BIBLE AND SHAKESPEARE

The returning seniors have spent a hectic week concentrating on Bible, Shakespeare, and Ancient Authors examinations. Many are making in these few days what is their first systematic study of books admittedly the foundation of their field, and others already familiar with the material in question are finding their knowledge a little too rusty for the purposes of formal inquiry.

Each year the returning seniors have done these same things, and each year an increasing number of men among the faculty have doubted that they should do them. Certainly there is no real reason for the postponement of these examinations past the Sophomore year. At that time, before the student has entered upon his specialized work, his grasp of the fundamentals of his field should be assured. The Department of History and Literature has divided these examinations in such a way that the student may take one of them in his Sophomore year, and members of the department state that Sophomores taking them frequently write better papers than Seniors. Inasmuch as this knowledge properly belongs to the first stages of work in literature, it should clearly be examined then, rather than during the last stages, when the demands of specialization have dispersed energy and restricted time.

There is also little wisdom in the practice of holding four examinations in a four day period, as this is an unnecessary strain on the student. If the Bible and Shakespeare examinations were held at the end of the Sophomore year, and an examination on Ancient Authors at the beginning of the Junior year, the present congestion would be eliminated, and the undergraduate would be compelled to give himself the proper background before beginning his two full years of specialization.