McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader

Examples — Sitting 3

5. No further seek his merits to disclose', Or draw his frailties from their dread abode'; (There they alike' in trembling hope repose',) The bosom of his Father, and his God'.

ACCENT AND EMPHASIS. (41)

In reading verse, every syllable must have the same accent, and every word the same emphasis as in prose; and whenever the melody or music of the verse would lead to an incorrect accent or emphasis, this must be disregarded.

If a poet has made his verse deficient in melody, this must not be remedied by the reader, at the expense of sense or the established rules of accent and quantity. Take the following:

EXAMPLE. (41)

O'er shields, and helms, and helme'd heads he rode, Of thrones, and mighty Seraphim prostrate

According to the metrical accent, the last word must be pronounced "pros-trate'." But according to the authorized pronunciation it is "pros'trate. Which shall yield, the poet or established usage? Certainly not the latter.

Some writers advise a compromise of the matter, and that the word should he pronounced without accenting either syllable. Sometimes this may be done, but where it is not practiced, the prosaic reading should be preserved.

In the following examples, the words and syllables which are improperly accented or emphasized in the poetry, are marked in italics. According to the principle stated above, the reader should avoid giving them that pronunciation which the correct rending of the poetry would require, but should read them as prose, except where he can throw off all accent and thus compromise the conflict between the poetic reading and the correct reading. That is, he must read the poetry wrong, in order to read the language right.

EXAMPLES. (42)

1. Ask of thy mother earth why oaks are made Taller and stronger than the weeds they shade.

2. Their praise is still, "the style is excellent," The sense they humbly take upon content.

3. False eloquence, like the prismatic glass, Its fairy colors spreads on every place.

4. To do aught good, never will be our task, But ever to do ill is our sole delight.

5. Of all the causes which combine to blind Man's erring judgment, and mislead the mind, What the weak head with strongest bias rules Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools.

6. Eye Nature's walks, shoot folly as it flies, And catch the manners living as they rise.

7. To whom then, first incensed, Adam replied, "Is this thy love, is this the recompense Of mine to thee, ungrateful Eve?"

8. We may, with more successful hope, resolve To wage, by force or guile, successful war, Irreconcilable to our grand foe, Who now triumphs, and in excess of joy Sole reigning holds the tyranny of Heaven.

9. Which, when Beelzebub perceived (than whom, Satan except, none higher sat), with grave Aspect, he rose, and in his rising seemed A pillar of state.

10. Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath, That wash thy hallowed feet, and warbling flow, Nightly I visit: nor sometimes forget, Those other two equaled with me in fate.

NOTE.--Although it would be necessary, in these examples, to violate the laws of accent or emphasis, to give perfect rhythm, yet a careful and well-trained reader will be able to observe these laws and still give the rhythm in such a manner that the defect will scarcely be noticed.

POETIC PAUSES. (43)

In order to make the measure of poetry perceptible to the ear, there should generally be a slight pause at the end of each line, even where the sense does not require it.

There is, also, in almost every line of poetry, a pause at or near its middle, which is called the caesura.

This should, however, never be so placed as to injure the sense of the passage. It is indeed reckoned a great beauty, where it naturally coincides with the pause required by the sense. The caesura, though generally placed near the middle, may be placed at other intervals.

There are sometimes, also, two additional pauses in each line, called demi-caesuras.

The caesura is marked (||), and the demi-caesura thus, (|), in the examples given.

There should be a marked accent upon the long syllable next preceding the caesura, and a slighter one upon that next before each of the demi-caesuras. When made too prominent, these pauses lead to a singsong style, which should be carefully avoided.

In the following examples, the caesura is marked in each line; the demi-caesura is not marked in every case.

EXAMPLES. (44)

1. Nature | to all things || fixed | the limits fit, And wisely | curbed || proud man's | pretending wit.

2. Then from his closing eyes || thy form shall part, And the last pang || shall tear thee from his heart.

3. Warms in the sun, || refreshes in the breeze, Glows in the stars, || and blossoms in the trees.

4. There is a land || of every land the pride, Beloved by Heaven || o'er all the world beside, Where brighter suns || dispense serener light, And milder moons || imparadise the night; Oh, thou shalt find, || howe'er thy footsteps roam, That land--thy country, || and that spot--thy home.

