•·         STATEMENT (lines 1-2): the English language is the richest for poetry.

•·         QUALIFICATION OF STATEMENT (lines 3-10): This doesn't mean that England has produced the greatest poets or amount of poetry.

•·         CLARIFICATION (lines 11-14): English is the richest language for poetry because it has the largest vocabulary.

•·         SUPPORTING STATEMENT +EXAMPLES (lines 14-29): This richness is due to the variety of elements of which English is made of:

a)Germanic foundation;

b)Scandinavian elements;

c)Norman French elements;

d)Latin;

e) Celtic.

•·         FURTHER CLARIFICATION +EXAMPLES (lines 29-40): The English language is also rich in its rhythmic variety. The elements are:

a)the rhythm of early Saxon verse;

b)the rhythm of Norman French;

c)the rhythm of the Wellsh;

d) Latin poetry;

e)Greek poetry.

•·         FIRST RESTATEMENT (lines 41-44): English is a good language for poetry because it is derived from so many linguistic sources.

•·         SECOND RESTATEMENT(lines 44-48): England has not necessarily produced the greatest poets.

•·         STATEMENT +EXAMPLES (lines 49- 51): It is generally thought that the greatest peoples excel in one art. Examples:

•a)      Italy and France in painting;

•b)      Germany in music;

•c)       England in poetry.

•·         REFUTATION +EXAMPLES (lines 52-68): This is not correct because:

•a)      No art has ever been the exclusive possession of any one country;

•b)      In same past periods other country has taken the lead in poetry.

Example: Until the first half of ‘800 the most important influence of the English poetry was the Romantic movement, but from the second half of ‘800 it was the French tradition which starts with Baudelarie and ends with Paul Valery.

•·         FURTHER REFUTATION+EXAMPLE (lines 68-76): A nation which leads in a particular art form in a particular period does not necessarily produce the greatest artists. Example: there is not a standard to measure the greatness of an artist but the total work of Goethe has a scope which makes him a greater man.

•·         STATEMENT (lines 77-86): No European nation would have accomplished what it has, as far as culture is concerned, if other countries had not developed the same art forms.

•·         STATEMENT (lines 86- 99): The ability of European literature to renew itself depends on two factors:

•a)      The ability of receive and assimilate;

•b)      The ability to go back and learn from its own sources.

EXERCISE 3:

•a)      Yes, the personal pronoun "I" always refers to the same person: Elliot, the writer of this essay and also a great poet.

•b)      Yes, the personal pronoun "you" always refers to the same people: the Germans, the listeners of  Elliot's talks, broadcast to Germany after the World War II.

EXERCISE 4:

Verbs used to express opinion: I think that.., I don't mean.., I say.., We find that.., I venture to say.., We must remember.., We must not assume that.., I wish to make...

EXERCISE 5:

•a)      The essayist is addressing to German people

•b)      Elliot's opinion is that English is the richest language for the purpose of writing poetry because it's a variety of linguistic and metrical elements and it's composed by many different European sources.

•c)       The writer's intention is to convince the listeners that English is now the best language to write poetry.

•d)      The essayist substantiate his statement giving judgments, opinions and examples to his listeners.