ELEMENTS OF ELOCUTION. ́ vii Memory-is the purveyor of reason. Man-is the merriest species in the creation. The great pursuit of man-is after happiness. The good reader will perceive the propriety of pausing after the first word, as the subject of the sentence. By this pause the mind is fixed upon the principal object of attention, and prepared to proceed with clearness and deliberation to the reception of what follows. PITCH OF VOICE. By Pitch of Voice is meant those high and low tones which prevail in speaking. Every person has three pitches of voice, which are easily distinguished; viz.-the natural or middle pitch,-the high pitch,—and the low pitch. The natural or middle pitch is that which is heard in common conversation. The high pitch is used in calling to one at a distance. The low pitch is employed when we speak to one quite near, and who, though surrounded by many, is the only one supposed to hear. The learner must be informed here, that high and loud, and low and soft, have not the least affinity. To render the different pitches of the voice clear and intelligible to the learner, the following diagram is inserted, exhibiting to the eye a scale of speaking tones, similar to that used in music. Let the learner commence in as low a bass-key as possible, and count up the diagram, rising a tone* each number, the same as sounding the eight notes in music, and he will easily discover that the degrees of pitch in speaking, are the same as those in singing. This scale of speaking tones, may seem difficult at first, but a very little practice will render it easy. Let the learner speak one in as low a bass-key as possible-then two, &c. and he will find that he can speak these with as much ease and correctness as he can sing them. When he has acquired a knowledge of these different pitches and tones-let him take a sentence and read it on the lowest note then read it on a note higher, and so on, till he has reached the highest note of his voice. Take the following line. "On,-on,-to the just and glorious strife." The Semitone between the 3 and 4 is not noticed here, being unnecessary in the present case. A little practice, it is believed, will give the reader a perfect command of his voice in all the degrees of tone from the lowest to the highest notes to which the voice can be raised. ACCENT. Accent is a stress of voice given to a particular syllable to distinguish it from others in the same word; as in the word a-tone'-ment, the stress is laid on the second syllable. Accent is, in a measure, dependent on emphasis, and is transposed where the claims of emphasis require it; as when words occur, which have a partial sameness in form, but are contrasted in sense; as, Neither justice nor injustice. Neither hónor nor dishonor. He must increase but I must decrease. He that ascended is the same as he that descended. Neither lawful nor unlawful. Neither worthy nor unworthy. EMPHASIS. Emphasis is a stress of voice laid on particular words in a sentence, to distinguish them from others, and convey their meaning in the best manner; as, "You were not sent here to play, but to study." The learner will perceive that the words play and study are pronounced with more force than the rest of the sentence, and are therefore termed the emphatical words. A word, on which the meaning of a sentence is suspended, or placed in contrast, or in opposition to other words, is always emphatical. As to the degree or intensity of force that the reader or speaker should give to important words in a sentence, no particular rules can be given. He must enter into the spirit of what he reads-feel the sentiment expressed, and he will seldom fail in giving each word its proper force, or emphatic stress. Emphasis is ever associated with thought and emotion; and he who would become eminent as a reader, or speaker, must remember that the "soul of eloquence is feeling." EXAMPLES FOR EXERCISE. I do not request your attention, but demand it. A METHOD OF MARKING THE DIFFERENT FORCES OF WORDS. Various methods have been devised to mark the different forces of words in sentences, in such a manner as to convey a clear idea of the pronunciation. The most simple and practical method is to unite the unaccented words to those that are accented, as if they were syllables of them. This classification naturally divides a sentence into just so many portions, as it contains accents; as in the following sentence: Prosperity gains friends | and adversity | tries them. When there is no uncommon emphasis in a sentence, we can pronounce it with more or fewer accents, without materially affecting the sense. The following sentence may be pronounced in four portions, or in ten, without Pitchuponthatcourseoflife | whichisthemostéxcellent | andcustom | will Pitch uponthát cóurse | oflife | whichisthemòst | éxcellent | andcus- Some place the bliss in action | some | in ease. Those call it pleasure | and contentment | these. And is the son of Semo fallen? | Mournful are Tura's walls. | Sorrow 29. Biographical Sketch of Major Andre, 30. The Miracle-a German Parable, 38. The Gentleman and his Tenant, 44. The Revenge of a Great Soul, 55. Ingratitude-Story of Inkle and Yarico, 60. Story of the Siege of Calais, 61. Examples of Decision of Character, 62. Ortogrul: or, the Vanity of Riches, 115. On Sincerity, 116. Story of Le Fevre, Tillotson. 228 Sterne. 230 119. Speech of a Scythian Ambassador to Alexander, Q. Curtius. 244 120. Diogenes at the Isthmian Games, 126. The Perfect Orator, 127. Rolla's Address to the Peruvians, 134. Character of Washington, 245 D. Webster. 254 Sheridan. 254 138. Address to the Patriots of the Revolution, 139. Specimen of the Eloquence of James Otis, Sheridan, 255 267 Edinburgh Review. 268 Phillips. 271 D. Webster. 275 277 Burke. 278 141. Speech on the Question of War with England, Patrick Henry. 147. Scipio's Reply to Hannibal, 149. Brutus Speech on the Death of Cesar, 280 288 Shakspeare. 293 LESSONS IN POETRY. |