For specimens of his humor at its best, read
_Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar_, printed at the beginning of the twenty-one
chapters of _Pudd'nhead Wilson_. His humor depending on incongruity is well
shown in _A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court_. _The Prince and the
Pauper_ is a fascinating story of sixteenth-century England.
QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
Why does Oxford University display on its walls _The Gettysburg Address_ of
Lincoln? What books helped mold his style?
What period of our development do Bret Harte's stories illustrate? What are
some special characteristics of his short stories? Does he belong to the
school of Poe or Hawthorne? Which one of our great short story writers has
the most humor,--Irving, Hawthorne, Poe, or Harte? Which one of them do you
enjoy the most?
Why is Eugene Field called the poet-laureate of children? Which of his
poems indicated for reading do you prefer? What are the most striking
qualities of his verse?
Point out the chief characteristics of Riley's verse. What lines please you
most for their humor, references to rural life, optimism, kindly spirit,
and pathos? Why is he so widely popular?
Which of Mark Twain's works are most valuable to the student of American
literature and history? In what sense is he a historian? What phases of
western development does he describe? Give instances (_a_) of his humor
which depends on incongruity, (_b_) of his philosophical humor, (_c_) of
his hatred of hypocrisy, and (_d_) of his solicitude for the weak.
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