English Literature: Its History and Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World | Page 2

which one finds what he wants, and some good
things beside. Few classes will find time to study Blake or Newman,
for instance; but in nearly every class there will be found one or two
students who are attracted by the mysticism of Blake or by the
profound spirituality of Newman. Such students should be encouraged
to follow their own spirits, and to share with their classmates the joy of
their discoveries. And they should find in their text-book the material
for their own study and reading.
A third suggestion relates to the method of teaching literature; and here
it might be well to consider the word of a great poet,--that if you would
know where the ripest cherries are, ask the boys and the blackbirds. It is
surprising how much a young person will get out of the _Merchant of
Venice_, and somehow arrive at Shakespeare's opinion of Shylock and
Portia, if we do not bother him too much with notes and critical
directions as to what he ought to seek and find. Turn a child and a
donkey loose in the same field, and the child heads straight for the
beautiful spots where brooks are running and birds singing, while the
donkey turns as naturally to weeds and thistles. In our study of
literature we have perhaps too much sympathy with the latter, and we
even insist that the child come back from his own quest of the ideal to
join us in our critical companionship. In reading many text-books of
late, and in visiting many class rooms, the writer has received the
impression that we lay too much stress on second-hand criticism,
passed down from book to book; and we set our pupils to searching for
figures of speech and elements of style, as if the great books of the
world were subject to chemical analysis. This seems to be a mistake,
for two reasons: first, the average young person has no natural interest

in such matters; and second, he is unable to appreciate them. He feels
unconsciously with Chaucer:
And as for me, though that my wit be lyte, On bookes for to rede I me
delyte.
Indeed, many mature persons (including the writer of this history) are
often unable to explain at first the charm or the style of an author who
pleases them; and the more profound the impression made by a book,
the more difficult it is to give expression to our thought and feeling. To
read and enjoy good books is with us, as with Chaucer, the main thing;
to analyze the author's style or explain our own enjoyment seems of
secondary and small importance. However that may be, we state
frankly our own conviction that the detailed study and analysis of a few
standard works--which is the only literary pabulum given to many
young people in our schools--bears the same relation to true literature
that theology bears to religion, or psychology to friendship. One is a
more or less unwelcome mental discipline; the other is the joy of life.
The writer ventures to suggest, therefore, that, since literature is our
subject, we begin and end with good books; and that we stand aside
while the great writers speak their own message to our pupils. In
studying each successive period, let the student begin by reading the
best that the age produced; let him feel in his own way the power and
mystery of Beowulf, the broad charity of Shakespeare, the sublimity of
Milton, the romantic enthusiasm of Scott; and then, when his own taste
is pleased and satisfied, a new one will arise,--to know something about
the author, the times in which he lived, and finally of criticism, which,
in its simplicity, is the discovery that the men and women of other ages
were very much like ourselves, loving as we love, bearing the same
burdens, and following the same ideals:
Lo, with the ancient Roots of man's nature Twines the eternal Passion
of song. Ever Love fans it; Ever Life feeds it; Time cannot age it; Death
cannot slay.
To answer the questions which arise naturally between teacher and
pupil concerning the books that they read, is one object of this volume.

It aims not simply to instruct but also to inspire; to trace the historical
development of English literature, and at the same time to allure its
readers to the best books and the best writers. And from beginning to
end it is written upon the assumption that the first virtue of such a work
is to be accurate, and the second to be interesting.
The author acknowledges, with gratitude and appreciation, his
indebtedness to Professor William Lyon Phelps for the use of his
literary map of England, and to the keen critics, teachers of literature
and history, who have read