IN MEMORIAL John 3v/ett ION I ORTHOPHONY; OK, TIO CULTIYATION OF THE YOICE IN ELOCUTION. §, jptaraal of (Eenmttanj (Bmtim, ADAPTED TO DR. RUSH'S "PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN VOICE," AND THE SYSTEM OF VOCAL CULTURE INTRODUCED BY ME. JAMES E. MUKDOCH. DESIGNED AS AN INTRODUCTION TO RUSSELL'S "AMERICAN ELOCUTIONIST." COMPILED BY WILLIAM EUSSELL, AUTHOR OP " LESSONS IN ENUNCIATION," ETCl WITH A SUPPLEMENT ON PURITY OF TONE, BY G. J. WEBB, PROP. BOSTON ACADEMY OP MUSIC THIRTY-NINTH EDITION. BOSTON: JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY, Late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co. I 87 I. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by William Russeli, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. Nation deft* TO DR. JAMES RUSH, WHOSE WORK ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN VOICE, BAS RENDERED DEFINITE AND EXACT INSTRUCTION PRACTICABLE III ELOCUTION, THE FOLLOWING MANUAL is RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 54 1 f>!»5 PREFACE. The design of the exercises presented in this manual, is to furnish the groundwork of practical elocution, and whatever explanations are needed for the training of the organs and the cultivation of the voice. — . The system of instruction, adopted in the present volume, is founded on Dr. Rush's treatise, " The Philosophy of the Human Voice," and is designed as a practical synopsis of that work, with the addition of copious examples and exercises, selected for the purpose of facilitating the application of theory to practice. We hope, however, that the use of this manual will induce students and teachers to consult, for them- selves, that invaluable source of instruction, for an ample and complete statement of the theory of vocal culture, in connection with an exact analysis of the vocal functions. Tne manual now offered as an aid to the business of instruction, con- tains, — besides a compendious view of the system of Dr. Rush, — the practical method! of instruction introduced by Mr. James E. Murdoch, and taught by Mr. Francis T. Russell, in that part of elocution which comprises phonation, or the formation of vocal tone, and orthophony % or the training of the vocal organs, on the rudiments of articulation, force, "stress," pitch, and the other elements of "expression," — in- cluding the whole organic discipline of "vocal gymnastics." The exercises imbodied in the following pages, are designed equally for the assistance of two classes of students, — at very different stages of progress in general education, but requiring, alike, the benefit of a thorough-going course of practice in elocution; — young learners, whese habits of utterance are, as yet, forming ; and adults, whose pro- fessional duties involve the exercise of public speaking. To the former, thia man lal will furnish the materials for a progressive cultivation and development of the vocal organs, for the useful purposes of education, and as a graceful accomplishment. To the latter, it affords the means of correcting erroneous habit in the use of the organs of speech, and of acquiring the command of an easy, healthful, and effective mode of managing the voice, in the act of reading or speaking in public. The p'an adopted, in arranging the sul sequent exercises, pre Bents tht various departments of elocution in the following order 1* VI PREFACE. 1 1. The function of breathing, as a preliminary to the use of the voice. — 2. The practice of enunciation, in the act of articulating elementary Bounds and syllables, and of pronouncing words. — 3. The study of the various " qualities " of the voice, as an instrument of sound, and the training of the organs, with reference to the formation of " purity ," ful- ness, vigor, and pliancy of voice. — 4. The study and practice of force, ' stress," "melody," pitch t "slide," "wave" "monotone," and "semi- tone," "time," "quantity" "movement? 1 "rhythm" metre, and pause, — Ti:h a view to organic discipline and the command of the voice, ir. emphasis and " expression," — the appropriate utterance of thought and emotion. To adapt the work to the purposes of practical instruction, and to ren- der it convenient, as a class-book, those parts which are most important to learners, are distinguished by "leaded" lines, and larger type; and these are intended either to be impressed, in substance, on the memory, or to be practised as exercises. The portions of the work which are in smaller type, contain the theory and the explanations requisite for the guidance of the adult student and the teacher. The sentential or grammatical department of elocution, — that which concerns the modifications of voice, for the purposes of strictly intellec- tual communication, the adapting of the voice to the structure of sen- tences in prose, and stanzas in poetry, — involves a more extensive study of "slides," (inflections,) emphasis, and pausing, together with pro- sodial elocution, or the regulation of the voice in the reading of verse. The full discussion and practice of these branches, are reserved for a separate course of study, as prescribed in the "American Elocution- ist," to which the present manual is intended as an introduction. In that volume will also be found an extended course of practice in articu- lation and in pronunciation, with remarks on the character of cadence ; and, in addition to the vocal part ot elocution, an outline of the princi- ples of gesture, and a collection ot pieces for practice in reading anc declamation. The stereotype process, adopted in this new edition of the present vv:;Ac, enables the publishers to offer it in a more compact shape, with- out diminishing the actual extent of the matter ; while the '\ew arrange- ment of the chapters, and the addition of the Tables of Orthophcny, wi.., it is thought, render the volume more useful as a. manual for scLools and academies. 1 The arrangement adopted in this improved edition of the Orthophony, Is intended to fa ilitate the business of instruction, by presenting more promi- nently ihose parts of elocution which are most important in practice. The chapter on the structure and actior. of the vocal organs, has been transferred, therefore, to the appendix. But adult students may derive advantage from perusing it, before comm mcing the practice of the various exercises. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. ORTHOPHONY OR THE SYSTEMATIC CULTIVATION OF THE VOICE. The term orthophony is used to designate the art of cultivating the voice, for the purposes of speech, reading, declamation, recitation, or singing. This art, like all others, is fuunded on certain principles, the knowledge of which constitutes science. The principles of orthophony, are derived from the sciences of anatomy and phys- iology, as regards the structure and action of the vocal organs, from the science of acoustics, as regards the formation of sound, in gen eral. and from the science and art of music, as regards the regu laiion of vocal sound, in particular. Orthophony is, to elocution, what solfeggi, and other rudimental exercises, are to music, — a course of elementary discipline, for the systematic cultivation of the voice. We may, it is true, read well, just as we may sing well, " by ear," or the teaching of nature, merely. But cultivation gives us, in both these uses of the voice, the immense advantages of knowledge, science, and skill. Furnished with these aids, and directed by discerning judgment and good taste, the cultivated reader or speaker has all the advantages of the culti- vated singer, as regards the true and effective use of his organs. The preparatory training and discipline of the voice, for the pur- poses Df reading, recitation, and declamation, are of incs.lculable value, whether as regards the organic results connected with the 1 The terms phonation, (the act of producing vocal sound,) and pho7ic,ogy i (tie science of voice,) are in current use among physiologists. But the sys- tematic cultivation of the vocal organs, on the elements of expressive utter- ance, is a branch of education for which our own language furnishes inappro- priate designation. The compiler of this manual has ventured to adopt, as a term convenient for this purpose, the word orthophony, — a modification of the corr?sponriing French word, " orthophonies 1 used to design:. n the art of training the vocal organs. The etymology of this term, when traced to tha original Greek words, — signilying correct and voice, — sanctions its use iu elocution, on the same g::'md with that of " orthoepy," in grammar. 8 IN1R0DUCTI0N. easy, vigorous, and salutary exertion of the voice, or the healthy ex pansion of the chest, and the inspiring glow of vivid emotion, which is indispensable to effective expression. Dr. Rush's exact and scien- tific analysis of elocution, in its connection with the action of the organs of voice, enables the teacher to carry elementary cultivation to an extent previously unattainable, and, even yet, too little known by those who have not paid special attention to the subject. The actual benefits, however, arising from the practical applications of Dr. Rush's system, are equally felt in the exactness of intelligence, which it imparts, regarding all the expressive uses of the voice, and the force, freedom, and brilliancy of effect, which it gives to the action of the vocal organs, whether in the utterance of expressive emotion, or of distinctive meaning addressed to the understanding, by the process of unimpassioned articulation. The methods of practical training, founded on the theory and the suggestions of Dr. Rush, are attended by a permanent salutary influ- ence of the highest value. They produce a free and powerful exer- tion of the organs of respiration, a buoyancy of animal life, an exhil- aration of spirits, and an energetic activity of the whole corporeal frame, — all highly conducive to the well-being of the juvenile pupil, not less than to his attainment of a spirited, effective, and graceful elocution. The correspondent benefits conferred on adults, by a vig- orous course of vocal gymnastics, are of perhaps still higher moment, for the immediate purposes of life and usefulness. The sedentary habits of students and professional men, render them liable not only to organic disability of utterance, and to injury of the lungs, but to numerous faults of habit, in their modes of exerting the organs of speech, — faults which impair or counteract the intended effect of all their efforts in the form of public reading or speaking. The daily practice of vocal exercises, is the only effectual means of invigorating ihe organic system, or correcting faults of habit in utterance, and the surest means, at the same time, of fortifying the inward frame against tie exhausting effects of professional exertion, when either pursued too long in succession, or practised at too distant intervals, — both serious evils, and nearly equal in the amount of injury which they occasion. The compiler of the present work, could enumerate' many cases in which, voice and health, equally impaired, have been restored in a few months, or even weeks, of vocal training, — and still more in which new and brilliant powers of expression, have been elicited in individuals who have commenced practice with little hope of success, INTRODUCTION. U and with little previous ground for such hope , — confirmed wrong habits of utterance, debilitated organs, and sinking health having all united their depressing and nearly ruinous influence on the whole man. 1 It will be perceived, by referring to the subjoined expressions of opinion, that, in pressing this subject on general attention, there is ample professional authority for the expectation of invaluable benefits, as the result of the systematic vocal training recommended in this volume. Opinions of Gentlemen of the Medical Profession, regarding Mr, Mur- doch's System for the Cultivation of the Voice. "Boston, July 29, 1842. "I have carefully examined Mr. Murdoch's system of Vocal Gymnas- tics. It is based upon an accurate knowledge of the anatomy and phys- iology of the larynx, or organ of the voice. All the details of the sys- tem seem to me to be practical, ingenious, interesting, and in accurate conformity to scientific principles. Its obvious utility in developing the functions of the human larynx, and giving flexibility, beauty, facility, and permanent power to the voice ; and its eminent effect both in the prevention and cure of the diseases to which public speakers are liable ; give it a strong claim upon the attention of the Teachers in our Schoob and Colleges, our Youth, and all whose duties demand a frequent o- great use of the voice. Edward Reynolds, Jr. ,, " We fully concur with Dr. Reynolds in the opinions above expressed Geo. Hayward, D. Humphreys Storer." "July 30, 1842. " The exercise of Vocal Gymnastics, as recommended by James E Murdoch, being founded on a correct knowledge of the anatomy end physiology of the vocal apparatus, cannot fail, if properly practised, under his direction, to develop and strengthen the voice. Tersons of 1 Mr. Murdoch, — whose system of orthophony is imbodied in this volume — seemed, at one time, while pursuing a profession in which the most intense exertion of the vocal organs is perpetually required, destined to sink under the effects of over-exertion ; but, having seasonably turned his attention to the systematic practice of vocal gymnastics, he recovered his tone of health, and gained, to such an extent, in power and depth of voice, as to add to his pre- vious range in the latter, a full octave, within the space of some months. On devoting himself to the daily occupation of conducting classes in the practica of regulated vocal exercise, the result continued to be a constant accession of vocal power and compass ; and on returning to the practice of his early