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THE ONTARIO
HIGH SCHOOL READER
BY
A. E. MARTY, M.A.
COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, OTTAWA
[Illustration]
Authorized by the Minister of Education for Ontario
For Use In
Continuation and High Schools and Collegiate Institutes
THE CANADA PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED
TORONTO
Copyright, Canada, 1911, by
The Canada Publishing Company, Limited.
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| [x:] = x with two dots below (diaresis, umlaut) |
| [)x] = x with x with breve (u-shaped symbol) |
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PREFACE
After communication with many of the teachers who have
been using the Principles and Practice of Oral Reading in their
classes, the author has made a number of important additions and
changes. In its amended form the book is published under the
title of the "Ontario High School Reader."
As the book is intended for the teaching of oral reading it
contains an introductory chapter on the Principles of Reading, and
selections for practice, with appended notes. An effort has also
been made to grade the selections in the order of their difficulty.
Accordingly, a number of selections, each illustrating in a marked
degree only one, or at most two, of the various elements of Vocal
Expression, have been placed at the beginning; these should, of
course, be taught before the more complex selections are attempted.
It is not intended that the pupil shall master the chapter on
the principles before beginning to read the selections; he should
become familiar with each topic as it is illustrated in the lesson.
In dealing with each lesson the teacher should first ascertain the
elements of vocal expression that it best exemplifies. He should
then discuss these elements with the pupils, using the necessary
paragraphs of the Introduction, and such black-board exercises as
he may deem necessary, until he is satisfied that the pupils are
ready to undertake the study of the selection. At the oral reading
the pupils should be able to show their mastery of the principles
thus taught. Toward the close of the course, they will naturally
read connectedly the various sections of the Introduction, in order
to obtain a comprehensive and systematic view of the principles.
To secure good reading, systematic drill on the exercises in
Vowel Sounds and in Articulation is also necessary.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRINCIPLES OF READING 1-35
Importance of Oral Reading 1
Mechanical Side of Oral Reading 2
Correct Pronunciation, Distinct Articulation.
Expression 3
Concrete Thinking, Abstract Thinking, Emotion.
Elements of Vocal Expression 7
Pause, Grouping, Time, Inflection, Pitch, Force,
Stress, Emphasis, Shading, Perspective, Quality.
SELECTIONS 36-305
_The Banner of St. George_ Shapcott Wensley 36
Jean Valjean and the Bishop Victor Hugo 38
_The Well of St. Keyne_ Robert Southey 43
Faith, Hope and Charity Bible 46
_The Legend Beautiful_ Henry W. Longfellow 47
The Vicar's Family Use Art Oliver Goldsmith 52
_The Soldier's Dream_ Thomas Campbell 58
_Van Elsen_ Frederick George Scott 60
_Pibroch of Donuil Dhu_ Sir Walter Scott 61
_The Day is Done_ Henry W. Longfellow 63
The Schoolmaster and the Boys Charles Dickens 65
_The Knights' Chorus_ Alfred, Lord Tennyson 70
_The Northern Star_ Unknown 71
_The Indigo Bird_ Ethelwyn Wetherald 72
_The Pasture Field_ Ethelwyn Wetherald 73
Shipwrecked Robert Louis Stevenson 75
_On His Blindness_ John Milton 80
Briggs in Luck William M. Thackeray 81
_The Laughing Sally_ Charles G. D. Roberts 84
The Prodigal Son Bible 88
_Christmas at Sea_ Robert Louis Stevenson 90
_The Evening Wind_ William Cullen Bryant 93
_Paradise and the Peri_ Thomas Moore 95
_The Lady of Shalott_ Alfred, Lord Tennyson 100
_Home they brought her
Warrior dead_ Alfred, Lord Tennyson 107
The Sky John Ruskin 108
_The Return of the Swallows_ Edmund W. Gosse 111
_Barbara Frietchie_ John Greenleaf Whittier 113
Bless the Lord, O My Soul Bible 116
_The Eternal Goodness_ John Greenleaf Whittier 118
The King of Glory Bible 119
The Four-Horse Race "Ralph Connor" 121
_Mrs. Malaprop's Views_ Richard B. Sheridan 126
_The Glove and the Lions_ Leigh Hunt 131
_The Fickleness of a Roman Mob_ William Shakespeare 133
_Sir Peter and Lady Teazle_ Richard B. Sheridan 136
_The Parting of Marmion
and Douglas_ Sir Walter Scott 140
_Columbus_ Joaquin Miller 143
From the "Apology" of Socrates Benjamin Jowett 145
_Highland Hospitality_ Sir Walter Scott 151
_The Outlaw_ Sir Walter Scott 154
Of Studies Francis, Lord Bacon 157
The Influence of Athens Thomas Babington,
Lord Macaulay 159
National Morality John Bright 161
_Hamlet's Advice to the Players_ William Shakespeare 164
_Rosabelle_ Sir Walter Scott 166
_The Island of the Scots_ William E. Aytoun 168
Cranford Society Mrs. Gaskell 178
_Sir Galahad_ Alfred, Lord Tennyson 182
_Song for Saint Cecilia's Day_ John Dryden 186
_The Day was Lingering_ Charles Heavysege 189
_On First Looking into
Chapman's Homer_ John Keats 189
_Great Things Were Ne'er
Begotten in an Hour_ Sir Daniel Wilson 190
_A Wood Lyric_ William Wilfred Campbell 191
_To Night_ Percy Bysshe Shelley 193
The Opening Scene at the Trial Thomas Babington, Lord
of Warren Hastings Macaulay 194
Peroration of Opening Speech
against Edmund Burke Warren Hastings 201
_The Song My Paddle Sings_ E. Pauline Johnson 203
_The Defence of the Bridge_ Thomas Babington, Lord
Macaulay 206
On the Death of King Edward VII Sir Herbert Henry
Asquith 217
The Heroes of Magersfontein _The London Daily News_ 221
_Funeral of Julius Caesar_ William Shakespeare 225
_The Revenge_ Alfred, Lord Tennyson 234
_Herve Riel_ Robert Browning 241
The Handwriting on the Wall Bible 248
Paul's Defence before King
Agrippa Bible 251
_The Stranded Ship_ Charles G. D. Roberts 254
_Sir Patrick Spens_ Old Ballad 258
_King John and the Abbot of
Canterbury_ Old Ballad 262
The Key to Human Happiness George Eliot 266
_The Vision of Sir Launfal_ James Russell Lowell 271
On the Death of Gladstone Sir Wilfrid Laurier 278
_The Downfall of Wolsey_ William Shakespeare 286
_The Italian in England_ Robert Browning 290
Advantages of Imperial
Federation George Monro Grant 296
_Collect for Dominion Day_ Charles G. D. Roberts 305
* * * * *
APPENDIX A. Exercises in Vocalization and Articulation 306
B. Physical Exercises 312
C. List of Reference Books 314
* * * * *
PRINCIPLES OF READING
=Importance of Oral Reading=
There are several reasons why every boy or girl should strive to
become a good reader. In the first place, good oral reading is an
accomplishment in itself. It affords a great deal of pleasure to
others as well as to ourselves. In the second place, it improves our
everyday speech and is also a preparation for public speaking; for the
one who reads with distinctness and an accent of refinement is likely
to speak in the same way, whether in private conversation or on the
public platform. Moreover, it is only one step from reading aloud
before the class to recitation, and another step from recitation to
public speaking. Lastly, oral reading is the best method of bringing
out and conveying to others and to oneself all that a piece of
literature expresses. For example, the voice is needed to bring out
the musical effects of poetry. The following lines will illustrate
this point:
But the sea-caves rung, and the wild winds sung
The dirge of lovely Rosabelle.
Here the music of the rhythm and the harmony between sound and sense
would be almost entirely lost in silent reading.
The voice, too, is often the surest and most effective means of
conveying differences of meaning and feeling in both prose and poetry.
The following words from _Herve Riel_ (pp. 241-247) may be made to
convey different meanings according to the intonation of the voice:
Burn the fleet and ruin France?
This may be read to express hesitation and deliberation, or, as is
the evident intention, shewn by the context as well as by the
punctuation, to express Herve Riel's surprise and indignation that
such a thought should be entertained.
=Mechanical Side of Oral Reading=
Now in what does oral reading consist? It consists, first of all, in
recognizing the words, pronouncing them correctly, and articulating
them distinctly. The pupil in the First Book, who is learning to read,
is trying to master this side of reading, which is the mechanical
side. He cannot be too careful as to the habits of speech he forms;
for correct position of the organs of speech and proper control of the
breath make for correct pronunciation and distinct articulation, which
are two of the foundation stones of good reading.
By =Correct Pronunciation=, we mean the pronunciation approved by a
standard dictionary. Elegance and refinement of speech depend largely
on the correct pronunciation of the vowel sounds. The vowel _a_, which
is sounded in seven different ways in the English language, presents
the greatest difficulty. Many people recognize at most, only the sound
of a in _at_, _ate_, _all_, _far_, and _mortal_ respectively. They
ignore the sound as in _air_, and the shorter quantity of the Italian
_a_ in _ask_, giving the sound of a in _ate_ to the former and of _a_
in _at_ or _a_ in _all_ or _a_ in _far_ to the latter. Another
difficulty is that of distinguishing the sound of _oo_ in _roof,
food_, etc., from the sound of _oo_ in _book_ and _good_, and from the
sound of _u_ in such words as _pure_ and _duke_.
Pronunciation, when perfectly pure, should be free from what we call
provincialisms; that is, from any peculiarity of tone, accent, or
vowel sound, which would mark the speaker as coming from any
particular locality. If our pronunciation is perfectly pure, it does
not indicate, in the slightest degree, the part of the country in
which we have lived.
=Distinct articulation= requires that each syllable should receive its
full value, and that the end of a word should be enunciated as
distinctly as the beginning. It depends largely on the way in which we
utter the consonants, just as correct pronunciation depends on the
enunciation of the vowels. Final consonants are easily slurred,
especially in the case of words ending in two or more consonants,
which present special difficulties of articulation. Such words are
_mends_, _seethes_, _thirsteth_, _breathed_, etc. Sometimes, too, the
careless reader fails to articulate two consonants separately when the
first word ends with the consonant or consonant sound with which the
second begins; for example, _Sir Richard Grenville lay_, _Spanish
ships_; or when the first word ends with a consonant and the second
begins with a vowel, as in _eats apples_, _not at all_, _an ox_, etc.
On the other hand, too evident an effort to secure the proper
enunciation of the sound elements should be avoided, since a stilted
mode of utterance is thus produced.
Exercises for drill in the vowel sounds and in articulation are
provided in Appendix A.
=Expression=
Oral reading, however, even in its earliest stages, consists in more
than recognizing words, pronouncing them correctly, and articulating
them distinctly. It includes thinking thoughts, seeing mental
pictures, (which is only another form of thinking) and feeling varied
emotions--all while the mechanical act of reading is going on. To
illustrate, let us take a line from _The Island of the Scots_:
High flew the spray above their heads, yet onward still they bore.
If we wish to read this line well, what must we do besides pronouncing
the words correctly and articulating them distinctly? We must think
about the meaning of what we read. This includes two kinds of
thinking. In the example we first think the picture presented by the
words; that is, we make a mental image of the little band of Scots,
hand in hand, trying to ford the swiftly flowing waters of the swollen
river. This is called concrete thinking. At the same time we form some
judgment based on the picture. We think of the great determination and
courage these men showed in struggling forward in spite of the danger.
This is called =abstract thinking=. But, as we have said, a reader
does more than think in these two ways--he feels; and feeling, or
=emotion=, comes of itself, if the reader thinks in the two ways
described, for emotion is the result of thinking. Especially is it the
result of concrete thinking; for what we see, even if only with the
mind's eye, stirs our emotions more than that of which we think in the
abstract.
While reading the line just quoted, there are three emotions which
spring from the thinking. As we see these men struggling against the
strong current we have an emotion of fear for them; then as we think
of their determination and courage in the face of such great danger,
an emotion of determination comes to us, for we identify ourselves
with their fortunes; and lastly we are filled with admiration for
their heroism. Thus we experience the three emotions of fear,
determination, and admiration, while performing the mechanical act of
reading the words. These emotions, together with the two kinds of
thinking mentioned, affect the voice and the manner of reading, and
determine what we call =expression=. If the words were simply repeated
mechanically there would be no expression. Since expression involves
the employment of so many different powers at one time, a mastery of
the art of expression is much harder to acquire, than a mastery of
merely the mechanical side of reading.
Accordingly, good vocal expression springs primarily from something
within ourselves--that is, from our mental and emotional state. It
cannot be acquired by mechanical imitation, whether of the reading of
another, or of the movements, sounds, and gestures indicated in the
subject matter of what we read. Nevertheless it is very stimulating
to hear a selection well read, not because a model is thus supplied
for our imitation, but because we get a grasp of the selection as a
whole, and because the voice, which possesses great power in stirring
the imagination and the feelings, thus prepares within us the mental
and emotional state necessary for the correct expression.
In the same way, imitation of the movements, sounds, and gestures,
suggested by the subject matter may be a stimulus to thought and
feeling when preparing a selection, since what we have actually
reproduced is more real to us than what we have only imagined. After
such preparation, imitation, if it enters into the reading at all,
will be spontaneous, and not intentional and forced. In reading _The
Charge of the Light Brigade_ or _The Ride from Ghent to Aix_, we do
not designedly hurry along to imitate rapidity of movement; but,
rather, the imagination having been kindled by the picture, our pulse
is quickened, and the voice moves rapidly in sympathy with the
feelings aroused.
In the following extract (p. 216) the atmosphere is one of joy. The
reader is moved through sympathy with Horatius, and his voice
indicates the joy of the Romans, but he does not attempt to imitate
vocally, or by gesture, the "shouts," "clapping," and "weeping":
Now round him throng the Fathers
To press his gory hands;
And now, with shouts and clapping,
And noise of weeping loud,
He enters through the River-Gate,
Borne by the joyous crowd.
Sometimes, as already stated, we imitate spontaneously:
Back darted Spurius Lartius;
Herminius darted back:
And, as they passed, beneath their feet
They felt the timbers crack.
Here we imitate spontaneously the movement expressive of sudden fear.
Our action is prompted by our own fears for their safety.
Sometimes the feeling is still more complex. In reading the following
we spontaneously reproduce Sextus' alternate hate and fear which,
moreover, we tinge with our own contempt:
Thrice looked he at the city;
Thrice looked he at the dead;
And thrice came on in fury,
And thrice turned back in dread:
And, white with fear and hatred,
Scowled at the narrow way
Where, wallowing in a pool of blood,
The bravest Tuscans lay.
In reading the little poem from _The Princess_, (page 107) note how we
are influenced by the tense emotion of the attendants who speak. We do
not try to imitate them; but having made the scene stand out before
us, we speak as we in imagination hear them, in an aspirated tone of
voice:
She must weep or she will die.
In the last line it would savour of melodrama to try to impersonate
the lady as she says:
Sweet my child, I live for thee.
The important point is to show intelligent sympathy with her speech,
not to imitate her manner of uttering it.
On the other hand we must not make the mistake of supposing that if we
get the thought and the emotion, the true vocal expression will
follow. One who has a fine appreciation of a piece of literature may,
notwithstanding, read it very indifferently. Even in conversation
where we are interpreting vocally our own thoughts and feelings, we
sometimes misplace emphasis or employ the wrong inflection. How much
more likely we are to fall into such errors when we attempt to
interpret vocally from a book the thoughts of another.
=Elements Of Vocal Expression=
In order to criticise ourselves or understand intelligent criticism,
we must have a knowledge of the laws that govern speech--that is, we
must know what properties of tone or what acts of the voice correspond
to certain mental and emotional states. For example, the amount and
character of thinking done while we read determines the rate of
utterance; the purpose or motive of the thought and its completeness
or incompleteness are indicated by an upward or downward slide of the
voice; the nervous tension expresses itself in a certain key; the
physical and mental energy, in a certain power or volume of the voice;
and the character of the emotion is reflected in the quality. These
principles of vocal expression are known technically as the =elements=
of =time=, =inflection=, =pitch=, =force=, and =quality=. Closely
connected with these elements are =pause=, =grouping=, =stress=,
=emphasis=, =shading=, and =perspective=.
