HINTS ON ELOCUTION 85
DEFECTS OF SPEECH 93
INTRODUCTION.
Rev. Dr. Hall of New York says, "There is one accomplishment in
particular which I would earnestly recommend to you: cultivate
assiduously the ability to read well. I stop to particularize this,
because it is a thing so very much neglected, and because it is such an
elegant and charming accomplishment. Where one person is really
interested by music, twenty are pleased by good reading. Where one
person is capable of becoming a skilful musician, twenty may become good
readers. Where there is one occasion suitable for the exercise of
musical talent, there are twenty for that of good reading.
"What a fascination there is in really good reading! What a power it
gives one! In the hospital, in the chamber of the invalid, in the
nursery, in the domestic and in the social circle, among chosen friends
and companions, how it enables you to minister to the amusement, the
comfort, the pleasure, of dear ones, as no other accomplishment can! No
instrument of man's devising can reach the heart as does that most
wonderful instrument, the human voice. It is God's special gift to his
chosen creatures. Fold it not away in a napkin.
"Did you ever notice what life and power the Holy Scriptures have when
well read? Have you ever heard of the wonderful effects produced by
Elizabeth Fry on the criminals of Newgate by simply reading to them the
parable of the Prodigal Son? Princes and peers of the realm, it is said,
counted it a privilege to stand in the dismal corridors, among felons
and murderers, merely to share with them the privilege of witnessing the
marvellous pathos which genius, taste, and culture could infuse into
that simple story."
Elocution trains the voice to obey the mind, and to rightly express
thought and feeling. It is necessary to those who read or speak in
public; to persons with defective speech; to those with nasal, shrill,
throaty, or husky voices; to persons with diseased throat, or liability
to it, arising from wrong use of voice.
The practice of the art of elocution is as necessary to the reader or
speaker as practice of the art of singing is to one who intends to
become a public singer. Any one attempting to sing for the public
without previous practice would be justly hissed from the stage: and a
like fate overtakes most speakers, who, without previous study of
elocution, attempt to speak in public; that is, very few go to hear
them.
CLERGYMEN
should learn to read impressively the Bible, Litany, hymns, and sermons:
for as Dr. Holland says, "When a minister goes before an audience, it is
reasonable to ask and expect that he shall be accomplished in the arts
of expression; that he shall be a good writer and speaker. It makes
little difference that he knows more than his audience, is better than
his audience, has the true matter in him, if the art by which he conveys
his thought is shabby. It ought not to be shabby, because it is not
necessary that it should be. There are plenty of men who can develop the
voice, and so instruct in the arts of oratory that no man need go into
the pulpit unaccompanied by the power to impress upon the people all of
wisdom that he carries." The same writer says of
STUDENTS.
"Multitudes of young men are poured out upon the country, year after
year, to get their living by public speech, who cannot even read well.
The art of public speech has been shamefully neglected in all our higher
training-schools. It has been held subordinate to every thing else, when
it is of prime importance. I believe more attention is now paid to the
matter than formerly. The colleges are training their students better,
and there is no danger that too much attention will be devoted to it.
The only danger is, that the great majority will learn too late that the
art of oratory demands as much study as any other of the higher arts;
and that, without it, they must flounder along through life practically
shorn of half the power that is in them, and shut out from a large
success."
TEACHERS
should learn elocution so as to teach in a pleasing, effective manner;
and also to teach reading in schools, so that children may learn to read
in an easy, agreeable way, and give thought to what they read; thus
leading a child in all studies to get ideas from books, and not merely
words without meaning.
PUBLIC SPEAKERS
should, by study of elocution, learn the best manner of moving,
persuading, and instructing their audiences; thus adding to their own
popularity, and consequently widening their influence.
LAWYERS,
by practice of elocution, will find greater ease in speaking to witness
or jury, and thus be greatly aided in their work.
ACTORS AND PUBLIC READERS
lose both time and money by a neglect of elocution, the practice of
which is essential to success in their vocation.
SINGERS,
by study of elocution, can best obtain that perfect articulation and
elegant expression so necessary to the successful singer.
ALL PERSONS
who have a taste for reading should study elocution, as reading aloud in
the social or home circle is one of the most instructive, pleasing, and
healthful pastimes in which we can indulge.
DEFECTIVE SPEECH,
as lisping, stammering, stuttering, &c., can be entirely cured by a
study and diligent practice of elocution.
UNPLEASANT VOICES,
either shrill, nasal, throaty, husky, or with any other disagreeable
quality, can be made agreeable by practice of elocution.
To meet all these wants, this treatise has been prepared. Embracing as
it does a thorough exposition of the principles of elocution in an
eminently practical form, adapted to the requirements of the student,
the professional man, and the amateur, by a graduate of the Boston
School of Oratory (acknowledged to be the best Institute of Elocution
America has produced), himself a successful teacher and reader, it seems
to present the whole science in a nutshell, so that he "who runs may
read" in reality, if he but follow the instructions of this Manual. Here
elocution is not only simplified, but, in this neat and cheap form,
placed within the reach of all.
GEORGE M. BAKER.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
I would here acknowledge my indebtedness to Prof. Lewis B. Monroe, Dean
of Boston University School of Oratory, for what I have learned of
expression in elocution; to Prof. A. Graham Bell of Boston for valuable
instruction in articulation and inflection; to Prof. Edward B. Oliver of
Mendelssohn Musical Institute of Boston for his most excellent
instruction in tone.
The method of study of this book is the result of the knowledge gained
from these three superior instructors. The plan of Part Three will be
found to be that of Monroe's Sixth Reader.
METHOD OF STUDY OF ELOCUTION.
Part First, a series of gymnastics to give strength and elasticity to
the muscles used in speaking, to expand the chest, and to get a correct
position of body, so that speaking may be without effort, and yet
powerful.
Part Second, a system of vocal exercises for daily practice, to train
the voice, and get command of tone, quality, pitch, inflection, force,
stress, articulation, and right manner of breathing.
Part Third, the application of the vocal exercises to the reading of
short extracts, showing the effect when thus applied, and showing the
difference between the seven styles,--conversational, narrative,
descriptive, didactic, public address, declamatory, and emotional or
dramatic.
There will be found references to select pieces in Baker's "Reading Club
and Handy Speaker," for practice in the different styles of reading.
Hoping this little book may be of benefit to many, it is sent forth to
help those who love the art, but with no thought of recommending this
book for self-instruction, and substituting it for the instruction to be
gained from a good teacher of the art. If a good teacher is not to be
had, use this book.
WALTER K. FOBES.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., October, 1877.
ELOCUTION SIMPLIFIED.
PART ONE.
PHYSICAL GYMNASTICS.
Goethe says, "All art must be preceded by a certain mechanical
expertness."
You find it so in the art of playing the piano: the fingers must be made
nimble, and the wrists elastic, before any thing else can be well done.
In the art of singing you have to exercise the voice in many ways to get
command of it. So, in the art of elocution, it is necessary to practise
the mechanics of physical and vocal culture, that you may be prepared to
express properly your thought and feeling.
You need first a healthy body, elastic and strong in muscles, and
especially in those muscles used in the production of voice. For this
latter purpose I will describe as clearly as I can Monroe's system of
gymnastics, and for the former recommend any other gymnastics that will
give health, strength, and especially elasticity.
ATTITUDE.
1. STANDING POSITION.--Hamlet, so Shakespeare tells us, ends a letter to
Ophelia thus:--
"Whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet."
Your body is the machine by means of whose working you express your mind
and feelings. If you were to run a steam-engine, you would be very
careful to place the machine in such a position, that it would do the
most work with the least wear and tear. You must do the same with this
machine, your body. To get a correct standing position, place yourself
with back against a smooth wall in the room, with shoulders flat, your
back as nearly straight as you can make it, and every part, from head to
heel, touching the wall. This gives you an upright position, but feels
uncomfortable, because the weight is too much on the heels. Sway the
whole body in its upright position forward, so that the weight will come
mostly on the balls of the feet; and, in doing so, do not bend any part
except at the ankles. You are now in a proper position for speaking. The
head is erect, shoulders thrown back, chest expanded, back nearly
straight, the weight of the body is about equal on ball and heel of the
feet, and your poise of body as it would be naturally in the act of
taking a step forward. This puts every part of your body in the best
condition for easy speaking.
2. SPEAKER'S POSITION.--This position should be assumed before an
audience when some other position is not required for dramatic
expression. It is the standing position, with the weight upon one foot,
and the other advanced. Let the advance foot be about a heel's distance
from the middle of the foot behind, and form a right angle with it.
