HOW TO READ AND RECITE.
Good readers and reciters are extremely rare, and it is because sufficient time and study are not devoted to the art of elocution. Not one educated man in ten can read a paragraph in a newspaper so effectively that to listen to him is a pleasure, and not a pain.
Many persons are unable so to express the words as to convey their meaning. They pervert the sense of the sentence by emphasizing in the wrong place, or deprive it of all sense by a monotonous gabble, giving no emphasis to any words they utter. They neglect the “stops,” as they are called; they make harsh music with their voices; they hiss, or croak, or splutter, or mutter—everything but speak the words set down for them as they would have talked them to you in conversation.
Why should this be? Why should correct reading be rare, pleasant reading rarer still, and good reading found only in one person in ten thousand? Let me urge you with all earnestness to become an accomplished reader and reciter. This is something to be coveted, and it is worth your while to acquire it, though it cost you much time and labor. Attend to the rules here furnished.
Cultivation of the Voice.
Accustom yourself to reading and reciting aloud. Some of our greatest orators have made it a practice to do this in the open air, throwing out the voice with full volume, calling with prolonged vowel sounds to some object in the distance, and thus strengthening the throat and lungs. Every day you should practice breathings; by which I mean that you should take in a full breath, expand the lungs to their full capacity, and then emit the breath slowly, and again suddenly with explosive force. A good, flexible voice is the first thing to be considered.
Distinct Enunciation.
When you hear a person read or speak you are always pleased if the full quantity is given to each syllable of every word. Only in this way can the correct meaning of the sentence be conveyed. People who are partially deaf will tell you that they are not always able to hear those who speak the loudest, but those who speak the most distinctly. Do not recite to persons who are nearest to you, but rather glance at those who are farthest away, and measure the amount of volume required to make them hear.
Emphasis.
Some word or words in every sentence are more important, and require greater emphasis than others. You must get at the exact meaning of the sentence, and be governed by this. The finest effects can be produced by making words emphatic where the meaning demands it. Look well to this.
Pauses.
Avoid a sing-song, monotonous style of delivery. Break the flow where it is required; you will always notice how skillfully a trained elocutionist observes the proper pauses. Have such command of yourself that you do not need to hurry on with your recitation at the same pace from beginning to end. The pause enables the hearer to take in the meaning of the words, and is therefore always to be observed.
Gestures.
Speak with your whole body, not merely with your tongue and lips. It is permissible to even stamp with your foot when the sense calls for it. Speak with your eyes, with your facial expression, with your fingers, with your clenched fist, with your arm, with the pose of your body, with all the varying attitudes needful to express what you have to say with the greatest effect.
Stand, as a rule, with one foot slightly in advance of the other, the weight of the body resting upon the foot farther back. Do not be tied to one position; hold yourself at liberty to change your position and move about. Do not hold your elbows close to your body, as if your arms were strapped to your sides. Make the gesture in point of time slightly in advance of the word or words it is to illustrate.
The Magnetic Speaker.
It has always been said that the poet is born, but the orator is made. This is not wholly correct, for the more magnetism you were born with, the better speaker you will become. Still, the indefinable thing called magnetism is something that can be cultivated; at least you can learn how to show it, and permit it to exert its wonderful influence over your hearers.
Put yourself into your recitations in such a way that the thoughts and sentiments you express shall, for the time being, be your own. Every nerve and muscle of your body, every thought and emotion of your mind, in short, your whole being should be enlisted. You should become transformed, taking on the character required by the reading or recitation, and making it your own.
Persons who can thus lose themselves in what they are saying, and throw into their recitations all the force and magnetism of which they are capable, are sure to meet with success.
Self-Command.
Young persons naturally feel embarrassed when they face an audience. Some of our greatest orators have known what this is, and were compelled to labor hard to overcome it. Practice alone will give you confidence, unless you possess it already, and this is true of only a few young persons.
Do your utmost to control yourself. Let your will come into play; strong will, governing every emotion of the mind and movement of the body, is absolutely essential. Do not be brazen, but self-confident.
Typical Gestures to be Used in Reading and Reciting.
Fig. 1.—Malediction.
Traitors! I would call down the wrath of Heaven on them.
Fig. 2.—Designating.
Scorn points his slow, unmoving finger.
Fig. 3.—Silence.
There was silence deep as death,
And the boldest held his breath.
Fig. 4.—Repulsion.
Back to thy punishment, false fugitive,
And to thy speed add wings!
Fig. 5.—Declaring.
I speak the truth, and dare to speak it.
Fig. 6.—Announcing.
We proclaim the liberty that God gave when He gave us life.
Fig. 7.—Discerning.
A sail, ho! A dim speck on the horizon.
Fig. 8.—Invocation.
Angels and ministers of grace, defend us!
Fig. 9.—Presenting or Receiving.
Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.
Fig. 10.—Horror.
Methought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more!
Macbeth, does murder sleep?”
Fig. 11.—Exaltation.
Washington is in the clear upper sky.
Fig. 12—Secrecy.
Be mute, be secret as the grave.
Fig. 13.—Wonderment.
While the dance was the merriest, the door opened and there stood the parson!
Fig. 14.—Indecision.
Shall I take back my promise? ’Twill but expose me to contempt.
Fig. 15.—Grief.
O, that by weeping I could heal my sorrow!
Fig. 16.—Gladness.
No pen, no tongue can summon power
To tell the transports of that hour.
Fig. 17.—Signalling.
There stood Count Wagstaff, beckoning.
Fig. 18.—Tender Rejection.
It has come at last; I must say, No.
Fig. 19.—Protecting—Soothing.
Boy! Harold! safely rest,
Enjoy the honey-dew of slumber.
Fig. 20.—Anguish.
My cup with agony is filled,
From nettles sharp as death distilled.
Fig. 21.—Awe—Appeal.
Spirits of the just made perfect, from your empyrean heights look down!
Fig. 22.—Meditation.
A lonely man, wending his slow way along and lost in deepest thought.
Fig. 23.—Defiance.
Defy the devil; consider he is the enemy of mankind.
Fig. 24.—Denying—Rejecting.
Yes, if this were my last breath I would deny these infamous charges.
Fig. 25.—Dispersion.
Spain’s proud Armada was scattered to the winds.
Fig. 26.—Remorse.
A thoughtless, wicked deed; it stings sharper than a serpent’s tooth.
Fig. 27.—Accusation.
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.
Fig. 28.—Revealing.
The way she kept it was, of course,
To tell it all and make it worse.
Fig. 29.—Correct Positions of the Hands.
1. Simple affirmation. 2. Emphatic declaration. 3. Apathy or prostration. 4. Energetic appeal. 5. Negation or denial. 6. Violent repulsion. 7. Indexing or cautioning. 8. Determination or anger. 9. Supplication. 10. Gentle entreaty. 11. Carelessness. 12. Argumentation. 13. Earnest entreaty. 14. Resignation.