=Pause.= It must be quite clear that when we are reading silently, for
the purpose of getting the thought for ourselves, our minds are at
work as has been described. We shall now examine how this work done by
the mind affects the voice and produces what we call good expression
when we are reading aloud for the purpose of conveying thought to
others. As an illustration we shall take an example from _The Glove
and the Lions_:
The nobles fill'd the benches round, the ladies by their side,
And 'mongst them Count de Lorge, with one he hoped to make his bride.
In these lines there are certain words or phrases which stand out
prominently, since they call up mental pictures, namely: "nobles,"
"benches round," "Count de Lorge," and "one." In order to give time
to make these mental pictures, we naturally pause after each one. At
the end of the first line we combine the details, making a larger
mental image, with the result that we make a long pause after "side."
In reading the second line, the eye and the mind run ahead of the
voice, and the reader, wishing to impress the listener with the new
and important idea "Count de Lorge," pauses before it as well as after
it. In the same way he pauses before the phrase, "he hoped to make his
bride," to prepare the mind of the listener to receive the impression.
Thus we see that, if the mind is working, a pause occurs after a word
while we are making a mental image or trying to realize the idea more
fully, and also often before we express an important idea, in order to
prepare the mind of the listener for what is to come.
A very useful exercise in the study of pause is to image the pictures
in selections such as the following:
Come from deep glen (picture) and
From mountain so rocky; (picture)
The war pipe and pennon (picture)
Are at Inverlocky.
Come every hill-plaid, and
True heart that wears one; (picture)
Come every steel blade, (picture) and
Strong hand that bears one. (picture)
Leave untended the herd, (picture)
The flock without shelter; (picture)
Leave the corpse uninterred, (picture)
The bride at the altar; (picture)
Leave the deer, (picture) leave the steer, (picture)
Leave nets and barges: (picture)
Come with your fighting gear,
Broadswords and targes, (picture)
Then, too, in passing from one idea or thought to another, the mind
requires time to make the transition:
Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus
Into the stream beneath:
Herminius struck at Seius,
And clove him to the teeth:
At Picus brave Horatius
Darted one fiery thrust;
And the proud Umbrian's gilded arms
Clashed in the bloody dust.
Here the mind passes in succession from the action of Lartius to that
of Herminius and that of Horatius. A long pause is required after
"beneath," "teeth," and "dust," with a shorter pause after "Seius" and
after "thrust." Further, if the thoughts concern actions far apart,
more time is required to make the transition, and hence a longer
pause:
All day long that free flag toss'd
Over the heads of the rebel host.
Ever its torn folds rose and fell
On the loyal winds that loved it well;
And through the hill-gaps, sunset light
Shone over it with a warm good-night.
Barbara Frietchie's work is o'er,
And the Rebel rides on his raids no more.
Note the transition in thought from the day on which these stirring
events are supposed to have taken place to the present time. This is
indicated by a long pause after "warm good-night."
Sometimes the mind requires time to fill in ideas suggested but not
expressed:
Forty flags with their crimson bars,
Flapped in the morning wind: the sun
Of noon look'd down and saw not one.
Here, the tearing down of the flags between the morning and noon, is
suggested to the mind; hence a long pause after "wind."
Where an ellipsis occurs and the meaning is not obvious, there is a
pause to give time to realize the logical connection:
I'd rather rove with Edmund there
Than reign our English queen.
Here's the English can and will!
Note the pauses after "reign," and "English" (second example).
In such examples as the following where the meaning is obvious, the
pauses after "them," "one," "weary," and "wounded," make prominent the
important idea following:
And 'mongst them Count de Lorge, with one he hoped to make
his bride.
The weary to sleep and the wounded to die.
When preparing to read a selection, it is of great importance to make
the leading thoughts stand out clearly in the mind so that we may be
able to present them one by one. The poem _Barbara Frietchie_ (p. 113)
could be divided into paragraphs with some such titles as the
following: (1) the town of Frederick and its surroundings, (2) the
approach of the army, (3) the tearing down of the flags, (4) the
raising of Barbara Frietchie's flag, (5) Stonewall Jackson and his
men, and so on. Each of the paragraphs is a complete section of the
poem, and requires a well-marked pause before passing on to the next
one.
=Grouping.= In the extract from _The Glove and the Lions_, used above
to illustrate pause, the mental pictures and important ideas are
suggested in nearly every ease by a single word. Ideas are, however,
suggested as often by groups of words as by single words. These groups
are treated as single words, and may take pauses before or after them
as the case may be. The reader, who is thinking as he reads, will
group together words that express one idea, or symbolize one picture,
presenting these ideas and pictures to himself and to the listener one
by one, and separating by a pause, of greater or less length, those
not closely connected.
A slouched leather cap|| half hid his face| bronzed
by the sun and wind| and dripping with sweat.|| He
wore a cravat twisted like a rope|| coarse blue
trousers| worn and shabby| white on one knee| and
with holes in the other;|| an old ragged gray blouse|
patched on one side with a piece of green cloth|
sewed with twine;|| upon his back| was a well-filled
knapsack,|| in his hand| he carried an enormous
knotted stick;|| his stockingless feet| were in hobnailed
shoes;|| his hair was cropped|| and his beard
long.
Here the double vertical lines mark off groups of words which express
one idea or symbolize one picture, and which are therefore each
separated from the other by a well-marked pause. The single vertical
lines indicate a shorter pause between the subdivisions of each group.
The phrase "an old ragged gray blouse patched on one side with a piece
of green cloth sewed with twine" presents one picture by itself, and
is separated from the context by a long pause, but each detail in this
picture is presented in turn to the mind's eye, hence the shorter
pauses after "blouse," "cloth," and "twine."
The reader should be careful not to allow pause and grouping to
produce a jerky effect, thus interfering with the rhythm. This applies
especially to poetry, which demands, in order to preserve the rhythm,
that the caesural pause should not be slighted, and that there should
be a more or less marked pause at the end of each line:
And they had trod the Pass once more, and stoop'd on either side
To pluck the heather from the spot where he had dropped and died.
In the second line, the caesural pause occurs after "spot," but the
phrase "from the spot where he had dropped and died" expresses one
idea and must be given as a whole. The rhythm and the grouping appear
to be at variance; but the difficulty is easily overcome by making the
caesural pause shorter than the pause after "heather" which introduces
the group, and at the same time, by not allowing the voice to fall on
the word "spot."
The following affords another instance where the grouping appears to
interfere with the rhythm:
If the husband of this gifted well
Shall drink before his wife,
A happy man thenceforth is he,
For he shall be master for life.
"Of this gifted well" is evidently not connected in thought with
"husband." It must be separated from "husband" by a pause and attached
to "shall drink" at the beginning of the next line. To do this, it is
not, however, necessary to omit the pause at the end of the line; for
this would mar the effect of the rhythm. The difficulty is again
overcome by making the pause at the end of the line shorter than the
pauses which mark the grouping, and by not allowing the voice to fall
on "well."
=Time= is the rate at which we read. It is fast or slow according to
the number and the length of the pauses between words and phrases, and
also according to the length of time the reader dwells on the words
themselves. There is perhaps no more frequent criticism made on
reading than that it is too fast. What does this mean? It means that
the reader is not doing enough thinking as he repeats the words.
Consequently, he does not dwell on words that are full of meaning, nor
pause before and after words and phrases to make the mental picture
and to grasp the thought more fully. Moreover, for the benefit of the
listener, the reading should be slower than is required by the reader
for himself. The reader, with his eye on the page, can allow his eye
and mind to run ahead of his voice, and can thus realize the thought
in less time than the listener. The following line calls for a
comparatively small amount of thinking:
High flew the spray above their heads, yet onward still they bore.
Here, there is little except what is on the surface, and the thoughts
suggested by the words are of the kind to make the mind think rapidly.
Hence the line is read in faster time than the average rate. Reading
may, accordingly, be fast from one or both of two causes. First, when
there is no background of thought for the mind to dwell upon, and
second when the nature of the thoughts themselves, such as the
narration of the rapid succession of events, impels to quick mental
action. The following lines from _Pibroch of Donuil Dhu_ (p. 61) will
serve as an illustration:
Faster come, faster come,
Faster and faster,
Chief, vassal, page and groom,
Tenant and master.
Fast they come, fast they come;
See how they gather! etc.
So, too, reading may be slow from the exact opposite of these two
reasons. First, when there is a great back-ground of thought suggested
by the words, and second, when the reflective and meditative nature of
the thought leads to slow action on the part of the mind. In some
selections both of these conditions are present; in others only one of
them. In _The Day is Done_ (p. 63) there is little thought below the
surface; but the reading is slow because the quiet, meditative nature
of the thought tends to slow mental action:
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.
Both conditions, however, exist in the lines from _Barbara Frietchie_
which describe the effect produced on Stonewall Jackson by Barbara
Frietchie's heroic action and daring speech:
A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,
Over the face of the leader came.
A great many thoughts are suggested by these two lines. The heart of
the gallant Southerner is touched at the sight of this weak, decrepit
old woman with the courage and boldness of youth, ready to die for her
principles. His stern features relax and a look of sadness passes over
his face. The taunting words "spare your country's flag" have struck
home. The tragic side of civil war is forced upon him--father fighting
against son, and brother against brother, the sons of freedom firing
at their own star-spangled banner. The sorrow and the shame of it all
rise before him, and the crimson flush mounts to his brow. With this
undercurrent of thought in the mind, it is impossible to read rapidly.
Besides, the reflective nature of the thoughts themselves tends to
make one repeat the words slowly.
Sometimes, again, reading is faster than the moderate rate because of
the unimportance of the events or facts:
He spoke of the grass, the flowers and the trees,
Of the singing birds and the humming bees;
Then talked of the haying, and wondered whether
The cloud in the west would bring foul weather.
Note the lightness with which the unimportant details of conversation
are skimmed over.
=Inflection.= If we listen to the speech of the people around us, we
can easily detect an upward slide of the voice on some words, a
downward slide on others, and on others again a combination of the
two. This slide of the voice on words--generally on the accented
syllable of an emphatic word--is called =inflection=, and the various
inflections are known as _rising_ (/), _falling_ (\), _rising
circumflex_ (\/), and _falling_ circumflex (/\).
Each inflection has a definite and fixed meaning recognized by every
one, and it is because of the laws of inflection that we can tell what
meaning a speaker intends to convey when he uses certain words; for
often the same words may carry two or three different meanings
according to the inflection. The simple word "Yes," with an abrupt
downward slide, expresses decided affirmation. When spoken with an
upward slide, it expresses interrogation and is equivalent to "Is that
really so?" When it has a combination of the downward and upward slide
or a rising circumflex inflection, the meaning is no longer simple but
complex. There is an assertion combined with doubt. It is equivalent
to saying: "I think so but I am not really sure." In such a sentence
as: "Do not say 'yes,'" where the idea "but say 'no,'" is merely
implied, but not formally expressed, the word "yes" has a combination
of the upward and downward slide or a falling circumflex inflection.
If we take an idea for its own sake, if it is independent and complete
in itself, the voice has the downward slide or falling inflection on
the words which stand for the central idea:
My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.
The shattering trumpet shrilleth high,
The hard brands shiver on the steel,
The splinter'd spear-shafts crack and fly,
The horse and rider reel.
Each statement is complete in itself and has the falling inflection.
Sometimes there is a slight downward slide before the statement is
completed, because the mind feels that the ideas already expressed
are of sufficient force to give them the value of completeness:
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.
And the sick men down in the hold were most of them stark and cold,
And the pikes were all broken or bent, and the powder was all of it
spent;
And the masts and the rigging were lying over the side.
Note the momentary completeness on "ten," "cold," "bent," and "spent,"
requiring the falling inflection.
If on the other hand an idea is incomplete, either pointing forward to
some other idea or being subordinate, the voice has the upward slide
or rising inflection. The rising inflection, like the falling, may be
long or short, more or less abrupt, according to the importance of the
thought:
She, with all a monarch's pride,
Felt them in her bosom glow.
"She" points forward to the predicate "felt" and because of the
importance of the idea it takes a long rising inflection; "with all a
monarch's pride" being subordinate and incomplete also requires the
voice to be kept up, but takes a shorter rising inflection.
It is of the greatest importance to know the exact purpose of the
thought, so that the voice may, of itself, give the corresponding
inflection:
And you may gather garlands there
Would grace a summer queen.
The sense is evidently not complete in the first line, the intention
being to emphasize the beauty of the garlands to be gathered, and not
merely to state that they may be gathered there. When the reader
understands the exact meaning he will convey it by keeping the rising
inflection on "garlands."
Similar to the foregoing is the following:
There is not a wife in the west country
But has heard of the Well of St. Keyne.
The sense is not complete until we read the second line. The rising
inflection on "country" indicates this and connects the first line
with the second, bringing out the meaning, that every wife in the west
country has heard of the Well of St. Keyne.
Sometimes we have a series of rising inflections, all pointing forward
to the leading statement which is to follow and which is necessary to
complete the sense, for example:
Of man's first disobedience and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,
Sing, heavenly Muse.
Incompleteness may be suggested by a negative statement or its
equivalent:
Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.
I do not know what I was playing,
Or what I was dreaming then,
But I struck one chord of music
Like the sound of a great Amen.
Note the rising inflection on these negative clauses.
On the same principle the rising inflection is used on the negative
statements of persuasive argument as in the _Apology of Socrates_ (p.
145).
But I thought that I ought not to do anything
common or mean, in the hour of danger: nor do I
now repent of the manner of my defence.
For neither in war nor yet at law ought any man
to use every way of escaping death.
Not so; the deficiency which led to my conviction
was not of words--certainly not.
Doubt and hesitation also imply incompleteness:
He surely would do desperate things to show his love of me!
King, ladies, lovers, all look on; the chance is wondrous fine;
I'll drop my glove to prove his love; great glory will be mine!
Note the rising inflection on the first two lines where the lady is
still in doubt as to what shall be the test of De Lorge's love, and
the falling inflection on the last one when she has reached a
decision.
Pleading and entreaty also convey a sense of incompleteness and take
the rising inflection:
Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up
To such a sudden flood of mutiny.
Good Sir Richard, tell us now,
For to fight is but to die!
A direct interrogation, that is, one that can be answered by "Yes" or
"No", implies incompleteness in the mind of the questioner and
requires a decided rising inflection:
Is your name Shylock?
May you stead me? Will you pleasure me? Shall I know your answer?
Questions that require an explanatory answer and cannot be answered by
"Yes" or "No," do not convey an idea of incompleteness, being merely
equivalent to the statement of a desire for certain information.
Consequently they take the falling inflection:
_Flav._ Speak, what trade art thou?
_1st Cit._ Why, sir, a carpenter.
_Mar._ Where is thy leather apron, and thy rule?
What dost thou with thy best apparel on?--
You, sir, what trade are you?
The purpose or motive of a question must be considered. We must know
whether the question is asked for information, or whether its purpose
is to give information; that is, whether it is only another way of
making an assertion--what is sometimes called a question of appeal.
When Shylock asks Portia: "Shall I not have barely my principal?" he
does so with the direct purpose of learning his sentence. His question
can be answered by "Yes" or "No" and the rising inflection is used.
But when he asks: "On what compulsion must I?" he means simply to give
the information that there is no power on earth to compel him. This is
a complete thought, hence the falling inflection. Other examples are:
Have you e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?
God of battles, was ever a battle like this in the world before?
What conquest brings he home?
What tributaries follow him to Rome,
To grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels?
The opposite inflections on antithetical words or phrases are also due
to this law of completeness and incompleteness. The first part of the
antithesis usually has the rising inflection marking incompleteness,
and the second, the falling, marking completeness.
His blast is heard at merry morn,
And mine at dead of night.
For this thy brother was dead, and is alive again;
and was lost, and is found.
Similarly, in a series of words or phrases parallel in construction,
all have the rising inflection but the last:
As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was
fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour
him; but as he was ambitious, I slew him! There is
tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honour for
his valour; and death for his ambition.
Crafty men contemn studies; simple men admire
them; and wise men use them.
If one part of the antithesis is a negation, it takes the rising
inflection, whether it comes first or second. This is owing
to the fact that, as illustrated above, a negation implies
incompleteness. The other part then takes the falling inflection:
Fall into the hands of God, not into the hands of Spain.
