6. Avauntˋ and quit my sightˋ. Let the earth hideˋ thee. Begoneˋ!
7. What a splendid piece of workˋmanship is manˋ.
8. Behold the child of purˋity arrayed in her inˋnocence.
9. Oh, dearˋest to my soulˋ—now goneˋ, alasˋ, from my sight. Woeˋ
is me, that my sojourning is prolongˋed.
VIII.—In a commencing series, of three or four numbers, the last number
or numbers of the series, and in a concluding series, the last but one,
generally takes the _rising inflection_, and all the other take the
_falling inflection_.
EXAMPLES.
1. Honorˋ, virˋtue, and truthˊ, distinguish himˋ.
2. He is distinguished by honˋor, virˊtue, and truthˋ.
3. Haˋtreds, dissenˋtions, disˋcords, and warsˊ are produced by
ambiˋtion.
4. You have a friend who will pityˋ, supportˋ, defendˊ, and
relieveˋ you.
5. The wind and rain are oˋver; calm is the morn of dayˋ; the
clouds are divided in heavˊen; over the green hills flies the
inconstant sunˋ.
6. A true friend unbosoms freeˋly, advises justˋly, assists
readˋily, takes all paˊtiently, and continues a friend
unchangeˋably.
7. A good disposiˋtion, virtuous princiˋples, a liberal
educaˋtion, and industrious habˊits, are passports to happiness
and honˋor.
8. Hapˋpiness and honorˊ are the reward of a good disˋposition,
virtuous prinˋciples, a liberal educaˊtion, and industrious
habˋits.
9. If you look about youˊ, and consider the lives of othˊers as
well as your ownˋ; if you think how few are bornˋ with honˊor,
and how many dieˊ without nameˊ or childˋren; how little beautyˋ
we seeˊ, and how few friendsˊ we hearˋ of; how many diseasesˊ
and how much povˋerty there is in the worldˊ, you will admireˊ,
instead of repinˋing at God’s provˋidence.
CIRCUMFLEX INFLECTION.
In a circumflex the voice is made to bend so that it falls and rises,
or rises and falls, during the utterance of a single sound. Circumflex
inflection is used in expression of bitter irony or reproach.
EXAMPLES.
1. They offer us their protecˋtion. Yĕs, sŭch protection as
vŭltures give to lămbs—covering and devouring themˋ.
2. Gone to be mărried! gone to swĕar a pĕace! gone to be frĭends!
3. He dâres not touch a hâir of Catalineˋ.
4. I may do what I shall be sorˋry for. You hâve done what you
shoûld be sorˋry for.
5. So this is yŏu. How glăd I am to meet so trŭe a friend.
MONOTONE.
In a monotone the voice neither rises nor falls during the utterance of a
succession of words. It is generally used in pronouncing grand and solemn
passages.
EXAMPLES.
1. _The bell strikes one._ We _take no note of time but from its loss.
To give it_, then, _a tongue is wise in man. As if an angel spoke, I
feel the solemn sound. If heard aright, it_ is the _knell of my departed
hours_.
2.
Who would fardells bear,
To groan and sweat under a weary life,
_But that the dread of something after death_
_That undiscovered country from whose bourne_
_No traveler returns_,—puzzles the will
And makes us _rather bear the ills we have_
Than _fly to others which we know not of_.
3. I flew towards her; my arms were already unclosed to clasp her, when,
suddenly, _her figure changed—her face grew pale—a stream of blood gushed
from her bosom. ’Twas Evelina._
4.
The _cloud-capped towers_, the _gorgeous palaces_,
The _solemn temples_, the great globeˊ itselfˋ—
Yea, _all which it inherit shall dissolve_,
And, _like the baseless fabric of a vision_,
Leaveˊ not a wreck behindˋ.
PARENTHESIS AND PARENTHETICAL CLAUSES.
A parenthesis is an explanatory clause introduced into a sentence.