5. In slumbers | of midnight || the sailor | boy lay; His hammock | swung loose || at the sport | of the wind; But, watch-worn | and weary, || his cares | flew away, And visions | of happiness || danced | o'er his mind.

6. She said, | and struck; || deep entered | in her side The piercing steel, || with reeking purple dyed: Clogged | in the wound || the cruel | weapon stands, The spouting blood || came streaming o'er her hands. Her sad attendants || saw the deadly stroke, And with loud cries || the sounding palace shook.

SIMILE. (44)

Simile is the likening of anything to another object of a different class; it is a poetical or imaginative comparison.

A simile, in poetry, should usually he read in a lower key and more rapidly than other parts of the passage--somewhat as a parenthesis is read.

EXAMPLES. (45)

1. Part curb their fiery steeds, or shun the goal With rapid wheels, or fronted brigades form. As when, to warn proud cities, war appears, Waged in the troubled sky, and armies rush To battle in the clouds. Others with vast Typhoean rage more fell, Rend up both rocks and hills, and ride the air In whirlwind. Hell scarce holds the wild uproar. As when Alcides felt the envenomed robe, and tore, Through pain, up by the roots, Thessialian pines, And Lichas from the top of Oeta threw Into the Euboic sea.

2. Each at the head, Leveled his deadly aim; their fatal hands No second stroke intend; and such a frown Each cast at th' other, as when two black clouds, With heaven's artillery fraught, came rolling on Over the Caspian, there stand front to front, Hovering a space, till winds the signal blow To join the dark encounter, in mid-air: So frowned the mighty combatants.

3. Then pleased and thankful from the porch they go And, but the landlord, none had cause of woe: His cup was vanished; for, in secret guise, The younger guest purloined the glittering prize. As one who spies a serpent in his way, Glistening and basking in the summer ray, Disordered, stops to shun the danger near, Then walks with faintness on, and looks with fear,-- So seemed the sire, when, far upon the road, The shining spoil his wily partner showed.

V. THE VOICE. (46)

PITCH AND COMPASS.

The natural pitch of the voice is its keynote, or governing note. It is that on which the voice usually dwells, and to which it most frequently returns when wearied. It is also the pitch used in conversation, and the one which a reader or speaker naturally adopts--when he reads or speaks-- most easily and agreeably.

The compass of the voice is its range above and below this pitch. To avoid monotony in reading or speaking, the voice should rise above or fall below this keynote, but always with reference to the sense or character of that which is read or spoken. The proper natural pitch is that above and below which there is most room for variation.

To strengthen the voice and increase its compass, select a short sentence, repeat it several times in succession in as low a key as the voice can sound naturally; then rise one note higher, and practice on that key, then another, and so on, until the highest pitch of the voice has been reached. Next, reverse the process, until the lowest pitch has been reached.

EXAMPLES IN PITCH (46)

High Pitch.

NOTE.--Be careful to distinguish pitch from power in the following exercise. Speaking in the open air, at the very top of the voice, is an exercise admirably adapted to strengthen the voice and give it compass, and should be frequently practiced.

1. Charge'! Chester" charge'! On'! Stanley, on'!

2. A horse'! a horse'! my kingdom' for a horse'!

3. Jump far out', boy' into the wave'! Jump', or I fire'!

4. Run'! run'! run for your lives!

5. Fire'! fire'! fire'! Ring the bell'!

6. Gentlemen may cry peace'! peace'! but there is no peace!

7. Rouse' ye Romans! rouse' ye slaves'! Have ye brave sons'? Look in the next fierce brawl To see them die'. Have ye fair daughters'? Look To see them live, torn from your arms', distained', Dishonored', and if ye dare call for justice', Be answered by the lash'!

Medium Pitch. (47)

NOTE.--This is the pitch in which we converse. To strengthen it, we should read or speak in it as loud as possible, without rising to a higher key. To do this requires long-continued practice.

1. Under a spreading chestnut tree, The village smithy stands'; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands'; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands.

