INTRODUCTION xxiii 



chapter on paragraphs. Are Huxley's paragraphs con- 

 structed in accordance with the principles given in this 

 chapter ? 

 7. Is the paragraph type varied? For paragraph types, see 



Scott and Denny's Paragraph Writing. 

 C. Comparative study of the structure of the essay. 



1. Do you find any difference between Huxley's earlier and 



later essays as regards the structure of the whole, or 

 the structure of the paragraph? 



2. Which essay seems to you to be most successful in struc- 



ture? 



3. Has the character of the audience any influence upon the 



structure of the essays? 



4. Compare the structure of one of Huxley's essays with that 



of some other essay recently studied. 



5. Has the nature of the material any influence upon the 



structure of the essay? 

 III. Suggestions for the Study of Style. 



A. Exactly what do you mean by style f 



B. Questions on sentence structure. 



1. From any given essay, group together sentences which 



are long, short, loose, periodic, balanced, simple, com- 

 pound ; note those peculiar, for any reason, to Huxley. 



2. Stevenson says, "The one rule is to be infinitely various; 



to interest, to disappoint, to surprise and still to gratify ; 

 to be ever changing, as it were, the stitch, and yet still 

 to give the effect of ingenious neatness." 



Do Huxley's sentences conform to Stevenson's rule? 

 Compare Huxley's sentences with Stevenson's for va- 

 riety in form. Is there any reason for the difference 

 between the form of the two writers? 



3. Does this quotation from Pater's essay on Style describe 



Huxley's sentences? "The blithe, crisp sentence, deci- 

 sive as a child's expression of its needs, may alternate 

 with the long-contending, victoriously intricate sen- 

 tence; the sentence, born with the integrity of a single 

 word, relieving the sort of sentence in which, if you look 

 closely, you can see contrivance, much adjustment, to 

 bring a highly qualified matter into compass at one 

 view." 



4. How do Huxley's sentences compare with those of Ruskin, 



or with those of any author recently studied? 



5. Are Huxley's sentences musical? How does an author 

 make his sentences musical? 



C. Questions on words. 



1. Do you find evidence of exactness, a quality which 



Huxley said he labored for? 



2. Are the words general or specific in character? 



3. How does Huxley make his subject-matter attractive? 



4. From what sources does Huxley derive his words? Are 



they every -day words, or more scholarly in character? 