3. SITTING POSITION.--When you read in a sitting position, the body
should be as in speaker's position, and feet also, the poise of body
being forward.
4. CHANGE OF POSITION.--You sometimes wish to turn to address your
audience at one side. To change gracefully from the speaker's position,
turn the foot in advance on the ball, outward, until it becomes parallel
with the foot behind; then take the weight on it, and turn the other
foot till you have correct speaker's position. If, as you stood at
first, facing the audience, your weight was on the right foot, you will
find yourself facing to the right; if the weight was on left, you will
face left. When facing the audience, to change the weight from one foot
to the other, take one short step either forward or back.
5. POISE OF BODY.--To get steadiness of body, to keep a correct poise,
and to prevent all unseemly swaying, when standing to read or speak,
assume standing position, and, keeping feet flat on the floor, sway
forward until the weight comes entirely on the ball of the feet. Don't
bend the body. Then sway back to standing position. Then sway backward,
keeping feet flat on the floor and the body straight, until the weight
is entirely on the heels; from that sway forward to position.
6. RISE UPON THE TOES.--For the same purpose as the above. Assume
standing position, and rise as high as possible on the toes very slowly;
then sink slowly so as to come back to standing position. Be very
careful not to sway backward in coming down, and you will find yourself
in the exact poise of standing position. Also do the same from speaker's
position, rising on one foot.
7. HOLDING THE BOOK.--Hold your book in the left hand, on one side of
the body, so that your face will not be hid from the audience. The top
of the book should be about even with the shoulder. Many, in reading,
hold the book in front of them; but that is not so pleasant to an
audience, and leads to a stooping position, a contracted chest, and ill
health.
NOTE.--All the foregoing exercises relate to position of body necessary
for the most powerful, and at the same time the easiest, action of the
vocal organs; also to the attitudes most pleasing to an audience when
they look upon a reader or speaker. Practise them until they become
habits, and so unconsciously you will assume correct position when you
stand.
CHEST EXPANSION.
For purposes of speech, you need to use more breath than for ordinary
breathing or conversation. You therefore need to make as much room as
possible for good fresh air by exercise to expand the chest. Elocution
is beneficial to health for this reason.
1. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE CHEST.--Your chest in its ordinary position is
what, in elocution, is called passive chest. The active chest is that
assumed in the standing position, where the chest is raised up slightly
and expanded, with the shoulders drawn back. Practise as an exercise the
active and passive chest, alternating from one to the other without
breathing, or moving the shoulders. The active chest must be kept in all
the physical and vocal gymnastics, and at all time during speech. With
practice it will soon become established as a habit; and your every-day
attitude will be more erect as a consequence.
2. ARMS AT SIDE.--Place your arms at the side, with elbows bent, so
that from elbow to hand the arms are horizontal, and parallel with each
other. Draw the elbows back, clinch the fist with palms up, and make
chest active, keeping the back straight. Take a full breath, and hold it
(see "Breathing"); then carry the arms at full length in front of you,
your hands open and as high up as the shoulders; then bring them back to
the position you started from, with hands clinched, palms up, and pull
back with all your strength, raising the chest slightly more; then give
out the breath. After some practice you may do it twice upon one breath,
being sure to keep the arms as close to the body as you can; for, if you
spread your arms, you will strain the muscles.
3. FORE-ARM VERTICAL.--Assume standing position, and bend the arms,
placing them vertically, and parallel with each other, at the side, with
clinched hands as high as the shoulder; turn the fist out from the
shoulder, raise the chest as much as you can, and, taking a full breath,
hold it; bring the arms forward so as to touch the elbows together, if
you can; then draw them back to first position, and pull downward and
backward as hard as you can; then give out the breath. After some
practice, do this twice on one breath, being sure to keep the arms and
hands close to the body.
4. FULL-ARM PERCUSSION.--In ordinary breathing, it is seldom you fill
your lungs to their fullest capacity; and some of the air-cells are not
filled, especially those at the extreme edges of the lungs. This and the
following exercise are for the purpose of sending air into those
portions of the lungs not ordinarily filled. Assume standing position;
take a full breath, and hold it; then strike with the right hand upon
the top of the left chest a very quick and very elastic blow, striking
with fingers, and swinging the arm freely from its position at the side;
then strike with left hand on right chest in same manner; repeat with
each hand, and then give out the breath. Never strike with the flat palm
or clinched fist, as that is very injurious and unhealthy.
5. HAND PERCUSSION.--Assume standing position, and place your hands on
your chest, with elbows as high as the shoulders; make chest active;
take a full breath, and retain it while you strike alternately eight
light elastic blows with each hand; then give out the breath.
BODY MOVEMENTS.
The muscles of the waist are the front or abdominal, the side or costal,
the back or dorsal muscles. These muscles are very important in speech;
and upon the strength and elasticity of these, and the inner muscles
acting in connection with them, depend the force and strength of your
voice. Three very simple movements are here given, which will give some
measure of strength and elasticity to these muscles.
1. BODY BEND FORWARD AND BACK.--From standing position bend forward,
keeping the back straight, and bending only at the hip-joints; touch the
floor with your hands, if you can; then assume upright position, and
bend back as far as you can.
2. BEND RIGHT AND LEFT.--From standing position, bend to right side as
far as possible, bending only at the waist, and stretching the costal
muscles; then assume upright position, and bend to left in same manner.
3. TURN RIGHT AND LEFT.--From standing position turn the body on the
waist, keeping the hips still, and twisting the waist-muscles, first to
the right, then to the left.
NECK MOVEMENTS.
The neck movements are necessary, because many of the disagreeable
qualities of the voice are due to inelasticity of the muscles of the
neck. The movements are in the same directions as for the body.
1. BEND FORWARD AND BACK.
2. BEND RIGHT AND LEFT.
3. TURN RIGHT AND LEFT.
It is not necessary to describe them at length: but, in bending right
and left, be careful to keep the head from bending slightly backward or
forward at the same time; and, in the turning of head, keep it erect.
NOTE.--This completes the physical gymnastics. Practise them until the
purpose for which they are intended has been accomplished, and
afterwards occasionally, to keep what you have gained. Take each
exercise two or three times in succession. When thoroughly learned,
this will not take more than five minutes. Practise them five minutes
at morning and night.
PART TWO.
VOCAL GYMNASTICS.
You have no need to take any special exercise in walking for the
ordinary purposes of life; but, if you wished to be a "walkist," you
would need special practice to train and develop the muscles for that
purpose. You may be a good singer, able to sing for your own amusement
or that of your friends, without specially training the singing-voice;
but, if you wished to sing in public, you would, if you were wise, train
your singing-voice very carefully. As in these cases, so with the voice
in speaking. For all ordinary purposes of speech, you need no special
training of the speaking-voice; but when, as teacher, clergyman, lawyer,
lecturer, actor, public reader, or in any other capacity, you are called
upon to do more with the voice than others, you ought to train and
develop your vocal powers. For this purpose, the following series of
exercises are given for practice.
BREATHING.
As it is necessary that you should take in and give out more breath in
speaking than at other times, you ought to be able to do this in a
natural manner. If you will practise these breathing-exercises until
they are easy for you, the breath in your reading or speaking will take
care of itself. Practise breathing in the open air, and take in and give
out the breath through the nose without making the slightest sound in so
doing.
1. ABDOMINAL BREATHING.--Take standing position and active chest; place
the fingers on the abdominal muscles, and the thumbs on the costal
muscles; take a full breath, making the abdominal muscles start first,
and move outward; then let the muscles sink in as the breath comes out.
Make as much movement of these muscles as you can, both in and out; and
be sure you keep the shoulders from moving. Pay particular attention to
the movement of the abdominal muscles, letting all the rest (except the
shoulders) move as may be easy to you. Practise this way of breathing
until you can do it easily; and, if it makes you dizzy, do not be
alarmed, but wait till the dizziness is entirely gone before you try
again.
2. COSTAL BREATHING.--Assume standing position with active chest; place
the fingers on the costal muscles, and thumbs at the back; inhale a full
breath, expanding as much as possible the costal muscles and ribs. In
giving out the breath, make them sink in as much as possible. Keep
shoulders still in breathing in and out, and let all other muscles be
free to move as they may.
3. DORSAL BREATHING.--Assume standing position with active chest; place
the fingers at the back on dorsal muscles, and thumbs on the side; take
a full breath, trying to expand the muscles under your fingers as much
as you can. Rightly done, the abdominal and costal muscles, and the
ribs, will also expand; the chest, if not already active, will rise; the
shoulders will remain quiet. In giving out the breath, let the chest be
the last to sink. This is the way of breathing in every healthy man,
woman, and child. Any manner of dressing the body that hinders free and
easy action of the abdominal, costal, and dorsal muscles, and the ribs,
leads to ill health, because it interferes with the vital process of
breathing; and ill health is fatal to success in any art.