pro- fession, in which he is now so distinguished, his utterance was at onca •emarked for its round, deep, rich, and lull tone. 10 INTRODUCTION, delicate constitutions and feeble voices, will receive great benefit from the practice of his system; as it is well calculated to give a healthy action to the vocal and pulmonary organs j and, in this particular, K is well worthy the attention of parents "Winslow Lewis, Jr." "I have had the pleasure of a long interview with Mr. J. E. Mur doch, in which he illustrated his principles of managing and giving strength to the voice; and I am very happy to say, that I can fully concur with Dr. Lewis in his statement of Mr. M/s system of Voca Gymnastics. W. Ciianxing." We smile at the enumeration of the formal apparatus of Athenian rhetorical education, which, in addition to its long and classified array of grammarians and rhetoricians, furnished, it is said, ./be gradations of schools for different species of muscular exercise, and three distinct classes of instructors for the voice : one, to superintend practice in fitch; another, to conduct the exercises in force; and a third, to reg- ulate vocal melody and inflections. Modern taste forbids this fastidi- ous multiplicity and minuteness of appliances ; but it makes, as yet, no adequate provision for the acquiring of that moral and intellectual power, and that expressive force, which result from the blending of a high-toned physical and mental training. The customary routine of academic declamation, consists in permitting or compelling a stu- dent to " speak, " and pointing out his faults, after they have been committed. But it offers no genial inducement to the exercise, and provides no preventive training by which faults might be avoided. Eloquence, in his habits of voice and action, a student may bring with him to our literary institutions ; but he will find little opportu- nity, there, of acquiring or of perfecting such accomplishments, till a correct and graceful elocution is duly recognized as a part of Ijheial education. CONTENTS Preface, . Introduction, Page o 7 Chapter. I. Inspiration, . 13 Exercises in Breathing, . 14 First Table of Orthophony, 16 Second, . . . .17 CnAPTER TT. Orthoepy, . 18 Tonic Elements, . . 19 bubionic "... 22 Atonic " . . . 23 Vowels and Diphthongs, . 24 Consonants, . . . 26 Labial Sounds, . . 20 Dental « . . ,27 Palatic " . . .28 Aspirated Element, . • 28 Nasal Sounds, ... 28 Lingual, « . . .29 Exercises in Enunciation, . 30 Words containing " tonic " elements, ... 30 "Words containing "subtonic" elements, ... 34 Words containing "atonic" elements, ... 37 Words containing syllabic combinations, . . 37 Words containing classified elements, ... 40 Chapter III. "Quality" of Voice, .... 44 Whispering, ... 45 "Pure" Tone, . . . 48 Faults in " Quality," . 49 Examples of " Pure tone," 53 "Subdued" Force, . 53 "Moderate" " . 54 " Sustained " Force, . 61 j " Orotund Quality," *& "Effusive Orotund/ 64 "Expulsive" " . 68 "Explosive" " . . 70 "Aspirated Quality," 73 Chapter IV. Force, . 75 Degrees of Force, 77 Chapter V. " Strfss," 78 " Radical Stress," . 79 " Median " " 84 "Vanishing" " . 91 "'Compound" " • 96 "Thorough" " . . 98 " Tremor," > 100 Analytic Exercises on " Stress," . . 103 Chapter VI. " Melody," , 105 Pitch, . 106 "Middle" Pitch, , 107 "Low" " 113 "Very Low" " . , 115 "High" " . . 117 "Very High" " . 120 "Transition" in Pitch, 122 "Phrases" of "Sentential Melodv," . , 126 The " Slide," 130 The "Slide" of Emotion 133 The "Distinctive Slide," 136 The "Mechanical" " 13S Chapter VIT. Time, . , 141 " Quantity," . 141 Exercises in "Quantity ," 144 Pauses, . 152 Poetic and Oratoric a« Pauses, «S4 Xll CONTENTS. Pace Rhetorical Pauses, . 157 Movement," . . . 162 Examples of "Slowest Movemeit," . . 164 Examples of "Slov Movement/ . . 165 Examples of "Moderate Movement." . . 167 Examples of "Animated Movement," . . 169 Examples of "Brisk Movement," . . 171 Examples of "Rapid Movement," . . 173 Accent, . . . .174 " Syllabic " Accent, . 174 "Rhythmical" " . . 176 Examples of "Rhythmi- cal " Accent, . . 179 Prosodial Accent, . . 183 "Iambic" Metre, . 184 "Trochaic" " . 186 "Anapaestic"" . 186 "Rhythmical" and Pro- sodial Accent com- bined, . . .187 Chapter VTII. Emphasis and " Expression." . . 190 Impassioned Emphasis, . 190 Unim passioned " . 191 Examples, . . .193 "Arbitrary" Emphasis, 196 "Expression,". . . 200 Third Table of Orthophony', Elements of "Expression, "202 Fourth Table of Orthophony, Combinations of "Ex- pression," . . . 204 Fifth Table of Orthophony, Metre, .... 205 APPENDIX, 206 Enjrived Illustrations of the Vocal Organs, . 206 Fags Description of the Organs of Voice, . • .211 Additional Breathing Exer cises . . . 218 Analysis of "Slides," . 219 Scale of " Slides," . 220 The "Wave," . . 221 The "Monotone," . . 225 The " Semitone," . . 2c 1 Cultivation of " Pure Tone," 233 Extracts for Practice, . 24* Exercises in "Pure Tone," 242 Exercises in "'Orotund" Ut- terance, . . . 253 Exercises in " Aspirated Quality," . . . 262 Exercises in Force, . . 267 Miscellaneous Exercises, . 277 I. A Sea- voyage. Irving, 277 IT. Death of Morris. Scott. 280 III. The Planetary Systems. Ilervey. . . .282 IV. Chatham's Rebuke of Lord Suffolk. . 283 V. Speech of Patrick Henry .284 VI. The Ocean. Byron. . 285 VII. Battle of Waterloo. By- ron. . . .286 VIII. Satan Rallying the Fall- en Angels. Milton. 287 IX. Hymn to Mont Blanc. Coleridge. . . 289 X. Ode on thePassions. Col- lins. . . .291 XL The Uses of Knowledge. Alison. . . .293 XII. Scene of Scottish Life. Wilson. . . 291 XIII. Eloquence of John Ad- ams. Webster. . 299 XIV. Heroism of the Pilg ^ms. E. Everett. . . 299 CHAPTER T. RESPIRATION, OR EXERCISES IN BREATHING. 1 The organs of voice, in common with all other parts of the bodily frame, require the vigor and pliancy of muscle, and the elasticity and animation of nerve, which result from good health, in order to per- form their appropriate functions with energy and effect. But these indispensable conditions to the exercise of the vocal organs, are, in the case of most learners, very imperfectly supplied. A sedentary mode of life, the want of invigorating exercise, close and long con- tinued application of mind, and, perhaps, an impaired state of health, or a feeble constitution, prevent, in many instances, the free and forcible use of those muscles on which voice is dependent. Hence arises, to students of elocution, the necessity of practising physical exercises, adapted to promote general muscular vigor, as a means of attaining energy in vocal functions; the power of any class of muscles, being dependent on the tone of the whole system. The art of cultivating the voice, however, has, in addition to the various forms of corporeal exercise, practised for the general purpose of promoting health, its own specific prescriptions for securing the vigor of the vocal organs, and modes of exercise adapted to the train- ing of each class of organs separately. The results of such practice are of indefinite extent : they are lim- ited only by the energy and perseverance of the student, excepting, perhaps, in some instances of imperfect organization. A few weeks ef diligent cultivation, are usually sufficient to produce such an effect en the vocal organs, that persons who commence practice, with a feeble and ineffective utterance, attain, in that short period, the full command of clear, forcible, and varied tone. Gymnastic and calisthenic exercises are invaluable aids to the culture and development of the voice, and should be sedulously practised, when opportunity renders them accessible. But even a slight degree of physical exercise, in any form adapted to the expansion of the chest, and to the freedom and force of the circulation, will serve to impart energy and glow to the muscular apparatus of voice, and clearness to its sound. 