Practical elements of elocution...

Appendix

ON

TRUTH, PERSONALITY, AND ART IN ORATORY,

BY

JAMES W. BASHFORD, B.D., PH.D.,

PRESIDENT OF THE OHIO WESLEYAN UNI

BOSTON, U.S.A.

GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.

Trt+ iH

Copyright, 1893, By R. I. FULTON & T. C. TRUEBLOOD,

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

GINN & COMPANY, BOSTON, U.S.A.

IN

GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE

OF

Mr. JAMES E. MURDOCH,

THE DISTINGUISHED ACTOR, AUTHOR, AND ELOCUTIONIST, WHOSE

LIFE AND WORK HAVE BEEN AN ABIDING

SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

TO US,

THIS VOLUME

is dedicated by his pupils,

The Authors.

Preface

If an apology were necessary for the appearance of this book among so many of its kind it should not have been published. We know that it will find its proper place in public favor or disapproval. We ask for it, however, a careful examination, an honest trial, and a candid judgment upon its merits. This evident departure from previous methods of treatment has made our task a difficult one, and we invite kindly criticism and suggestion for future editions.

Following the trend of thought so recently crystallized in the organization of the National Association of Elocutionists, we have endeavored to harmonize the so-called systems of Elocution. In all we have found valuable truths which must have a common basis and should meet on common ground. While this volume is a recall to the old truths recorded by Engel, Austin, and Dr. Rush, it presents them in the newer garb and more recent philosophy of Mantegazza and Delsarte. The student of to-day is not satisfied with the mere statement of facts, he seeks the underlying principles or laws governing a world of facts.

We have endeavored not only to trace each element back to nature, after the manner of Dr. Rush, but to show its response, in expression, to man's Mental, Emo-

VI PREFACE.

tive, and Vital natures. So far as we know, there has been no published attempt to harmonize all the vocal Elements of Dr. Rush's Philosophy with the triune theory of Delsarte ; nor have we essayed the task without a free use of the scalpel ; but if, happily, we have succeeded, we shall entertain the hope that this volume will add greater interest to the study of Elocution and inspire a more enduring confidence in its practicability.

We have endeavored to be suggestive rather than exhaustive. Each generic element or subject is treated as a whole and not in a set form of prescribed lessons ; so that any teacher may give them in the order best suited to his own individual methods. Nor is this a book of selections. The quotations are from standard literature and are given purely as illustrative matter ; apart from those that are taken from Shakespeare, the selections entire may be found, for the most part, in our published compilation of Choice Readings.

We have also attempted to present the subject in a sufficiently logical and scientific manner to justify the recognition Elocution is now receiving in the High-School, College, and University curricula, not only as a means of acquiring the art of expression, but as a study worthy consideration in the scheme of mental development.

Perhaps we should say further that this book is the outgrowth of fifteen years' study and experience, and it has been prepared with the most careful collaboration on our part, and under the closest criticism of many of the leading members of our profession. It would seem invidious to name here a few, and impractical to name all of

PREFACE. VII

the teachers and students who have aided us by suggestion and approval ; or to record the books whose pages we have most frequently searched. We believe we have given due credit in the body of the book, to all authorities ; while that larger fund of knowledge which has become common property, we have tested in the crucible of experience, adapted to our own plan and expressed in our own language.

We wish, however, to make acknowledgment of the valued assistance of a layman, Professor Edwin G. Conklin, Ph.D., whose criticisms from a scientific standpoint have guided us at times into a more philosophic treatment. Nor would we be unmindful of the friendly arbitration rendered by Mr. Edwin P. Trueblood, A.M., at the time our own earnest discussions led to a clearer arrangement of the first outlines of the book.

Finally we would assure the reader that we have written out of the depths of a full conviction and with a sincere desire to advance the science and art of expression ; and if these pages stimulate deeper thought and investigation, our labors have not been in vain.

THE AUTHORS.

August 16, 1893.