4. PUFFING THE BREATH.--Assume standing position, with active chest;
take a full breath, and, rounding the lips as if you were about to say
the word "who," blow the breath out as you would in blowing out a light;
inhale again, and repeat the puffing.
5. PUFF AND PAUSE.--Puff the breath as before, three times, pausing
about five or more seconds, holding the breath between the puffs. In
holding the breath, let there be no pressure upon the lungs or throat,
but control it by keeping the waist-muscles still. (See "Holding
Breath.")
6. PUFF AND BREATHE.--Puff three times in the same way as before,
breathing between the puffs, thus: place the fingers of one hand on the
upper part of the chest, the fingers of the other hand on the abdominal
muscles; keep the chest still, and make the abdominal muscles sink
every time you puff out the breath, and expand, every time you take in
breath, between the puffs. In this exercise breathe through both nose
and mouth. By practice of these three ways of expelling breath you get
command of it.
7. HOLDING THE BREATH.--When you hold your breath for a longer or
shorter time, or try to control it for any purpose of speech, you should
do so by means of the muscles spoken of in "Dorsal Breathing," as being
the ones used in right manner of breathing. You must try to control the
breath by keeping the waist-muscles still; and there should be no
feeling of pressure or uneasiness on the lungs, or in the throat or
mouth. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again: time will bring
you your reward: try, try again." Get control of the waist-muscles so as
to keep them still; and, while you hold them still, there is no
possibility of the breath getting out.
TONE.
A good tone in speech is as much to be desired as it is in song. Some
have it as a gift of nature; and all can acquire it, in a degree, by
judicious practice. If you have an excellent voice, you can make it
still more excellent by practice; and, if you have a poor voice, you
can, by practice, make it full, pleasant, and effective, and excel that
one who has a good voice, but makes no effort to improve it. The
tone-exercises here given are designed to give command of tone, and
develop purity and power. They should be practised five minutes at a
time, at four different times of the day, and double that time if
possible, in order to get the greatest amount of good from them. Use any
tones of your voice, high or low, without being at all particular about
an exact musical pitch; though, if you can practise with an organ or
piano, you will find it much more beneficial.
1. GLOTTIS STROKE.--Assume standing position with active chest; take
full breath, and whisper forcibly the word "who" three times. Repeat the
same. Now whisper "who" twice, and speak it aloud the third time; then
whisper "who" once, and speak it aloud the second and third time; then
speak "who" aloud three times. Now speak "who" twice, and the third time
say "_oo_" as those letters sound in the word _woo_; then say "who"
once, and "_oo_" the second and third time; then "_oo_" three times.
You should make both the whisper and vocal sound very short and sudden,
without any feeling of contraction or effort in the throat or mouth. It
should seem to you as if the sound came from the lips; and, while you
are energetic in the exercise, it must be done with perfect ease. You
have thus proceeded, from an easy, forcible whisper, to an easy,
forcible sound, and have thus obtained what is called the "Glottis
Stroke." After diligent practice on the above exercise, use any of the
short vowels (see "Articulation"); speaking each vowel three times very
shortly, as you did the vowel-sound _oo_.
2. SOFT TONES.--Assume standing position with active chest, and take
breath; prolong very softly _oo_ as long as your breath will let you,
being careful not to force the sound to continue after you feel the
slightest need of breath, and also not to change the position of the
mouth from beginning to end of the sound. Repeat three times. In this
exercise you will probably hear the voice waver, and find it difficult
to keep it very soft, and yet distinct. Practice will overcome this, and
the exercise will be found very beneficial. The ability to do it shows
cultivation of voice. After some time, use also the long vowels. (See
"Articulation.")
3. SWELLING TONES.--Assume standing position with active chest, and take
full breath; then begin the vowel _oo_ very softly, and gradually swell
it to a full tone, and then as gradually diminish it to the gentlest
sound. Be careful, as in soft tone, as to breath, and position of mouth.
After some practice, you should be able to continue on one breath,
either the soft tone or swelling tone, twenty seconds; which is long
enough for practical purposes. Use same vowels as in soft tone.
PITCH.
It is necessary to all expressive reading that there should be as much
variation in pitch of voice--that is, as to high and low tones--as
possible, and not overdo. The pleasantest quality of voice, without
variation in pitch, is tiresome to the listener. To get command of
pitch, you must practise till the high and low tones are as easy to make
as the common conversational tones. If you can sing the musical scale of
one octave in key of C, or B flat, you will find these exercises more
beneficial than if you cannot sing. If you cannot sing, take a
relatively high or low pitch, as your ear may guide you, and practise
the chanting and reading of sentences as well as you can.
1. LEARN THE MUSICAL SCALE.--Sing the scale in music, using first the
glottis stroke; that is, speak each very short as you go up and down the
scale. Then practise soft tone and swelling tone on each tone within
compass of your voice.
2. CHANT SENTENCES.--Use one tone of voice, and take any sentence,
prolonging the words without reference to the sense, without change of
tone from beginning to end. When you use a high tone, make it light and
clear; when you use a low tone, make it full, free, and forcible. Chant
on each tone separately within the compass of the voice.
3. READ SENTENCES.--Use the same sentences as for chanting, and,
beginning on each tone of the voice, speak it as you would in earnest
conversation, in a way to give the meaning of it. You will see that if
you begin with high pitch, although your voice varies in speaking, it
will be a relatively high pitch through the whole sentence; and, if you
begin low, it will be relatively low. With high pitch, make your voice
light and clear; and with low pitch, full, free, and forcible.
INFLECTION.
In inflection the voice slides up or down in pitch on a word, and by so
doing impresses your meaning on the listener. Inflections are infinite
in number; but a few of them practised will be of benefit in getting
command over them. When the voice slides up, it is called rising
inflection; if down, a falling. If it slides both ways on the same word,
it is called circumflex; and if it varies but little, and is very like a
chant in song, it is called monotone. A major inflection gives an effect
of strength; a minor, of feebleness.
1. MAJOR FALLING INFLECTION.--A falling inflection is indicated by (`)
over the accented syllable of an emphatic word. If you do not already
know the difference between a rising and falling inflection, suppose I
say to you, "The book is on the table," and you, not understanding what
place I said, should ask, "Where?" and I answer, "On the table." Your
question would be made with rising, and my answer with falling
inflection. Use any vowel-sounds, and practise the falling inflection as
you would hear it on the word "table," avoiding all motion of head,
arms, or body, and making it with much energy of voice, as if expressing
strong determination.
2. MAJOR RISING INFLECTION.--This is indicated by a (´) over the
emphatic word. Practise with any vowel-sounds the inflection as you
would hear it on "where," as above, observing same directions as in
major falling inflections.
3. MAJOR RISING AND FALLING INFLECTIONS.--Practise rising followed by
falling, as óh, òh, áh, àh, a['w]e, a[`w]e, &c., using long and short
vowels. Then falling followed by rising, as òh, óh, àh, áh, a['w]e,
a[`w]e, &c., using long and short vowels. Use these as if asking a
simple unimportant question, and giving a like answer; then a question
and answer of earnestness; then of surprise; then of great astonishment.
In so doing, your voice will range higher and lower in inflection than
you otherwise would make it. Do not let any of the inflections sound
plaintive or feeble, but make them strong and decisive.
4. MINOR RISING AND FALLING INFLECTIONS.--Use the same exercises as
under major rising and falling, just mentioned; with this difference,
that you make them so as to sound week, feeble, plaintive, or sad. They
should be practised that you may become familiar with their sound, and
have them at command, so as to use them when needed for expression, and
avoid them when not.
5. CIRCUMFLEX INFLECTION.--This inflection is indicated by a mark
([**symbol like letter V][**symbol like letter V upside down]) or
([**symbol like the bottom half of a circle][**symbol like the top half
of a circle]) because it is a combination of rising and falling
inflection. The first is rising circumflex, because it ends with the
rising; the second is falling circumflex, because it ends with falling
inflection. It is used in expression of doubt, irony, sarcasm; as in
"The Merchant of Venice," act 1, scene 3, Shylock says to Antonio, "Hath
a d[vo]g m[vo]ney? Is it possible a cur can lend three thousand
d[vu]cats?" You will see, if read to express Shylock's irony and
sarcasm, that the words would be inflected, as marked, with rising
circumflex. Practise these circumflex inflections with vowels as
directed under major rising and falling inflections. The falling
circumflex being the reverse of the rising, when once you are familiar
with the rising, can be easily made.
