Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

10. Much practice is requisite in becoming skillful in Personation; and the exercise will prove not only useful in acquiring skill in that art, but efficient in disciplining the voice in the various departments of modulation.

LESSON X.

RHETORICAL PAUSE.

1. RHETORICAL PAUSES are those which are frequently required by the voice in reading and speaking, although the construction of the passage admits of no grammatical pause. It may be denoted thus, ( I ).

EXAMPLES.

||

1. The worst of slaves, is he l whom passion || rules. 2. Glory is like a circle in the water,

Which never ceaseth || to enlarge itself,

Till, by broad spreading, it disperse | to naught.

2. The rhetorical pause, properly employed, holds an important rank in Elocutionary Science. Silence often speaks more eloquently than

"Words of learned length and thundering sound.”

It is effectually employed before or after the announcement of some important truth or sentiment. In such a case, it has a tending to fix the entire attention on the expression, and impress the thought indelibly on the mind. It is usually denoted, in such instances, by the dash (→).

EXAMPLES.

1. Where met our bards of old ?-the glorious throng,
They of the mountain and the battle song?
They met Oh! not in kingly hall or bower,

But where wild Nature girt herself with power;

They met where streams flash'd bright from rocky caves,
They met where woods made moan o'er warriors' graves,
And where the torrent's rainbow spray was cast,

And where dark lakes were heaving to the blast.

2. Hope for a season bade the world farewell, And freedom shrieked-AS KOSCIUSKO FELL!

What are Rhetorical Pauses? When is it effectually used?

3. Father, forsake us not!-when tortures urge
The shrinking soul-to that mysterious verge;
When from Thy justice to Thy love we fly,
On Nature's conflict look-with pitying eye,-
Bid the strong wind, the fire, the earthquake cease,
Come in the still small voice, and whisper-peace!

3. The important word or passage which precedes or follows the rhetorical pause, should be uttered in a different tone of voice, from preceding portions. Generally, it should be expressed in a lower pitch of voice, with a slower movement.

4. The grammatical pauses, as the comma, semicolon, and the like, are employed with reference mainly to the grammatical construction of a passage, though in reading, a pause in the voice is required at them; but the rhetorical pause is as much demanded by the sense, as the grammatical, though it is denoted by no general sign, except the dash in a few cases.

5. No definite rule can be given in regard to the length of the rhetorical or grammatical pauses. The good taste of the reader or speaker, must determine it. Sometimes a longer pause is required at the same pause than at other times.

LESSON XI.

POETICAL ELOCUTION.

1. POETICAL ELOCUTION relates to the reading or speaking of poetical compositions.

2. The peculiar manner, in which poetry is read or spoken, constitutes its distinctive characteristic as poetry, aside from its being the language of emotion and excited imagination.

3. Poetry is of two kinds;-Rhyme and Blank Verse. RHYME Consists of lines, two or more of which end in similar sounds. BLANK VERSE partakes of the characteristics of rhyme, except the lines do not end in similar sounds.

How should the important word or clause before or after the rhetorical pause be read? How are grammatical pauses used? What is said of the length of the pauses? To what does Poetical Elocution relate? What constitutes Poetry? What are the two kinds of poetry?

4. A poetical line is composed of a regular succession of accented and unaccented syllables. Thus,

"Revere' thyself', ] and yet' | thyself' | despise'."|

5. MONOSYLLABLES which are emphatic, or which receive a greater stress than other words, with which they are immediately connected, even though they may not be emphatic with reference to other words in the sentence, are regarded as ACCENTED syllables. Thus,

"Much learn'ing shows' how little mor'[tals know' ;|

Much wealth', how little world lings can'| enjoy'."]

6. The accented syllables are considered long; the unaccented, short. The long or accented syllables are marked thus, (); the short or unaccented, thus, (~).

POETIC FEET.

1. Each regular succession of accented and unaccented syllables, is called a foot. It consists of either two or three syllables. In the following example cach line contains four feet, and two syllables in each foot.

EXAMPLE.

If happiness on wealth | were built
Rich rogues might comfört find | in guilt.
As grows the mi|sɔ̃r's hōard|ăd stōre |

His fears, his wants, | increase | the mōre.]

