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Hiawatha Takes a Photograph
The Rossettis, photographed by Lewis Carroll.
A study of the Rossetti family at their home in No. 16 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, taken by Lewis Carroll. Artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti is standing the left. To the right is his brother William, a writer and critic. Their sister Christina Rossetti, a major English poet, is sitting on the steps; to her left is their mother, Mary Frances Lavinia Rossetti.
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A study of the Rossetti family at their home in No. 16 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, taken by Lewis Carroll. Artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti is standing the left. To the right is his brother William, a writer and critic. Their sister Christina Rossetti, a major English poet, is sitting on the steps; to her left is their mother, Mary Frances Lavinia Rossetti.
First the Governor, the Father:
He suggested velvet curtains
Looped about a massy pillar;
And the corner of a table,
Of a rosewood dining-table.
He would hold a scroll of something,
Hold it firmly in his left-hand;
He would keep his right-hand buried
(Like Napoleon) in his waistcoat;
He would contemplate the distance
With a look of pensive meaning,
As of ducks that die in tempests.
Grand, heroic was the notion:
Yet the picture failed entirely:
Failed, because he moved a little,
Moved, because he couldn’t help it.
Next, his better half took courage;
She would have her picture taken;
She came dressed beyond description,
Dressed in jewels and in satin
Far too gorgeous for an empress.
Gracefully she sat down sideways,
With a simper scarcely human,
Holding in her hand a nosegay
Rather larger than a cabbage.
All the while that she was taking,
Still the lady chattered, chattered,
Like a monkey in the forest.
“Am I sitting still?” she asked him.
“Is my face enough in profile?
Shall I hold the nosegay higher?
Will it come into the picture?”
And the picture failed completely. [...]
From ‘Hiawatha’s Photographing’ ‘Phantasmagoria’ (1869) by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898).
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
The first subject for a portrait was the father of the house, who wanted to be pictured in a melodramatic pose somewhat recalling Napoleon. However, he could not sit still, and the portrait was a disappointment. Next came his wife, who overdressed for the occasion and prattled incessantly while adopting various poses, which spoilt her portrait too. (57 / 60 words)
The first subject for a portrait was the father of the house, who wanted to be pictured in a melodramatic pose somewhat recalling Napoleon. However, he could not sit still, and the portrait was a disappointment. Next came his wife, who overdressed for the occasion and prattled incessantly while adopting various poses, which spoilt her portrait too.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, besides, despite, just, may, until, whether.
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Bury. Left. Open.
2 Holding. Mystic. Solution.
3 Entire. Jewel. Lunar.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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