JOURNEYS THROUGH BOOKLAND IN ITS RELATION TO THE HIGH SCHOOL
_Introduction_
All high school students are expected to be well grounded in good
literature. It is part of every well planned course of study and the
basis of much of the work in every year. Yet very few high schools are
able to furnish the material for every student to read, and often the
methods of instruction are inadequate to the large classes or fail in
character and execution. There is contained in _Journeys_ practically
all the real literature that is necessary for the foundation of a broad
culture, and though much of it is simple and elementary, it is no less
interesting and valuable. As a matter of fact, few high school students
have ever read the simpler classics in a manner that brought to them the
full message of the selections. Accordingly the most elementary things
are often the newest and the most valuable. The simplest of the nursery
rhymes, as may be seen by the comments and explanations given in another
part of this volume, are full of interest to high school boys and girls,
and in not a few schools form the basis of many serious lessons. The
fables, the myths and the literature of the legendary heroes are not
only interesting, but are of sufficient breadth in meaning to justify
hard work on the part of anyone who has not already mastered them. It is
a mistake to think that the simple things do not interest young men and
young women. The people who scorn the elementary literature of nursery
rhymes, fairy tales and fables are the immature boys of thirteen or
fourteen years to whom everything juvenile seems beneath their dignity
and newly acquired independence.
The reader of _Journeys_ will notice, however, that the quantity of
matter that may be called really juvenile is small in comparison with
the grand total. As a matter of fact, the selections of the last six
volumes are worthy the reading by anyone, old or young, at any time, and
to be fully appreciated they must be read with care and discrimination
by everyone. The sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth volumes are all
high-class literature for adults as well as young children and the
studies are worthy a place in any high school.
The older a person grows the more he loves the things that were a
delight to his childhood and the more keenly he realizes his loss if he
never had the opportunity to become well acquainted with the great
masterpieces that have been the comfort and inspiration of such
countless thousands of people. Men and women of judgment never criticize
the selections in _Journeys_ on the ground that they are too simple or
are childish. Good literature never dies, never loses its interest. It
lives in a day-by-day intimacy with every one of its acquaintances, and
the love for it increases year by year for everyone who will listen to
its teachings.
Doubtless some high school students will be glad to have pointed out to
them more in detail the things which are especially applicable to their
work in school and which will help them in the mastery of the subject so
that their school work will be made easier and they may raise their rank
in the eyes of their teachers and companions.
A
Nearly all of the studies in the other volumes and all of them in this
volume are of value to high school students. If they are not difficult
enough to cause work they at least suggest ways of reading that will be
valuable. In the ten volumes the studies are scattered so that young
children may not see too much of the machinery of instruction as they
read. On the other hand the high school student wants the material
systematically arranged and easy of access.
Accordingly the following arrangement of the studies in this and the
other volumes of _Journeys_ will be of assistance:
I. Studies in Character:
(1) _Cinderella_, Volume I, page 224.
(2) _The Hardy Tin Soldier_, X, 158.
(3) _Rab and His Friends_, X, 177.
II. Studies in plot:
(1) _The Snow Queen_, Volume II, page 124.
(2) _The Gold Bug_, IX, 232.
(3) _Cinderella_, X, 150.
III. Studies in description:
(1) _The King of the Golden River_, Volume II, page 405.
(2) _The Reaper's Dream_, VII, 345.
(3) _The Recovery of the Hispaniola_, VII, 352.
IV. Method of analysis:
(1) _The Gettysburg Address_, Volume IX, page 321.
(2) _Braddock's Defeat_, X, 227.
V. General studies involving several or all of the main points:
(1) _Incident of the French Camp_, Volume IV, page 174.
(2) _The Tempest_, VIII, 468. (Extensive
studies following the drama.)
(3) _The Passing of Arthur_, X, 214.
VI. Studies in rhyme, meter and melody:
(1) _The Country Squire_, Volume VI, page 474.
(2) _To My Infant Son_, VI, 478.
(3) _The Daffodils_, VII, 1.
(4) _The Old Oaken Bucket_, VII, 11.
(5) _Bannockburn_, VII, 15.
(6) _Boat Song_, VII, 17.
(7) _The Bugle Song_, X, 287.
VII. Studies in interpretation, giving various methods and considering
different phases of the subject:
(1) _Christmas in Old Time_, Volume VI, page 356.
(2) _The Recessional_, VII, 164.
