A practical manual of elocution: embracing voice and gesture

Front matter

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Preface

The preparation of this Manual would not have been undertaken, but for the obvious want, at the present time, of a suitable text-book in Elocution, for the use of classes in our colleges, academies, and schools. And if undertaken, the effort would have proved comparatively futile, but for the existence of such works as " The Philosophy of the human Voice" by James Rush, M. D., of Philadelphia, from the valuable materials of which I have been permitted to draw at pleasure, — and the " Chironomia" of Austin, which for nearly forty years has been the common source from which have been derived the principles of Gesture. I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to these eminently philosophical works ; and this acknowledgment I wish to make in this preface in terms so general, as not again to need to recur to the subject. Having used these books for several years as works of almost daily reference, nothing but the most studied affectation could prevent me from employing the materials which they so richly furnish for the use of all future learners in the principles of the voice and of gesture. But aside from this general use of these works, I have referred directly to them, in the preparation of almost every chapter and section of this Manual; nor could I otherwise have done justice to the ordinary learner, since these books, both by their scarcity and their price, are placed beyond his reach.

vi PREFACE.

The principles adopted as the basis of this Manual, and which are developed in its successive pages, it is believed, do not differ materially from those views of the subject which have already received the stamp of public approbation. But this concession is not intended to prejudice the claim of this book to all the originality, as regards either arrangement, method of illustration, or matter, which experience in the business of teaching could be expected to suggest on such a subject.

The work of Dr. Rush, just referred to, relates to a single branch only ; and neither this nor the Chironomia professes to be a practical manual. Several practical works, both on the Voice and on Gesture, are, however, before the public. From the merits of these I would not wish to detract one tittle. Had they fewer faults and greater excellences, the future authors of text-books in this interesting but neglected branch of science would find less formidable prejudices to contend with. I have, as I trust, too just a sense of the responsibility involved in the preparation of a Text-Book for Learners, to dare to assume it with any feeling of carelessness or indifference. He who prepares a popular text-book becomes the benefactor or the curse of the age in which he lives ; and, in the last case, may be held answerable even to posterity for the injury inflicted on the world. All these elementary works, also, which were within my reach, have therefore been consulted ; and from them some useful suggestions have been adopted. They possess very different degrees of excellence ; but it is sufficient to authorize another attempt at setting forth this difficult subject, that no one of them presumes to bring in a claim to perfection. Neither does the present work; though it has at least one advantage over others— that of presenting both branches of the subject in the same volume, which must prove a great convenience to the teacher, as well as to the learner.

PREFACE. vn

Though some new technical terms will present themselves to the student of this Manual, as few such have been used as the objects and nature of the work would possibly allow ; and from among those employed by different writers, such have been selected as were judged best fitted to express the ideas embraced in them. So far as the nomenclature of this science is concerned, the authors before named have left little for future writers to supply ; and to their works the faithful teacher will not fail to make frequent reference, till he shall have fully imbibed their spirit.*

I am aware of the difficulty of setting forth with perfect clearness a subject which is new ; and such will this be to many into whose hands this book will fall. Yet I flatter myself that I have succeeded in rendering the entire subject so simple that any person of ordinary resolution and perseverance can master it, even without an instructor. This object I have had constantly in view, with the hope that many a young man, already engaged in the duties of the holy ministry, may be induced to subject himself to a course of private training, which may both prolong his life, and make every portion of it more useful. Still, a few lessons from a good teacher, when access can be had to one, will greatly facilitate the progress of the learner.

* In describing the vocal phenomena, I have but rarely found occasion to deviate from the technical forms of expression used by Dr. Rush ; and still less frequently to dissent from the principles established in his masterly work on the Human Voice. In setting forth the elementary sounds of the English language, however, I have chosen to retain the old distinction into vowels and consonants, as well adapted to a popular text-book ; and have used the term tonic, to designate a portion'of the consonants, — a term which he applies only to the vowel elements. The term Slide also, is not employed by Dr. Rush, which proves that it is not indispensable even in a full discussion of the functions of the voice. It is used in this work merely as a matter of convenience, being both a short and expressive designation of one of the most important functions of the speaking voice.

vm PREFACE.

