What, shall one of us, That struck the foremost man of all this world The voice will naturally start upon some pitch whether it be high, low, or intermediate, which is purely accidental, and the tone or rather the melody is continued until it reaches the line, "I'd rather be a dog," where it has for the first time a sort of stopping place and its first downfall, and then like the final wave which lashes the coast, it makes one final leap on the word "moon" and falls upon the word "Roman. EXTRACT FROM PATRICK HENRY Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemy shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. In the preceding extract the voice continues to climb in its melodic responsiveness until it reaches the word "Sir;" and thus in all literature, we find this wonderful sustention which if thoroughly understood and mastered, all sing-songy false-melodies, and choppy interpretations will be eliminated. XIII. Relation This subject is of great importance because of its final significance; it should be divided as follows: 1. Relation of idea. In the relation of ideas, they should be so thoroughly separated, yet delicately connected, as to keep a true melody in speech; for there is, or rather should be, a perfect melody running through all speech regardless of whether it be prose or poetry. 2. Relation of narration and participation. In narrating a story of any particular incident in which the speaker or narrator attempts to describe the act of another, he should keep his auditor's attention upon the thing described rather than to have it centered upon himself. When the speaker allows himself to participate in an act where he is describing what the person did, he is attempting an impossibility which will reflect discredit and no little condemnation upon him, from the intelligent observer. He may enter in so far as his imagination, voice and gesture are capable, so long as he does not attempt to be the thing which he is describing. 3. Relation of subject, speaker and auditor. This relation will be fully explained under the forms of delivery in the Forms of Poetry. XIV. Pivotal Power One of the great difficulties which lessens the power of the impersonator is his constant nosing his interlocutor. When a speaker in some definite situation talks to another, there is a typical relation which should always be adhered to; for you will find in the natural course of events in this life, that when one speaks to another, he usually concentrates his attention momentarily upon the one whom he is addressing, and then naturally radiates or pivots from this person into or toward his audience. This gravitation toward, or radiation from, is constant, and a positive factor in the realm of good impersonation. Take a series of speeches such as you will find in all good plays, and especially where there is excellent repartee; the shifting of the interrogated, caused by the interrogator, is very interesting and not a little amusing. Therefore, the impersonator must in his transition from character to character, (which should be complete from the tip of his toes to the crown of his head,) show by his interpretation the actual living character through his interpretative suggestion. Then he will awaken in the imagination of his hearers a truthful picture of the scene and characters which he is endeavoring to represent. Above all things avoid nosing your interlocutor. This is exceedingly amateurish and shows the crude work of the beginner. XV. Universal Versus Personal One has said, "An artist can never be great until he transcends his own personality," and no student will ever attain any great heights in the subject of the Spoken Word, until he or she is able to rise above the personal plane and get into the realm of Universality; for all interpretation, or writing, or music, or painting, or sculpture, which is done for the personal gratification and ends alone, dies with the individual; and when the artisan becomes the artist, he has touched the hem of the garment of Universality and through his humility he climbs to the feet of the God of Art. So when the speaker can rise through his intellectual pursuit to speak to the Universal mind or intelligence, not individuals, he will then be able to secure the response of all listeners, XVI. Plane Song Plane song or chanting is the link which unites speech and song. Back in the early ages at the time of Pope Gregory, he conceived the idea of placing the melody of speech upon, above, and below a single line with certain dots or characters, and after some time he added another line and still another, until it has finally grown from speech into music with a staff of five lines and four spaces. This chanting, while utilized in many churches, as a mode of expression at different intervals of a regular church service, or ceremony, is most excellent practice to develop control of breath and good tone. It provides the three fundamental steps underlying all good speaking or singing, namely:-Passivity of throat and face; stability of chest, and activity of the diaphragm. The following poems will be found very useful for chanting purposes: SONG OF THE BROOK Alfred Tennyson. I come from haunts of coot and hern: I make a sudden sally, And sparkle out among the fern, To bicker down a valley. By thirty hills I hurry down, Till last by Philip's farm I flow I chatter over stony ways, With many a curve my banks I fret I chatter, chatter, as I flow I wind about, and in and out, And here and there a foamy flake With many a silvery waterbreak And draw them all along, and flow For men may come and men may go, I steal by lawns and grassy plots; I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance, |