6. MONOTONE.--This comes as near to being one tone of voice as it can
be, and at the same time keep its expressiveness as reading. It is not
really, as its name might indicate, one tone, as that would be like
chanting in singing; but it is variation of inflection within very small
limit of range in pitch. It is best practised as song, however. Prolong,
on a low pitch, any of the long vowels, about five seconds. The mark for
monotone is (-) placed over a word.
QUALITY.
The quality of the voice is that which affects us agreeably or
disagreeably; and we say it is gruff, or husky, or harsh, or pleasant,
&c. Four general and distinct qualities need to be practised until they
are at command of the mind.
1. WHISPER.--Whisper the long and short vowels very easily and quietly
at first, without the slightest feeling of effort in throat or mouth,
and perfectly free from hoarseness or murmuring. As soon as you can make
a clear whisper heard across the room, whisper so as to be heard farther
off, and so proceed gradually, day by day, until you can whisper,
clearly and without effort, loud enough to be heard in a large hall. Do
not practise whispering more than three minutes at a time.
2. ASPIRATE QUALITY.--This is what, in general, is called undertone. It
is a mixture of whisper and voice, and is what you would be likely to
use when in company you speak to any one with a desire not to be
overheard by others. Practise with vowels as in whisper.
3. PURE QUALITY.--Speak the long vowels in your conversational tone as
pleasantly as you can, tossing the tone lightly, as if speaking to some
one across a large hall. Speak each vowel three times on one breath.
Practise them first speaking shortly, then with prolonging of each tone
not over five seconds.
4. OROTUND QUALITY.--This quality is seldom to be heard in uncultivated
voices, but is much to be desired in a speaker. It can only be acquired
slowly and with much practice. It will be easily recognized when heard,
as it possesses a fulness and richness of tone very pleasing. It is not
high, but seems low in pitch; and, although it does not sound loud, it
seems to be effective, and reach a long distance. To acquire it,
practise, as recommended in "Pitch," the chanting and reading of
sentences on the conversational and lower tones of the voice; also
swelling tone under "Tone," on low pitch, using long vowels, especially
_oo_, oh, awe, ah.
FORCE.
Force is the degree of loudness or softness we may give to the voice.
You should be able to speak gently without feebleness or weakness of
voice, and so as to be distinctly heard in a large hall, and also to
make the fullest and loudest voice without showing any effort to do so.
1. GENTLE FORCE.--Chant and read sentences, as under "Pitch," with the
gentlest force you can, and yet make it so as to seem to be clear and
distinct. Do this on every pitch you can, high or low.
2. MODERATE FORCE.--Read and chant as above on the middle and higher
tones, with about the force of earnest conversation.
3. LOUD FORCE.--Read and chant as above, using only the middle and lower
tones of the voice, making the loudest tones you can, without straining
the throat. Force of voice depends on the management of the muscles
below the lungs; and you should have perfect freedom from all effort on
the part of lungs, throat, or mouth, on any pitch, high, middle, or low.
If any effort is perceptible to you, it will be a feeling of strength
and power at the waist; and experience and practice must teach you how
much or how little effort to make at that point. The loudest force, and
at the same time the purest quality, is secured when it seems to make
itself without the slightest feeling of effort on your part.
STRESS.
Stress is the manner of applying force to a word or accented syllable.
Prof. L. B. Monroe, in his book on vocal culture, enumerates six kinds.
The marks he uses to represent them exhibit clearly to the eye what the
voice is required to do. With radical, terminal, and compound stress,
after facility is gained by use of stroke from the shoulder, omit it,
and do them forcibly without movement of any part of the body.
1. RADICAL STRESS.--So called, because the stress is on the beginning of
the word, and marked thus (>). Assume standing position with active
chest, and take breath; touch the fingers to the shoulder, and strike
forward and downward, stopping the hands half way, and clinching the
fist very tightly; at the moment of stopping, speak the vowel "ah" very
shortly. You will notice that the voice issues full, and seems to
suddenly vanish in a manner well indicated by the mark above. Use any
vowels, long or short, with middle pitch of voice. Practise afterward
without any movement of the arms.
2. MEDIAN STRESS.--So called, because the force is on the middle of the
word, marked thus (<>). It is the same as swelling tone, but is much
shorter. Practise with long vowels on middle tones of voice, making
three short swells on the same vowel in one breath.
3. TERMINAL STRESS.--So called, because the force is on the end of the
word, and marked thus (<). Use the same movement as in radical stress;
begin the sound softly when the hand leaves the shoulder, stopping it
suddenly as the hands clinch. The voice seems to be jerked out. Practise
also without arm-movements, using the same vowels as in radical stress.
4. THOROUGH STRESS.--So called, because the force is loud from beginning
to end, and marked thus (=). Prolong about ten seconds long vowels, with
a loud full voice on middle pitch.
5. COMPOUND STRESS.--So called, because it is a union of radical and
terminal stress, and marked (><). The force is on both beginning and end
of the word, and may be made by striking twice in succession, continuing
the voice from radical to terminal without pause of voice between the
strokes.
6. TREMOLO STRESS.--This is a trembling of voice, and marked thus
([**symbol like a rippled line]). Prolong long vowels, making the voice
tremble while you do so.
MOVEMENT.
Movement is the degree of rapidity or slowness with which you speak the
articulate sounds. The danger in fast movement is, that you will not
articulate plainly; and in slow, that you will drawl.
1. QUICK MOVEMENT.--Use exercise of chanting and reading sentences, as
under "Pitch," using the middle tones of voice; and repeat the words
with the utmost possible rapidity, with perfect articulation. In
chanting, do not mind the sense; but, in reading, be particular to give
the meaning of the sentence.
2. MODERATE MOVEMENT.--Use exercise as above about as fast as ordinary
talking.
3. SLOW MOVEMENT.--Use exercise as above, with very slow movement of
voice. In chanting, prolong each word about alike; in reading, give good
expression, and you will see that the more important words usually take
the longest time.
ARTICULATION.
Articulation is the utterance of the elementary sounds, which, when
combined, make language. You have been using the sounds that make up
speech, in combination, every day; but it is a good practice to make
each element separately. After you are able to make each sound
distinctly, you will find you can make yourself understood in a large
hall without using a loud voice. Your jaw, lips, and tongue should move
actively and easily. For this purpose use long vowels,--No. 1, No. 8,
No. 14,--speaking them in quick succession, one after the other, making
them distinct, and making the jaw and lips move as much as you can with
ease. Continue to the extent of your breath. Then use the same with _p_,
_b_, or _m_ before them; then with _t_, _d_, or _n_; then _k_, _g_, or
_y_. Continue this practice about five minutes at a time, until the jaw,
lips, and tongue will move with perfect ease.
ELEMENTARY SOUNDS.
In the exercises here given, use the sound, not the name of the letters
which represents the sound, and practise separately the sounds
represented by the Italic letters below. The only correct way to learn
them is from the lips of a competent teacher; but you will do well, and
improve, if you try the best you can in your way.
VOWELS.
_Long._ | _Short._ | _Diphthongs._
| |
1. _e_ as in m_ee_t.| 2. _i_ as in _i_t. |8^1. _i_ as in p_i_e.
3^1. _a_ " " m_a_y. | 4. _e_ " " m_e_t. |11^1. _oi_ " " _oi_l.
5. _ai_ " " _ai_r. | 5. _a_ " " _a_t. |8^{14}._ou_ " " _ou_t.
6. _e_ " " h_e_r. | 7. _a_ " " Cub_a_.|^{1}14. _u_ " " yo_u_.
8. _a_ " " _a_h. | 9. _u_ " " _u_p. |
10. _a_ " " _a_we. |11. _o_ " " _o_n. |
12^{14}._o_ " " _o_h. |13._oo_ " " f_oo_t.|
12. _o_ " " _o_re. | |
14. _oo_ " " w_oo_. | |
GLIDES.--1-14 of the vowels, and _r_ when it follows a
vowel, are by Prof. Bell called "Glides."
CONSONANTS OR ARTICULATIONS.
_Breath._ | _Voice._ | _Nasal._ |_Place in Mouth._
_p_ as in _p_ay. |_b_ as in _b_ay. |_m_ as in _m_ay. | Lips.
_wh_ " " _wh_y. |_w_ " " _w_ay. | | "
_f_ " " _f_ie. |_v_ " " _v_ie. | | Lips and teeth.
_th_ " " _th_in.|_th_ " " _th_en. | | Tongue " "
_t_ " " _t_ie. |_d_ " " _d_ie. |_n_ " " _n_igh.| Tip of tongue.
_ch_ " " _ch_ew.|_j_ " " _j_ew. | | " "
|_l_ " " _l_ay. | | " "
|_r_ " " _r_ay. | | " "
_s_ " " _s_ee. |_z_ " " _z_eal. | | " "
_sh_ " " _sh_oe.|_zh_ " " a_z_ure.| | " "
|_y_ " " _y_e. | | Whole tongue.
_k_ " " _k_ey. |_g_ " " _g_o. |_ng_ " " si_ng_.| Back of "
_h_ " " _h_e, _h_ay, _h_a, _h_o, is a whispered vowel, taking the
position of the vowel following it.
Of the vowels, the numbers indicate positions of mouth; and, where
numbers are alike, the positions are alike. Each vowel-sound is made by
unobstructed sounds issuing through a certain position of mouth. The
position is unchanged with single vowels, and those have but one number.
The position changes in double vowels and diphthongs; and those have two
numbers,--one large, one small. As each number represents a position of
mouth, you can easily see by comparing what sounds are made from
combining others. The number in the largest size type of the two
represents the position that is kept when the sound is prolonged: as in
8^1 prolong the 8 or _a_h, and make ^1 or _ee_ very short; and in ^{1}14
make ^1 very short, and prolong 14. The positions represented by the
small figures are called "Glides," because the position is hardly
assumed before the sound is finished. Diphthongs are sounds made by
combining vowel-sounds, as 8^1 _a_h-_ee_. Of the consonants, or, as well
named by Prof. Bell, articulations,--because two parts of the mouth have
to come together and separate in order to finish the element, thus
obstructing the breath or voice,--those in line across the page with
each other are alike in position of mouth; those in first column are
made with breath only, passing out through the mouth; those in second
column, with sound passing out through the mouth; those in third column
are sound passing out through the nose. For instance, _p_, _b_, _m_, are
in line with each other; and, if you will make the three sounds
represented by those letters, you will see that the same position of
mouth is assumed for each, and that _p_ is breath forced out of mouth,
_b_ is sound out of mouth, _m_ is sound passing out of nose.
Practise these sounds of vowels and articulations until you can make
them forcibly and easily, with elastic movement of jaw, tongue, and
lips; and remember that force depends on the strength and good control
of muscles below the lungs. Then unite them by placing articulations
before vowels, giving most force to the vowel, but make both clear and
distinct. Then use articulations both before and after the vowel, still
giving the vowel the most force, but making the articulation that begins
and ends equally distinct and clear. To arrange these for your practice
in this small book would take too much space. You have above each
element of the English language clearly shown, and can easily combine
them as directed.
SUMMARY OF PHYSICAL AND VOCAL GYMNASTICS.
PHYSICAL GYMNASTICS.
ATTITUDE.
1. Standing Position.
2. Speaker's "
3. Sitting Position.
4. Change "
5. Poise.
6. Rise on Toes.
7. Holding Book.
CHEST EXPANSION.
1. Active and Passive Chest.
2. Arms at Side.
3. Fore-arm Vertical.
4. Percussion. Full Arm.
5. " Hands on Chest.
BODY AND NECK MOVEMENTS.
1. Body bend forward and back.
2. " " right and left.
3. " turn " "
4. Neck bend forward and back.
5. " " right and left.
6. " turn " "
VOCAL GYMNASTICS.
NOTE.--_Be sure and keep_ ACTIVE CHEST _in all vocal exercises_.
BREATHING.
1. Abdominal.
2. Costal.
3. Dorsal.
4. Puff.
5. Puff--Pause between.
6. " Breathe "
7. Holding Breath.
TONE.
NOTE.--_In following exercises use first long, then short vowels._
1. Glottis stroke. Who, whispered, followed by short vowels quickly
spoken.
2. Soft Tones. Use oo-oh-awe-ah first, then any other vowels.
3. Swell Tones. Use vowels as in Soft Tones.
PITCH.
1. Learn Musical Scale. Practise Tone Exercise on each tone within
compass of voice.
2. Chant sentences on each tone.
3. Read sentences, beginning on each tone.
INFLECTION.
1. Major, fall from different pitches.
2. " rise " "
3. " " and fall from different pitches.
4. Minor rise and fall.
5. Circumflex, rise and fall.
6. Monotone, different pitches.
QUALITY.
1. Whisper.
2. Aspirate.
3. Pure.
4. Orotund.
FORCE.
NOTE.--_Use exercises under Pitch, Nos. 2 and 3, with different degrees
of force._
1. Gentle.
2. Moderate.
3. Loud.
STRESS.
1. Radical.
2. Median.
3. Terminal.
4. Thorough.
5. Compound.
6. Tremolo.
MOVEMENT.
NOTE.--_Use exercises under Pitch, Nos. 2 and 3, with different rates of
movement._
1. Quick.
2. Moderate.
3. Slow.
ARTICULATION.
NOTE.--_Use only sounds represented by Italicized letters in the words
and letters below._
1. Elementary Sounds.
2. Syllables.
3. Words.
4. Phrases.
5. Sentences.
Long Vowels. 1. m_ee_t. 3^1. m_ay_. 5. _ai_r. 6. h_e_r. 8. _a_h. 10.
_awe._ 12^{14}. _o_h. 12. _o_re. 14. w_oo_.
Short Vowels. 2. _i_t. 4. m_e_t. 5. _a_t. 7. Cub_a_. 9. _u_p. 11. _o_n.
13. f_oo_t.
Diphthongs. 8^1. p_i_e. 11^1. _oi_l. 8^{14}. _ou_t. y14. _you._
Glides. 1.--14._-r._
Articulations. Lips--_p_, _b_, _m-wh_, _w_. Lips and Teeth--_f_, _v_.
Teeth and Tongue--_th_ (thin), _th_ (then). Tip of Tongue--_t_, _d_,
_n-l-r-ch_, _j-s_, _z-sh_, _zh_. Tongue--_y_. Back of Tongue--_k_, _g_,
_ng_. Whispered Vowel--_h_.
PART THREE.
ELOCUTION.
If you have faithfully practised Parts One and Two, you have gained some
control of voice, and can now begin elocution, or expression of thought
and feeling. In each of the short extracts you will find some thought
and feeling to express; and if you will take pains to understand
thoroughly what you have to speak, and then speak earnestly as the
thought and feeling prompts you, you will certainly improve. Speak to
some person; and, if no one is present, imagine that there is, and talk
to them: for you need never speak aloud, unless it is for some one
besides yourself to hear. Your first endeavor as a speaker should be to
make a pleasant quality of voice, so that you may make good listeners of
your audience. The following exercises suggest pleasure, and let your
voice suggest the sentiment.
PLEASANT QUALITY.
1. A merrier man,
Within the limit of becoming mirth,
I never spent an hour's talk withal:
His eye begets occasion for his wit;
For every object that the one doth catch,
The other turns to a mirth-moving jest,
Which his fair tongue (conceit's expositor)
Delivers in such apt and gracious words,
That aged ears play truant at his tales,
And younger hearings are quite ravished,
So sweet and voluble is his discourse.
2. There's something in a noble boy,
A brave, free-hearted, careless one,
With his unchecked, unbidden joy,
His dread of books, and love of fun,--
And in his clear and ready smile,
Unshaded by a thought of guile,
And unrepressed by sadness,--
Which brings me to my childhood back,
As if I trod its very track,
And felt its very gladness.
3. The scene had also its minstrels: the birds, those ministers and
worshippers of Nature, were on the wing, filling the air with melody;
while, like diligent little housewives, they ransacked the forest and
field for materials for their housekeeping.
4. Let me play the fool:
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come;
And let my liver rather heat with wine
Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.
Why should a man whose blood is warm within
Sit like his grandsire, cut in alabaster?
Sleep when he wakes? and creep into the jaundice
By being peevish?
5. Across in my neighbor's window, with its drapings of satin and
lace,
I see, 'neath its flowing ringlets, a baby's innocent face.
His feet, in crimson slippers, are tapping the polished glass;
And the crowd in the street look upward, and nod and smile as
they pass.
6. How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
Look how the floor of heaven
Is thick inlaid with patens of bright gold!
There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st,
But in his motion like an angel sings,
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubim:
Such harmony is in immortal souls;
But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.
7. A cheerful man is pre-eminently a useful man. He knows that there is
much misery, but that misery is not the rule of life. He sees that in
every state people may be cheerful; the lambs skip, birds sing and fly
joyously, puppies play, kittens are full of joyance, the whole air is
full of careering and rejoicing insects; that everywhere the good
outbalances the bad, and that every evil that there is has its
compensating balm.