2. There are four principal feet, called the Tambus, the Trochee, the Anapest, and the Dactyl. The first two contain two syllables; the last two, three syllables.

3. The IAMBUS is a foot which contains two syllables ;—the first is short; the second, long.

1.

EXAMPLES.

O, ēver thūs from childhood's hōur |
I've seen my fond est hōpes | dăcây ;[

I never loved à trèe | ōr flow'r.

But 'twas the first | to fade away!

What are the principal

Of what is a poetical line composed? What monosyllables are regarded as accented syllables? What is a poetic foot? feet called? Of what is the Iambus composed?

2.

Think not because the eye is bright,
And smiles are laughing there,
The heart that beats within, is light,

And free from pain and care.
A blush may tinge the darkest cloud,
Ere Day's last beams depart,
And underneath the sunniest smile,
May lurk the saddest heart.

4. The TROCHEE is a foot which consists of two syllables;the first is long; the second, short.

1.

EXAMPLES.

Change is written | on the | tide,—
On the forest's | leafy | pride,-

On the streamlet | glancing | bright,-
On the jeweled | crown of night.--
1.

Lō! the storm hith | passed awây,

Mark the rainbow's | vivid | ray!

Where? 'Tis past.-We | look ǎjgāin,—

Sunshine brightens | all the | plain!

5. The ANAPEST is a foot which consists of three syllables; -the first two are short; and the third, long.

EXAMPLES.

1. As a beam | o'er the face of the waters may glow.
While the tide | runs in darkness and coldness bělów,|
So the cheek | may be ting'd | with a warm | sunny smile,
Though the cold | heirt tõ rūļin runs dark|ly the while.]
2. But the love that is kept | in the beauty of trust,

Can not pass | like the foam | from the seas |

Or a mark that the finger hath traced in the dust,
Where 'tis swept | by the breath | of the breeze.|

3. When amidst | the dull cares that surround | us in life,-
The moments of bliss that illumine our way,-

When the bosom is torn with contention and strife,

Or when thrill'd with delight at the scenes we survey,—

O, then blest is the man who can freely repose

In the heart of a friend all his joys and his woes!

6. The DACTYL is a foot which consists of three syllables ;the first is long; and the second and third are short.

EXAMPLES.

1. Hōnor ånd | glory wĕre | givăn tõ | chẽrish;

Cherish them, then, though all | else should dě|cãy;

Of what, the Trochee? Of what, the Anapest? Of what, the Dactyl?

Land-marks be these, that are | nevěr to | perish,
shine on the duskiest | day.

Stars that will 7. Poetry is divided, according to the character of the feet, of which it is composed, into four classes;—the Iambic, the Trochaic, the Anapestic, and the Dactylic poetry. The Iambic and the Anapestic are most common; the Dactylic is the least common.

8. Poetry is not always composed, uniformly, of the same kind of feet. It is often composed of different kinds; and it is not unfrequently irregular, being rendered so often by established pronunciation.

EXAMPLES.

I. Full many ǎ stōlic eye | and ās pēct stērn]

Mask hearts where grief | his little left | to learn ;[
And many ǎ with'|ring thought | lies hid, | not lost,
In smiles that least | běfit, who wears | them most.]
2. We come from the shores of the green | old Nile.]
From the land where the roses of Sharon smile,
From the palms that wave | through the Indian sky,|
From the myrrh-trees of glowing Ar|aby.|

We have swept | o'er cities in song | renown'd-
Silent they lie | with the deserts around!]

We have crossed | proud rivers, whose tide | hath roll'd |
All dark with the warrior-blood | of old.]

We have found a change, | we have found | a pall,|
And a gloom o'ershadowing | the banquet's hall,|
And a mark on the floor | as of life-drops spilt-|
Naught looks the same, | save the nest | we built!

9. When several long syllables occur in succession, they constitute a monotone.

EXAMPLE.

1. Father of light and life! Thou Good Suprême! O, teach me what is good!-teach me Thyself!

POETIC PAUSES.

1. Besides the regular succession of accented and unaccentented syllables, there is another peculiarity which belongs

How may poetry be divided with respect to the feet, of which it is com. posed? Is poetry composed uniformly of the same kind of feet?

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »