| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson: He had drawn very near to where the Princess lay asleep, before his
eye alighted on her; but when it did he started, pocketed his note-
book, and approached. There was a milestone close to where she lay;
and he sat down on that and coolly studied her. She lay upon one
side, all curled and sunken, her brow on one bare arm, the other
stretched out, limp and dimpled. Her young body, like a thing
thrown down, had scarce a mark of life. Her breathing stirred her
not. The deadliest fatigue was thus confessed in every language of
the sleeping flesh. The traveller smiled grimly. As though he had
looked upon a statue, he made a grudging inventory of her charms:
the figure in that touching freedom of forgetfulness surprised him;
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield: men came gliding over the parquet. There was a joyful flutter among the
girls. A tall, fair man flew up to Meg, seized her programme, scribbled
something; Meg passed him on to Leila. "May I have the pleasure?" He
ducked and smiled. There came a dark man wearing an eyeglass, then cousin
Laurie with a friend, and Laura with a little freckled fellow whose tie was
crooked. Then quite an old man--fat, with a big bald patch on his head--
took her programme and murmured, "Let me see, let me see!" And he was a
long time comparing his programme, which looked black with names, with
hers. It seemed to give him so much trouble that Leila was ashamed. "Oh,
please don't bother," she said eagerly. But instead of replying the fat
man wrote something, glanced at her again. "Do I remember this bright
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: were paraded in great and shining prominence.
Those performances which had been witnessed
by his fellows marched now in wide purple and
gold, having various deflections. They went
gayly with music. It was pleasure to watch these
things. He spent delightful minutes viewing the
gilded images of memory.
He saw that he was good. He recalled with
a thrill of joy the respectful comments of his fel-
lows upon his conduct.
Nevertheless, the ghost of his flight from
The Red Badge of Courage |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf: twenty, full of gaiety. A mood of revelry suddenly took possession of
her. Of course they must go; of course they must go, she cried,
laughing; and running down the last three or four steps quickly, she
began turning from one to the other and laughing and drawing Minta's
wrap round her and saying she only wished she could come too, and would
they be very late, and had any of them got a watch?
"Yes, Paul has," said Minta. Paul slipped a beautiful gold watch out
of a little wash-leather case to show her. And as he held it in the
palm of his hand before her, he felt, "She knows all about it. I need
not say anything." He was saying to her as he showed her the watch,
"I've done it, Mrs Ramsay. I owe it all to you." And seeing the gold
To the Lighthouse |
