Learn English

The verb

A part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence.

Remember question one for identifying subjects? "What's going on (or being described)?" Answer that and you've found your verb. And like a subject, a sentence has got to have one!

Let's look at a few more examples:

Lassie ran into the burning building. The beagle stepped on its ears. What's going on in these sentences? A couple of dogs are doing stupid things; but what they are doing is the verb--in this case, Lassie ran and the beagle stepped . Both show action.

Got the idea? Now let's look at verbs that are a little different. Some verbs don't show action. Instead, they link the subject to some other information: these are called, big surprise, linking verbs . Common linking verbs are "to be" forms--such as, is, am, are, was, were--and the verbs appear, become, feel, look, seem. Examples are:

She was fond of her animals. Pierre is a fine beast. She looks like she has been in a fight with a cat. It feels damp in the grass. In identifying the verb, you also need to look for the helpers, since they are considered part of the verb. The helpers (aka auxiliaries) include: is, am, are, was, were, been, has, have, had, do, does, did, may, can, might, shall, will, should, could, would.

I've marked the complete verb in the following:

I was barking before breakfast. He should have let me out of the house. I tried to wait for him to get up. He should not have stayed in bed so long. I barked and waited until. . . . I guess you can figure out what happened at the end of this little story. It's an all-too-frequent part of a dog's life. . . . But about the verbs.

Notice what is not included in the verb in numbers 3 and 4: to wait and not. Words with to in front of them are never a part of the verb, even though they look suspiciously like verbs. Words like not, always, just, never, and only are not part of the verb.

Remember how a sentence can have more than one subject? It can also have more than one verb, as you see in number 5. One other thing: no word with an "-ing" ending can ever be the verb without a helper: I barking; she running? No way!

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Pronouns

Subjects and objects

First let's look at case--that is, the difference between the subject and object forms of the pronouns. We know what subjects are, and objects are those words that come at the end of prepositional phrases (among other things). You probably already know the differences, but just in case, here's a list of the forms:

Subject ObjectI me

you you he him she her

it it we us

they them

The only thing you need to know is that these forms can't be switched around. If the word is a subject, it must be a subject form; if it's an object . . . well, you get the idea. Consider the following:

o Peggy and me barked at the garbage truck. o Her and me fought over the bone.

Some of you are probably thinking, "What's wrong with these?" In spoken English, you'll hear things like this every day. But in written English, you need to make sure your forms aren't mixed up. The correct versions are "Peggy and I" and "She and I," since the words are the subject of the sentence. Nothing in the object list can be a subject--ever! You wouldn't say, "Me barked" or "me fought"--unless you were trying out for a Tarzan movie.

The same goes for objects of prepositions. You can't use a subject form in a prepositional phrase.

o Small Cat fetched the paper for her and I. o Peggy ran after John and she.

"For I"? "After she"? These can't be right, since both are in the subject list; but, they're used as objects of the preposition. The correct versions are "for me" and "after her." You shouldn't have as much trouble with these because you don't hear them misused quite as often in this way. But watch out for "just between you and I." That phrase gets a lot of use--even though "I" can't be an object. It's "just between you and me"!

With "to be" verbs

Now we get to the stuff that will sound odd to you. Remember when we talked about "to be" verb forms? Any time a pronoun comes after one of these verbs, the subject form is required.

o It is I. o It was they. o It is he.

I told you this would sound funny--but it's correct! So, all these years you've been saying, "It's me" and "It's them," and you've been wrong. Right or wrong, I can't bring myself to say, "It is I." "It's me" sounds more natural. The best thing to do when you write yourself into a construction like this is to rethink and rewrite in a different way. (If anyone tells you otherwise, just say "it was I" who told you.)

With "than" or "as"

Another common pronoun mistake happens in sentences where you use "than" or "as" to compare people or things:

o Peggy is smaller than I. o The cat down the street is meaner than she. o Cats are as smart as they.

You want to use "me," "her," and "them," don't you? You could, but that wouldn't be right. The subject form of the pronoun always comes after "than" or "as." Why? There's an understood verb in the construction.

o Peggy is smaller than I (am). o The cat down the street is meaner than she (is). o Cats are as smart as they (are).

You can see why the object form won't work: "me am," "her is," and "them are" are just plain wrong! Even though you probably hear these kinds of sentences used incorrectly, when you're writing you can get them right if you remember that understood verb.

Relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, that, and which

In addition to renaming another word (like all pronouns), relative pronouns often introduce added details in your sentences. They can also be used to ask questions. Look at the following:

1. Small Cat is the one who is a true grammar hound. 2. Peggy is the cat whom everyone loves to pet. 3. Whose ball is that? 4. She is the one that I like. 5. I want to know which cat trampled the flowers.

These won't cause you too much trouble most of the time. Just remember: when you write about people, use "who," "whom," and "whose." When you write about things, use "which." "That" can be used in either case.

You may, however, have trouble with who and whom. Who is a subject form, and whom is an object. Like the subject and object forms we talked about earlier, you can't switch these around. Let's take a closer look at two of the sentences you just read:

1. Small Cat is the one who is a true grammar hound. 2. Peggy is the cat whom everyone loves to pet.

In number 1, "who" is the subject of the relative clause; in number two, "whom" is the object. "Fine," you're thinking, "but how do I know when to use 'who' or 'whom?'" You've got a 50/50 chance of getting it right, but you can better the odds if you'll do the following when you find a sentence like one of those above:

1. Mark the spot where "who" or "whom" should go.

2. Look at the group of words to the right of that mark.

Small Cat is the one _____is a true grammar hound.Peggy is the cat _____ everyone loves to pet.

3. Since "who" or "whom" introduces a relative clause, there should be a subject and a verb in that group of words.

_____is a true grammar hound._____everyone loves to pet.

4. If there is no subject, "who" is the right choice. It is the subject form and becomes the subject of the clause.

. . . who is a true grammar hound.

5. If there is a subject, "whom" is the right choice. It is the object form.

. . . whom everyone loves to pet.

Now that's not so hard, is it?

Reflexives

Reflexive pronouns are intensifiers that refer back to the doer of the action (the subject). You know the words: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

We often say things like, I'll do it myself, "She'll fix it herself," etc. There's really no problem--except when you use a reflexive in place of a subject or object form. Never write (or say) something like, "Send it either to my secretary or myself." Keep that in mind, and you should be okay.

Pronouns are little words, but they're often troublesome. That's why we've spent so much time on them. But enough, already!

Lesson no. 1

1. Quiz test 2. Vocbulary

5. Word Forms 6. Metric conversion

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3. Student Essay

4. Comments

7. Interesting Facts

8. Qu Answers

1 - QuizSelect the best word to complete the sentence. Answers in section 8.NOTE: Study the Word Forms in section 5. It will help with this exercise.

a) Al Gore has a lot of __________ experience. b) George W. Bush and Al Gore are both __________.c) He is not __________ active. He prefers a low profile.d) I don't follow ________. Who is running for president?

politically political politics politicians

e) What is your __________ to him?f) That is a very __________ dress.g) Did you know that honey will __________ bears?h) That house is __________ decorated for Christmas.

attractive attractively attraction attract

2 - New Words From The Vocab ClubOur Daily Vocab Club has learned seven new words this week. Here are the seven new words:

Yammer = to talk persistently and loudly. (verb) Abloom = to be abounding with blooms (flowers). (adjective)Blindside = to hit unexpectedly from or as if from a blind side (verb)Cease = to bring an activity to an end (verb)Disinfectant = a chemical that destroys harmful organisms (noun)Elegy = a song or poem expressing sorrow, especially for one who has died (noun)Fastidious = to show or demand excessive delicacy or care. (adjective)

3 - Student Essay We would like to encourage you to begin discussions and make suggestions about student essays. This first essay was submitted by Mihai.The most embarrassing that i have had I made break wind in front of my boyfriend. It was very special because that the first date. But my boyfriend so nice he pretend like he didn't heard and small anything. But I quite sure he can heard that because it very lound. Ok. If he didn't heard that but smell can't pretend. And I felt how hot on my face.

That reason why I love my boyfriend very much. How nice is her? Sometime he break wind too. But I don't mind because I done it before.

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The second essay was submitted by Catalin.





One of the most embarrassing moments in my life was during high school. It was in a Biology lab. I was in front of the class talking about frogs, having one in a container. The problem is that I am scared of them. Suddenly the frog jumped in my face. I started to run around the class and screaming at the same time.

It was embarrassing for me, because I was talking about them, telling the students that they are good, and interesting. Describing their Physiology and then this happened to me.

I felt really embarrassed and stupid in front of the teacher and the students too.

I said sorry to everybody and I couldn't finish the class. The teacher understood my reaction and gave me another opportunity, but a different subject.

The next time I got a good score in the class. I talked about crocodiles. I had one in the class, but it was a corpse only. That was better.

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The third essay was submitted by Marcel.

I don´t remember exactly, but i think it was when some friends came to my home before a party´s single. We were very drunk and did a big scandal in my department. I remember that was too late and the neighbors were sleeping. We put music, talking about many things, laugh loudy. That night, we received some called from the watchman asking us for silent, but we don't paid attention, and even the police have to came in. Finally, they cut electricity, but it was worse, because we started to speak louder, and sing whatever thing, even i broke a window's glass with my hands.

Next day, after all i had a big shame with everyone and i felt worse than animal. I had to make apologizes to everybody, bought a glass and clean-up my disaster.

Really, this experience was very bad to me and since that night i promise to me don´t drink out my sense.

4 - Comments about the EssaysOur first essay was submitted by Mihai. It's very embarrassing but also funny for us to read! My only suggestions are to be careful of spelling and using the past tense. Some spelling mistakes - small (smell) and lound (loud).When using past tense remember that if you use did (or didn't) these are past tense and so the next verb should not be past tense also - didn't hear (not didn't heard). Apart from these small mistakes, your ideas are well presented and enjoyable to read. Good Work!

Our second essay was submitted by Catalin. This is a very well written and also very funny essay! There are no grammar or writing suggestions for this essay - its very well done. I have only one comment - be careful of frogs they can jump very high!

Our third essay was submitted by Marcel. What an interesting story and lesson to be learned! Be careful of spelling - loudly, department (apartment?), and always use I as a pronoun - not i. Don't use two past tense verbs together - we received some calls (not

called). Apart from these suggestions, its a well done essay. This should teach all of us not to drink too much when we are having fun!

Good Work Everyone!!

5 - Word FormsAdverb Word Forms:

Adverbs are usually formed by adding -ly to an adjective form.

brave = bravely cautious = cautiously careful = carefully

Remember that adverbs are usually used to modify verbs:

He bravely faced his enemy.She cautiously opened the door.Maria drives carefully.

There are some adverbs that have the same form as the adjective:

fast hard high

And some adverbs that are irregular:

good = well

6 - Metric ConversionMost countries in the world now use the metric system - metres, litres, etc.Some English-speaking countries, however, use the imperial system - miles, gallons, etc. The United States, Great Britain, etc. use the imperial system. Canada uses the metric system but most people can understand both systems and use the imperial system for height, weight, and some other measurements.

metric -> imperial

1 millimetre [mm] 0.0394 in

1 centimetre [cm] 10 mm 0.3937 in

1 metre [m] 100 cm 1.0936 yd

1 kilometre [km] 1000 m 0.6214 mile

imperial -> metric

1 inch [in] 2.54 cm

1 foot [ft] 12 in 0.3048 m

1 yard [yd] 3 ft 0.9144 m

1 mile 1760 yd 1.6093 km

imperial -> metric

1 fluid ounce [fl oz] 28.413 ml

1 pint [pt] 20 fl oz 0.5683 l

1 gallon [gal] 8 pt 4.5461 l

metric -> imperial

1 milligram [mg] 0.0154 grain

1 gram [g] 1,000 mg 0.0353 oz

1 kilogram [kg] 1,000 g 2.2046 lb

1 tonne [t] 1,000 kg 0.9842 ton

imperial -> metric

1 ounce [oz] 437.5 grain 28.35 g

1 pound [lb] 16 oz 0.4536 kg

1 stone 14 lb 6.3503 kg

Celsius (C) = Fahrenheit (F) -32 / 1.8

78 degrees Fahrenheit = 25.55 degrees Celsius

78 Fahrenheit -32 = 46/1.8= 25.55 Celsius

Use these charts to help you convert from metric to imperial. It will be important for you to understand these conversions if you ever travel to the United States, UK, or some other countries.

7 - Interesting Facts1) The electric chair was invented by a dentist!2) Windmills always turn counter-clockwise. Except for the windmills in Ireland!3) A hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute on average!4) Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand!

5) Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different!6) There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple, and month!7) A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue!8) Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying!9) You blink over 10,000,000 times a year!10) Baby robins eat 14 feet of earthworms every day!

8 - Quiz AnswersHere are the answers from section 1:a) politicalb) politiciansc) politicallyd) politicse) attractionf) attractiveg) attracth) attractively

Lesson no. 2

1. Quiz test 2. Vocbulary 3. Student Essay

4. Comments

5. Borrow & Lend 6. The American Thanksgiving


8. Quiz Answers

1 - QuizSelect the best preposition to complete the sentence. Answers in section 8.

a) This jacket was made _____ hand _____ Paris.b) They saw the job advertisement _____ the newspaper_____ Saturday.c) I got _____ the bus _____ 8:45pm.d) Russia is the largest country _____ the world.e) Does she live _____ Maple Street or _____ 525 Pine Avenue?f) The new Italian restaurant is _____ that old movie cinema. g) He usually pays for dinner _____ his company credit card.h) I am traveling _____ Hungary _____ April.

Some prepositions will be used more than once:

on, by, on, in, with, at, to

2 - New Words From The Vocab Club









Our Daily Vocab Club has learned seven new words this week. Here are the seven new words:

Gibe = to utter taunting words. (verb)Hive = a container for housing a colony of honeybees or a place swarming with busy occupants. (noun)Inducement = a motive or consideration that leads one to action or to addition or more effective actions. (noun)Junker = something of such age and condition as to be ready for scrapping, putting in the garbage. (noun)Key = to be of basic importance. (adjective)Lollygag = to do very little or work very slowly. ( verb)Menagerie = a collection of wild or foreign animals kept especially for exhibition.(noun)

3 - Student Essay

This essay was submitted by Paula.

I do believe in Aliens as much as I don’t believe in it.

What I mean is, why or why not believe in it? I suppose it is possible to exist life in another corner of the Universe, the same way it exist here on Hearth. If we see it for that point of view, we are aliens; we would be aliens for someone or something living in the outer space. The Universe seems to be so vast, therefore why isn’t it possible that the miracle of life hasn’t occur somewhere else too?