2. There is something in the thunder's voice that makes me tremble like a child. I have tried to conquer' this unmanly weakness'. I have called pride' to my aid'; I have sought for moral courage in the lessons of philosophy', but it avails me nothing'. At the first moaning of the distant cloud, my heart shrinks and dies within me.

3. He taught the scholars the Rule of Three', Reading, and writing, and history', too'; He took the little ones on his knee', For a kind old heart in his breast had he', And the wants of the littlest child he knew'. "Learn while you're young'," he often said', "There is much to enjoy down here below'; Life for the living', and rest for the dead'," Said the jolly old pedagogue' long ago'.

Low Pitch. (48)

1. O, proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear: This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said, Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, Impostors to true fear, would well become A woman's story at a winter's fire. Authorized by her grandam.

2. Thou slave! thou wretch! thou coward! Thou little valiant, great in villainy! Thou ever strong upon the stronger side! Thou fortune's champion, thou dost never fight But when her humorous ladyship is by To teach thee safety! Thou art perjured too, And sooth'st up greatness. What a fool art thou, A ramping fool; to brag, and stamp, and sweat, Upon my party! thou cold-blooded slave!

3. God! thou art mighty! At thy footstool bound, Lie, gazing to thee, Chance, and Life, and Death; Nor in the angel circle flaming round, Nor in the million worlds that blaze beneath, Is one that can withstand thy wrath's hot breath. Woe, in thy frown: in thy smile, victory: Hear my last prayer! I ask no mortal wreath; Let but these eyes my rescued country see, Then take my spirit, all Omnipotent, to thee.

4. O Thou eternal One! whose presence bright All space doth occupy, all motion guide, Unchanged through time's all-devastating blight! Thou only God, there is no god beside! Being above all things, mighty 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!

QUANTITY AND QUALITY. (49)

Quantity, in reading and speaking, means the length of time occupied in uttering a syllable or a word. Sounds and syllables vary greatly in quantity. Some are long, some short, and others intermediate between those which are long or short. Some sounds, also, may be prolonged or shortened in utterance to any desired extent. Quantity may be classified as Long, Medium, or Short.

DIRECTIONS FOR PRACTICE ON LONG QUANTITY.--Select some word of one syllable ending with a long vocal or a subvocal sound; pronounce it many times in succession, increasing the quantity at each repetition, until you can dwell upon it any desired length of time, without drawling, and in a natural tone.

REMARK.--Practice in accordance with this direction will enable the pupil to secure that fullness and roundness of voice which is exemplified in the hailing of a ship, "ship aho--y;" in the reply of the sailor, when, in the roar of the storm, he answers his captain, "ay--e. ay--e;" and in the command of the officer to his troops, when, amid the thunder of artillery, he gives the order, "ma--rch," or "ha--lt."

This fullness or roundness of tone is secured, by dwelling on the vocal sound, and indefinitely protracting it, The mouth should be opened wide, the tongue kept down, and the aperture left as round and as free for the voice as possible.

It is this artificial rotundity which, in connection with a distinct articulation, enables one who speaks in the open air, or in a very large apartment, to send his voice to the most distant point. It is a certain degree of this quality, which distinguishes declamatory or public speaking or reading from private conversation, and no one can accomplish much, as a public speaker, without cultivating it. It must be carefully distinguished from the "high tone," which is an elevation of pitch, and from "loudness." or "strength" of voice.

It will be observed that clearness and distinctness of utterance are secured by a proper use of the subvocals and aspirates--these sounds giving to words their shape, as it were; but a clear, full, and well-modulated utterance of the vocals gives to words their fullness.

LONG QUANTITY. (49)

1. Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!

2. Woe, woe, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem!

3. O righteous Heaven! ere Freedom found a grave, Why slept the sword, omnipotent to save? Where was thine arm, O Vengeance! where thy rod, That smote the foes of Zion and of God?

4. O sailor boy! sailor boy! never again Shall home, love, or kindred thy wishes repay; Unblessed and unhonored, down deep in the main, Full many a fathom, thy frame shall decay.

5. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens! When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers; the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the work of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!