Parenthesis might be omitted in reading without injuring the grammatical
construction of the sentence. The tone employed in reading parenthetical
clauses, should, generally, be lower than that in which the other parts
of the sentence are read. The monotone is most suitable for parenthesis,
but when inflections are used, as they sometimes are in short clauses,
the inflection should be the same as that used at the pause immediately
preceding the parenthesis, which is generally the _rising inflection_.
EXAMPLES.
1. Rememˊber (continued she with a sighˊ) your dearˊ absent
friendˋ.
2. Know then, this truthˊ, (enough for man to knowˊ,)
Virtue aloneˋ is happiness belowˋ.
3. Nothing can be greatˊ the contemplation of which is not greatˋ
(says Longinusˋ).
4. On the one handˊ, are the divine approbaˊtion and immorˋtal
honˋor; on the othˊer, (remember and bewareˊ,) are the stings of
conˋscience and endless inˋfamy.
5. Genˊtlemen, if I make out this case by evˊidence, (and if I
do not, forget every thing you have heard, and reproach me for
having abused your honest feelˊings,) I have established a claim
for damˊages that has no parallel in the annals of fashionable
intrigueˋ.
The expressions _said I_, _continued he_, _so to speak_, _then_,
_except_, _nevertheless_, _therefore_, _yet_, _notwithstanding_, etc.,
are read in a lower tone, like parenthesis, and with the _falling
inflection_, as:
Justice, _said heˋ_, will carry it.
Though he was rich, _yetˋ_, for our sakes he became poor.
Though deep, _yet clearˋ_; though gentle, _yetˋ_ not dull.
I love every one of them, _exceptˋ_ the old crone.
He was, _so to speakˋ_, the lion of the tribe.
TONE.
Tone differs from accent and emphasis, but may be said to be nearly
allied to inflection. Tone is not confined to words, but to whole
passages, and is intended to convey to the minds of the hearers the
passions and feelings which are supposed to have influenced the writer or
speaker.
Nothing can contribute more to beautiful and expressive reading than the
use of the tones most suitable to the matter read. Nor is the correct
language of emotion, the appropriate sound with which certain passages
should be uttered, of very difficult attainment. The smallest child
finds tones to express its various feelings, and there can be no great
difficulty in the reader’s ascertaining the emotions under which the
author spoke or wrote, and making his tones such as give best expression
to those emotions.
But in this, as in other matters, there should be moderation. Every thing
artificial and theatrical should, in reading ordinary compositions, be
avoided. We recommend Murray’s rule to the learner: “In reading, let your
tones of expression be borrowed from those of common speech, but, in some
degree, more faintly characterized. Let those tones which signify any
disagreeable passion of the mind be more faint than those which indicate
agreeable emotion; and, on all occasions, preserve yourselves from being
so far affected with the subject as to be able to proceed through it with
an easy and masterly manner, which has its good effects in this as well
as in every other art.”
EXPRESSION AND ENERGY.
The following observations on Expression and Energy are taken from
Vandenhoff’s “Plain System of Elocution:”
EXPRESSION.
“Expression is the modulating or regulating the organ of the voice to
tones of gentleness or force, according to the nature and degree of
feeling, or passion, expressed in words. Expression is the natural
language of emotion. It is, in Elocution, to a certain extent, a vocal
imitation of passion. But this must be done without “aggravating the
voice” (as Bottom has it.) It is a grace which requires the nicest
management; and cannot be achieved but with the best cultivation of _ear_
and _voice_; in order to catch and re-echo the tones of the heart to the
ears and hearts of others.
“Expression, therefore, is a refinement on Intonation: they go hand in
hand: we cannot think of the one without the other. Intonation gives the
voice volume and power; expression uses and adopts it to the feeling of
the moment.
ENERGY.
“Energy is intimately allied to the two preceding graces of Elocution; to
which it adds force, intensity, and earnestness. As Expression is variety
of Intonation, Energy may be called the _Emphasis of Expression_.