On the other hand, it’s hard to believe that something so incredible could happen twice. And the biggest problem is to believe in something one never saw before. I don’t believe in people saying they saw a flying sauce or a green been. There’s a lot of speculation around it and there’s always people ready to say anything to call attention. I believe if they exist and could, they would appear and try to contact with the whole human kind.

4 - Comments about the EssayYou make some very good points in your essay, Paula. Your ideas about us also being considered aliens and the vastness of our universe really makes us think. You also stated that it's difficult for us to believe in something we have never seen and question why aliens have never visited us. These are great thought provoking questions. Thanks for this great essay!!

There are a few points we should talk about in regards to your writing. In the first sentence you should say "as much as I don't believe in them". Aliens are referred to as plural, so use a plural pronoun. Be very careful with spelling - Earth, Flying Saucers, Green Beings, etc. It's easy to make these mistakes but it's also confusing for the reader. Apart from these small mistakes, your essay is well written. Keep working on your English - you're doing great!

Good Work Paula!!

5 - Borrow and Lend

Many students get confused over the correct usage of borrow and lend. Follow these easy explanations in order to understand and use these words correctly.

borrow something from someone

I borrowed a book from my brother. Robert borrowed five dollars from me. She borrowed the CD from her friend.

lend something to someone

Did you lend the magazine to Maria? I lent my eraser to Juan. (past tense) Karen lent her textbook to her friend.

lend someone something

Will you lend me your calculator for a minute? Lend me a dollar, will you?

If you follow these structures, you can't go wrong with using borrow and lend!

6 - The Story of American ThanksgivingThanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the United States of America. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a holiday that Americans spend together with their families who enjoy a Thanksgiving meal which usually includes the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.

Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious prosecution in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the Dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to their children's education and morality.

fleeing = running away from, escaping prospered = do well, live well frivolous = not serious morality = belief system

So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was financed by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for their backers for 7 years.

backers = financial supporters

On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves

the "Saints", and 66 others ,whom the Pilgrims called the "Strangers."

The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of fire on the wooden ship, the food had to be eaten cold. Many passengers became sick and one person died by the time land was sighted on November 10th.

damp = wet sighted = seen

The long trip led to many disagreements between the "Saints" and the "Strangers". After land was sighted a meeting was held and an agreement was worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed equality and unified the two groups. They joined together and named themselves the "Pilgrims."

Although they had first sighted land off Cape Cod they did not settle until they arrived at Plymouth, which had been named by Captain John Smith in 1614. It was there that the Pilgrims decide to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor. A large brook offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern was attack by the local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets were a peaceful group and did not prove to be a threat.

harbor = protected area on the coast threat = a danger

The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow and sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as they tried to construct their settlement. March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved, but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left England, less that 50 survived the first winter.

devastating = extremely difficult interfering = preventing, making difficult

On March 16, 1621 , what was to become an important event took place, an Indian brave walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened until the Indian called out "Welcome" (in English!).

settlement = place to live

His name was Samoset and he was an Abnaki Indian. He had learned English from the captains of fishing boats that had sailed off the coast. After staying the night Samoset left the next day. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto who spoke better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It was in England where he had learned English.

voyages = travels

Squanto's importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said that they would not have survived without his help. It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and which had medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by heaping the earth into low mounds with several seeds and fish in each mound. The decaying fish fertilized the corn. He also taught them to plant other crops with the corn.

sap = the juice of the maple tree poisonous = food or liquid dangerous to the health

mounds = raising of the earth made of dirt by hand decaying = rotting

The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires.

cured = cooked by smoke in order to keep meat a long time

The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the wilderness, they had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. They had beaten the odds and it was time to celebrate.

wilderness = uncivilized country crops = cultivated vegetables such as corn, wheat, etc. beaten the odds = won something that was very difficult or against somebody

The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They played games, ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated their skills with the bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated their musket skills. Exactly when the festival took place is uncertain, but it is believed the celebration took place in mid-October.

proclaimed = declared, named colonists = original inhabitants of the US colonies braves = Indian warrior musket = type of gun or rifle used during that period in history

The following year the Pilgrims harvest was not as bountiful, as they were still unused to growing the corn. During the year they had also shared their stored food with newcomers and the Pilgrims ran short of food.

bountiful = a lot of newcomers = people who have recently arrived

The 3rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with the crops dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and it was soon thereafter that the rain came. To celebrate - November 29th of that year was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true beginning of the present day Thanksgiving Day.

fasting = not eating thereafter = after that

The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) aday of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.

harvest = collection of the crops

In 1817 New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as

the holiday.

designating = appointing, naming

7 - Interesting Facts1) Men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women!2) It is estimated that millions of trees in the world are accidentally planted by squirrels who bury nuts and then forget where they hid them!3) Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel, "Gadsby", which contains over 50,000 words -- none of them with the letter E!4) The most used letter in the English alphabet is 'E', and 'Q' is the least used!5) Of all the words in the English language, the word set has the most definitions!6) A toothpick is the object most often choked on by Americans!7) Every 45 seconds, a house catches on fire in the United States!8) There are more than 50,000 earthquakes throughout the world every year!9) Apples are more efficient than caffeine in keeping people awake in the mornings!10) The poison-arrow frog has enough poison to kill about 2,200 people!

8 - Quiz AnswersHere are the answers from section 1:a) by, inb) in, onc) on, atd) ine) on, atf) byg) withh) to, in

E-mail us now: [email protected]

Lesson no. 3


4. Comments

5. Say and Tell 6. Chocolate recipe 7. Interesting Facts

8. Quiz Answers

1 - Quiz

Use a form of Say or Tell to complete the following sentences. Answers are in section 8. Studying Part 5 will help with this exercise.









mailto:[email protected]

a) The young woman _____ me that she was feeling sick.b) The police officer _____ that he was giving me a ticket.c) Johan _____ where the movie was playing.d) The surgeon _____ the patient that he had to alter his diet.e) The sun _____ us if it is night or day.f) The pirate _____ where the hidden treasure was. g) The boy _____ his mother that he had been stung by a bee.h) Ali _____ that he was going away for the weekend.


Needle = to tease or to incite to action by repeated gibes. (verb) Offhand = casual or in a relaxed manner. (adjective)Paragon = a model of excellence or perfection. (noun)Quagmire = soft, miry land or a difficult predicament. (noun)Rumble = to make a low, heavy rolling sound. (verb)Scald = to burn with hot liquid or steam. (verb)Troop = a group of people, things or animals. (noun)

3 - Student Essay

This essay was submitted by Ionut.

Some people believe that we experience wars due to the existene of soldiers, while others think we can live in peace due to the same reason. In my opinion, we should have armies or national defense groups for the following reasons.

First, we couldn't maintain the freedom and staiblity of the world without them. In 1950, Korean War took place because South Korea had no army to say they could prevent from breaking of war, so couldn't escape the Korean War.

Second, As long as the conflicts among the countries exist and they are not resoulved by natural communication, we can't run away from a war. So, most countries have their own armies to be ready for the crisis like that. Without them, we can lose our country to live in peace.

Finally, without the troops, no country or its people are not safe form the danger of armed revolt of guerilla. There are so many conflicts in the world due to some reasons, such as political confrontation, economic issue, or nationalism.

In summary, I strongly maintain that each country should have its own army or something to maintain peace, to defense the nation from the poes, and to defeat the armed guerilla or revolts. Of course, armies can cause some problems, such as rising taxes or time consuming of young people, yet we can't exist without peace because peace can't remain witout armies.

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4 - Comments about the Essay

This student has written a very thought-provoking essay on war. Some very intelligent and articulate points were presented here for us to consider. Some controversial ideas are also contained in this essay which another student may want to comment on in the future. Good work on preparing this essay.

There are just a few points which should be corrected. In the fourth paragraph a double negative is used - "no country or its people are not safe from...". In this sentence we should not say "not safe". This is an extra negative - be careful of this. In the second paragraph the phrase "breaking of war" is used. I think the term "break out of war" is what the writer means to say. Also, be careful of incorrect spelling - existence, stability, foes.

Good Ionut !!!

5 - Say and Tell Understanding when to use Say or Tell:

Say is followed by a noun clause. Immediately after say you should use a noun clause (noun clauses usually begin with: that, which, whether, what, where, etc.)

Example: She said that her friend was from China. My brother said where he wanted to go. They said what movie they wanted to see.

Tell is followed by a noun or pronoun object and then by a noun clause. You will always use a noun or pronoun object (me, us, him, her, etc.) after tell.

Example: She told me that her friend was from China. My brother told him where he wanted to go. They told us what movie they wanted to see. Susan told Georgina that she was sick.

If you follow these rules you can always be confident that you are using Say and Tell correctly in your writing and conversation.

6 - A Chocolaty RecipeChocolate-Chocolate Chip CookiesPresenting the ultimate treat for the die-hard chocolate fan….

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder1 teaspoon baking powder3/4 teaspoon salt1 pound fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter1/2 cup sugar3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Into a bowl sift together flour, cocoa and baking powders, and salt. Coarsely chop chocolate. In a double boiler or a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt butter with three fourths chocolate, stirring until smooth.

Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar. Stir in eggs 1 at a time until combined well and stir in flour mixture until just combined. Chill dough, covered, at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Drop rounded tablespoon measures of dough about 1‚ inches apart onto baking sheet and stud each cookie with a few pieces remaining chocolate. Bake in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until just set. Cool cookies on sheet on rack 5 minutes and transfer with a spatula to rack to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough in same manner. Cookies may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.

Makes about 36 cookies.

7 - Interesting Facts 1) Coca-Cola was originally green.2) The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.3) Percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%4) Average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000.5) The youngest pope was 11 years old.6) Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation.7) A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.8) The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over aninch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to takeinto account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.9) 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,32110) "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

8 - Quiz AnswersHere are the answers from section 1:

a) toldb) saidc) saidd) tolde) tellsf) saidg) toldh) said


Lesson no. 4



4. Comments

5. Conjunctions 6. Recipe


8. Quiz Answers

1 - Quiz

Complete the following sentences using a correct coordinating conjunction. Answers are in section 8. Studying Part 5 will help with this exercise.

a) Did you go see a horror _____ an action movie?b) I wanted to talk to her _____ she wasn't home. I'll call again later.c) He is able to repair wiring _____ plumbing.d) I have diabetes, _____ I can't eat too much sugar.e) Does she enjoy listening to jazz _____ classical music?f) Ali wanted to go shopping _____ he lost his wallet.g) Bodhan likes skiing _____ scuba diving.h) It is snowing very hard, _____ I'm not going to work today.

Use one of the following words:

but and or so


Underscore = to emphasize. (verb)Vilify = to make bad comments or abusive statements against someone. (verb)Wholesome = promoting health of body, mind and spirit. (adjective)Yowl = to cry out in grief, pain or distress. (verb)Adapt = to make fit, often by modification. (verb)Bon vivant = a French term commonly used in English. It means literally 'good living'. (noun)Certificate = a document containing a certified statement as to the truth of something. (noun)

3 - Student Essay This essay was submitted by Maria.

Nations and people are all time concerned about peace and war, nevertheless concerning about security many horrible things have been done, people die, places are devasted and so on.

Have u ever wondered about the real necessity of an army????? I can't find any good reason for it existence, at least a real reason... if people want to leave in peace why they do not rely in each other????? Can you find a good reason? Well, I can! People are always afraid of beeing less than someone or that someone take advantege of them... but, how many times they have taken advantage of someone? So it's reciprocal... you do something to someone and you know it wasn't any good, then you become afraid that









someone would be able to do the same with you, how can you trust somebody then? You can't.

So you can't leave your house alone, you can't park your car safetely, you can't rely other countries,cause you can't even rely your neighbor...

Now, in such a place, a place that you can't rely anyone, you must need something to prevent you from violence, from being stolen, cause you have RIGHTS but not obligations...

Most of at all, there's no real risk, but we are always afraid... we never know what can happen...

So we can justify our negligency, our fails, our unrelyness... cause if someone or a contry think something isn't ok, they have an army to protect them, and we do not need even to ask for any reasonable apologises, we'll be able to change it at all... but how?

If we are fighting for peace, our strategy is wrong cause we have the war to happen, the violence to come, people to die...

Maria

4 - Comments about the EssayThis is an interesting perspective presented. I think there are some good ideas and topics for consideration in this essay. I think many people will enjoy reading and debating the points outlined in this writing.

There are some mistakes in this essay which should be addressed. In the second paragraph you should say "its existence", people live in peace, why do they not rely on each other, etc. Also, please be careful of spelling - being, safely, advantage, etc. When you are writing you should also not use slang abbreviations such as 'u' or 'cause'. Your ideas are very interesting and I can tell you have a strong ability for writing due to your natural approach. My suggestion is to concentrate on correct structure and use your ability! You are really doing great! Good Luck!

Good Work Maria !!!

5 - ConjunctionsAn important part of using English correctly is understanding how to use conjunctions. Follow these rules to understand how to use coordinate conjunctions correctly.

And

Use and for the idea of addition.

I like hockey and baseball. I drink coffee and tea.He speaks French and German.

Or

Use or when you would like to present alternatives.

Would you like chocolate or vanilla ice cream?Do you prefer apples or oranges?Will you go to Hawaii or Fiji?

But

Use but when you want to talk about contrast or an opposite idea.

He has a lot of money but no car.My son is very clean but my daughter is messy.The house is old but in good condition.

So

Use so to express a cause/effect relationship (because of this).

He works 18 hours a day, so he rarely sees his family.It is cold today, so I will wear a coat.I don't like potatoes, so I never eat french fries.

6 - Recipe

Chocolate Mud Cake

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

You can also make this cake in 2 (81/2- by 41/2- by 21/2-inch) loaf pans.

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces1 1/2 cups strong brewed coffee5 tablespoons bourbon (preferably 80 proof)2 large eggs, lightly beaten1 teaspoon vanilla2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)1 3/4 cups sugar1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: 2 (7- or 8-inch) springform pans

Accompaniment: sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries

Preheat oven to 275°F Butter springform pans and line bottom of each with a round of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess. Wrap bottom and 1 inch up side on outside of each springform pan with foil (to catch drips).

Melt chocolates and butter with coffee in a 4-quart saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes. Beat in bourbon, eggs, and vanilla. Sift in flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and stir until batter is smooth (batter will be thin).

Divide batter between springform pans (about 3 cups batter in each). Bake cakes in middle of oven 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until a tester inserted in centers comes out with crumbs adhering. Remove from oven and cool in pans on racks 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of each pan, then remove sides. When cool, remove pan bottoms and wax paper.