(3) _The Cubes of Truth_, VII, 406.
(4) _America_, VIII, 60.
(5) _A Descent Into the Maelstrom_, VIII, 95.
(6) _Dream Children_, VIII, 335.
(7) _The Vision of Mirza_, IX, 285.
(8) _Pippa Passes_, IX, 293.
(9) _Rab and His Friends_, X, 225.
(10) _The Reaper and the Flowers_, X, 272.
(11) _Adventures in Lilliput_, V, 8.
(12) _David Crockett in the Creek War_, VIII, 37.
(13) _The Impeachment of Warren Hastings_, IX, 32.
(14) _A Christmas Carol_, VI, 244.
VIII. Biographical sketches of authors, suitable for class use:
(1) _Robert Louis Stevenson_, Volume I, page 128.
(2) _Eugene Field_, I, 242.
(3) _Aesop_, II, 1.
(4) _Hans Christian Andersen_, II, 81.
(5) _Henry W. Longfellow_, IV, 62.
(6) _Alice and Phoebe Gary_, IV, 116.
(7) _Nathaniel Hawthorne_, IV, 180.
(8) _Jonathan Swift_, V, 1.
(9) _Sir Walter Scott_, VI, 26.
(10) _John Howard Payne_, VI, 221.
(11) _John Greenleaf Whittier_, VII, 381.
(12) _William Cullen Bryant_, VII, 391.
(13) _Oliver Wendell Holmes_, VII, 398.
(14) _James Russell Lowell_, VII, 411.
(15) _Elizabeth Barrett Browning_, VII, 419.
(16) _Washington Irving_, VIII, 216.
(17) _Charles and Mary Lamb_, VIII, 328.
(18) _William Shakespeare_, VIII, 468.
B
The assistance that literature may give in reading, language, nature
study, history and geography is set forth at length in other chapters of
this volume, and the high school student is earnestly requested to
examine those chapters carefully and utilize whatever appeals to him in
his studies. Especially are the chapters on reading and language
valuable. Usually the greater part of the criticisms passed upon high
school work is aimed against weaknesses in English. No small portion of
this criticism is just, and it comes to a considerable extent from the
fact that theme work is usually assigned on subjects so abstruse and so
far beyond the ready appreciation of the student that the youthful
writer is more concerned in finding out what he is to write than in
thinking how he shall write. The result is a carelessness that brings
errors in construction and an entire lack of clearness and elegance in
expression. Even the older pupils can learn more from writing upon
simple subjects where the material is easily obtained and is in itself
interesting than from the usual difficult and uninteresting subjects.
The close analysis of a masterpiece gives fine models of expression and
furnishes the best of material for discussion. The use of capital
letters and punctuation marks, spelling and the choice of words are all
subjects for study and are all learned best from good models, such as
are found in the masterpieces of literature. Students will soon learn
that the rules of grammar are not always so hard and fast as they appear
and that the practice of authors and publishers varies in minor things,
especially in the use of commas and capital letters.
Some studies of special interest that may be based upon the masterpieces
in _Journeys_ will be given below. Many of the stories, poems and essays
are accompanied by notes, queries and comments that will assist in
making the studies profitable. Several good lessons may be derived from
each topic and may be pursued at greater length by research in the
volumes of reference in the school or public library.
Look in the Index of the tenth volume for the following topics and then
find in the proper volumes the several selections named in the Index:
I. _Ballads._ Eight of the old English ballads and five more modern
imitations are given. They are virile poems; simple, direct narratives.
The old ones show the peculiarities of the old style English diction
before poetry had been refined, while the later ones, breathing still
the fire and originality of the earlier, are more polished and show the
greater skill and accomplishments of the poets. The old ballads sprang
spontaneously from the race, and doubtless many minds contributed to
their phraseology, for they were sung and recited and passed on from
mouth to mouth for generations before they were fixed in their present
form.
II. _Essays._ In the list of essays (fourteen) are some of the most
exquisite ever written and others that are full of information and
inspiration. _Dream Children_ is a perfect prose lyric; _Some Children's
Books of the Past_ is an extremely interesting essay of the
informational class. Besides the essays listed in the Index there are
other selections in essay form that may be studied with profit. Here are
some of them:
1. _Abraham Lincoln_, Volume IX, page 324.
2. _The Arickara Indians_, IV, 472.
3. _The Buffalo_, VII, 96.
4. _Alfred the Great_, IV, 260.