For other selections, see Baker's "Reading Club."
No. Page. Verse.
1 12 1
1 82 all
2 15 6
2 62 1
2 72 1
2 78 all
3 11 all
3 35 all
3 49 all
4 26 6
4 36 all
4 92 1
ARTICULATION.
With pleasant quality you will make listeners; but you will soon weary
them, unless you make them understand by clear articulation. You have
made the organs of articulation elastic by practice of elementary sounds
separately and in combination. In combinations you have made syllables,
and these syllables make words, words make phrases, phrases make
sentences, sentences make up a discourse, address, oration, &c.
SYLLABLES.--Every syllable contains a vowel, or its equivalent;
as in the following word, which is separated by hyphens into
syllables,--in-com-pre-hen-si-ble: you will hear a vowel-sound in each,
the last syllable having the sound of _l_ as an equivalent.
WORDS.--A word may have one or more syllables; and, when it has two or
more, one of them will receive slightly more force than the others, as
in the word "common." Pronounce it, and you will give more force to
"_com_" than "_mon_." This force applied is called accent.
ACCENT.--In pronouncing words, you will notice that in the longest
words, even while you make each syllable distinct, there is no
perceptible pause until the word is finished. In words of two or three
syllables you will find accent as above; but words of four or more
syllables have one accented, and perhaps two syllables besides, that
receive less force than the accented, but more than the others.
Pronounce incomprehensibility. Properly done, you will hear that you
give "_bil_" the strongest accent, and "_com_" and "_hen_" slight
accent, but more than the remaining syllables, "_in_," "_pre_," "_si_,"
"_i_," "_ty_." The accent on "_bil_" is primary accent; and on the
"_com_" and "_hen_" secondary accent.
PHRASES.--Two or more words make a phrase; and a phrase gives you an
idea, perhaps, needing a number of phrases to make complete sense. You
should speak phrases just as you would a long word, without perceptible
pause, and with more force on prominent words than others. Here is a
sentence composed of two phrases: "Fear the Lord, and depart from evil."
A poor reading of this would be, "Fear (pause) the Lord, (pause) and
depart (pause) from evil." A good reading would be, "Fear the Lord,
(pause) and depart from evil."
EMPHASIS.--As in words you have primary and secondary accent, so in
phrases you have what is known as emphasis. In the sentence just given,
the words that had most force were "_Lord_" and "_evil_;" and less
force, "_fear_" and "_depart_;" and little or no force, "_the_,"
"_and_," and "_from_." You may call this primary and secondary emphasis,
the primary having, as in accent, most force.
SENTENCES.--These phrases, or groups of words somewhat connected in
idea, make sentences; and a sentence gives complete sense. As syllables
make words, and in words you have an accented syllable; as words make
phrases, and in phrases you have an emphatic word: so, in sentences
composed of phrases, you have an important phrase; and this important
phrase must be impressed upon the mind of the listener more strongly
than any other. This is done by slightly added force and a trifle higher
pitch; and, as you will readily see, the emphatic word of the important
phrase is the emphatic word of the whole sentence. Thus you have the
structure of sentences; and, if you proportion your force well, you will
not fail to give the meaning correctly. In the following sentence, the
phrases are separated by commas; the emphatic words are in SMALL
CAPITALS; the secondarily emphatic words are in _Italics_. First
understand what the sentence means, then speak it as you would in
earnest conversation, and you will be likely to give it correctly.
"We ALL of us, in a great _measure_, _create_ our own HAPPINESS, which
is not _half_ so much _dependent_ upon SCENES and CIRCUMSTANCES as most
_people_ are apt to IMAGINE."
In this sentence the important phrase is, "create our own happiness;"
and the other phrases must be and are, by a good reader, subordinated to
this one. This subordination of phrases to the principal one is made by
lowering the pitch slightly, and lessening the force slightly on the
subordinate phrases. It is naturally done if you'll talk the sentence
understandingly.
In the following sentences,--
1st, Sound each element of a word separately.
2d, Pronounce each word separately, with proper accent, being careful to
give each element correctly.
3d, Read in phrases, remembering that each phrase should be pronounced
as a long word, without pause, and with emphasis.
4th, Read in sentences, subordinating all other phrases to the principal
phrase.
1. When sorrows come, they come not single spies,
But in battalions.
2. There's such divinity doth hedge a king,
That treason can but keep to what it would,
Act little of his will.
3. Grandfather is old. His back, also, is bent. In the street he sees
crowds of men looking dreadfully young, and walking dreadfully swift. He
wonders where all the old folks are. Once, when a boy, he could not find
people young enough for him, and sidled up to any young stranger he met
on Sundays, wondering why God made the world so old. Now he goes to
Commencement to see his grandsons take their degree, and is astonished
at the youth of the audience. "This is new," he says: "it did not use to
be so fifty years before."
4. Press on! surmount the rocky steeps;
Climb boldly o'er the torrent's arch:
He fails alone who feebly creeps;
He wins who dares the hero's march.
5. Where I have come, great clerks have purposed
To greet me with premeditated welcomes;
Where I have seen them shiver and look pale,
Make periods in the midst of sentences,
Throttle their practised accent in their fears,
And, in conclusion, dumbly have broke off,
Not paying me a welcome, trust me, sweet,
Out of this silence yet I picked a welcome;
And in the modesty of fearful duty
I read as much as from the rattling tongue
Of saucy and audacious eloquence.
6. Be not lulled, my countrymen, with vain imaginations or idle fancies.
To hope for the protection of Heaven, without doing our duty, and
exerting ourselves as becomes men, is to mock the Deity. Wherefore had
man his reason, if it were not to direct him? wherefore his strength, if
it be not his protection? To banish folly and luxury, correct vice and
immorality, and stand immovable in the freedom in which we are free
indeed, is eminently the duty of each individual at this day. When this
is done, we may rationally hope for an answer to our prayers--for the
whole counsel of God, and the invincible armor of the Almighty.
7. The quality of mercy is not strained:
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed,--
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings.
But mercy is above this sceptred sway:
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.
FULNESS AND POWER.
Fulness of voice is necessary, that, when you are speaking in a large
hall, your voice may be powerful. Most persons could make themselves
heard, and, with good articulation, understood; but yet they would lack
power, because the voice wants fulness. The extracts given below will
suggest to you the necessity of a full voice to express them well.
Observe these directions in trying to get a full, energetic tone:--
1st, Correct speaker's position, take active chest, and keep it.
2d, Take full breath, breathe often, and control it. (See "Holding
Breath.")
3d, Articulate perfectly.
4th, Use conversational and lower tones of the voice.
5th, Fix the mind on some distant spot, and speak as if you wished to
make some one hear at that point.
6th, Remember to be very energetic, and yet have it seem to a looker-on
or listener to be done without the slightest effort.
1. O'Brien's voice is hoarse with joy, as, halting, he commands,
"Fix bay'nets--charge!" Like mountain-storm rush on these fiery
bands.
On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy! hark to that fierce huzza!
"Revenge! remember Limerick! dash down the Sassenagh!"
Like lions leaping at a fold when mad with hunger's pang,
Right up against the English line the Irish exiles sprang.
The English strove with desperate strength, paused, rallied,
staggered, fled:
The green hill-side is matted close with dying and with dead.
On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy, like eagles in the sun,
With bloody plumes the Irish stand: the field is fought and won.
2. Thou too sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union strong and great!
Humanity, with all its fears,
With all its hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate.
We know what master laid thy keel,
What workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast and sail and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope.
3. Oh! young Lochinvar is come out of the west:
Through all the wide border his steed was the best;
And, save his good broad-sword, he weapon had none;
He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone.
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.
4. One song employs all nations; and all cry,
"Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us!"
The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks
Shout to each other; and the mountain-tops
From distant mountains catch the flying joy;
Till, nation after nation taught the strain,
Earth rolls the rapturous hosanna round.
5. "But I defy him!--let him come!"
Down rang the massy cup,
While from its sheath the ready blade
Came flashing half way up;
And, with the black and heavy plumes
Scarce trembling on his head,
There, in his dark, carved, oaken chair,
Old Rudiger sat--dead!
6. All hail to our glorious ensign! Courage to the heart, and strength
to the hand, to which in all time it shall be intrusted! May it ever
wave in honor, in unsullied glory, and patriotic hope, on the dome of
the capitol, on the country's stronghold, on the entented plain, on the
wave-rocked topmast!
7. Rejoice, you men of Angiers! ring your bells!
King John, your king and England's, doth approach,
Commander of this hot malicious day!