“It is the life, the soul, the animating spirit. Without it, the speaker
may be correct, and even agreeable, by a due observance of rule; but if
he lack _energy_, he will be listened to without interest; his voice will
fall powerless on the ear, and neither “awake the senses,” nor “stir the
blood.”
“Energy, it is true, depends somewhat on individual temperament and
constitution. But even where natural or physical energy is deficient,
an _energetic manner_ may be acquired by practice and exercise under
judicious direction; just as the muscular powers may be improved, and
bodily vigor increased, even in a feeble frame, under a course of
training and well-regulated exercise.
“Even in narration, what force, what reality can be given to a
description by a speaker who, as it were, throws himself into the
scene, and by the vivacity and energy of his delivery brings the action
graphically before your eyes, hurries you into the heat of it, and makes
you feel as if personally engaged in what is so stirringly related to you
as in that beautiful description, in Shakspeare’s _Henry IV._, of the
gallant Prince Henry and his comrades armed for battle:
“All furnish’d, all in arms,
Glitt’ring in golden coats like images;
As full of spirit as the month of May,
And gorgeous as the sun at midsummer;
Wanton as youthful goats, wild as young bulls.
I saw young Harry,—with his beaver on,
His cuises on his thighs, gallantly arm’d,—
Rise from the ground like feathered Mercury,
And vaulted with such ease into his seat,
As if an angel dropp’d down from the clouds,
To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus,
And witch the world with noble horsemanship!
“Unless this description, full of poetic imagination and coloring as it
is, be delivered with warmth, _energy_, and a tone of enthusiasm, it
will fall very short of its due impression; and thus the poet will be
deprived, by the speaker’s coldness, of the full appreciation, by the
hearer, of the exquisite beauty of the picture.
“But the force of his elocution must be greatly increased, and the
expression must be changed, become impassioned, and raised almost to
_fierceness_, to produce the full effect of _Hotspur’s_ heroic and
inspiring answer: which breaths the highest enthusiasm of confident and
daring valor, undaunted resolution, and impatient thirst of glory.
“It must therefore be marked with all the _energy_ that the reader can
command.
HOTSPUR’S EAGERNESS FOR BATTLE.
Let them come!
They come like sacrifices in their trim,
And to the fire-eyed maid of smoky war,
All hot, and bleeding, will we offer them!
The mailed Mars shall on his altar sit
Up to the ears in blood. I am on fire,
To hear this rich reprisal is so nigh,
And yet not ours! Come, let me take my horse,
Which is to bear me like a thunderbolt
Against the bosom of the Prince of Wales:
Harry to Harry shall, hot horse to horse,
Meet, and ne’er part till one drop down a corse!
“Thus we see that Intonation, Energy, and Expression are kindred graces:
united and embodied in full force and with just discrimination, they
reach the climax of the power of Elocution, the acmé of its art—PASSION.
“In conclusion, I take leave to add, that I shall indeed feel proud if
this feeble attempt of mine may have the effect of awaking the reader’s
interest, exciting, and in some degree aiding him in the cultivation of
an art, on which the Orator’s success so much depends.”
ON READING OF VERSE.
The following remarks on reading verse are by the same writer:
“In the reading of verse, we must observe
1. Time and rhythm.
2. Melody and cadence.
“1. By _time_, I mean the regulation of the pulsation and movement of
sound by the voice, to the regulated metrical accentuation (or rhythm),
and construction of the verse.
“Time and rhythm are therefore inseparable and mutually dependent: one
belongs to the Poet, the other to the Elocutionist.
“English verse consists of the arrangement at regular intervals of
accented and _un_accented—or, heavy and light—syllables. This regular
arrangement makes the _rhythm_ of the verse: the number of syllables
employed in a line makes the _metre_ of the verse.
“Now if, in reading verse, we do not _regularly_ mark the pulsation of
the accented syllables,—according to their arrangement in the rhythm—at
due intervals of sound, we shall break the rhythm by reading _out of
time_.
“For example, in the Ode of Dryden, on Cecilia’s Day, occurs this
couplet; which I now mark according to the _regular_ rhythmical division
and accentuation.
On theˊ | bare earthˊ | exposedˊ | he liesˊ |
With notˊ | a friendˊ | to closeˊ | his eyesˊ.
“But to read the first line of the couplet thus, (accenting _the_ and not
accenting _bare_) would be to sacrifice all the force of the line, in
order to produce an unmeaning _sing-song_ by equipulsation of sound.
“We must, therefore, by art, reconcile the strength of the line with the
music of the verse; and thus divide and accent it in delivery.
On the bareˊ | earthˊ | exposedˊ | he liesˊ.
“Sometimes the poet himself will, purposely, break the regularity of
his rhythm for expression and effect; the Elocutionist, in such cases,
must aid that effect by marking and _timing_ the pulsation of sound
accordingly. As in the following lines from Pope:
1. _Smooth_ˊ flow the waves, the zephyrs gently play.
2. _Wide_ˊ and more wide the floating rings advance,
_Fill_ˊ all the wat’ry plain, _and to the mar_gin dance.
3. Amphion there the loud creating lyre
_Strikes_ˊ, and behold a sudden Thebes aspire!
4. _Fame_ˊ sits aloft, and points them out their course.
5. _Bright_ˊ as the sun, her eyes the gazers strike.
6. _All_ˊ are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul;
That chang’d through all, and yet is all the same,
_Great_ˊ in the earth, as in the ethereal frame,
_Warms_ˊ in the sun, _refreshes_ in the breeze,
_Glows_ˊ in the stars, and _blossoms_ in the trees,
_Lives_ˊ thro’ all life, _extends_ through all extent,
_Spreads_ˊ undivided, _operates_ unspent,
_Breathes_ˊ in our soul, _informs_ our mortal part, &c.
“The _Italicised_ words indicate the departure from the _regular_ rhythm
in these lines; most of which commence with a heavy syllable, for
force and effect. This the reader must mark by pulsation of voice,—a
prolongation of sound, or a rest, on the commencing heavy syllable, with
a lighter enunciation of the succeeding unaccented syllables.
“The occurrence of several successive unaccented syllables, lessening
the due number of accents in any line, must be balanced by a short rest
to supply the place of the deficient accent (_as in the_ 5_th and_ 6_th
lines of the_ 6_th example._) By these means the due time of the verse
will be preserved, and its movement will _echo_, (as it were,) or, at all
events, aid and strengthen the sense.
“The above verses will accordingly be read with the division and
accentuation following:
1. Smoothˊ | flow the wavesˊ, | the zephˊyrs gent | ly playˊ.
2. Wideˊ | and more wideˊ | the floatˊ | ing ringsˊ | advanceˊ,
Fillˊ all | the watˊ | ’ry plainˊ, | and to the marˊ | gin danceˊ.
3. Amphi on thereˊ | the loudˊ | creaˊ | ting lyreˊ |
Strikesˊ, | and beholdˊ | a sudˊ | den Thebesˊ | aspireˊ!
4. Fameˊ | sits aloftˊ, | and pointsˊ | them outˊ | their course.
5. Brightˊ | as the sunˊ, | her eyesˊ | the gaˊ | zers strikeˊ.
6. Allˊ | are but partsˊ | of oneˊ | stupenˊ | dous wholeˊ, |
Whose bod | y Naˊ | ture isˊ, | and Godˊ | the soulˊ;
That chang’dˊ | thro’ allˊ, | and yetˊ | in allˊ | the sameˊ, |
Greatˊ | in the earthˊ, | as in | the etheˊ | real frameˊ, |
Warmsˊ | in the sunˊ, | refreshˊ | es in the breezeˊ, |
Glowsˊ | in the starsˊ, | and blosˊ | soms in the treesˊ, &c.
RESTS IN VERSE.
“There is another point, which properly comes under the head of _time_,
in rhythmical reading, and the due observance of which is essential to
the melody of verse: that is the rests or pauses peculiar to verse, viz.:
THE CÆSURAL REST, to divide the line; and THE REST AT THE CLOSE of each
line.
“The duration of each of these pauses or rests is equal to that of the
_short rhetorical pause_; subject, of course, to be increased by the
pause of sense.
“‘The cæsural pause may fall,’ says Blair, ‘in heroic verse, after the
fourth, the fifth, the sixth, or the seventh syllable.’
“The placing it is the poet’s business: it is the Elocutionist’s to mark
it in delivery. But if its introduction would be absolutely repugnant
to sense and just elocution, the poet must bear the fault, and his line
lose some portion of its melody by the omission; for sense cannot be
sacrificed to sound.
“The rest at the end of the line suggests itself, and must not be
omitted: the sense will most frequently enforce it; when it does not, a
rest must nevertheless be made by a suspension of voice at the end of
each line, equal to the short pause in Elocution.
EXAMPLE.
Achilles’ wrath, | to Greece the direful spring |
Of woes unnumbered, | heav’nly goddess sing!
EXERCISES.
“The following verses in heroic measure—that is, consisting of ten
syllables to each line, the syllables being (with occasional variations,
which are allowed) alternately light and heavy—I have marked with the
cæsural pause and rest at the end of the line. Let the student read them
_aloud_, marking these pauses, and duly observing _time_, _rhythm_, and
_poetical intonation_.
THE TEMPLE OF FAME.—_Pope._
Four faces had the dome, | and every face |
Of various structure | but of equal grace!
Four brazen gates | on columns lifted high, |
Salute the different quarters | of the sky.
Here fabled chiefs, | in darker ages born, |
Or worthies old, | whom arms or arts adorn, |
Who cities rais’d, | or tam’d a monstrous race, |
The walls, | in venerable order, | grace:
Heroes | in animated marble | frown, |
And legislators seem | to speak in stone.
Westward | a sumptuous frontispiece | appear’d |
On Doric pillars | of white marble rear’d, |
Crown’d with an architrave | of antique mould, |
And sculpture rising | on the roughen’d gold.
In shaggy spoils | here Theseus was beheld, |
And Perseus, dreadful | with Minerva’s shield:
There great Alcides, | stooping with his toil, |
Rests on his club, | and holds th’ Hesperian spoil:
Here Orpheus sings; | trees wooing to the sound, |
Start from their roots, | and form a shade around:
Amphion there | the loud creating lyre |
Strikes, and behold | a sudden Thebes aspire!
Cythæron’s echoes | answer to his call, |
And half the mountain | rolls into a wall:
There might ye see | the lengthening spires ascend, |
The dome swell up, | the widening arches bend, |
The growing towers | like exultations rise, |
And the huge columns | heave into the skies.
MELODY and CADENCE require that in reading poetry the inflections be more
smooth, or less angular, than in prose. To make the inflections as sharp
as they often are in ordinary composition, would interfere with that easy
and graceful flow which is the chief charm of poetical composition. But
while cadence adds much to the beauty of poetical expression, it must
not be carried so far as to supersede the just inflection and emphasis
which the sense demands. To do so, would be to give to the reading a
_sing-song_ tone and sameness, both unmeaning and disagreeable. Melody
may be said to relate to the whole verse in poetry; cadence applies only
to the closing line or phrase.
[3] Pronouns used as _antecedents_, and also _relatives_, when _their
antecedents are not expressed_, should obviously be pronounced with a
certain degree of emphatic force; as, “_He_ that runs may read.” “_Who_
seeks for glory often finds a grave.” “_What_ man has done, man can do.”
[4] The following is Mr. J. Sheridan Knowles’s account of
emphasis:—“EMPHASIS is of two kinds, absolute and relative. Relative
emphasis has always an antithesis expressed or implied: absolute emphasis
takes place when the peculiar eminence of the thought is solely, singly
considered.