5. _The Battle of Cressy_, IX, 161.
6. _The Battle of Hastings_, IX, 330.
7. _A Bed of Nettles_, VIII, 209.
8. _Brute Neighbors_, VII, 260.
9. _The Buccaneers_, V, 359.
10. _Stories of the Creation_, IV, 159.
11. _Trees and Ants That Help Each Other_, VII, 306.
III. _Fables._ The names of more than thirty fables are given in the
list. Comparative study of these fables, considering the animals most
frequently mentioned, the correctness and naturalness of the traits
ascribed to the different animals, the moral precepts inculcated by the
fables, etc., will be found interesting and profitable.
IV. _Fairy Lore and Folk Lore._ Though fairy stories may have lost their
intrinsic interest for high school students, the teacher will find in
the collection given here the material for many a study. What merits
keep the old stories alive and make them perennially fascinating to
children of all nations? Which stories are the better for children,
those of Hans Christian Andersen or those of the Brothers Grimm? What
are the particular merits or demerits of each class? How do the stories
by the latter writers compare in originality and beauty with the older
stories? What comparisons can be made between _The Ugly Duckling_ and
_The King of the Golden River_? What merits has _Cinderella_ over
_Bluebeard_? What is the effect of _Jack the Giant Killer_ and stories
of that kind on the minds of young people?
V. _Fiction._ Look under the subtitles for the long list of stories
suitable for study when the class is dealing with fiction.
VI. _Legendary Heroes._ What can be more interesting than a study of
these characters from the borderland of history? These great figures
come forth from the shadows of the past and move before us like living
men: Beowulf, the Saxon; Frithiof, the Norse hero; Siegfried, the
German; Roland, the French knight; The Cid, Spain's greatest warrior and
gentleman; Hector and Ulysses, the Greeks; King Arthur and his knights
from England; Horatius, the Roman, and Sohrab, the Persian.
The literature of the Arthurian legends as given in _Journeys_, where
they cover about 150 pages, is a cycle of great importance to every high
school student. The selections concerning Arthur form a series of
narratives which, though from different sources, give a vivid picture of
the great knight and his times. The cycle is in volume V and the titles
are:
_a._ _Arthur Made King_, page 117.
_b._ _Arthur Weds Guenevere; The Round Table_, page 119.
_c._ _Arthur and Pellinore_, page 122.
_d._ _Arthur Gets Excalibur_, page 127.
_e._ _Balin and Balan_, page 130. (The stories given so far were
written expressly for _Journeys_, but all have followed rather
closely the relation of Malory.)
_f._ _Geraint and Enid_, page 148. (This is one of the most popular of
Tennyson's _Idyls of the King_. The poem is given complete.)
_g._ _The Holy Grail_, page 207.
(1) _The Knighting of Sir Galahad_, page 208.
(2) _The Marvelous Sword_, page 209.
(3) _Galahad and the Siege Perilous_, page 212.
(4) _Galahad draws the Sword of Balin Le Savage_, page 213.
(5) _The Holy Grail Appears_, page 214.
(6) _Galahad Gets His Shield_, page 217.
(7) _The Grail Achieved_, page 222. (The story of the search for
the Holy Grail, which is taken from the narrative of Sir Thomas
Malory, retains his quaint and charming style. The only
material changes are in paragraphing and the use of quotation
marks.)
_h._ _Dissensions at King Arthur's Court_, page 232. (This was written
for _Journeys_, to cover the interval between the achievement of
the Grail by Sir Galahad and the death of Arthur.)
_i._ _The Passing of Arthur_, page 237. (This is Tennyson's beautiful
poem given in full. It describes the last days of Arthur's reign
and the strange story of his death.)
VII. _Lyrics._ This topic gives the titles of about fifty beautiful
lyrics.
VIII. _Myths._ Twelve titles showing stories from the mythology of
different nations. Many of the articles have explanatory comments and,
though stories and notes are intended primarily for young children, the
whole offers a good introduction to a more extended study of mythology.
IX. _Don Quixote._ The five adventures related give a good idea of the
nature of the book and are sufficient for reference when the history
class is studying chivalry.
X. _Odes._ These seven of our finest odes will please the class in
literature.
XI. _Poetry._ Look up the sub-titles for names of poems.
XII. _Wit and Humor._ It is not always easy to find what is wanted for
class study under this head. The selections given are amusing, but at
the same time most of them have real literary value, as well, and are
worth study.