Their armors that marched hence so silver bright
Hither return all gilt with Frenchmen's blood;
There stuck no plume in any English crest
That is removed by a staff of France;
Our colors do return in those same hands
That did display them when we first marched forth;
And, like a jolly troop of huntsmen, come
Our lusty English, all with purpled hands
Dyed in the dying slaughter of their foes.
INFLECTION.
Inflection is a slide of voice, either up or down in pitch, or both, on
the accented syllable of a word. You have learned in previous pages what
kinds there are. Major inflections express strength: minor express
weakness.
Rising inflections refer to something to come that shall complete the
sense. If you speak a phrase that needs another to complete its meaning,
you will use a rising inflection to connect them. If you defer to
another's will, opinion, or knowledge, in what you say, you will use a
rising inflection. If you speak of two or more things, thinking of them
as a whole, and not separately, you use a rising inflection.
Falling inflections are used when a phrase or sentence is complete in
itself. If you state your own will, opinion, or knowledge, you will use
falling inflection. If you speak of two or more things separately,
wishing to make each one by itself distinct in the hearer's mind, you
will use falling inflections.
Circumflex inflections, being composed of rising and falling inflections
combined, are doubtful in meaning; for if rising means one thing, and
falling means another, a combination must mean doubt. It expresses
irony, sarcasm, &c.
Monotone is a varying of inflection within very narrow limits, and comes
as near to chanting as the voice can, and still retain the
expressiveness of inflection in speech. It expresses any slow-moving
emotions, as grandeur, awe, solemnity, &c.
Practise the short extracts under each head until you are sure you give
the right inflection in the right place.
MAJOR RISING INFLECTION.
1. Would the influence of the Bible, even if it were not the record of a
divine revelation, be to render princes more tyrannical, or subjects
more ungovernable; the rich more insolent, or the poor more disorderly?
Would it make worse parents or children, husbands or wives, masters or
servants, friends or neighbors?
2. But why pause here? Is so much ambition praiseworthy, and more
criminal? Is it fixed in nature that the limits of this empire should be
Egypt on the one hand, the Hellespont and Euxine on the other? Were not
Suez and Armenia more natural limits? Or hath empire no natural limit,
but is broad as the genius that can devise, and the power that can win?
3. Shine they for aught but earth,
These silent stars?
And, when they sprang to birth,
Who broke the bars
And let their radiance out
To kindle space,
When rang God's morning shout
O'er the glad race?
Are they all desolate,
These silent stars;
Hung in their spheres by fate,
Which nothing mars?
Or are they guards of God,
Shining in prayer,
On the same path they've trod
Since light was there?
MAJOR FALLING INFLECTIONS.
1. Stand up erect! Thou hast the form
And likeness of thy God: who more?
A soul as dauntless mid the storm
Of daily life, a heart as warm
And pure, as breast e'er wore.
2. Methinks I hear hither your husband's drum;
See him pluck Aufidius down by the hair,
As children from a bear, the Voices shunning him;
Methinks I see him stamp thus, and call thus,--
_Come on, you cowards! you were got in fear,
Though you were born in Rome_: his bloody brow
With his mailed hand then wiping, forth he goes,
Like to a harvest-man that's tasked to mow
Or all, or lose his hire.
3. Mahomet still lives in his practical and disastrous influence in the
East. Napoleon still is France, and France is almost Napoleon. Martin
Luther's dead dust sleeps at Wittenberg; but Martin Luther's accents
still ring through the churches of Christendom. Shakspeare, Byron, and
Milton, all live in their influence,--for good or evil. The apostle from
his chair, the minister from his pulpit, the martyr from his
flame-shroud, the statesman from his cabinet, the soldier in the field,
the sailor on the deck, who all have passed away to their graves, still
live in the practical deeds that they did, in the lives they lived, and
in the powerful lessons that they left behind them.
MINOR RISING INFLECTIONS.
1. "Let me see him once before he dies? Let me hear his voice once more?
I entreat you, let me enter."
2. Stay, lady, stay, for mercy's sake,
And hear a helpless orphan's tale!
Ah! sure my looks must pity wake:
'Tis want that makes my cheek so pale.
Yet I was once a mother's pride,
And my brave father's hope and joy;
But in the Nile's proud fight he died,
And I am now an orphan-boy.
3. They answer, "Who is God that he should hear us
While the rushing of the iron wheels is stirred?
When we sob aloud, the human creatures near us
Pass by, hearing not, or answer not a word.
Is it likely God, with angels singing round him,
Hears our weeping, any more?"
MINOR FALLING INFLECTIONS.
1. God forbid that we should outlive the love of our children! Rather
let us die while their hearts are a part of our own, that our grave may
be watered with their tears, and our love linked with their hopes of
heaven.
2. Her suffering ended with the day;
Yet lived she at its close,
And breathed the long, long night away
In statue-like repose.
But, when the sun in all his state
Illumed the eastern skies,
She passed through glory's morning-gate,
And walked in paradise.
3. Father cardinal, I have heard you say
That we shall see and know our friends in heaven.
If that be true, I shall see my boy again;
For since the birth of Cain, the first male child,
To him that did but yesterday suspire,
There was not such a gracious creature born.
But now will canker-sorrow eat my bud,
And chase the native beauty from his cheek;
And he will look as hollow as a ghost,
As dim and meagre as an ague's fit:
And so he'll die; and, rising so again,
When I shall meet him in the court of heaven
I shall not know him: therefore never, never
Must I behold my pretty Arthur more.
CIRCUMFLEX INFLECTION.
1. Were I in England now (as once I was), and had but this fish painted,
not a holiday-fool there but would give a piece of silver. There would
this monster make a man: any strange beast there makes a man. When they
will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to
see a dead Indian.
2. If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had
been churches, and poor men's cottages princes' palaces. It is a good
divine that follows his own instructions. I can easier teach twenty what
were good to be done than be one of the twenty to follow mine own
teaching. The brain may devise laws for the blood; but a hot temper
leaps over a cold decree: such a hare is madness the youth to skip o'er
the meshes of good counsel the cripple.
3. "Hold, there!" the other quick replies:
"'Tis green: I saw it with these eyes,
As late with open mouth it lay,
And warmed it in the sunny ray.
Stretched at its ease, the beast I viewed,
And saw it eat the air for food."
"I've seen it, sir, as well as you,
And must again affirm it blue:
At leisure I the beast surveyed,
Extended in the cooling shade."
"'Tis green, 'tis green, sir, I assure ye!"
"Green!" cries the other in a fury:
"Why, sir! d'ye think I've lost my eyes?"
"'Twere no great loss," the friend replies;
"For, if they always serve you thus,
You'll find them of but little use."
MONOTONE.
1. When for me the silent oar
Parts the Silent River,
And I stand upon the shore
Of the strange Forever,
Shall I miss the loved and known?
Shall I vainly seek mine own?
2. Ye golden lamps of heaven, farewell, with all your feeble light!
Farewell, thou ever-changing moon, pale empress of the night!
And thou, effulgent orb of day, in brighter flames arrayed,
My soul, which springs beyond thy sphere, no more demands thy aid.
Ye stars are but the shining dust of my divine abode,
The pavement of those heavenly courts where I shall reign with
God.
3. Father of earth and heaven, I call thy name!
Round me the smoke and shout of battle roll;
My eyes are dazzled with the rustling flame:
Father, sustain an untried soldier's soul.
Or life or death, whatever be the goal
That crowns or closes round this struggling hour,
Thou know'st, if ever from my spirit stole
One deeper prayer, 'twas that no cloud might lower
On my young fame. Oh, hear, God of eternal power!
PITCH.
The general pitch of voice varies with the emotion. Some feelings we are
prompted to express in the high tones, as joy; some in the lower tones,
as awe: but, without practice, very few have command of the higher and
lower tones; and, when they attempt to read, they cannot give the
requisite variety to make it expressive. It is important that these
exercises should be studied until you can as easily read in your highest
and lowest tones as in your natural conversational or middle tones.
In high pitch, read in as high pitch as you can, and at the same time
keep the tone pure, and you will find your voice gradually gain in
compass.
In middle pitch, read in your conversational tone, with earnestness.
In low pitch, read somewhat lower than middle pitch, and make as full a
tone as you can.
In very low pitch, read as low in pitch as you can with ease, and do not
try to make it loud or full until you have had considerable practice.
Don't pinch or strain the throat: if you do, the quality will be bad.
HIGH PITCH.
1. Merrily swinging on brier and weed,
Near to the nest of his little dame,
Over the mountain-side or mead,
Robert of Lincoln is telling his name,--
Bob-o-link, bob-o-link,
Spink, spank, spink!
