Wild Goose Chase

It may, in the meantime, be subject of serious consideration whether those who are accustomed only to acquire instruction through the medium of amusement may not be brought to reject that which approaches under the aspect of study; whether those who learn history by the cards, may not be led to prefer the means to the end; and whether, were we to teach religion in the way of sport, our pupils may not thereby be gradually induced to make sport of their religion. To our young hero, who was permitted to seek his instruction only according to the bent of his own mind, and who, of consequence, only sought it so long as it afforded him amusement, the indulgence of his tutors was attended with evil consequences which long con tinued to influence his character, happiness, and utility.

From ‘Waverley’ (1805) by Sir Walter Scott.
Précis
The trouble with making education relentlessly entertaining, said Scott, was not only that pupils might refuse to study unless someone made it entertaining for them; it was that serious subjects might be turned into a standing joke. In Edward Waverley’s case, he said, an unwillingness to apply himself to the grind certainly had a most harmful effect.
Questions for Critics

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.

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