To the intelligent and observing, the remark will appear trite, that in our age, and particularly in our country, a good delivery is one of the most important acquisitions to the scholar. To the man who wishes to produce a strong impression on the present age, what other acquisition promises so much ? But the truth that a good delivery can be acquired by study and practice, is now almost as generally admitted by the intelligent as is the fact of its importance ; and this Manual is presented but as a more perfect development of the same system which has produced nearly all the accomplished orators of our day. This is but a system of principles, by which the learner is to be led into the very arcana of the orator's art, instead of acquiring by mere imitation the power of mimicking some of his tones and gestures.

The section on Expression, it is believed, is a more full attempt to present the vocal " language of the passions," in intelligible terms, than has ever before been made. In this it is not proposed to furnish a substitute for real feeling. In oratory there can be no substitute for this. The object of this section is, First, to do for the learner what is done for the student in many other branches of science — to give him a theoretical knowledge of that, the practice of which nature may perhaps have taught him ; Secondly, to enable him, by the use of the appropriate symbols of feeling, to awaken within himself emotion, when perhaps it may not exist to the extent he desires, — for the natural language of any passion tends to excite that passion, as directly as the existence of the passion prompts to its natural expression ; Thirdly, to assist him in overcoming bad habits, whether of extravagance or of feebleness, in the vocal expression of the passions ; and, Fourthly, to furnish what appears to me the best system of training for the voice that can be devised, — one that will best develop all its powers, at the

PREFACE. ix

same time that it makes the learner familiar with their practical uses.

The art of engraving was little understood by the ancients. In modern works on elocution much advantage has been taken of the improvements in this art ; and in regard to gesture, abundant illustrations have been furnished, which addressing the eye, make a stronger as well as a more definite impression on the mind than could well be made by words. The Chironomia, in particular, contains a very full set of excellent illustrations of the principles of gesture, which most of the later writers on elocution have very judiciously used, instead of attempting to furnish new and inferior drawings. From these I have selected such as would fully answer my purpose ; but have added whatever I judged necessary to a complete set of illustrations for my work.*

While examples have been selected for illustrating all the principles of vocal modulation and expression, the book has not been encumbered with extracts from other authors merely for practice. This part of the business has been well done by others ; and there are books enough before the public containing selections, both for reading and speaking. Perhaps a book of selections might be made better suited to improve the higher powers of elocution than any we now have ; it was not, however, any part of the object of this Manual to supply such defect. Without any such matter, the pages of my book have multiplied beyond what was contemplated when it was undertaken, — and that, though brevity has been most assiduously studied.

If the objects proposed in this Manual have been accom-

* The Diagrams and Figures which illustrate the subject of this Manual have been engraved by J. Spittall, of Philadelphia. Most of them have also been drawn by him ; though several of the Figures have been drawn by C. Burton, of Carlisle, Pa.

X PREFACE.

plished, the work now submitted to the public maybe studied with advantage by every class of public speakers ; and the practice it suggests is especially adapted to train the future speaker for his responsible work. But many of the principles of reading and speaking are the same ; so that he, also, who would become a good reader must study some such work as this, to render him familiar with these principles. Aside, however, from all these considerations, there are reasons why elocution should be studied. The natural sciences are taught in all our schools, that those who study them may be able to classify and give names to the various objects of nature. Even the young lady studies Botany and the Geography of the heavens, that she may be able to name the plants and the stars. And is it a matter of no interest to her to be able to speak intelligibly of the excellences and defects of those whom from time to time she hears speak ? — to give names to the qualities of the voice and of the action which they employ? It is not, perhaps, too much to say, that the time will come, when the power to criticise a speech shall be considered as essential to the scholar as is now the ability to criticise a written composition, — when Elocution and Rhetoric shall be studied as constituting sister departments, even in a common English education. Then would every professed speaker cultivate his natural powers, so that a failure in the management of his voice or in gesture would be as rare as such a failure now is among professed singers or performers on musical instruments. On the same principle that men can learn to sing, or to handle the bow, or touch the keys of an instrument for the production of harmonious sounds, they can learn to manage the voice in speaking, or the arms and hands in gesture.

