Emmerich Manual High School - Ivian Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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MIND AND HAND. L9 GEOFFREY CHAUCER. TT SHORT and heavy figure, a genial, jpY fresh-looking face, every lineament ol whieh suggests fun and good humor, and a natural, unobtrusive manner — this is my picture of Chaucer after reading The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. 1 ' The characteristics of his style which gave me these impressions are, its utter simplicity and delightfully confidential tone, its broad and gentle humor which glows brightly in every line, and above all, its child-like gracefulness whieh is so ap- parent. He did not select ideal and abstract sub- jects and soar up into the clouds in an at- tempt to awe or entrance hi s readers. On the contrary, his subjects and his treatment of them are such that one may enjoy and gain the lull benefit of them without leav- ing terra firma. This could not be better illustrated than it is in his prologue where he has taken a character from almost every calling of life, which existed at that time, and described each in a most naive and in- teresting manner. We are not taken by storm with a sudden outbust of sparkling wit for there is nothing flashy or brilliant about Chaucer. But his steady, quiet humor never grows monotonous, and his satire is never biting. Speaking of the Friar, he says : For though a widow had not a sho, So pleasant was his ' In principio, ' That he would have a farthing ' er he went. ' ' COOKING LABORATORY.

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is MIND AND HANI). would be a speculation as to what the leaves appeared to be whispering to each other. The engineer has given to the world a de- vice of universal usefulness ; the poet a soul- inspiring poem, and the dreamer — nothing. Our greatest achievements (poetic, scien- tific, social and political), have been accom- plished through a love and study of nature and her many forms. Our greatest poets have received their brightest inspirations from nature, but they did not deal with impossible sentimental nonseuse,but rather with the motives, the passions, and a uni- versal study of mankind. Our greatest scientific and mechanical results have been but adopted from nature. Our great social and political advancement but illustrates, though in a small degree, the unity and obedience to law that exists throughout the universe. Thus we see that the men that have done the most for mankind were the most poetic. It is also apparent that the dreamer has not the true poetic instinct. Our great men have not been dreamers, but useful, moving members of an advancing civilization. Nature is a subject for our admiration and love, but only through the medium of useful speculation This great universe, in all its perfection and unity was not created a subject for the play of an idle imagina- tion, but for our elevation and good. Hubert Hildebrakd Rogers, 11 A, English. ADVANCED PHYSICAL LABORATORY. (South Half.

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■20 MIND AND HAND. And again, in his description of the Man of Law, lie gives an example of Ins pleasant satire which, though very ef- fective, contains not the slightest hint of bitterness or malice. This man of law was wise; he was famous; he had great fees paid him: he had rich robes : his clients looked upon him with awe and respect, because he was so important and knowing, and had so many great things to look after. The reader is about to sympathize with it all. Then comes that subtle and truly Chau- cerian stroke : And yet lie seemed busier than lie was. What an innocent tone these words have, and yet we can almost see the smile lurking in the corners of his mouth as lie writes them, and we can not help smiling also. But because Chaucer is wont to show the merry side of everything, we must not think him incapable of deep and serious thought. Some biographers have accused him of be- ing irreligious, basing their accusations upon the light way in which he speaks of the monks and friars. Frank and unpre- tending himself, he despised deceit and pretense in others, but he was always will- ing to acknowledge and revere a truly re- ligious man, as his tribute to The Parish Priest plainly shows: Wide was his parish with houses far asunder, Yet, ceasing not for rain nor thunder, In sickness and in pain he saw The farthest in his parish, great and small. This noble example for his flock he wrought, That first he worked and afterwards he taught. And this figure he added thereunto : That if gold rust, what shall iron do? He hated pomp and asked no reverence, Nor made him an hypocritical conscience; But Christ ' s lore and his apostle ' s twelve He taught, but first he followed it himself. Lowell says that Chaucer mused good naturedly over the vices and follies of men, and, never forgetting that he was fashioned of the same clay, is rather apt to pity than condemn. Chaucer gives us many lessons in moral- ity, but they are incidental and indirect; therefore they do not detract from the freshness of the poem. Knowing that he had lived during that period which imme- diately followed the Norman Conquest, and that he received his earliest inspiration from the poets of Southern Europe, such as Dante and Petrarch, we can easil} T recog- nize in him a delicate sentiment and a courtliness of expression which is foreign to a purely English Avriter. But back of this the northern Teutonic blood is mani- fest in his good common sense and practical ideas. He was fortunate enough to have possessed both temperaments, and this ad- vantag e, with his natural simplicity and his knowledge of both court life and humble, lowly life, made his poetry the picturesque, healthy and charming literature that it is. LlLLIE POEHLER, 12 B. English. SPENSER ' S FAERY QUEENE. ANY times during my English work, and also in my readings (especially do I recall quotations in the novels of Walter Scott and James Fenimore Cooper), I have happened upon reference to Spenser ' s Faery Queene, but nothing in all I read prepared me for the true character of the poem, until I actually took up the study of it. Over a year ago I found a picture of Una and the Lion. I admired it, it left a distinct impression on my mind. But I did not know who Una was at that time, so 1 passed the picture by as some artist ' s fancy. When I came to Una and the Lion in the Faery Queene, that picture instantly came before my mind and I im- mediately hunted it up, and from that time on both picture and story had increased ten-fold in interest. I think I shall always