Introduction
Sir Edward Abbott Parry had recently been appointed one of her majesty Queen Victoria’s judges when he published Katawampus (1895), a book of tales and rhymes for young children. It all began, it seems, when Pater (Latin for father), in despair over his fractious children, took a Christmas Day dip in the sea... but before telling that extraordinary story, Pater gave these little verses from his ‘book of rhymes’.
YOU can take a tub with a rub and a scrub in a two-foot tank of tin,*
You can stand and look at the whirling brook and think about jumping in,
You can chatter and shake in the cold black lake, but the kind of bath for me,
Is to take a dip from the side of a ship, in the trough of the rolling sea.
You may lie and dream in the bed of a stream when an August day is dawning,
Or believe ’tis nice to break the ice on your tub of a winter morning,
You may sit and shiver beside the river, but the kind of bath for me
Is to take a dip from the side of a ship, in the trough of the rolling sea.
By
Sir Edward Abbott Parry
1863-1943
From ‘Katawampus’ (1925) by Sir Edward Abbott Parry (1863-1943).
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 his children’s story Katawampus (1895), Sir Edward Parry told how ‘Pater’ had taken a Christmas Day dip in the sea. He prefaced his tale with a short verse, acknowledging various places for bathing from a tin bath to rivers and lakes, but declared that there was nothing to touch plunging into the sea from the side of a ship.
(60 / 60 words)
In his children’s story Katawampus (1895), Sir Edward Parry told how ‘Pater’ had taken a Christmas Day dip in the sea. He prefaced his tale with a short verse, acknowledging various places for bathing from a tin bath to rivers and lakes, but declared that there was nothing to touch plunging into the sea from the side of a ship.
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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, just, must, not, otherwise, since, whereas, who.
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
Shiver.
Take.
Your.
2
Chatter.
Dream.
Sea.
3
Brook.
Morning.
Rub.
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.)
In each group below, you will find words that are similar to one another, but not exactly the same. Compose your own sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between them, whether in meaning, grammar or use.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1.
Break.
Snap.
2.
Can.
Could.
3.
Kind.
Sort.
4.
Lay.
Lie.
5.
Me.
I.
6.
Role.
Roll.
7.
Rub.
Scrub.
8.
Ship.
Boat.
9.
Taken.
Took.
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
Kindly.
2
Cold.
3
Nice.
4
Shaken.
5
Kind.
6
Black.
7
Broken.
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).
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.
tp
(6+7)
See Words
atop.
tap.
tape.
tip.
top.
utopia.
taupe.
teepee.
tepee.
topee.
topi.
toupee.
tup.
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or ask for help with any of the
exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
nicholas@claylane.uk
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