'Flicre is, therefore, a great advantage in always pjactising some preliminary muscular actions, as an immediate preparation fur vocal exercise. These actions may be selected from the system of prepar- tory movements, taught at gymnastic establishments ; or they may oe made to consist in regulated walking, with a view to the acqrisi- ^ora description of the vocal organs, see Appendix 2 14 ORTHOFHONY tion of a firm, easy, and graceful carriage of the body, with appro- priate motion of the arms and limbs, — in the systematic practice of gesture, in its various forms, for the purpose of obtaining a free, forc- ible, and effective use of the srm, as a natural accompaniment to speech, — or in the practice of attitude and action combined, in the most vivid style of lyric and dramatic recitation, so as to attain a per- fect control over the whole corporeal frame, for the purposes of visible expression. Some preliminary exercises, such as the preceding, having been performed, and a sufficient period for rest and tranquil breathing bavn.f elapsed, the next stage of preparatory action may be as in the fcJlovinj directions : 1. Attitude of the Body, and Position of the Or gam. Place yourself in a perfectly erect, but easy posture ; the weight ot Oie body resting on one foot ; the feet at a moderate distance, the one in advance of the other; 1 the arms akimbo: the fingers passing on the abdominal muscles, in front, and Ine thumbs on ihe dorsal muscles, on each side of the spine ; the chest freely expanded and fully projected ; the shoulders CteiiJ backward and downward ; the head perfectly veitical. 2. Exercises in Deep Breathing, Having thus complied with the preliminary conditions of a free and unembarrassed action of the organs, draw in and give out the breath very fully, and very slowly, about a dozen \imes in succession. Let the breathing be deep and tranquil, Dut such as to cause the chest to rise fully, and fall freely, at every effort. 3. Exercise in " Effusive" or tranquil Breathing. Draw in a very full breath, and send it forth in a prolonged sound of the letter h. In the act of inspiration, take in as much breath as you can contain. In that of expiration, retain sill you can, and give out as little as possible, — merely suffi- cient to keep the sound of h audible. But keep it going on, is long as you can sustain it. In this style of respiraticn, the breath merely effuse* itself into the surrounding air. The object in view, in this apparently minute direction, is, to secure lounging posture, ia voice, or the produc- A lie uujcvi in i n. w i in kin.-? cij'j'iii k.u ii y iiuiiuiv uir perfect freedom and repose of body. A constrained or a lounging posture, ia utterly at variance with a free, unembarrassed use of the tion of a clear and full sound. RESPIRATION. 15 4. Exercise in "Expulsive" or forcible Breathing. Draw in a very full breath, as before, and emit it, with a lively expulsive force, in the sound of h, but little prolonged — in the style of a moderate whispered cough. The breath, m this style of expiration, is projected into the air. Eepeat this exercise, as directed, in the statement preceding. 5. Exercise in "Explosive" or abrupt Breathing. Draw in the breath, as already directed, and emit it with a sudden and violent explosion, in a very brief sound of the let- ter h, — in the style of an abrupt and forcible, but whispered cough. The breath is, in this mode of expiration, thrown out with abrupt violence. Eepeat this exercise, as before directed. Note to Adult Students and Teachers. The habit of keeping the chest open and erect, is indispensable to the pro- duction of a full, round tone of voice. Hut it is of still higher value, as one of the main sources of health, animation, and activity. Theellect,on the student, of the preceding exercises inbreathing, is usually soon perceptible in an obvious enlargement of the chest, an habitually erect attitude, an enlivened style of movement, a great accession of general bodily vigor, an exhilarated state of feeling, and an augmented activity of mind. To persons whose habits are studious and sedentary, and especially to females, the vigorois exercise of tiiewrgans of respiration and of voice, is, in every point of view, an invaluable discipline. 16 ORTHOPHONY. FIRST TABLE OP ORTHOPHONY. ORTHOEPY. ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, Classified by the Ear, as Sounds. I. Tonic, 1 or Vocal and Diphthongal Elements. Simple, — having one unchanging sound. The element of sound, in every instance, is indicated by italic type, and should be repeated, by itself, after the pronunciation of the whole word, in a full, clear, exact, and distinct style. 1, -4-11; 2, A-xm; 3, A-n; 4, E-ve; 5, Oo-ze, (long;) L-oo-k, (short;) 2 6, £-rr; 3 7, £-nd; 8, I-n; 9, Ai-x;* 10, LT-p; 11, O-r; 5 12, O-n. 6 Compound, — beginning ivith one sound and ending in another. 13, A-le; 14, J-ce; 15, O-ld; 16, Oti-x; 17, Oi-1; 18, LT-se, (verb, long ;) U-se, (noun, short.) II. SUBTONIC, 7 SUEVOCAL, OR SEMIVOWEL 8 ELEMENTS. Simple. — I, L-u-ZZ; 2, M-ai-m; 3, N~\i-n; 4, 22-ap, (/zari but not rolled;) 5, Fa-?*, (sq/^, not«Ze?*£;) 6, Si-n^; 7,B-a-be; 8, D-wZ; 9, G-a-^; 10, F-al-sc; 11, Z-one; 12,A-2-ure; 13, F-e; 14, W-oe; 15, TIf-en. Compound. •— 16, J-oy. III. Atonic, 9 Aspirate, 10 or Mute 11 Elements. Simple.— 1, P-i-pe; 2, T-en-t; 3, C-a-£e; 4, F-i-/e; 5, C-ea-.se; 6, H-e ; 7, TA-in; 8, Fa-sh. Compound. — 9, Ck-ur-ch. 1 So called from their comparatively musical sound, and susceptibility of tone. Seepages 19, 20. 2 The same In quality, but not in quantity, with the preceding. 3 Middle sound, between ur and air. < Middle sound, between a-le and e-nd. 5 A sound closer than that of a in a-11. 6 Closer than o in o-r. 7 So called from their inferiority in tone, when contrasted witli tonics. 8 So called from their partial vocalily, when contrasted with atonies Of mutes. 9 So called from their want of tone. 10 Formed by a process of breathing. 11 Deficient in sound ORTHOEPY. 17 8EC0SD TABLE OF ORTHOPHONY ORTHOEPY. ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, Classified according to the action of the Organs of Speech in Articulation. I. Oral and Laryngial Sounds. [Formed by Llie mouth and larynx.] In practising the sounds, the mouth should be freely opened, and fim; held in the position proper for the formation of each sound, and every position carefully observed. 1, ^4-11 ; 2, A-xm ; 3, A-n ; 4, E-ve ; 5, Oo-ze, L-oo-k ; 6, E-rr ; 7, £-nd ; 8, jf-n ; 9, Ai-r ; 10, Z7-p ; 11, O-r ; 12, O-n ; 13, ai-le"; 14, Lee; 15, O-ld; 16, Ou-v; 17, Oi-1; 18, U-se, (verb, long ;) U-se, (noun, short.) II. Labial, or Lip Sounds. ] , 2>-a-£e ; 2, P-i-^e ; 3, ilf-ai-m ; 4, PF-oe ; 5, F-al-t?e , 6 ; E-i-/e. III. Palatic, or Palate Sounds. 1, C-*-ke; 2, G-z-g; 3, Y-e. IV. Aspirate, or Breathing Sounh H-e. V. Nasal, or Nostril Sounds. 1, N-u-n; 2, Si-ng. VI. Lingual, or Tongue Sounds I, L-u-ZZ; ?, jK-ap; 3, Fa-r. Syllabic Combinations, To be practised with great force, precision, and distinctness I. Initial Syllables. Bl cl, Jl, gl, pi, spl ; Br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, spr, tr, str* shr Sm, sn, sp, sk, st. II. Final Syllables. Ld, If, Ik, hn, Ip, Ise, Is, (lz,) It, he ; vVd, nd, nee, ns, ("uz,) nk, (ngk,) nt ; rb, rd, rk, rm, rn, rse, rs, (rz,) rt, rve ; rh d rk\l, rvid, rrtd, rs'd, rv*d; sm, (zvi,) s'n, (zn,) sp, st ; ks, ct k\l, (kt,) f'd, (ft,) p'd, (pt ;) d'n, k'n, p'n, v'n ; ble, (bl,) fle (fi,) gle, (gl,) pie, (pi,) die, (dl,) tie, (tl,) rl ; 1st, nst, rst, dst rdst rnulst, rndst ; bVd, pVd, rVd ; ngs, ngst, ng'dj bles (biz,) clcs, (elz,) fles, (fiz,) gles, (glz ;) s??is (z?nz,) s'us (znz,) sps, sts ; sties, (slz,) stens, (snz.) 2* 18 ORTHOPHONY CHAPTER II. ORTHOEPY. The term orthoepy 1 comprehends all that pait of elocution which pertains to the organic functions of articulation, and its audible result, which ve term enunciation. It will be a matter of convenience, st the same time, to take into view the subject of pronunciation, or, in other words, enunciation as modified by the rules of sound and accent which are drawn from the usage of a particular language. To 'pro- nounce a word properly, implies that we enunciate correctly all its syllables, and articulate distinctly the sounds of its letters. We commence with the study ol articulation, as a function of the smaller organs of voice, including the larynx and the circumjacent parts, the mouth and its various portions and appurtenances. Our preceding observations applied to the use of the larger organs, — the cavity and muscles of the chest, &c, and referred to the act of respira- tion, preparatory to the production of vocal sound, whether in speech or in music. We are now occupied with the functions of speech. Propriety of pronunciation is justly regarded as an inseparable result of cultivation and taste. We recognize an educated person by his mode of pronouncing words ; and we detect slovenliness in mental habit, or the absence of culture, with no less certainty, in the same way. Whatever thus holds true of pronunciation, — a thing subject to the law of prevailing good custom, merely, and liable, therefore, to various interpretations in detail, — is still more emphatically appli- cable to distinct enunciation, the unfailing characteristic of correct intellectual habits, and the only means of exact and intelligible com- munication by speech. But a distinct enunciation is wholly dependent on the action of the organs, — on their positions and their movements, — on the force and precision of their execution. The breath having been converted into sound by the use of the component portions of the larynx, passes on to be modified or articulated into definite forms by the various por- tions of the mouth, and by the action of the tongue. A person of perfect organization and in perfect health, — in an undisturbed condition of feeling, and, consequently, with a clear state of thought, — utters his ideas distinctly and impressively, without special study. But defective organization, neglected habit, false tendencies of feeling, and confused conceptions, are so prevalent, that very few individuals in a community, can be selected as naturally perfect in the function of articulation., With most persons, and especially 111 youth, the negligence of unguarded habit impairs the distinctness and clearness of oral expression. The comparatively inactive life of the student, subjects him, usually, to imperfection in this, as in most other active uses of the organic frame ; and every individual, — whatever be his advantages, as such, — needs a tho- 1 A term derived from the Greek language, and compounded of two wordf signifying correct speech. ORTHOEPY. 19 l .^h organic training, before he can pass successfully to the com- paratively forcible and exact mode of using the organs, which distin- guishes public reading and speaking from private communication. The latter occupies but little space, and needs but a slight effort of attention or of will, to effect it : the former implies large space, and correspondent voluntary exertion of the organs, with the due precision which stamps, at once, every sound distinctly on the ear, and renders unnecessary any repetition of an imperfectly understood word or phrase, — a thing allowable in conversation, but impracticable in public speaking. The functions of the organs in articulation, must obvir,;sly be determined by the character of the sound which, in any case> is to be executed. We shall find advantage, therefore, in first considering the character of the component elementary sounds of our language, as a guide to the mode of exerting the organs in producing them. Dr. Rush, in his Philosophy of the Voice, has adopted an arrange- ment of the elementary sounds of our language, which differs from that of grammarians, and is founded on a more strict regard to the vocal properties of each element, — a classification which is more convenient for the purposes of elocution, as well as more exact in lelation to the facts of speech. Dr. Rush's arrangement we shall follow in this branch of our subject ; as it is best adapted to the pur- poses of instruction. On a very few points of detail, however, we shall take the liberty to vary from Dr. Rush's system, where precision and accuracy of in- struction seem to require such variation. Dr. Rush's mode of classifying the elementary sounds of our lan- guage, presents, first, those which he has denominated u 2bfUC H elements, as possessing the largest capacity for prolongation of sound, and other modifications of tone. The following are the ' TONIC I. Simple Sounds. 1. A, 2. A 3. A 4. E, 5. 00, OO, 1 6. E, 7. E, a j, as in -4-11. as in A-rm. . as in A-n. as in JE-ve. as in Oo-ze. as in L-oo-k. as in E-rv. as in .E-nd. as in 7-n. ELEMENTS. 9. JUi 10. 11. 12. O, as in Ai-r. as in U"-p. as in O-r. as in O-n. II. Compound Sounds. 