Page images
PDF
EPUB

Then will he strip his sleeve, and show his scars,
And say, "These wounds I had on Crispian's day."
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,

But he'll remember, with advantages,

What feats he did that day: then shall our names,
Familiar in their mouths as household words,—
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,

Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloster,-
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd:
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd:

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition :

And gentlemen in England, now a-bed,

Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here; And hold their manhoods cheap, whiles any speaks That fought with us upon SAINT CRISPIN'S DAY. "Henry V." SHAKESPEARE.

IMITATIVE MODULATION

The melody or sounds of words frequently express their meaning, and this correspondence between sound and sense can be made an effective element in speech. Good taste and a musical ear will best guide the speaker.

1. With sturdy steps came stalking on his sight
A hideous giant, horrible and high.

"Faerie Queene.”

2.

There crept

A little noiseless noise among the leaves,
Born of the very sigh that silence heaves,

SPENSER.

3. And her step was light and airy
As the tripping of a fairy;

When she spoke, you thought, each minute,
'Twas the trilling of a linnet;

When she sang, you heard a gush

Of full-voiced sweetness like a thrush.

"The Spanish Duel."

J. F. WALLER.

4. Hear the sledges with the bells, silver bells,

What a world of merriment their melody foretells!

How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle in the icy air of night,

While the stars that oversprinkle all the heavens seem to twinkle With a crystalline delight.

"The Bells."

POE.

5. O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,
And thinner, clearer, farther going;

O sweet and far, from cliff and scar,

The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!

Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

"Bugle Song."

6. With klingle, klangle, klingle,
Way down the dusty dingle,

The cows are coming home;

Now sweet and clear, and faint and low,
The airy tinklings come and go,

Like chiming from some far-off tower,

Or patterings of an April shower
That makes the daisies grow—

Ko-kling, ko-klang, koklinglelingle,
Way down the darkening dingle
The cows come slowly home.

"When the Cows Come Home."

TENNYSON.

AGNES E. MITCHELL.

7. The Cataract strong then plunges along,
Striking and raging, as if a war waging
Its caverns and rocks among; rising and leaping,
Sinking and creeping, swelling and sweeping,
Showering and springing, flying and flinging,
Writhing and ringing, eddying and whisking,
Spouting and frisking, turning and twisting,
Around and around with endless rebound!

"The Cataract of Lodore."

ROBERT SOUTHEY.

CHAPTER VII

GESTURE

Gesture, embracing movements of the head, body, arms, hands, legs and feet, is a natural and necessary part of expression. The student should study for grace, flexibility, appropriateness, variety and spontaneity. It will be profitable to carefully observe the expression of various classes of people, paintings and sculpture. Practise daily before a looking-glass.

The head should be well-poised and not held on one side as if scrutinizing an audience. When held erect it denotes a normal attitude, courage, joy, pride, or authority; when upward it indicates hope or prayer; when downward, shame, modesty, or reflection; when forward, appeal, listening, sympathy or anticipation; when backward, surprise, terror or independence; when shaking, denial, discontent, or emphasis. Frequent and meaningless movements should be studiously avoided. In bowing, incline the head and upper body together, so as to bring the bend from the waist. It should be done slowly and pleasantly, with the eyes looking down.

The face should be trained to promptly and truthfully reflect the emotions of the speaker. Quintilian says: "The face is the dominant power of expression. With this we supplicate; with this we threaten; with this we soothe; with this we mourn; with this we rejoice; with this we triumph;

with this we make our submissions; upon this the audience hang; upon this they keep their eyes fixed; this they examine and study even before a word is spoken."

The eyes are wide open in joy, fear and surprise; closed in faintness, half-closed in hate and scrutiny; raised in prayer and supplication; drooped in modesty and veneration; look askance in envy, jealousy, and appreciation.

The nostrils are extended in fear and indignation, and elevated in scorn.

The lips are closed in repose; partly open in surprise and wonder; wide open in terror; turn upward in pleasure, courtesy and good humor; turn downward in grief and sorrow; pout in discontent; and compress in anger, defiance and determination.

The body should move in harmony with the other members as required by the thought. In turning from side to side the movement should be from the waist and not from the neck.

The arms move from the shoulder, excepting in conversational gesture. They should rest at the sides without crooking the elbows. Movements may be slow and gentle, slow and intense, swift and light, or swift and strong. The size, length, and velocity of a gesture depend upon the thought. The lines are usually in curves, expressing grace, while straight lines are used when special emphasis is required. The general purpose of gesture is to locate, illustrate, generalize or emphasize.

The hands should be carefully trained for flexibility and expressiveness. The fingers should be slightly apart and curved. A gesture has three divisions: 1. The preparation, made in an opposite direction from that which the gesture is to take. 2. The gesture proper, which must be

« PreviousContinue »