ENGLISH DIVISIONAL EXAM. REQUIREMENTS

Men who concentrate in the ancient and modern languages at the University, including the large number who concentrate in English, must show an acquaintance with the Bible and with twelve plays of Shakespeare when they come up for their general examination for graduation at the end of their senior year.

According to the announcement of the Divisions of Ancient and Modern Languages setting forth the requirements for the general examination, the Bible and the plays of Shakespeare are "two works of literature without which an adequate appreciation of English letters, is impossible".

"The King James version of the Bible," says the announcement, "is one of the great monuments of English prose, but any standard version, ancient or modern, may be used. The plays of Shakespeare, as foremost among the masterpieces of the English tongue, are indispensable to all students of literature. Moreover, the language of Shakespeare, like that of the Bible, has become part and parcel of our familiar speech."

In addition to those two works, if a man specializes in any field of modern languages, he must be able to show an acquaintance with the important works of two ancient authors, and if he specializes in ancient languages, he must correspondingly know two modern authors.

List of Authors Given

The ancient authors chosen for this purpose are Homer, Sophocies, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Horace and Virgil. The modern authors from which a student concentrating in the classics must make his selection are Dante, Cervantes, Chaucer, Milton, Moliere, and Goethe.

This requirement is based, says the announcement, "on the idea that the history of literature is continuous and that every well-educated person should have a general acquaintance with the masterpieces of the great literatures." It will apply to members of the present junior class at Harvard who are concentrating in any field of ancient or modern languages, and to all such men in succeeding classes. The manner in which the requirement is met is to be tested toward the end of the senior year in a written three-hour examination of which equal parts will be devoted to the Bible, Shakespeare, and each of the two selected authors.

This three-hour test will be part of the "general examination in the field of concentration" which has now been made a part of the requirements for graduation from Harvard College. Another part of the general examination will be a test on the special field--whether it be Latin, Greek, English, or some other language--in which the student chooses to concentrate.

For several years such general examinations have been required before graduation for men concentrating in history, government and economics. Beginning with the class of 1922 the general examination will be required not only for men concentrating in history, government, and economics, but for all other students except those specializing in mathematics or the natural sciences.

Suppose, for example, a man decides to concentrate in English, a subject which at present has more concentrators at Harvard than any other. He must take during his college career several courses in English, so as to be able to pass before he graduates a general examination on English literature, including not only the subject matter of the courses he has taken, but also the gaps between these courses, if there have been any. Finally, he must pass the test described above on the Bible, Shakespeare, and two ancient authors