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 terribly in the rough,
from a literary point of view."
Do you find evidences of roughness?
