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 Introduction to Metric and
Topological Spaces

Second Edition

WILSON A SUTHERLAND
Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford

Companion web site: [Link]/ukjcompanion/metric

OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
 OXFORD
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Preface

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VI Preface

Preface to the first edition

One of the ways in which topology has influenced other branches of math-
ematics in the past few decades is by putting the study of continuity and
convergence into a general setting. This book introduces metric and topo-
logical spaces by describing some of that influence. The aim is to move
gradually from familiar real analysis to abstract topological spaces; the
main topics in the abstract setting are related back to familiar ground as
far as possible. Apart from the language of metric and topological spaces,
the topics discussed are compactness, connectedness, and completeness.
These form part of the central core of general topology which is now used
in several branches of mathematics. The emphasis is on introduction; the
book is not comprehensive even within this central core, and algebraic
and geometric topology are not mentioned at all. Since the approach is
via analysis, it is hoped to add to the reader's im;ight on some basic the-
orems there (for example, it can be helpful to some students to see the
Heine Borel theorem and its implications for continuous functions placed
in a more general context).
The stage at which a student of mathematics should sec this process
of generalization, and the degree of generality he should sec, are both
controversial. I have tried to write a book which students can read quite
soon after they have had a course on analysis of real-valued functions of
one real variable, not necessarily including uniform convergence.
The first chapter reviews real numbers, sequences, and continuity for
real-valued functions of one real variable. Mm;t readers will find noth-
ing new there, but we shall continually refer back to it. With continuity
as the motivating concept, the setting iH generalized to metric Hpaces in
Chapter 2 and to topological spaces in Chapter 3. The pay-off begins in
Chapter 5 with the Htudy of compactness, and continues in later chapters
on connectedness and completeness. In order to introduce uniform con-
vergence, Chapter 8 reverts to the traditional approach for real-valued
functions of a real variable before interpreting this as convergence in the
sup metric.
Most of the methods of presentation used are the common property of
many mathematicians, but I wish to acknowledge that the way of intro-
ducing compactness is influenced by Hewitt (1960). It is also a plea.'>urc to
acknowledge the influence of many teachers, colleagues, and ex-students
on this book, and to thank Peter Strain of the Open University for helpful
comments and the staff of the Clarendon Press for their encouragement
during the writing.
Oxford, 1974 W.A.S.
 Preface vii

Preface to reprinted edition

I am grateful to all who have pointed out erron:; in the first printing (even
to those who pointed out that the proof of Corollary 1.1.7 purported to
establish the existence of a positive rational number between any two
real numbers). In particular, it is a pleasure to thank Roy Dyckhoff, loan
James, and Richard Woolfson for valuable comments and corrections.
Oxford, 1981 W.A.S.
Contents

1. Introduction 1
2. Notation and terminology 5

3. More on sets and functions 9

Direct and inverse images 9
Inverse functions 13
4. Review of some real analysis 17
Real numbers 17
Real sequences 20
Limits of functions 25
Continuity 27
Examples of continuous functions 30
5. Metric spaces 37
Motivation and definition 37
Examples of metric spaces 40
Results about continuous functions on metric spaces 48
Bounded sets in metric spaces 50
Open balls in metric spaces 51
Open sets in metric spaces 53
6. More concepts in metric spaces 61
Closed sets 61
Closure 62
Limit points 64
Interior 65
Boundary 67
Convergence in metric spaces 68
Equivalent metrics 69
Review 72
7. Topological spaces 77
Definition 77
Examples 78
X Contents

8. Continuity in topological spaces; bases 83

Definition 83
Homeomorphisms 84
Bases 85
9. Some concepts in topological spaces 89
10. Subspaces and product spaces 97
Subspaces 97
Products 99
Graphs 104
Postscript on products 105
11. The Hausdorff condition 109
Motivation 109
Separation conditions 110
12. Connected spaces 113
Motivation 113
Connectedness 113
Path-connectedness 119
Comparison of definitions 120
Connectedness and homeomorphisms 122
13. Compact spaces 125
Motivation 125
Definition of compactness 127
Compactness of closed bounded intervals 129
Properties of compact spaces 129
Continuous maps on compact spaces 131
Compactness of subspaces and products 132
Compact subsets of Euclidean spaces 134
Compactness and uniform continuity 135
An inverse function theorem 135
14. Sequential compactness 141
Sequential compactness for real numbers 141
Sequential compactness for metric spaces 142
15. Quotient spaces and surfaces 151
Motivation 151
A formal approach 153
The quotient topology 155
Main property of quotients 157
 Contents xi

The circle 158

The torus 159
The real projective plane and the Klein bottle 160
Cutting and pasting 167
The shape of things to come 168
16. Uniform convergence 173
Motivation 173
Definition and examples 173
Cauchy's criterion 177
Uniform limits of sequences 178
Generalizations 180
17. Complete metric spaces 183
Definition and examples 184
Banach's fixed point theorem 190
Contraction mappings 192
Applications of Banach's fixed point theorem 193
Bibliography 201
Index 203
1 Introduction

In this book we are going to generalize theorems about convergence and

continuity which are probably familiar to the reader in the case of
sequences of real numbers and real-valued functions of one real variable.
The kind of result we shall be trying to generalize is the following: if a
real-valued function f is defined and continuous on the closed interval
[a, b] in the real line, then f is bounded on [a, b], i.e. there exists a real
number K such that lf(x)l ~ K for all x in [a, b]. Several such theo-
rems about real-valued functions of a real variable are true and useful in
a more general framework, after suitable minor changes of wording. For
example, if we suppose that a real-valued function f of two real variables
is defined and continuous on a rectangle [a, b] x [c, d], then f is bounded
on this rectangle. Once we have seen that the result generalizes from one
to two real variables, it is natural to suspect that it is true for any finite
number of real variables, and then to go a step further by asking: how
general a situation can the theorem be formulated for, and how generally
is it true? These questions lead us first to metric spaces and eventually
to topological spaces.
Before going on to study such questions, it is fair to ask: what is the
point of generalization? One answer is that it saves time, or at least avoids
tedious repetition. If we can show by a single proof that a certain result
holds for functions of n real variables, where n is any positive integer,
this is better than proving it separately for one real variable, two real
variables, three real variables, etc. In the same vein, generalization often
gives a unified mental grasp of several results which otherwise might just
seem vaguely similar, and in addition to the satisfaction involved, this
more efficient organization of material helps some people's understand-
ing. Another gain is that generalization often illuminates the proof of
a theorem, because to see how generally a given result can be proved,
one has to notice exactly which properties or hypotheses arc used at each
stage in the proof.
Against this, we should be aware of some dangers in generalization.
Most mathematicians would agree that it can be carried to an excessive
extent. Just when this stage is reached is a matter of controversy, but the
potential reader is warned that some mathematicians would say 'Enough,
2 Introduction

no more (at least as far as analysis is concerned)' when we get into metric
spaces. Also, there is an initial barrier of unfamiliarity to be overcome in
moving to a more general framework, with its new language; the extent
to which the pay-off is worthwhile is likely to vary from one student to
another.
Our successive generalizations lead to the subject called topology. Ap-
plications of topology range from analysis, geometry, and number theory
to mathematical physics and computer science. Topology is a language for
many mathematical topics, just as mathematics is a language for many
sciences. But it also has attractive results of its own. We have mentioned
that some of these generalize theorems the reader has already met for real-
valued functions of a real variable. Moreover, topology has a geometric
aspect which is familiar in popular expositions as 'rubber-sheet geome-
try', with pictures of doughnuts, Mobius bands, Klein bottles, and the
like; we touch on this in the chapter on quotients, trying to indicate how
such topics are part of the same story as the more analytic aspects. From
the point of view of analysis, topology is the study of continuity, while
from the point of view of geometry, it is the study of those properties
of geometric objects which are preserved when the objects are stretched,
compressed, bent, and otherwise mistreated--everything is legitimate ex-
cept tearing apart and sticking together. This is what gives rise to the old
joke that a topologist is a person who cannot tell the difference between
a coffee cup and a doughnut the point being that each of these is a solid
object with just one hole through it.
As a consequence of introducing abstractions gradually, the theorem
density in this book is low. The title of theorem is reserved for substantial
results, which have significance in a broad range of mathematics.
Some exercises are marked * or even **
and some passages are en-
closed between * signs to denote that they arc tentatively thought to be
more challenging than the rest. A few paragraphs are enclosed between
.,.. and ~ signs to denote that they require some knowledge of abstract
algebra.
We shall try to illustrate the exposition with suitable diagrams; in
addition readers arc urged to draw their own diagrams wherever possible.
A word about the exercises: there are lots. Rather than being daunted,
try a sample at a first reading, some more on revision, and so on. Hints are
given with some of the exercises, and there are further hints on the web
site. When you have done most of the exercises you will have an excellent
understanding of the subject.
A previous course in real analysis is a prerequisite for reading this book.
This means an introd11ction (including rigorous proofs) to continuity,
 Introduction 3

differential and preferably also integral calculus for real-valued functions

of one real variable, and convergence of real number sequences. This
material is included, for example, in Hart (2001) or, in a slightly more
sophisticated but very complete way, in Spivak (2006) (names followed
by dates in parentheses refer to the bibliography at the end of the book).
The experience of abstraction gained from a previous course, in say, linear
algebra, would help the reader in a general way to follow the abstraction
of metric and topological spaces. However. the student is likely to be the
best judge of whether he/she is ready, or wants, to read this book.
2 Notation and terminology

We use the logical symbols =? and <=> meaning implies and if and only
if We also use iff to mean 'if and only if'; although not pretty, it is
short and we use it frequently. Most introductions to algebra and analysis
survey many parts of the language of sets and maps, and for these we just
list notation.
If an object a belongs to a set A we write a E A, or occasionally
A 3 a, and if not we write a ¢ A. If A is a subset of B (perhaps equal
to B) we write A ~ B, or occasionally B :2 A. The subset of elements
of A possessing some property P is written {a E A : P(a)}. A finite
set is sometimes specified by listing its elements, say {a1, a 2 , ..• , an}. A
set containing just one element is called a singleton set. Intersection and
union of sets are denoted by n, U, or n,
U. The empty set is written 0.
If An B = 0 we say that A and Bare disjoint. Given two sets A and B,
the set of elements which are in B but not in A is written B \A. Thus in
particular if A~ B then B \A is the complement of A in B. If Sis a set
and for each i in some set I we are given a subset Ai of S, then we denote
by U
iEl
A, n
Ai (or just
iEl
Ai, U
I
n
A) the union and intersection of the
l
Ai over all i E I; for example, in the case of union what this means is

sE UAi, <=> there exists i E I such that s E Ai.

iEl

In this situation I is called an indexing set. We use De Morgan's laws,

which with the above notation assert

S\ UAi = n(S \ Ai), S\ nAi = u(s\ A).

1 I l I

In particular, if the indexing set is the positive integers N we usually write

00

UAi,
i=l
n
00

i=l
Ai for UAi,
iEN
n
iEN
Ai.