Snug and safe is that nest of ours
Hidden among the summer flowers:
Chee, chee, chee!
2. Oh! did you see him riding down,
And riding down, while all the town
Came out to see, came out to see,
And all the bells rang mad with glee?
Oh! did you hear those bells ring out,
The bells ring out, the people shout?
And did you hear that cheer on cheer
That over all the bells rang clear?
3. I am that merry wanderer of the night:
I jest to Oberon, and make him smile,
When I, a fat and bean-fed horse, beguile,
Neighing in likeness of a silly foal.
And sometimes lurk I in a gossip's bowl,
In very likeness of a roasted crab;
And, when she drinks, against her lips I bob,
And on her withered dew-lap pour the ale.
MIDDLE PITCH.
1. The honey-bee that wanders all day long
The field, the woodland, and the garden o'er,
To gather in his fragrant winter-store,
Humming in calm content his quiet song,
Sucks not alone the rose's glowing breast,
The lily's dainty cup, the violet's lips;
But from all rank and noisome weeds he sips
The single drop of sweetness ever pressed
Within the poison chalice. Thus, if we
Seek only to draw forth the hidden sweet
In all the varied human flowers we meet
In the wide garden of Humanity,
And, like the bee, if home the spoil we bear,
Hived in our hearts, it turns to nectar there.
2. Now the laughing, jolly Spring began to show her buxom face in the
bright morning. The buds began slowly to expand their close winter
folds, the dark and melancholy woods to assume an almost imperceptible
purple tint; and here and there a little chirping blue-bird hopped about
the orchards. Strips of fresh green appeared along the brooks, now
released from their icy fetters; and nests of little variegated
flowers, nameless, yet richly deserving a name, sprang up in the
sheltered recesses of the leafless woods.
3. I know, the more one sickens, the worse at ease he is; and that he
that wants money, means, and content, is without three good friends;
that the property of rain is to wet, and fire to burn; that good pasture
makes fat sheep, and that a great cause of the night is lack of the sun;
that he that hath learned no wit by nature or art may complain of good
breeding, or comes of a very dull kindred.
LOW PITCH.
1. Mid the flower-wreathed tombs I stand,
Bearing lilies in my hand.
Comrades, in what soldier-grave
Sleeps the bravest of the brave?
Is it he who sank to rest
With his colors round his breast?
Friendship makes his tomb a shrine:
Garlands veil it; ask not mine.
2. God, thou art merciful. The wintry storm,
The cloud that pours the thunder from its womb,
But show the sterner grandeur of thy form.
The lightnings glancing through the midnight gloom,
To Faith's raised eye as calm, as lovely, come
As splendors of the autumnal evening star,
As roses shaken by the breeze's plume,
When like cool incense comes the dewy air,
And on the golden wave the sunset burns afar.
3. O thou Eternal One! whose presence bright
All space doth occupy, all motion guide;
Unchanged through Time's all-devastating flight;
Thou only God!--there is no God beside!
Being above all beings! Three-in-one!
Whom none can comprehend, and none explore;
Who fill'st existence with Thyself alone;
Embracing all, supporting, ruling o'er;
Being whom we call God, and know no more!
VERY LOW PITCH.
1. When in the silent night all earth lies hushed
In slumber; when the glorious stars shine out,
Each star a sun, each sun a central light
Of some fair system, ever wheeling on
In one unbroken round, and that again
Revolving round another sun; while all,
Suns, stars, and systems, proudly roll along
In one majestic, ever-onward course,
In space uncircumscribed and limitless,--
Oh! think you then the undebased soul
Can calmly give itself to sleep,--to rest?
2. Go stand upon the heights at Niagara, and listen in awe-struck
silence to that boldest most earnest and eloquent, of all Nature's
orators! And what is Niagara, with its plunging waters and its mighty
roar, but the oracle of God, the whisper of His voice who is revealed in
the Bible as sitting above the water-floods forever?
3. The drums are all muffled; the bugles are still;
There's a pause in the valley, a halt on the hill;
And the bearers of standards swerve back with a thrill
Where the sheaves of the dead bar the way:
For a great field is reaped, heaven's garners to fill;
And stern Death holds his harvest to-day.
QUALITY.
As there are all kinds and qualities of emotions, so there are all kinds
and qualities of voice to express them. The shade and varieties of
these qualities are as infinite in number as the emotions they
express. We need, however, in practice, to make but four general
divisions,--whisper, aspirate, pure, and orotund. The whisper expresses
secrecy, fear, and like emotions. It is seldom required in reading, as
the aspirate is expressive of the same, and you would be likely to use
that instead of whisper. You should practise the whisper until you can
make it very clear, and free from all impurity, or sound of throat, and
full, so as to be heard at a distance. In both whisper and aspirate
leave the throat free and open; and be energetic, remembering that force
is made by control of muscles at the waist, and not by effort of throat
or mouth. The clearer you can make a whisper, the better quality you can
make in pure and orotund. Pure tone or quality is sound made with no
disagreeable quality being heard; and is the same as pleasant quality,
spoken of as being necessary to make listeners. Pure quality is made
with ease, with no waste of breath, and is used for expression of
agreeable feelings. Orotund is a magnified, pure tone, and adds richness
and power to the voice in speech. It is the expression of intense
feelings, usually slow in movement, as grandeur, sublimity, awe, &c. It
can only be obtained by much practice and much patience, allowing the
voice to grow in fulness, as it will in time, if practice continues.
WHISPER.
1. Deep stillness fell on all around:
Through that dense crowd was heard no sound
Of step or word.
2. How dark it is! I cannot seem to see
The faces of my flock. Is that the sea
That murmurs so? or is it weeping? Hush,
My little children! God so loved the world,
He gave his Son: so love ye one another.
Love God and man. Amen!
3. Hush! 'tis a holy hour! The quiet room
Seems like a temple; while yon soft lamp sheds
A faint and starry radiance through the gloom
And the sweet stillness down on bright young heads,
With all their clustering locks untouched by care,
And bowed, as flowers are bowed with night, in prayer.
ASPIRATE.
1. Hush! draw the curtain,--so!
She is dead, quite dead, you see.
Poor little lady! She lies
With the light gone out of her eyes;
But her features still wear that soft,
Gray, meditative expression
Which you must have noticed oft.
2. Lord of the winds! I feel thee nigh;
I know thy breath in the burning sky;
And I wait with a thrill in every vein
For the coming of the hurricane.
And, lo! on the wing of the heavy gales,
Through the boundless arch of heaven, he sails:
Silent and slow, and terribly strong,
The mighty shadow is borne along,
Like the dark eternity to come;
While the world below, dismayed and dumb,
Through the calm of the thick hot atmosphere
Looks up at its gloomy folds with fear.
3. 'Tis midnight's holy hour; and silence now
Is brooding like a gentle spirit o'er
The still and pulseless world. Hark! on the winds
The bell's deep tones are swelling: 'tis the knell
Of the departed year. No funeral train
Is sweeping past: yet on the stream and wood,
With melancholy light, the moonbeams rest
Like a pale, spotless shroud; the air is stirred
As by a mourner's sigh; and on yon cloud,
That floats so still and placidly through heaven,
The spirits of the seasons seem to stand,--
Young Spring, bright Summer, Autumn's solemn form,
And Winter with its aged locks,--and breathe,
In mournful cadences that come abroad
Like the far wind-harp's wild and touching wail,
A melancholy dirge o'er the dead year,
Gone from the earth forever.
PURE.
1. Your voiceless lips, O flowers! are living preachers,
Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book,
Supplying to my fancy numerous teachers
In loneliest nook.
2. Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night:
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old; ring in the new;
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going; let him go:
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
3. Was it the chime of a tiny bell
That came so sweet to my dreaming ear,
Like the silvery tones of a fairy's shell,
That he winds on the beach, so mellow and clear,
When the winds and the waves lie together asleep,
And the moon and the fairy are watching the deep,--
She dispensing her silvery light,
And he his notes as silvery quite,--
While the boatman listens, and ships his oar,
To catch the music that comes from the shore?
Hark! the notes on my ear that play
Are set to words: as they float, they say,
"Passing away, passing away!"
OROTUND.
1. Approach and behold while I lift from his sepulchre its covering. Ye
admirers of his greatness, ye emulous of his talents and his fame,
approach, and behold him now. How pale! how silent! No martial bands
admire the adroitness of his movements, no fascinating throng weep and
melt and tremble at his eloquence. Amazing change! A shroud, a coffin, a
narrow subterraneous cabin,--this is all that now remains of Hamilton.
And is this all that remains of him? During a life so transitory, what
lasting monument, then, can our fondest hopes erect!