Contents

Page

Preface v

Introduction i

Chapter I. — Man's Triune Nature 8 II. — The Vocal Apparatus 14

III. — Respiration 27

IV. — Cultivation of the Voice 37

V. — Pronunciation 42

VI. — Emphasis 71

PART II. the elements of vocal expression.

Harmony of Rush and Delsarte 85

Chapter I. — Quality 89

Introduction

I. — RELATION OF SCIENCE TO ART.

Elocution is the science and art of expression by voice and action. As an art it deals with the correct outward expression of thought and feeling ; as a science it discovers and classifies the principles which govern such expression. It is not an exact science but a liberal one through which the highest excellence in the art is attained. This will account for the fact that our finest speakers are not alike in their modes of delivery, though the main principles exist the same in all.

It is the purpose of Elocution to develop individuality, to correct bad habits of speech and gesture, and to make the body a fit instrument to serve the mind and soul.

As in the fine arts, sculpture, painting and music, no one need hope to gain eminence without some native aptitude, so in the art of spoken language few gain distinction, yet it is in the province of all with due practice to become at least tolerable readers and speakers. It is by judicious application of the natural laws of expression that one may go beyond the point of mere accidental success, and may gain positive and permanent power in commanding the interest and attention of his hearers.

Ruskin says with reference to painting that " all fatal faults in art that might have been otherwise good, arise from one or other of these three things : either from the pretense to feel what we do not ; the indolence in exercises necessary to obtain the power of expressing truth ; or the presumptuous insistance upon, and indulgence in our own powers and delights and with no care or wish that they be useful to others, so only they be admired by them."

This very just criticism upon painting may well be applied to reading as a fine art, and to public speaking. The principal element of success of any one in either pursuit is sincerity and truth. He must learn to feel and then to reproduce that state in the minds of others. He must be fervent without being extravagant and exercise a discretion that will " overstep not the modesty of nature."

The second fault referred to by Ruskin is the indisposition to exercise sufficiently in the principles of the art. All arts have their technicalities which if mastered repay the diligence and attention bestowed upon them. There are some who at first give decided promise of success that are distanced by others of less apparent genius but of more industry. Such persons have fallen victims to overvaluation of their own powers. The soil and seed were good but the young plant was not cultivated.

The third fault named by Ruskin, that of self-admiration or love of exhibition, is probably the most common. This comes from a disposition to substitute sound for sense, emotion for truth ; from the habit of displaying tone and gesture for their own sake rather than for the truth they should make forcible.

Legouve says there are some people "whose wealth of voice is an embarrassment to them. They cannot enunciate ; sound swallows up their words ; vowels devour consonants, and they talk and read so loud, make so much noise about it that no one can understand them." On the other hand there is a disposition to be over-exact in matters of detail ; for example, in articulation or intonation, which calls attention to the manner before the thought. Any such methods are radically wrong and should be corrected. This is the abuse rather than the proper use of power ; and there

INTRODUCTION.

is no more necessity for the display of tone and action than for any other form of pedantry.

The highest art impresses itself without being remarked. Just as attention to critical processes in written discourse will retard for a time easy thought and composition, so will attention to the details of elocutionary drills temporarily impede naturalness, and the student becomes self-conscious. But when these principles become a part of his being he comes back to nature again refined by the process. The principles or science of an art though severe and a temporary hindrance, after a while become our own involuntary means of success, for having thoroughly learned them we become unconscious of them.

In the words of Prof. Genung, "Art at its highest and nature at its truest are one. The result appears ideally free from pain and effort ; this, however, not because art is not present but because the art is so perfect as to have concealed its process." Chancellor W. H. Payne of Nashville University says : "Science consists of knowing, art in doing; the pri?iciples which art involves science evolves. The direct route to the perfecting of an art is through a clear comprehension of the principles that are involved in the art." The following diagram may serve to make clearer this distinction : —

Inception of Study

Maturity of Study.

This is designed to show that in the first study of the principles of an art there is little that is artistic in expression because of the consciousness of applying principles. But with progress in study, science becomes less obtrusive and its application more artistic. It also shows that in the inception of study there is some art, and in the maturitysome science, present, but the one gradually but surely supersedes the other.