The Cartesian product A x B of sets A, B is the set of all ordered pairs

(a, b) where a E A, b E B. This generalizes easily to the product of any
6 Notation and terminology

finite number of sets; in particular we use An to denote the set of ordered

n-tuples of elements from A.
A map or function f (we use the terms interchangably) between sets
X, Y is written f : X ~ Y. We call X the domain off, and we avoid
calling Y anything. We think of f as assigning to each x in X an element
f(x) in Y, although logically it is preferable to define a map as a pair
of sets X, Y together with a certain type of subset of X x Y (intuitively
the graph of f). Persisting with our way of thinking about f, we define
the graph off to be the subset GJ = {(x, y) EX x Y : f(x) = y} of
XxY.
We call f: X~ Y injective if f(x) = f(x'):::::} x = x' (we prefer this to
'one-one' since the latter is a little ambiguous). We should therefore call
f: X~ Y surjective if for every y E Y there is an x EX with f(x) = y,
but we usually call such an f onto. If f : X ~ Y is both injective and
onto we call it bijective or a one-one correspondence.
If f : X ~ Y is a map and A ~ X then the restriction of f to A,
written JIA, is the map JIA: A~ Y defined by (JIA)(a) = f(a) for every
a E A. In traditional calculus the function fiA would not be distinguished
from f itself, but when we are being fussy about the precise domains of
our functions it is important to make the distinction: f has domain X
while fiA has domain A.
If f : X ~ Y and g : Y ~ Z arc maps then their composition g o f is
the map go f : X ~ Z defined by (go f)(x) = g(f(x)) for each x E X.
This is the abstract version of 'function of a function' that features, for
example, in the chain rule in calculus.
There are some more concepts relating to sets and functions which we
shall focus on in the next chapter.
We shall occasionally a..'lsumc that the terms equivalence relation and
countable set arc understood.
We use N, Z, Q, ~. C to denote the sets of positive integers, integers,
rational numbers, real numbers. and complex numbers, respectively. We
often refer to ~ as the real line and we call the following subsets of ~
intervals:
(i) [a, b] = {x E ~:a~ x ~ b},
(ii) (a, b)= {x E ~:a< x < b},
(iii) (a, b] = {x E ~:a< x ~ b},
(iv) [a, b)= {x E ~:a~ x < b},
(v) ( -oo, b] = {x E ~: x ~ b},
(vi) ( -oo, b)= {x E ~: x < b},
 Notation and terminology 7

(vii) [a, oo) = {x E lR: x;? a},

(viii) (a, oo) = {x E lR: x >a},
(ix) ( -oo, oo) = JR.
This is our definition of interval a subset of lR is an interval iff it is
on the above list. The intervals in (i), (v), (vii) (and (ix)) are called
closed intervals; those in (ii), (vi), (viii) (and (ix)) arc called open in-
tervals; and (iii), (iv) arc called half-open intervals. When we refer to
an interval of types (i)-(iv), it is always to be understood that b > a,
except for type (i), when we also allow a = b. We shall try to avoid
the occasional risk of confusing an interval (a, b) in lR with a point
(a, b) in JR 2 by stating which of these is meant when there might be any
doubt.
The reader has probably already had practice working with sets; here
as revision exercises arc a few facts which appear later in the book. The
last two exercises, involving equivalence relations, are relevant to the chap-
ter on quotient spaces (and only there). They look more complicated than
they really are.

Exercise 2.1 Suppose that C, Dare subsets of a set X. Prove that

(X \ C) n D = D \ C.

Exercise 2.2 Suppose that A, V are subsets of a set X. Prove that

A\ (V n A) =An (X\ V).

Exercise 2.3 Suppose that V, X, Yare sets with V ~ X~ Y and suppose that
U is a subset of Y such that X\ V =X n U. Prove that

V =X n (Y \ U).

Exercise 2.4 Suppose that U, V arP subsets of sets X, Y, respectively Prove

that
u x v =(X x V) n (U x Y).

Exercise 2.5 Suppose that U1 , U2 arP subsets of a set X and that V1, V2 are
subsets of a set Y. Prove that
8 Notation and terminology

Exercise 2.6 Suppose that for some set X and some indexing sets I, J we have
U = U Bil and V = UBjz where each 8; 1 , Bj 2 is a subset of X. Prove that
iEl jEJ

UnV=
(i,J)E/xJ

Exercise 2.7 (a) Let,...., be an equivalence relation on a set X. Show that the
corresponding equivalence classes partition X into a union of pairwise disjoint
non-empty subsets {A; : i E I} for some indexing set I. (This means that for all
U
i, j E I, we have A;<;;; X, A; -1- 0, A; n Aj = 0 fori -1- j, and A;= X).
iEl
(b) Conversely show that a partition of X into pairwise disjoint non-empty
subsets, say P = {A; : i E I}, determines an equivalence relation,...., on X where
X1 ,...., Xz iff x1 and Xz belong to the same set A; in P.

Exercise 2.8 Continuing with the notation of Exercise 2.7, let the partition
determined by an equivalence relation ,...., on X be denoted by P(,....,) and the
equivalence relation determined by a partition P be denoted by ,...., (P). Show
that ,...., (P( rv)) = rv and P( rv (P)) = P. This shows that there is a one one
correspondence between equivalence relations on X and partitions of X.
3 More on sets and functions

In the previous chapter we assumed familiarity with a certain amount of

notation and terminology about sets and functions; but some readers may
not yet be as much at ea..'lc with the concepts in the present chapter. In
topology the idea of the inverse image of a set under a map is much used,
so it is good to be familiar with it. If you are at ease with Definitions 3.1
and 3.2 below, then you could safely skip the rest of this chapter. (If in
doubt, skip it now but come back to it later if necessary.)

Direct and inverse images

Let f: X---.. Y be any map, and let A, C be subsets of X, Y respectively.
Definition 3.1 The (direct or forwards) image f(A) of A under f is the
subset of Y given by {y E Y: y = f(a) for some a E A}.

Definition 3.2 The inverse image f- 1 (C) of C under f is the subset of

X given by {x EX: f(x) E C}.

We note immediately that in order to make sense Definition 3.2 docs

not require the existence of an 'inverse function' f- 1 . Pre-image is pos-
sibly a safer name, but inverse image is more common so we shall stick
to it. For the same reason, to avoid confusion with inverse functions, at
least one text book has very reasonably tried to popularize the notation
f-1(C) in place of f- 1 (C), but this has not caught on, so we shall grasp
the nettle and use f- 1 (C).
A particularly confusing case is f- 1 (y) for y E Y. The confusion is
enhanced by the notation: f- 1 (y) should really be written f- 1 ( {y}). It
is the special case of f- 1 (C) when Cis the singleton set {y}. We shall
see examples below in which f- 1 (y) contains more than one element. We
follow common usage by writing f- 1 (y) for f- 1 ({y}) except in the next
example.
Example 3.3 Let X= {x, y, z}, Y = {1, 2, 3} and define f: X---.. Y
by f(x) = 1, f(y) = 2, f(z) = 1. Then we have f({x, y}) = {1, 2},
f({x, z}) = {1}, f- 1 ({1}) = {x, z}, and f- 1 ({2, 3}) = {y}.
10 More on sets and functions

(a) (b)

Figure 3.1. (a) Graph off and (b) graph of g

As mentioned, we henceforth write f- 1 ({1}) as f- 1 (1). Note f- 1 (1) here

is not a singleton set.

Example 3.4 Let X= Y =JR. and define f: X_____,. Y by f(x) = 2x + 3.

The graph of this function is a straight line (see Figure 3.1(a)):
Then for example,

f([O, 1]) = [3, 5], f((1, :x:J)) = (5, x), f- 1 ([0, 1]) = [-3/2, -1].

Example 3.5 Again let X= Y = R Define g by g(x) = x 2 . The graph

of this function has the familiar parabolic shape as in Figure 3.1 (b). Then
for example,

g([O, 1]) = [0, 1], g([1, 2]) = [1, 4], g({-1, 1}) = {1},
g- 1 ([0, 1]) = [-1, 1], g- 1 ([1, 2]) = [-J2, -l]U[1, J2J, g- 1 ([0,:x:J)) = R

The special case of direct image and inverse image of the empty set arc
worth noting: for any map f: X_____,. Y we have f(0) = 0 and f- 1 (0) = 0:
for example, f- 1 (0) consists of all elements of X which are mapped by f
into the empty set, and there are no such clements so f- 1 (0) = 0.
We now come to some important formulae involving direct and inverse
images. We state those about unions and intersections first in the case of
just two subsets.
Proposition 3.6 Suppose that f : X _____,. Y is a map, that A, B are sub-
8ets of X and that C, D are subsets of Y. Then:
f(A U B)= f(A) U f(B), f(A n B) ~ f(A) n f(B),

f- 1 (CUD)= f- 1 (C) U f- 1 (D), f- 1 (C n D) = f- 1 (C) n f- 1 (D).

 More on sets and functions 11

Equality does not necessarily hold in the second formula, as we shall

see shortly. There is a more general form of Proposition 3.6.
Proposition 3. 7 Suppose that f : X ---+ Y is a map, and that for each i
in some indexing set I we are given a subset Ai of X and a subset Ci of
Y. Then

As a sample of the proof we show that

(Proofs of the other parts of Proposition 3. 7 are on the web site.) First

let x E f- 1 (n
iEl
Ci). Then f(x) En Ci, so f(x) E Ci for every i E /.
iEl
This tells us that x E f- 1(Ci) for every i E I, sox E n f- 1 (Ci)· Hence,
iE/

The reverse inclusion is proved by running the argument backwards. Ex-

plicitly, if X En f- 1 (Ci) then for every i E I we have X E f- 1 (Ci),
iE/
so f(x) E Ci. This tells us that f(x) E n
iE/
Ci, so x E f- 1
(
n
iE/
Ci
)
as

required.
Next we give results about complements, again preceded by a special
case.
Proposition 3.8 Suppose that f : X ---+ Y is a map and B ~ X, D ~ Y.
Then
f(X \B) 2 f(X) \ f(B), f- 1 (Y \D)= X\ f- 1 (D).
12 More on sets and functions

This follows by taking A = X, C = Y in the next proposition (for the

second part of Proposition 3.8 we use also f- 1 (Y) =X).
Proposition 3.9 With the notation of Proposition 3. 6,

f(A \B) 2 f(A) \ f(B) and f- 1 (C \D)= f- 1 (C)\ f- 1 (D).

The proof is on the web site.

We now explore Propositions 3.6 and 3.8 further, in order to gain
familiarity. Here are two examples in which f(A n B) = f(A) n f(B) fails
and one in which f(A \B) = f(A) \ f(B) fails.
Example 3.10 Let X= {a, b}, Y = {1, 2} and f(a) = 1, f(b) = 1. Put
A= {a}, B = {b}. Then An B = 0, so f(A n B)= 0. But on the other
hand f(A) n f(B) = {1} =!= 0.
Example 3.11 Let X = Y =JR., define g(x) = x 2 , and let A= [0, 1),
B = (-1, 0] so that An B = {0}. Then g(A n B) = {0} but on the other
hand g(A) n g(B) = [0, 1).
Example 3.12 Let X= {x, y, z}, Y = {1, 2, 3} and as in Example 3.3
let f(x) = 1 = f(z), f(y) = 2. Put B = {z}. Then f(X \B)= {1, 2},
but on the other hand f(X) \ f(B) = {2}
The next result is useful later.
Proposition 3.13 Suppose that f : X ----+ Y is a map, B ~ Y and for
some indexing set I there is a family { Ai : i E I} of subsets of X with
X= UI Ai. Then
f- 1 (B) = UUIAi)- 1 (B).
I

Proof First suppose X E f- 1 (B). Since X= UI Ai we have X E Aio for

some io E J. Then (JIAo)(x) = f(x) E B, sox E (JIAi 0 ) - 1 (B), which is
contained in UUIAi)- 1 (B).
I
Conversely suppose that x E UUIAi)- 1 (B). Then x E (JIAi0 ) - 1 (B)
I
for some io E J. This says (JIAi0 )(x) E B. But (JIAi 0 )(x) = f(x), so
f(x) E B which gives x E f- 1 (B). D

* We occasionally want to look at sets such as f- 1 (f(A)) or f(f- 1 (C));

we look at a few basic facts about these, and explore them further in the
exercises.
 More on sets and functions 13

Proposition 3.14 Let X, Y be sets and f : X ---+ Y a map. For any

subset C ~ Y we have f(f- 1 (C)) = Cnf(X). In particular, f(f- 1 (C)) =
C iff is onto. For any subset A~ X we have A~ f- 1 (f(A)).

Proof First let y E f(f- 1 (C)). Then y = f(x) for some x E f- 1 (C).
But for such an x we have f(x) E C, so y E C. But also y = f(x) so
y E f(X). Hence y E Cnf(X) and we have proved f(f- 1 (C)) ~ Cnf(X).
Suppose conversely that y E C n f(X). Then y E C, and also y = f(x)
for some x EX. Now for this x we have f(x) = y E C, sox E f- 1 (C).
So y = f (X) E f u-l (C)) as required, and we have proved the reverse
inclusion Cnf(X) ~ f(f- 1 (C)). Thus f(f- 1 (C)) = Cnf(X). When f
is onto, f(X) = Y so f(f- 1 (C)) = C .
Secondly, for any a E A we have f(a) E f(A) so a E f- 1 (f(A)) as
required. D

It is easy to find examples where the inclusion in the last part is strict.

