candy or a bit of fruit given between meals has no bad
effect. This is a common error of many mothers, who by
allowing such slight irregularities in diet, become
the unwitting cause of serious illnesses in their
children. When we say that children should be fed at
mealtimes, we mean that _nothing_ should be given them
_except_ at meal times; nothing, not even the most
innocent confection; not a crumb of bread, not a drop
of milk. This severity has the quantity and quality of
food allowed in each.
_Number:_ For children between 2 and 7 years: 4 meals
a day; for children between 8 and 14 years: 3 meals a
day. These meals should be at regular hours, and
followed without exception by a period of mental rest,
which must be provided for in making up the daily
program of lessons.
We need special researches as to what type of activity
may be allowed children during digestion and what
organs may be active without damage to the child while
the stomach is taxed with the labor of digestion. A
few things are clear. The children should be sent out
of closed rooms where their play raises more or less
dust, and kept in well-ventilated places, if possible,
in a garden or in a woods well supplied with aromatic
trees. The best thing a child can do immediately after
a meal is to take a short walk in the open air without
much exertion.
_Quantity:_ In the case of children between 2 and 7
years of age, there should be two full meals and two
luncheons. After the age of 7 there should be one
lunch and two full meals. We cannot be more specific.
_Quality:_ In the case of defectives it would be
useful for the doctor to order a diet day by day after
having examined the diaries of the nurses as is done
in hospitals. For it may be possible to introduce into
the food elements which constitute an actual cure for
certain diseased conditions and preventives of certain
kinds of attacks. In food we should realize the
distinctions between the elements which build
tissues--true food substances, and others whose
function is purely stimulatory--alcohol, coffee, tea,
etc., which should be used only occasionally.
Among the food substances properly so-called are the
albuminoids (proteins), fats, and carbo-hydrates
(sugars, starches, wheat and potato flours, etc.). The
fats are the least digestible foods, but they produce
the greatest number of calories.
The proportion of the different elements in the food
should be determined by the amount of albumin, which
constitutes the real food element. Albumin is of both
vegetable and animal origin. Its animal forms are more
nutritious, more easily digestible, and products more
calories than the vegetable forms. The foods which
produce animal-albumin are milk, eggs, and meats.
Vegetables themselves furnish what is known as
vegetable-albumin. Children up to 8 years of age are
supplied usually with the following albuminous foods:
eggs, milk and vegetables. For children between 6 and
8: eggs, milk, fish and vegetables may be provided.
Older children may be given chicken, veal, and finally
beef.
Though for normal children a restricted meat diet is
desirable, in the case of defectives a rich supply of
meat as well as of albuminoids in general is to be
sought. Their treatment resembles that of weak
convalescent patients whose strength is to be
restored. The meats best adapted to such children are
those containing large amounts of mucilaginous
substances and sugar (veal, lamb and young animals in
general). Vegetable _purées_, fat gravies, butter,
etc., are to be recommended in these cases.
For _nervous children_, fats, oils, acids, and flours
should be avoided.
For _apathetic children_, who experience difficulty in
digestion, tonics and rich seasonings should be used,
such as spices, which have come to be almost excluded
from ordinary cooking, especially for children. Spices
may well be restored to the diet of institutions for
defectives, since they have the additional advantage
of permitting mixture with irons, of which they
neutralize the taste.
Questions of food depend largely upon the individual
condition of the children. The important thing is to
avoid "the school ration." This is all the more true
of beverages.
_Beverages:_ While stimulants are usually to be
excluded from the diet of normal children of 7 or
under, it is often desirable to introduce tea, coffee,
etc., into the meals of defectives. This should be
done, however, only in the daily diets ordered by the
physician for individuals.
_Nervous children_ should be restricted to milk and
water for their meals with some moderately sweet drink
(orange juice, weak lemonade, etc.) after eating.
_Apathetics_, showing atonic digestion, may have
coffee either before eating or during their meals.
Special education is necessary to accustom the
children to complete mastication. Such practice in the
use of the organs of mastication assists also in the
later development of speech.
EXCRETION
Among the physiological irregularities that appear
among children special importance attaches to
excretions.
_Defecation:_ Among defectives especially, so-called
"dirty children" are often so numerous that special
sections have to be made for them in institutions.
Such children show involuntary losses of fæces and
urine, as in the case of infants. Most frequently the
defecations are of liquid consistency though sometimes
the reverse is true. Our remedial effort should be in
two directions: we should try to regularize the
operation of the intestines by giving solidity to the
excretions; secondly, we should endeavor to strengthen
the sphincter muscles.
A strict observance of the diet hygiene outlined
above, especially as concerns regularity of meals and
mastication of food, will assist in the attainment of
the first object. We should try in addition to
regularize defecation by stimulating it at regular
intervals (to be gradually increased in length)
through light massages and hot rubbings on the
abdomen.
To strengthen the sphincters general tonics (iron,
strychnine), and local tonics (such as cold
"sitz-baths," cold showers and electric baths) may be
used. Suppositories may also be used to advantage in
stimulating sphincter contractions and accustoming the
muscles to constrictive action.