Dickinson College, November, 1844.

Contents

Page

Dedication iii

Preface V

Chapter I. — Elementary Exercises of the Voice

Sect. I. Of the Elementary Sounds of the English Language 31

Table I. Vowels 33

Table II. Consonants 34

Sect. II. Of Articulation 38

Table III. Combinations of Consonant Sounds. 40

Sect. III. Of the Time of the Voice 48

Sect. IV. Of Stress 50

Radical Stress 51

Table IV. Combinations of the Tonic Consonants with the Long Vowels 52

Table V. Combinations of the Atonies with

the Long Vowels 52

Table VI. Combinations of the Long Vowels

with the Tonic Consonants 53

Table VII. Combinations of the Long Vowels

with the Atonies 54

Table VIII. Combinations of the Short Vowels with the Tonic Consonants 54

Median Stress 55

Vanishing Stress .- 56

xi xii CONTENTS.

Page

Sect. V. Of the Pitch of the Voice 57

The Diatonic Slides 68

Emphatic Slides 66

Interrogative Intonation 67

Sect. VI. Of the Waves of the Voice 71

Sect. VII. Of Force of Voice 75

Sect. VIII. Of the Quality of the Voice 81

The Orotund 82

The Tremor 83

The Aspiration 83

The Guttural 84

Sect.IX. Of the Melodies of the Voice 85

Sect. X. Recapitulation 90

Chapter II. — Practical Application of Principles

Sect. I. Preliminary remarks 97

Sect. II. Of Accent 98

Sect. III. Of Emphasis 100

Temporal Emphasis 102

Emphasis of Stress 103

Emphasis of Pitch 105

Emphasis of the Wave 109

Emphasis of Force 113

Emphasis of Quality 113

Sect. IV. Of the Drifts of the Voice 122

Sect. V. Of Expression 126

Narrative, Description 128

Dignity, Solemnity, Gravity, &c 128

Gayety, &c 133

Positiveness, Confidence, Authority, &c 138

Energy 144

Rage, Anger, Wrath 146

Malice, Hate, Revenge, &c 149

111 Humor.— Dissatisfaction, Peevishness, &c. . 153

Scorn, Sneer, Contempt, &c 153

Mirth, Raillery 154

Joy, Triumph, &c 155

CONTENTS. xiii

Page

Sect. V. Astonishment, Admiration,- Amazement 156

Plaintive Expression, Tenderness 157

Pain— Mental and Bodily 162

Secrecy, Apprehension, Fear, &c 163

Terror, Horror 164

Interrogation 164

Irresolution, Modesty, &c 167

Sect. VI. Of Transition 168

Sect. VII. Of Cadence 184

Chapter III. — General Precepts

Sect. I. Of the Measure of Speech 193

Sect.II. Of Paiises 203

Sect. III. Of the Heading of Poetry 207

Sect. IV. Of the Grouping of Speech 212

Chapter I. — Elements of Gesture

Sect. I. Preliminary Remarks 221

Sect.II. Of the Feet and Lower Limbs 226

Sect. III. Of the Head and Trunk 233

Sect. IV. Of the Eyes and Countenance 236

Sect. V. Of the Hand 241

Sect. VI. Of the Arm 246

Chapter II. — Practical Application of Principles

Sect. I. Introductory Movements 258

Sect. II. Of Motion and Rest 260

Sect. III. Of the Movements of the Hands and Arms 262

Sect. IV. Of the Qualities of Gesture 269

Chapter ni. — General Precepts.