Example 3.15 Following Example 3.10 let X= {a, b}, Y = {1, 2}, and
f(a) = 1 = f(b), A= {a}. Then f- 1 (f(A)) = f- 1 (1) ={a, b} #A.
Example 3.16 Let X= Y = lR and let g(x) = x 2 . Put A= [0, 1]. Then
g- 1 (g(A)) = g- 1 ([0, 1]) = [-1, 1] #A. *
Inverse functions
We have emphasized that in order for the inverse image f- 1 (C) to be
defined, there need not exist any inverse function f- 1 . We now look at
the case when such an inverse does exist.
Definition 3.17 A map f :X ---+ Y is said to be invertible if there exists
a map g : Y ---+ X such that the composition g o f is the identity map of
X and the composition f o g is the identity map of Y.

We immediately get a criterion on f for it to be invertible:

Proposition 3.18 A map f : X ---+ Y is invertible if and only if it is
bijective.

Proof Suppose first that f is invertible and let g be as in Definition 3.17.

Then
f(x) = f(x') =? g(f(x)) = g(f(x')) =? x = x'
so f is injective. Also, given any y E Y we have y = f(g(y)) soy E f(X),
which says that f is onto. Hence f is bijective.
14 More on sets and functions

Secondly suppose that f is bijective. We may define g : Y .....,. X as

follows: for any y E Y we know f is onto, so y = f (x) for some x E X.
Moreover this x is unique for a given y since f is injective. Put g(y) = x,
and we can see that f and g satisfy Definition 3.17, so f is invertible ill:l
required. 0

The last part of the above proof also proves

Proposition 3.19 Wht'm f is invertible, ther·e is a unique g satisfying
Definition .1.17. This unique g is called the inverse of f, written f- 1 .
For given y E Y, in order to satisfy Definition 3.17 we have to choose g(y)
to be the unique x EX such that f(x) = y.
The final result in this chapter is slightly tricky, but it is very useful
for one important theorem later (Theorem 13.26).
Proposition 3.20 Suppose that f: X.....,. Y is a one-one corTP:.spondence
of sets X and Y and that V ~ X. Then the inverse image of V under the
inverse map f- 1 : Y.....,. X equals the image set f(V).

Proof Let us write g : Y .....,. X for the inverse function f- 1 off :X .....,. Y.
We want to show for any V ~X that g- 1 (V) = f(V).
First suppose y is in f(V). Then y = f(x) for some x E V, and this xis
unique since f is injective. Dy definition of inverse function x = g(y). But
since x E V this gives y E g- 1 (V). We have now proved f(V) ~ g- 1 (V).
Secondly suppose y E g- 1 (V). Then g(y) E V. So f(g(y)) E f(V). But
g is the inverse function to J, so f(g(y)) = y, and we have y E f(V).
This shows that g- 1 (V) ~ f(V). So we have proved g- 1 (V) = f(V) as
required.
We may write the conclusion in the following rather mind-boggling
way: (f- 1 )- 1(V) = f(V). The inner superscript -1 indicates the function
f- 1 is inverse to f, and the outer one indicates the inverse image of the
set V under that inverse function. 0

Although some textbooks write f- 1 only when f is invertible, others

take the more relaxed view that iff : X .....,. Y is injective, then it defines
a bijective function h : X .....,. f(X), and they write f- 1 : f(X) .....,. X
for the inverse of !1 in the sense of Definition 3.17 and Proposition 3.19
above. This is a useful alternative, although we shall stick to the narrower
interpretation.
Of the exercises, 3.5, 3.6, and 3.9 involve the starred section above.
 More on sets and functions 15

Exercise 3.1 Let f: X----+ Y be a map and suppose that A~ B ~X and that
C ~ D ~ Y. Prove that f(A) ~ f(B) ~ Y and that f- 1 (C) ~ f- 1 (D) ~X

Exercise 3.2 Let f: lR----+ lR be defined by f(x) =sin x. Describe the sets:

f([0,7f/2]). f([[Link])), f- 1 ([0, 1]), r 1 ([0. 1/2]). r 1 ([-1, 1]).

Exercise 3.3 Suppose that f : X ----+ Y and g : Y ----+ Z are maps and U ~ Z.
Prove that (go f)- 1 (U) = f- 1 (g- 1 (U))

Exercise 3.4 Let f. lR----+ JR 2 be definC'd by f(x) = (x. 2x) Describe the sets:
f([O. 1]). r 1 ([0, 1] X [0, 1]). f 1 (D) whereD = {(x, y) E JR 2 : x 2 + y'[Link];; 1}

Exercise 3.5 Show that a map f :X ----+ Y is onto iff f (f- 1 (C)) = C for all
subsets C ~ Y.

Exercise 3.6 Show that a map f: X----+ Y is injective iff A= f- 1 (J(A)) for all
subsets A~ X.

Exercise 3. 7 Let f · X ----+ Y he a map. For each of the following determine

whC'ther it is true in general or whether it is sometimes false (Give a proof or a
counterexample for each.)
(i) If y. y' E Y withy i- y' then f- 1 (y) f. f- 1 (y').
(ii) If y, y' E Y withy i- y' and f is onto then f- 1 (y) i- f- 1 (y').

Exercise 3.8 Let f : X ----+ Y be a map and let A, B be subsets of X. Prove

that f(A \B)= f(A) \ f(B) if and only if f(A \B) n f(B) = 0 Deduce that if
f is injective then f(A \B)= f(A) \ f(B).

Exercise 3.9 Let f: X-> Y be a map and A~ X, C ~ Y. Prove that

(a) f(A) n C = f(A n f- 1 (C)).
(b) if also B ~X and f- 1 (f(B)) = B then f(A) n f(B) = f(A n B).

Exercise 3.10 Suppose that f : X -> Y is a map from a set X onto a set Y.
Show that the family of subsets {f- 1 (y) : y E Y} forms a partition of X in the
s<>nse of Exercise 2. 7.
4 Review of some real analysis

The point of this chapter is to review a few ba."iic ideas in real analysis
which will be generalized in later chapters. It is not intended to be an
introduction to these concepts for those who have never seen them before.

Real numbers
Two popular ways of thinking about the real number system are:
(1) geometrically, a."l corresponding to all the points on a straight line;
(2) in terms of decimal expansions, where if a number is irrational we
think of longer and longer decimal expansions approximating it more and
more closely.
Neither of these intuitive ideas is precise enough for our purposes,
although each leads to a way of constructing the real numbers from the
rational numbers. The second of these ways is described on the web site.
One approach to real numbers is axiomatic. This means we write down
a list of properties and define the real numbers to be any system satisfying
these properties. The properties arc called axioms when they arc used in
this way. Another approach is constructive: we construct the real numbers
from the rationals. The rational numbers may in turn be constructed from
the integers, and so on-we can follow the trail backwards through the
positive integers and back to set theory. (One has to begin with axioms
at some stage, however.) In either approach the set of real numbers has
certain properties; depending on the approach we have in mind, we call
these properties either axioms or propositions. We shall assume that the
construction of R has already been carried out for us, and we are interested
in its properties.
Many introductions to analysis contain a list of properties of real num-
bers (see, for example, Hart (2001) or Spivak (2006)). A large number of
these may be summed up technically by saying that the real numbers form
an ordered field. Roughly this means that addition, subtraction, multi-
plication, and division of real numbers all work in the way we expect
them to, and that the same is true of the way in which inequalities x < y
work and interact with addition and multiplication. We shall not review
these properties, but concentrate on the so-called completeness property.
The rea."ions for this strange behaviour are, first, that this is the property
18 Review of some real analysis

which distinguishes the real numbers from the rational numbers (and in a
sense analysis and topology from algebra) and secondly that our intuition
is unlikely to let us down on properties deducible from those of an ordered
field, whereas arguments using completeness tend to be more subtle.
To state the completeness property we need some terminology. Let S
be a non-empty set of real numbers. An upper bound for S is a number x
such that y::;; x for all yin S. If an upper bound for Sexists we say that
S is bounded above. Lower bounds arc defined similarly.
Example 4.1 (a) The set lR of all real numbers has no upper or lower
bound.
(b) The set lR _ of all strictly negative real numbers has no lower bound,
but for example 0 is an upper bound (as is any positive real number).
(c) The half-open interval (0, 1] is bounded above and below.

If S has an upper bound u, then S has (infinitely) many upper bounds,

since any x E lR satisfying x ~ u is also an upper bound. This gives the
next definition some point.
Definition 4.2 Given a non-empty subsetS oflR which is bounded above,
we call u a least upper bound for S if
(a) u i8 an upper bound for S,
(b) x ~ u for any upper bound x for S.

Example 4.3 In Example 4.1 (b), 0 is a least upper bound for lR _, For
0 is an upper bound, and it is a least upper bound because any x < 0
is not an upper bound for lR _ (since any such x satisfies x/2 > x and
x /2 E lR _). Examples 4.1 (c) and (b) show that a least upper bound of a
set S may or may not be in S.

It follows from Definition 4.2 that least upper bounds are unique when
they exist. For if u, u' are both least upper bounds for a setS, then since u'
is an upper bound for Sit follows that u::;; u' by lea.'ltness of u ('leastness'
means the property in Definition 4.2 (b)). Interchanging the roles of u and
u' in this argument shows that also u' ::;; u, so u' = u.
Greatest lower bounds are defined similarly to least upper bounds.
We can now state one form of the completeness property for R
Proposition 4.4 Any non-empty subset oflR which is bounded above has
a least upper bound.

Since our interest is in generalizing real analysis rather than studying

its foundations, we offer no proof of Proposition 4.4. The completeness
 Review of some real analysis 19

property is quite subtle, and it is difficult to grasp its full significance

until it has been used several times. It corresponds to the intuitive idea
that there arc no gaps in the real numbers, thought of as the points on
a straight line; but the transition from the intuitive idea to the formal
statement is not immediately obvious. For some sets of real numbers,
such as Examples 4.1 (b) and (c), it is 'obvious' that a least upper bound
exists (strictly speaking, this means that it follows from the properties of
an ordered field). But this is not the case for all bounded non-empty sets
of real numbers--for example, consider S = {x E Q : x 2 < 2}: the least
upper bound turns out to be J2, and we need Proposition 4.4 to establish
its existence indeed, the existence of J2 cannot follow from the ordered
field properties alone, since Q is an ordered field, but there is no rational
number whose square is 2 (see Exercise 4.5).
For any non-empty subset S of lR which is bounded above we call
its unique least upper bound supS (sup is short for supremum). Other
notation sometimes used is l. u. b. S.
Although the completeness property was stated in terms of sets
bounded above, it is equivalent to the corresponding property for sets
bounded below. The next proposition formally states half of this equiva-
lence.
Proposition 4.5 If a non-empy subset S of lR is bounded below then it
has a greatest lower bound.

Proof LetT= {x E lR: -x E 5}. The idea of the proof is simply that
l is a lower bound for S if and only if -l is an upper bound for T. The
details are left as Exercise 4. 7. D

Just as in the case of least upper bounds, a non-empty subset S of lR

which is bounded below has a unique greatest lower bound called inf S
(short for infimum) or g.l.b. S.
The next proposition and its corollary arc applications of the com-
pleteness property.
Proposition 4.6 The set N of positive integers is not bounded above.

Proof Suppose for a contradiction that N is bounded above. Then by

the completeness property there is a real number u = sup N. For any
n E N, n + 1 is also in N, so n + 1 :::::; u. But then n :::::; u - 1. Hence
n :::::; u - 1 for any n E N, so u - 1 is an upper bound for N, contradicting
the lea..<>tness of u. This contradiction shows that N cannot be bounded
above. D
20 Review of some real analysis

Corollary 4. 7 Between any two distinct real numbers x and y there is a

rational number.

Proof Suppose first that 0 ~ x < y. Since y- x > 0, by Proposition 4.6

there is ann in N such that n > 1/(y- x) and hence 1/n < y- x. Let
M ={mEN: m/n > x}. By Proposition 4.6 M =F 0, otherwise nx would
be an upper bound for N. Hence, since M ~ N, M contains a least integer
mo. So mo/n > x and (mo- 1)/n ~ x, from which mo/n ~ x + 1/n.
Hence x < mo/n ~ x + 1/n < x + (y- x) = y, and mu/n is a suitable
rational number, between x andy. Now suppose that x < 0. If y > 0 then
0 is a rational number between x andy, while if y ~ 0 then the first case
supplies a rational number r such that -y < r < -x, so x < -r < y
which says that the rational number -r is between x andy. D

The above proofs of Proposition 4.6 and Corollary 4. 7 assume several

'obvious' facts about JR which we should really prove beforehand. For
example, we deduced n ~ u - 1 from n + 1 ~ u, a consequence of the
property often stated as follows: if a, b, c E JR and a~ b then a+c ~ b+c.
Also, we a..'lsumed that any non-empty subset of N has a least element.
We leave the reader to spot other such assumptions.
Remark 4.8 Between any two distinct real numbers there is also an ir-
rational number (see Exercise 4.8}.
We conclude this brief review of real numbers by recalling two useful
inequalities, often called the triangle inequality and the reverse triangle
inequality. There are proofs on the web site.
Proposition 4.9 lx + Yl ~ lxl + IYI for any x, y in JR.

Corollary 4.10 lx- Yl ~ llxl- IYII for any x, y in JR.

Real sequences
Formally an infinite sequence of real numbers is a map 8 : N ---t R This
definition is useful for discussing topics such as subsequences and re-
arrangements without being vague. In practice, however, given such a
map 8 we denote s(n) by 8n and think of the sequence in the traditional
way as an infinite ordered string of numbers, using the notation (8n) or
St, 82, s3, ... for the whole sequence.
It is important to distinguish between a sequence (8n) and the set of
its members {8n: n EN}. The latter can easily he finite. For example if
(sn) is 1, 0, 1, 0, ... then its set of members is {0, 1}. Formally, this is a
matter of distinguishing between a map 8: N ---t JR and its image set s(N).
 Review of some real analysis 21

Sequences can arise, for example, in solving algebraic or differential

equations. On the theoretical side, convergent sequences might be used
to prove the existence of solutions to equations. On the practical side,
sn might be the answer at the nth stage in some method of successive
approximations for finding a root of an equation. The only difference
between theory and practice here is that in practice one is interested
in how quickly the sequence gives a good approximation to the answer.
Also, in applications we might be dealing with a sequence of vectors or of
functions instead of real numbers.
We now review real number sequences, empha..'lizing those definitions
and results whose analogues we shall later study for more general
sequences.
1 2 3
Example 4.11 (a) - - -
2' 3' 4'".'
1 1 1 1 1 1
(c) 2' 1, -2, -1, 4' 2' -4, - 2 , ... , (d) 1, 2, 3, ... , (e) 1, 0, 1, 0, ... ,

1
(f) Sl = 1, s2 = 0, Sn = 2(sn-2 + Sn-1) for n > 2,

(g) sn is the nth stage in some specified algorithm for approxi-

mating J2.

In examples (a)-( e), there is a simple formula for Sn in terms of n, which

the reader will spot. This is convenient for illustrating the basic theory of
sequences, but in practice a sequence might be generated by an iterative
process, as in examples (f) and (g), or by the results of a probabilistic
experiment repeated more and more often, or by some other means, and
in such cases there may not be any simple formula for sn in terms of n.
In Examples 4.11 (a), (b), (c) the sequence seems intuitively to be
heading towards a definite number, whether steadily, or by alternately
overshooting and undershooting the target, or irregularly, wherea.." in
Examples 4.11 (d) (e) this is not the case. The mathematical term for
'heading towards' is 'converging', and the precise definition, a.." the reader
probably knows, is as follows.
Definition 4.12 The sequence (sn) converges to (the real number) l
if given (any real number) E > 0, there exists (an integer} Nc: such that
lsn -ll < E for all n ~ Nc;.
This is usually shortened by omitting the phrases in parentheses, and
we often write just N in place of Nc;, although we need to remember that
the value of N needed will usually vary with E-intuitively, the smaller E
22 Review of some real analysis

is, the larger N will need to be. When Definition 4.12 holds, the number l
is called the limit of the sequence. Other ways of writing '(sn) converges to
l' are 'Sn -----+ l a.'> n -----+ oo' and ' lim Sn = l '. Here are two ways of thinking
TL---+CXJ

about the definition.

(1) (sn) converges to l if, given any required degree of accuracy, then by
going far enough along the sequence we can be sure that the terms beyond
that stage all approximate l to within the required degree of accuracy.
(2) Let us take coordinate axes in the plane and mark the points with
coordinates (n, sn). Let us also draw a horizontal line L at height l. Then
(sn) converges to l if given any horizontal band of positive width centred
on L, there exists a vertical line such that all marked points to the right
of this vertical line lie within the prescribed horizontal band. Figure 4.1
is the kind of picture this suggests. The sequence promises to stay out of
the shaded territory.
Two points arc easy to get wrong when one is first trying to wield the
formal definition. First, the order in which c:, N occur is crucial: given any
E > 0 first, there must then be an Nr:: such that ... etc. Secondly, to prove
convergence it is not enough to show that given c: > 0 there exists an N
such that lsn -ll < E for some n ~ N: this would be true of the sequence
1, 0, 1, 0, ... , with l = 0, any E > 0, and N = 1, yet the sequence does
not converge.
The first deduction from the formal definition is an obvious part of the
intuitive idea of convergence.

T,

Figure 4.1. 'Graph' of a convergent sequence

 Review of some real analysis 23

Proposition 4.13 A convergent sequence has a unique limit.

Proof Suppose that (sn) converges to l and also to l' where l' # l. Put
E =~ll-l'l· Since (sn) converges to l, there is an integer N1 such that
2
lsn -ll < E for all n ~ N1. Similarly, since (sn) converges to l', there is an
integer N2 such that lsn -l'l < c: for all n ~ N2. Put N = rnax{N1, N2}.
Then, using the triangle inequality (Proposition 4.9),

ll -l'l = ll- SN + SN -l'l : :; ll- sNI + lsN -l'l < 2c = ll -l'l·

This contradiction shows that l' = l. D

Before going further it is convenient to state explicitly a technical

detail which is often used in convergence proofs.
Lemma 4.14 Suppose there is a positive real number K such that given
E > 0 there exists N with lsn -ll < Kc: for all n ~ N. Then (sn) converges
to l.

Proof Let E > 0. Then c-/ K > 0, and if the stated condition holds, then
there exists N such that lsn -ll < K(c/ K) = E for all n ~ N, as required.
In practice K is often an integer such as 2 or 3; we note that it needs to
be independent of the choice of E. D
In simple cases such as Example 4.11 (a) we can guess the limit and
prove convergence directly. In general, however, it may be hard to guess
the limit, and more importantly there may be no more convenient way to
name a real number than as the limit of a given sequence. As an example
consider:
1 1 1
Sn = 1 + I1. + I2. + ... + I.
n.
The reader may be able to think of a way to define the number e other
than as the limit of the sequence (sn), but it will also directly or indirectly
involve taking the limit of this or some other sequence such as (tn) where
tn = (1 + 1/n)n.
We shall consider two theorems which provide ways of proving con-
vergence without using a known value of the limit. As the above discus-
sion indicates, both will depend heavily on the completeness property
for R.
Definition 4.15 A sequence (sn) is said to be monotonic increasing
(decreasing) if Sn+l ~ Sn (sn+l :::;; sn) for all n in N. It is monotonic
if it has either of these properties.
24 Review of some real analysis

Theorem 4.16 Every bounded monotonic sequence of r-eal numbers con-

verges.

The proof is on the companion web site. As well as being useful on its
own, Theorem 4.16 helps to prove the next convergence criterion. First we
give a name to sequences in which the terms get closer and closer together
as we get further along in the sequence.

Definition 4.17 A sequence (sn) is a Cauchy sequence if given c > 0

there exists N such that if rn, n ~ N (i.e. if rn ~ N and n ~ N) then
Ism- snl <c.

Theorem 4.18 (Cauchy's convergence criterion) A sequence (sn) of real

numbers converges if and only if it is a Cauchy sequence.

Proof Suppose that (sn) converges to l. Then given c > 0, there exists
N such that lsn - ll < c for all n ~ N, so for rn, n ~ N the triangle
inequality gives

Ism- snl = Ism -l + l- snl ~ Ism -ll + ll- snl < 2c.
Hence (sn) is a Cauchy sequence (cf. Lemma 4.14).
Suppose conversely that (s11 ) is a Cauchy sequence in R We show first
that (sn) is bounded. Take c = 1, say, in the Cauchy condition. Thus
there exists an N such that rn, n ~ N imply Ism - snl < 1, so for any
m ~ N we have Ism- sNI < 1, and hence, using the triangle inequality,

lsml =Ism- SN + BNI ~Ism- BNI + lsNI < 1 + lsNI·

From this we get lsnl ~ max{ls1l, Js2J, ... JsN-LJ, 1 + JsNJ} forall n, so
(sn) is bounded. (We could have used any fixed positive choice of c in
place of 1 in this part of the proof for example, 1010 or 10- 10 .)
Next, in order to usc Theorem 4.16, we manufacture a monotonic
sequence out of (sn) in the following subtle fa.'lhion. For each m E N we let
Sm be the set of members of the sequence from the mth stage onwards,
Sm = {sn : n ~ m}. Since the whole set of members S = S1 of the
sequence is bounded, so is Sm. Hence by the completeness property sup Sm
exists. Let tm = supSm. Since Sm+L ~ Sm, we have supSm+l ~ supSm
(see Exercise 4.1). Thus the sequence (tm) is monotonic decreasing. Also,
tm ~ Sm by definition of tm, and Sis bounded below, so (tm) is bounded
below. So by Theorem 4.16, (tm) converges, say to l.
Finally we prove, by a 3c-argument, that (sn) also converges to l. Given
c > 0 there exists N1 such that Jsm - snl < c for rn, n ~ N1 and there
 Review of some real analysis 25

exists N2 such that ll-tml < c form~ N2. Put N = max{Nt, N2}. Since
tN is sup SN, we know that tN- cis not an upper bound of SN, so there
exists M ~ N such that SM > tN- c; also, SM ~ tN since SM E SN and
tN is an upper bound for SN. Hence IsM- tNI <c. Now for any n ~ N,
using the triangle inequality twice,

Hence (sn) converges to l (using Lemma 4.14). 0

There is a further result about sequences which we record here for later
reference: it is a version of the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem.
Theorem 4.19 Every bounded sequence of real numbers has at least one
convergent subsequence.

There is a proof on the web site.

Before leaving sequences we recall that their limits behave well under
algebraic operations in the following sense.
Proposition 4.20 Suppose that (sn), (tn) converge to s, t. Then
(a) (sn + tn) converges to s + t,
(b) (sntn) converges to st,
(c) (1/tn) converges to 1/t provided t f. 0.
A few particular limits which we need arc included in the exercises
below.

Limits of functions
Limits of functions arc used in the theoretical study of continuity, differ-
entiability, and integration, and in practical estimates of the behaviour of
particular functions.
Suppose first for simplicity that we have a function f : lR --+ R (In
general the domain could be smaller.) Let a E R
Definition 4.21 We say that f(x) tends to the limit l as x tends to a,
and write lim f ( x) = l, if given (any real number) c > 0 there exists (a
x-+a
real number) 6 > 0 such that lf(x) - ll < c for all real numbers x which
satisfy 0 < lx- ai
< 6.
This is similar to the definition of convergence of a sequence (sn), but
instead of looking at Sn for large values of n, we look at f(x) for x close
to, but not equal to, a. Again the phrases in parentheses are usually
omitted, and we note that the size of 6 needed will in general depend
26 Review of some real analysis

on E. The value f(a) is irrelevant to the existence of lim f(x),

a:~a

and the limit, if it exists, may or may not equal f(a). Exercise 4.12
is a good test of whether this important point has been fully absorbed.
Example 4.22 Let f : JR. -----> JR. be given by

f(x) = x for x =f. 0, f(O) = 1.

Then lim f(x) = 0. For given E > 0, put 6 = E. If 0 < lx- Ol < 6, then
.c~o

if(x)- Ol = lxl < E, as required.

To emphasize further that f(a) is irrelevant to the existence or value
of lim f(x), we note that Definition 4.21 makes sense even if f(a) is not
x---+a
defined-it is enough to assume that f is defined on some subset A <:;;;JR.,
where A contains numbers arbitrarily close to (but not equal to) a. We
shall not study this general case, but we note two especially useful ways of
generalizing Definition 4.21. Suppose first that the domain A off contains
the open interval (a, d) for some d > a.
Definition 4.23 The right-hand limit lim f(x) is equal to l if given
x---+a+
E > 0 there exists 6 > 0 such that lf(x) -ll < E for all x in (a, a+ <5).

(Note that 6 may be chosen small enough so that (a, a+ 6) <:; ; (a, d),
and therefore f(x) is defined for all x in (a, a+ 6).) Left-hand limits arc
defined similarly.
Next, here are two examples much used in illustrating theoretical
points.
Example 4.24 Let f, g : JR.\ {0} --+ JR. be given by

f ( x) = x sin 1/ x, g(x) =sin 1/x.

Then lim f(x)

X---+0
= 0, while lim g(x) does not exist.
x~O

The proofs are left &'> Exercise 4.14.

Results about limits of functions may be proved by analogy with the
proofs about sequences or we may deduce them from the latter using the
following conversion lemma.
Lemma 4.25 The following are equivalent:
(i) lim f(x)
x---+a
= l,
(ii) if (xn) is any sequence such that (xn) converges to a but for all n
we have Xn =f. a, thm (f(xn)) converges to l.
 Review of some real analysis 27

_l b

Figure 4.2. Intermediate value property

The proof is on the web site. One may also prove analogues of Theo-
rem 4.18 and Proposition 4.20 for limits of functions, and for left- and
right-hand limits.

Continuity
In this section we review the way in which a precise definition of continuity
is derived from the intuitive notion. We first make a false start.
One statement containing something of the intuitive idea of continuity
is that a function is continuous if its graph can be drawn without lifting
pencil from paper. To formulate this more mathematically, let f : lR---+ lR
be a function and let (a, f (a)), ( b, f (b)) be two points on its graph (sec
Figure 4.2).
Let L be the horiwntal line at some height d between f (a) and f (b).
Then to satisfy our intuition about continuity, the graph of f has to
cross the line L at least once on its way from (a, f(a)) to (b, f(b)). In
other words, there exists at least one point c in [a, b] such that f(c) =d.
Formally, we make the following definition.
Definition 4.26 A function f : lR ---+ IR has the intermediate value prop-
erty (IVP) if given any a, b, d in lR with a < b and d between f(a) and
f (b), there exists at least one c satisfying a : : :; c : : :; b and f (c) = d.

This definition also applies when the domain IR in Definition 4.26 is

replaced by an interval in R
A tentative definition of continuity would be that f is continuous if it
ha<> the IVP. However, this fails to capture completely the intuitive idea
of continuity, as the next example shows.
28 Review of some real analysis

Example 4.27 Let f be given by

f(x) = {0. 1/
sm x
for x
for x
~

> 0.
0,

Part of the graph of f is shown in Figure 4.3.

Although we shall not prove it now, it is easy to believe by inspection
that f does have the IVP. But f does not satisfy our intuitive requirements
for a continuous function something is wrong near x = 0. On closer
scrutiny, we reali11e that our intuition includes the requirement that for all
values of x near 0, f(x) should be reasonably close to f(O), not oscillating
with amplitude 1 as it docs in this example. More precisely, the reason
we are dissatisfied with f is that lim f(x) does not exist. Considerations
X-->0
such as these lead to the accepted definition.
Definition 4.28 A function f : IR ---t IR is continuous at a if lim f(x)
x-->a
exists and is f (a).
Using Definition 4.21 this translates into c - 8 form.
Definition 4.29 A function f : IR ---t IR is continuous at a if given any
c > 0, there exists 8 > 0 such that lf(x)- f(a)l < c for any x such that
lx- al < 8.
As usual, the size of 8 needed in general depends on c, though we do not
exhibit that in the notation.
A third way of expressing continuity of a function f is to say that
lim f(x) and lim f(x) both exist and both equal f(a). This has the
x -+a- x-->a+
advantage of identifying the ways in which continuity at a might fail: the
left-hand limit, or the right-hand limit off at a (or both of these) might
fail to exist; or both left- and right-hand limits exist, but at least one of
them fails to equal f(a). (In this last case we say that f has a simple jump
discontinuity at a.)

Figure 4.3. Graph of sinl/x

 Review of some real analysis 29

f(a)+E
I
f(a )
/---./ -- --

--
// -- -
f(a) -E

a-8 a a+8 X

Figure 4.4. Continuity at a

Here are two ways of thinking about continuity of f at a.

(1) In terms of approximations: we can ensure that f(x) approximates
f(a) within any prescribed degree of accuracy by choosing x to approxi-
mate a sufficiently accurately.
(2) Geometrically: given a horizontal band of any positive width 2c
centred on height f(a), we can choose a vertical band of some suitable
width 28 centred on x = a such that the part of the graph of f in this
vertical band is also in the horizontal band (see Figure 4.4): if an aeroplane
is flying at 10000 ft at time t = a then it is between 9000 ft and 11000 ft for
a non-zero time interval around t = a, unless it is capable of discontinuous
flight.
The same idea motivates the next result.
Proposition 4.30 Suppose that f : lR ---+ lR is continous at a E lR and
that f(a) =/=- 0. Then there exists 8 > 0 such that f(x) =/=- 0 whenever
lx- ai < 8.

Proof Take c = IJ(a)l/2 in Definition 4.29. Then there exists 8 > 0 such
that IJ(x)- f(a)i < lf(a)l/2 whenever lx- al < 8. For such x, using the
reverse triangle inequality (Corollary 4.10) we get

IJ(x)l = lf(a)-(f(a)- f(x))l ~ lf(a)l-lf(a)-f(x)l > lf(a)l-lf(a)l/2 > 0,

so J(x) =1=- 0. D

In view of such results, continuity is sometimes called 'the principle of

inertia'.
30 Review of some real analysis

As in the definition of lirn f(x), it is not necessary for f to be defined

x->a
on all of lR for the definition of continuity of f at a to make sense. It is
certainly enough for f to be defined on some open interval I containing
a, since then in Definition 4.29 we can take 8 small enough so that x E I
whenever lx- al < 8. Also, we say that f is continuous at a from the right
(or the left) if lim f(x) (or lim f(x)) exists and equals f(a) .
.c->a+ x-+a-

Examples of continuous functions

In this section we review how to build up many examples of continuous
functions. If f, g : lR ---> lR are functions then we can define functions
lfl, f + g, f.g: lR---> lR by the formulae
lfl(x) = lf(x)l, (f+g)(x) = f(x)+g(x), (f.g)(x) = f(x)g(x) for all x E JR.
Also. if Z = {x E lR: g(x) = 0}, 'the zero set of g', then we rnay define
1/g: lR \ Z---> lR by (1/g)(x) = 1/g(x) for all x E lR \ Z.
Proposition 4.31 Suppo8e that f, g : lR ---> lR are continuous at a E JR.
Then so are (a) lfl, (b) f + g and (c) f.g. (d) If g(a) =I= 0 then 1/g i8
continuou8 at a.
Proof (a) Let c > 0. We know there exists 8 > 0 with lf(x)- f(a)l < c
whenever lx- al < <5. Then using the reverse triangle inequality (Corol-
lary 4.10), whenever lx- al < 8 we have
llfl(x) -lfl(a)l = llf(x)l-lf(a)ll ~ lf(x)- f(a)l < c
so lfl is continuous at a.
(b) For c > 0 there exists 81 > 0 such that lf(x) - f(a)l < c/2
whenever lx- al < 81, and 82 > 0 such that lg(x)- g(a)l < c/2 whenever
lx- al < 62. Let 8 = min{81, 82}. Then whenever lx- al < 8, we have
l(f + g)(x)- (f + g)(a)l = lf(x)- f(a) + g(x)- g(a)l
~ lf(x)- f(a)l + lg(x)- g(a)l < c/2 + c/2 =c.
so f + g is continuous at a.
(c) For the proof that f.g is continuous at a EX when f and g arc,
it makes sense to 'begin at the end'. We are going to use a trick way of
writing f(x)g(x)- f(a)g(a), as f(x)(g(x)- g(a)) + (f(x)- f(a))g(a) (the
roles of f and g could be exchanged). From this we see
lf(x)g(x)- f(a)g(a)l = lf(x)(g(x)- g(a)) + (f(x)- f(a))g(a)l
~ lf(x)llg(x)- g(a)l + lf(x)- f(a)llg(a)l.
We know that lf(x)- f(a)l is small when lx- al is sufficiently small,
and lg(a)l is a constant so gives no trouble-given c > 0 we may choose
 Review of some real analysis 31

81 > 0 such that IJ(x)- f(a)l < E:/2(lg(a)l + 1) whenever lx- al < 81.
[The extra 1 is added on the denominator just to avoid making a special
case when g(a) = 0.] So lf(x)- f(a)llg(a)l < c/2 whenever lx- al < 81.
But lf(x)llg(x)- g(a)l is slightly more awkward to deal with since lf(x)l
varies. However, it does not vary too wildly near a since f is continuous
at a: there exists 82 > 0 such that lf(x)- f(a)l < 1 whenever lx- al < 82,
so for all such x, we have lf(x)l = lf(x)- f(a) + f(a)l ~ 1 + lf(a)l by
the triangle inequality. Finally, by continuity of g at a there exists 83 > 0
such that lg(x) - g(a)l < c/2(1 + lf(a)l) whenever lx - al < 83. Put
8 = min{81, 82, 83}. Then for any x with lx- al < 8 we have

lf(x)g(x)- f(a)g(a)l ~ lf(x)llg(x)- g(a)l + lf(x)- f(a)llg(a)l

(1 + lf(a)l)c clg(a)l
< 2(1 + lf(a)l) + 2(lg(a)l + 1)
< c/2 + c/2 =c.

So [Link] continuous at a E X.
(d) First we note that by continuity of g at a, there is an open
interval containing a on which 1/g is defined because g is never zero
(see Proposition 4.30). Now beginning at the end again, we are going to
usc
1 1 I lg(a)- g(x)l
1
g(x) - g(a) = lg(x)llg(a)l ·
We know that lg(x) - g(a)l is small when lx - al is small, and lg(a)l
is a non-zero constant, so it is easy to handle. But lg(x)l varies, and
might 'come dangerously close to 0', so that :j: might become large. We
get around that as follows. By continuity of g at a, there exists 81 > 0
such that lg(x)- g(a)l < lg(a)l/2 whenever lx- al < 81. For all such x
we have, using the reverse triangle inequality (Corollary 4.10.),

lg(x)l = l(g(a)- (g(a)- g(x))l ~ lg(a)l -lg(a)- g(x)l ~ lg(a)l/2.

Continuity of g at a gives 82 > 0 such that lg(x) - g(a)l < clg(a)i2 /2

whenever lx- al < 82. Put 8 = min{81, 82}. Then using (:j:) above, for
any x with lx - al < 8,

1 1 I lg(a)- g(x)l lg(x)- g(a)l

Ig(x) - g(a) = lg(x)llg(a)l ~ lg(a)l 2 /2 <c.

So 1/g is continuous at a. D
32 Review of some real analysis

The above proofs can be shortened by hiding the secrets of how they
arc constructed. To illustrate the shorter version, and to see how to
reassemble the proof forwards, here is a rabbit-out-of-a-hat proof
of (c):
Proof of (c) Let c > 0. By continuity off at a, there exists 81 > 0
such that lf(x)- f(a)i < cl2(lg(a)l + 1) whenever lx- al < 81. Also by
continuity off at a, there exists 82 > 0 such that lf(x)- f(a)l < 1, and
hence lf(x)l < 1+ If( a) I, whenever lx-al < 82. Finally, by continuity of g
at a there exists 83 > 0 such that lg(x)- g(a)i < cl2(1 + lf(a)l) whenever
lx- ai < 83. Put 8 = min{81, 82, 83}. Then for any x with lx- ai < 8 we
have

lf(x)g(x)- f(a)g(a)i ~ lf(x)llg(x)- g(a)i + lf(x)- f(a)ll.q(a)l <c.