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
I said an elder soldier, not a better.
Often only one part of the antithesis is expressed, the contrast being
implied. In such a case, the voice brings out the contrast by placing
a combination of the two inflections of the regularly expressed
antithesis on the one word which does duty for both parts: Cassius
says: "I said an elder soldier, not a better" in reply to Brutus'
speech--"You say you are a better soldier." The antithesis is fully
expressed, and the voice places the falling inflection on "elder" and
the rising inflection on "better." If Cassius had omitted the words
"not a better," the very same meaning could have been conveyed by
placing a combination of the rising and the falling inflection or a
falling circumflex on the word "elder," thus--"I said an elder
soldier." In the next line he goes on to say "Did I say b[)e]tter?"
Here, there is an implied contrast with "elder," which is expressed by
a combination of the falling and the rising inflection or a rising
circumflex. From these two examples, we can see that the law of
completeness and incompleteness holds good with the compound or
circumflex inflection, just as it does with the simple inflection, and
determines whether the circumflex shall be rising or falling.
A very common mistake in reading is to use the circumflex inflection
in emphasizing a word, thus making a contrast where none is intended.
"Ramped and roared the lions" with a falling circumflex inflection on
"lions," instead of a simple falling inflection, suggests that the
tigers or some other animals did not ramp and roar. For similar
reasons, avoid the circumflex when emphasizing "hand" and "feet" in
"put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet."
As has already been stated, it is necessary to know the motive behind
the words. When Shylock says: "O wise and upright judge," his
intention is evidently to bestow sincere praise. The reader, knowing
this, instinctively gives a straight slide. Later, when Gratiano says:
"O upright judge, O learned judge!" his intention is to taunt and hold
up to ridicule; there is a double meaning conveyed, which finds its
natural expression in a curved inflection.
Compare the curved inflections in the cobbler's speeches in Act I.
Scene I, of _Julius Caesar_ (p. 133) when he is fencing with Marullus,
with the straight inflections of his final speech when he has thrown
aside his raillery and speaks with sincerity:
~ ~ ~ ~
Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, to get myself
~ ~
in more work. But, indeed, sir, we make holiday to
see C`aesar, and to rejoice in his triumph.
One writer has said: "Where there is simple and genuine thought, deep
and sincere feeling, wherever the eye is single, the inflections of
the voice are straight; a crook in the mind however is indicated by a
crook in the voice."
=Pitch= is the key of the voice. A change of pitch is a leap from one
key to another during silence. Inflection, as we have seen, is a
gradual change in the key while the voice is speaking. The pitch or
key depends upon the muscular tension of the vocal chords, which act
like the strings of a musical instrument: the greater the tension, the
higher the key. Muscular tension implies nervous tension and this is
dependent upon the mental state. If the mind is calm, the nervous and
muscular tension is normal, and the speaker uses the key habitual to
him in his ordinary speech. If the mental state is one of excitement,
the key is higher because of greater nervous and muscular tension. If,
on the other hand, the mental state is one of depression, the key is
lower because of relaxed muscular tension.
In _The Defence of the Bridge_ (p. 206) the Romans, seeing the danger
of the heroes, are wrought up to a high state of nervous tension which
finds its natural expression in the high-pitched voice:
"Come back, come back Horatius!"
Loud cried the Fathers all.
"Back, Lartius! back Herminius!
Back, ere the ruin fall!"
Contrast with this the lower key of Horatius, who is calm and
self-controlled:
"O Tiber! Father Tiber!
To whom the Romans pray,
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms,
Take thou in charge this day!"
Observe the gradual rise in pitch with the increase of tension or
excitement in the following:
And now he feels the bottom;
Now on dry earth he stands;
Now round him throng the Fathers
To press his gory hands;
And now, with shouts and clapping,
And noise of weeping loud,
He enters through the River-Gate,
Borne by the joyous crowd.
In the following lines, where the Douglas holds communion with
himself, the tension is low chiefly because of his great mental
depression, and, consequently, he speaks in a low key:
Yes! all is true my fears could frame;
A prisoner lies the noble Graeme,
And fiery Roderick soon will feel
The vengeance of the royal steel.
I, only I, can ward their fate,--
God grant the ransom come not late.
The abbess hath her promise given.
My child shall be the bride of Heaven:--
Be pardoned one repining tear!
For he, who gave her, knows how dear,
How excellent! but that is by,
And now my business is--to die.
The low pitch is also partly due to the fact that the Douglas is
speaking to himself, and has no desire to communicate his thoughts to
another; for the effort to communicate thought causes increased
tension.
Again, it requires greater effort to address a person who is at a
distance than one close at hand, or to address a large audience than
a small one. Observe the comparatively high pitch in which Antony (p.
225) begins his oration:
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
If the reader wishes to give prominence to a thought, the effort put
forth causes muscular tension, resulting in a higher pitch. On the
other hand, a thought, which the reader regards as not of special
importance to the listener, finds expression in lower pitch, more as
if he were addressing himself:
Bold words!--but, though the beast of game
The privilege of chase may claim,
Though space and law the stag we lend,
Ere hound we slip, or bow we bend,
Who ever recked, where, how, or when,
The prowling fox was trapped or slain?
Observe the lower pitch of the subordinate clauses in the first four
lines, and the higher pitch in the last two lines which project the
leading thought.
"I think, boys," said the schoolmaster, when the
clock struck twelve, "that I shall give an extra half-holiday
this afternoon."
Similarly, the narrative clause "said the schoolmaster" which
interrupts the direct speech is read in lower pitch and is separated
by a marked pause before and after.
Parenthetical expressions, also for the same reason, are read in lower
pitch.
She had not perceived--how could she until she
had lived longer?--the inmost truth of the old
monk's outpourings, that renunciation remains sorrow,
though a sorrow borne willingly.
He (Mr. Pickwick) would not deny that he was
influenced by human passions, and human feelings,
(cheers)--possibly by human weaknesses--(loud
cries of "No"); but this he would say, that if ever
the fire of self-importance broke out in his bosom,
the desire to benefit the human race in preference,
effectually quenched it.
Passages which are collateral or co-ordinate in construction, and
equally balanced, will find their natural vocal expression in the same
pitch and, of course, the pitch varies as the attitude of the mind
changes:
Forty flags with their silver stars,
Forty flags with their crimson bars,
Flapped in the morning wind: the sun
Of noon looked down and saw not one.
The first two lines have the same pitch, because there is no
difference in intensity of feeling or in the mental conception. There
is, however, an entire change of thought beginning with "the sun."
This is accompanied by a change of pitch.
=Force.= Force is vocal energy; in other words, it is the power or
volume of the voice, and is determined by the amount of physical and
mental energy exerted by the speaker.
The language of everyday conversation, when not marked by intensity of
feeling or purpose, requires only a moderate amount of physical and
mental energy and is expressed by _moderate force_. Intensity of
feeling or purpose, on the other hand, is accompanied by a great
expenditure of energy, and finds its natural outlet in _strong force_.
In the following lines, (p. 132) the king's emphatic approval of De
Lorge's action and his vehement condemnation of the lady's vanity find
expression in strong force:
"In truth!" cried Francis, "rightly done!" and he rose from where
he sat:
"No love," quoth he, "but vanity, sets love a task like that!"
Compare the moderate amount of energy expended in uttering the
narrative clauses "cried Francis," "and he rose from where he sat,"
and "quoth he," which should be read with moderate force.
More physical energy is expended in making one's self understood at a
distance than near at hand, and in addressing a large audience than a
small one; hence strong force is used in the following where it is
accompanied by a loud tone of voice:
"Come back, come back Horatius!"
Loud cried the Fathers all.
But strong force does not necessarily imply a loud tone of voice:
"Curse on him!" quoth false Sextus;
"Will not the villain drown?
But for this stay, ere close of day
We should have sacked the town!"
Here Sextus gives vent to his concentrated hate for Horatius and
speaks with strong force, but not in a loud tone of voice.
The effort to influence the mind and action of others draws on a great
fund of mental energy; hence commands, persuasion, and argument, all
find their vocal expression in strong force. Herve Riel, urging the
captains to allow him to pilot the ships, speaks with strong force:
Sirs, they know I speak the truth! Sirs, believe me there's a way!
Only let me lead the line,
When the mental or physical energy is at a low ebb we
speak with _weak force_:
But all that I could think of, in the darkness and the cold,
Was just that I was leaving home, and my folks were growing old.
Take me out, sink me deep in the green profound,
To sway with the long-weed, swing with the drowned,
Where the change of the soft tide makes no sound,
Far below the keels of the outward bound.
For the same reason such poems as _The Day is Done_, (p. 63) and Part
IV, of _The Lady of Shalott_, (p. 200) are read with gentle force.
A change in force often accompanies a change in pitch. The lower pitch
of parenthetical expressions, and narrative clauses which interrupt
direct discourse, is accompanied by weaker force, and the higher pitch
resulting from the efforts to make one's self heard at a distance is
accompanied by stronger force.
=Stress= is force applied to the vowel sound. When we are taken by
surprise and give expression to it by means of the one word "Oh," we
apply the force or volume of the voice to the beginning of the vowel
sound. This is called _initial or radical stress_ (>). When we wish to
give a very emphatic denial to a statement, or to insist on a refusal
to some persistent request we say "No," gradually increasing the force
of the voice to the last part of the vowel sound. This is called
_final_ or _vanishing stress_ (<). Again, if our minds are uplifted
with wonder and delight at something we have heard or seen, we exclaim
"Oh" applying the force to the middle of the vowel sound. This swell
of the vowel sound is called _median stress_ (<>).
It has already been pointed out that force depends upon the _amount_
of energy. The above examples show that stress or the location of
force depends upon the _kind_ of mental energy, or the attitude of
mind, whether it be that of abruptness, of insistence, or of uplift.
All speech has a slight tendency toward initial stress, because the
effort made by the vocal chords to articulate sound is characterized
by abruptness. If, in addition, the mental energy of the speaker
possesses abruptness through sudden impulse or emotion, or through
unconscious imitation of sound or movement, the initial stress is
very prominent:
_Where_ is thy leather apron, and thy rule?
_What_ dost thou with thy best apparel on?--
_You_, sir, _what trade_ are _you_?
_Quick_, as it fell, from the broken staff
Dame Barbara _snatched_ the silken scarf.
She leaned far out on the window-sill,
And _shook_ it forth with a royal will.
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
If the speaker desires to impress on others his own feelings or
convictions, the final stress is the result. Such insistence is found
in the expression of anger, scorn, indignation, and determination:
_Burn_ the fleet and _ruin_ France?
That were _worse_ than _fifty_ Hogues!
Sirs, they _know_ I speak the truth!
Sirs, _believe_ me, _there's a way_!
In the first two lines Herve Riel wishes to make others feel his own
indignation at the thought of burning the fleet. In the last two, he
tries to impress them with his conviction that there is a way out of
the difficulty. Hence the final stress in each case.
Sometimes the speaker tries to enforce his own opinion by peevishness,
whining, or complaining, with the result that he uses the final
stress:
_Lady Teazle._ Then _why_ will you _endeavour_ to
make yourself so _disagreeable_ to me, and _thwart_ me
in _every little elegant expense_?
_Sir Peter._ Madam, I say, had you any of these
little elegant expenses when you married me?
_Lady Teazle._ _Sir Peter!_ would you have me be
_out of the fashion_?
If the mental energy or mental attitude is one of uplift or
exaltation, expressing itself in adoration of the Deity, or in
admiration and love of the beautiful, or in sympathy and tenderness
toward mankind, the median stress is used:
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his
holy name.
_Roll on_, thou _deep_ and _dark_ blue ocean--_roll_!
Dear lost companions of my tuneful art,
Dear as the light that visits these sad eyes,
Dear as the ruddy drops that warm my heart,
Ye died amidst your dying country's cries.
Determination and settled conviction in the speaker's
mind, especially when accompanied by a marked degree of
dignity, calmness, and self-control, cause equal stress on
every part of the vowel sound. This is called _thorough stress_:
If every ducat in six thousand ducats
Were in six parts, and every part a ducat,
I would not draw them; I would have my bond.
It is the stress of quiet strength and great reserve force:
Though the water flashed around them,
_Not an eye was seen to quiver_;
Though the shot flew sharp and deadly,
_Not a man relax'd his hold_.
In a more marked degree, it is also the stress used in calling:
Then rose a warning cry behind, a joyous shout before:
"The current's strong,--the way is long,--they'll never reach
the shore!
See, see! they stagger in the midst, they waver in their line!
Fire on the madmen! break their ranks, and whelm them in
the Rhine!"
If the speaker's attitude of mind is not straightforward and sincere,
if he speaks with a double meaning, in irony or sarcasm, the stress is
a combination of the radical and final, known as _compound stress_
(><). This is analogous to the compound inflection. See page 21.
Now welcome, welcome, Sextus!
Now welcome to thy home!
Why dost thou stay, and turn away?
Here lies the road to Rome.
Accordingly, the compound stress is used when the intention is to
taunt or to ridicule:
_Sir Peter._ Ay--there again--taste! Zounds!
Madam, you had no taste when you married me!
_Lady Teazle._ _That's very true_, indeed, Sir Peter!
and after having married _you_, I should _never pretend
to taste again_, I allow.
=Emphasis=--The importance of an idea, whether this idea is expressed
by a single word, or by a phrase or clause, is indicated by a
variation of pitch, force, or time. This change in pitch, force, or
time, by attracting attention to that idea, is a means of emphasis. It
is the new idea, or the idea which is important through contrast
either expressed or implied, which will attract the reader's attention
and which he will make prominent in this way:
_Brutus._ You say you are a _better soldier_:
Let it _appear_ so; make your vaunting _true_,
And it shall _please me well_: for mine own part,
I shall be _glad_ to learn of noble men.
_Cassius._ You _wrong_ me every way; you _wrong_ me, Brutus;
I said, an _elder_ soldier, not a _better_:
"better soldier," "appear," and "true" are central ideas; they express
important ideas not mentioned before. When Cassius replies he at once
throws the idea of "soldier" in the back-ground and emphasizes
"better" by contrasting it with "elder." He also introduces the new
idea "wrong" which he makes still more emphatic by repetition. Brutus
also introduces the new idea "please me well" which he makes emphatic
by repeating it in the word "glad." Other examples of words and
phrases becoming more emphatic through repetition are:
Faster come, faster come;
Faster and faster,
* * * * *
Fast they come, fast they come;
"_Jump_--far--out boy into the wave,
JUMP, or I fire," he said,
"This chance alone your life can save:
JUMP, JUMP."
In the case of a climax, the emphasis grows stronger on each member of
the series:
"Take the helm, lead the line, save the squadron!" cried its chief.
It is enthroned in the hearts of Kings,
It is an attribute to God himself.
When a wind from the lands they had ruin'd awoke from sleep,
And the water began to heave and the weather to moan,
And or ever that evening ended a great gale blew,
And a wave like the wave that is raised by an earthquake grew,
Till it smote on their hulls and their sails and their masts and
their flags.
However, if a word is repeated, it is not necessarily emphatic each
time:
The German heart is stout and true, the German arm is strong;
The German foot goes seldom back where armed foemen throng.
In the phrase "The German heart" the chief emphasis is on "heart,"
with a slighter emphasis on German. The emphasis is then transferred
to "arm" and "foot" through contrast with "heart." To emphasize
"German" again would weaken the effect.
Compare the repetition, in the following, of the syllable "un," also
of the phrase "this year":
Unwatched along Clitumnus
Grazes the milk-white steer;
Unharmed the water-fowl may dip
In the Volsinian mere.
The harvests of Arretium,
This year, old men shall reap,
This year young boys in Umbro
Shall plunge the struggling sheep;
And in the vats of Luna,
This year, the must shall foam
Round the white feet of laughing girls
Whose sires have marched to Rome.
Words and phrases are emphatic quite as often through contrast implied
as through contrast expressed. It is evident that such a sentence as:
"Will you ride to town to-day?" may have a number of different meanings
according to the words emphasized. This difference of meaning is due
to an implied contrast. If "you" is emphatic, it is because there is a
mental contrast between "you" and some other person. If "ride" is
emphatic, it is because riding is being contrasted with walking or
driving and so on. The following contain examples of emphasis through
implied contrast:
_Great_ things were ne'er begotten in an hour.