13. A, 14. I, 15. O, 16. Ou as in A-\e. as in 7-ce. as in O-ld. as in Ou'X The following elements of the same class, are omitted by Or, Rush. But they seem to be indispensable in teaching, which l A shorter quantity, but the sane in quality, wi'.h oo in ooze. 20 ORTHOPHONY. requires exact and close discriminations, in order to obtain accuracy in practice. 17 Oi 9 as in Oi-l. 18. U, as in Z7-se, sounding long in the verb, short in the noun. [The student's attention should be directed to the following obser- vations, previous to practising the preceding sounds.] The a, in such words as ale, Dr. Rush has very justly represented as consisting of two elements : — 1. The " radical," or initial sound with which the name of the letter a commences ; and 2. The deli cate " vanish," or fina* sound, with which, in full pronunciation, and in singing, it closes, — bordering on e, as in eve, — but barely per- ceptible to the ear. This element obviously diners, in this respect, from the acute e of the French language, which begins and ends with precisely the same form of sound, and position of the organs of speech ; while the English a, as in ale, requires a slight upward movement of the tongue, to close it with propriety ; and hence its " vanish," approaches to the sound of e. The i of ice, in like manner, will, on attentive analysis, be found to consist of two simple elements : — 1st, a, as in at ; 2d, i, as in in. Walker, in his system of orthoepy, defines this element as commenc- ing with' the a in father. But such breadth of sound, is, in our own day, justly regarded as the mark of a drawling and rustic pronun- ciation, while good taste always shrinks from the too flat sound, which this element receives in the style of dialectic error in Scotland and of due weight." 1 The precision and force of the " radical " portion of a sound, are gained by deep inspiration, and a preliminary rallying, or gathering of impulse on the organs, — somewhat as we brace the muscles before the exercise of jumping or diving, — and then causing an instantane- ous explosion of the accumulated and compacted breath, in the form of clear, cutting sound. In practising the following elements, this explosive, radical movement should be carried up from the slightest style of a suppressed cough to the most violent exertion, or the loudest style of coughing. The preliminary practice of a repeated actual cough is the best preparatory discipline for the species of organic action which constitutes the " radical " portion of any articu late sound. VOCAL AND DIPHTHONGAL ELEMENTS, corresponding to the " tonics " of Dr. Rush, and executed principally by the action of the larynx, with the mouth more or less open. I. Simple Sounds. 1. A-\l; 2. A-im; 3. A.~tl ; 4. £-ve; 5. OO-ze ; «< L-oo-k ; 6 E-ir; 7. £-nd; 8. I-n; 9. Ai-r; 10. ET-pj 11. 12. O-r; O-n. II. Compound Sounds. 13. A-\e ; (original element and 4.) 14. I-ce ; (3. and 4.) 15. O-ld; (original element and 5.) 16. Ou-r; (10. and 5.) 17. Oi-\; (12. and 8.) 18. U"-se ; (4. and 5.) 1 Austin's Chironomia, pp. 38, 39. 26 ORTHOPHONY. CONSONANTAL ELEMENTS, corresponding to the " subtonic " and " atonic " sounds in the c assi fication of Dr. Rash. I. Labial Sounds. These are, — in consonance with their designation t ^- formed by iho action of the lips. They may be enumerated as fallows : 1. B-dL-be ; 2. P-i-pe; 3. M-ai-m; 4. W-oe ; 5. 'V-al-ve; 6. F-i-fe. The " subtonic," b, is formed by a firm compression of the lips, which arrests the escape of the breath, and causes, by this occlusion of the mouth, a murmuring resonance of the voice in the cavity of the chest, and in the interior of the head and mouth. Th3 pressure of the lips, in the formation of this sound, is increased to a maximum, or chief point, at which the lips are suddenly opened, and a slight explosive effect produced, which consummates the character of the sound, and causes a " vocule," or slight and obscure vowe* lound, resembling e, in err, to follow the effort of the organs. The " atonic," p, is produced by an intense compression of the lips, which prevents the possibility of any audible sound, till the forci- ble " aspirated," or whispering, explosion, following the maximum of the pressure, is heard, accompanied by the same " vocule " which attends the sound of b, but, in p, is only an aspiration, or w T hisper. The precision of those two elements jf speech, is dependent, wholly, on the full force of the labial compression, and the intensity of the following explosion, by which they <*re produced. In impas- sioned utterance, the force of the organic action, in the articulation of these sounds, must be carried to the utmost degree, and executed with instantaneous precision, and the most vivid effect. The " subtonic," m, is articulated by a very gentle compression of the lips, attended by a murmur in the head and chest, resembling somewhat^ that wh. ; ch forms tiie character of the " subtonic " b, but differing from it in the sound being 1 SLecompanied by a free, steady, equable "expiration" through the nostrils. In extremely empas- sioned utterance, this gentle element is made to assume the character of intensity, by increasing the force of the labial compression to a maximum, and exploding the sound in a manner similar to that of f. This element is not followed, as b or p, by a " vocule ;" its own distinctive character of sound, throughout, being very nearly of the " tonic," or purely vocal, nature. The " subtonic " element, w, as in woe, is formed by rounding the Jps, as in articulating 00, in 0020, but slightly compressing them, and holding them closer to the teeth : a brief vocal murmur is formed by 1 This and the following element, being formed by means both of the lower up and the upper teeth, are, on this account, sometimes called " labia dentals " ARTICULATION. 27 ine breath, — as modified by the larynx, — escaping through this par- tial opening of the lips, and, at the same time, in»a very slight degree, through the nostrils. This sound has not, from its nature, much independent energy ; neither does it admit of prolongation. But it becomes forcible and impassioned, to some extent, by increasing the pressure of the lips, and exploding the sound, somewhat in the man- ner of m and b, when rendered intense. The " subtonic," v, is articulated by the sound of the voice being modified by bringing the upper fore-teeth close upon the ridge of the under lip, and, at the same time, slightly raising the upper lip, so as to prevent its interfering with the contact of the upper fore-teeth and the lower lip. A murmuring resonance, bordering on aspiration, is thus produced in the head and chest, by the partial escape of breath between the teeth and the lip. This element, — as mentioned before, — has, on this account, been sometimes denominated " labio-dental," — from its dependence on both these organs. The " atonic/' f, is executed as v, with the difference, only, arising from a closer compression of the teeth and the lip, a more forcible expulsion of the breath, and an aspirated or