the intent
of many of the subordinate parts. But the intellectual side is only
secondary. Literature, in its finer forms, is not primarily an
intellectual subject, such as grammar or mathematics. The emotional
tone, the spiritual meaning, and the artistic form--these are the main
elements, and these can be best developed by good reading. The teacher
should acquire the habit of reading poetry aloud in his home, and should
induce his pupils to follow his example. Further, as two senses will
give a more vivid realization of thought than one, the pupil, in the
class, should follow with his eye the reading of the teacher; and it is
helpful for a church congregation to follow with the eye the reading of
the scripture lesson by the minister.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAIN THOUGHT

The teacher should next assist the pupils to discover the main thought
of the lesson. In many cases the meaning will be very vague, and the
pupils will have difficulty in formulating a terse and comprehensive
statement of the subject of the poem. If the question is asked in a
stereotyped form, such as "What is the main thought of the poem?" the
enthusiasm of the pupils is often chilled. The teacher may, if it is a
narrative poem, ask for the main points in the story, and may assist the
pupils by calling attention to some pertinent passage, or by removing
difficulties by means of questions or explanations. In all cases, it is
well to accept a partially correct answer by the pupils, and to try to
improve its imperfection by questioning, until a fairly complete and
substantial statement has been given. Every answer which contains even a
fragment of sound thought should receive due recognition. In some cases
it is sufficient, at the outset, to take an imperfect statement of the
main thought, since the study of the poem will reveal its defects. The
teacher must keep before his pupils this statement, so that at the
conclusion of the lesson they will be quite ready to replace it by a
more accurate one. The teacher should be careful that the emotions
aroused by the poem are not unduly weakened or dissipated by the
analysis of its intellectual content. Many lessons by young teachers
fail just at this point, by reason of questioning unskilfully or by
rejecting answers that do not correspond to their own cut-and-dried
preconceptions.

The teacher should follow a similar method in discovering the leading
thought of the subdivisions of the poem. These often c