But _now_ no sound of laughter was heard among the foes.
As already shown on page 21, the emphasis, in the case of implied
contrast, is brought out by the circumflex inflection.
=Shading= and =Perspective=. These deal with the relative importance
of words, phrases, or clauses. According as an idea suggested by a
word or group of words is regarded as principal or subordinate, the
voice either projects it or holds it in the back-ground as an artist
shades his picture:
And, though the legend does not live,--for legends lightly die--
The peasant, as he sees the stream in winter rolling by,
And foaming o'er its channel-bed between him and the spot
Won by the warriors of the sword, still calls that deep and
dangerous ford
The Passage of the Scot.
The principal statement, "The peasant still calls that deep and
dangerous ford the Passage of the Scot," is projected or emphasized by
higher pitch and stronger force, the thought being sustained, and the
connection made between "The peasant" and "still calls" by means of
the rising inflection. The subordinate statements, "though the legend
does not live" and "as he sees the stream in winter rolling by ...
sword," are kept in the back-ground by slightly lower pitch and
moderate force. The parenthetical clause, "for legends lightly die,"
is subordinate to the subordinate statement and is thrown still more
into the back-ground in the same way as the preceding.
Strictly speaking, the term "shading" is used to indicate the value of
individual phrases or clauses; "perspective," to indicate the values
of several phrases or clauses viewed relatively.
The =quality=, or timbre, of the voice reveals the speaker's emotions,
their character, number, and intensity. The voice is affected by the
muscular texture of the throat, just as the tone of an instrument is
affected by the texture of the material of which it is made. This
muscular texture is affected by nerve and muscular vibrations which
are caused by emotion, the result of mental impressions. Whatever be
the quality of voice peculiar to the individual, it is greatly
modified by his emotions. The man of few emotions has few vocal
vibrations; hence his monotonous voice. The man whose emotions are
habitually cruel, has a harsh, hard muscular texture through
contraction of the muscles; hence the hard voice. It is plain that the
natural voice is an index to the character. If the imagination and
soul are cultivated, the voice will gain in richness and fulness. If,
in reading that which expresses the sublime, noble, and grand, the
imagination is kindled, the voice will express by its vibrations the
largeness of our conception. This full, rich voice is called the
_orotund_:
These are the gardens of the Desert, these
The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful,
For which the speech of England has no name--
The prairies.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy
toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our
transgressions from us.
In thinking of what is stern, severe, harsh, cruel, or base, the
muscles of the throat contract and produce the rigid, throaty tone
known as the _guttural_:
On what compulsion must I? Tell me that.
"Curse on him!" quoth false Sextus
"Will not the villain drown?
But for this stay, ere close of day,
We should have sacked the town!"
Certain states of mind, such as awe, caution, secrecy, fear, etc.,
produce in greater or less degree an aspirated or "breathy" quality,
called the _whisper_ or _aspirate_:
When Jubal struck the chorded shell,
His listening brethren stood around,
And, wondering, on their faces fell
To worship that celestial sound.
The red rose cries, "She is near, she is near;"
And the white rose weeps, "She is late;"
The larkspur listens, "I hear, I hear;"
And the lily whispers, "I wait."
The atmosphere of hush and repose expresses itself by a partial
whisper:
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
It must not be supposed that the whisper is always associated with
moderate or with weak force as in the preceding examples. Strong force
is used with the whisper to express intensity of feeling or vehemence:
Whispering with white lips: the foe! they come! they come!
Hush, I say, hush!
Other emotional states have their corresponding qualities of voice,
such, for example, as the quality of oppressed feeling and the quality
expressing agitation.
To conclude: it must be carefully borne in mind that the reader should
never strive to produce a certain quality apart from the emotion which
should precede. By force alone, for example, he will succeed in
producing mere sound without the quality. Nor are any of the examples
given above, in dealing with the various elements of vocal expression,
intended for practice in voice gymnastics apart from the preliminary
state of which they are the vocal expression. They are intended merely
as illustrations of the laws which govern correct speech.
* * * * *
THE HIGH SCHOOL READER
THE BANNER OF ST. GEORGE
Words by Shapcott Wensley: music by Sir Edward Elgar
It comes from the misty ages,
The banner of England's might,
The blood-red cross of the brave St. George,
That burns on a field of white!
It speaks of the deathless heroes 5
On fame's bright page inscrolled,
And bids great England ne'er forget
The glorious deeds of old!
O'er many a cloud of battle
The banner has floated wide; 10
It shone like a star o'er the valiant hearts
That dashed the Armada's pride!
For ever amid the thunders
The sailor could do or die,
While tongues of flame leaped forth below, 15
And the flag of St. George was high!
O ne'er may the flag beloved
Unfurl in a strife unblest,
But ever give strength to the righteous arm,
And hope to the hearts oppressed! 20
It says to the passing ages:
"Be brave if your cause be right,
Like the soldier saint whose cross of red
Still burns on your banner white!"
Great race, whose empire of splendour 25
Has dazzled the wondering world!
May the flag that floats o'er thy wide domains
Be long to all winds unfurled!
Three crosses in concord blended,
The banner of Britain's might! 30
But the central gem of the ensign fair
Is the cross of the dauntless Knight!
--_By permission of the publishers, Novello & Co._
PREPARATORY--Divide the poem into two parts, giving to
each part a descriptive title.
What feelings are aroused by this poem?
What lines in stanzas i and iv call up a mental picture
of the flag?
What three phrases in stanza i suggest the important
ideas to be associated with the flag? How does the voice
indicate the importance of these ideas? (Introduction,
p. 8.)
Of what phrases in stanza i is stanza ii only an
elaboration?
What wish is contained in stanza iii? What sentences
express it?
What additional idea does stanza iv add to this wish?
STAR, VALIANT, ARMADA, CENTRAL. Make a distinction in
the sound of the letter _a_ in these words, and
elsewhere in the poem. (Appendix A, 1.)
GEORGE, CROSS, FORGET, FORTH, CONCORD. What sound has
the letter _o_ in each word? (Appendix A, 1.)
Articulate with energy the final consonantal
combinations of all such words as: ENGLAND'S, BURNS,
SPEAKS, INSCROLLED, FLOATED, HEARTS, DASHED, LEAPED,
UNBLEST, STRENGTH, DAZZLED, UNFURLED, BLENDED. (Appendix
A, 3.)
* * * * *
JEAN VALJEAN AND THE BISHOP
From "Les Miserables"
At the bishop's house, his housekeeper, Mme. Magloire was saying:
"We say that this house is not safe at all; and, if Monseigneur will
permit me, I will go on and tell the locksmith to come and put the old
bolts in the door again. I say, than a door which opens by a latch on
the outside to the first comer, nothing could be more horrible; and
then Monseigneur has the habit of always saying: 'Come in,' even at
midnight. But, my goodness, there is no need to even ask leave----"
At this moment there was a violent knock on the door.
"Come in!" said the bishop.
The door opened.
It opened quickly, quite wide, as if pushed by some one boldly and
with energy.
A man entered.
That man we know already; it was the traveller we have seen wandering
about in search of a lodging.
He came in, took one step, and paused, leaving the door open behind
him. He had his knapsack on his back, his stick in his hand, and a
rough, hard, and fierce look in his eyes. He was hideous.
The bishop looked upon the man with a tranquil eye. As he was opening
his mouth to speak, doubtless to ask the stranger what he wanted, the
man, leaning with both hands on his club, glanced from one to another
in turn, and, without waiting for the bishop to speak, said, in a
loud voice:
"See here! my name is Jean Valjean. I am a convict; I have been
nineteen years in the galleys. Four days ago I was set free, and
started for Pontarlier; during these four days I have walked from
Toulon. To-day I have walked twelve leagues. When I reached this place
this evening I went to an inn, and they sent me away on account of my
yellow passport, which I had shown at the Mayor's office, as was
necessary. I went to another inn; they said, 'Get out!' It was the
same with one as with another; nobody would have me. I went to the
prison and the turnkey would not let me in. I crept into a dog kennel,
the dog bit me, and drove me away as if he had been a man; you would
have said that he knew who I was. I went into the fields to sleep
beneath the stars, there were no stars. I thought it would rain, and
there was no good God to stop the drops, so I came back to the town to
get the shelter of some doorway. There in the square I laid down upon
a stone; a good woman showed me your house, and said: 'Knock there!' I
have knocked. What is this place? Are you an inn? I have money; my
savings, one hundred and nine francs and fifteen sous, which I have
earned in the galleys by my work for nineteen years. I will pay. What
do I care? I have money, I am very tired--twelve leagues on foot--and
I am so hungry. Can I stay?"
"Mme. Magloire," said the bishop, "put on another plate."
The man took three steps and came near the lamp which stood on the
table. "Stop," he exclaimed; as if he had not been understood; "not
that, did you understand me? I am a galley slave--a convict--I am just
from the galleys." He drew from his pocket a large sheet of yellow
paper, which he unfolded. "There is my passport, yellow, as you see.
That is enough to have me kicked out wherever I go. Will you read it?
See, here is what they have put on my passport: Jean Valjean, a
liberated convict; has been nineteen years in the galleys; five years
for burglary; fourteen years for having attempted four times to
escape. This man is very dangerous. There you have it! Everybody has
thrust me out; will you receive me? Is this an inn? Can you give me
something to eat and a place to sleep? Have you a stable?"
"Mme. Magloire," said the bishop, "put some sheets on the bed in the
alcove."
The bishop turned to the man:
"Monsieur, sit down and warm yourself; we are going to take supper
presently, and your bed will be made ready while you sup."
At last the man quite understood; his face, the expression of which
till then had been gloomy, and hard, now expressed stupefaction, doubt
and joy, and became absolutely wonderful. He began to stutter like a
madman.
"True? What? You will keep me? you won't drive me away--a convict? You
call me monsieur and don't say, 'Get out, dog!' as everybody else
does. I shall have a supper! a bed like other people, with mattress
and sheets--a bed! It is nineteen years that I have not slept on a
bed. You are good people! Besides, I have money; I will pay well. I
beg your pardon, M. Innkeeper, what is your name? I will pay all you
say. You are a fine man. You are an innkeeper, is it not so?"
"I am a priest who lives here," said the bishop.
"A priest," said the man. "Oh, noble priest! Then you do not ask any
money?"
"No," said the bishop, "keep your money. How much have you?"
"One hundred and nine francs and fifteen sous," said the man.
"One hundred and nine francs and fifteen sous. And how long did it
take you to earn that?"
"Nineteen years."
"Nineteen years!"
The bishop sighed deeply, and shut the door, which had been left wide
open.
Mme. Magloire brought in a plate and set it on the table.
"Mme Magloire," said the bishop, "put this plate as near the fire as
you can." Then turning toward his guest he added: "The night wind is
raw in the Alps; you must be cold, monsieur."
Every time he said the word _monsieur_ with his gentle, solemn and
heartily hospitable voice, the man's countenance lighted up.
_Monsieur_ to a convict is a glass of water to a man dying of thirst
at sea.
"The lamp," said the bishop, "gives a very poor light."
Mme. Magloire understood him, and, going to his bedchamber, took from
the mantel the two silver candlesticks, lighted the candles and placed
them on the table.
"M. le Cure," said the man, you are good; "you don't despise me. You
take me into your house; you light your candles for me, and I haven't
hid from you where I come from, and how miserable I am."
The bishop touched his hand gently and said: "You need not tell me who
you are. This is not my house; it is the house of Christ. It does not
ask any comer whether he has a name, but whether he has an affliction.
You are suffering; you are hungry and thirsty; be welcome. And do not
thank me; do not tell me that I take you into my house. This is the
home of no man except him who needs an asylum. I tell you, who are a
traveller, that you are more at home here than I; whatever is here is
yours. What need have I to know your name? Besides, before you told
me, I knew it."
The man opened his eyes in astonishment.
"Really? You knew my name?"
"Yes," answered the bishop, "your name is my brother."
"Stop, stop, M. le Cure," exclaimed the man, "I was famished when I
came in, but you are so kind that now I don't know what I am; that is
all gone."
The bishop looked at him again and said:
"You have seen much suffering?"
"Oh, the red blouse, the ball and chain, the plank you sleep on, the
heat, the cold, the galley's screw, the lash, the double chain for
nothing, the dungeon for a word--even when sick in bed, the chain. The
dogs, the dogs are happier! nineteen years! and I am forty-six, and
now a yellow passport. That is all."
"Yes," answered the bishop, "you have left a place of suffering. But
listen, there will be more joy in heaven over the tears of a repentant
sinner than over the white robes of a hundred good men. If you are
leaving that sorrowful place with hate and anger against men, you are
worthy of compassion; if you leave it with good-will, gentleness, and
peace, you are better than any of us."
--_Victor Hugo_
This lesson can be used as an exercise on Pause
springing from (1) Visualization and Grouping,
(Introduction, pp. 7 and 8); (2) Narrative which breaks
in upon the direct discourse. (Introduction, p. 24.)
THAT MAN WE KNOW ALREADY. (Introduction, p. 11.)
"SEE HERE ... CAN I STAY?" This paragraph is an exercise
on Emphasis. Make a list of the words which are emphatic
(1) because they express new and important ideas, (2)
because of contrast. Why is GALLEYS not emphatic? Where
is the emphasis placed in that sentence?
* * * * *
THE WELL OF ST. KEYNE
A well there is in the west country,
And a clearer one never was seen;
There is not a wife in the west country
But has heard of the well of St. Keyne.
An oak and an elm-tree stand beside, 5
And behind doth an ash-tree grow,
And a willow from the bank above
Droops to the water below.
A traveller came to the well of St. Keyne;
Joyfully he drew nigh, 10
For from cock-crow he had been travelling,
And there was not a cloud in the sky.
He drank of the water so cool and clear,
For thirsty and hot was he;
And he sat down upon the bank, 15
Under the willow-tree.
There came a man from the house hard by,
At the well to fill his pail;
On the well-side he rested it,
And he bade the stranger hail. 20
"Now, art thou a bachelor, stranger?" quoth he;
"For, an if thou hast a wife,
The happiest draught thou hast drank this day
That ever thou didst in thy life.
"Or has thy good woman, if one thou hast, 25
Ever here in Cornwall been?
For, an if she have, I'll venture my life
She has drank of the well of St. Keyne."
"I have left a good woman who never was here,"
The stranger he made reply; 30
"But that my draught should be the better for that,
I pray you answer me why."
"St. Keyne," quoth the Cornish-man, many a time
Drank of this crystal well;
And before the angel summoned her, 35
She laid on the water a spell,--
"If the husband of this gifted well
Shall drink before his wife,
A happy man thenceforth is he,
For he shall be master for life; 40
"But, if the wife should drink of it first,
God help the husband then!"--
The stranger stooped to the well of St. Keyne,
And drank of the water again.
"You drank of the well, I warrant, betimes?" 45
He to the Cornish-man said;
But the Cornish-man smiled as the stranger spake,
And sheepishly shook his head:--
"I hastened, as soon as the wedding was done,
And left my wife in the porch; 50
But i' faith she had been wiser than me,
For she took a bottle to church."
--_Robert Southey_
PREPARATORY.--Select the lines that (_a_) describe the
scene, (_b_) indicate the action, (_c_) give the
dialogue.
Show by recasting this ballad into dramatic form that it
is a miniature drama.
Give examples of Pause springing from (_a_)
Visualization, in ll. 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 17, 19, (_b_)
narrative which interrupts direct discourse, in ll. 21,
29, 33, 45.
Which are the emphatic words in ll. 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 14,
21, 29, 31, 38, 45, 46? Give your reasons and show how
they are made emphatic. (Introduction, p. 30.)
l. 3. What is the Inflection on 'country,' l. 3?
(Introduction, p. 17.)
ll. 37-38. Note the Grouping and Pause. (Introduction,
p. 12.)
* * * * *
FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
1 Corinthians xiii
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And
though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and
all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all
my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and
have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself
unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no
evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things.
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall
fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be
knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy
in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in
part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I
understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man I
put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but
then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as
also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three;
but the greatest of these is charity.