Makes 2 small cakes (serves 12)

7 - Interesting Facts1) 7% of Americans eat McDonalds each day.2) Each year, Americans spend more on cat food than on baby food.3) 96% of a cucumber is water.4) 50% of bank robberies take place on Fridays.5) 60% of electrocutions occur while talking on the phone during a thunderstorm.6) By 65 years old, Americans have watched more than nine years of television.7) In Japan, 20% of all publications sold are comic books.8) In the next seven days, 800 Americans will be injured by their jewelry.9) You are more likely to get attacked by a cow than a shark.10) Buckingham Palace has over 600 rooms.


a) orb) butc) andd) soe) orf) butg) andh) so


Lesson no. 5


4. Comments

5. Conjunctions 6. Christmas article 7. Interesting Facts

8. Quiz Answers










1 - QuizComplete the following sentences using the correct correlative conjunction. Answers are in section 8. Studying Part 5 will help with this exercise.

a) I like _____ candy _____ chocolate. I hate sweet food!b) Robert _____ drinks tea _____ coffee.c) They enjoy _____ traveling _____ spending money.d) I would like _____ a sweater _____ a wallet for Christmas. Just one thing.e) _____ cats _____ dogs can speak.f) _____ rock music _____ folk music sound good.g) _____ Christians _____ other people celebrate Christmas.h) We should go to _____ Brazil _____ Mexico for our vacation.

Complete these sentences with:

Both...and Not only...but also Either...or Neither...nor


Damp = slightly wet. (adjective) Extinguish = to cause to stop burning. (verb)Fierce = violently hostile. (adjective)Global = to involve the entire world. (adjective) Hoard = a hidden supply, to keep a hidden supply. (noun/verb)Itinerary = a route or plan. (noun)Justice = the administration of what is lawful. (noun)

3 - Student Essay This essay was submitted by Silvia.

Learnig by doing and learning at school are two different forms of education. To some extent it is true, but I think that they depend on each other.

To learn something at school is not the most certain way that you know that. It would be better if you could use this thing in the real life. Then you will realise and reveal the prise of knowege, that you have recieved.

In my opinion learning at school is very useful for improving your culture and formating as a person, but it is good to know that not everything, that is learnt there, is the same in the practice.

Person could be good student and know a lot of thing of subjects, learnig at school, but he or she couldn't know how to use them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4 - Comments about the Essay

You really present some great ideas in this essay! As a teacher, I can honestly say that this is one point I often consider. I agree that the best way to "learn" is by doing - by using what you have learned in a real and natural way. This is also true with learning English! My students sometimes ask me what the benefits are of studying in an English speaking country. The most important thing is the ability to use the language in a real setting. This can never be duplicated in a classroom. As you point out in this essay, this is how we really "learn" and "understand" what we are studying. Great point presented here!

There are a few points which should be corrected. You do not have to use 'the' with life - "in the real life". We are talking about life in a general (non-specific) way and so the definite article 'the' should not be used. In the last paragraph you should use the article 'A' - "A person" or you could say "People...". Please also be careful of spelling - learning, knowledge, realize, received (Remember: i before e - except after c!), etc. Apart from these small points this essay is well done. Keep working on your English - you're doing great!

Good Work Silvia !!!

5 - Conjunctions

Understanding and Using Correlative Conjunctions:

Correlative conjunctions are two-word conjunctions which are used to join words, phrases, or clauses. Some examples of correlative conjunctions:

Both....and

This is used to talk about the addition of things.

I enjoy eating at both Italian and French restaurants.He can speak both Portuguese and Spanish.

Not only....but also

This is also used to talk about the addition of things.

Steve not only enjoys soccer but also baseball.She not only likes rock music but also jazz.

Either....or

This is used to talk about options or alternatives.

Mario wants to buy either a Jaguar or a BMW.I will travel to either Hawaii or Fiji for my honeymoon.

Neither....nor

This is used to talk about negative options or alternatives.

He can play neither the piano nor the guitar.

She likes neither butter nor margarine.

6 - Christmas Article

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

From The People's Almanac, pp. 1358-9, originally published in The New York Sun in 1897.

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor---

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

About the Exchange

Francis P. Church's editorial, "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" was an immediate sensation, and went on to became one of the most famous editorials ever written. It first appeared in the The New York Sun in 1897, almost a hundred years ago, and was reprinted annually until 1949 when the paper went out of business.

Thirty-six years after her letter was printed, Virginia O'Hanlon recalled the events that prompted her letter:

"Quite naturally I believed in Santa Claus, for he had never disappointed me. But when less fortunate little boys and girls said there wasn't any Santa Claus, I was filled with doubts. I asked my father, and he was a little evasive on the subject.

"It was a habit in our family that whenever any doubts came up as to how to pronounce a word or some question of historical fact was in doubt, we wrote to the Question and Answer column in The Sun. Father would always say, 'If you see it in the The Sun, it's so,' and that settled the matter.

"'Well, I'm just going to write The Sun and find out the real truth,' I said to father.

"He said, 'Go ahead, Virginia. I'm sure The Sun will give you the right answer, as it always does.'"

And so Virginia sat down and wrote her parents' favorite newspaper.

Her letter found its way into the hands of a veteran editor, Francis P. Church. Son of a Baptist minister, Church had covered the Civil War for The New York Times and had worked on the The New York Sun for 20 years, more recently as an anonymous editorial writer. Church, a sardonic man, had for his personal motto, "Endeavour to clear your mind of cant." When controversal subjects had to be tackled on the editorial page, especially those dealing with theology, the assignments were usually given to Church.

Now, he had in his hands a little girl's letter on a most controversial matter, and he was burdened with the responsibility of answering it.

"Is there a Santa Claus?" the childish scrawl in the letter asked. At once, Church knew that there was no avoiding the question. He must answer, and he must answer truthfully. And so he turned to his desk, and he began his reply which was to become one of the most memorable editorials in newspaper history.

Church married shortly after the editorial appeared. He died in April, 1906, leaving no children.

Virginia O'Hanlon went on to graduate from Hunter College with a Bachelor of Arts degree at age 21. The following year she received her Master's from Columbia, and in 1912 she began teaching in the New York City school system, later becoming a principal. After 47 years, she retired as an educator. Throughout her life she received a steady stream of mail about her Santa Claus letter, and to each reply she attached an attractive printed copy of the Church editorial. Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas died on May 13, 1971, at the age of 81, in a nursing home in Valatie, N.Y.

7 - Interesting Facts1) 50,000 of the cells in your body will die and be replaced with new cells while you have been reading this sentence.2) A fetus acquires fingerprints at the age of three months.3) A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a few weeks.4) A woman's heart beats faster than a man's.5) Blue eyes are the most sensitive to light, dark brown the least sensitive.6) By age sixty, most people have lost half of their taste buds.7) During a 24-hour period, the average human will breathe 23,040 times.8) From the age of thirty, humans gradually begin to shrink in size.9) In a lifetime, we replace our skin approximately 1000 times.10) You can only smell 1/20th as well as a dog.


a) neither...norb) not only...but alsoc) both...andd) either...ore) Neither...norf) Not only...but also/Both...andg) Not only...but also/Both...andh) either...or


Lesson no. 6


4. Comments

5. Adjectives & Adverbs 6. Christmas Article 7. Interesting Facts

8. Quiz Answers

1 - Quiz

Are the underlined words in the following sentences adjectives or adverbs? Identify each as either adjective or adverb. Answers are in section 8. Studying Part 5 will help with this exercise.

a) She is a kind and understanding person.b) Paula is an interesting speaker and a hard worker.c) Tanya is a really exciting member of our team.d) Robert usually eats junk food on the weekend.










e) I witnessed a horrific traffic accident near my house.f) Kumiko will probably drive to Kyoto for her vacation.g) My car is an eyesore.h) She is an incredibly beautiful woman.


Knowledgeable = having knowledge or intelligence. (adjective)Lesson = an instructive example or a division of a course of study. (noun)Mechanic = a manual worker, one who repairs machines. (noun)Nuance = a small distinction or variation. (noun)Ornamental = to add beauty to something. (adjective)Petal = a leaf of a flower. (noun)Quote = to speak or write words that originated from another person. (verb)

3 - Student Essay

This essay was submitted by Andrei.

Education has been always discussed all over the world, and learning by doing and learning at school has been considered as two different forms of education.

Learning by doing allow people to learn by correcting their own mistakes or by observing what they are doing . For instance, if a child is curious about Science and he can make an experiment by himself he can observe everything that is happening during that step by step, and it will gave him an opportunity to keep what he has learned in his mind easier. In addition when a child tries to assemble a puzzle math , for example, and he makes some mistakes trying to figure out what piece he should use, and which one maths, he is puting his mind to work and correcting his own mistakes until get the solution for the problem.

On the other hand learning at school is a good way to learn how to organize his mind in order to know the best way to resolve problems, and to follow rules, and to socialize. Teachers are good instructors and they must have in mind that they are supposed to help their students to learn methodically and logically.

I personally disagree that one kind of learning is better than other. In my opinion learning by doing is as important as learning at school. For me children need to learn at school because its good for them to have someone who can help them when they have doubts, and showing them the directions; and at the same time the school should give them chances to learn by doing always as possible by doing experiments, observations and working with real situation.

4 - Comments about the EssayAgain, there are some great ideas presented here. It's wonderful to see so many opinions on this topic. This essay provides us with another look at a point of view on learning and education. This student clearly presents their ideas on the advantages of both learning styles. I think the opinions are clearly presented and this essay very well done. It's a pleasure to read and a perfect example of the end result of a student's hard work learning

English.

Here are a few points to assist you with future writing. In the first sentence, you should say "Education has always been..." - place midsentence adverbs between the helping and main verb. There are exceptions to be learned but in this case it should be this way. In the next paragraph you should write "Learning by doing allows people.." use the singular verb "allows" with "Learning". One other point is to place adjectives before nouns - "math puzzles", etc. This is a great essay! Keep up the great work and good luck with your English study!

Good Work Andrei !

5 - Adjectives and Adverbs

The important points to remember:In reviewing adjectives and adverbs it is important to always remember what each does. An adjective describes or modifies a noun (or a pronoun). An adverb describes or modifies a verb (or an adjective). You must be careful to look at exactly what you are trying to say and what you want to express.

Use of adjectives:We want to describe or modify a noun.

My brother is an exciting person. (Exciting describes brother)My grandmother is very wise. (Wise describes grandmother)

Use of adverbs:We want to describe or modify a verb.

He plays the piano well. (Well describes how he plays the piano)My friend drives slowly and carefully. (Slowly and Carefully describe drives)

Remember that adverbs usually answer the question How?.

How does he play the piano? How does my friend drive?

6 - Christmas Article

'Twas The Night Before Christmas: Reading Comprehension

This week's reading comprehension is based on "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" which is one of the most traditional Christmas readings in English speaking countries. Written in 1822 by Clement C. Moore, "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" tells the story of Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve at a typical American household. Imagine it is Christmas Eve and you are sitting around the fireplace drinking a nice cup of Egg Nog (a typical Christmas drink made with eggs, cinnamon, milk and other ingredients sometimes including a good bit of rum) anxiously awaiting Christmas Eve. Outside the snow is falling and all the family is together. Finally, someone in the family takes out "'Twas The Night Before Christmas"

Before reading you may want to review some of the more difficult vocabulary listed after

the story.

'Twas The Night Before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;The children were nestled all snug in their beds,While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.Away to the window I flew like a flash,Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snowGave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,With a little old driver, so lively and quick,I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roofThe prancing and pawing of each little hoof.As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;He had a broad face and a little round belly,That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,And laying his finger aside of his nose,And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

The vocabulary is in the order it appears in "'Twas The Night Before Christmas"

'Twas = It wasstirring = movementnestled = comfortably in place'kerchief = handkerchiefclatter = noisesash = window covering that is pulled down from inside the roomshutters = window covering that is opened from outside the windowlustre = glow, illuminationsleigh = Santa Claus' vehicle, also used in Alaska with dogsSt. Nick = Santa ClausCoursers = Animals which draw a sleighPorch = terracedash away = move onwards quicklytwinkling = a secondbound = a jumptarnished = dirtysoot = black waste material found inside a chimneybundle = bagpeddler = someone who sells things on the streetdimples = indentations on the cheeksmerry = happydroll = funnyencircled = circle aroundbelly = stomachdread = to be afraid ofjerk = quick movementdown of a thistle = the light material on a certain type of weed that floats away in the airere = before

7 - Interesting Facts

1) Mosquitoes have teeth.2) Even if you cut off a cockroach's head, it can live for several weeks.3) Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.4) Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air.5) The world population of chickens is about equal to the number of people.6) Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air.7) The biggest bee is as big as a hummingbird.8) Bees cry when they lack a queen bee.9) Bees cannot perceive the color red.10) When stung by a bee, remove the stinger and put a little HONEY on the wound.


a) adjectiveb) adjectivec) adverbd) adverbe) adjectivef) adverb

g) adjectiveh) adverb


Lesson no. 7


4. Comments

5. Using few, a few, little, a little 6. New Year Traditions


8. Quiz Answers

1 - QuizComplete the following sentences using Few, A Few, Little or A Little. Answers are in section 8. Studying Part 5 will help with this exercise.

a) She has ______ money in the bank. She is very poor.b) There are ______ countries in the world smaller than Andorra. c) I'm hungry. Could I have ______ chocolate?d) She bought ______ books at the bookstore.e) This coffee is bitter. It needs ______ sugar.f) Are you finished the test? No, I need ______ more minutes.g) I'm going to the library. I need ______ information for my report.h) I traveled to Brazil ______ months ago.


reasonable = not extreme or excessive. (adjective)sink = to go to the bottom. (verb)thirsty = deficient in moisture. (adjective)unite = to form a single unit. (verb)virus = an infective agent. (noun)wink = to shut one eye briefly. (verb/noun)authentic = conforming to fact or reality. (adjective)

3 - Student Essay This essay was submitted by Anca.

That is a interesting question. Now I am a mother of a ten years boy. According to my experience a child should become independentat age eighteen. Firstly at age eighteen it is a important for










a child transfering into a teengeras well as they finish high school edcation. Most people will entrance college for farther education. They may choose a college near their home. So they still can stay with their family. But manypeople choose a college far away their home. So they have to be apart from their family. Secondly they must keep their budget. That is very important thing for them to manage their daily expense. If they spend money as watertheir parents will be worried about their affording. In my opinion the earlier a child is independent the more benifets for both of them. A child will understand to know how it is hard to make a live.

4 - Comments about the EssayThis is a good essay. In this writing we can read a mother's perspective on a child's independence. The writer expresses some personal ideas and important arguments for us to consider on the topic such as the child's moving away, understanding finances, and learning about the difficulties life presents us with. This essay is well done and contains many important points on this topic that we can relate to and appreciate.