Sect. I. Of the Frequency, Moderation, and Intermission

of Gesture 273

Sect. II. Of Gesture as Connected with the Different parts

of a Discourse , 277 xiv CONTENTS.

Appendix

Page Chapter IV. — Hints on the Elocution adapted to the

Pulpit 281

Chapter V. — Of the Action adapted to Dramatic Representation.

Sect. I. Of the Elements of Dramatic Action 292

Sect. II. Of Significant Gestures and Attitudes 305

A

PRACTICAL MANUAL

OF

ELOCUTION.

Introduction

Importance of the study of Elocution. — How it must be prosecuted. — Encouragement to the learner. — Plan of the work.

Is a good Elocution of sufficient importance to deserve the attention of the American scholar ? and can the principles of Elocution be so taught as to become practically useful to the speaker, or to him who is destined to become a speaker ? — These are important questions ; and while a doubt remains in regard to them, even the youthful learner must hesitate to enter on the subject with the zeal necessary to ensure success in this or any other branch of useful study. In regard to the first, I should be doing injustice to the intelligence of the reader, to attempt to discuss it. Who are the men that in our great republic are now attracting universal attention? Who are they, to hear whom our Senate Houses, our Halls of Justice, and out Churches, are thronged to overflowing ? Who are they, whom assembled multitudes, in our public halls, in the crowded squares and streets of our cities clamor for, and whose voices they will hear ? They are not always the most learned men among us, nor are they always the most profound thinkers. Generally speaking, they are men of good sound common sense, who have a good Elocution. Eighteen hundred years ago, Quintilian said, " That even an indifferent discourse, assisted by a lively and graceful action [comprehending both voice and gesture] will have greater efficacy than the finest harangue which wants that advantage." So it has ever been ; so it will ever be.

But of what interest is all this to the American scholar — to the reader of these pages ? The same that he has in any question that concerns his future usefulness, or his future fame. Ours is a land of civil liberty, where force is never permitted to take the place of persuasion, where tyranny wrests not from man his native freedom of thought and speech, and where corruption and venality can never long hold the control of public affairs. Our institutions then are such as have ever fostered eloquence. We have a language, too, superior in several important respects to any modern tongue, and deficient perhaps in no single requisite to a strong and effective eloquence. The demand of the public also for a more spirit-stirring oratory is most obviously increasing. The evidence of this is found in the public favor, just referred to, which is bestowed on those who have cultivated a good elocution. If we look out upon the stage of political life, what attracts our eyes more strongly than the conspicuous positions assigned to those who have the action, the utterance, and the power of speech to stir men's blood ? We see the same, if we look at the great moral movements of the day. Whenever the eyes of the public centre on any human agent, as destined under Providence to effect any great moral reform, who is he but some one who can wield the omnipotent power of oral eloquence ? This demand extends even to the sacred desk ; and men begin to be restless when the pulpit is dull and prosing.

Whenever they elsewhere see exhibited the attractions of an effective elocution, their minds revert to that day, when the simple preaching of righteousness, temperance and judgment could make even a Felix tremble, and they pray for its return. ' Nor is this a mere capricious movement of the times. Intelligent men have begun to reason on the subject. They have satisfied themselves, that we possess all the essential elements of oratory which have ever been possessed by any people ; and that the occasions for their development are not wanting. They see the freedom of debate allowed in our legislative halls ; the constantly recurring opportunities for the statesman-orator to make his appeals directly to the popular assembly ; the moral enterprises also, that are to be carried by direct appeals to the popular ear ; the vast interests involved in questions which are discussed in our ecclesiastical assemblies, and which may well call forth the orator's best powers ; and last, not least, they see the pulpit, where from week to week thousands stand to address their fellows, freely and unconstrained, on the sacred truths of a sublime religion, to impress on them the claims of a system of morality singularly pure and attractive, and to discuss topics of the most elevating and interesting nature. They see, too, that men can feel as well as reason, and that they love the feelings which eloquence inspires ; — that whenever a good elocution exhibits itself in the speaker, the legitimate effects follow as certainly as when Demosthenes or Henry spoke in the senate house, or at the bar, and as certainly as when Whitefield electrified the multitudes who everywhere thronged — not more to hear the tones of his voice, and to see his action, than to feel the overwhelming power of his eloquence. A demand based on the clear perception of such truths shall not decline ; and green and unfading are the laurels already entwined for the brows of those who — now rising into life — shall prepare themselves to bear off the honors in such a contest for usefulness and honorable distinction.

