Introduction
In 1784, the use of a horse for purposes other than farming was subjected to tax, one of Prime Minister William Pitt’s many ingenious tax-grabs. William Cobbett (who blamed the taxes on the national debt racked up by unnecessary wars) chuckled with delight nearly forty years later, when he stumbled across a farmer’s wife making a gentle protest.
AT about an equal distance from Hereford and from Ross, we met with something, the sight of which pleased me exceedingly: it was that of a very pretty pleasant-looking lady (and young too)* with two beautiful children, riding in a little sort of chaise-cart, drawn by an ass, which she was driving in reins.
She appeared to be well known to my friends, who drew up and spoke to her, calling her Mrs Lock, or Locky (I hope it was not Lockart),* or some such name. Her husband, who is, I suppose, some young farmer of the neighbourhood, may well call himself Mr Lucky; for to have such a wife, and for such a wife to have the good sense to put up with an ass-cart, in order to avoid, as much as possible, feeding those cormorants who gorge on the taxes, is a blessing that falls, I am afraid, to the lot of very few rich farmers.
Mrs Lock (if that be her name) is a real practical radical. Others of us resort to radical coffee and radical tea;* and she has a radical carriage.
By
William Cobbett
1762-1835
From
‘Rural Rides’ (1822 to 1826, 1853) by William Cobbett (1763-1835).
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.
Précis
In Rural Rides, William Cobbett recalled seeing a young farmer’s wife driving a trap along a Herefordshire lane, drawn by a donkey and accompanied by two children. Cobbett, a severe critic of frivolous taxation, guessed it was a swipe at the tax on keeping a horse-drawn vehicle, and congratulated her husband on having such a pretty and spirited wife.
(59 / 60 words)
In Rural Rides, William Cobbett recalled seeing a young farmer’s wife driving a trap along a Herefordshire lane, drawn by a donkey and accompanied by two children. Cobbett, a severe critic of frivolous taxation, guessed it was a swipe at the tax on keeping a horse-drawn vehicle, and congratulated her husband on having such a pretty and spirited wife.
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Variations:
1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words.
2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words.
3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, may, not, or, otherwise, since, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
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
Beauty.
Something.
Such.
2
Call.
Gorge.
Possible.
3
Cormorant.
Fall.
Pretty.
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.)
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1
Spoken.
2
Childless.
3
Hopeful.
4
Young.
5
Good.
6
Real.
7
Practical.
8
Childish.
9
Hopeless.
Variations:
1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb.
2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best).
3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1.
Tee.
Tea.
2.
Know.
No.
3.
Knew.
New.
4.
Cite.
Sight.
5.
Teas.
Tease.
6.
Road.
Rode.
7.
Real.
Reel.
8.
Some.
Sum.
9.
Tacks.
Tax.
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
tm
(8+1)
See Words
atom.
item.
tame.
team.
teem.
time.
tom.
tome.
tum.
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or ask for help with any of the
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nicholas@claylane.uk
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