A History of English Literature | Page 2

life of the nation, and (2)
getting some acquaintance with the lives of the more important authors.
The principal thing, however (II), is the direct study of the literature
itself. This study in turn should aim first at an understanding of the
literature as an expression of the authors' views of life and of their
personalities and especially as a portrayal and interpretation of the life
of their periods and of all life as they have seen it; it should aim further
at an appreciation of each literary work as a product of Fine Art,
appealing with peculiar power both to our minds and to our emotions,
not least to the sense of Beauty and the whole higher nature. In the
present book, it should perhaps be added, the word Literature is
generally interpreted in the strict sense, as including only writing of
permanent significance and beauty.
The outline discussion of literary qualities which follows is intended to
help in the formation of intelligent and appreciative judgments.
SUBSTANCE AND FORM. The most thoroughgoing of all
distinctions in literature, as in the other Fine Arts, is that between (1)
Substance, the essential content and meaning of the work, and (2) Form,
the manner in which it is expressed (including narrative structure,
external style, in poetry verse-form, and many related matters). This
distinction should be kept in mind, but in what follows it will not be to
our purpose to emphasize it.
GENERAL MATTERS. 1. First and always in considering any piece of
literature a student should ask himself the question already implied:
Does it present a true portrayal of life--of the permanent elements in all
life and in human nature, of the life or thought of its own particular
period, and (in most sorts of books) of the persons, real or imaginary,
with whom it deals? If it properly accomplishes this main purpose,
when the reader finishes it he should feel that his understanding of life
and of people has been increased and broadened. But it should always

be remembered that truth is quite as much a matter of general spirit and
impression as of literal accuracy in details of fact. The essential
question is not, Is the presentation of life and character perfect in a
photographic fashion? but Does it convey the underlying realities? 2.
Other things being equal, the value of a book, and especially of an
author's whole work, is proportional to its range, that is to the breadth
and variety of the life and characters which it presents. 3. A student
should not form his judgments merely from what is technically called
the dogmatic point of view, but should try rather to adopt that of
historical criticism. This means that he should take into account the
limitations imposed on every author by the age in which he lived. If
you find that the poets of the Anglo-Saxon 'Béowulf' have given a clear
and interesting picture of the life of our barbarous ancestors of the sixth
or seventh century A. D., you should not blame them for a lack of the
finer elements of feeling and expression which after a thousand years of
civilization distinguish such delicate spirits as Keats and Tennyson. 4.
It is often important to consider also whether the author's personal
method is objective, which means that he presents life and character
without bias; or subjective, coloring his work with his personal tastes,
feelings and impressions. Subjectivity may be a falsifying influence,
but it may also be an important virtue, adding intimacy, charm, or force.
5. Further, one may ask whether the author has a deliberately formed
theory of life; and if so how it shows itself, and, of course, how sound it
is.
INTELLECT, EMOTION, IMAGINATION, AND RELATED
QUALITIES. Another main question in judging any book concerns the
union which it shows: (1) of the Intellectual faculty, that which enables
the author to understand and control his material and present it with
directness and clearness; and (2) of the Emotion, which gives warmth,
enthusiasm, and appealing human power. The relative proportions of
these two faculties vary greatly in books of different sorts. Exposition
(as in most essays) cannot as a rule be permeated with so much
emotion as narration or, certainly, as lyric poetry. In a great book the
relation of the two faculties will of course properly correspond to form
and spirit. Largely a matter of Emotion is the Personal Sympathy of the
author for his characters, while Intellect has a large share in Dramatic

Sympathy, whereby the author enters truly into the situations and
feelings of any character, whether he personally likes him or not.
Largely made up of Emotion are: (1) true Sentiment, which is fine
feeling of any sort, and which should not degenerate into
Sentimentalism (exaggerated tender feeling); (2) Humor, the