There are some points which we should consider in order to improve the structure of this writing. In the beginning you should say "I am the mother of a ten year old boy...". This is how we usually express age. You use a great English idiom in this essay. You should say "If they spend money like water..." or something like this. "Money as water" is a little different. Also, be careful of spelling: transferring, teenagers, education, and benefits. Apart from these points, this essay is well done and an interesting read. Keep going with your English study - it really looks great!

Good Work Anca!

5 - Using Few, A Few, Little and A LittleThe use of few and little can be confusing to those studying English. Look at the following guides for using these words.

The phrases a few and a little have a positive meaning. They talk about something that you have or something that exists.

She has a few friends in her new class. (Positive: She has some friends.)

George drank a little water because he was thirsty. (Positive: Some water)

The words few and little have a negative meaning. They talk about something that you don't have or something very small, almost nonexistent.

She is not popular. She has few friends in her new class. (Negative: She does not have many friends; almost no friends)

George drank little water and now he feels sick. (Negative: George drank almost no water; very little water.)

You can use Very to make the negative idea stronger or the amount seem smaller.

They are very poor. They have very little money. (Negative: They practically have no money; almost nothing.)

Important: Few and a few are used with plural countable nouns. Little and a little are used with uncountable nouns.

6 - New Year Traditions

Not all countries celebrate New Year at the same time, nor in the same way. This is because people in different parts of the world use different calendars. Long ago, people divided time into days, months, and years. Some calendars are based on the movement of the moon, others are based on the position of the sun, while others are based on both the sun and the moon. All over the world, there are special beliefs about New Year.

Long Ago Festivals

Ancient EgyptIn ancient Egypt, New Year was celebrated at the time the River Nile flooded, which was near the end of September. The flooding of the Nile was very important because without it, the people would not have been able to grow crops in the dry desert.

At New Year, statues of the god, Amon and his wife and son were taken up the Nile by boat. Singing, dancing, and feasting was done for a month, and then the statues were taken back to the temple.

BabyloniaBabylonia lay in what is now the country of Iraq. Their New Year was in the Spring. During the festival, the king was stripped of his clothes and sent away, and for a few days everyone could do just what they liked. Then the king returned in a grand procession, dressed in fine robes. Then, everyone had to return to work and behave properly. Thus, each New Year, the people made a new start to their lives.

The RomansFor a long time the Romans celebrated New Year on the first of March. Then, in 46 BC, the Emperor Julius Caesar began a new calendar. It was the calendar that we still use today, and thus the New Year date was changed to the first day of January.

January is named after the Roman god Janus, who was always shown as having two heads. He looked back to the last year and forward to the new one.

The Roman New Year festival was called the Calends, and people decorated their homes and gave each other gifts. Slaves and their masters ate and drank together, and people could do what they wanted to for a few days.

The CeltsThe Celts were the people who lived in Gaul, now called France, and parts of Britain before the Romans arrived there. Their New Year festival was called Samhain. It took place at the end of October, and Samhain means 'summer's end'.

At Samhain, the Celts gathered mistletoe to keep ghosts away, because they believed this

was the time when the ghosts of the dead returned to haunt the living.

Jewish New Year

The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is a holy time when people think of the things they have done wrong in the past, and they promise to do better in the future.

Special services are held in synagogues, and an instrument called a Shofar, which is made from a ram's horn is played. Children are given new clothes, and New Year loaves are baked and fruit is eaten to remind people of harvest time.

Muslim New Year

The Muslim calendar is based on the movements of the moon, so the date of New Year is eleven days earlier each year.

Iran is a Muslim country which used to be called Persia. The people celebrate New Year on March 21, and a few weeks before this date, people put grains of wheat or barley in a little dish to grow. By the time of New Year, the grains have produced shoots, and this reminds the people of spring and a new year of life.

Hindu New Year

Most Hindus live in India, but they don't all celebrate New Year in the same way or at the same time.

The people of West Bengal, in northern India, like to wear flowers at New Year, and they use flowers in the colors of pink, red, purple, or white. Women like to wear yellow, which is the color of Spring.

In Kerala, in southern India, mothers put food, flowers, and little gifts on a special tray. On New Year's morning, the children have to keep their eyes closed until they have been led to the tray.

In central India, orange flags are flown from buildings on New Year's Day.

In Gujarat, in western India, New Year is celebrated at the end of October, and it is celebrated at the same time as the Indian festival of Diwali. At the time of Diwali, small oil lights are lit all along the roofs of buildings.

At New Year, Hindus think particularly of the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi.

The Far East

VietnamIn Vietnam, the New Year is called Tet Nguyen Dan or Tet for short. It begins between January 21 and February 19, and the exact day changes from year to year. They believe that there is a god in every home, and at the New Year this god travels to heaven. There he will say how good or bad each member of the family has been in the past year.

They used to believe that the god traveled on the back of a fish called a carp, and today, they sometimes buy a live carp, and then let it go free in a river or pond. They also believe

that the first person to enter their house at New Year will bring either good or bad luck.

JapanIn Japan, New Year is celebrated on January 1, but the Japanese also keep some beliefs from their religion, which is called Shinto. To keep out evil spirits, they hang a rope of straw across the front of their houses, and this stands for happiness and good luck.

The moment the New Year begins, the Japanese people begin to laugh, and this is supposed to bring them good luck in the new year.

Chinese New YearThe Chinese New Year is celebrated some time between January 17 and February 19, at the time of the new moon, and it is called Yuan Tan. It is celebrated by Chinese people all over the world, and street processions are an exciting part of their New Year. The Festival of Lanterns is the street processions, and thousands of lanterns are used to light the way for the New Year.

The Chinese people believe that there are evil spirits around at New Year, so they let off firecrackers to frighten the spirits away. Sometimes they seal their windows and doors with paper to keep the evil spirits out.

New Year in the West

New Year's Day processions with decorated floats and bands are a part of New Year, and football is also played all over the United States on New Year's Day.

In Europe, New Year was often a time for superstition and fortune-telling, and in some parts of Switzerland and Austria, people dress up to celebrate Saint Sylvester's Eve.

In AD 314, there was a Pope called Saint Sylvester, and people believed that he captured a terrible sea monster. It was thought that in the year 1000, this sea monster would escape and destroy the world, but since it didn't happen, the people were delighted. Since then, in parts of Austria and Switzerland, this story is remembered at New Year, and people dress up in fantastic costumes, and are called Sylvesterklauses.

In Greece, New Year's Day is also the Festival of Saint Basil. Saint Basil was famous for his kindness, and Greek children leave their shoes by the fire on New Year's Day with the hope that he will come and fill the shoes with gifts.

In Scotland, New Year is called Hogmanay, and in some villages barrels of tar are set alight and rolled through the streets. Thus, the old year is burned up and the new one allowed to enter.

Scottish people believe that the first person to enter your house in the New Year will bring good or bad luck, and it is very good luck if the visitor is a dark-haired man bringing a gift. This custom is called first-footing.

The song, Auld Lang Syne is sung at midnight on New Year's Eve, and this custom is now celebrated all over the world.

7 - Interesting Facts

1) 4,000 people are injured by tea pots every year.2) A 60-minute cassette contains 565 feet of tape.3) A coat hanger is forty-four inches long if straightened.4) A good typist can strike twenty keys in a second.5) A toothpick is the object most often choked on by Americans6) A typical double mattress contains as many as two million house dust mites.7) All hospitals in Singapore use Pampers diapers.8) An average of 200 million credit cards are used every day in the United States.9) As of 1983, an average of three billion Christmas cards were sent annually in the United States.10) Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command "go hang yourself."


a) littleb) fewc) a littled) a fewe) a littlef) a fewg) a littleh) a few


The Olt And Mures Legend

Once upon the time,when the stories were reality,on the top of the Eastern Carpathians,there was a fortress with two towers.The prince and the princess had twins.The boys were alike;only their faces were,not their nature.They were fighting to blood from nothing.The boys grew.One day the prince went to a battle and didn't return.The princess sent messengers to find her husband.The truth was that the prince was dead ,but the princess didn't know this thing."What am i going to do with my boys?"she said."They are fighting and fighting allover again.I built for them two different towers.In the northern one leavesMures,and in the southest leaves Olt.Soon they will have to marry,but still don't understand each other.

"Olt,my brother ,Mures said.Mother is still crying after our dad.What are we going to do?"

"Mures,my brother,let's forget our argues and let's go to find the prince.Maybe he's somewhere into some prison and he needs our help to rescue him."


The twins went totheir mother,the princess,and spoke to her about their decision.When she heard ,she burst into tears.She was weeping because her sons became wiser,but she was afraid not to lose them.

"OK,my boys,the princess said.Go and find your dad.I advise you to stay together as horses on carriage. And theboys left. But as soon as they came out the fortress they were already argueing which way to go.

"Let's go to the north,Mures said."

"No,let's go to the south,Olt said.And ,like in their childhood,they started to fight"

"Because i grew into the northern tower,i will go in this direction",Mures said. "And i will go to the south, Olt said ,cause i grew into the southest one."

Like this,they separated each other.After a whileMures was thinking: "With all our argues,we are still loving each other.Also our mother asked us not to separate.Can i find again my brother?" On a valley he turned to the south,but Olt wasn't anywhere.Mures was lost and went to the west through plains which were so beautiful that he forgot his brother.The princess found out what was happened ,and angry ran to return his sons,but never caught up them cause they were running as fast as their legs carried them.She was praying then: "Dear Lord, please take care of my sons. Make them immortals."

God heard and transformed then the sons to immortals rivers.And rivers they are even today mentaining their names: MURES and OLT.Nowadays,in our places wanderred by the Mures river,every children must know the tale of Mures and Olt rivers ,beeing proud to leave such a wonderful place.

The Legend of the bee and of the spider

Once upon a time there was a woman and she had two children: a boy and a girl. They set out for the world to earn their living. The boy became an apprentice at a cloth weaver and the girl carried stons for a waller. When she felt her end was near the mother called her children by her side. The girl came immediately but the boy didn't want to. His mother forgave him but, after her death, the girl turned into a bee and the boy into a spider. The spider has lived alone ever since, without any brothers or sisters, without parents. He hides from light and forever weaves his web in dark corners. He is sad and people always tear his web and kill him. Where as the bee is happy all day long, flying from flower to flower and lives with her huge family, brothers and sisters together in a hive. Everybody loves her because she is industrions and her honey is sweet and healing and we all benefit from her work.

The legend of the enchanted horse

On a stormy night an old lady came to the prince's palace to ask for shelter. The prince saw her and told her to leave. If she wanted to work she could get a shelter. The old lady changed into a princess and told him ' You have no mercy and you have no soul. You'll turn into a horse. The spell will be broken only if a maiden will give you a gift.' Many years passed and the prince was unhappy and he was sorry for what he'd done. Al these years many princesses came to bring him gifts in vain. One day a young shepherdess called Giralda, who was in love with the prince, picked a snowdrop and she

wrapped it in a white paper. On the back she wrote with white and red letter 'martisor'. When she came to the prince he was wandering when he had seen those clear honest eyes? The girl said her gift was a symbol of her love for the prince. She gave him the 'Martisor'. When the prince touched her gift he changed back into a human being, the prince. They got married and they lived happily ever after. The prince decided that from that year on everybody had to remember the 1st of March and boys were to give the girls a Martisor as a sign of gratitude and love.

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Edgar Allan Poe's BiographyBy Hervey Allen.

August, 1927.

Edgar Allan Poe was born at 33 Hollis Street, Boston, Mass., on January 19, 1809, the son of poverty stricken actors, David, and Elizabeth (born Arnold) Poe. His parents were then filling an engagement in a Boston theatre, and the appearances of both, together with their sojourns in various places during their wandering careers, are to be plainly traced in the play bills of the time.

Paternal AncestryThe father of the poet was one David Poe of Baltimore, Maryland, who had left the study of the law in that city to take up a stage career contrary to the desire of his family. The Poes had settled in America some two or three generations prior to the birth of Edgar. Their line is distinctly traced back to Dring in the Parish of Kildallen, County Cavan, Ireland, and thence into the Parish of Fenwick in Ayrshire, Scotland. Hence they derived from Scotch-Irish stock, with what trace of the Celtic is doubtful. The first Poes came to America about 1739. The immediate paternal ancestors of the poet landed at Newcastle, Delaware, in 1748 or a little earlier. These were John Poe and his wife Jane McBride Poe who went to settle in eastern Pennsylvania. This couple had ten children in their family, among them one David who was the grandfather of the poet. David Poe married Elizabeth Cairnes, also of Scotch-Irish ancestry, then living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, whence, sometime prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution they moved to Baltimore, Maryland.

David Poe and his wife, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, took the patriot side in the Revolution. David was active in driving the Tories out of Baltimore and was appointed "Assistant Deputy Quartermaster," which meant that he was a local purchasing agent of military supplies for the Revolutionary Army. He is said to have been of considerable aid to Lafayette during the Virginia and Southern campaigns, and for this patriotic activity he received the courtesy title of "General." His wife Elizabeth took an active part in making clothes for the Continental Army. David and Elizabeth Poe (Sr.) had seven children David, the eldest son, becoming the father of the poet. Two sisters of David, Eliza Poe (afterward Mrs. Henry Herring) and Maria Poe (later Mrs. William Clemm) enter into the story of the poet's life, the latter particularly, as she became his mother-in-law in addition to being his aunt. With her he lived from 1835 to 1849.

Young David Poe was destined for the law, but as previously mentioned, he finally left his native city to go on the stage. His first professional appearance took place at Charleston, S. C., in December, 1803. A dramatic notice of this performance in a local paper describes David Poe as being extremely diffident while—

". . .His voice seems to be clear, melodious and variable; what its compass may be can only be shown when he acts unrestrained by timidity. His enunciation seemed to be very distinct and articulate; and his face and person are much in his favor. His size is of that pitch well fitted for general action if his talents should be suited to sock and buskin. . . ." This is perhaps the only direct evidence extant of the physical appearance of the poet's father. No pictures of him are known to exist. His histrionic powers were at best very limited. He continued to play in minor parts in various Southern cities and in January, 1806, married Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, a

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young childless widow, also an actress, whose husband had died but a few months before. Elizabeth Arnold Poe became mother of Edgar Allan Poe.

Maternal AncestryThe young widow whom David Poe married in 1806 had been born in England in the spring of 1787. She was the daughter of Henry Arnold, and Elizabeth Arnold (born Smith) both actors at the Covent Garden Theatre Royal, London. Henry Arnold died apparently about 1773. His widow continued to support herself and her child by acting and singing, and in 1796, taking her young daughter with her, she came to America and landed in Boston. Mrs. Arnold continued her professional career in America at first with considerable minor success. Either immediately before, or just after arriving in the United States, however, she married a second time, one Charles Tubbs, an Englishman of minor parts and character. The couple continued to act, sing, and dance in various cities throughout the eastern seaboard and the young Miss Arnold was soon noticed on the play bills appearing in childish roles as a member of the various troupes to which her family belonged. Mr. and Mrs. Tubbs disappeared from view about 1798 but the career of Elizabeth Arnold, Poe's mother, can be traced accurately by various show bills and notices in the newspapers of the different cities in which she played until her death in 1811. It was during her wanderings as an actress that she married C. D. Hopkins, himself an actor, in August, 1802. There were no children by this union. Hopkins died three years later, and in 1806, as previously noted, his widow was married to David Poe.

