An Abridgment of Elements of Criticism |
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Henry Home Kames’s Elements of Criticism was a very unreadable document for today’s readers. This later abridgement, edited by John Frost, made an enormous difference. Kames’ critical elements, at a time when scientific objectification was popular, centers the attention to power of “emotions and passions.” Passion produces action and passions can evoke emotions that also produce action. In this Kames finds the understanding and manipulation of that which effect emotions and passions as critical to reading and understanding speech and literature.
Kames, Henry Home. Elements of Criticism, Abridged. Edited by John Frost. Philadelphia: Hogan, 1831. http://books.google.com/books?id=JoMCAAAAYAAJ.
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accent action agreeable appear arises beauty beginning capital cause chapter character circumstances common comparison connected couplet criticism custom death desire disagreeable distinguished effect elevated emotion equally expression eyes fall feeling figure force former garden Give an example Give examples grief habit hand hath head heart Hence HENRY imagination imitation important impression instances introduced kind king language less light lively manner means melody metaphor mind motion nature never object observed occasion painful particular passion pause period person personification play pleasant pleasure poem present principle produce proper qualities raised reader reason relation represented requires resemblance respect rhyme ridicule rule sense sentiments short simile soliloquies sort sound speech syllables taste termed thee things thou thought tion tragedy variety verse winds words writers
Popular passages
Page 185 - The moon shines bright : — In such a night as this, When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees, And they did make no noise ; in such a night, Troilus, methinks, mounted the Trojan walls, And sigh'd his soul toward the Grecian tents, Where Cressid lay that night.
Page 54 - Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world, Like a Colossus ; and we petty men Walk under his huge legs, and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Page 58 - To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue, A curse shall light upon the limbs of men ; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall cumber all the parts of Italy...
Page 71 - It must not be : if Cassio do remain, ' He hath a daily beauty in his life, That makes me ugly ; and, besides, the Moor May unfold me to him ; there stand I in much peril : No, he must die : — But so, I hear him coming.
Page 232 - With thee conversing I forget all time ; All seasons and their change, all please alike. Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, With charm of earliest birds...
Page 204 - Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.
Page 231 - But whate'er you are That in this desert inaccessible, Under the shade of melancholy boughs, Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time ; If ever you have look'd on better days, If ever been where bells have knoll'd to church, If ever sat at any good man's feast, If ever from your eyelids wiped a tear And know what 'tis to pity and be pitied, Let gentleness my strong enforcement be : In the which hope I blush, and hide my sword.
Page 56 - tis to cast one's eyes so low ! The crows, and choughs, that wing the midway air, Show scarce so gross as beetles. Half way down Hangs one that gathers samphire ; dreadful trade ! Methinks he seems no bigger than his head. The fishermen, that walk upon the beach, Appear like mice ; and yon' tall, anchoring bark, Diminished to her cock ; her cock, a buoy Almost too small for sight.
Page 236 - The other shape, If shape it might be call'd, that shape had none Distinguishable in member, joint, or limb, Or substance might be call'd that shadow seem'd, For each seem'd either ; black it stood as night, Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell, And shook a dreadful dart ; what seem'd his head The likeness of a kingly crown had on.
Page 222 - Your infants in your arms, and there have sat The live-long day with patient expectation To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome...
Bibliographic information
| Title | An Abridgment of Elements of Criticism |
| Author | Lord Henry Home Kames |
| Editor | John Frost |
| Publisher | Towar, J. & D.M. Hogan, 1831 |
| Original from | the New York Public Library |
| Digitized | May 22, 2007 |
| Length | 300 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |