Art principles in literatureDonnelly, Francis P. (Francis Patrick)
Philosophy
Art principles in literature
Donnelly, Francis P. (Francis Patrick)
Aesthetics; Literature
The reason why a whole year was given to the elements of interest and
force in self-expression is found in the twofold nature of emotions.
One set of emotions arises from the apprehension of good or avoidance
of evil. Another set arises from the perception of the novel, humorous
and beautiful. These latter comprehend the emotions of surprise, wonder,
delight, awe, in general, the esthetic emotions. The other emotions,
called appetitive, include love and hate, with desire and fear, joy and
sadness, pity and anger and many others.
Fortunately for the teacher the teaching of emotions is somewhat
simplified by the fact that both kinds of emotions respond, not to
abstract truth but to truth in the concrete and concrete truth takes on
beauty or good and awakens emotions through the imaginations of teacher
and student. Teachers who themselves imagine will awaken emotions and
educate emotions by exercising them. Teachers who imagine will make
pupils imagine by making them translate all truth from the abstract
to the concrete. The perpetual question on the lips of the teacher,
“For instance?” will embody truth in the concrete, exercise students in
imagination and make truth emotional and abiding.
Interesting and enthusiastic teachers are always training emotions.
Emotion is not imparted by instruction; it is kindled by contact.
Teachers who have their subjects transferred from dead books to their
warm, living imaginations, will be interesting, will be moving. They
will excite surprise and wonder by novelty and beauty of presentation.
They will make their classes expand with love or shrink in horror at the
pictures of good or evil.
After imagination and actual feeling on the part of both student and
teacher, the next best means of educating emotions is the stimulating
of action, especially in the way of original self-expression through
the written and spoken word. One of the happy tendencies of our modern
education is the restoring of oral expression to its former high place.
These means just mentioned will be helpful in any subject of the
curriculum, but the principal instrument in the schools for training
the emotions will be literature. Literature is the embodiment of human
emotions, in story, in essay, poem, and speech. The schools must hold
on to the teaching of literature. They must make a stand against the
imperialism of facts and so-called practical subjects. The schools must
never forget that it is at least just as practical to have a heart in
life as to have a head. A modern French scholar has said: “Humanities
and letters are man himself, to remove them from education, it would be
necessary to commence by taking man from man.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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