D
We can use Proposition 4.31 and induction to see that other real-valued
functions are continuous.
Proposition 4.32 {i) Let p : JR --+ JR be the 'polynomial function' defined
by p(x) = anxn + an-1Xn-l + ... + a1x + ao where the ai are constants.
Then p is continuous.
{ii) Let r : JR \ Z --+ JR be the rational function x ~---t p(x)lq(x) where
p and q are polynomial functions and Z is the zero set of q. Then r is
continuous on JR \ Z.

Proof For (i), it is easy to check that the map x 1---t x is continuous on
JR, and so too is any constant function. Next we show inductively that
x 1---t xn is continuous on JR for any n E N. The case n = 1 is continuity
of x 1---t x. Suppose inductively that x 1---t xn is continuous on R Then
using (c) of Proposition 4.31, x 1---t [Link] = xn+l is continuous on R Hence
by induction, x 1---t xn is continuous for any positive integer n. Since the
constant map x 1---t an is also continuous on JR, another application of
(c) shows that x 1---t anxn is continuous on JR. Now an easy induction on
(b) shows that any polynomial function is continuous on JR. For (ii), an
application of (d) shows that x 1---t 1I q( x) is continuous on JR \ Z, and then
(c) shows that x ~---t p( x) I q (x) is continuous on JR \ Z. D

Proposition 4.33 Suppose that f : JR --+ JR and g : JR --+ JR are such

that f i8 continuous at a E JR, and g is continuous at f(a). Then go f is
continuous at a.
Proof Let c > 0. By continuity of gat f(a) there exists 81 > 0 such that
lg(y)-g(J(a))l < c whenever IY- f(a)i < 81. Dy continuity off at a, there
 Review of some real analysis 33

ex:ists 82 > 0 such that lf(x)- f(a)j < 81 whenever jx- aj < 82. Now for
any x with jx-aj < 82 we have lf(x)- f(a)j < 81 so jg(J(x))-g(J(a))j <c.
This shows that g o f is continuous at a. D

Like Proposition 4.31, this result helps build up a store of continuous

functions, especially when used in conjunction with continuity of spe-
cific functions such a.'> the exponential and log functions, cosine and sine
functions, and the like, whose continuity properties we know from analy-
sis (sec for example 7.4 of Hart (2001) or Part III of Spivak (2006)). So
functions such as x f--t sin(x 2 + 3x + 1), x f--t c-x 2 , x f--t cx 3 +co~x are conti-
nuous on JR.
* Here is a more general approach to continuity for real-valued functions
of a real variable.
Definition 4.34 Let f : X ----+ JR. be a function defined on a subset X ~ JR.
and let a E X. We .my f is continuous at a if given c > 0 there exists
6 > 0 such that lf(x)- f(a)j < c whenever jx- aj < 8 and x EX.

The more general analogue of Proposition 4.31 can be proved similarly;

after each occurrence of the phrase 'whenever jx - aj < 8' we just insert
'and x EX'. This is a special ca.<;c of the later Proposition 5.17. *
In connection with the false start we made on defining continuity, the
following theorem, usually called the intermediate value theorem, is true.
Theorem 4.35 Any continuous function f : JR. ----+ JR. has the IVP. The
same is true for a continuous function f : I ----+ JR. for any interval I
in JR.

We could give the proof now, using the completeness property, but
before proving this and other basic results about continuity we raise the
stakes by generali~dng to functions between more general 'spaces' than
subsets of JR. The motives for this were mentioned in the introduction.

Exercise 4.1 Show that if 0 -1- As;;: B s;;: lR and B is bounded above then A is
bound0d above and sup A :!( sup n

Exercise 4.2 Show that if A and B are non-empty subsets of lR which are
bounded above then A U /3 is bounded above and
sup AU n =max{ sup A, sup fl}

Exercise 4.3 Formulate and prove analogues of Exercises 4.1 and 4 2 for inf.
34 Review of some real analysis

Exercise 4.4 For each of the following subsets of lR find the sup if it exists, and
decide whether it is in the set·

{x : x 2 :::; 2x - 1}. { .r : .r 2 + 2x :::; 1},

{x: x 3 < 8}, {X • X sin X < 1}.

Exercise 4.5 Show that thf're is no rational number q such that q2 = 2.

[Hint. express q as a quotient of integers m/n where rrt. n are mutually prim<',
and show that m 2 = 2n 2 leads to a contradiction.]

Exercise 4.6* Show that if rn and n are positive intq!;crs with highest common
factor 1, then m/n is the square of a rational number if and only if m and n are
both squares of integers.

Exercise 4. 7 Deduce from the compl0teness property Proposition 4.4 that a

non-empty set of real numbers which is bounded below has a greatest lower
bound.

Exercise 4.8 Prove that between any two distinct real numbers there is an
irrational number.

Exercise 4.9 Prove that if y, a are real numbers with y > 1 then nOt jyn ---+ 0
as n ---+ oo.
[Hint: use the binomial expansion of (1 + x)n wher<' y = 1 + x.]

Exercise 4.10 Prove that lim n 11n = 1.

n--->oo
[Hint: Put n 11n = 1 +an and note that an> 0 for n > 1 Using (1 + an)n = n,
dedm·<' that n- 1 ;;::: n(n- 1)a;./2 for n > 1 and hence [Link]; a;.:::; 2/n.]

Exercise 4.11 Given a set of r non-negative real numbers {a 1 , a 2 , ... , ar }, let

a =max{ a1, a2, ... , ar }. Prove that for any positive integer n,

By taking nth roots throughout, deduce that

and hence that lim (a7 +a~+ ..

n----+oc
+ a~)lfn =a.

Exercise 4.12 Give an example where f(x) ---+ bas x ---+ a and g(y) ---+ cas
y--> b but g(f(x)) -ftc as x---+ a
 Review of some real analysis 35

Exercise 4.13 (a) Prove that for any y, z in JR.

1 1
+z + + z -ly- zi).
0

rnax{y, z} = 2.(JJ IY- zi), mm{y, z} = 2(y

(h) Given that f, g : IR -+ IR are continuous at a, prove that h and k are

continuou::; at a E IR, where for any x in lR

h(x) = rnax{f(x), g(x)}, k(x) = min{f(x), g(x)}.

Exercise 4.14 L('t J, g · lR \ {0} -+ lR be given by

f(x) = x sin 1/x, g(x) =sin 1/x.

Prove that lim f(x) = 0, while lim g(x) does not exist.
x-o X----tO

Exercise 4.15 Let f: lR-+ lR be given by

f(x) = { 0, X E Q,
1, X \t'Q.

Show that f is not continuous at any point in JR.

Exercise 4.16* Let f: lR-+ lR he given by

f(x) = { 0 if x = 0 or x It Q,
1/q if x = pjq, p, q integers with highest common factor 1, q > 0.

Prove that f is discontinuous at any non-zero a in Q, but continuous at 0 and

at any irrational a in JR.

Exercise 4.17* A function f : lR-+ lR is said to be convex if

f(>..x + (1- >..)y) ~ )..f(x) + (1- >..)f(y)

for all x, yin JR. and all).. in [0, 1]. Prove that any convex function is continuous.

Exercise 4.18** For any function f : lR-+ lR show that the set of points a E lR
at which f has a simple jump discontinuity is countable.
5 Metric spaces

In this chapter we begin to study metric spaces. These are a bit more
concrete than the topological spaces that we shall study later, but they
give valuable pointers for the more abstract material. They are also related
to analysis and geometry in intuitively appealing ways.

Motivation and definition

The motivation for metric spaces comes from studying continuity. We
begin by rephrasing Definition 4.29 using more English and no Greek: a
real-valued function of a real variable is continuous at a if we can make
the distance If (x) - f (a) I between f (x) and f (a) as small as we please
by choosing x so that the distance lx- al between x and a is sufficiently
small. (The reader is reminded that the terms function and map arc in-
terchangeable. We tend to use the former when dealing with functions
of real variables, in which case this terminology is long established, and
the latter when dealing with maps between more general sets.) Next let
us consider a real-valued function f of two real variables. We again get
a definition corresponding to our intuitive idea of continuity by changing
the above wording very slightly: f is continuous at a point (a, b) in ~ 2
if we can make the distance between f(x, y) and f(a, b) a.'l small as we
plea.'le by choosing (x, y) so that its distance from (a, b) is sufficiently
small. We may recover an c - 8 form of this definition by using the for-
mulae for the distances involved. Since f(x, y) and f(a, b) are real num-
bers (f is real-valued) the distance between them is lf(x, y) - f(a, b)l.
Since (x, y) and (a, b) are points in the plane, the distance between them
is V[(x- a) 2 + (y- b)2], where as always this means the non-negative
square root. Thus f : ~ 2 ~ ~ is continuous at (a, b) if given c > 0 there
exists 8 > 0 such that lf(x, y)- f(a, b) I < c for all (x, y) in ~ 2 satisfying
V[(x- a) 2 + (y- b) 2 ] < 8.
Now given any positive integer n let us try to define continuity for a
real-valued function f of n real variables, f : ~n ~ ~. We shall denote
a point in ~n by x = (x 1 , x 2 , ... , Xn)· By analogy with our previous
definitions we may try writing: f is continuous at a= (a1, a2, ... , an) if
the distance between f (x) and f (a) can be made as small as we please by
choosing x so that the distance between x and a is sufficiently small. Let
Other documents randomly have
different content
 I.
BESIDE an untouched ice he lay,
An eighteenpenny cigar in his hand,
He shook his hair with an angry air
At the sound of a distant band.
Then he dreamt in the mist and shadow of sleep
He was a beggar in the Strand.

II.
Wide through his frock-coat's gaping seams
His fancy shirting showed;
He had no gloves, no crutchy cane,
No nosegay a la mode;
And he saw a man, with a tinkling pan,
Crying m-u-lk all down the road!

III.
He felt quite sore, and very lean,
His face was sadly tanned;
His bones stuck out on both his cheeks,
And he could hardly stand.
A tear dropped from the sleeper's lids,
His Havanna from his hand.

IV.
And then the dismal vision showed
The way in which he sank;
From golden chains, to aches and pains,
With no balance at the bank.
For this woe he could feel, and it caused him to reel,
h db h lf h k
 He had but himself to thank.

V.
From a popular man, dubbed a wit and a wag,
To a pauper without a sous;
From morn till night, like an unhappy wight,
Cut or shunned by all he knew.
And this was his fate, by stopping up late,
And losing his money at "loo!"

VI.
How he had wasted his time and his tin
By keeping and driving a team.
The care and the cash he had spent on his weeds,
All this he saw in his dream.
And, as his thoughts sped, the blood in his head
Curdled up like so much cream.

VII.
He thought of the good he might have done
For love and charity;
And with anguish bowed, he cried out aloud
A word that began with a "d!"
He started and woke—and exceedingly riled,
Rang the bell for a Soda and B.

VIII.
How did he feel as he took out his watch,
And consulted the time of day?
Had he learnt a lesson from the Land of Sleep?
I hope for my sake he may!
And I think the mo al did each its goal
 And I think the moral did reach its goal,
For he's got quite stingy they say.

From Cribblings from the Poets (Jones and Piggott, Cambridge,

1883).

SONG OF THE SILENT LAND.

INTO the Silent Land!

Ah! who shall lead us thither?
Clouds in the evening sky more darkly gather,
And shattered wrecks lie thicker on the strand.
Who leads us with a gentle hand
Thither, O thither,
Into the Silent Land?

LONGFELLOW.

SONG OF THE IRISH LAND!

(After Longfellow and Salis.)
 INTO the Irish Land!
Ah! who shall lead us thither?
Clouds in the Western sky less darkly gather,
And household wrecks less thickly dot the strand.
Who leads us with a friendly hand,
Thither, oh thither,
Into the Irish Land?

O Land! O Land!
For which poor Pat hath plotted,
GLADSTONE, mild herald by kind fate allotted,
Beckons, and with his blessed Bill doth stand,
To lead us with a friendly hand
Into the Land whence we've long been parted,
Into the Irish Land!

Punch, August 13, 1881.

In Punch of October 21, 1882, there was another parody of this

poem, entitled "Song of the Oyster Land," by a Longing Fellow,
commencing—

"Into the Oyster Land!

Ah! Who shall lead us thither?"

THE NORMAN BARON.

IN his chamber, weak and dying,
Was the Norman baron lying;
Loud without the tempest thundered,
And the castle-turret shook.
In this fight was Death the gainer,
Spite of vassal and retainer,
And the lands his sires had plundered,
Written in the Doomsday Book.

* * * *

Every vassal of his banner,

Every serf born to his manor,
All those wronged and wretched creatures
By his hand were freed again.
And, as on the sacred missal
He recorded their dismissal,
Death relaxed his iron features,
And the monk replied, "Amen!"
Many centuries have been numbered
Since in death the baron slumbered
By the convent's sculptured portal.
Mingling with the common dust.
But the good deed, through the ages
Living in historic pages,
Brighter grows and gleams immortal,
Unconsumed by moth or rust.

LONGFELLOW.

THE REPENTANT BARON.

 A Lay of Berlin.
(After Professor Shortfellow.)
In his chamber, mine adjoining,
Was the German Baron dining.
Loud his voice with passion thundered,
And with fear the kellner shook.
As I listened it was plainer
That he bullied this retainer,
Forasmuch as he had blundered;
Or it might have been the cook.

Just outside, upon the Linden,

On an instrument (a wind 'un)
Played a minstrel most demurely,
Dismal as the parish waits.
And so loud he kept on getting,
While his frau stood by him, knitting,
That I thought, "The Baron, surely,
Will demolish all the plates."

"Spare a groschen, princely stranger!

May you never be in danger
Of the want of means to spare 'un,
Or a couple, if so be."
Then the minstrel went on playing,
Not a single word more saying;
And exclaimed the shuddering Baron,
"Miserere Domine!"

Tears upon his eyelids glistened

While in agony he listened
To the instrument (a wind 'un)
Which the minstrel he did play.
Then unto the kellner ready,
"Take this double thaler," said he,
To the minstrel of the Linden,
Begging him to go away."
 In that hour of deep contrition
He beheld with double vision
All the sins he had committed,
And he said in accents thick
To the kellner, "Loo' here, kellner,
You're a 'spec'ble kind o' felner;
I'm a felner to be pitied;
I'm a mis'ble felner! Hic.

"Can you feel for one in sorrow?

I shall make my will to-morrow;
I shall leave you all my money,
Every single thing that's mine.
Watch—repeater; ring—carbuncle;
Kellner you're my long-lost uncle.
Just discovered this—how funny!
Fesh another bolowine."

Many hours the clock has numbered

Since the German Baron slumbered;
And his boots are at the portal
Of his chamber, free from dust;
And an instrument (a wind 'un)
Sounds again upon the Linden,
Waking that unhappy mortal
From the snorings of the just.

GODFREY TURNER.

Tom Hood's Comic Annual, 1871.

Longfellow's ballad, The Skeleton in Armour commences thus:—

 "SPEAK! speak! thou fearful guest!
Who, with thy hollow breast
Still in rude armour drest,
Comest to daunt me!
Wrapt not in Eastern balms,
But with thy fleshless palms
Stretched, as if asking alms,
Why dost thou haunt me?"

its metre was admirably imitated by the late C. S. Calverley, in his

ODE TO TOBACCO.
 THOU who, when fears attack
Bidst them avaunt, and Black
Care, at the horseman's back,
Perching, unseatest;
Sweet when the morn is grey;
Sweet when they've cleared away
Lunch, and at close of day
Possibly sweetest.
I have a liking old
For thee, though manifold
Stories, I know are told,
Not to thy credit.

* * * *

Cats may have had their goose

Cooked by tobacco juice;
Still why deny its use
Thoughtfully taken?
We're not as tabbies are:
Smith take a fresh cigar!
Jones, the tobacco jar!
Here's to thee, Bacon!

From C. S. Calverley's Verses and Translations (George Bell and

Sons).

THE DERBY WEEK.

(A Long Way After a Longfellow.)
Oh, Derby week, oh, Derby week, how precious are thy pleasures!
Not hymned alone in summer-time
With hoarse enthusiastic rhyme,
Oh, Derby week, oh, Derby week, but hailed in pewtern measures!

Oh, Derby week, oh, Derby week, how coarse the cads who "put on"
Their three half-crowns for Insulaire,
Or intimate Sir Joseph's "square."
Oh, Derby week, oh, Derby week—as if I cared a button!

Saturnian feasts, Saturnian feasts, you ape, despite Dame Grundy.

We laugh until the dread bell rings,
But oh, the aches to-morrow brings,
And Derby week, and Derby week, that reckoning on the Monday!

The welsher's book, the welsher's book, is mirror of thy glories:

It's ready when their horse comes in,
But somewhat muddled when you win.
The welsher's book, the welsher's book, whips Black's in point of
stories!

So Derby week, oh, Derby week, your usual style, we think, errs,
In ending in too cheerful nights,
Headaches and debts, green veils and fights,
And Derby week, oh, Derby week, Dutch dolls and British drinkers.

Funny Folks, June 8, 1878.

The following are parodies of the "Saga of King Olaf," contained in

Longfellow's "Tales of a Wayside Inn":—

QUEEN SIGRID THE HAUGHTY.

(A Longfellow Cut Short.)
Queen Sigrid the Haughty sat proud and aloft,
In her chamber that looked over meadow and croft;
She held in her hand a ring of gold
That was brought to her by a henchman old.
King Olaf had sent her that wedding gift;
But knowing King Olaf was prone to thrift,
She gave the ring to her goldsmiths twain,
Who smiled as they handed it back again.
Then Sigrid the Queen in her haughty way,
Asked, "Why do you smile, my goldsmiths, pray?"
They answered, "Queen, if the truth be told,
The ring is Brummagem—'t isn't gold!"
The colour flushed over forehead and cheek,
She simply stamped—but she did not speak.
A footstep rang on the outer stair,
And in strode Olaf with royal air.
He kissed her hand, and he whispered love,
And (just for the rhyme) he murmured "Dove!"
She smiled with contempt as she said "Oh, king!
Step it—and get five bob on that ring!"
The face of King Olaf was dark with gloom,
He swore as he strode about the room.
She raised her brows and looked at the King—
"To swear before ladies is not the thing!"
"Why should I wed thee," he cried, "old maid?
A faded beauty, a heathen jade!"
He swore a swear, and he stamped a stamp,
And he fetched her a whack with his gingham Gamp.
They placed the King in a dungeon vault,
Because he was guilty of an assault,
With Tupper for supper, and hot cross buns
They slowly starved him, those savage ones,
And his only drink was Petroleum—
And he'd been accustomed to Red Heart Rum!

AS
 A SHORTFELLOW.

THE SAGA OF THE SKATERMAN.

DOWN by the Serpentine,
Found I the Skaterman—
Found him a-wiping his
Eyes with his ulster-sleeve,
Eyes full of scalding tears,
Red with much blubbering.
Red was his nose likewise—
Deeply I pitied him.

"Cheer up, O Skaterman!

Never say die!" says I.
"Cheer up, my hearty!"—so
Tried I to comfort him,
Slapping his back, whereby
Coughed he like anything,
Forth went my heart to him,
Lent him my wipe, I did,
Dried his poor nose and eyes,
Sitting aside of him
Holding his hand.
"Hark to the Skald!" I says,
"Tell him what's up with thee;
Thor of the Hammer will
Come to thine aid!"
Then spake the Skaterman,
Rumbling with muttered oaths
Deep in his diaphragm,
Grumbling at Thor:
"Blow Thaw and Scald!" he cried;
"Blow heverythink!" he cried,
Salt tears a-rolling down
Alongside his nose.
"See these here 'Hacmes,' Sir,
New from the Store they are,
Never been used afore,
T l d i th !
 Twelve-and-six thrown away!
Friga the Frigid came,
Friga, great Odin's wife,
Bound up the river-gods,
Laid out an icy floor
Mete for the Skaterman.
Then I began to hoard.
Weekly and weekly hoard,
All of my saving to
Buy these here things—
Came Thaw, the thunder-god,
Brake up the Ice-bound stream—
Twelve-and-six thrown away,
That's what's the matter, Sir—
Thaw, he be blowed!"
Then, with a wild shriek, he
Upped with his knobby stick,
Smote on the Acme steel,
Smote with a mighty stroke,
Smote it and broke it up
Into small flinderkins,
Banged it and smashed it up
Into smithereens.
Shocked, then I left him there,
Grumbling at Thor!

Punch's Almanack, 1884.

Another long parody of the same original was contained in Punch,

September 20, 1879. It was entitled "A Modern Saga," and consisted
of nine verses, describing Professor Nordenskiöld's travels and
discoveries concerning the North-East passage.

It is now a good many years since a well-known American author,

Mr. Bayard Taylor, produced a clever little book, entitled "Diversions
of the Echo Club." The late Mr. John Camden Hotten published it in
London, and it has since gone through several editions. The scheme
of the book is thus given by the author:—"In the rear of Karl
Schäfer's lager-beer cellar and restaurant—which everyone knows, is
but a block from the central part of Broadway—there is a small
room, with a vaulted ceiling, which Karl calls his Löwengrube, or
Lions' Den. Here, in their Bohemian days, Zoïlus and the Gannet had
been accustomed to meet, discuss literary projects, and read
fragments of manuscript to each other. The Chorus, the Ancient and
young Galahad gradually fell into the same habit, and thus a little
circle of six, seven, or eight members came to be formed. The room
could comfortably contain no more: it was quiet, with a dim, smoky,
confidential atmosphere, and suggested Auerbach's Cellar to the
Ancient, who had been in Leipzig.
Here authors, books, magazines, and newspapers were talked
about; sometimes a manuscript poem was read by its writer; while
mild potations of beer and the dreamy breath of cigars delayed the
nervous, fidgetty, clattering-footed American Hours. The character
which the society assumed for a short time was purely accidental. As
one of the Chorus, I was present at the first meeting, and, of
course, I never failed afterwards. The four authors who furnished
our entertainment were not aware that I had written down, from
memory, the substance of the conversations, until our evenings
came to an end, and I have had some difficulty in obtaining their
permission to publish my reports."
These so-called "Reports" describe the proceedings at eight
meetings of the Club, and the conversation is devoted to criticisms
of the most famous modern poets. The members next proceed to
draw lots as to whose works they shall imitate, the result being a
series of parodies, or, more correctly speaking, comical imitations of
style, many of which are exceedingly amusing.
The principal poets thus parodied are William Morris; Robert
Browning; E. A. Poe; John Keats; Mrs. Sigourney; A. C. Swinburne;
R. W. Emerson; E. C. Stedman; Dante G. Rossetti; Barry Cornwall; J.
G. Whittier; Oliver Wendell Holmes; Alfred Tennyson; H. W.
Longfellow; Walt Whitman; Bret Harte; J. R. Lowell; Mrs. Elizabeth
Barrett Browning; and several less known authors.
Amongst the minor poets are included several American writers,
whose works are almost unknown to English readers.
On the Fifth night Zoilus draws Longfellow, and his comrades caution
him to beware how he treats an author, already a classic, whose
works have been complimented by many ordinary parodies. He
composes the following imitation of Longfellow's hexameters:—

NAUVOO.
This is the place: be still for a while, my high-pressure steamboat!
Let me survey the spot where the Mormons builded their temple.
Much have I mused on the wreck and ruin of ancient religions,
Scandinavian, Greek, Assyrian, Zend, and the Sanskrit,
Yea, and explored the mysteries hidden in Talmudic targums,
Caught the gleam of Chrysaor's sword and occulted Orion,
Backward spelled the lines of the Hebrew graveyard at Newport,
Studied Ojibwa symbols and those of the Quarry of Pipestone,
Also the myths of the Zulus whose questions converted Colenso,
So, methinks, it were well I should muse a little at Nauvoo.