CHARITY, SUFFERETH, PROFITETH. (Appendix A, 8 and 3.)
Show by examples from this selection how completeness
and incompleteness of thought affect the Inflection.
(Introduction, pp. 15 and 16.)
What Inflection does a negative statement usually
require? Give examples from the second paragraph.
(Introduction, p. 17.)
Give examples, from the second paragraph, of momentary
completeness. (Introduction, pp. 15 and 16.)
Select the words which are emphatic because they express
(_a_) new and important ideas. (_b_) contrast.
BEARETH ALL THINGS, ETC. How may the repetition of a
word or phrase affect the Emphasis? (Introduction, pp.
31 and 32.)
How are the principal clauses in the first three
sentences made prominent? (Introduction, p. 33.)
* * * * *
THE LEGEND BEAUTIFUL
From "Tales of a Wayside Inn"
"Hadst thou stayed, I must have fled!"
That is what the Vision said.
In his chamber all alone,
Kneeling on the floor of stone,
Prayed the Monk in deep contrition 5
For his sins of indecision,
Prayed for greater self-denial
In temptation and in trial;
It was noonday by the dial,
And the Monk was all alone. 10
Suddenly, as if it lightened,
An unwonted splendour brightened
All within him and without him
In that narrow cell of stone;
And he saw the Blessed Vision 15
Of our Lord, with light Elysian
Like a vesture wrapped about Him,
Like a garment round Him thrown.
Not as crucified and slain,
Not in agonies of pain, 20
Not with bleeding hands and feet,
Did the Monk his Master see;
But as in the village street,
In the house or harvest-field,
Halt and lame and blind He healed, 25
When He walked in Galilee.
In an attitude imploring,
Hands upon his bosom crossed,
Wondering, worshipping, adoring,
Knelt the Monk in rapture lost. 30
Lord, he thought, in heaven that reignest,
Who am I, that thus Thou deignest
To reveal Thyself to me?
Who am I, that from the centre
Of Thy glory Thou shouldst enter 35
This poor cell, my guest to be?
Then amid his exaltation,
Loud the convent bell appalling,
From its belfry calling, calling,
Rang through court and corridor 40
With persistent iteration
He had never heard before.
It was now the appointed hour
When alike in shine or shower,
Winter's cold or summer's heat, 45
To the convent portals came
All the blind and halt and lame,
All the beggars of the street,
For their daily dole of food
Dealt them by the brotherhood; 50
And their almoner was he
Who upon his bended knee,
Rapt in silent ecstasy
Of divinest self-surrender,
Saw the Vision and the Splendour. 55
Deep distress and hesitation
Mingled with his adoration;
Should he go or should he stay?
Should he leave the poor to wait
Hungry at the convent gate, 60
Till the Vision passed away?
Should he slight his radiant guest,
Slight this visitant celestial,
For a crowd of ragged, bestial
Beggars at the convent gate? 65
Would the Vision there remain?
Would the Vision come again?
Then a voice within his breast
Whispered, audible and clear
As if to the outward ear: 70
"Do thy duty; that is best;
Leave unto thy Lord the rest!"
Straightway to his feet he started,
And with longing look intent
On the Blessed Vision bent, 75
Slowly from his cell departed,
Slowly on his errand went.
At the gate the poor were waiting,
Looking through the iron grating,
With that terror in the eye 80
That is only seen in those
Who amid their wants and woes
Hear the sound of doors that close,
And of feet that pass them by;
Grown familiar with disfavour, 85
Grown familiar with the savour
Of the bread by which men die!
But to-day, they knew not why,
Like the gate of Paradise
Seemed the convent gate to rise, 90
Like a sacrament divine
Seemed to them the bread and wine.
In his heart the Monk was praying,
Thinking of the homeless poor,
What they suffer and endure; 95
What we see not, what we see;
And the inward voice was saying:
"Whatsoever thing thou doest
To the least of Mine and lowest,
That thou doest unto Me!" 100
Unto Me! but had the Vision
Come to him in beggar's clothing,
Come a mendicant imploring,
Would he then have knelt adoring,
Or have listened with derision, 105
And have turned away with loathing?
Thus his conscience put the question,
Full of troublesome suggestion,
As at length, with hurried pace,
Toward his cell he turned his face, 110
And beheld the convent bright
With a supernatural light,
Like a luminous cloud expanding
Over floor and wall and ceiling.
But he paused with awestruck feeling 115
At the threshold of his door,
For the Vision still was standing
As he left it there before,
When the convent bell appalling,
From its belfry calling, calling, 120
Summoned him to feed the poor.
Through the long hour intervening
It had waited his return,
And he felt his bosom burn,
Comprehending all the meaning, 125
When the Blessed Vision said,
"Hadst thou stayed, I must have fled!"
--_Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_
HADST, LIGHTENED, BRIGHTENED, REIGNEST, DEIGNEST,
DIVINEST (Appendix, A, 3.)
ll. 29, 38-39, 78-79. (Appendix, A, 4.)
How can the reader show that the first two lines are
merely introductory?
Divide the poem proper into five parts, giving to each
part a suggestive title. How can the reader make each
part stand out by itself? (Introduction, p. 10.)
Select the principal statement in each stanza and show
how the voice may make it prominent. (Introduction, p.
33.)
What Inflection is placed on the principal statement?
What Inflection on the subordinate phrases and clauses?
(Introduction, p. 15.)
Select examples of momentary completeness from the poem.
ll. 19-22. What is the Inflection on these negative
phrases? (Introduction, pp. 17 and 18.)
What is the Inflection on the various questions
throughout the poem? (Introduction, p. 18.)
* * * * *
THE VICAR'S FAMILY USE ART
From "The Vicar of Wakefield"
1. Whatever might have been Sophia's sensations, the rest of the
family was easily consoled for Mr. Burchell's absence by the company
of our landlord, whose visits now became more frequent, and longer.
Though he had been disappointed in procuring my daughters the
amusements of the town, as he designed, he took every opportunity of
supplying them with those little recreations which our retirement
would admit of. He usually came in the morning; and while my son and I
followed our occupations abroad, he sat with the family at home, and
amused them by describing the town, with every part of which he was
particularly acquainted. He could repeat all the observations that
were retailed in the atmosphere of the play-houses, and had all the
good things of the high wits by rote, long before they made their way
into the jest-books. The intervals between conversation were employed
in teaching my daughters piquet, or sometimes in setting my two little
ones to box, to make them _sharp_, as he called it; but the hopes of
having him for a son-in-law, in some measure blinded us to all his
imperfections. It must be owned, that my wife laid a thousand schemes
to entrap him; or, to speak it more tenderly, used every art to
magnify the merit of her daughter. If the cakes at tea ate short and
crisp, they were made by Olivia; if the gooseberry wine was well knit,
the gooseberries were of her gathering; it was her fingers that gave
the pickles their peculiar green; and in the composition of a pudding,
it was her judgment that mixed the ingredients. Then the poor woman
would sometimes tell the Squire that she thought him and Olivia
extremely of a size, and would bid both stand up to see which was
tallest. These instances of cunning, which she thought impenetrable,
yet which everybody saw through, were very pleasing to our benefactor,
who gave every day some new proofs of his passion, which, though they
had not risen to proposals of marriage, yet we thought fell but little
short of it; and his slowness was attributed sometimes to native
bashfulness, and sometimes to his fear of offending his uncle. An
occurrence, however, which happened soon after, put it beyond a doubt
that he designed to become one of our family; my wife even regarded it
as an absolute promise.
2. My wife and daughters happening to return a visit at neighbour
Flamborough's, found that family had lately got their pictures drawn
by a limner, who travelled the country, and took likenesses for
fifteen shillings a head. As this family and ours had long a sort of
rivalry in point of taste, our spirit took the alarm at this stolen
march upon us; and notwithstanding all I could say, and I said much,
it was resolved that we should have our pictures done too. Having,
therefore, engaged the limner--for what could I do?--our next
deliberation was to shew the superiority of our taste in the
attitudes. As for our neighbour's family, there were seven of them,
and they were drawn with seven oranges--a thing quite out of taste, no
variety in life, no composition in the world. We desired to have
something in a brighter style; and after many debates, at length came
to an unanimous resolution of being drawn together, in one large
historical family piece. This would be cheaper, since one frame would
serve for all, and it would be infinitely more genteel; for all
families of any taste were now drawn in the same manner. As we did not
immediately recollect an historical subject to hit us, we were
contented each with being drawn as independent historical figures. My
wife desired to be represented as Venus, and the painter was desired
not to be too frugal of his diamonds in her stomacher and hair. Her
two little ones were to be as Cupids by her side; while I, in my gown
and band, was to present her with my books on the Whistonian
controversy. Olivia would be drawn as an Amazon, sitting upon a bank
of flowers, dressed in a green joseph richly laced with gold, and a
whip in her hand. Sophia was to be a shepherdess, with as many sheep
as the painter could put in for nothing; and Moses was to be dressed
out with an hat and white feather. Our taste so much pleased the
Squire that he insisted on being put in as one of the family, in the
character of Alexander the Great, at Olivia's feet. This was
considered by us all as an indication of his desire to be introduced
into the family, nor could we refuse his request. The painter was
therefore set to work, and as he wrought with assiduity and
expedition, in less than four days the whole was completed. The piece
was large, and it must be owned he did not spare his colours; for
which my wife gave him great encomiums. We were all perfectly
satisfied with his performance; but an unfortunate circumstance which
had not occurred till the picture was finished, now struck us with
dismay. It was so very large that we had no place in the house to fix
it. How we all came to disregard so material a point is inconceivable;
but certain it is, we had been all greatly remiss. The picture,
therefore, instead of gratifying our vanity, as we hoped, leaned, in a
most mortifying manner, against the kitchen wall, where the canvas was
stretched and painted, much too large to be got through any of the
doors, and the jest of all our neighbours. One compared it to Robinson
Crusoe's long-boat, too large to be removed; another thought it more
resembled a reel in a bottle; some wondered how it could be got out.
but still more were amazed how it ever got in.
3. But though it excited the ridicule of some, it effectually raised
more malicious suggestions in many. The Squire's portrait being found
united with ours, was an honour too great to escape envy. Scandalous
whispers began to circulate at our expense, and our tranquillity was
continually disturbed by persons, who came as friends, to tell us what
was said of us by enemies. These reports we always resented with
becoming spirit; but scandal ever improves by opposition.
4. We once again, therefore, entered into a consultation upon
obviating the malice of our enemies, and at last came to a resolution
which had too much cunning to give me entire satisfaction. It was
this: as our principal object was to discover the honour of Mr.
Thornhill's addresses, my wife undertook to sound him, by pretending
to ask his advice in the choice of an husband for her eldest daughter.
If this was not found sufficient to induce him to a declaration, it
was then resolved to terrify him with a rival. To this last step,
however, I would by no means give my consent, till Olivia gave me the
most solemn assurances that she would marry the person provided to
rival him upon this occasion, if he did not prevent it by taking her
himself. Such was the scheme laid, which, though I did not strenuously
oppose, I did not entirely approve.
5. The next time, therefore, that Mr. Thornhill came to see us, my
girls took care to be out of the way, in order to give their mamma an
opportunity of putting her scheme in execution; but they only retired
to the next room, whence they could overhear the whole conversation.
My wife artfully introduced it, by observing, that one of the Miss
Flamboroughs was like to have a very good match of it in Mr. Spanker.
To this the Squire assenting, she proceeded to remark, that they who
had warm fortunes were always sure of getting good husbands: "But
heaven help," continued she, "the girls that have none! What signifies
beauty, Mr. Thornhill? or what signifies all the virtue, and all the
qualifications in the world, in this age of self-interest? It is not,
What is she? but, What has she? is all the cry."
6. "Madam," returned he, "I highly approve the justice, as well as the
novelty, of your remarks, and if I were a king, it should be
otherwise. It should then, indeed, be fine times for the girls without
fortunes: our two young ladies should be the first for whom I would
provide."
7. "Ah, sir," returned my wife, "you are pleased to be facetious: but
I wish I were a queen, and then I know where my eldest daughter
should look for an husband. But now that you have put it into my head,
seriously, Mr. Thornhill, can't you recommend me a proper husband for
her? She is now nineteen years old, well grown and well educated, and,
in my humble opinion, does not want for parts."
8. "Madam," replied he, "if I were to choose, I would find out a
person possessed of every accomplishment that can make an angel happy.
One with prudence, fortune, taste, and sincerity; such, madam, would
be, in my opinion, the proper husband."--"Ay, sir," said she, "but do
you know of any such person?"--"No, Madam," returned he, "it is
impossible to know any person that deserves to be her husband: she's
too great a treasure for one man's possession: she's a goddess! Upon
my soul, I speak what I think, she's an angel!"--"Ah, Mr. Thornhill,
you only flatter my poor girl: but we have been thinking of marrying
her to one of your tenants, whose mother is lately dead, and who wants
a manager; you know whom I mean, Farmer Williams; a warm man, Mr.
Thornhill, able to give her good bread; and who has several times made
her proposals" (which was actually the case); "but, sir," concluded
she, "I should be glad to have your approbation of our choice."--"How,
Madam," replied he, "my approbation!--my approbation of such a choice!
Never. What! Sacrifice so much beauty, and sense, and goodness, to a
creature insensible of the blessing! Excuse me, I can never approve of
such a piece of injustice. And I have my reasons."--"Indeed, sir,"
cried Deborah, "If you have your reasons, that's another affair; but I
should be glad to know those reasons."--"Excuse me, Madam," returned
he, "they lie too deep for discovery" (laying his hand upon his
bosom); "they remain buried, rivetted here."
9. After he was gone, upon a general consultation, we could not tell
what to make of these fine sentiments. Olivia considered them as
instances of the most exalted passion; but I was not quite so
sanguine; yet, whatever they might portend, it was resolved to
prosecute the scheme of Farmer Williams, who, from my daughter's first
appearance in the country, had paid her his addresses.
--_Oliver Goldsmith_
ABSOLUTE, RESOLUTION, INTRODUCED, (Appendix, A, 2.)
VISITS, NATIVE, INFINITELY, CUPIDS, VANITY, GRATIFYING,
MORTIFYING, SANGUINE. (Appendix, A, 8.) UNFORTUNATE,
FORTUNE, VIRTUE. (Appendix, A, 9.)
Show by numerous examples from this selection that the
dependent clause of a sentence takes the rising
Inflection--whilst the principal clause takes the
falling. Which of the two has the heavier shading?
(Introduction, p. 33.)
How are such parenthetical clauses as AS HE DESIGNED, in
the second sentence, kept in the background?
(Introduction, pp. 24 and 27.) Give similar examples
from this selection.
What Inflection is placed on the rhetorical questions in
par. v? (Introduction, p. 19.)
How is the effect of the climax in par. viii brought
out? (Introduction, p. 31.)
* * * * *
THE SOLDIER'S DREAM
Our bugles sang truce--for the night-cloud had lowered
And the sentinel stars set their watch in the sky;
And thousands had sunk on the ground overpowered,
The weary to sleep, and the wounded to die.
When reposing that night on my pallet of straw, 5
By the wolf-scaring faggot that guarded the slain,
At the dead of the night a sweet vision I saw,
And thrice ere the morning I dreamt it again.
Methought from the battlefield's dreadful array,
Far, far I had roamed on a desolate track; 10
'Twas autumn--and sunshine arose on the way
To the home of my fathers, that welcomed me back.
I flew to the pleasant fields traversed so oft
In life's morning march, when my bosom was young;
I heard my own mountain-goats bleating aloft, 15
And knew the sweet strain that the corn-reapers sung.
Then pledged we the wine-cup, and fondly I swore
From my home and my weeping friends never to part;
My little ones kissed me a thousand times o'er,
And my wife sobbed aloud in her fulness of heart. 20
"Stay, stay with us--rest, thou art weary and worn;"
And fain was their war-broken soldier to stay;
But sorrow returned with the dawning of morn,
And the voice in my dreaming ear melted away.
--_Thomas Campbell_
PREPARATORY.--Describe the picture suggested by this
poem.
Compare the soldier's dream with the vision of _The
Private of the Buffs_ in the hour of danger, or with
_The Slave's Dream_ in Longfellow's poem.
Divide the poem into three distinct parts, giving to
each a descriptive title.
Expand the thoughts contained in the last two lines of
the poem, using, if possible, illustrations from
literature or real life. What feelings do these lines
arouse?
Observe the difficulties of Articulation in ll. 1, 2, 13
and 16. (Appendix A, 6 and 3.)
How can each part of the poem be made to stand out by
itself? (Introduction, p. 10.)
2. SENTINEL STARS. Select other phrases which call up
mental images.
How does the process of mental imagery affect the Time?
(Introduction, p. 12.)
3. How can it be shown that OVERPOWERED and GROUND are
disconnected? (Introduction, p. 7.)
4. Why do we pause after WEARY AND WOUNDED?
(Introduction, p. 10.)
6. Why is there no pause after FAGGOT? (Introduction, p.
11.)
What lines of stanza ii contain the leading thought? How
does the voice indicate this? (Introduction, p. 33.)
9. How is the mind prepared for the description of the
dream?
21. What feeling does the voice express? Does Imitation
play any part here? (Introduction, pp. 5 and 6.)
22. Expand the thought of this line, and show how your
thinking affects the Time. (Introduction, p. 14.)
Compare with the Time of l. 21, and explain the
difference.
* * * * *
VAN ELSEN
God spake three times and saved Van Elsen's soul;
He spake by sickness first, and made him whole;
Van Elsen heard him not,
Or soon forgot.
God spake to him by wealth; the world outpoured 5
Its treasures at his feet, and called him lord;
Van Elsen's heart grew fat
And proud thereat.
God spake the third time when the great world smiled,
And in the sunshine slew his little child; 10
Van Elsen like a tree
Fell hopelessly.
Then in the darkness came a voice which said,
"As thy heart bleedeth, so My heart hath bled;
As I have need of thee 15
Thou needest Me."
That night Van Elsen kissed the baby feet,
And kneeling by the narrow winding-sheet
Praised him with fervent breath
Who conquered death. 20
_-Frederick George Scott_ (_By permission_)
By what means is the introductory line kept distinct
from the rest of the poem? (Introduction, p. 10.)
How does the reader indicate the comparatively long
space of time which elapses between the events of the
first, second, and third stanzas respectively?
(Introduction, p. 9.)
Show that each of the first three stanzas falls
according to meaning, into two parts. How does the
reader indicate this division?
Why should the last two stanzas, in this respect, be
together treated as one of the preceding? Illustrate by
means of Pause.
* * * * *
PIBROCH OF DONUIL DHU
Pibroch of Donuil Dhu,
Pibroch of Donuil,
Wake thy wild voice anew,
Summon Clan Conuil.
Come away, come away, 5
Hark to the summons!
Come in your war array,
Gentles and commons.
Come from deep glen, and
From mountains so rocky, 10
The war-pipe and pennon
Are at Inverlocky.
Come every hill-plaid, and
True heart that wears one,
Come every steel blade, and 15
Strong hand that bears one.
Leave untended the herd,
The flock without shelter;
Leave the corpse uninterr'd
The bride at the altar; 20
Leave the deer, leave the steer,
Leave nets and barges:
Come with your fighting gear,
Broadswords and targes.
Come as the winds come, when 25
Forests are rended,
Come as the waves come, when
Navies are stranded;
Faster come, faster come,
Faster and faster, 30
Chief, vassal, page and groom,
Tenant and master.
Fast they come, fast they come;
See how they gather!
Wide waves the eagle plume, 35
Blended with heather.
Cast your plaids, draw your blades,
Forward each man set!
Pibroch of Donuil Dhu
Knell for the onset! 40
--_Sir Walter Scott_
HERD, UNINTERR'D. What sound has the vowel _e_?
(Appendix A, 1.)
GENTLES AND COMMONS; NETS AND BARGES; FIGHTING GEAR;
BROADSWORDS AND TARGES; FORESTS ARE RENDED; NAVIES ARE
STRANDED. (Appendix A, 3 and 6.)
For Pause read (Introduction, pp. 7 and 8.)
How is the gradually increasing excitement and energy
indicated in Time, Pitch, and Force? (Introduction, pp.
13, 23, and 27.)
* * * * *
THE DAY IS DONE
The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downwards
From an eagle in its flight.
I see the lights of the village 5
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me,
That my soul cannot resist:
A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain, 10
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.
Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling, 15
And banish the thoughts of day.
Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time. 20
For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavour;
And to-night I long for rest.
Read from some humbler poet, 25
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;
Who, through long days of labour,
And nights devoid of ease, 30
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.
Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction 35
That follows after prayer.
Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice. 40
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.
--_Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_
What is the atmosphere of this poem? Compare it in this
respect with _Pibroch of Donuil Dhu_.
How does it differ from the latter in expression, so far
as Time, Pitch, and Force are concerned? (Introduction,
pp. 13, 22 and 26.)
WAFTED, AFTER, MASTERS, POEM, CORRIDORS, SORROW.
(Appendix A, 1.)
Observe the difficulties of Articulation in ll. 3, 11,
15, 18, 22, 26, 28 and 31. (Appendix A, 3 and 6.)
* * * * *
THE SCHOOLMASTER AND THE BOYS
From "The Old Curiosity Shop"
1. The schoolmaster had scarcely arranged the room in due order, and
taken his seat behind his desk, when a white-headed boy with a
sunburnt face appeared at the door, and stopping there to make a
rustic bow, came in and took his seat upon one of the forms. The
white-headed boy then put an open book, astonishingly dog-eared, upon
his knees, and thrusting his hands into his pockets, began counting
the marbles with which they were filled. Soon afterwards another
white-headed little boy came straggling in, and after him a red-headed
lad, and after him two more with white heads, and then one with a
flaxen poll, and so on until there were about a dozen boys in all,
with heads of every colour but gray, and ranging in their ages from
four years old to fourteen years or more; for the legs of the youngest
were a long way from the floor when he sat upon the form, and the
eldest was a heavy, good-tempered, foolish fellow, about half a head
taller than the schoolmaster.
2. At the top of the first form--the post of honour in the school--was
the vacant place of the little sick scholar, and at the head of the
row of pegs on which the hats and caps were hung, one peg was left
empty. No boy attempted to violate the sanctity of seat or peg, but
many a one looked from the empty spaces to the schoolmaster, and
whispered to his idle neighbour behind his hand.
3. Then began the hum of conning over lessons and getting them by
heart, the whispered jest and stealthy game, and all the noise and
drawl of school; and in the midst of the din sat the poor
schoolmaster, the very image of meekness and simplicity, vainly
attempting to fix his mind upon the duties of the day, and to forget
his little sick friend. But the tedium of his office reminded him more
strongly of the willing scholar, and his thoughts were rambling from
his pupils--it was plain. None knew this better than the idlest boys,
who, growing bolder with impunity, waxed louder and more
daring--eating apples under the master's eye, pinching each other in
sport or malice, and cutting their autographs in the very legs of his
desk. The puzzled dunce, who stood beside it to say his lesson out of
book, looked no longer at the ceiling for forgotten words, but drew
closer to the master's elbow and boldly cast his eyes upon the page.
If the master did chance to rouse himself and seem alive to what was
going on, the noise subsided for a moment, and no eyes met his but
wore a studious and deeply humble look; but, the instant he relapsed
again, it broke out afresh, and ten times louder than before.
4. Oh, how some of those idle fellows longed to be outside, and how
they looked at the open door and window, as if they half meditated
rushing violently out, plunging into the woods, and being wild boys
and savages from that time forth. What rebellious thoughts of the cool
river, and some shady bathing-place beneath willow-trees with branches
dipping in the water, kept tempting and urging that sturdy boy, who
sat fanning his flushed face with a spelling-book wishing himself a
whale, or a fly, or anything but a boy at school on that hot, broiling
day!
5. Heat! Ask that other boy, whose seat being nearest the door gave
him opportunities of gliding out into the garden and driving his
companions to madness by dipping his face into the bucket of the well
and then rolling on the grass--ask him if there were ever such a day
as that, when even the bees were diving deep down into the cups of
flowers and stopping there, as if they had made up their minds to
retire from business and be manufacturers of honey no more. The day
was made for laziness, and lying on one's back in green places, and
staring at the sky till its brightness forced one to shut one's eyes
and go to sleep; and was this a time to be poring over musty books in
a dark room, slighted by the very sun itself? Monstrous!
6. The lessons over, writing-time began; and there being but one desk
and that the master's, each boy sat at it in turn and laboured at his
crooked copy, while the master walked about. This was a quieter time;
for he would come and look over the writer's shoulder, and tell him
mildly to observe how such a letter was turned in such a copy on the
wall, and bid him take it for his model. Then he would stop and tell
them what the sick child had said last night, and how he had longed to
be among them once again; and such was the schoolmaster's gentle and
affectionate manner that the boys seemed quite remorseful that they
had worried him so much, and were absolutely quiet; eating no apples,
cutting no names, inflicting no pinches, for full two minutes
afterwards.
7. "I think, boys," said the schoolmaster, when the clock struck
twelve, "that I shall give an extra half-holiday this afternoon."
8. At this intelligence the boys, led on and headed by the tall boy,
raised a great shout, in the midst of which the master was seen to
speak, but could not be heard. As he held up his hand, however, in
token of his wish that they should be silent, they were considerate
enough to leave off, as soon as the longest-winded among them were
quite out of breath.
9. "You must promise me first," said the schoolmaster, "that you 'll
not be noisy, or, at least, if you are, that you'll go away and be
so--away out of the village, I mean. I'm sure you wouldn't disturb
your old playmate and companion."
10. There was a general murmur in the negative.
11. "Then, pray, don't forget--there's my dear scholars," said the
schoolmaster--"what I have asked you, and do it as a favour to me. Be
as happy as you can, and likewise be mindful that you are blessed with
health. Good-bye, all!"
12. "Thank you, sir," and "Good-bye, sir," were said a great many
times in a variety of voices, and the boys went out very slowly and
softly.
13. But there was the sun shining and there were the birds singing, as
the sun only shines and the birds only sing on holidays and
half-holidays; there were the trees waving to all free boys to climb
and nestle among their leafy branches; the hay, entreating them to
come and scatter it in the pure air; the green corn, gently beckoning
toward wood and stream; the smooth ground rendered smoother still by
blending lights and shadows, inviting to runs and leaps, and long
walks no one knows whither. It was more than boy could bear, and with
a joyous whoop the whole company took to their heels and spread
themselves about, shouting and laughing as they went.
14. "It's natural, thank heaven!" said the poor schoolmaster, looking
after them. "I'm very glad they didn't mind me!"
--_Charles Dickens_
Par. 1. DUE. (Appendix A 2.)
Indicate the pauses required to allow time for the
Imaging process. Discriminate between the short and the
long pauses. (Introduction, pp. 8 and 11.)
ORDER, DESK, DOOR. Account for the Inflection on each of
these words. (Introduction, pp. 15 and 16.)
What clause in the first sentence should be made most
prominent? Indicate the relative value of each part of
this sentence by the Shading. (Introduction, p. 33.)
Par. 2. What two phrases suggest the central idea of
this paragraph?
How does the voice indicate that the parenthetical
clause is subordinate in thought? (Introduction, pp. 24
and 33.)
Par. 3. SIMPLICITY, IMPUNITY, STUDIOUS. (Appendix A 8
and 2.)
DID CHANCE. What is the emphatic word? Why?
Read the last two sentences with a view to Perspective.
(Introduction, p. 33.)
NO EYES MET HIS ... How does the Inflection on HIS
indicate the exact meaning? (Introduction, p. 16.)
Par. 4. Give examples of Grouping in the last sentence
and show how Grouping affects the Pause. (Introduction,
p. 11.)
Par. 5. WHOSE SEAT--GRASS. What is the Shading? Indicate
the pauses in this group of words giving your reason in
each case.
What Inflection is placed on the question in the last
sentence? Account for it. (Introduction, p. 19.)
Par. 6. WRITER'S SHOULDER, BOYS SEEMED, ABSOLUTELY.
(Appendix A, 6, 2.)
Give examples of Grouping in the second sentence.
BID HIM TAKE IT FOR HIS MODEL. Which is the emphatic
word? Why?
Par. 7. How is I THINK, BOYS connected with the rest of
the speech? Apply this principle to other examples of
direct speech interrupted by narrative. (Introduction,
p. 24.)
Par. 9. IF YOU ARE ... BE SO. Select the two emphatic
Words and give your reason for emphasizing them,
(Introduction, p. 30.)
* * * * *
THE KNIGHTS' CHORUS
From "Idylls of the King"
Blow trumpet, for the world is white with May;
Blow trumpet, the long night hath roll'd away!
Blow thro' the living world--Let the King reign.
Shall Rome or Heathen rule in Arthur's realm?
Flash brand and lance, fall battleaxe upon helm, 5
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.
Strike for the King and live! his knights have heard
That God hath told the King a secret word.
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.
Blow trumpet! he will lift us from the dust! 10
Blow trumpet! live the strength, and die the lust!
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.
Strike for the King and die! and if thou diest,
The King is King, and ever wills the highest.
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand! Let the king reign. 15
Blow, for our Sun is mighty in his May!
Blow, for our Sun is mightier day by day!
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.
The King will follow Christ, and we the King
In whom high God hath breathed a secret thing. 20
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.
--_Alfred Tennyson_
How do you describe this poem from the standpoint of;
(1) the amount of energy, (2) excitement or nervous
tension? With what Force and in what Pitch should it be
read? (Introduction, pp. 22 and 25.)
Account for the Time in which it is read. (Introduction,
p. 13.)
What is the purpose of the question in stanza ii? How is
this purpose indicated by the Inflection? (Introduction,
p. 19.)
* * * * *
THE NORTHERN STAR
A Tynemouth Ship
The Northern Star
Sail'd over the bar
Bound to the Baltic Sea;
In the morning gray
She stretched away:-- 5
'Twas a weary day to me!
For many an hour
In sleet and shower
By the lighthouse rock I stray;
And watch till dark 10
For the winged bark
Of him that is far away.
The castle's bound
I wander round
Amidst the grassy graves: 15
But all I hear
Is the north-wind drear,
And all I see are the waves.
The Northern Star
Is set afar! 20
Set in the Baltic Sea:
And the waves have spread
The sandy bed
That holds my Love from me.
--_Unknown_
PREPARATORY.--Tell the story of the poem, making as
vivid as possible the scenes depicted. Compare
Kingsley's _Three Fishers_, and Lucy Larcom's _Hannah
binding Shoes_.
Compare this poem with _The Knights' Chorus_ from the
standpoint of the amount of energy. How is the
difference between the two indicated vocally by the
Force? (Introduction, p. 26.)
What is the difference in nervous tension between the
last stanza and the preceding ones? What difference in
Pitch? (Introduction, p. 23.)
Account for the Time in which it is read. (Introduction,
p. 14.)
11. WINGED, with sails
15. TYNEMOUTH CASTLE used as a graveyard.
* * * * *
THE INDIGO BIRD
When I see,
High on the tip-top twig of a tree,
Something blue by the breezes stirred,
But so far up that the blue is blurred,
So far up no green leaf flies. 5
Twixt its blue and the blue of the skies,
Then I know, ere a note be heard,
That is naught but the Indigo bird.
Blue on the branch and blue in the sky,
And naught between but the breezes high, 10
And naught so blue by the breezes stirred
As the deep, deep blue of the Indigo bird.
When I hear
A song like a bird laugh, blithe and clear,
As though of some airy jest he had heard 15
The last and the most delightful word,
A laugh as fresh in the August haze
As it was in the full-voiced April days,
Then I know that my heart is stirred
By the laugh-like song of the Indigo bird. 20
Joy in the branch and joy in the sky,
And naught between but the breezes high;
And naught so glad on the breezes heard
As the gay, gay note of the Indigo bird.
--_Ethelwyn Wetherald_ (_By permission_)
PREPARATORY.--Suggest a picture which would serve as an
illustration for this poem.
How does the Imaging affect the Pitch in the first two
stanzas?
What feelings does the poem arouse? Where do these
feelings reach a Climax? What is the effect on the
Pitch?
What other Climax is found in the poem besides the
Climax of feeling?