’Twas base and poor, unworthy of a _peasant_,
To forge a scroll so villainous and loose,
And mark it with a noble lady’s name.
Here we have an example of relative emphasis; for, if the thought
were expressed at full, it would stand thus:—Unworthy not only of a
_gentleman_, but of a _peasant_.
’Twas base and poor, unworthy of a _man_,
To forge a scroll so villainous and loose,
And mark it with a noble lady’s name.
Here we have an example of absolute emphasis; for, if the thought were
expressed at full, it would stand thus:—Unworthy a being composed of
such perfections as constitute a man.” Mr. Knowles adds: “I apprehend
that, notwithstanding all that has been written on the subject, the true
definition of emphasis remains still to be discovered.”
[5] _Single_ emphasis, is when there is _one_ pair of words opposed to
each other in a sentence; _Double_ emphasis, when there are _two_ pairs;
and _Treble_, when there are _three_.
PART SECOND.
[Illustration]
I.—TEACHING AND CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.
CHATEAUBRIAND.
Among the French writers of the nineteenth century, Chateaubriand
has been one of the most distinguished. His “Genius of
Christianity” is a remarkably brilliant and eloquent work.
1. JESUS CHRIST appears among men full of grace and truth; the authority
and the mildness of His precepts[6] are irresistible. He comes to heal
the most unhappy of mortals, and all His wonders are for the wretched.
In order to inculcate[7] His doctrine, He chooses the apologue,[8] or
parable, which is easily impressed[9] on the minds of the people. While
walking in the fields, He gives His divine lessons.
2. When surveying the flowers that adorn the mead, He exhorts His
disciples to put their trust in Providence, who supports the feeble
plants, and feeds the birds of the air; when He beholds the fruits of
the earth, He teaches them to judge of men by their works; an infant is
brought to Him, and He recommends innocence; being among shepherds, He
gives Himself the appellation of the _Good Shepherd_, and represents
Himself as bringing back the lost sheep to the fold.
3. In Spring He takes His seat upon the mountain, and draws from the
surrounding objects instruction for the multitude sitting at His
feet. From the very sight of this multitude, composed of the poor and
the unfortunate, He deduces His beatitudes. _Blessed are those that
weep—blessed are they that hunger and thirst._ Such as observe His
precepts, and those that slight them, are compared to two men who build
houses, the one upon a rock, and the other upon the sand. When He asks
the woman of Samaria for drink, He expounds unto her His heavenly
doctrine, under the beautiful image of a well of living water.
4. His character was amiable, open, and tender, and His charity
unbounded. The evangelist gives us a complete and admirable idea of it
in these few words: _He went about doing good._ His resignation to the
will of God is conspicuous[10] in every moment of His life; He loved and
felt the sentiment of friendship: the man whom He raised from the tomb,
Lazarus, was His friend; it was for the sake of the noblest sentiment of
life that He performed the greatest of His miracles.
5. In Him the love of country may find a model. “O, Jerusalem,
Jerusalem,” He exclaimed, at the idea of the judgments which threatened
that guilty city, “how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
Casting His sorrowful eyes from the top of a hill over this city, doomed
for her crimes to a signal destruction, He was unable to restrain His
tears: “_He beheld the city_,” says the evangelist, “_and wept over it_.”
His tolerance[11] was not less remarkable: when His disciples begged him
to command fire to come down from heaven on a village of Samaria, which
had denied Him hospitality, He replied with indignation, “_Ye know not
what manner of spirit ye are of_.”
[6] PREˊ-CEPTS, commands, rules or directions for moral guidance.
[7] IN-CULˊ-CATE, to urge, or enforce.
[8] APˊ-O-LOGUE (log), a parable, a moral fable.
[9] IM-PRESSˊ, to fix deep, to imprint.
[10] CON-SPICˊ-UOUS, plain, manifest, evident.
[11] TOLˊ-ER-ANCE, patient endurance, indulgence.
II.—LITTLE AT FIRST, BUT GREAT AT LAST