us in ourselves. Sometimes, too, it inspires us
to nobler and purer feeling and to higher conceptions of life.

The wise teacher seeks to awaken the interest and arouse the imagination
of his pupils. He tries to bring them into the right mood, but avoids
putting himself between them and the poet. He must see that they
understand the poet's thought, but the appeal to the feelings he will
best leave to the poet himself.

Repeated readings and the memorizing of important passages are nowhere
so important as in the study of lyric poetry. To make repeated readings
useful, however, the teacher must convince the class by questions, or
the introduction of discussion, that they have overlooked some message
of the poet's. A general plan of study might include, first, wise
preparatory work on the part of the teacher to bring the class into the
atmosphere of the poem; second, a mastery of the details of the poem;
third, a study of the content of the poem as a whole and in parts;
fourth, a study of form and structure; fifth, a study of the poem as an
interpretation of the poet.

OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF L'ALLEGRO AND IL PENSEROSO

I. Preparation

A brief discussion of the meaning of lyric poetry will be helpful, with
discriminations between it and other forms of verse.

The class will be put in the right attitude for study by an interesting
account of Milton's life up to 1632; his home influences; his education;
his Puritan ideas; the difference between Puritanism in Milton's youth
and Puritanism in the days of the Commonwealth; and, especially, by a
vivid picture of the surroundings of the poet at Horton.

II. Reading and Study

The first reading may be utilized to get a general idea of the poem, and
to mark the thought divisions. Other readings will make the student
familiar with the details of description, the allusions, the difficult
words and constructions, the varieties of meter and rhyme. A comparison,
point by point, between the two poems will be helpful. Such a one might
be written in the notebooks after the plan suggested by Mr. Chubb in
_The Teaching of English_, p. 298.

======+==========================++======+=====================
Lines | _L'Allegro_ ||Lines | _Il Penseroso_
------+--------------------------++------+---------------------
1-10|Dismissal--of Melancholy || 1-10|of deluding joys
11-46|Invitation to Mirth || 11-54|to Melancholy
47-150|Progress of day of social ||5