The Project Gutenberg eBook of English: Composition and Literature, by W.
F. (William Franklin) Webster

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: English: Composition and Literature

Author: W. F. (William Franklin) Webster

Release Date: February 16, 2009 [eBook #28097]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH: COMPOSITION AND
LITERATURE***

E-text prepared by Carl Hudkins, Fred Robinson, and the Project Gutenberg
Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustrations.
See 28097-h.htm or 28097-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/8/0/9/28097/28097-h/28097-h.htm)
or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/8/0/9/28097/28097-h.zip)

ENGLISH: COMPOSITION AND LITERATURE

by

W. F. WEBSTER

Principal of the East High School
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Houghton Mifflin Company
Boston: 4 Park Street; New York: 85 Fifth Avenue
Chicago: 378-388 Wabash Avenue

The Riverside Press Cambridge

Copyright, 1900 and 1902, by W. F. Webster
All Rights Reserved

PREFACE

In July, 1898, I presented at the National Educational Association,
convened in Washington, a Course of Study in English. At Los Angeles,
in 1899, the Association indorsed the principles[1] of this course,
and made it the basis of the Course in English for High Schools. At
the request of friends, I have prepared this short text-book,
outlining the method of carrying forward the course, and emphasizing
the principles necessary for the intelligent communication of ideas.

It has not been the purpose to write a rhetoric. The many fine
distinctions and divisions, the rarefied examples of very beautiful
forms of language which a young pupil cannot possibly reproduce, or
even appreciate, have been omitted. To teach the methods of simple,
direct, and accurate expression has been the purpose; and this is all
that can be expected of a high school course in English.

The teaching of composition differs from the teaching of Latin or
mathematics in this point: whereas pupils can be compell