whispering char- acter, in the sound. This element, also, is sometimes denominated " labio-dental," being formed as the preceding. II. "Dental" Sounds. These are all modified, — as their name imports, — by the aid of the teeth. But, like many other articulate sounds, they are founded on, and imply, an action of the tongue ; although this circumstance is not indicated in the designation of such elements. I. D-i-d; 5. A-z-ure ; 2. T-en-t; 6. Fu-sk; 3. TA-in; 7. C-ea-se ; 4. TH-ine; 8. Z-one ; Compound of 1. and 5. Compound of 2, and 6 9. J-oy ; 10. Ch-m-ch. The " subtonic," d is articulated oy a partial vocal murmur, modi- fied by pressing the tip of the tongue, with great energy, against the interior ridge of gum, immediately over the upper fore-teeth. This pressure is but an instantaneous effort ; yet it evidently comes to a maximum, just before the explosion from which it takes its peculiar character, is executed. This explosion necessarily produces the " vocule," c, as in err The " atonic " t, is executed in a similar manner, excepting the absence of vocal murmur, an intense percussive pressure of the tongue, and an aspirated explosion, which takes place in the act c.f withdrawing the tongue from the gum. The " atonic," th, as in thin, is executed by a forcible " aspira- tion," modified by a slight horizontal parting of the lips, and a foici- ble pressure of the end of the tongue against the upper fore- teeth. 28 ORTHOPHONY, The " si.btonic," TH, as in thine, is executed by a similar position of the organs, but a vocalized emission of the breath, forming a gentle resonance. The " subtonic," z, as in azure, is formed by a partially vocal sound, modified by gently raising the whole fore-part of the tongue towards the roof of the mouth, and allowing the breath to escape, between it and the teeth. The " atonic," sh, is formed in a similar manner, as regards the position of the organs, but with more pressure, and by means of * aspiration," not " vocality," in the emission of the breath. The " atonic " sound of s, or the soft sound of c, as in the word cease, is articulated by pressing, with intense force, the tip of the tongue against the interior gum, immediately over the fore-teeth. Through the extremely small aperture thus formed, aided by the horizontal parting of the lips, and the cutting effect of the edges of the teeth, the sibilation, or hiss, is formed, which gives the peculiar character of this element. The " subtonic," z, as in zone, is formed by nearly the same posi- tion of the organs, as the preceding element, but with very slight pressure, and by means of" vocalized," not " aspirated," sound. III. "Palatic" Sounds. These are so termed from their depending on the palate, for their distinctive character. They are enumerated as follows : 1. C, "hard." and K, as in C-a-£e ; 2. G, as in G-a-g ; 3. Y, as in Y-e. The " atonic," c, " hard," or k, is executed by opening the mouth retracting, and curving the tongue with great force, and exploding an aspiration against the palate. The " subtonic," g, as in gag, is formed by similar movements and positions of the organs, but less forcible, and by means of " vo- cality," instead of" aspiration." The " subtonic," y, is articulated by a similar process, still less forcible, and by means of" expulsion," not " explosion," as regards the character of the function and the sound. IV. "Aspirated" Element, H, as in H-e. This sound is formed by a forcible emission of the breath, in tho style of a whisper, and a moderate opening of al) the organs f>f speech. V. "Nasal" Sounds. 1. JV, as in N-\i-n; 2. Ng, as in Si-rag-; or N, as in J-ra-k. The " subtonic,' ' n, is articulated by a vocalized breathing through the nose ; the lips parted freely ; and the end of the tongue pressing vigorously against the interior ridge of gum, immediately above the uppei fore-teeth. ARTICULATION. 29 The ' subtonic," ng, is formed by a vocalized breathing directed against the nasal passage and the back part of the veil of the palate, and by a retracted and elevated position of the lower part of the tongue, which partly shuts the nasal passage, and causes it, at the same moment, to become resonant. VI. "Lingual" Sounds, These elements are so called from their special dependence on the action of the tongue. They are the following : 1. X, as in L-u-ll; 2. jK, as in E-ap ; 3. R, as in Fa-r. These are all " subtonic " elements. The first is formed by a moderate opening of the mouth, and the utterance of a vocalized sound, modified by raising the tongue towards the roof of the mouth, and pressing the end of it, very gently, against the interior ridge of gum, immediately above the upper fore-teeth. The " subtonic," r, as in rap, is an element formed by vivid and energetic vibration of the tip of the tongue, against the interior ridge of gum, immediately over the upper fore-teeth, forming a partially vocalized sound, clear and forcible, but very brief. It should never extend to a prolonged trill, or roll. This element is sometimes designated as " initial" r, from its occurring at or near the begin- ning of words and syllables ; and sometimes " hard," or " rough," r, from its comparative force, as contrasted with r at the end of a word, which is always soft in sound. This element follows but never precedes a consonant ; thus, Pray, brass, crape, green, dread, tread, scream, spread, &c. The " subtonic," r, as irvfar, is a softer sound, of longer duration, modified by a slight and gentle vibration of the whole fore-part of the tongue, retracted, and rising towards the roof of the mouth, but not actually touching it. The just observance of the true character of this and the preceding element, is, as was mentioned before, a point of great moment in enunciation, and decides its style, as regards taste and culture. The designation of " soft," or " smooth," r, is sometimes given to the " final " r; as it is a more delicate and liquid sound, than the " hard," or "initial," r. This element occurs at the end of words, and before, but never after, a consonant ; thus, War, star, fair, ire, ear, oar, farm, barn, card, harp, part merc$ servant, person, &c. Note. — It is one of the great inconveniences of our language, that we have so few letters or characters, by which to designate its sounds ; and it is not less a defect in it, that we have the same ele- ment sometimes represented by a great variety of letters, and combi- nations of letters. Thus, the element a, in ale, is heard also in aid, lay, weigh, survey, &c. A, in arm, is heard, also, in aunt. A, in all, is heard, in awe, laud, &c. A, in what was, wash, &c, is used to represent the same sound with o, as in on* or not. A, as in rare, is heard, also, in air, prayer , &o. 3* 30 ORTHOPHONY. E, as in eve, occurs, also, in the sound of ee in eel; ea, in eai; ie t in field; ei, in seize. E, in end, occurs in the form of en, in head. E, in err* is the same sound which occurs in heard, and infirm. Y, except