Situation II. The agreeable companion. Situation III. The tyrannical master. III. "The Rope of Ocnus" is the name of a celebrated picture painted by Polygnotus, a distinguished Greek painter who died about 426 B. C. Ocnus was the name of a poor but industrious Greek, whose extravagant wife spent his money as fast as he earned it. He complained to Polygnotus of his trials and tribulations in this respect, and Polygnotus painted the picture alluded to above. The picture represents a poor man weaving a rope out of straw, while behind him stands an ass eating off the other end of the rope. The silent lesson conveyed by the picture is said to have had the desired effect upon the wife of Ocnus, and by her frugality and thrift she enabled him soon to rise from obscurity to great prosperity. -S. H. KILLIKELLY, Curious Questions. Situation I. Situation II. Ocnus discussing his troubles with Poly gnotus. Ocnus explaining the picture to his wife. Situation III. The wife of Ocnus reformed. SUGGESTIONS.—In writing upon any of these subjects you will have to supply, from your imagination, some of the elements in each situation. The giving of the time of day, together with the period or month, or any of the larger divisions of time, in a situation, always makes the scene seem more real. No doubt the 45. The Rewriting of Themes. student has already discovered that the written theme frequently does not come up to his expectations; that the materials have not taken quite the shape his brain conceived. For the skill to express our thought as we have conceived it, much practice is required and much patient toil. An excellent exercise in acquiring this skill is the rewriting of themes in the light of the teacher's corrections. As many of the student's themes as time will allow should be rewritten, for when the student is familiar with the materials, all his attention can be given to the correction of errors and to the acquirement of skill in handling the material. He should not, however, spend so much time on subjects on which he has already written that his interest is killed. CHAPTER V. RETROSPECTIVE NARRATIVE 46. Definition and Forms of Retrospective Narrative. Narrative which gives the story of events that happened before the time of the situation is called retrospective narrative; that is, narrative which looks backward. Retrospective Narrative may take three principal forms: (a) Dialogue, (b) Author's Narrative, and (c) Vision,—terms which will be explained as we go along. In this chapter we shall study the first form, that in which the story is brought up to the time of the situation by means of dialogue. The next chapter deals with Author's Narrative and Vision. 47. Retrospective Narrative and the Situation Combined. Each of the four theme-models discussed in this and the following chapter combines retrospective narrative and the situation. These models enable us to review all we have learned about composition thus far, and to add to the situation a new narrative motive. 48. Colloquial Origin of this Form. Like the series of situations with which we are now so familiar, the method of narration that we are about to study is one which we find people using in conversation. Is not the way in which the following story is told natural and familiar? Suppose that a friend of yours who is calling upon you says in the course of the conversation: "I saw your old friend Jameson in London last summer. I started out one afternoon to visit Westminster Abbey and met him at the door as I was entering." "Indeed?" you answer; "I am glad to hear from him again, even indirectly. It is many years since we met, though I used to hear from him occasionally through Colonel Summers." "By the way, did he ever tell you how he and the Colonel happened to become such warm friends?" "I always supposed that the Colonel knew his father as a boy." "No, they met first in a restaurant on Broadway. They happened to be seated at the same table, and when the Colonel came to pay for his lunch, he found he had no money. His pocket had been picked. Jameson let him have the money, and the Colonel took his name and address. Jameson heard nothing from the old gentleman, however, until the following Christmas, when he received a check for one hundred dollars and an invitation to dinner. They saw each other often that winter, and the next summer Jameson visited the World's Fair as the Colonel's guest. There he became acquainted with one of the English Commissioners, who secured for him, upon returning to England, the position he now holds in London with Burton & Co." "Well, he has been very fortunate in this friendship." "Yes, and I never could understand why anyone should take such a fancy to him. He always seemed to me a very erratic fellow." Let us try to analyze this story into its elements. I. We have first a situation, the characters, yourself and a friend; the place, your parlor, probably; time, evening, perhaps; the occasion, a call. 2. Next we have a story told by one of the characters. This story grows naturally out of the conversation and deals with events which happened before the time of the situation. It is, therefore, an example of retrospective narrative. Let us now examine a piece of literature written in this form. 49. The Selection used as Theme-model II. The following poem by Southey contains a situation and retrospective narrative in dialogue. It should be read carefully, together with the outline of it in section 50: Situation THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM It was a summer evening; Old Kaspar's work was done, And by him sported on the green Transition She saw her brother Peterkin Roll something large and round, In playing there, had found: He came to ask what he had found, Old Kaspar took it from the boy, Who stood expectant by; And then the old man shook his head, ""Tis some poor fellow's skull," said he, "Now tell us what 't was all about," "Now tell us all about the war, And what they fought each other for." |