our book. Poems for Young Sargent's A Life on the Ocean Wave and Mitchell's Tacking Ship off Shore have always been favorites. From Longfellow may be chosen (besides the more familiar poems) Sea-Weed, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, A Dutch Picture, and Ultima Thule. From Whittier we may select goodly sections of The Barefoot Boy and Snow-Bound, while In Schooldays is manageable as it stands. Holmes offers The Last Leaf and Old Ironsides. Lowell presents a sound test in The Courtin' and a simple though very pleasing poem in The Fountain. Poe's The Bells may be attempted by interested youngsters, and The Haunted Palace is probably within their scope. The oral study of Walt Whitman is best limited to O Captain, My Captain! though Cavalry Crossing a Ford is well worth a trial. Other poems which in the present writer's experience have proved successful with young pupils may be listed: Marco Bozzaris, Halleck; Song of the Camp, Taylor; Dirge for a Soldier, Boker; The Blue and the Gray, Finch; Jim Bludso, Hay; Reveille, Plain Language from Truthful James, and Dickens in Camp, Bret Harte; Columbus, Miller; Little Boy Blue, Field; America the Beautiful, Bates; Mark!, McGaffey; The Flag Goes By, Bennett. To these should be added Seeger's tragic war-poem, I Have a Rendezvous with Death, and because of its appeal to the lover of wild life - Rutledge's The Sanctuary. The older pupils will naturally find a wider field of choice. They will be interested in interpreting orally the deeper significance of Thanatopsis, or Telling the Bees, or Terminus. For all A General alike, however, the following groups will be helpful in making a choice. The classification is in some cases approximate; but it is practical, and has met the test of actual class-room work. ACTION OR SITUATION. The Skeleton in Armor; Skipper Ireson's Ride; The Courtin'; Pioneers, O Pioneers; Jim Bludso; Plain Language from Truthful James. THE SEA. A Life on the Ocean Wave; Tacking Ship off Shore; The Wreck of the Hesperus; Sea-Weed; Sir Humphrey Gilbert; A Dutch Picture; Columbus. NATURE. The Wild Honeysuckle; A Song in March; The Fringed Gentian; To a Water-fowl; The Snow-Storm; The Rhodora; Snow-Bound; Preludes to The Vision of Sir Launfal; The Fountain; The Dandelion; The Mocking-bird; The Angler's Wish; Do You Fear the Wind?; Mark!; The Creek Road; Trees; The Sanctuary; The Green Inn. REFLECTION AND PATHOS. Home, Sweet Home; Thanatopsis; Terminus; The Psalm of Life; My Lost Youth; The Village Blacksmith; The Day Is Done; The Bridge; Hymn to Night; Ultima Thule; Telling the Bees; The Last Leaf; The Boys; The Chambered Nautilus; O Captain, My Captain!; Bedouin Love Song; The Band in the Pines; Dickens in Camp; Song of the Chattahoochee. WAR. Monterey; Where's Peace (from The Biglow Papers); Cavalry Crossing a Ford; Bivouac of the Dead; Song of the Camp; Little Giffen; Dirge for a Soldier; The Blue and the Gray; Reveille; I Have a Rendezvous with Death. PATRIOTISM. - The American Flag; The Building of the Ship; Concord Hymn; Old Ironsides; Lincoln (from the Commemoration Ode); Washington (from Under the Old Elm); Freedom; America the Beautiful; The Flag Goes By. CHILDHOOD. The Barefoot Boy; In Schooldays; Little Boy Blue; The Old Swimmin'-Hole. The writings of Poe have been omitted from our lists, because of certain peculiar characteristics which make them difficult to classify under a conventional arrangement. Nevertheless, his poems are sinPoe's Work gularly well adapted both for reading aloud and for reciting from memory, if (and this is an important qualification) they can be adequately treated by the pupil. They demand a subtle adjustment to the mood of the poet, and a careful study of delicate metrical forms. Of the poems, The Raven and The Bells would perhaps first be chosen. In the former, when one understands the mood, attention must be paid to the rhythm so as to avoid any tendency to monotony; in the latter, a highly original use of metre presents considerable difficulty. Students who appreciate the wonderful melody of Poe's verses will take delight in The Haunted Palace, The City in the Sea, and Dreamland; here again the mood is important. Of the other poems, Israfel and To Helen have an extraordinary intensity of lyrical feeling. They should not be attempted except by those who realize their poetic truth and beauty. Clearness, In all oral recitation, whether reading or memorizing, stress should be laid chiefly upon two things: clearness of utterance, and sincerity of feeling. A simple, straightforward presentation, based upon a real understanding and an honest liking of the poem selected, will go far towards arousing both in speaker and hearer the spirit of genuine appreciation. And to those who truthfully speak and truthfully hear, the message of the poet will never come in vain. |