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PROGRESSIVE READINGS

IN PROSE

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PROGRESSIVE READINGS IN PROSE

I. EXPOSITION

HE term Exposition is applied to that form of composition which deals primarily with ideas about things-not things themselves. Its chief function is explanation, the discovery of contrasts and similarities, of relations and associations of causes and results. If one tells a story about a fish and a man, he will use concrete narration; but if he chooses to show the relation between the lower animal organism of the fish and the higher organism of the man as explained by the theory of evolution, he will then be dealing with the abstract and employing the expository form.

The particular form which an expository article takes should depend upon the fundamental conception which the writer forms before beginning his task. This is as important to him as the mental picture of the completed structure is to an architect about to start work on his blue-prints. By fundamental conception is meant that recognition by the prospective writer of the full obligations of the task before him -a recognition possible only after a due consideration of the nature of the subject chosen, the class of readers it is desired to reach, and the kind of appeal the author wishes to make.

If the subject divides itself naturally, like the backbone of a fish, into a number of coördinate sections, then the writer will doubtlessly use the catalogue method. So Wu Tingfang in "American Manners" and Walter Prichard Eaton in "The Menace from Above" do little more than enumerate the various points of their discourse with comment upon each. There is little or no climax, for none is needed. Obviously the great advantage of this method is the clarity which is secured. On the other hand as there is no growing

importance of the subject, no heightening of the interest as we proceed, the content of most articles will necessitate the use of a form in which, after a gradual crescendo, a definite climax is reached. In this type special care must be taken that the different parts cohere naturally, that the proper transition shows how one paragraph grows out of another, how one large division of thought is related to the foregoing.

So much for the conditions which the subject itself imposes. The readers for whom the article is written should not be forgotten. Compare the simple lucid. style in which Lafcadio Hearn addressed. his Japanese students with the more involved structure of the essays by Herbert Croly or by Thomas De Quincey. Likewise study Thomas Huxley's "Piece of Chalk" in the light of an address deliv ered to a group of laboring men who cared much for what he might tell them in a straightforward way, and very little for any unnecessary elaboration of the language in which it was couched. The simple formula is: technical language for the specialist; simple, direct diction for the average man; and a literary style flavored with figure and allusion for the bibliophile.

Even more important, in view of its effect upon the finished article, is the kind of appeal which the writer wishes to make. The two great faculties of the mind are the intellect and the imagination. The intellect is brought into play in writing Informative Prose; the imagination, in writing the Familiar Essay. The purpose of the former is utilitarianit is designed to bring us knowledge; the purpose of the latter is artistic-it aims to give pleasure. This same distinction

is to be noticed (1) between practical descriptions, where fidelity to detail is the requirement, and imaginative descriptions, in which the writer strives by a judicious selection of detail to create atmosphere; and (2) to a certain extent between narration of fact, whose very truth imposes inevitable and inviolable restrictions, and narration of fiction, in which the writer by a conscious arrangement of the parts may obtain a desired effect.

Thus there are created two distinct types of expository writing: the Informative Prose article, which should conform strictly to certain necessary principles;

and the Familiar Essay, which permits greater freedom of treatment. Occasionally these two types blend so that the line of demarcation is almost indistinguishable; but the elements of each are present nevertheless, one usually predominating.

Exposition is a mark of the developed mind. It represents a stage beyond that of passive acceptance of the phenomena of life. Simple narrations and descriptions. are within the power of the most immature, but interpretation and reasoning bespeak a critical attitude which it is one aim of education to produce.

A. INFORMATIVE PROSE

IN Informative Prose the emphasis is laid on what is said, not on how it is said. This does not mean that diction is unimportant; it simply signifies that language is to subserve the best possible expression of the idea. All thought of ornamentation should be banished in the attempt to convey to the reader exactly the desired information. Certain subjects, especially those in the field of interpretative literature, permit some licence in this regard. Matthew Arnold in his essay on "Celtic Literature" succeeds through the agency of his rich style in enveloping his theme with some of the very magic he is writing of. And yet this may prove a dangerous tendency. It is undeniable that at times the florid writing of John Ruskin, with its long periods and balanced structure, obscures the idea he wishes to convey. It must be borne in mind that clarity is the chief purpose of Informative Prose.

To gain this end a definite form or skeleton upon which the thought fabric may be draped is essential. Many students fail to recognize this skeleton beneath the sentences of the articles they read. Because they do not perceive it, they evidently argue it is not there, and see no reason for its construction. It is for this reason that most teachers of English insist on written out

lines before any long exposition is attempted. Only a highly trained writer can keep vividly in mind the complete design of his prospective composition. Failure to confine one's self strictly to a definite plan of procedure leads to digressions, distracts the mind of the reader, and dulls the intended effect.

Students often complain that an outline hampers them by its unnecessary restrictions. This can be due only to a misunderstanding of its function. An outline should never be so rigid as to allow no alteration. As the mind sweeps forward, new ideas, new implications will present themselves. Minor details may be added. without hesitation. More important changes usually necessitate a complete reorganization of the scheme of the outline either by the inclusion of new main headings, or by the realization that a new basis of division is needed.

Indeed, it is this work of organization which is of greatest value in the writing of exposition. No uncanny wielding of a flexible vocabulary, no adroit treatment of isolated topics can atone for a lack of organizing power. It is difficult to find a better example of informative writing in which the correlation of ideas is perfectly and naturally revealed than the chapter on "Habit" by William James. The student must develon the abil

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