Ontario Teachers' Manuals: LiteratureOntario. Department of Education
General
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Literature
Ontario. Department of Education
Children -- Books and reading; Education; Literature -- Study and teaching; Reading (Elementary)
There are many references in the text-books to geographical, scientific,
and historical matters. If these allusions. In poems such as _The
Armada_ there must be a preliminary lesson such as has been indicated.
Very often the enthusiast in these subjects will make literature a mere
peg on which to hang much information. Teachers often make long
digressions in connection with these allusions, till the mood of the
poem is completely lost in the mist of the disquisitions. The same
method should be adopted in teaching allusions as in teaching the
meanings of words. Only such explanation is necessary as will show the
purpose of the author in introducing the allusions. In poems such as
_The Armada_ there must be considerable explanation given, before the
pupils will feel the emotion that the author hopes to kindle by the
mention of the names that are used in it. With Canadian children, the
effect in the case of this poem cannot be so great as with English
children, who are more familiar with the special geographical and
historical associations.
The teacher of young people cannot hope, by explanation of the
allusions, to arouse all the pleasure and the vitality of emotion that
will be induced in the reader who has the culture that comes of wide
reading; nor can the teacher communicate this emotion when the
information is new. The pleasure comes, later on, from the recall of
information that was assimilated in earlier years.
THE IMAGERY
The language of poetry is generally concrete. The artist may wish to
give expression to a general truth, or philosophical principle, or
ethereal fancy. These appear very abstract, but the artist embodies in
material forms the idea he wishes to convey. The poet expresses his
thought by the suggestion of material imagery, and emotion is most
readily aroused by these images.
Antony, in his funeral oration after Caesar's death, knew how to arouse
his audience to fury by showing them Caesar's wounds and holding before
them Caesar's mantle with its rents. Not always can the real object be
produced for these emotional effects, but the teacher can sometimes
bring into the class-room, for the benefit of young pupils, concrete
material such as pictures and work in manual training. He can also call
attention, at times, to the falling snow or the colour of the leaves or
the sky, by asking the pupils to look out of the class-room windows. But
in most cases, he has to be content with trying to recall the memory of
these natural things. This shows how valuable has been the excursion of
the boy into the country, and his experience on holidays by the river
and in the harvest field. The nature study lesson furnishes the material
for future enjoyment of poetry.
The pupils in our schools are very capable in realizing visual imagery.
They can see the visual image very readily with its colour, form, and
movement. They can arrange the objects in the picture with foreground,
background, light, and shade.
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