CRITICISM III.

EDITORS DAILY CRIMSON. - The new plan in sophomore English, namely, that each student should briefly criticise the work of a class-mate, went into effect last Thursday. While it is too early to decide about the practical workings of the plan, we can still consider its theoretical merits and demerits. It cannot be denied that there must be a great deal of advantage accruing to a man from an examination of other men's themes, which he would get in no other way that has as yet been suggested. This comparison of the styles of others, and possibly of better writers than oneself might be obtained by distributing the themes in the same manner as at present. Whoever is at all interested in his work in English would not grudge the time necessary to read the theme as it would take little more than five minutes. He would then be spared the trouble of writing a criticism which inevitably takes up more than the half hour which we were assured would be sufficient, provided the work is done conscientiously. But as the matter now stands, the student is obliged to write about six lines on such topics as the following, sentences, figures, clearness, and vocabulary. In these six lines he is supposed to state exhaustively the ideas these different headings convey to his mind when applied to the theme. As minor grievance, he has to write on unglazed paper. Now no man can say in a clear manner what he honestly thinks of a theme, when he is forced to express himself in such a cramped manner, and in such purely orbitrary spaces. If he attempts to do it, his criticism will inevitably be disappointed, superficial, and dogmatic. Such an exercise would be worse than useless, it would be positively harmful.

By all means, let us broaden our minds by reading what others have written; but, do not bind us down to such a Procrustes' bed as this criticism is likely to prove.

'88.