brief and immediate answer, like direct questions, and therefore take the rising inflection; as, How old'? Ten`. What time'? Eight. THE LANGUAGE OF COMMAND, SURPRISE, EXCLAMATION, ANGER, TERROR, and, in fact, all strong emotion, requires the falling inflection; as, 、 Command. Charge Chester'! Charge`. Surprise. Well`! who would have thought` it! Anger. Begone'! my soul abhors' thee! Terror. The foe! they come! they come! THE FALLING INFLECTION is generally proper wherever the sense is complete, whether at the end of a sentence or not; as, Life is short and art is long. There is no excellence without labor`. Lives of great men all remind us, WHEN NEGATION is opposed to affirmation, the former takes the rising, and the latter the fulling inflection, whether the negation comes first or not; as, I did not see John', but James`. When contrast and com He is a better man', not a stronger one'. CONTRAST AND COMPARISON. parison are set forth, either by single words or clauses, the first word or clause takes the rising inflection and the second the falling; as, George was the faster runner'; James the better student'. In sunshine' and in storm`, in pleasure' and in pain`, come weal' or come woe', we will be truly friends`. III. Circumflex. THE CIRCUMFLEX IS USED when the language is not sincere or earnest, but is employed in jest, ridicule, sarcasm or mockery. The falling circumflex is used in places that would otherwise require the falling inflection; the rising circumflex in places that would otherwise require the rising inflection; as, Yes, of course, you are a smart boy. The book is mine, not yours. Who thought that Smith would become a poet! CIRCUMFLEX AND EMPHASIS are very much alike; so much so, indeed, that it is hardly necessary to give them different names. IlI. PAUSE. Pause is the suspension of voice made in reading and speaking, in order to rest the voice, give an opportunity for breathing, and render the vocal expression of written matter intelligible and effective. It has two general divisions, GRAMMATICAL and RHETORICAL PAUSE. Grammatical, Pause. Rhetorical. I. Grammatical Pause. GRAMMATICAL PAUSE is used to make clear the meaning of written or spoken language, and is represented by certain signs called punctuation points or pauses. They are seven in number: Dash, comma, semicolon, colon, exclamation, interrogation and period. THE DASH denotes a sudden hesitation or change of thought; as, He was there-but how changed! It is frequently used to represent the other pauses. THE COMMA is the shortest pause; as, John, James and Henry were reciting. The voice should be generally, but not always, kept up. THE SEMICOLON represents a pause longer than the comma, and separates such parts of a sentence as are somewhat less closely connected than those separated by the comma; as, "No mate, no comrade, Lucy knew; She dwelt on a wide moor." THE VOICE usually falls with a semicolon, but not always. THE COLON represents a pause longer than a semicolon, and separates parts of a sentence less closely connected than those divided by the latter; as, Youth is the seed-time of life: how few there are who improve it! THE EXCLAMATION denotes wonder, surprise, pain, etc; as, Help me, Cassius! or I sink! Make a short pause after a single word followed by an exclamation, and let the voice rise; after a complete sentence make a longer pause, and let the voice fall. THE INTERROGATION is used at the end of a question; as, When did you come? If the question can be answered by yes or no, the voice generally rises; if not, it falls. THE PERIOD denotes a full stop. It marks the end of a sentence, and shows that the sense is complete. The voice generally falls. Other Marks. THE APOSTROPHE denotes the possessive case; as, John's hat; also, that one or more letters have been left out of a word; as, hist'ry for history. THE QUOTATION MARKS include the language of another; as, James said, "What of it?" THE PARENTHESIS includes words which are not properly a part of the main sentence; as, He is glad (as all boys are) when vacation comes. INSTEAD OF THE PARENTHESIS, the dash and the comma are now mostly used for that purpose. II. Rhetorical Pause. RHETORICAL PAUSE is a suspension of the voice at certain intervals in order to give effect to reading or speaking. IT IS NOT DESIGNATED by marks, and is not strictly necessary to the mere understanding of spoken or written language. THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES Which govern the use of the rhetorical pause will be considered in the Fifth Reader. IV. MODULATION. Modulation is the art of varying the tones of the voice, in reading and speaking, sɔ as to give to every word, phrase or sentence the sounds which best express its meaning. Modulation is, in fact, the melody of speech, without which language would fall cold and lifeless from our lips. It has seven general divisions: PITCH, FORCE, QUALITY, RATE, SLUR, MONOTONE, and TRANSITION. PITCH refers to the key of the voice, and is HIGH, MODERATE, or Low. FORCE is the volume or loudness of the voice, and is either LOUD, MODERATE, or GENTLE, as the case requires. QUALITY relates to the kinds of tone used in reading and speaking; as, PURE, OROTUND, ASPIRATED, GUTTURAL, or TREMBLING. RATE refers to the movement of the voice, and is either QUICK, MODERATE, or SLOW. SLUR is a dropping and gliding movement of the voice, in passing over some unimportant or explanatory word or clause. MONOTONE is a sameness of force employed in the utterance of several successive words or clauses, when reading solemn or sublime passages. TRANSITION is a change in the modulation of the voice, made, as occasion requires, to indicate a turn in thought or sentiment, or to represent the utterances of different speakers. SLUR, MONOTONE, and TRANSITION, though usually classed as separate elements of Expression, are really divisions of Modulation, and will be so treated in this series. The subject of Modulation will be fully treated in the Fifth Reader, in connection with a more thorough analysis of the general principles of Elocution. |