I am going to do the exercises of T.S. Eliot’s essay from the sheet of paper Developing an argument.

II) Complete the notes.

Numbers used refer to the columns of the table:

4. This richness is due to the variety of elements of which English is made of:

                a) Germanic element;

                b) Scandinavian element;

                c) The Norman French element;

                d) French influences;

                e) Latin element;

                f) Celtic element.

5. The English language is also rich in its rhythmic variety. The elements are:

                a) The rhythm of early Saxon verse;

                b) The rhythm of the Norman French;

                c) The rhythm of the Welsh;

                d) The rhythm of Latin;

                e) The rhythm of Greek.

8. It is generally thought that the greatest peoples excel in one art.    Examples:

                a) Italy and France excel in painting;

                b) German excels in music;

                c) English excels in poetry.

9. This is not correct because:

                a) No art can be possessed just by one country;

                b) In some periods England was not the European leader in poetry.

                Example: the second half of the nineteenth century

10. A nation which leads in a particular art form in a particular period does not necessarily produce the greatest artists. Example: Goethe is more important than English Romantic poets.

12. The ability of European literature to renew itself depends on two factors:

                a) The ability to receive and assimilate influences from abroad;

                b) The ability to learn from its past sources

III) Consider the personal pronouns.

The personal pronoun I always refer to the speaker/writer.

The personal pronoun you refers to two different groups of people. Firstly (line 18) you refers to the general German speaking people. Secondly (line 41) it refers to any listener/reader.

IV) Provide examples.

Verbs used to show logical sequence:

I have not taken the trouble to talk to you in order to praise my own language...

I have spoken of...

I have been leading up to another important truth...

I wish to make this point especially:

Verbs used to give evidence:

..We find...

As I have said, this...

I refer to...

We must remember...

I do not know of...

We find...

When we examine the history...

Verbs used to express opinion:

I say...

I have been careful in my words

I do not mean that...

I am not concerned to maintain that...

I simply say that...

I think of...

I am not thinking...

I think the reason why...

We tend to think...

I venture to say that...

We must not assume that...

We cannot understand...

V) Answer the questions.

A) The essayist is addressing to a particular audience: the German listeners of the talk (you).

B)  The essayist puts forward his own opinions (huge amount of I).

C)  The writer’s main intention is to present his reasoning in order to persuade listeners/readers that English is the richest language for writing poetry.

D)  The essayist provides different kind of argumentative strategies to support his thesis:

He uses informative argumentations (e.g. the variety of elements of which English is made of);

He makes reference to others’ opinions (e.g. as Goethe said);

He makes reference to history and literature (e.g. when we examine the history);

He logically deducts argumentations from personal experience (e.g. we cannot understand any one European literature without knowing a good deal about others).

As a result the essayist is able to convince logically his listener/reader and also to refute possible objections.