FAR, LAUGH, BRANCH, GLAD. (Appendix A, 1.)
BREEZES STIRRED. (Appendix A, 6.)
What is the Inflection on ll. 1-6 of stanza i and iii?
(Introduction, p. 17.) How does the Pitch of these lines
differ from that of ll. 7 and 8 of these stanzas?
Account for the change. (Introduction, p. 23.)
What are the contrasting words in l. 6, stanza i?
Note the Grouping and Pause in ll. 3 and 4, stanza iii.
* * * * *
THE PASTURE FIELD
When spring has burned
The ragged robe of winter, stitch by stitch,
And deftly turned
To moving melody the wayside ditch,
The pale-green pasture field behind the bars 5
Is goldened o'er with dandelion stars.
When summer keeps
Quick pace with sinewy white-shirted arms,
And daily steeps
In sunny splendour all her spreading farms, 10
The pasture field is flooded foamy white
With daisy faces looking at the light.
When autumn lays
Her golden wealth upon the forest floor,
And all the days 15
Look backward at the days that went before,
A pensive company, the asters, stand,
Their blue eyes brightening the pasture land.
When winter lifts
A sounding trumpet to his strenuous lips, 20
And shapes the drifts
To curves of transient loveliness, he slips
Upon the pasture's ineffectual brown
A swan-soft vestment delicate as down.
--_Ethelwyn Wetherald_ (_By permission_)
PREPARATORY.--Select the phrases which call into play
the Imaging process.
Describe four typical Canadian scenes suggested by this
poem.
Distinguish the sound of _a_ in PASTURE, RAGGED, BARS,
etc. (Appendix A, 1.)
What words express the central ideas in each stanza, and
at the same time form a contrast with one another?
What Inflection is used in the first four lines of each
stanza? (Introduction, p. 16.)
How does the Shading of these lines compare with that of
the last two of each stanza? (Introduction, p. 33.)
* * * * *
SHIPWRECKED
From "Kidnapped"
1. The time I spent upon the island is still so horrible a thought to
me that I must pass it lightly over. In all the books I have read of
people cast away, either they had their pockets full of tools, or a
chest of things would be thrown upon the beach along with them, as if
on purpose. My case was very much different. I had nothing in my
pockets but money and Alan's silver button; and being inland bred, I
was as much short of knowledge as of means.
2. I knew indeed that shellfish were counted good to eat; and among
the rocks of the isle I found a great plenty of limpets, which at
first I could scarcely strike from their places, not knowing quickness
to be needful. There were, besides, some of the little shells that we
call buckies; I think periwinkle is the English name. Of these two I
made my whole diet, devouring them cold and raw as I found them; and
so hungry was I that at first they seemed to me delicious.
3. Perhaps they were out of season, or perhaps there was something
wrong in the sea about my island. But at least I had no sooner eaten
my first meal than I was seized with giddiness and retching, and lay
for a long time no better than dead. A second trial of the same food
(indeed, I had no other) did better with me and revived my strength.
4. But as long as I was on the island, I never knew what to expect
when I had eaten; sometimes all was well, and sometimes I was thrown
into a miserable sickness; nor could I ever distinguish what
particular fish it was that hurt me. All day it streamed rain; there
was no dry spot to be found; and when I lay down that night, between
two boulders that made a kind of roof, my feet were in a bog.
5. From a little up the hillside over the bay I could catch a sight of
the great ancient church and the roofs of the people's houses in Iona.
And on the other hand, over the low country of the Ross, I saw smoke
go up, morning and evening, as if from a homestead in a hollow of the
land.
6. I used to watch this smoke, when I was wet and cold and had my head
half-turned with loneliness, and think of the fireside and of the
company till my heart burned. Altogether, this sight I had of men's
homes and comfortable lives, although it put a point on my own
sufferings, yet it kept hope alive, and helped me to eat my raw
shellfish (which had soon grown to be a disgust), and saved me from
the sense of horror I had whenever I was quite alone with dead rocks,
and fowls, and the rain, and the cold sea.
7. Charles the Second declared a man could stay outdoors more days in
the year in the climate of England than in any other. That was very
like a king with a palace at his back and changes of dry clothes. But
he must have had better luck on his flight from Worcester than I had
on that miserable isle. It was the height of summer; yet it rained for
more than twenty-four hours, and did not clear until the afternoon of
the third day.
8. There is a pretty high rock on the north-west of Earraid, which
(because it had a flat top and overlooked the Sound) I was much in the
habit of frequenting; not that I ever stayed in one place, save when
asleep, my misery giving me no rest. Indeed, I wore myself down with
continual and aimless goings and comings in the rain.
9. As soon, however, as the sun came out, I lay down on the top of
that rock to dry myself. The comfort of the sunshine is a thing I
cannot tell. It set me thinking hopefully of my deliverance, of which
I had begun to despair; and I scanned the sea and the Ross with a
fresh interest. On the south of my rock a part of the island jutted
out and hid the open ocean so that a boat could thus come quite near
me upon that side and I be none the wiser.
10. Well, all of a sudden, a coble, with a brown sail and a pair of
fishers aboard of it, came flying round that corner of the isle, bound
for Iona. I shouted out, and then fell on my knees on the rock and
prayed to them. They were near enough to hear--I could even see the
colour of their hair--and there was no doubt but they observed me, for
they cried out in the Gaelic tongue, and laughed. But the boat never
turned aside, and flew right on, before my eyes, for Iona.
11. I could not believe such wickedness, and ran along the shore from
rock to rock, crying on them piteously; even after they were out of
reach of my voice I still cried and waved to them; and when they were
quite gone I thought my heart would burst.
12. The next day (which was the fourth of this horrible life of mine)
I found my bodily strength run very low. But the sun shone, the air
was sweet, and what I managed to eat of the shellfish agreed well with
me and revived my courage.
13. I was scarce back on my rock (where I went always the first thing
after I had eaten) before I observed a boat coming down the Sound, and
with her head, as I thought, in my direction.
14. I began at once to hope and fear exceedingly; for I thought these
men might have thought better of their cruelty and be coming back to
my assistance. But another disappointment, such as yesterday's, was
more than I could bear. I turned my back accordingly upon the sea, and
did not look again till I had counted many hundreds.
15. The boat was still heading for the island. The next time I counted
the full thousand, as slowly as I could, my heart beating so as to
hurt me. And then it was out of all question. She was coming straight
to Earraid. I could no longer hold myself back, but ran to the seaside
and out, from one rock to another, as far as I could go. It is a
marvel I was not drowned; for when I was brought to a stand at last my
legs shook under me, and my mouth was so dry I must wet it with the
sea water before I was able to shout.
16. All this time the boat was coming on; and now I was able to
perceive it was the same boat and the same two men as yesterday. This
I knew by their hair, which the one had of bright yellow and the other
black. But now there was a third man along with them, who looked to be
of a better class.
17. As soon as they were come within easy speech, they let down their
sail and lay quiet. In spite of my supplications, they drew no nearer
in, and what frightened me most of all, the new man tee-heed with
laughter as he talked and looked at me.
18. Then he stood up in the boat and addressed me a long while,
speaking fast and with many wavings of his hand. I told him I had no
Gaelic; and at this he became very angry, and I began to suspect he
thought he was talking English. Listening very close, I caught the
word "whateffer" several times; but all the rest was Gaelic, and might
have been Greek and Hebrew for me.
19. "Whatever," said I, to show him I had caught a word. "Yes,
yes--yes, yes," said he; and then he looked at the other men as much
as to say, "I told you I spoke English," and began again as hard as
ever in the Gaelic.
20. This time I picked out another word, "tide." Then I had a flash of
hope. I remembered he was always waving his hand toward the mainland
of the Ross.
21. "Do you mean when the tide is out?"--I cried, and could not
finish.
22. "Yes, yes," said he. "Tide."
23. At that I turned tail upon their boat (where my adviser had once
more begun to tee-hee with laughter), leaped back the way I had come,
from one stone to another, and set off running across the isle as I
had never run before. In about half an hour I came upon the shores of
the creek, and, sure enough, it was shrunk into a little trickle of
water, through which I dashed, not above my knees, and landed with a
shout on the main island.
24. A sea-bred boy would not have stayed a day on Earraid, which is
only what they call a tidal islet, and, except, in the bottom of the
neaps, can be entered and left twice in every twenty-four hours,
either dry-shod, or, at the most, by wading. Even I, who had seen the
tide going out and in before me in the bay, and even watched for the
ebbs, the better to get my shellfish--even I (I say), if I had sat
down to think, instead of raging at my fate, must have soon guessed
the secret and got free.
25. It was no wonder the fishers had not understood me. The wonder was
rather that they had ever guessed my pitiful illusion, and taken the
trouble to come back. I had starved with cold and hunger on that
island for close upon one hundred hours. But for the fishers, I might
have left my bones there, in pure folly. And even as it was, I had
paid for it pretty dear, not only in past sufferings but in my present
case, being clothed like a beggar man, scarce able to walk, and in
great pain of my sore throat.
26. I have seen wicked men and fools--a great many of both--and I
believe they both get paid in the end; but the fools first.
--_Robert Louis Stevenson_ (_By arrangement_)
How are the parenthetical clauses in this selection kept
in the back-ground? (Introduction, p. 24.)
11. I could not believe such wickedness ... heart would
burst. Observe the Climax. (Introduction, p. 31.)
19. Whatever, said I, ... How is the direct speech made
to stand out from the narration which interrupts it?
(Introduction, p. 24.)
* * * * *
ON HIS BLINDNESS
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He, returning, chide;
"Doth God exact day labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work, or His own gifts. Who best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best: His state
Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
--_Milton_
PREPARATORY.--Divide the sonnet into two parts, giving
each part a title.
Read the first part in prose order, supplying the
ellipses.
How many distinct statements are there in the second
part?
Select the clauses of the first part that are equal in
rank and have the same Shading. Show which should be
made prominent, and which held in the background.
Read the first part of this sonnet, with a view to
Perspective. (Introduction, p. 33.)
1-4. With what do you connect WHEN ... SPENT, and
LODGED? How?
How do you make the statements of the second part stand
out singly? (Introduction, pp. 8 and 10.)
* * * * *
BRIGGS IN LUCK
From "Doctor Birch and his Young Friends"
_Enter the Knife-boy._ Hamper for Briggses!
_Master Brown._ Hurray, Tom Briggs! I'll lend you my knife.
If this story does not carry its own moral, what fable does, I wonder?
Before the arrival of that hamper, Master Briggs was in no better
repute than any other young gentleman of the lower school; and in fact
I had occasion myself, only lately, to correct Master Brown for
kicking his friend's shins during the writing-lesson. But how this
basket, directed by his mother's house-keeper, and marked "GLASS WITH
CARE," whence I concluded that it contained some jam and some bottles
of wine probably, as well as the usual cake and game-pie, and half a
sovereign for the elder Master B., and five new shillings for Master
Decimus Briggs--how, I say, the arrival of this basket alters all
Master Briggs's circumstances in life, and the estimation in which
many persons regard him!
If he is a good-hearted boy, as I have reason to think, the very first
thing he will do, before inspecting the contents of the hamper, or
cutting into them with the knife which Master Brown has so
considerately lent him, will be to read over the letter from home
which lies on top of the parcel. He does so, as I remarked to Miss
Raby (for whom I happened to be mending pens when the little
circumstance arose), with a flushed face and winking eyes. Look how
the other boys are peering into the basket as he reads--I say to her,
"Isn't it a pretty picture?" Part of the letter is in a very large
hand. That is from his little sister. And I would wager that she
netted the little purse which he has just taken out of it, and which
Master Lynx is eyeing.
"You are a droll man, and remark all sorts of queer things," Miss Raby
says, smiling, and plying her swift needle and fingers as quick as
possible.
"I am glad we were both on the spot, and that the little fellow lies
under our guns as it were, and so is protected from some such brutal
school-pirate as young Duval for instance, who would rob him,
probably, of some of those good things; good in themselves, and better
because fresh from home. See, there is a pie as I said, and which I
daresay is better than those which are served at our table (but you
never take any notice of these kind of things, Miss Raby), a cake, of
course, a bottle of currant wine, jam-pots, and no end of pears in
the straw. With this money little Briggs will be able to pay the tick
which that impudent child has run up with Mrs. Ruggles; and I shall
let Briggs Major pay for the pencil-case which Bullock sold to
him.--It will be a lesson to the young prodigal for the future.
"But, I say, what a change there will be in his life for some time to
come, and at least until his present wealth is spent! The boys who
bully him will mollify toward him and accept his pie and sweetmeats.
They will have feasts in the bedroom; and that wine will taste more
deliciously to them than the best out of the Doctor's cellar. The
cronies will be invited. Young Master Wagg will tell his most dreadful
story and sing his best song for a slice of that pie. What a jolly
night they will have! When we go the rounds at night, Mr. Prince and I
will take care to make a noise before we come to Briggs's room, so
that the boys may have time to put the light out, to push the things
away, and to scud into bed. Doctor Spry may be put in requisition the
next morning."
"Nonsense! you absurd creature," cries out Miss Raby, laughing; and I
lay down the twelfth pen very nicely mended.
"Yes; after luxury comes the doctor, I say; after extravagance, a hole
in the breeches pocket. To judge from his disposition, Briggs Major
will not be much better off a couple of days hence than he is now,
and, if I am not mistaken, will end life a poor man. Brown will be
kicking his shins before a week is over, depend upon it. There are
boys and men of all sorts, Miss R.--there are selfish sneaks who hoard
until the store they daren't use grows mouldy--there are spendthrifts
who fling away, parasites who flatter and lick its shoes, and
snarling curs who hate and envy good fortune."
I put down the last of the pens, brushing away with it the quill chips
from her desk first, and she looked at me with a kind, wondering face.
I brushed them away, clicked the pen-knife into my pocket, made her a
bow, and walked off--for the bell was ringing for school.
--_William Makepeace Thackeray_
MASTER, BASKET, GLASS, HALF, AFTER. (Appendix A, 1.)
FRIEND'S SHINS, SELFISH SNEAKS, SPENDTHRIFTS. (Appendix
A, 3 and 6.)
Make an analysis from the standpoint of Perspective of
the following sentences: BUT HOW THIS BASKET ... REGARD
HIM; IF HE IS A GOOD-HEARTED BOY ... PARCEL; HE DOES SO
... WINKING EYES; SEE THERE IS A PIE ... STRAW.
* * * * *
THE LAUGHING SALLY
A wind blew up from Pernambuco,
(Yeo heave ho! the _Laughing Sally_!
Hi yeo, heave away!)
A wind blew out of the east-sou'-east
And boomed at the break of day. 5
The _Laughing Sally_ sped for her life,
And a speedy craft was she.
The black flag flew at her top to tell
How she took toll of the sea.
The wind blew up from Pernambuco; 10
And in the breast of the blast
Came the King's black ship like a hound let slip
On the trail of the _Sally_ at last.
For a day and a night, a night and a day;
Over the blue, blue round, 15
Went on the chase of the pirate quarry,
The hunt of the tireless hound.
"Land on the port bow!" came the cry;
And the _Sally_ raced for shore,
Till she reached the bar at the river-mouth 20
Where the shallow breakers roar.
She passed the bar by a secret channel
With clear tide under her keel,--
For he knew the shoals like an open book,
The captain at the wheel. 25
She passed the bar, she sped like a ghost,
Till her sails were hid from view
By the tall, liana'd, unsunned boughs
O'erbrooding the dark bayou.
At moonrise up to the river-mouth 30
Came the King's black ship of war,
The red cross flapped in wrath at her peak,
But she could not cross the bar.
And while she lay in the run of the seas,
By the grimmest whim of chance, 35
Out of the bay to the north came forth
Two battle-ships of France.
On the English ship the twain bore down
Like wolves that range by night;
And the breakers' roar was heard no more 40
In the thunder of the fight.
The crash of the broadsides rolled and stormed
To the _Sally_ hid from view
Under the tall liana'd boughs
Of the moonless dark bayou. 45
A boat ran out for news of the fight,
And this was the word she brought--
"The King's ship fights the ships of France
As the King's ships all have fought!"
Then muttered the mate, "I'm a man of Devon!" 50
And the captain thundered then--
"There's English rope that bides for our necks,
But we all be Englishmen!"