The couple continued to play together but with very minor success. They had three children. William Henry Leonard born in Boston in 1807, Edgar born in Boston in 1809, and Rosalie at Norfolk, Va., probably in December, 1810. Due to their poverty, which was always extreme, the first child, Henry, had been left in the care of his grandparents in Baltimore shortly after his birth. Edgar was born while his parents were filling an engagement at the Boston Theatre. In the summer of 1809 the Poes went to New York where David Poe either died or deserted his wife, probably the former. Mrs. Poe was left with the infant Edgar and some time afterward gave birth to a daughter. A suspicion was afterwards thrown on the paternity of this last child and on the reputation of Mrs. Poe, which played an unfortunate part in the lives of her children. It is safe to say that it was unjust.

From 1810 on, Mrs. Poe continued, although in failing health, to appear in various roles in Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S. C., and Richmond. In the winter of 1811 she was overtaken by a fatal illness and died on December 8th in circumstances of great misery and poverty at the house of a Scotch milliner in Richmond. She was buried in the churchyard of St. John's Episcopal Church in that city two days later, but not without some pious opposition.

Mrs. Poe was survived by three orphaned children. Two of these, Edgar and Rosalie, were with her at the time of her death and were cared for by charitable persons. Edgar, then about two years old, was taken into the home of John Allan, a Scotch merchant in fairly prosperous circumstances, while the infant Rosalie was given shelter by a Mr. and Mrs. William Mackenzie. The Allans and Mackenzies were close friends and neighbors. The children remained in these households, and the circumstances of their fostering were, as time went on, equivalent to adoption.

Frances Keeling Valentine Allan, the wife of the Scotch merchant who had given shelter to the "infant orphan Edgar Poe," was a childless woman who had been married for some years. The child Edgar appears to have been a bright and attractive little boy, and despite some reluctance on the part of Mr. Allan, he was soon ensconced as a permanent member of the household. Although there is some evidence of an attempt on the part of paternal relatives in Baltimore to assert their interest in the child, the young boy remained as the foster-son of John Allan in Richmond, where he was early put to a school kept by a Scotch dame and apparently later to one William Irwin, a local schoolmaster. There is every evidence that his early years of childhood were spent in happy and comfortable surroundings. Mrs. Allan and her maiden sister, Nancy Valentine, who resided in the same household, were peculiarly fond of their "pet." He seems, indeed, to have been somewhat overdressed and spoiled as a very little boy, a propensity on the part of the women which the foster-father tried to offset by occasional but probably welltimed severity.

In 1815 the family sailed for England on the Ship "Lothair," taking Edgar with them, After a brief stay in London they visited Scotch relatives, the Galts, Allans, and Fowlds, at Kilmarnock, Irvine, and other places about Ayrshire. A journey was made to Glasgow and then back to London in the late fall of 1815 when Edgar was sent back to Scotland at Irvine. There for a short time he attended the

Grammar School. By 1816, however, he was back in London where his foster-father was endeavoring to build up a branch of his Richmond firm, Ellis and Allan, by trading in tobacco and general merchandise. The family resided at Southampton Row, Russell Square, while the young Edgar was sent to a boarding school kept by the Misses Dubourgs at 146 Sloane Street, Chelsea. He remained there until the summer of 1817. In the fall of that year he was entered at the Manor House School of the Rev. Mr. John Bransby at Stoke Newington, then a suburb of London. At this place be remained until some time in the spring of 1820 when he was withdrawn to return to America. The young Poe's memories of his five years' stay in Scotland and England were exceedingly vivid and continued to furnish him recollections for the remainder of his life. He seems to have been a precocious and somewhat lordly young gentleman. A curious and vivid reminiscence of these early school days in England remains in his story of "William Wilson." It is significant of his relations with his foster-parents that the bills for his English schooling are rendered for Master Allan. There can be little doubt that at this time Mr. Allan regarded him as a son. Other evidence is not lacking.

John Allan's business ventures in London had been unfortunate. He returned to the United States, arriving in Richmond in August, 1820, considerably embarrassed, a condition in which his partner Charles Ellis was also involved. Assignments of real estate were eventually made to satisfy creditors. The life of the Allan family, however, continued to be comfortable. Edgar was sent to an Academy kept by William Burke, later by Joseph H. Clarke, and attended by the sons of the best families in Richmond. At school the young Poe excelled in languages, oratory, amateur theatricals, and attained a notable prowess in swimming. He appears to have attracted the attention of his masters and elders by his brilliance and to have been well liked but somewhat aloof from most of his playmates. At a very youthful age he began to write poetry, his first verses dating from his early teens. About 1823 he became intimate in the home of a schoolmate, Robert Stanard, whose mother, Jane Stith Stanard, took a tender interest in the brilliant young boy, an affection which was ardently and romantically returned. It was to this lady that Poe afterwards addressed his poem "To Helen," beginning...

"Helen, thy beauty is to me"

Mrs. Stanard soon went mad and died. The tragedy was undoubtedly taken to heart by Poe to whom it came as a great blow shocking him significantly. He is said on somewhat questionable authority to have haunted her grave in the lonely cemetery by night. There is no doubt that he continued to cherish her memory as long as be lived.

Be that as it may, however, by 1824 the young poet who had been addressing the girls of a neighboring female academy in juvenile lyrics found himself fully embarked upon the troubled waters of a more adult life. Mrs. Stanard had died; his foster-father John Allan was in precarious financial straits; Mrs. Allan's health was rapidly failing; and there was domestic dissension of the most serious kind in the household. John Allan had from time to time indulged in extra-marital relations. Some of his natural children were then living in Richmond and the knowledge of this in one way or another seems to have become known to his wife. Her sorrow was great. During the visit of Lafayette to Richmond in 1824 young Poe, who was an officer in a cadet company, acted as an escort to the old General. This gave him a new sense of his own dignity and importance and at the same time he appears in some of his contacts about the town with more adult companions to have learned of his foster-father's mode of life. At home Edgar took the part of his mother, and a quarrel, which through various ramifications lasted for upwards of a decade, now took place between Poe and John Allan.

The situation was peculiarly exasperating to all concerned and the conflict dramatic.

Mr. Allan, it appears, had at the time of the death of Mrs. David Poe come into the possession of some of her correspondence. What was in these letters no one will ever know as they were afterwards destroyed by Mrs. Clemm at the request of Poe himself. There may have been some compromising matter in them. At any rate, in order to insure Edgar's silence as to his own affairs, Mr. Allan wrote a letter to William Henry Leonard Poe in Baltimore, complaining of Edgar in vague terms accusing him of ingratitude, and attacking the legitimacy of the boy's sister Rosalie. The effect of this letter, and there may have been others, was evidently very disturbing to both the sons of Elizabeth Poe. Certainly it must have drawn the lines much tighter in the Allan household in Richmond. Three years later we find Henry in Baltimore publishing a poem entitled "In a Pocket Book," which shows every indication that the doubts about his sister's legitimacy had gone home.

Rosalie Poe about this time began to show distinct signs of arrested development. She never fully matured, and though she continued to be cherished as a daughter by the Mackenzies who had first sheltered her, she remained at best a sorrowful reminder of the past to her brother Edgar. She outlived him by many years, finally dying in a charitable institution in Washington, D. C.

The death of Mrs. Stanard, the financial troubles and consequent irritability of John Allan, the disputes and counter charges in the household, and his own doubtful position there— for he had never been adopted and his dependence on charity was constantly reiterated— all of this proved an uneasy background for a young and ambitious poet. In addition there are indications that Mr. Allan as a practical Scotchman bad little or no sympathy for his foster-son's ambitions in the realm of literature.

In 1825 Mr. Allan's financial straits were amply relieved by the inheritance from his uncle William Galt of a large fortune. He found himself in short, a very wealthy man. The whole scale of living of the family now changed to a method of life consonant with their better condition. A new house of considerable pretension was purchased, and in this large and comfortable mansion, situated at Fifth and Main Streets in the City of Richmond, a round of entertainments and social functions began despite the failing health of its mistress. Poe accompanied the family to the new house. His foster-father withdrew him from Mr. Clarke's Academy and had him prepared for the University of Virginia which under the patronage of Thomas Jefferson had but recently opened its doors.

On a street nearby lived a little girl by the name of Sarah Elmira Royster. Poe frequented her parlor where they sang, and drew pictures. Elmira played the piano while Edgar accompanied her on the flute, or they walked in the gardens close at hand. Henry Poe is known to have visited his brother in Richmond about this time and to have accompanied Edgar to the Roysters. Before Edgar left for the University he was engaged to Elmira. The affair, however, was not made known to the adults of either household.

In February, 1826, Edgar A. Poe matriculated at the University of Virginia. He was then only a little more than seventeen, but his manhood may be said to have begun.

His position at the University was a precarious one. As the "son" of a wealthy man he had a great deal of credit and Poe himself was prone to live up to the reputation. On the other hand his foster-father appears even at this time to have been so alienated from his ward that he provided him with considerably less than the amount necessary to pay his way. The young student made a rather brilliant record in his studies but also fell in with a somewhat fast set of youths. In order to maintain his position he began to play heavily; lost, and used his credit with local shopkeepers recklessly. It is at this time also that we first hear of his drinking. The effects of a very little alcohol on Poe's constitution were devastating. He appears to have been a brilliant, but rather eccentric and decidedly nervous youth. Another cause of strain at this period was the unhappy "progress" of his love affair. Mr. and Mrs. Royster were evidently aware of the fact that young Poe was no longer regarded as an heir by his foster-father. They had, of course, soon learned of his love affair with their daughter and now brought pressure to break off the match. Poe's letters to his sweetheart were intercepted; Elmira was forbidden to write; the attentions of an eligible young bachelor, A. Barrett Shelton, were pressed upon her, and she was finally sent away for a while into safe keeping. In the meantime Mr. Allan was informed of the financial difficulties of his ward whose indebtedness is said to have totalled $2500. His anger became extreme, and upon the return of Poe to Richmond to spend the Christmas holidays of 1826, he was advised by his guardian that he could not return to the University.

The opening weeks of 1827 were spent in Richmond in the most strained relation between young Poe and Mr. Allan. Poe's career at the University had no doubt been very unsatisfactory. On the other hand Mr. Allan's anger was implacable and extreme. He refused to pay any of his ward's debts of honor, or any other debts, thereby reducing the proud spirit of the youngster whom he had raised as his son to despair. The young Poe was pressed by warrants. His foster-father used the opportunity to insist upon his reading law and abandoning all literary ambitions. On this rock apparently they finally split. A violent quarrel took place between them in March, 1827, at the conclusion of which the young poet dashed into the street and went to an inn whence he wrote demanding his trunk, personal belongings and clothes. Several letters passed between the two without a reconciliation being effected. Their mutual grievances were rehearsed and Poe finally concluded, despite his utter destitution, to work his way North to Boston, then the literary capital of the United States. Mr. Allan it appears tried to interfere, but his wife and her sister seem to have supplied Poe secretly with a small sum of money by

means of one of the slaves before the young man set out on his travels.

Under the assumed name of Henri Le Rennet he left Richmond with one companion, Ebenezer Burling, and reached Norfolk, Va. Here Burling left him while Poe went by ship to Boston where he arrived almost penniless some time in April, 1827. He did not, as has so often been asserted, even by himself, go abroad. The dates of his known whereabouts taken from letters and documents at this time definitely preclude even the possibility of a European trip.

In Boston there is some obscure evidence that Poe attempted to support himself by writing for a newspaper. It is certain, however, that while in Boston during the spring and summer of 1827 he made friends with a young printer, one Calvin F. S. Thomas then newly embarked in the trade, and prevailed on him to print a volume of verse, Tamerlane and Other Poems. The printer does not appear to have known Poe by any but an assumed name. The title page of the little volume proclaimed the work to be "By A Bostonian." The bulk of it, probably due to Poe's inability to recompense the printer, was apparently destroyed or suffered to lie in neglect. Only a few copies of it got into circulation and only two obscure notices appeared. Poe himself seems to have secured scarcely some for personal use. In the meantime the author of this unknown but now famous little volume was reduced to the greatest extremity. Totally without means and too proud or unable to appeal to Richmond, he finally as a desperate measure enlisted in the United States Army on May 26, 1827, under the assumed name of Edgar A. Perry. He was assigned to Battery "H" of the First U. S. Artillery and spent the summer of 1827 in the barracks of Fort Independence, Boston Harbor. At the end of October his regiment was ordered to Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S. C.

The ensuing two and a half years form a curious interlude in the life of a poet. Poe spent the time between November, 1827, and December, 1829, doing garrison duty as an enlisted man at Ft. Moultrie, S. C. The fort was located on Sullivan's Island at the mouth of the harbor. The young soldier had a good deal of spare time on his hands which was evidently spent in wandering along the beaches, writing poetry, and reading. His military duties were light and wholly clerical, as he had soon been noticed by his officers better fitted for office work than for practice at the great-guns. Of this period, and of his doings and imaginings, the best record is the "Gold Bug," written many years later, but replete with exact local color and scenes. Poe's duties evidently brought him into close contact with his officers. He was steady, sober, and intelligent; and promotion ensued. We soon find him listed as an "artificer," the first step out of the ranks. He himself, however, felt that his life was being wasted and some time in 1828 correspondence was resumed with his foster-father in Richmond, the purport of which was a request for reconciliation and a return to civil life. Although Poe's letters were touching, appealing, and penitent, his guardian was obstinate and the youth remained at his post until December, 1828, when his regiment was ordered to Fortress Monroe, Virginia.

Seeing that his guardian would not consent to having him return home, he now conceived the idea of entering West Point. Some of the officers of his regiment, a surgeon in particular, became interested, and influence was brought to bear on John Allan. On January 1, 1829, Poe, still serving under the name of Perry, was promoted to Sergeant-Major of his regiment, the highest rank open to an enlisted man. His letters home became more insistent and to them were now added the prayers of Mrs. Allan, who was dying. She desired to see her "dear boy" before she expired. Strange as it may seem, John Allan remained firm until the very last. He finally sent for his foster-son, then only a few miles away from Richmond, but it was too late. Mrs. Allan died before Poe arrived home, and despite her dying request not to be buried until her foster-son returned, her husband proceeded with the funeral. When Poe arrived at the house a few hours later all that he loved most was in the ground. His agony at the grave is said to have been extreme.