II. — RELATION TO KINDRED SCIENCES.

Of the sciences that deal with language and the utterance of language, it may be said of their comparative relation that

I. Grammar has to do with the form of the word and its relation to and dependence upon other words of the context. It deals neit'her with the sense, the economy, nor yet with the utterance of language, but with the interdependence of words.

II. Rhetoric has to do with the economical arrangement of the words of discourse or the style ; Elocution with the right exercise of the organs of the body in communicating thought and feeling. Rhetoric deals with written language, Elocution with spoken language. A rhetorician is not necessarily an effective speaker, neither are all effective speakers rhetoricians. An orator, however, must be both.

III. Logic looks to the laws of thought, to the sense of what is said rather than to the manner of speaking, and to the principles of reasoning which enable men to avoid error. According to Jevons it enables us " to calculate the results of actions, and to discover the means of doing things which seemed impossible."

IV. Psychology or the science of the mind, is intimately connected with the right exercise of the bodily organs of the public speaker. A knowledge of the workings of the mind and its effects upon the body is necessary to correct outward expression. These various states must be understood before the speaker can best command the interest and attention of an audience.

V. Esthetics, or the science of the beautiful, has a direct effect upon utterance, not only upon the language itself, but upon the coloring given it. This coloring is sometimes termed word-painting, and may mean two things, — either the vivid mental picture of a thing, or the coloring of the words themselves — a process generally known as tone-color.

III. — IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT.

The value of the study of spoken language can scarcely be overrated. The human voice is a great power among men. It is human nature to want to hear truth presented in the most interesting and, if may be, the most vivid manner; and although the daily papers have become the medium of conveying to the masses current news and general information, it is still the province of the public speaker to convince men and move them to action. This can be done through the living voice and manner, by which only, says Humboldt, " the speaker is able to breathe, as it were, his own soul into the souls of his hearers."

Another and not less interesting use to which the vocal powers may be put, and which is a source of public instruction and pleasure is the interpretation, by means of good reading, of the masterpieces of literature. This need not be confined to the demands of the general public for entertainment. What higher or purer gratification can there be in the home or social circle than the artistic reading of some beautiful piece of literature? This exercise is not only profitable to the listener but more so to the reader, for he cannot give an intelligent interpretation of language without first understanding it himself.

Then far more desirable than either of the points mentioned, because it is universal, is vocal acco7?iplishvicnt in conversation. There is no one who is not pleased with a voice of pure vocality, of good Melody, of discriminating tone-color, and of other elements that add to pleasing vocal effects.

Let us see how in a public or professional way the cultivated voice and manner are a source of great power and profit to the possessor. Suppose one has an important case to be decided in the courts — one in which vast property interests or even lives are at stake, and let us suppose that in looking for an advocate he happens to come into a court room where two lawyers are arguing a case. Let these two men be of equal general scholarship and legal knowledge ; the one easy and self-possessed in his manner, business-like in his choice of words, possessed of a good, well modulated voice, and apparently natural, forcible and eloquent utterance ; the other awkward in his movements, indistinct, and hesitating in his utterance, indiscriminating in Emphasis, and possessed of a harsh voice and a wearisome drawl ; is there any question as to which of the two would be selected to conduct the case ?

The saying is as old as Quintilian that a poor discourse well delivered will have a better effect than a good discourse poorly delivered ; and that one who has a good discourse and a good delivery has everything in his favor.

Emerson even goes so far as to say : " What is said is the least part of an oration. It is the attitude taken, the unmistakable sign, never so casually given, in tone of voice, or manner, or word, that a greater spirit speaks from you than is spoken to in him."

Beecher says of the cultivated voice that it "is like an orchestra. It ranges high, intermediate, or low unconsciously to him who uses it, and men listen quite unaware that they have been bewitched out of their weariness by the charms of a voice not artificial but made by assiduous training to be his second nature."

INTRODUCTION.

IV. — DIVISIONS.

PART I.

Man's Triune Nature; The Voice as an Instrument

Respiration ; Vocal Culture ; Pronunciation ;

and Emphasis.

