THE subjoined form of analysis possesses the following advantages over the tabular form :—

First, No part of the passage to be analyzed requires to be written more than once, and thus time and space are economized. Second, No lines are necessary.

Third, The space is uniformly filled, no large spaces being left while other parts of the exercise are crowded, and the writing cramped.

Fourth, It is very easily examined.

A.

Principal clause to B, co-ordinate with C and D.

Principal clause to E, co-ordinate with A and D.

Principal clause to E, co-ordinate with A and C.

Clauses A, B, C, D, E, and G form a complex sentence.

WORDSWORTH'S Excursion, Book I.

The nominative absolute phrase F is in no syntactical relationship to any of the clauses which precede it; and as the clause following depends upon it, it is made to stand out distinctly and occupy the place of a principal clause.

Clauses A, B, C, D, and E form a complex sentence.

3. the blossom-fed

4. Lotophagi

Connecting particle

predicate

adjec. adjunct, participial, qual. 4 subject

Clauses A, B, and C form a complex sentence.

CHAPMAN'S translation of Homer's Odyssey, Book ix.

Clauses A, B, C, and D form a complex sentence.

SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet, Act 1.

The following rules should be observed in analyzing sentences upon this plan :—

Arrange clearly. As no lines are to be drawn, make a crease down the centre of the page to be written upon, which will then afford two divisions. On the left arrange the parts of each clause, the numbers pointing out each part coming exactly under each other as in an addition sum. On the right division, and close against the dividing line, so that the first letter comes exactly under that of the part described on the line above, write the description of each part.

The capital letters which number the clauses must be placed exactly on the dividing line, and each must stand on a line by itself.

The names of the clauses must occupy another separate line. The two last rules are necessary in order that the general analysis may stand out clearly.

Make the analysis as perfect as possible; that is, separate each logical part of each clause, adjuncts from subjects, objects, and from each other.

COMPOSITION.

Composition, as applied to language, is the art of putting words and phrases together to express thoughts. The art of composition is attained by the knowledge and practice of the laws

of syntax.

Each language has its own rules of syntax, or modes of arranging words in sentences. We learn these by study, by hearing correct language spoken by those around us, by reading the best modern authors, by hearing these read, by listening to the best orators, whether public speakers or preachers, these having made speech their special study. Thus the ear becomes accustomed to correct forms of composition.

That we learn to compose unconsciously may be seen by noticing the speech of a child, who will be found to imitate its nurse; and will adopt the idioms, along with the dialect, of any part of the country in which it lives for any length of time, if with those who speak the dialect.

The object of language is the communication of thought between human minds. There is no doubt that the lower animals have the power of expressing their thoughts to each other, but not in the same degree as man. By means of language man can express the most delicate shades of meaning, and the most subtle workings of the mind, provided always that he possesses a good stock of words.

The first thing to be attained in composition is clearness. As the object of language is to express thought, those succeed best who can most readily make their thoughts understood by others, giving those who listen to them, or who read their writings, the least possible mental effort. This is due as a matter of politeness to those to whom we speak or write; and it is a mental discipline to the composer, for the thought must be clearly understood before it can be clearly expressed; and the effort to express it clearly tends to set it in order in the mind.

Clearness is attained by correctness according to the laws of syntax; for the rules of syntax, being the standard of arrangement, and the means by which uniformity is secured, are studied, and followed, and understood by all educated people, while deviations from them are unfamiliar to the ear and bewildering to the mind. The rules of syntax secure the proper arrangement of words in clauses and sentences, so that their relation to each other can best be seen. Deviations from them, therefore, cause confusion