Mrs. Allan had extracted a promise from her husband nevertheless, not to abandon Poe. A partial reconciliation now took place and Mr. Allan consented to help Poe in his plan to enter West Point. Letters were written to the Colonel of his regiment, a substitute was secured, and the young poet found himself discharged from the army on April 15, 1829. He returned for a short period to Richmond.

Poe remained only a short time at "home." He secured, largely through his own solicitation, a number of letters of influence to the War Department. Armed with these, and a very cold letter from his guardian who averred, "Frankly, sir, do I declare that he is no relation to me whatever"— he set out about May 7th for Washington where he presented his credentials, including a number of

recommendations of his officers couched in the highest terms, to the Secretary of War, Mr. Eaton. A long delay of almost a year occurred, during which his appointment to West Point was in doubt.

During most of this period, May, 1829, to the end of that year, he resided in Baltimore. His foster-father supplied him from time to time with small sums just sufficient to keep him alive, and remained cold and suspicious of his good intentions as to West Point. In the meantime young Poe, after being robbed by a cousin at a hotel, sought shelter with his Aunt Maria Clemm, the sister of his father. In the household of this good woman, who was from the first his guardian angel, Poe found his grandmother, Mrs. David Poe, Sr., then an aged and paralyzed woman, his brother Henry, and his first cousin Virginia Clemm, a little girl about seven years old. She later became the poet's wife. During this stay in Baltimore Poe exerted himself to further his literary name. Shortly after his arrival we find him calling on William Wirt, just retired from active political life in Washington, author of "Letters of a British Spy," and a man of considerable literary reputation. Poe left with Wirt the manuscript of "Al Aaraaf" and received from him a letter of advice rather than recommendation. The incident, however, shows that he had then on hand the manuscript for a second volume of poems. These consisted of several which had appeared in his first volume, much revised, and some new ones.

He now went to Philadelphia and left the manuscript with Carey, Lea and Carey, a then famous publishing firm, who demanded a guarantee before they would print it. Poe wrote to his guardian asking him to support the little volume to the extent of $100, but received an angry denial and strict censure for contemplating such an action. By July 28th he bad, however, apparently arranged for publication of the volume in Baltimore and wrote to Carey, Lea and Carey withdrawing the manuscript. Through Baltimore friends and relatives he was enabled to reach the ear of John Neal, then an influential Boston editor, and the forthcoming work received some helpful notices in the September and December issues of the Yankee for 1829. The book itself, entitled Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems, was published by Hatch and Dunning in Baltimore in December, 1829. Somewhat mollified by this success and the notice it attracted, but much more so by the assurance that his foster-son was about to receive his long delayed appointment to the Military Academy, Mr. Allan permitted Edgar to return to Richmond where fie stayed from January to May, 1830, at the "big mansion." His life in Baltimore had been a poverty-haunted one, and the return to his former mode of existence was undoubtfully a welcome one to Poe.

Mr. Allan, however, had his own private reasons for desiring to have his ward out of Richmond as soon as possible. He had resumed intimate relations with a former companion after the death of his wife and was now expecting an unwelcome addition to his natural children. Quarrels with Poe were renewed. After a peculiarly bitter one Poe wrote a letter to a former acquaintance in the army, a sergeant to whom he owed a small sum of money. In this he permitted himself to make an unfortunate statement about his guardian. The letter was later used by the man to collect from Mr. Allan the amount due him and was the final cause of Poe's being cast off.

The appointment to the Military Academy was received at the end of March. The examinations for entrance were held at West Point at the end of June, and in May Poe bade farewell to his guardian and left for the Military Academy, visiting his Baltimore relatives on the way. On July 1, 1830, he took the oath and was admitted as cadet at West Point.

Poe' remained at the United States Military Academy from June 25, 1830, to February 19, 1831. There can be no doubt that the military career was distasteful to him and that be had been forced into it by his guardian in whose fortune he might still hope to share. Mr. Allan, however, regarded his duties as fulfilled, with Edgar provided for at the public charge, and was glad to have him away from Richmond. On the day that Poe entered West Point, his guardian was presented with a pair of natural twins for whom he later on arranged in his will. This did not prevent his marrying a second time, nevertheless, and the new relation made him more than ever inimical to his foster son.

Edgar Poe continued to perform his duties creditably at the Military Academy when all hope of any help in the future from Mr. Allan was shattered by a letter from Richmond which disowned him. The soldier had presented to his guardian the letter written by Poe a year before, and the rage of Mr. Allan was extreme. Realizing that all hope of a competence from Richmond was now at an end, Poe decided to take things in to his own hands and leave the army forever. As he could not obtain Mr. Allan's consent to resign he went on strike and neglected to attend formations, classes, or church. He was court martialled and dismissed for being disobedient. While at the Military Academy he had

arranged with Elam Bliss, a New York publisher, to bring out a third volume of poems to which the student body at the Academy had subscribed.

In February, 1831, he went to New York. He was penniless, illy clad, and nearly died of a "cold" complicated by internal ear trouble, after reaching the city.

Forced to eat humble pie he again appealed to his guardian, but in vain. He remained in New York long enough to see his third volume off the press. It was entitled Poems, Second Edition, and contained a preface addressed to "Dear B.," a person unknown, in which some of the young author's critical opinions, largely 'taken from Coleridge, were first set forth.

After attempting abortively to obtain letters of introduction to Lafayette from Col. Thayer, the Superintendent at West Point, in order to join the Polish patriots then revolting against Russia, Poe left New York and journeyed by way of Philadelphia to Baltimore. He arrived in the latter city some time about the end of March, 1831, and again took up his residence at Mechanics Row, Milk Street, with his aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia. His brother Henry was then in ill health, "given over to drink," and dying. The next four years were spent in Baltimore under conditions of extreme poverty. Poe was still obscure and his doings for much of the time are very vague. A few facts, however, can be certainly glimpsed.

During most of the Baltimore period Poe must have followed the life of a recluse. He now began to turn his attention to prose and was able to place a few stories with a Philadelphia publication. His brother Henry died in August, 1831. Edgar continued to live with the Clemms. The household was poverty stricken, he himself was not in very good health part of the time. What the family lived on is not clear. Attempts were made to interest Mr. Allan once more in his behalf but in vain. No relief came from Richmond except upon one occasion when on account of a debt contracted by his brother Henry, Edgar was in danger of being imprisoned. Mr. Allan sent a belated response which was the last that Poe ever received from him. Poe is known to have paid ardent attention to Mary Devereaux, a young girl who lived close by. He was refused, and horsewhipped the girl's uncle. At this time he also frequented the houses of his relatives, the Poes, and Herrings, especially the latter, It was then, too that he was hard at work perfecting his art as a writer of short stories, and upon his only drama, "Politian."

In October, 1833, he competed for a prize of $50 offered for the best short story submitted to a Baltimore paper, The Saturday Visitor. The prize was awarded by a committee of well known citizens to Poe's "The Manuscript Found in a Bottle." It was his first notable success and marks his emergence into fame. The cash was grateful to his necessity, but a more important effect of the contest was the help given to the poverty stricken young poet by John P. Kennedy, a gentleman of Baltimore of considerable means, a kind heart, and a writer of parts himself. Mr. Kennedy by various timely acts of charity and influence set Poe upon the way to fame. He, Kennedy, enabled Poe to place some of his stories and introduced him to Thomas White, the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, published in Richmond, Va. Poe now began to contribute reviews, and short stories to that periodical and was finally invited in 1835 to come to Richmond as an assistant editor. In the meanwhile Mr. Allan had died, in 1834, and there was no mention of Poe in his will. Two ill-advised trips to Richmond by Poe himself between 1832 and 1834 had only succeeded in further estranging his former guardian and the Allan family. They remained embittered to the last. In July, 1835, Poe left Baltimore to take up his new editorial duties in Richmond.

As an editor, considered purely from the aspect of the desk and chair, Poe was a decided success. Subscriptions began to mount for the Southern Literary Messenger. Mr. White might well have been satisfied. He was a kindly man and well disposed. It is significant of Poe's inability to let stimulants alone that within a few weeks after arriving in Richmond he found himself discharged. He returned to Baltimore and there married secretly on September 22, 1835, his first cousin Virginia Clemm. She was only about thirteen years old at the time and the secret marriage was caused by the opposition of relatives to so early a union. Poe now applied again to Mr. White with promises to abstain, and was reinstated in his old position upon good behavior and with a fatherly warning. Mrs. Clemm and her daughter Virginia followed Poe to Richmond and took up their residence with him in a boarding house on Capitol Square.

Poe remained in Richmond as assistant editor to Mr. White on the Southern Literary Messenger from

the autumn of 1835 to January, 1837. During his connection with the paper its circulation increased from 700 to 3500. It attracted national attention, and it is safe to say it was initially due to Poe that it became the most influential periodical of the South. Its reputation was afterward maintained and increased by other men of considerable journalistic ability.

The task of the young editor ranged from purely hack work of a frankly journalistic nature to contributions to literature. He wrote poems, book reviews, general and particular literary criticism, and short stories both serial and complete. The book reviews varied from comment on Coleridge's Recollections to references about others such as Mrs. Sigourney's Letters to Young Ladies, in short from well reasoned and often trenchant critiques to mere notices with a slight critical comment. Some of the poems which had previously appeared in the volumes of poetry already alluded to were republished considerably revised. This was following out a policy of more or less constant revision and republishing in redacted form which Poe continued throughout his career. Among the most notable of the new poems to appear at this time were, "To Helen," "Irene," or the "Sleeper," "Israfel," and "Zante."

The general tone of literary criticism in the United States at the time Poe began to write for the Southern Literary Messenger was either perfunctory, fulsome, or dull. The comment of the young man in Richmond was interesting, disturbing and refreshing. His frequent severity elicited reply and remark, and though he aroused antagonism in some quarters, his presence on the scene and the trenchancy of his style became more and more evident. A number of the stories which Poe had prepared for "Tales of the Folio Club" in Baltimore before receiving the Saturday Visitor Prize, he now published in the Messenger. Such stories as "Metzengerstein" attracted considerable notice, as they well might, and added not a little to his reputation. In some of them a marked morbidity was even then noted and deprecated. Such deprecatory, comment, however, did not prevent their unique fascination from being felt. Under the title of "Pinakidia" the young editor also published at this time a collection of curious gleanings covering a wide field of interest which were taken from his commonplace book. Many of these he used again later in the Democratic Review under the title of "Marginalia."

Poe was described about this time as being "graceful, and with dark, curling hair and magnificent eyes, wearing a Byron collar and looking every inch a poet." The earliest known portrait of him dates from his early days on the Messenger and shows him with sideburns and a slightly sardonic cast of countenance for so young a man. Even at this date he was evidently somewhat fragile and delicate. His complexion which later became quite sallow is described as having been olive.

Of his private affairs the most important event of the Richmond epoch was his second marriage to his cousin Virginia. The reasons for this appear to be sufficiently obvious. The first marriage in Baltimore had been clandestine with Mrs. Clemm as the only witness. It had been opposed by influential relatives and had never been made public. All explanations were obviated by a second marriage in public, nothing was said about the first affair, and on May 16, 1830, a marriage bond was signed in the Hustings Court of the City of Richmond which described Virginia Clemm as twenty-one years old. She was, as a matter of fact, less than fourteen years of age at the time, and appeared to be a child. The wedding took place in a boarding house kept by a Mrs. Yarrington, in the company of friends, a Presbyterian divine by the name of Amasa Converse officiating. After a simple ceremony the couple left for their honeymoon which was spent at Petersburg, Virginia, at the house of a Mr. Hiram Haines, editor of the local paper. Poe was back in Richmond before the end of May, 1836, at his desk on the Messenger. Mr. White had promised him an increase of salary later on.

After his marriage, indeed for some time before, the poet's correspondence with relatives and friends shows that he was desirous of setting up housekeeping. The plan followed was to solicit funds for Mrs. Clemm and Virginia in order to establish a boarding house. Although some small aid, "loans," were obtained, the scheme fell through, and the little family moved to a cheap tenement on Seventh Street, where they seem to have remained until the end of their stay in Richmond.

Poe continued his editorial work and from his observation, experience, and ambition began to evolve in his mind a scheme of which the beginnings can be traced back to Baltimore. It was his hope to establish and to be the editor of a great national literary magazine. That Poe was one of the first men in America to understand the possibilities of modern journalism from a magazine standpoint there can be no doubt. From then on until the end of his story it was the darling scheme of his life. Misfortune and his own personality, rather than the theories of journalism which he entertained, were responsible

for his failure to realize his ambition.

He now began to think of going North to establish the new publication, a move which his growing reputation and the constantly increasing friction with his editor-in-chief served to hasten. Poe was brilliant but unsuited to work in a subordinate capacity. Mr. White in all justice must be said to have been patient. He was, however, patronized upon occasions by his versatile young editor, and there are also indications that in the fall of 1836 Poe had once more fallen from grace, and in spite of his well-meant promises to White, was again resorting from time to time to the bottle. In addition to this he seems to have been restless. Taking advantage of contacts which he had made by correspondence in New York with such men as Professor Charles Anthon, John K. Paulding, the Harper Brothers, and others, he decided to remove to that city.

Consequently in January, 1837, he wound up his affairs with the Southern Literary Messenger and Mr. White, and taking his family with him left for New York, They appear to have arrived there some time about the end of February, 1837, and to have taken lodgings at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Waverly Place, sharing a floor with one William Gowans, a bookseller, who was of considerable service to Poe.

Before leaving Richmond, in the summer of 1836, Poe had made some attempt to have the stories comprising the "Tales of the Folio Club" published in volume form. The manuscripts had been left originally with Carey and Lea I in Philadelphia who kept them for some time under consideration but had finally returned them, minus one story, to the author in February, 1836. Poe then mailed to J. K. Paulding in New York who submitted them to Harpers. The result was another refusal. Paulding had written to Poe, however, when he returned the stories, suggesting a long title in two volumes, a very popular format. Out of this suggestion had grown a long story of adventure, shipwreck, and horrible suffering in the then unknown southern hemisphere. It was called "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" and was finally accepted by Harpers, who published it in 1838 in the United States. Wiley and Putnam produced an edition in England where it was later pirated. This was Poe's first book of prose although his fourth bound volume, three volumes of poetry having preceded it. The story appeared serially in the Southern Literary Messenger even after Poe had severed his editorial connection. It purported to be written by Arthur Gordon Pym himself and the real author was mentioned only in the preface. The type of adventure story which "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" closely followed was popular at the time. Poe merely allowed his imagination to deal with familiar material found in such books as "The Mutiny of the Bounty", "Morell's Narrative of Four Voyages to the Pacific", and the like. His immediate interest in the Antarctic seems to have arisen from the preparation then being made by one J. N . Reynolds for a government expedition to those parts. Nathaniel Hawthorne was also interested in the same scheme, which, however, came to nothing. The success of the book was small and brought the author very little fame and less cash.