PART III. The Elements of Action

APPENDIX.

Truth, Personality, and Art in Oratory.

Part I

Under this division of our subject we will study man as a Psychic Being seeking expression through the laws of Elocution ; the Mechanism of the Human Voice as an instrument of expression, Respiration, and Vocal Culture; the Phonetic values of sounds and syllables in Pronunciation; and the Emphasis of words which embody the ideas of language. A discussion of these topics will dispose of much valuable matter which is inseparably connected with expression, but which cannot be treated as Elements of Elocution.

CHAPTER I.— MAN'S TRIUNE NATURE.

I. THE PSYCHIC UNITY.

The object of Elocution is to help the student to give a correct outward manifestation of his inward consciousness, or, in other words, to express that which has been impressed. An analysis of this inward consciousness — this Psychic Being as a Unity — reveals the threefold division ; I. The Vital Nature, II. The Mental Nature, and III. The Emotive 1 Nature. Presiding over these three natures are Life, Mind, and Soul, respectively. The word life in this

1 It will be observed that instead of the word Moral ascribed to Delsarte we have used the broader and less confusing term Emotive first used in this sense by that discriminating philosopher, Professor Moses True Brown, of Boston. In the discussions which follow it will be seen that Moral is given as a specific division cf the generic, Emotive.

man's triune nature. 9

sense means the "physical manifestations" Let us briefly consider each of these divisions.

i. The Vital Nature. "Man as a Psychic Being is Vital, Sensitive, Instinctive. Through this part of his Being he exhibits the phenomena of life" and reveals the various manifestations of his physical organism. That organism is made up of bone, muscle, sinews, nerves, the brain and other organs, all of which are susceptible alike to the buoyant thrills of healthful living and to the aches and pains "that flesh is heir to." It is the seat of the appetites, the dwelling-place of the mind, and the temple of the soul ; in obedience to each it acts and gives forth that tone or look or gesture or attitude which reveals the psychic state.

2. The Mental Nature. In his " Synthetic Philosophy of Expression," Professor Brown says: "Man is Mental, Intellectual, Reflective Through this part of his Being he exhibits the phenomena of Mind. He thinks, and compares his thoughts with things. He perceives, and recalls what he has perceived, and projects pictures of what he has seen. He reasons, and links his reasonings into propositions. He is the only being on earth who uses the syllogism. Through the faculties of mind man attains to all knowledge. They are the instruments with which he constructs his science, art and literature."

3. The Emotive Nature. " Man is Emotional, Passional, Ethical, Spiritual. Through this part of his Being he exhibits the phenomena of Emotions. He loves and hates; is sympathetic and affectionate, or bears antipathy and enmity. He is benevolent or malevolent. He is loyal or disloyal to his concepts of truth and duty. He worships and is spiritual. His adoration may even reach mysticism."

II. THE PSYCHIC PENTARCHY.

We have taken the liberty to reconstruct Professor Brown's diagram, and adapting it to man as a Psychic

IO PRACTICAL ELOCUTION.

Being rather than to all sentient life as " an energy cen~ tered in nerve substance," we here present a pentarchy for each of the three natures as follows : —

^--Rational

^''' ^.---Imaginative

'II. Mental *^z~ -MemoratLve

/ ^^ ~"~ ---Perceptive

/ ,>Lns.tinctive

MAN^' 1. Vital.-^—; Material

Being) \ ^„ -Sensitive

\ ~>Affectional, Passional

\ „-' ^^--Self-preservative

» III. Emotive. "^~- Social

^Spiritual

Consistent with the evolution of life, and also with modern psychological thought, the Emotive should be placed between the Mental and the Vital ; but the above is the only arrangement which will give Instinct and Affection or Passion as pivotal points in the scale. That these are pivotal points will be shown in the discussion which follows. To explain briefly, Man is a Material body and of that nature which scientists call Sensitive. At birth he is the most helpless of the higher animals; yet in this creation of "organized possibilities " are the hidden elements of superiority over all other animals ; he represents the Vital nature with the Mental and Emotive embryonic. He does not think, or love, or hate; he simply lives. He is Sentient, because he is an animal organism. His sensations are those of physical pain or pleasure. Like other animals he is Instinctive, and herein we enter the border-land of the Intellect. It is impossible to draw the exact dividing line between Instinct as a Vital

