Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town crier spoke my lines.

From "Hamlet," by SHAKSPEARE.

High Pitch is used in expressing thoughts that require considerable force for their proper delivery, or of which the sentiment is light and joyous.

EXAMPLES OF HIGH PITCH.

Cheerily, then, my little man,

Live and laugh as boyhood can!

From "The Barefoot Boy," by WHITTIER.

And see! she stirs !

She starts, she moves,-she seems to feel
The thrill of life along her keel!

From "The Launch of the Ship," by LONGFELLOW.

Hail to thee, blithe spirit!

Bird thou never wert,

That from heaven, or near it,

Pourest thy full heart

In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

From "Ode to the Skylark," by SHELLEY.

Low Pitch indicates great serenity of mind, and is used to express deep joy, calm sorrow, and kindred emotions.

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corse to the rampart we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot,

O'er the grave where our hero we buried.

From "The Burial of Sir John Moore," by WOLFE.

All sights were mellowed and all sounds subdued;
The hills seemed farther, and the streams sung low;

As in a dream, the distant woodman hewed

His winter log with many a muffled blow.

From "The Closing Scene," by READ.

All is peace.

The heights of yonder metropolis, its towers and roofs, which you then saw filled with wives and children, and countrymen, in distress and terror, and looking with unutterable emotions for the issue of the combat, have presented you to-day with the sight of its whole happy population, come out to welcome and greet you with a universal jubilee.- From "Oration at the Laying of the Corner Stone of Bunker Hill Monument," by WEBSTER.

TRANSITION.

A change of sentiment will always be accompanied with a change in the manner of delivery. Such a change is called a Transition.

In almost every narrative or descriptive selection, there will be slight changes or variations in feeling, and the reading should be varied to express such changes.

Two faults to be avoided in reading are Monotony, or sameness of tone, and Singsong, or a regular method of elevating and lowering the voice by a system of false transitions having no reference whatever to the sentiment.

We have considered under Expression the topics which relate to the sentiment of what we read. We must now consider the topics which relate to the delivery of separate sentences and their parts, phrases, and words.

EMPHASIS.

Emphasis is the use of special force in the utterance of certain words for the purpose of exhibiting their importance to a listener.

Emphasis is of various degrees, from the slight force given to the important words in ordinary discourse, to the strongest force given to words in emotional utterances.

Absolute Emphasis belongs to words naturally important to the meaning; as, "We have not long to live." "The sun begins to rise.” "He never said that."

In the last example given, the meaning of the sentence will be changed if we emphasize each of the different words

He never said that.
He never said that.
He never said that.
He never said that.

(Some one else said it.)
(At no time in his life.)
(He may have thought it.)
(It was something else he said.)

If there is any doubt as to which words in a sentence are emphatic, we must carefully consider the meaning of the sentence as affected by the sentences which precede and follow it.

Relative Emphasis belongs to words which gain importance through contrast with other words; as, "Yesterday, hope animated every breast; now we find ourselves in the depths of despair."

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The words "yesterday" and "now," hope and "despair," have added to the emphasis naturally belonging to them, the special emphasis due to their contrasted meaning.

Emotional Emphasis is given to words which express a depth of feeling not belonging to them in unimpassioned discourse:

1. By increasing the force when the same word is repeated; as, "I never would lay down my arms-never, NEVER, NEVER!"

2. By prolonging the sounds of words; as, “He was a squ-e-e-z-ing, wr-e-nch-ing, gr-a-sp-ing, scr-a-p-ing, cl-u-tch-ing, c-o-v-et-ous, o-ld sin-ner.”

The example just given is called an elocutionary climax. There should be increased force given to each of the words as they follow one another.

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3. By loud exclamations; as "Victory!” “Hurrah!” "A horse, a horse! my kingdom for a horse!"

4. By stopping between words; as, "Cæsar paused on the bank of the Rubicon. Why | did | he | pause? Why does a man's heart | palpitate |, when he is on the point of committing an unlawful | deed?"

This last mode of emphasis shows the force that can be added to what we say by making such pauses as will aid in giving thoughts their full importance. The use of too many or too long pauses will, however, overdo the effect of emphasis and ruin the force of expression.

PAUSES.

The Pauses used in reading are either to make the meaning clear, or to emphasize certain words or phrases. The former are called Grammatical Pauses ; the latter, Rhetorical Pauses.

The Grammatical Pauses-period, colon, semicolon, and commaare written in all cases where the sense would be obscure without them.

Rhetorical Pauses are used to add emphasis to certain words or phrases; as, "This is my answer: Not that I loved Cæsar | less, but that I loved Rome | more."

Rhetorical Pauses occur:

1. After an emphatic subject; as, answer."

2. Before any emphatic word; as, "Now, | now is the time for action! We must conquer, or | die.”

The rhetorical pause before "now" calls special attention to the time; that before "die" to the dreadful alternative. The speaker's evident reluctance to say "die" raises expectation on the part of his hearers, and thus makes the word more emphatic.

The Casural Pause occurs either at or near the middle of every line of poetry, and is used to rest the voice and to mark the rhythm (flow) of the

measure.

EXAMPLE.

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 | emparadise the night.

MONTGOMERY.

In solemn measure, the cæsural pause occurs after the middle of each line; and in lively measure, before the middle of each line. When the lines of poetry are very short, the cœsural pause is sometimes placed after each line.

INFLECTION.

Inflection is a bending or turning of the voice at the close of a syllable or word.

The rising inflection, marked thus ('), is a turning of the voice upward; the falling inflection, marked thus (), is a turning of the voice downward.

EXAMPLES.

"Hear ye yon lion' roaring in his den'?

'Tis three days since he tasted flesh."

"Do you hear the rain', Mr. Caudle'? I say, do you | hear | the rain'? Nonsense! you don't impose on me`; you can't` be asleep!"

"Affected passion', intense expression', the pomp of declamation, all may aspire' after it,-they can not reach` it."

"Will you go to-day' or to-morrow`?
"Where do you expect to go`?"

From the above examples, we may derive the following rules:

1. Questions which may be answered by yes or no, regularly require the rising inflection.