A short while after arriving in New York, Poe, Virginia and Mrs. Clemm moved to a small house at 13 ½ Carmine Street, where Mrs. Clemm took boarders in order to make a living. Poe was receiving near nothing at all. It was a period of financial panic and literary work was almost impossible to obtain. The Poes were accompanied to their new domicile by the bookseller Gowans who seems to have introduced the poet to a number of literary people but with small result. The poverty of the family was now extreme. Despite this, nevertheless, Poe continued to write. The chief items which can be traced to this first rather brief sojourn in New York are a review of Arbia Petraea in the New York Review, edited by Dr. Hawks, "Siope—a Fable," published in the Baltimore Book in 1839, and a tale called "Von Jung, the Mystic," which appeared in the American Monthly Magazine for June, 1837.

The plans for starting a magazine of his own would at that time, owing to the financial depression, have met no response. Poe, indeed, was unable to obtain even a minor editorial position or sufficient hack work to enable him to exist. His doings at this time must forever remain somewhat obscure. Probably through Gowans he was thrown into contact with James Pedder, an Englishman of almost neglible literary ability but a kindly man. Pedder about this time was engaged in establishing for himself magazine connections in Philadelphia, where his sisters resided. Through him it seems quite likely that Poe was induced to leave New York and to move to Philadelphia, then the great publishing center of the United States. At any rate we find him in Philadelphia about the end of August, 1838, boarding together with his family and James Pedder at a lodging house kept by the sisters of the Englishman on Twelfth Street, a little above Mulberry (Arch). Poe was soon definitely engaged upon two literary projects, the editing of a text book on Conchology and the now long deferred publication of

his collected tales.

Shortly after the arrival in Philadelphia Poe moved nearer the downtown publishing and engraving shops to a house at Fourth and Arch (then Mulberry) where he continued to reside until September 4, 1838. He was now engaged in editing The Conchologists First Book, or a System of Testaceous Malaciology, a school text to which he lent his name. It was purely a piece of hack work and has nothing to do with the creative or artistic writings of Poe. Among collectors the volume is now much sought after. At least nine editions are known to exist, the first was published in April, 1837, by Haswell, Barrington and Haswell. Poe wrote the preface and the introduction, and was assisted in his arrangement of the text and illustrations by a Mr. Isaac Lee and Professor Thomas Wyatt. Bergman, De Blainville, and Parkinson are quoted, and Cuvier heavily drawn upon. The beautifully engraved plates of shells were pirated from The Conchologists Text Book, a work by an Englishman, Captain Thomas Brown, to whom no credit was given. Poe was afterwards attacked for this and accused of plagiarism. The truth is that the custom of pirating material for school texts was then almost universal and very little blaim can be laid upon Poe. He received $50 for the use of his name as editor. In the series of Poe's bound works this was the fifth.

This school text was merely a financial transaction. Poe now turned his attention to publishing his short stories. Arrangement was made to bring out his collected tales under the title of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in two thin volumes. They were published in December, 1839, by Lea and Blanchard of Philadelphia, The title page bore the date 1840. The author received no royalty for his work but only a few copies to distribute to his friends. The publisher assumed the risk, not a very good one, for the volumes sold very slowly. There were fourteen stories in the first volume and ten in the second, which total comprised all the tales published up to that time by the author and "Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling," not appearing till later. This was Poe's sixth venture with a bound work, none of, which had been to any extent successful from financial standpoint.

In the meantime Poe had secured a position with William E. Burton, the publisher of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. Mr. Burton was an Englishman, an actor at his best in broad farce, a theatre manager, and a journalist. To this magazine Poe contributed book reviews, articles on sport, at least five notable tales and a few poems, "To lanthe in Heaven" being the most notable of the latter. It was in Burton's that "The Fall of the House of Usher," "William Wilson," and "Morella" appeared. At the same time Poe was in correspondence with several literary figures among whom Washington Irving was the most prominent.

Poe's connection with Burton did not last long. There was considerable friction between the two. At one time Poe withdrew but was prevailed on to return. His salary was small, his work uncongenial, and somewhat spasmodic. He was again in ill health whether due in part to the use of stimulants is not certain. At any rate he and Mr. Burton could not agree. The latter sold his magazine to George Rex Graham in October, 1840, and Poe was retained by the new editor, one of the most able journalists of the time. Owing to ill health Poe did not assume his duties on the new magazine, Graham's, until January, 1841, when traces of his pen are plainly evident on its pages.

He was then living in a little brick house at the junction of Coates Street and Fairmont Drive, Philadelphia, where he had moved, probably in the fall of 1839. It was from this dwelling that he issued in the fall of 1840 his "Prospectus of the Penn Magazine, a Monthly Literary journal to be edited and published in the city of Philadelphia by Edgar A. Poe." In this prospectus Poe's theories of a magazine are made quite clear. He hoped to receive enough subscriptions to provide funds to launch the undertaking. A considerable number of persons subscribed but the affairs of the prospective editor were in such a condition that he was forced to abandon his plan in order to take a salaried position with Mr. Graham. The Penn Magazine was consequently deferred while Poe took a desk with Mr. Graham at $800 a year.

The success of Graham's Magazine was phenomenal. The subscriptions rose from 5000 to 40,000 in about eighteen months, the increase being due to Poe's able editing, to the number of articles and poems secured by his soliciting notable writers to contribute, and to the policy of Mr. Graham who was lavish in his illustrations and very generous in his fees to authors.

The period of Poe's association with Mr. Graham which lasted from January, 1841, to April, 1842, was the most financially easy period in his life. His earnings were small, but sufficient to keep him and his

family in some comfort. It was at this time that he developed the tale of ratiocination and published "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and other stories of crime and its detection. He became also interested in cryptograms and their solution, and in 1842 published in the Dollar Newspaper for June 20th of that year his story of "The Gold Bug" in which the solution of a cipher is a component of the plot. For this story he received a prise of $100. Some of Poe's most reputed work appeared in Graham's and attracted considerable attention. He now began to become widely known as an able editor, a brilliant and severe of thrilling tales, and a poet. His connection with Graham, however, was of short duration. He was impatient of his subordinate position at a small salary, hopeful of starting his own magazine, and also given to drink. In April, 1842, his "irregularities" caused Mr. Graham to employ Rufus Wilmot Griswold, the most noted American anthologist of his time, and a very able editor, in place of Poe. Finding Griswold in his chair one day, Poe left the offices of the magazine and never returned although he continued to contribute to it from time to time.

He soon set up as a free-lance, wrote where and when he could, attempted to obtain a government position in the Customs House at Philadelphia through friends in Washington, and again tried to launch his own magazine now projected as The Stylus. He was almost successful, but a visit to Washington in March, 1843, when he became unfortunately intoxicated and exhibited his weakness even at the White House, blasted his fondest hopes. Even his, best friend, F. W. Thomas, a minor novelist and politician of the time, could do no more for him. Misfortune from now on dogged his steps.

His wife Virginia was dying of tuberculosis and had frequent hemorrhages. He himself began to resort to drink more than before. There is also some evidence of the use of opium. He was sent to Saratoga Springs to recuperate and returned to Philadelphia where he nearly died of heart failure. At this time, 1844, the Poes were living at 234 (now 530) North Seventh Street, Philadelphia, in a house still standing. Here, although visited by many loyal friends, among whom were the novelist Captain Mayne Reid, George Rex Graham, Sartain the engraver, Louis Godey, the editor, F. 0. C. Darley, an illustrator, Hirst, the poet, Thomas Clarke, the publisher, and others, Poe himself experienced the pangs of poverty and despair. He was in correspondence with James Russell Lowell and other notables, but unable through various causes, largely due to his temperament and his physical condition, to cope with the world. Sometime in the fall of 1843 he made an abortive attempt to issue a new edition of his tales as The Prose Romances of Edgar A. Poe. There was a small edition in paper covers to be sold at 12½ cents, but No. 1, containing "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," and "The Man that Was Used Up,", is the only one of the series known to have appeared, although one copy containing the first tale only is known to exist. This is the rarest of all Poe items from a collector's standpoint. The little paper pamphlet was the seventh of Poe's works. It brought the author no returns.

Reduced to the direst necessity, and finding all avenues closed to him in Philadelphia, he now determined to return to New York. Mrs. Clemm was left behind to close up the house, and on April 6, 1844, taking his invalid wife with him, Poe set out for New York City. He arrived there the same evening with $4.50 in his pockets and no definite prospects.

Poe and his invalid wife found shelter in a humble boarding house at 130 Greenwich Street. In immediate need of funds he turned one of his favorite tricks and wrote a false news story for the New York Sun, later republished as "The Balloon Hoax." Such hoaxes were "popular" at the time and indulged in by newspaper editors. The story was clever, is notable even now, and fooled thousands at that time—much to Poe's delight. The money so earned enabled Mrs. Clemm to come over from Philadelphia and join the two in New York. Leaving his family at the Greenwich Street lodgings, Poe then boarded alone for a time with a Mrs. Foster at number 4 Ann Street. During the spring and summer of 1844 he managed to scrape enough together by hack articles, some of which appeared in the Columbia (Pa.) Spy, and Godey's Lady's Book, the Ladies' Home Journal of the day, to exist himself and just barely keep his family.

Virginia's health grew steadily worse and in the early summer of 1844 the whole group moved out to the country to a farm located on Bloomingdale Road at what is now Eighty-fourth Street and Broadway. The farm was owned by a kindly Irish couple with a large family, the Brennans. Here for a few months in what was then a charming rural solitude in the beautiful Hudson Valley, Poe seems to have enjoyed a brief period of peace. During this interval he composed "The Raven," or rather put it into final form, as the poem is known to have been in existence in earlier versions as far back as 1842. The idea of the raven itself was taken from Barnaby Rudge. During the summer Poe carried on a

correspondence with James Russell Lowell who was writing a brief biography of Poe for Graham's, and with Dr. Thomas Holley Chivers, a Georgia poet whose work undoubtedly influenced the Raven's author.

By autumn the poet was again destitute and Mrs. Clemm now exerted herself to secure him some salaried work. She called on Nathaniel P. Willis, then editor of the New York Evening Mirror and persuaded him to employ Poe in a minor editorial capacity. Sometime in the fall of 1844 the family again moved to a town lodging at 15 Amity Street, New York City, where they occupied a few rooms.

Poe continued to turn out considerable hack work for Willis and also through the columns of the Mirror found opportunity to call attention to himself, to notice Miss Barrett's (later Mrs. Robert Browning) poetry favorably, and to involve himself in an unfortunate attack upon Longfellow known as the "Little Longfellow War," with various reverberations. By the end of 1844 Poe was ready to sever connection with Willis who remained his firm friend until the end. Through the good offices of Lowell, Poe had been put in touch with some minor journalists about New York who were ready to launch a new weekly to be called The Broadway Journal. Upon this paper Poe was retained in a more important editorial capacity than Mr. Willis could offer him.

In January, 1845, Poe's poem "The Raven" was published annoymously in the Evening Mirror in advance of its appearance in the American Whig Review for February. It created a furor, and on Saturday, February 8, 1845, Mr. Willis reprinted it over the author's name in the Evening Mirror. Poe's reputation immediately took on the aspects of fame which it never afterward lost. It is safe to say that no poem in America had ever been so popular. The poet continued to edit the Broadway Journal in which he carried on the Longfellow controversy, reviewed books, published and republished his poetry, wrote dramatic reviews and literary criticism, and reprinted many of his stories now more eagerly read as coming from a famous pen. He was also preparing to become owner of the Broadway Journal and for this purpose went into debt, in the meanwhile quarreling with Briggs, one of his partners.

He now too began for the first time since early Richmond days to lead a less lonely life and to go about in a semi-literary and artistic society. Poe was much seen during the winter of 1845 in the "salons" of various writers and minor social lights of New York who were known as the literati. Through Mr. Willis he met a Mrs. Fanny Osgood, the wife of an artist of some note and a minor poetess, with whom he soon struck up an intimate if not tender friendship. He followed her about to such an extent that she was finally compelled through the scandal involved and on account of her own tubercular condition to go to Albany. Poe pursued her there, then to Boston, and thence to Providence, R. I., where on a lonely walk late one evening be first saw a Mrs. Helen Whitman to whom he afterwards became engaged. The second poem called "To Helen" celebrates this meeting.

Lowell visited Poe in New York in the spring of 1845 and found Poe slightly intoxicated in his lodgings at 195 Broadway, whither he had lately moved. In July, Dr. Chivers also visited him and saw him at times much under the influence but nevertheless with the characteristics of genius about him.

Poe's affairs despite his growing fame did not prosper. He contributed a series of articles to Godey's Lady's Book on the literati of New York. They were personal sketches combined with the obiter dicta of the author and a dash of literary criticism that caused considerable stir at the time and in one or two cases involved Poe in undignified quarrels. The "Literati Papers" do not belong to Poe's more serious literary criticism but are essentially a contemporary and easy comment on persons he knew, most of them obscure.

At the end of 1845 despite his desperate efforts, the Broadway Journal failed, leaving its editor and by that time sole owner, in debt, despondent, and in ill health. Virginia, his wife, continued to decline and was nearing the grave. Poe was once more without means of support. In the meantime he had again moved his lodgings to 185 Amity Street. An unfortunate lecture at Boston in the fall of the year had provided an opportunity for Poe, then in a serious nervous condition, to make more or less an exhibition of himself. The affair was taken up by his enemies in New York and made the most of. All this served to add to his depression. Despite such, however, he had succeeded in bringing out in June, 1845, Tales, a collection of his stories selected by E. A. Duyckinck, an able editor, and published by Wiley and Putnam. This was followed in December, 1845, by The Raven and Other Poems, a selection of his verse produced by the same publisher. In the series of Poe's work issued

during his life time these two constituted the eighth and ninth books respectively. The Tales were in some cases bound in two volumes, and both outputs achieved a minor success. At the same time Poe was known to have been at work on an anthology of various American writers which occupied him from time to time for several years. It was never published, although some fragments of the manuscript exist.

Poe's affairs and Virginia's health now once more necessitated a move to the country. While Poe traveled to Baltimore to lecture in the spring of 1846, Mrs. Clemm and Virginia again went to stay at the Bloomingdale farm. A few weeks later we find the entire family at a farm house on "Turtle Bay," now Forty-seventh Street and East River. The stop here was brief. Poe rented a little frame cottage at Fordham, then a small village about fifteen miles from New York, and to this the family moved at the end of May, 1846.