MANS TRIUNE NATURE. II

function and Instinct as a Mental process. One clay the child stretches forth its little hands and we say this is instinct growing out of its Sensitive nature; the next day we note the same action and say it is prompted by the first gleam of the dawning intellect. The next step beyond the Instinctive is Perception, which represents the awakened Mental nature. Impressions are recorded in the brain and the retentive or Memorative faculty (if this word may be allowed) is developed and strengthened. The memory grows, and the play of the Imagination begins. The mind develops; out of Perception and Memory Reason is born and henceforth sits enthroned as the crowning faculty of the Mental nature.

But during this mental growth the Emotive nature has also developed. Out of the suppliance of the Vital wants the Affectional characteristics spring, and the child feels the emotion of Affection for his mother. The Passional, which may manifest itself either as love or hate, evidently springs out of both the Vital and Emotive natures, and is but an intensified form of the Affectional. The emotion of Self-preservation finds its birth with the Affectional nature, though, perhaps, it develops more slowly. The first manifestation is that of surprise awakened by each new condition of life; then the emotion of fright takes hold of the child in the absence of those who administer to his comfort and shield him from harm. Out of this characteristic a long line of emotions spring, such as secrecy, caution, amazement, fear, dread, horror, and terror. With the feeling of Self-protection and dependence upon others, the child's Affection now includes the other members of the family and his Social characteristics become patent ; later in life, as these unfold, they extend to the tribe, the nation, and, finally in the highest sense, to all mankind, as children of a common parent. Social relations impose upon him the sense of duty to his associates, and his Moral nature is touched. In a concrete way he learns the significance of "good" and "bad," and becomes morally responsible for his exercise of right and wrong. But his convictions of right and wrong are prompted solely by duty to himself and to his associates. There must be a higher sense of duty — that of intrinsic duty, or the exercise of right for right's sake, independent of its relation to self or to fellow-beings ; herein is the Spiritual nature made manifest. With the exercise of faith in man and in the immutable laws of life and nature, the Spiritual powers attain conceptions of God, creation, and eternity. In this the highest attribute of his Emotive nature he may even penetrate the otherwise " Unknown and Unknowable," and prophet-like he proclaims the mysteries of Revelation.

Observe that the central point in our diagram is the appearance of Life in a Material body which is the first Vital condition ; Reason is placed as the supreme faculty of the mind, and the Spiritual as the culminating attribute of the soul ; with the evolutional steps leading from this mean to these extremes, the wide scope of this subject is apparent. Even a cursory treatment would lead into psychological discussions of such length as to defeat the main purpose of this volume.

Accepting the above, however, as the principal channels through which man receives impressions, the question now arises : " How may these impressions, affecting these three Natures, be expressed ? " We answer, " Through Voice and Action." Then the philosophy of the manifestations of Man's Triune Nature through the agency of Voice and Action is the philosophy of human expression.

III. DELSARTE'S CONTRIBUTION.

We here turn to the teachings of the eminent French Philosopher, Francois Delsarte, who was the first to apply

MAN S TRIUNE NATURE. I 3

the time-honored theory of man's Triune Nature to the practical purposes of expression in art. Upon the law that each of man's natures must find its expression through the agency of corresponding Zones and Movements of the body, Delsarte constructed a transcendental philosophy which applies with equal truth to painting, sculpture, and acting. We even catch a gleam of its application to song and to vocal Elocution ; but Delsarte died without publishing his philosophy to the world, and his pupils 1 have practically applied his theories only to Action. But a theory so founded on facts and deep-rooted in our Psychic Being must apply to vocal expression ; and along this line we would direct

IV. LAW OF INTERDEPENDENCE AND BLENDS-

Before closing this chapter we would call attention to two other very important principles embodied in the Delsarte philosophy, namely : — the Interdependence of the three Natures, and their Blends in expression. To quote Arnaud, " Life and mind are one and the same soul ; soul and mind are one and the same life ; life and soul are one and the same mind."