Fair was he not, the primitive Prophet, nor he who succeeded,

Hardly for poetry fit, though using the Urim and Thummin.
Had he but borrowed Levitical trappings, the girdle and ephod,
Fine twined linen, and ouches of gold, and bells and pomegranates,
That, indeed, might have kindled the weird necromancy of fancy.
Had he but set up mystical forms, like Astarte or Peor,
Balder, or Freya, Quetzalcoatl, Perun, Manabozho,
Verily, though to the sense theologic it might be offensive,
Great were the gain to the pictured, flashing speech of the poet.

Yet the Muse that delights in Mesopotamian numbers,

Vague and vast as the roar of the wind in a forest of pine-trees,
Now must tune her strings to the names of Joseph and Brigham.
Hebrew, the first; and a Smith before the Deluge was Tubal,
Thor of the East, who first made iron ring to the hammer;
So on the iron heads of the people about him, the latter,
Striking the sparks of belief and forging their faith in the Good Time
Coming, the Latter Day, as he called it,—the Kingdom of Zion.
Then, in the words of Philip the Eunuch unto Belshazzar,
Came to him multitudes wan, diseased and decrepit of spirit,
Came and heard and believed, and builded the temple of Nauvoo.

All is past; for Joseph was smitten with lead from a pistol,
Brigham went with the others over the prairies to Salt Lake.
Answers now to the long disconsolate wail of the steamer
Answers now to the long, disconsolate wail of the steamer,
Hoarse, inarticulate, shrill, the rolling and bounding of ten-pins,—
Answers the voice of the bar-tender, mixing the smash and the julep,
Answers, precocious, the boy, and bites a chew of tobacco.
Lone as the towers of Afrasiab now is the seat of the Prophet,
Mournful, inspiring to verse, though seeming utterly vulgar:
Also—for each thing now is expected to furnish a moral—
Teaching innumerable lessons for who so believes and is patient.
Thou, that readest, be resolute, learn to be strong and to suffer!
Let the dead Past bury its dead and act in the Present!
Bear a banner of strange devices, "Forever" and "Never!"
Build in the walls of time the fame of a permanent Nauvoo,
So that thy brethren may see it and say, "Go thou and do likewise!"

This poem does not altogether meet with his comrades' approval;
Zoïlus retorts that "it is no easy thing to be funny in hexameters; the
Sapphic verse is much more practicable."
The Gannet hereupon asserts that he could write an imitation of
Longfellow's higher strains—not of those which are so well known
and so much quoted—which would be fairer to the poet, and after a
short interval produces—

THE SEWING-MACHINE.
A strange vibration from the cottage window
My vagrant steps delayed,
And half abstracted, like the ancient Hindoo,
I paused beneath the shade.

What is, I said, this unremitting humming,

Louder than bees in spring?
As unto prayer the murmurous answer coming,
Shed from Sandalphon's wing.

Is this the sound of unimpeded labour,

That now usurpeth play?
Our harsher substitute for pipe and tabor,
Ghittern and virelay?

Or, is it yearning for a higher vision,

By spiritual hearing heard?
Nearer I drew, to listen with precision,
Detecting not a word.

Then, peering through the pane, as men of sin do,

Myself the while unseen,
I marked a maiden seated by the window,
Sewing with a machine.

Her gentle foot propelled the tireless treadle,

Her gentle hand the seam:
My fancy said, it were a bliss to peddle
Those shirts, as in a dream!

Her lovely fingers lent to yoke and collar

Some imperceptible taste;
The rural swain, who buys it for a dollar,
By beauty is embraced.

O fairer aspect of the common mission!

O l th P t
 Only the Poet sees
The true significance, the high position
Of such small things as these.

Not now doth Toil, a brutal Boanerges,

Deform the maiden's hand;
Her implement its soft sonata merges
In songs of sea and land.

And thus the hum of the unspooling cotton,

Blent with her rhythmic tread,
Shall still be heard, when virelays are forgotten,
And troubadours are dead.

It may be said of "Diversions of the Echo Club" (now published by

Messrs. Chatto and Windus), that whilst many of the parodies are
amusing, none are either vulgar or ill-natured; the criticisms on the
various poets are generally just, thoughtful, and keenly perceptive.

Before leaving Longfellow there are two amusing imitations of

Hiawatha to be quoted; Unfortunately, the very clever Song of Big
Ben is too long to quote in full, but it is easily accessible:—

THE SONG OF BIG BEN.

SHOULD you ask me why these columns
Filled with words of many speakers—
Why this record of their doings,
With their frequent repetitions,
Their inane deliberations,
And their aggravating dulness?
I should answer, I should tell you,
"That I write them as I hear them,
As I hear, and as I see them;—
That the world may learn what happens
In the painted, gilded chamber,
In the chapel of St. Stephen's,
At the House of Talkee-Talkee,
Where, upon the woolsack, patient,
Lolls the Chancellor, hard-headed,
Where, enthroned above the table,
Sadly sits and broods the Speaker."
Should you ask me why he sits there?
I should answer, I should tell you,
"'Tis because the people will it;
'Tis because they send up members
Who will talk for moons together;
Nought accomplishing, yet spouting,
Like the dolphin, Mishe-no-zha,
Weak and watery stuff for ever."
If still further you should ask me,
Saying "But what do these members,
And the many like unto them,
In the House of Talkee-Talkee?"
I should answer your enquiry
Straightway in such words as follow:—
"Much they love to hear their voices
Talking rubbish at all seasons:
Many 'mongst them seize all chances
For the riding of their hobbies;
Ride them late and ride them early,
Ride them through the Standing Orders;
Ride them without bit or bridle,
Knowing not, nor caring whither."
And if once again you query,
Saying, "Is this all they do there?"
I should answer your fresh query,
I should meet your new conundrum
Right away in some such fashion
As the following, for instance,
I should tell you, "There are many
Who will bide their time with patience,
Knowing that to them by waiting
Will come all the things they long for.
That M.P. means oft More Power;
That 'twill bring them briefs and clients,
Make them 'guinea-pigs' and chairmen,
Knight them, maybe, in the future;
Or ennoble them if only
They will spend their money freely
For the party they belong to."
If you really had the conscience
To make any more enquiries,
I would answer, I should tell you
Not to ask more leading questions,
But to wait and read these columns.
In these records find your answers,
In these lines replies discover.

THE LORDS.
 To the gilded, painted chamber
Of the House of Talkee-Talkee,
Comes a crowd of various people,
Comes a flock of noble ladies,
Painted most, and all decolletees;
Come the Bishops and the Judges,
Gravely taking up their places;
Clad in their state robes, the Judges,
Like to agéd washerwoman;
In their puffed lawn sleeves, the Bishops,
Fussy, like the hen that cackles
Over new-laid egg or chicken;
Come diplomatists by dozens,
Blazing with their numerous orders,
Which they gladly take, like bagmen;
Come with their vermilion buttons
And their petticoats of satin,
Wond'ring much, the Chinese Envoys:—
Wond'ring why it is the ladies
Care to sit squeezed up like herrings?
How it is their faces glow so
With the ruddy hues of nature?
Wond'ring why it is the nobles
Moon about with hideous cloaks on,
Making them appear round-shouldered,
Mute-like, "Jarvie-ish," ungainly?
Why it is Lord Coleridge carries
'Neath the folds of his the head-gear
Known in slang phrase as a "stove-pipe!"
Why in swallow-tail of evening
Mr. Pierrepoint walks at noon-day?
Why the Primate greets profusely
Fezzed Musurus when he enters?
Why the latter comes to gaze on
These ill-fated dogs of Christians
That his former masters cheated?
And their wonderment continues
As they hear the charivari,
See the entrances and exits,
Watch staid men in green and silver,
Rushing here and running thither.
Others, clad in velvet small-clothes,
Pottering in among the benches,
Nought effecting but confusion.

* * * *

Entered are at last the household,

And the Queen comes through the doorway,
Sits she in her dress of velvet
On the throne, and all is silent.
Only for a minute's space though,
For, from down a distant lobby,
Comes the sound of pattering footsteps,
Like the rush of many waters,
By the shore of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big Sea Water.
Nearer, nearer, comes the pattering,
Louder, louder grow the voices,
More pronounced the hurried scuffling.
Now it seems as though the sound wave
Rolled close to the chamber's portal,
And, 'midst loud complaints and laughter,
Plainly heard by all who sat there,
Comes unto the bar the Speaker;
At his heels are Stafford Northcote,
And Ward Hunt, the Tory giant,
After them the deluge! Members
Fight and push, and pull and scuffle;
Loudly wrangle for their places,
And protest with scanty measure
Of politeness or good breeding;
Of politeness or good breeding;
Whilst their premier, safe translated,
Smiles a smile that's cold and selfish.

But at length the Commons settle

Into order as behoves them.
And the Chancellor upstanding
Mounts the throne's wide steps, and kneeling
To his sovereign he offers
Her own speech, which she declining,
He unrolls, and then distinctly
With a voice and tone majestic
(Picked up in his constant practice),
Read it in this way and this wise:—
"Listen to these words of wisdom
Sounding much but meaning little,
That with much elaborate caution,
In the Cabinet we hit on.

Oh, my faithful Lords and Commons,

As it is so far from likely
That you read the daily journals,
As it is so very certain
You've heard nothing that has happened,
I will tell you what you cannot
By remotest chance have heard of:
Know ye then, my trusted children,
There has been a war in Turkey,
And my Ministers have written
Some despatches on the subject;
So if, later on, my Commons
Should find out the vote for foolscap
And for ink and quills is swollen,
They will know the cause and pass it;
But let me haste on to tell you
In thrice twenty lines the items
That for weeks have been known fully
 at o ee s a e bee o u y
Through the papers to the people.
Know ye then, my Lords and Commons
(This is likewise news important,
I have journeyed far to tell you),
We joined Europe in a Conference,
And we sent our trusty cousin,
Robert Cecil, Salisbury's Marquis,
To take part in its discussions?
Know ye not that Robert Cecil,
Lordly master he of Hatfield,
Went and saw, but did not conquer—
Went and talked, but did not manage
Well his coaxing or his bluster;
Nay, came back completely vanquished,
And must do without his dukedom?
Need I add, my knowing children,
How his failure grieved his colleagues—
How Lord Derby wept to hear it—
How Lord Beaconsfield has felt it?
Still bewails it much in private,
And in public should his lips curl,
That is merely force of habit.
Know ye too, my legislators,
My most able statute-makers,
That my Indian subjects vastly
Liked the squibs let off at Delhi,
By my dreamy poet-Viceroy;
And, about to die of famine,
They enjoyed the show immensely.
All the Colonies are prosp'rous!
Which, if I am not mistaken,
Will be news to many of them,
Say, for instance, to Barbadoes.

Gentlemen, who pull the purse-strings,

I presume you will, as usual,
Vote sufficient of the needful.
Go, then, and in these great labours
May the spirit of the Master,
Gitche Manito, the Mighty
Aid you, lest they should o'erwhelm you."

Then uprose the Queen, and vanished,

And a hubbub fills the Chamber:
Peers take off their robes of velvet;
Ladies cover up their shoulders,
And the throng is quickly scattered;
Yet was very full the chamber—
Full of Lords, and full of strangers,
All come down, and feeling curious
How the Earl and eke the Marquis
Would get on when brought together;
Some there were who thought the Marquis
Would upon the Earl his back turn;
Some who thought the Earl would curl his
Upper lip, and snub the Marquis;
Others that the Marquis, smarting
With the knowledge that he'd been offered
Coolly on the Eastern altar,
That he had been made a victim;
Had been sent to wreck his prestige,
'Mongst the diplomatic breakers,
Would dig up the buried hatchet
From the Quarterly's shut pages,
Would dash down the friendly peace-pipe,
And his tomahawk turn wildly
On his former foe, Ben Dizzy;
But it did not come to pass so,
For on Thursday all was quiet,
And the Salisburian lion
Lay down with the Dizzian lambkin.
And the Marquis keeps his vengeance
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