In the puny cottage at Fordham, still preserved as a relic in Poe Park, New York City, the poet and his benign mother-in-law, Mrs. Maria Clemm, experienced together the extremes of tragedy in poverty, death, and despair. The summer of 1846 was embittered by a violent quarrel with one T. D. English. whom Poe had attacked acidly in the "Literati Papers." English now "replied," and after a personal encounter with Poe, accused the latter of forgery in the New York Mirror. Poe sued the paper and recovered damages for a small amount in February, 1847.

Poe's health was exceptionally bad, his wife continued to sink rapidly, and he himself could neither write much nor obtain employment. During much of the time Mrs. Clemm by various artifices and wiles kept bread in their mouths. She both borrowed and begged, and was even reduced to the necessity of digging vegetables by night in the fields of neighboring farmers. With the arrival of cold weather the visits of friends and curious persons from the city ceased and the Poes were left alone to face the rigors of winter without fuel or sufficient clothing or food. Under these inflictions Virginia sank rapidly. She lay in a bed of straw with her husband's cloak wrapped around her and a pet cat on her bosom to help provide warmth. In December, 1846, the family was visited by a friend from New York, Mrs. Mary Louise Shew, who found Virginia dying and Poe and his "mother" destitute. Through her kindness, and a public appeal in the papers, the immediate wants of the family were relieved and Virginia enabled to pass away in comparative peace at the end of January, 1847. She was buried at Fordham but afterwards removed to the side of her husband at Baltimore.

After the death of Virginia, Mrs. Clemm continued to nurse Poe, who gradually returned to a somewhat better state of health. In this Mrs. Shew assisted until finally compelled to withdraw, due to the emotional demands of her patient. Helped by his friends Poe once more began to appear among the living. At Fordham he had written Eureka, a long "prose poem" of a semiscientific and metaphysical cast which was published in March, 1848, by Geo. B. Putnam of New York. This was the tenth and last of the poet's works published during his life time, although an "edition" of his tales dated 1849 is known to exist. The nature of Eureka forbade its being popular. Poe now took to lecturing after a trip to Philadelphia in the summer of 1847 when another lapse in drink almost proved fatal.

The end of his life was marked by the publication of some of his most remarkable poems. "The Bells," "Ulalume," "Annabel Lee," and others, and by his infatuation with several women.

During various lecture trips to Lowell, Mass., and Providence, R. I., he became acquainted with Annie Richmond and Sarah Helen Whitman, the former a married woman, and the latter a widow of some literary reputation and considerable charm. After a visit to Richmond, Va., in the summer of 1848 in which he tried to fight a duel with one Daniels, the editor of a Richmond newspaper, and again lapsed into drink, he began to pay court to Mrs. Whitman, making several visits to Providence and carrying on a fervid correspondence. He finally obtained her reluctant consent to marry him on his promise of refraining from the glass. Poe, however, now in a sadly shattered state, was also "in love," or so dependent upon the sympathy of Mrs. Richmond that in an attempt to put an end to his impossible emotional problems he tried suicide by swallowing laudanum in Boston in November, 1848. The dose proved an emetic and he survived.

Next day in a state bordering upon insanity he appeared in Providence and begged Mrs. Whitman to carry out her promise. She, it appears, hopeful of perhaps saving him from himself was about to marry the poet but the opposition of relatives and another lapse from sobriety on the part of Poe, finally brought about his dismissal. Greatly chagrined he returned to Fordham the same evening to the

comforting ministrations of poor Mrs. Clemm who was reluctantly preparing to welcome a bride.

Poe attempted to hush the matter up and to carry it off with some bravado. News of the affair was noised about, however, and caused considerable scandal. He now threw himself into writing with renewed activity, meanwhile continuing his correspondence with Mrs. Richmond. Misfortune continued to dog his steps. Magazines which had accepted his work failed, or suspended payment, his health again gave way, and Mrs. Clemm was compelled to nurse him through delirium. Finally somewhat recovered, but a mere ghost of himself, he undertook to revive his scheme of a magazine, The Stylus, and with funds furnished by a western admirer, E. H. N. Patterson, he set out for Richmond, Va., in the spring of 1849, hoping to obtain help there from old friends. Mrs. Clemm was left behind in New York at the house of a poetess in Brooklyn who was under obligations to Poe.

On the way to Richmond, Poe stopped off in Philadelphia where he again came to drink and wandered in a distracted state. Finally he was rescued from prison and the streets by some faithful friends who raised sufficient funds to send him on his way.

Warned by what bad been a near approach to death in Philadelphia, Poe strove with all that was in him to refrain from wine, and for some time succeeded. In Richmond he was able with the help of old friends and others, who now recognized both his weakness and his genius, to stage a brief "come back." He delivered lectures at both Richmond and Norfolk with great success, appeared with applause and dignity in society, and was finally, after some difficulty, once more able to obtain the promise of his youthful flame Elmira Royster—-now Mrs. A. B. Shelton, a widow in good circumstances, to marry him.

Preparations for the wedding went forward; the date was set. For a while it looked as if the romance of the poet's youth with Elmira was to be rewarded by her hand and a considerable dower in middle life. Letters were written to Mrs. Clemm announcing the state of affairs, and Poe was ready to return to New York in order to bring her back to Richmond for the wedding. There can be very little doubt that in all these plans, Poe saw not only the return of his "lost Lenore," but a comfortable old age provided for Mrs. Clemm, shelter from the world, and escape from poverty. At the very last he wrote Mrs. Clemm saying that he still loved Mrs. Annie Richmond and wished that "Mr. R." would die. With this letter, one of the last he wrote, the curious story of his affections ends with contradiction and ambiguity, as it began.

Taking some little cash which had been received from the proceeds of a lecture given shortly before his departure, Poe left Richmond very early in the morning of the twenty-third of September, 1849. The evening before had been spent with Mrs. Shelton and the marriage had been set for October seventeenth. Poe had not been able to refrain entirely from drinking while in Richmond and he was undoubtedly in a an abnormal condition upon his departure. The testimony shows, however, that he was quite sober at that particular time.

He traveled by steamer to Baltimore and arrived there on September twentyninth. Exactly what happened to him in that city cannot now be ascertained. An election was in progress, and the preponderance of evidence points to the fact that he began to drink and fell into the hands of a gang of repeaters who probably gave him drugged liquor and voted him. On October third he was found by Dr. James E. Snodgrass, an old friend, in a, horrible condition at a low tavern in Lombard Street. Summoning a relative of Poe, Dr. Snodgrass had the now unconscious and dying poet taken in a carriage to the Washington Hospital and put into the care of Dr. J. J. Moran, the resident physician. Several days of delirium ensued with only a few intervals of partial consciousness. He called repeatedly for one "Reynolds," and gave vent to every indication of utter despair. Finally on Sunday morning, October 7, 1849, "He became quiet and seemed to rest for a short time. Then, gently, moving his head, he said, 'Lord help my poor soul.'" As he had lived so he died—in great misery and tragedy.

The Adventures Of Hukleberry Finn

Mark Twain

The summary of the novel : Huck escapes from the lonely cabin in which his drunken, brutal father had imprisoned him. On Jackson’s island he meets Jim, a runaway slave. Together they float down the Mississippi River on a raft, occasionally stopping at the banks. In these brief episodes, Huck participates in the lives of others, witnessing corruption, moral decay, and intellectual impoverishment. He learns from Jim of the dignity and worth of a human being. Life on the river comes to an end when Jim is captured. Huck, reunited with Tom Sawyer, helps him to escape, subordinating society’s morality to his own sense of justice and honour. The youth experience of the novelist is presented in the work THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, novel about life on the Mississippi. The Southern traditions, the situation of the Negro slaves, the life during the XIXth century in the South of the United States, all is presented in a humorous but full of understanding manner. The following excerpt from “Chapter 16” dwells on Huck’s rather pragmatic behaviour in a very dramatic situation. As the raft taking him and Jim downstream approaches the mouth of the Ohio River, Jim grows more and more excited because he believes that when he can head up the Ohio he will be out of slave, and therefore be free. Huck, in his turn, begins to realize for the first time that he is actually helping a slave to escape. His conscience, formed by the mid-19th century American Southern society, goads him until he decides he will turn Jim in as a runaway slave. But when he is faced with the actual situation of having to inform on Jim to two Negro hunters, Huck finds himself unable to carry out his abominable plan and improvises an elaborate story that makes them believe there is smallpox on the raft. By enlisting himself in Jim’s cause, Huck becomes a self-proclaimed social outlaw. He goes through two moral crises in which he is denounced by his conscience, but he finally decides to “go to Hell” – that is to defy the laws of God and of man and to stay loyal to Jim who has by now become his alter ego.The novel is written in the first person narrative, thus the feelings of the main character (Huck himself) are expressed more directly, offering the whole story authenticity and freshness. The scene presenting Huck’s inner struggle is very impressive and of a peculiar dramatism. Huck leaves his raft “feeling sick”, disgusted with himself and with the idea of cheating his friend so cruelly. Still, he thinks it is his duty to inform the authorities. Very soon, he meets two men in a skiff. The men are white, they carry guns and they are looking for “runaway niggers”. When he is asked if there are any men on his raft, Huck answers that there is only one. At this point he still doesn’t know what to do. But when he is asked if his man is white or black, he hesitates for a while, trying to “brace up and out with it”. The clash between his feelings of friendship towards Jim on one hand, and his prejudices as a Southern boy, on the other, now reaches its climax. Huck regards his incapacity of telling the truth as a matter of courage after all, thinking he isn’t man enough, but in fact his loyal heart can’t accept to betray a true friend. Finally, he takes a decision, in spite of his prejudices, and he tells the two men that his man is white.The attitude didn’t seem very convincing, as the two men expressed their wish to see for themselves the man on the raft. Huck immediately wish to see for themselves the man on the raft. Huck immediately invents a story: the man on the raft is his father, he says, and his father is ill. He lets the two men guess that the so-called father has got the smallpox, a very unpleasant and, at the same time, very dangerous disease. The two men leave in a hurry, feeling pity for Huck and giving him some money. As they don’t want to catch the disease, they don’t even have a look on the raft. Jim is saved but Huck’s soul is tormented by various questions: had he done right or wrong? Would he have felt better if he had given Jim up?He decides he had done wrong according to the Southern rules concerning runaway slaves, but he realizes he would have felt miserable if he had betrayed his friend in need. Huck is in fact the victim of the social prejudices, but he is aware of the contradiction between his feelings of brotherhood towards and these prejudices. He can’t help regarding Jim as a human being, a faithful friend, and thus finally he acts like a man helping another man. Huck is guilty from the point of view of the Southern prejudices and laws, but from a human point of view he is innocent, because he saved Jim’s life.Huck is an objective narrator. He is objective about himself, even when that objectivity is apt to reflect discreditably upon himself. He is objective about the society he encounters, even when, as he often fears, that society possesses virtues and sanctions to which he must ever remain a stranger. He is an outcast, he knows that he is an outcast.Possessing neither a wide background of economic fact and theory, nor a comprehensive knowledge of scientific or philosophical methods, he had a genuine contempt for all pretense and hypocrisy, and exposed to humorous view the tyrannies of chivalry, of slavery, and of religion. Mark Twain is the greatest American voice of his day.

The Tragedy Of Julius CaesarWilliam Shakespeare

In 1598, Francis Meres described Shakespeare as "the most excellent in both sides - comedy and tragedy". His comedies are unsurpassed for the marvelous harmony they establish among so many apparently discordant elements. His tragedies, rightly interpreted, do not reveal a spirit of gloom and disillusionment. Yet, if we ponder carefully, while the themes of Shakespeare’s tragedies are indeed dark and dismal, the message that they impart is that, no matter how deep the misfortune or how dreary the circumstances, man is capable of rising from his own ashes, like Phoenix; think of Richard II, Henry V, King Lear, or Prospero. Good will triumph over evil, in the end; think of Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar.As the theme and message in Shakespeare’s comedies, they can be summed up in two lines from "As You Like It":"All the world’s a stage,And all the men and women merely players"In his comedies, just as in real life, the protagonists play different parts in the little playmates they have themselves improvised in order to get what they desire. No one is hurt, no one is denied the opportunity to join in the game, no one is left out. Life is a merry-go-round and each individual may get off the platform as soon as he no longer enjoys the game. As long as all ends well"All Samuel Taylor Coleridge maintained, Shakespeare was more interested in character-development than in his plots. Besides, in most cases, he did not invent the plots, he merely borrowed them from Holinshed and Hall Chronicles. Yet, his plots follow the classical Aristotelian outlines.Of Shakespeare’s tragic characters, Mark Antony is quite outstanding in point of versatility. He does not exactly fit the Aristotelian description of the tragic hero. He is reliable and trustworthy friend, a highly intelligent and tactful man, a good psychologist, a skilful orator. Analysing Antony’s famous speech of act 3, scene 2, we admire its uncanny rhetorical effects and the most persuasive use of the emotional appeal that assist him in disentangling the truth from the pack of lies concerning Julius Caesar that Brutus had just told the Roman citizens. By using the apophatic approach (the device by which one mentions something by saying it will not be mentioned: "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him", and "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke"), Antony manages to do just what he was not expected or allowed to do: praise Caesar and disprove what Brutus spoke.In a society like Shakespeare’s, which felt secure about what constituted proper behavior, social, political and familial roles were basic sources of order and untroubled adherence to them symbolized the continued existence of order. What Shakespeare presents in "Julius Caesar" and in other tragedies as "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear", "Macbeth" is not untroubled adherence to the roles of his type but, rather, their constant violation or loss as well as the subsequent restoration of order, as the masters of deceit who had thrived on disorder are exposed and destroyed.Antony speech moves coherently from one idea to another, from one image to another, as he places the Roman citizens in relation to reality and forces them to identify the real traitor. Thus, order is being restored and, as Edmund remarks in "King Lear": "The wheel is come full circle".Style and imagery:In Renaissance literature the idea that the poet, insofar as he creates a world of his own, can be compared with God, Who created the world, was already a commonplace by Shakespeare’s time. The fact that St. Augustine compared the world with a poem and a discourse was crucial for the way in which the Renaissance writers conceived of style and imagery.The development of poetic language, of style and imagery, was the main concern of 16th century Renaissance writers who probed the nature of language and its ingredients as well as potential relationships between words and reality ("brutish beasts" is intentionally used by Antony in his speech in order to imply that, by murdering Caesar, Brutus acted like a brute), between words and signs as containers of meanings.Shakespeare’s preoccupation with language was not confined to words as rhetorical ornaments of thought but, rather, reflects the belief in the magic of language that thrives on an inter-referentially

among words, concepts, and things (the word "Brutus', the concept of brutality, and the brutish thing that Brutus did, i.e. Caesar assassination).

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