Sixth paragraph — the general impression of the book

223. The General Estimate of a Book. Stu¬dents often resort to vague, unmeaning generalities in giving the effect which a book as a whole has had upon them. They should avoid the hackneyed remarks which they find in critical essays and his¬tories of literature and tell truthfully the impression the book has made upon them. The word truthfully should be emphasized because students are often more concerned with the question of what they are expected to think about a book than with what they do actually think about it. In writing this kind of paragraph, let the student imagine himself telling a friend the effect some book has had upon him. The following account by Lamb of the im¬pression The Ancient Mariner made upon him con¬tains the personal element which makes criticism sincere and interesting.
MODEL
"For me, I was never so affected by any human tale. After first reading it I was totally possessed with it for many days. I dislike all the miraculous side of it ; but the feelings of the man Under the operation of such scenery dragged me along like Tom Pipe's magic whistle. I totally differ from the idea that the Mari¬ner should have had a character and profession. This is a beauty in Gulliver's Travels where the mind is kept in a placid state of little wonderments ; but the Ancient Mariner undergoes such trials as overwhelm and bury all individuality or memory of what he was, —like the state of a man in a bad dream."