Eloquence, or even oratory, does not however consist wholly in a good elocution. Elocution concerns only the external part of oratory, and may be considered both as a science and as an art. As a science, it teaches the principles from which are deduced rules for the effective delivery of what is eloquent in thought and language ; as an art, it is the actual embodying in delivery of every accomplishment, whether of voice or of gesture, by which oratorical excitement is superadded to the eloquence of thought and language. In this last sense, it implies the cultivation of every external grace with which the delivery of language should be accompanied, whether in reading, in recitation, or in spontaneous utterance. As a science, then, it relates to the knowledge and the taste necessary to direct in the correct delivery of what is forcible in thought and expression ; and as an art, to the ability practically to execute that which is dictated by a well-instructed taste. This presents the general subject in a twofold light ; and clearly points out the double office of a teacher of elocution, and the twofold excellencies of a perfect Text-Book in this interesting branch of study. It should give the taste to direct, and the power to execute.

These are perfectly distinct, though closely allied. Many speakers fail, not so much from not knowing how a passage or discourse ought to be pronounced, as for want of the ability to execute what their cultivated taste has learned to admire ; while others, it is admitted, have no love for what is excellent, whether in the intonations of the voice, or in the action which accompanies them. The latter blunder heedlessly along, and, without perceiving it, are guilty of a thousand errors, which of course they never attempt to correct ; while the former too often perceive their errors and defects but to lament them, often fail in their attempts at improvement, and at other times, for fear of a failure, neglect to attempt what, had they dared to risk the experiment, they might successfully have performed. — It is the object of this Manual, to cultivate the taste ; and to give to all who will consent to make it a study the ability to perform whatever a good taste can direct.

It is generally admitted, that few persons can safely rely, for the effect of their discourses, solely on a favorable combination of circumstances, or on their weight of character, or even on mere force of thought or eloquence of language. The u ornaments of eloquence" must be superadded. These consist in the various melodies of the voice and in suitable gesture of the body. " He who arms himself with these," says one of the ancient Rhetoricians, " assaults his hearers in three ways. He invades their understanding by his eloquence, he subdues their ears by the charms of his voice, and their eyes by the attractions of his gesture." — Whether ease and grace of gesture can be acquired, cannot admit of one rational doubt. In general, the gestures are performed by the action of the voluntary muscles ; and thus gesture is as much an art, considered with reference to the mode in which it is to be performed, as is penmanship, dancing, or any handicraft employment.

