he is eager to communicate his
feelings to the pupils. This enthusiasm, however, should not have in it
any insincerity, or extravagant commendation of the poem or the author.
The teacher who has wide information and genuine interest in his work
will seldom fail to arouse a real pleasure in the literature lesson.

The relationship between the teacher and the pupils must be cordial if
the lesson is to be successful. This is true in any subject, but the
sympathetic bond must be especially strong in the literature lesson.

PREPARATION OF PUPILS

It has already been pointed out that it is frequently necessary to give
preliminary lessons in nature study, science, history, or geography
before the lesson in literature is presented. The pupil must have the
right information before the literature lesson can arouse the emotion
that the author wishes him to feel.

Not only is the possession of the right information necessary, but the
pupil should be in the right mood for the lesson. A class that has just
returned to the room after the games at recess is not in the proper
state of mind to appreciate, at once, the recitation by the teacher of,

Break, break, break,
On thy cold gray stones, O sea!

Even the enthusiasm and scholarship of the teacher will fail to be
effective under these circumstances. He should arouse in the pupils the
proper mental and emotional state by a very short talk on friendship. He
can refer to the well-known stories of David and Jonathan, or Damon and
Pythias, and tell them of the friendship existing between Arthur Hallam
and Alfred Tennyson.

Before studying _Lead, Kindly Light_ (p. 315, Third Reader) the teacher
might ask the pupils to picture a solitary traveller in the desert far
from home. Night is approaching; the darkness gathers, and the air grows
chill. What would be the nature of his feelings? Away in the distance he
discovers a faint light glimmering as from a lantern. Now, how would he
feel? Continue till the pupils can see each part of the picture, the
spiritual significance of which they are to learn through the poem.

To give an extended account of the author's life is a poor introduction,
unless there is something of unusual interest about his personality or
achievements. The pupils usually do not know anything about him, and the
teacher's aim, in this preparatory work, is to relate the thought and
feeling of the poem to the properly assimilated knowledge and experie