Practical English Composition Part 24

Long has it waved on high, And many an eye has danced to see That banner in the sky; Beneath it rung the battle shout, And burst the cannon's roar;-- The meteor of the ocean air Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes' blood, Where knelt the vanquished foe, When winds were hurrying o'er the flood And waves were white below, No more shall feel the victor's tread, Or know the conquered knee;-- The harpies of the sh.o.r.e shall pluck The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered hulk Should sink beneath the wave; Her thunders shook the mighty deep, And there should be her grave; Nail to the mast her holy flag, Set every threadbare sail, And give her to the G.o.d of storms, The lightning and the gale.

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.

[15] Built about 1800, the frigate _Const.i.tution_ had a career that aroused popular fancy. She was at the bombardment of Tripoli in 1804; captured the British frigate _Guerriere_ August 2, 1812; captured the British frigate _Java_ December 29, 1812; and on February 20, 1815, captured the British ships _Cyane_ and _Levant_. In 1830, when it was proposed to break her up, Holmes wrote this poem by way of protest. The result was that the ship was preserved. She now lies at the Boston Navy Yard, an object of great historic and patriotic interest. The poem is a kind of poetic editorial.

CHAPTER XVIII

ADVERTIs.e.m.e.nTS

"I hold every man a debtor to his profession; from the which as men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavour themselves by way of amends to be a help and ornament thereunto."--FRANCIS BACON.

I. Introduction

In no field is the writer of English more generously rewarded than in advertising. The annual expenditure for advertising in the United States is close to $1,000,000,000 and is rapidly increasing. Writers skilled in presenting goods to the public command very large salaries in the distribution of this great sum. The profession has been steadily attaining higher standards and has made a place for its members in nearly every business house in the country. It is certain, however, that there is still a vast field open for advertising development.

II. a.s.signment I

Make a list of the reasons that would induce you to buy a particular kind of fountain pen; suit of clothes; set of books; stove or range; lead pencil; candy.

III. Example

(See page 109.)

IV. Definition

An advertis.e.m.e.nt is an argumentative composition cut down to its simplest elements, a composition in which single words represent sentences or even paragraphs of ordinary writing. A sentence in an advertis.e.m.e.nt frequently conveys the meaning that in ordinary writing would be expanded into a long descriptive essay. The principles of composition-writing apply to advertising in the superlative degree.

Above all things else, an advertis.e.m.e.nt must be clear, coherent, and forceful. In addition to these things it must be brief.

Model Shoes make happy, handsome feet.

Model Shoes are made on natural foot-fitting lasts and feel right the first time.

Model Shoes are made of carefully selected hides tanned by the special process which increases their wearing quality thirty per cent. Every operation from cutting to final packing is under the supervision of experts who are specially trained in their line.

Model Shoes are designed by shoe artists who watch every turn in the smart productions of fashionable New York and London bootmakers and combine the most favored lines with _model_ comfort into distinctive _model_ designs.

$4.50 at your store _Write for Style Booklet_

Model Shoemakers Lowell, Ma.s.s.

V. a.s.signment II

From the reasons that you have listed in a.s.signment I, pick out the one that most attracts you in the case of each of the articles named. Give a reason for your choice. Find a quality in each article that you especially desire but rarely find.

VI. Forcefulness in Advertising

An advertis.e.m.e.nt must first of all demand and win attention. The first word, the first sentence, must be strong enough to arrest the eye of the average reader, who runs hastily through the advertising matter of a magazine, newspaper, or other medium. It must catch the reader's interest, and hold his attention long enough to lead him into the remainder of the argument.

So far as possible the first sentence, in some cases the first word, should contain the heart of the message, the one big thing that you have to say about the article you have to advertise. If you fail to get your reader's interest with your first sentence, the word or words that attracted his attention to your advertis.e.m.e.nt, you have lost him forever. You will have no opportunity to present to him the argument that may follow. Your attention words are read by your maximum audience. Your most attractive argument in its most striking form should therefore be presented to them at once.

VII. a.s.signment III

Write a sentence presenting the arguments selected in a.s.signment II in the strongest and most attractive sentences that you can devise. Reduce the sentences to the single words that express the ideas most vividly.

VIII. Humor in Advertising

As an attention feature, a touch of humor is valuable in advertising. It tends to put the reader into a pleasant frame of mind, a frame of mind in which he is likely to listen more attentively to what you have to say. It operates in the same way as the funny story that usually prefaces the remarks of the after-dinner speaker. The humor, however, must have a direct and unmistakable bearing on the body of your advertising. Irrelevant humor is as much a waste of valuable advertising s.p.a.ce as an irrelevant ill.u.s.tration. Advertising s.p.a.ce costs too much to be used for anything but advertising. Grotesque ill.u.s.trations and far-fetched puns are no longer found in advertising columns, because they have been found ineffective.

IX. Ill.u.s.trations

In advertising practice the attention feature is frequently supplied by an ill.u.s.tration showing the article advertised in the use that is emphasized in the body of the advertis.e.m.e.nt, or in a way to ill.u.s.trate the special argument presented. The importance of the attention factor is indicated by the large amount of s.p.a.ce that is occupied by such ill.u.s.trations. Some experiments have indicated, however, that a well-written attention line is fully as effective as an average ill.u.s.tration.

X. Suggested Reading

Carl Schurz's _Life of Abraham Lincoln_.

XI. Memorize

IPHIGENEIA AND AGAMEMNON

Iphigeneia, when she heard her doom At Aulis, and when all beside the king Had gone away, took his right hand, and said: "O father! I am young and very happy.

I do not think the pious Calchas heard Distinctly what the G.o.ddess spake; old age Obscures the senses. If my nurse, who knew My voice so well, sometimes misunderstood, While I was resting on her knee both arms, And hitting it to make her mind my words, And looking in her face, and she in mine, Might not he, also, hear one word amiss, Spoken from so far off, even from Olympus?"

The father placed his cheek upon her head, And tears dropt down it; but the king of men Replied not. Then the maiden spake once more: "O father! sayest thou nothing? Hearest thou not Me, whom thou ever hast, until this hour, Listened to fondly, and awakened me To hear my voice amid the voice of birds, When it was inarticulate as theirs, And the down deadened it within the nest?"

He moved her gently from him, silent still; And this, and this alone, brought tears from her, Although she saw fate nearer. Then with sighs: "I thought to have laid down my hair before Benignant Artemis, and not dimmed Her polished altar with my virgin blood; I thought to have selected the white flowers To please the nymphs, and to have asked of each By name, and with no sorrowful regret, Whether, since both my parents willed the change I might at Hymen's feet bend my clipt brow; And (after these who mind us girls the most) Adore our own Athene, that she would Regard me mildly with her azure eyes,-- But, father, to see you no more, and see Your love, O father! go ere I am gone!"

Gently he moved her off, and drew her back, Bending his lofty head far over hers; And the dark depths of nature heaved and burst.

He turned away,--not far, but silent still.

She now first shuddered; for in him, so nigh, So long a silence seemed the approach of death, And like it. Once again she raised her voice: "O father! if the ships are now detained, And all your vows move not the G.o.ds above, When the knife strikes me there will be one prayer The less to them; and purer can there be Any, or more fervent, than the daughter's prayer For her dear father's safety and success?"

A groan that shook him shook not his resolve.

An aged man now entered, and without One word stepped slowly on, and took the wrist Of the pale maiden. She looked up, and saw The fillet of the priest and calm, cold eyes.

Then turned she where her parent stood, and cried: "O father! grieve no more; the ships can sail."

WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR.[16]