d to feel more clearly and more deeply by means of our
intelligent grasp upon these figurative expressions.

Thought, then, is mastered by attention to the details we have
discussed, and until we habitually notice these things our reading is
apt to be slipshod and profitless. It will help us to retain these facts
in mind if we put them into a systematic outline.

Mastery of thought, which is at the foundation of an appreciation of
literature, depends upon mastery of--

I. Words in their special meaning.

II. Allusions, or references to
1. Historical events and personages.
2. Literary masterpieces.
3. Scientific truths.
4. Biblical events and truths.
5. Mythological creations.

III. Figures, of which the more important and common are those--
1. Based on comparisons:
a. simile.
b. metaphor.
2. Based on natural associations:
a. synecdoche.
b. metonymy.
3. Of apostrophe.
4. Of personification.

IV. Sentences, the units of thought.

V. Paragraphs, the collections of related thought units.

CHAPTER XI

READING POETRY

Nothing so brings out the music and the structural beauty of poetry as
reading it aloud, and many who have cared nothing for verse in any of
its forms learn to love it when they hear it read frequently by a
sympathetic voice. Children love the nursery rhymes largely because they
have heard them and have caught the sound and rhythm more than the
meaning. It is the lively music more than the whimsical meaning that has
made the rhymes popular. When the time comes that children begin to lose
their interest and consider poetry beneath them, their flagging
attention often may be aroused and new interest created by simply
reading new selections aloud to them and talking with them about the
meaning and beauties of the poems.

On page 410 of Volume One is Longfellow's exquisite poem, _The Reaper
and the Flowers_. We can imagine a little family group reading this some
quiet evening when the lamp throws shadows into the corners and the
bed-time hour draws near. No one could call the children in on a fine
summer day, and, when fresh from their play, the blood is bounding
through their veins, expect them to be touched by delicate sentiment, or
to appreciate musical numbers. Literature has something for every hour,
every mood, every circumstance. It may be that there is one little