Taking Henry to the Mat

Meet the challenge
of the Jamesian
expostulation: chop
a random sentence
of his off and think
how you might end

the eloquence yourself.
See what literary tricks
you’ve up on your shelf,
or in your mental till –
your sensibility-and-
wisdom bank. Start with:

“It appears to be
a fundamental rule
of human nature, lying
lower than the plummet
of analysis will drop, that….”
Fill in the blank.


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