LITERATURE 



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LITERATURE 



the rabbit. The common things of life, the sun, 

 the rain, the flowers, the stars, the rainbow, the 

 song of birds all are lifted into the realm 

 of imagination and make a strong appeal to 

 the hearts and minds of the children. Long- 

 fellow wrote this poem for his own peers, but 

 the thought often persists when having the chil- 

 dren dramatize many scenes from Hiawatha's 

 adventures, how the poet who so loved little 

 children would be moved almost to tears could 

 he hear their limpid tones repeat: 



From the red stone of the quarry 

 With his hand he broke a fragment, 

 Moulded it into a pipe-head, 

 Shaped and fashioned it with figures ; 

 From the margin of the river 

 Took a long reed for a pipe-stem, 

 With its dark green leaves upon it ; 

 Filled the pipe with bark of willow, 

 With the bark of the red willow ; 

 Breathed upon the neighboring forest, 

 Made its great boughs chafe together, 

 Till in flame they burst and kindled ; 

 And erect upon the mountains, 

 Gitchie Manito, the mighty, 

 Smoked the calumet, the Peace-Pipe, 

 As a signal to the nations. 



The world of art pictures, sculpture and lit- 

 erature itself is so based upon the stories of 

 Greek and Latin literature that an early knowl- 

 edge of their myths is almost invaluable. Based 

 upon the phenomena of nature, to the children 

 they appeal as stories of a by-gone day, giving 

 delight to the imagination and peopling the 

 fancy with bright, attractive beings. The sculp- 

 tor has embodied his thought of Greek myth 

 in numerous forms, and a knowledge of the 

 source of the sculptor's inspiration, of what he 

 is trying to shape in marble, enables us to un- 

 derstand, appreciate and enjoy his work. The 

 painter also owes a great debt to Greek litera- 

 ture, and in every gallery we see the artist's 

 conception of Aurora, or the fall of Troy, or of 

 some hero or episode described by the Greek 

 poets. Much is revealed to the visitor whose 

 memory has been stored with the wealth of 

 imagination that belonged to the early writers 

 of our race meanings, details, beauties that are 

 not seen, or if seen, are not understood by 

 others. Numerous books based upon the two 

 great poems the Iliad and the Odyssey are in 

 every public library ready for the teacher's use. 

 She should have the poems themselves in her 

 own collection, should know them and should 

 make frequent reference to them. 



In music the stories of the romances of the 

 Middle Ages and the Scandinavian legends are 

 largely drawn upon for themes and operas. 



They are fascinating stories in themselves and 

 embody many characteristics of the brave peo- 

 ple of the North. The heroes of Asgard, the 

 struggle between the gods and the powers of 

 evil destiny, the grandeur of scenery, the strug- 

 gles of the elements, all the poetry of wind and 

 wave and sky as revealed to those undaunted 

 rovers of the sea, are all vividly portrayed in 

 the myths of the North. We should remember 

 this element in our historical development and 

 see that the children have these stories as a 

 background for all literature, art and music. 



Milton's Comus is a play that should be 

 given to the children that they may become 

 interested in this gifted poet, though it is not 

 generally considered as appealing to the young. 

 This play is a dramatic presentation to the 

 child's open mind of the beauty of goodness 

 shown in the childish characters and the line, 

 ''Virtue alone is free," sings itself into his 

 consciousness, awakening a responsive chord. 

 Robin Hood and The Idylls of the King delight 

 children at a time when adventure and romance 

 and hero-worship have their day in the life of 

 the young. 



Meeting our greatest poet, Shakespeare, for 

 the first time in that fairy play which is always 

 a favorite, A Midsummer Night's Dream, the 

 children happily continue to live with him in 

 the story of Julius Caesar, in The Tempest, in 

 Macbeth and in Hamlet. 



As children reach the upper grades of school 

 they should read such plays as Julius Caesar, 

 Henry VIII, Antony and Cleopatra, and the 

 like, in connection with their history lessons 

 dealing with the same themes. The plays are 

 not all historically accurate, but the divergence 

 is not great enough to destroy their benefit. 

 It will be well to note the discrepancies, as 

 study proceeds. 



It is difficult to interest children in ethereal 

 questions directly, but the study of the con- 

 trasting characters of Macbeth and Banquo, of 

 Cassius and Brutus, the discussion of motives 

 underlying the actions of different types as 

 vealed in the dramas, the close study of the 

 great arguments where questions of morals are 

 discussed with such skill, all form a possession 

 that will always remain to strengthen and to 

 inspire, to delight and to console. 



The best literature is none too good for the 

 children. The greatest writers use the simple, 

 direct style characteristic of good writing; they 

 fill the mind with images of beauty, and the 

 emotions are appealed to through ennobling 

 sentiments. F.H. 