But can instruction improve the voice also ? To this interrogatory it might seem sufficient to reply, that the attractions of the stage in all ages have depended very materially on the power of vocal execution possessed by the actors — a power not unfrequently wholly acquired, and acquired too, in the only schools where, in modern times, the art of speaking has been cultivated. Besides this, the two great orators of antiquity studied this branch of elocution in particular as an art. Demosthenes, whose voice was weak, whose articulation was defective, and whose tongue stammered, after an unsuccessful effort in which he was hissed from the assembly, was persuaded by a player whom he met, to undertake the study of elocution ; and by a course of training such as few have ever subjected themselves to, he demonstrated that the practical application of the principles of this art can be learned. Even his great adversary and rival in oratory, after reciting before the Rhodians, at their request, the oration of Demosthenes for Ctesiphon, replied to their expressions of admiration, " What would you have said if you had heard him deliver it!" With Cicero, too, it was much the same. At the age of twenty-seven, according to Plutarch, after having arrived at some eminence as a pleader, " though his voice had a variety of inflections, it was at the same time harsh and unformed ; and as in the vehemence and enthusiasm of speaking, he always rose into a loud key, there was reason to apprehend that it might injure his health." He consequently applied himself to teachers. At a subsequent period, this writer tells us, " his voice was formed ; and at the same time that it was full and sonorous, had gained a sufficient sweetness, and was brought to a key which his constitution could bear." But — to show how elocution was' studied in ancient times — he stopped not here, but visited Asia and Rhodes, to listen to the greatest orators, and to receive instruction from the best teachers. And it was at the latter place, when declaiming in Greek before Apollonius, that the rhetorician, with sadness of heart at the recollection of the wasted glory of his native land, the country of Demosthenes, said, " As for you, Cicero, I praise and admire you, but I am concerned for the fate of Greece. She had nothing left her but the glory of eloquence and erudition, and you are carrying that too to Rome." The ancient orators and rhetoricians all treated of the voice as among the first objects of culture ; and wherever great excellence was attained in its management, it was duly appreciated.

This science has also been studied by many of England's most eminent orators. Mr. Pitt learned elocution under the tuition of his noble and eloquent father ; and it was of one of his speeches that even Fox could say, " The orators of antiquity would have admired, probably would have envied it;" and after listening to another, Mr. Windham says of himself, that u he walked home lost in amazement at the compass, till then unknown to him, of human eloquence." The case of Sheridan is still more striking. To adopt the language of Lord Brougham,— " With a position by birth and profession little suited to command the respect of the most aristocratic country in Europe — the son of an actor, the manager himself of a theatre — he came into that parliament which was enlightened by the vast and various knowledge, as well as fortified and adorned by the most choice literary fame of a Burke, and which owned the sway of consummate orators like Fox and Pitt." But he had studied the elocution of the stage — his father had been his teacher ; and although he never acquired any great eminence as a statesman, yet Pitt himself at one time writhed under his eloquence. It was at the close of one of his celebrated speeches before the House of Commons, that the practice of cheering the speaker was first introduced ; and it was on this occasion that Mr. Pitt, then prime minister of England, besought the House, as being incapacitated for forming a just judgment under the influence of such powerful eloquence, to adjourn the decision of the question. Several of our distinguished American orators, also, it is asserted, are ever ready to acknowledge their obligation to the study of the principles of that art which is procuring for them so rich a reward of fame. And some of those who have been most admired, are far from being those for whom nature had done the most.

The following system of instruction, both as regards voice and gesture, consists of principles rather than of specific rules ; and of principles believed to be drawn from nature, and which, when applied even fully to practice, will leave the learner sufficiently in possession of all his natural peculiarities. Their entire object is to refine and perfect nature ; not to pervert it. The greatest orators, even the most popular players, are those who have made art subservient to the development of their own native powers ; and who at least seem to have been formed on no model. Here, as elsewhere, art is supposed to be but the handmaid of nature.

It is believed that the careful study, on the part of the learner, of the principles here presented him, even though thus restricted, if accompanied with proper practice on the tables and exercises, will do for him all that study has ever done, or can do, to make the speaker.

First 9 it will greatly assist to cultivate the taste, as regards all the excellences of a good delivery.

Second, it will give him a distinct articulation ; and furnishes the means by which even the more permanent impediments in speech may be corrected.

Third, it will give him a distinct enunciation, by which we mean nothing more than perfect distinctness of articulation carried into the general delivery.

Fourth, it will give him the command of the various elements both of voice and gesture, which give effect to the expression of thought and feeling, and which, when properly employed, constitute the external graces of eloquence.