EXERCISE 73

a. Find in your reading an example of each of the figures of speech mentioned in this chapter.

b. Point out the figures of speech in the poetry quoted in the preceding chapters; in the selection, p. 350, Ex. 2. c. Point out and name the figures of speech:

1. O Scotia! my dear, my native soil!

For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent!
Long may thy sons of rustic toil

Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content.
2. Night's candles are burned out, and jocund day
metapher
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain-tops.
3. The little brook heard it and built a roof Pero,

'Neath which he could house him, winter proof.

4. The pen is mightier than the sword.

5. We awaited what would happen when the lion and the lamb met, and later when Greek met Greek.

6.

metinoms

Where one white cloud like a stray lamb doth move.

373. The Uses of Figures. Figures add materially to clearness and attractiveness of style and should therefore be used whenever they suggest themselves spontaneously and fit the subject at hand. But there should not be a conscious striving after figures, for in that case unnatural, and hence worthless, figures will result. Such figures, as well as hackneyed figures, should be avoided.

Care must be taken, too, that the figures are tonsistent throughout; otherwise such absurdities as the following mixed metaphor will result: "Young man, if you have a spark of genius in you, water it."

CHAPTER XI

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT BOOKS

374. In reading the books suggested for the early high school years, it should be your purpose to enter the life of the book and make it your permanent possession. Read that you may understand the manners and customs of other times and places as depicted in books. Read that you may make an intimate acquaintance with the people in the book. Read that you may be able to talk with your friends about the characters, situations, and events in the book. Remember that anything which serves to make the life in books more real, the characters more personal, will be a topic for profitable conversation among friends, as well as a suitable subject for class discussion.

Below are given typical topics for conversations about books. The books selected Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum, Stevenson's Treasure Island, Scott's Quentin Durward, and Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream are from the list suggested by the colleges and the English Syllabus committees. These topics suggest other book conversations. Their aim is to increase your pleasure in reading, and to assist you in securing a firmer grasp upon each book as a whole.

SOHRAB AND RUSTUM

I. The Bravery of the Combatants

1. Sohrab eagerly seeks the Persian champion and fights fearlessly and with honor. What is his motive in fighting? 2. Rustum yields all possible advantage to the challenger. What is his motive in fighting?

3. In what is the son like the father?

II. Elements of Suspense and Anticipation in the Story

1. Sohrab intuitively recognizes his father. How does this affect you in reading the account of the fight?

2. Rustum fondly admires the young champion and longs for a son like him. How does this contribute to the suspense of the reader?

3. Is it natural for Rustum to conceal his identity? Or that the birth of his son should be concealed from him?

4. What are the steps leading to the climax of the story? III. Oriental Color in the Story

1. The single combat is like those in Homer. Do the speeches of the combatants hinder or hurry the story?

2. The long similes are imitations of Homeric similes. Do they assist the descriptions?

3. The recognition between father and son is a classic element. Does it heighten the climax of the story?

IV. Could this story be acted? Why?

TREASURE ISLAND

I. Bill Bones and his Buccaneers

1. Why was Bill Bones afraid of his former companions? 2. Why did he finally receive the "black spot"?

3. Did it require much courage for Jim Hawkins and his mother to return to the Admiral Benbow to secure the sea-chest?

II. The Voyage

1. How do you explain Squire Trelawney's unreasonable confidence in his crew? Who inspired most of this confidence? 2. Why did Captain Smollett suspect the crew?

3. Can you imagine the feelings of Jim Hawkins in the apple barrel?

III. On the Island

1. Why did Jim Hawkins go ashore with the buccaneers? Would you have gone?

2. Was it wise to abandon the ship for the stockade? What other means might have been used to capture the mutineers ?

3. What did Silver expect to do if his offer of a truce and a compromise should be accepted? Were they wise in refusing? Why?

4. Jim Hawkins's adventures:

(1) Was it a great feat to cut the ship's cable?

(2) Does it seem possible that he could sleep on the coracle?

(3) What do you think of him for killing Israel Hands? (4) How old is Jim Hawkins in the story?

5. Why was the stockade abandoned? How did Silver secure the map of the island?

6. Was Ben Gunn of much assistance in saving the treasure from the buccaneers? Why had he been marooned on the island?

7. How did Silver dominate the buccaneers? Do you admire Silver? Was it justice that he should escape hanging in England?

IV. The Story as a Whole

What do you admire in Dr. Livesy? In Captain Smollett? In Jim Hawkins? Who did most to secure the treasure and the success of the whole undertaking?

QUENTIN DURWARD

I. Quentin's Arrival in France

1. Does Quentin seem older or younger than twenty when he is introduced? Why?

2. What reason has Quentin to be grateful for his ducking?

3. Does Scott give any hints as to who the old man is whom Quentin met on his arrival? When do you first guess his identity?

4. What were Louis's motives in his actions at the tavern? What purpose does the scene at the tavern serve?

5. What determines whether or not Quentin is to be enrolled in the Scottish Guards?

II. At the Court of Louis XI

1. What is the initiatory event in the main plot?

2. Could the boar hunt be omitted without loss to the plot?

3. How do you account for the confidence Louis places in Quentin in selecting him as sentinel? As guide to the Ladies of Croye?

4. What purpose does the conversation between the king and Oliver Dain serve in Chapter XII?

III. In the Field of Adventure: On the Way to Liège

1. What change is there at this point in the center of interest?

2. What are the far-reaching results of the encounter on the road to Liège?

3. Was it wise for Quentin to follow Hayraddin as he did, or might he have adopted some other course of action?

4. The defeat of Louis's plan in regard to the arrival of the Ladies of Croye at Liège appears to complicate matters the more. Does it?