The _Sally_ glided out of the gloom
And down the moon-white river. 55
She stole like a gray shark over the bar
Where the long surf seethes for ever.
She hove to under a high French hull,
And the red cross rose to her peak.
The French were looking for fight that night, 60
And they hadn't far to seek.
Blood and fire on the streaming decks,
And fire and blood below;
The heat of hell, and the reek of hell,
And the dead men laid a-row! 65
And when the stars paled out of heaven
And the red dawn-rays uprushed,
The oaths of battle, the crash of timbers,
The roar of the guns was hushed.
With one foe beaten under his bow, 70
The other far in flight,
The English captain turned to look
For his fellow in the fight.
The English captain turned and stared;--
For where the _Sally_ had been 75
Was a single spar upthrust from the sea
With the red cross flag serene!
A wind blew up from Pernambuco
(Yeo heave ho! the _Laughing Sally_!
Hi yeo, heave away!)
And boomed for the doom of the _Laughing Sally_!
Gone down at the break of day.
--_Charles G. D. Roberts_ (_By arrangement_)
PREPARATORY.--Divide the poem into sections giving to
each part a descriptive title. (Introduction, p. 10.)
How is each section made to stand out?
In what Time is the section which describes the flight
of the _Laughing Sally_ read? Give your reason.
(Introduction, pp. 5 and 13.)
Contrast the first and last stanzas from the standpoint
of feeling. How does the voice express the difference?
BLEW, KNEW, NEWS, KING'S SHIP, SEETHES, AND. (Appendix
A, 2, 3, 5, and 6.)
Distinguish the sound of _a_ in LAUGHING SALLY, CRAFT,
LAST, PASSED, WRATH, CHANCE, CRASH, DARK, FAR, DAWN.
(Appendix A, 1.)
8-9. Note the Grouping and Pause. (Introduction, p. 11.)
11-13. Observe the Grouping. Which phrases have the
heaviest Shading? (Introduction, p. 33.)
16. Where is the Pause? Why?
18. LAND ON THE PORT BOW. What change is made in Pitch
and Force? Account for it. (Introduction, pp. 22 and
25.)
24. What is the Inflection on this line?
30-37. Observe the Grouping and Shading throughout these
stanzas.
38-45. What sense is appealed to in these stanzas? How
is the Time affected?
46-53. How are the transitions to direct discourse
indicated? (Introduction, p. 24.)
What is the difference in Pitch between the mate's and
the captain's speech? (Introduction, p. 23.)
66-67. Note the contrast with the preceding stanza and
with the two following lines.
* * * * *
THE PRODIGAL SON
Luke xv 11-32
A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his
father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And
he divided unto them his living.
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and
took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance
with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty
famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and
joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his
fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the
husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he
came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have
bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and
go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son:
make me as one of thy hired servants.
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way
off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his
neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called
thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best
robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his
feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat,
and be merry; For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was
lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to
the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the
servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy
brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because
he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not
go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he
answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee,
neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never
gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon
as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots,
thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son,
thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that
we should make merry, and be glad, for this thy brother was dead, and
is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
PREPARATORY.--Divide this parable into four parts,
giving each part a descriptive title.
Describe pictures to illustrate each part.
Connect the parable with any similar story drawn from
modern life. Fill in details to account for (_a_) the
prodigal's desire to leave home, (_b_) the father's
great joy at his return, (_c_) the elder brother's
jealousy.
HOW MANY HIRED SERVANTS, ETC. What are the prodigal's
feelings? What new feeling is introduced with (_a_) I
WILL ARISE, ETC.? (_b_) FATHER, I HAVE SINNED, ETC.?
In what Time and Pitch do you read the passages which
describe the father's joy? (Introduction, pp. 12 and
22.)
What feeling pervades the speech of the elder son? What
is the motive of the father's reply?
Explain the Emphasis in the following; (_a_) AND HE SENT
HIM; (_b_) AND I PERISH; (_c_) NOW HIS ELDER SON; (_d_)
THEREFORE CAME HIS FATHER OUT; (_e_) THOU NEVER GAVEST
ME A KID. (Introduction, pp. 30 and 31.)
Explain the Inflection on DEAD, ALIVE, LOST, FOUND.
* * * * *
CHRISTMAS AT SEA
The sheets were frozen hard, and they cut the naked hand;
The decks were like a slide, where a seaman scarce could stand;
The wind was a nor'-wester, blowing squally off the sea;
And cliffs and spouting breakers were the only things a-lee.
They heard the surf a-roaring before the break of day; 5
But 'twas only with the peep of light we saw how ill we lay.
We tumbled every hand on deck instanter, with a shout,
And we gave her the maintops'l, and stood by to go about.
All day we tacked and tacked between the South Head and the North;
All day we hauled the frozen sheets, and got no further forth; 10
All day as cold as charity, in bitter pain and dread,
For very life and nature we tacked from Head to Head.
We gave the South a wider berth, for there the tide-race roared,
But every tack we made we brought the North Head close aboard;
So's we saw cliffs and houses, and the breakers running high, 15
And the coast-guard in his garden, with his glass against his eye.
The frost was on the village roofs as white as ocean foam;
The good red fires were burning bright in every 'longshore home;
The windows sparkled clear, and the chimneys volleyed out;
And I vow we sniffed the victuals, as the vessel went about. 20
The bells upon the church were rung with a mighty jovial cheer;
For it's just that I should tell you how (of all days in the year)
This day of our adversity was blessed Christmas morn,
And the house above the coast-guard's was the house where I was born.
O well I saw the pleasant room, the pleasant faces there, 25
My mother's silver spectacles, my father's silver hair;
And well I saw the firelight, like a flight of homely elves,
Go dancing round the china plates that stand upon the shelves.
And well I knew the talk they had, the talk that was of me,
Of the shadow on the household and the son that went to sea; 30
And O the wicked fool I seemed, in every kind of way,
To be here and hauling frozen ropes on blessed Christmas day.
They lit the high sea-light, and the dark began to fall.
"All hands to loose topgallant sails," I heard the captain call.
"Captain, she'll never stand it," our first mate, Jackson, cried. 35
"It's the one way or the other, Mr. Jackson," he replied.
She staggered to her bearings, but the sails were new and good,
And the ship smelt up to windward just as though she understood.
As the winter's day was ending, in the entry of the night,
We cleared the weary headland, and passed below the light. 40
And they heaved a mighty breath, every soul on board but me,
As they saw her nose again pointing handsome out to sea;
But all that I could think of, in the darkness and the cold,
Was just that I was leaving home, and my folks were growing old.
--_Robert Louis Stevenson_ (_By arrangement_)
PREPARATORY.--Supply an introduction and a conclusion
for the story suggested by this poem.
Indicate the pauses which should be made in this poem
after words and phrases: (_a_) because of the Imaging
process, (_b_) in order to conceive the thought more
fully, (_c_) in passing from the narration of one action
to that of another, (_d_) because of direct speech
interrupted by narrative. (Introduction, pp. 7, 24, and
27.)
20 and 22. Indicate the Pause before phrases to prepare
the mind for what is coming. (Introduction, p. 8.) What
Inflection is used as a connecting link? (Introduction,
p. 16.)
27. FIRELIGHT. With what should it be connected? How?
(Introduction, p. 24.)
34. ALL HANDS ... SAILS. What change in Pitch and Force?
(Introduction, pp. 22 and 26.)
40. What is the Shading? (Introduction, p. 33.)
Compare the mental state of the captain with that of the
first mate. How is the difference indicated in the Pitch
of their respective speeches? (Introduction, p. 22.)
Connect stanzas vii and viii with the last two lines of
the poem. What background of thought is suggested? How
is the rate of reading affected by the thoughts
suggested? (Introduction, p. 14.)
* * * * *
THE EVENING WIND
Spirit that breathest through my lattice, thou
That cool'st the twilight of the sultry day,
Gratefully flows thy freshness round my brow:
Thou hast been out upon the deep at play,
Riding all day the wild blue waves till now, 5
Roughening their crests, and scattering high their spray,
And swelling the white sail. I welcome thee
To the scorched land, thou wanderer of the sea!
Nor I alone;--a thousand bosoms round
Inhale thee in the fulness of delight; 10
And languid forms rise up, and pulses bound
Livelier at coming of the wind of night;
And, languishing to hear thy grateful sound,
Lies the vast inland stretched beyond the sight.
Go forth into the gathering shade; go forth, 15
God's blessing breathed upon the fainting earth!
Go, rock the little wood-bird in his nest,
Curl the still waters, bright with stars, and rouse
The wide old wood from his majestic rest,
Summoning from the innumerable boughs 20
The strange deep harmonies that haunt his breast:
Pleasant shall be thy way, where meekly bows
The shutting flower and darkling waters pass,
And where the o'ershadowing branches sweep the grass.
The faint old man shall lean his silver head 25
To feel thee; thou shalt kiss the child asleep,
And dry the moistened curls that overspread
His temples, while his breathing grows more deep;
And they who stand about the sick man's bed
Shall joy to listen to thy distant sweep, 30
And softly part his curtains to allow
Thy visit, grateful to his burning brow.
Go,--but the circle of eternal change,
Which is the life of nature, shall restore,
With sounds and scents from all thy mighty range, 35
Thee to thy birthplace of the deep once more;
Sweet odours in the sea-air, sweet and strange,
Shall tell the home-sick manner of the shore;
And, listening to thy murmur, he shall dream
He hears the rustling leaf and running stream. 40
--_William Cullen Bryant_
PREPARATORY.--Describe fully the picture suggested by
(_a_) the first three lines of stanza i, (_b_) the last
four lines of stanza i, (_c_) stanza ii. Give to each a
suitable title.
1, 2, and 6. (Appendix A, 3, 4, and 8.)
1. THOU. What is the Inflection?
6. How does the sound accord with the sense?
15. GO FORTH ... GO FORTH. Where is the Emphasis?
(Introduction, p. 31.)
19-21. What feeling is aroused? How is the Quality of
voice affected? (Introduction, p. 34.)
25-32. What change in Time? Account for it.
(Introduction, p. 13.)
31. What atmosphere is created in this line? What
Quality of voice is the result? What lines in the last
stanza have the same atmosphere? (Introduction, p. 34.)
36. With what should THEE be connected? In what way?
33-36. What portions are read in lighter Shading?
(Introduction, p. 33.)
* * * * *
PARADISE AND THE PERI
From "Lalla Rookh"
One morn a Peri at the gate
Of Eden stood, disconsolate;
And as she listened to the Springs
Of Life within, like music flowing,
And caught the light upon her wings 5
Through the half-open portal glowing,
She wept to think her recreant race
Should e'er have lost that glorious place!
"How happy," exclaimed this child of air,
"Are the holy spirits who wander there, 10
'Mid flowers that never shall fade or fall;
Though mine are the gardens of earth and sea,
And the stars themselves have flowers for me,
One blossom of Heaven out-blooms them all!"
The glorious Angel, who was keeping 15
The Gates of Light, beheld her weeping;
And, as he nearer drew and listened
To her sad song, a tear-drop glistened
Within his eyelids, like the spray
From Eden's fountain, when it lies 20
On the blue flower, which--Brahmins say--
Blooms nowhere but in Paradise.
"Nymph of a fair, but erring line!"
Gently he said,--"One hope is thine.
'Tis written in the Book of Fate, 25
_The Peri yet may be forgiven
Who brings to this Eternal Gate
The Gift that is most dear to Heaven!_
Go, seek it, and redeem thy sin:
'Tis sweet to let the Pardoned in!" 30
Downward the Peri turns her gaze,
And, through the war-field's bloody haze,
Beholds a youthful warrior stand
Alone, beside his native river,--
The red blade broken in his hand, 35
And the last arrow in his quiver.
"Live," said the conqueror, "live to share
The trophies and the crowns I bear!"
Silent that youthful warrior stood--
Silent he pointed to the flood 40
All crimson with his country's blood,
Then sent his last remaining dart,
For answer, to th' invader's heart.
False flew the shaft, though pointed well;
The tyrant lived, the hero fell! 45
Yet marked the Peri where he lay,
And when the rush of war was past,
Swiftly descending on a ray
Of morning light, she caught the last,
Last glorious drop his heart had shed, 50
Before its free-born spirit fled!
"Be this," she cried, as she winged her flight,
"My welcome gift at the Gates of Light."
"Sweet," said the Angel, as she gave
The gift into his radiant hand, 55
"Sweet is our welcome of the brave
Who die thus for their native land.--
But see--alas!--the crystal bar
Of Eden moves not--holier far
Than e'en this drop the boon must be, 60
That opes the Gates of Heaven for thee!"
But nought can charm the luckless Peri;
Her soul is sad, her wings are weary.
When, o'er the vale of Balbec winging
Slowly, she sees a child at play, 65
Among the rosy wild-flowers singing,
As rosy and as wild as they;
Chasing, with eager hands and eyes,
The beautiful blue damsel-flies
That fluttered round the jasmine stems, 70
Like-winged flowers or flying gems:
And, near the boy, who, tired with play,
Now nestling 'mid the roses lay,
She saw a wearied man dismount
From his hot steed, and on the brink 75
Of a small imaret's rustic fount
Impatient fling him down to drink.
Then swift his haggard brow he turned
To the fair child, who fearless sat,
Though never yet hath daybeam burned 80
Upon a brow more fierce than that.
But hark! the vesper call to prayer,
As slow the orb of daylight sets,
Is rising sweetly on the air,
From Syria's thousand minarets! 85
The boy has started from the bed
Of flowers, where he had laid his head,
And down upon the fragrant sod
Kneels, with his forehead to the south,
Lisping th' eternal name of God 90
From purity's own cherub mouth.
And how felt he, the wretched man,
Reclining there--while memory ran
O'er many a year of guilt and strife,
Flew o'er the dark flood of his life, 95
Nor found one sunny resting-place,
Nor brought him back one branch of grace?
"There was a time," he said, in mild,
Heart-humbled tones, "thou blessed child!
When, young and haply pure as thou, 100
I looked and prayed like thee--but now--"
He hung his head--each nobler aim,
And hope, and feeling, which had slept
From boyhood's hour, that instant came
Fresh o'er him, and he wept--he wept! 105
And now, behold him kneeling there
By the child's side, in humble prayer,
While the same sunbeam shines upon
The guilty and the guiltless one,
And hymns of joy proclaim through Heaven 110
The triumph of a soul forgiven!
'Twas when the golden orb had set,
While on their knees they lingered yet,
There fell a light, more lovely far
Than ever came from sun or star, 115
Upon the tear that, warm and meek,
Dewed that repentant sinner's cheek:
To mortal eye that light might seem
A northern flash or meteor beam--
But well th' enraptured Peri knew 120
'Twas a bright smile the Angel threw
From Heaven's gate, to hail that tear--
Her harbinger of glory near!
"Joy, joy for ever! my task is done:
The Gates are passed, and Heaven is won!" 125
--_Thomas Moore_
PREPARATORY.--Divide this selection into four scenes,
describing minutely each scene, and pointing out what
part of the poem it covers. (Introduction, p. 10.)
What feelings are aroused by each scene?
SPIRIT, NATIVE, PURITY. (Appendix A, 8.)
1-4. Give two examples of Grouping from these lines.
Give numerous other examples throughout the selection,
and show how Grouping affects the Inflection and Pause.
(Introduction, pp. 10-12.)
3-7. Read with a view to Perspective. Select other
examples, noting especially ll. 17-22, 47-51, 72-77, and
112-117. (Introduction, p. 33.)
9. EXCLAIMED THIS CHILD OF AIR. (Introduction, pp. 24
and 27.) Give other examples of direct discourse broken
by narration.
54 and 56. SWEET ... SWEET. Which word is more emphatic?
(Introduction, p. 31.) Compare l. 105.
84. With what should IS RISING be connected? How?
Compare UPON THE TEAR, l. 116.
* * * * *
THE LADY OF SHALOTT
PART 1
On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.
Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle embowers
The Lady of Shalott.
By the margin, willow-veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who has seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?
Only reapers, reaping early
In among the bearded barley,
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly,
Down to tower'd Camelot:
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers "'Tis the fairy
Lady of Shalott."