The- existence of a soul implies the existence of a human being as distinguished from a lower order of the animal kingdom. Destroy the mind and the man becomes an idiot, though his body and soul may live. Cause the vital functions of the body to cease and all physical manifestations must also cease, and we say of our friend, " he is dead " ; but the mental impress of his thought remains with us, and his mind lives in this cherished letter, that characteristic poem, or yonder book in the library ; and with reverence we meditate upon the joys of his liberated soul.

1 See " System of Delsarte," by Abbe Delaumosne and Anglique Arnaud, published by Edgar S. Werner, New York.

Furthermore we may observe that in one person the Vital predominates, in another Mentality leads, and in yet another the Emotive characteristics are in the ascendency ; but in all cases the three natures are present and blended in the one person.

Then the existence of one of the three natures of a living psychic Being implies the existence of the other two, just as one side of a triangle implies the existence of two other sides.

So in the expression of any given thought or feeling all three natures are represented, but one leads while the other two assist and blend in relative degrees of manifestation. For instance, in anger the Emotive leads, followed closely by the Vital, and in a lesser degree by the Mental, so that anger may be called a Mento-Vito-Emotive passion. In didactic thought the Mental leads, then comes the Vital and lastly follows at more remote distance the Emotive, so that didactic language shows Emoto-Vito-Mental thought. In courage the Vital leads, closely followed by the Mental and Emotive making a Mento-Emoto-Vital state, and the whole Being is aroused to action.

Applying this principle of analysis to the vocal phenomena of expression we shall hope to "evolve such an orderly procedure of statement " as shall claim the attention of the earnest student.

Chapter II. — The Vocal Apparatus

It is not necessary, within the limits of this volume, to go into a thorough study of the structure of the organs of voice. Let this be reserved for the specialist in anatomy, though a limited knowledge of the function and relation of these organs cannot but aid the thoughtful student in vocalization.

ORGANS.

'5

SECTION I. — ORGANS.

The voice as an instrument of speech consists of the following parts : —

i. The Lungs. 4. The Pharynx.

1. The Trachea and Bronchi. 5. The Nasal Cavities.

3. The Larynx. 6. The Month.

fig. I. — Lungs, Trachea and Bronchi, and Larynx, i, Thyroid cartilage of larynx; 2, Cricoid cartilage of larynx ; 3, Trachea ; 4, Bronchi and their subdivisions.

I. The Lungs.

The Lungs constitute the bellows of the vocal apparatus. They are two light, spongy masses situated in the upper part of the trunk, and surrounded by a tough double fold called the pleura. This flexible mass is conical in shape pointing upward, with the base resting on the muscular floor of the diaphragm. The right lung is larger than the left and has three distinct lobes, while the left has but two, and has in its anterior a hollow into which is inserted the apex of the heart. The ramifications of the bronchi reach into the extremities of the lungs and lose their identity in the air cells of the soft tissues.

It is the function of the lungs to receive and supply air to sustain life, and for the purposes of speech. The lubricating fluid between the smooth walls of the pleura renders respiration comparatively without friction. The process of respiration will be fully explained below.

II. The Trachea and Bronchi.

The Trachea or wind-pipe consists of a series of some twenty cartilagenous rings which form the great air passage to the lungs. It is located partly in the neck and partly in the chest. These muscular rings and the tissues which connect them are capable of being distended or narrowed, lengthened or shortened, and aid materially in the flexibility and resonance of tone.

About four or five inches from the larynx there is a bifurcation of the trachea ; these branches extend into the lungs, the one to the right the other to the left, and are called Bronchi. These tubes are divided and subdivided like the branches of a tree until they terminate in the minute air cells of the lungs. See Fig. i. The function of the bronchi in voice production is the same as that of the trachea, they give individuality and rcsonatice to tone.