its peculiar sound in ye, is but a repetition of i, long oi short; thus rhyme, hymn, Sic. O, in old, is repeated in oak, course, own, Sic. Oo, in ooze, and oo, in foot, recur in the sounds of o, in move; u in /rue; o, in wo/f ; u, in pw#; wz, in fruit, &c. The diphthongal sound oi, as in oe7, is heard, always, in oy. The sound of u, in wse, occurs also in the form of iew in view; eau, in beauty. The diphthong om, in our, is repeated in the sound of ow in down Sic. F, as a sound, recurs in the form of ph m&gh; as in phrase, laugh, Sic. J, and g " soft," are, on the other hand, but combinations of the sounds of d, and of z, as in azure. Ch, in church, are but repetitions of the sound of t and sh. The sound of sh is found also in the words, nation, gracious, ocean, Sic. C, " soft," is identical with s. S, is, in multitudes of instances, but a repetition of z, as, for exam- ple, in houses, diseases, Sic. The sound of k is repeated in the form of c, " hard ;" ch, as in chorus ; and q, as in queen. N, in ink, is identical with ng. X, in either form, is but a repetition, in sound, of ks or gz; thus, ox, example, Sic. It is unnecessary, however, to enlarge on these inconsistencies in the forms of our language. It is sufficient, perhaps, for our present purpose, to suggest the fact, that the orthography of words may sometimes afford no guidance to orthoepy, but, rather, may appar- ently mislead. The ear should, in all cases, be trained to the utmost exactness and precision, in detecting and seizing the true element of sound, independently of the form or combination of let- ters, by which it may be represented. t3 be practised in the same style as the exercises on syllables, — each component dement kept perfectly clear and distinct. I. Tonic Elements. — Simple Sounds. One error, often made in the following class of words, is to pro- tour ce them nearly as if written oall, Sic. Sometimes, we hear the coarse error of dividing the sound of a, in such words, into two parts thus O'ull, fo-iill, Sic. To a cultivated ear, this sound is peculiarly disr/ easing, as associated with low and slovenly habit. ENUNCIATION OF WORDS. 31 1. A, as in A-W. All War Law Awful Water 2. A, as in ^i-rm. The two cuirent errors in this class of sounds, are, 1st, — as in the local usage of New England, — flattening it down to a in an; — 2d, as in the custom of the Middle States, making it as broad as a in ell. The former style causes the pronunciation of "farm," "part," " father ;" the latter, that of " faiorm," " paiort," " farther." Harm Bar Mart Balm Daunt 3. A, as in A-n. Common errors : — 1, a flattened down to e, in end, nearly ; thus, " Dence," " pess," — the local usage of the Middle States ; — 2d> a made as broad as a, in arm; thus, " Dance," (as if darnee,) '* pass," — the customary fault of New England. Add Band Mass Last Slant Dance had hand pass mast chant lance mad land / grass 4. E, past as in E-ve. grant glance There is seldom any error made in the enunciation of such words as the following, except the slight one arising from not distinguishing between the longer sound of ee before a " subtonic," as in feel, and the shorter, before an " atonic," as in feet. The explosive force of the organic action, in executing an " atonic," compresses the preceding vowel : the gentle and gradual sliding of the ee into a " subtonic," allows it a longer duration. Theme Feel Heed Week Feet Deep 5. 00, as in Oo-ze ; 00, us in L-oo-k. The sound of this element, needs attention to the same distinction as in case of the ee. Before a " tonic " element, it is prolonged, — before an " atonic," it is shortened. The difference is exemplified, fcr the former, in tool, — for the latter, in took. Cool Boom Moon | Hook Hoop Boot Exceptions. Good, wood, stood, which have the oo short, though before a " subtonic." 6. E, as in .E-rr. The just, not overdone, distinction between urn and earn, is the object to be kept in view, in practising on the following words. This class of sounds is so liable to mispronunciation, that it needs close and repeated attention. — See remarks on the " tonic " element, e iu err, — in the discussion of elementary sounds. 32 ORTHOPHONY. Err Serve 1 Earth ^irm Mercy Merciful erst verse hert stern earl gird pearl girl 7. E, as in .E-nd, person servant terminate perfectly The common error in the following class of words, is that of allow ing the vowel to approach the sound of a in ale; thus, " tailV fox till. Other errors are such as " stiddy," foi steady • " may sure" for measure. Elk Hence Let Bell Den Bed Ready steady measure pleasure general genuine 8. I, as in J-n. The common error of careless articulation, in this element, makes it approach the a of ale; thus, " sainn," for sin. An opposite error, in foreign style, or in bad taste, gives " seenn" for sin; " ceetee" for city, &c. Din Dim Bid 111 Lip Bit 9. A, as in Ai-r. Sometimes carelessly enunciated as a in an, prolonged ; thus, " aer," for air; — sometimes too fastidiously flattened, and reduced to a in ale; thus, " acr " for air. The true sound lies between. Bare Fare Hair Stare Barely Aware 10. U, as in U"-p. The error in enunciating this element, is that of forming the sound in a coarse, guttural style, which makes it approach the sound of o in on. This fault is prevalent in the usage of the Middle States. Up Bud Gum Dun But Done 11. O, as in O-r. Three errors are extensively prevalent in the mode of enunciating this element : — 1st, a local error of New England, which gives a double sound for a single one, — commencing with o in old, and end- ing with u in up, or a in an, thus " ndiir," or %t ribiir" for nor , 2d, a local error of the Middle States, which makes the sound too broad, and resembling the a in arm; thus, " nar," for nor; 3d, a lo.ig and drawling sound, which has a coarse and slovenly character; thua caiord, for cord. Orb 2 Born Cork Sort Form 12. O, as in O-n. A prevalent local error in Massachusetts, in the following class of 1 The same element with e in err, though difFerertly spelled. * The r of these words is soft, but never silent % as in the style of fault} usage. ENUNCIATION OF WORDS, 33 Bounds, exists in the words, loss, lost, soft, &c, which are pro- nounced nearly with o, as in old; thus " loass," " loast," (i soaft," &c, and sometimes with a double, instead of a single sound; thus " lodst" &c., for lost. The local error of usage, in the state of Connecticut, verges to the opposite extreme, in such words, and gives, for o, a sound too nearly like that of a in an; thus " lass," &c, for loss. f On Mob Bog Rod Lop Loss odd rob dog god 1 13. A, as in A-\e. sop toss The common error in the enunciation of this element, is that of making its " vanish' ' too conspicuous; thus " aeel" for ale. An opposite error is not uncommon, — that of omitting the delicate "vanishing" sound entirely, which makes the style of enunciation coarse and negligent. Ace Day Hail Lade Make Came 14. I, as in I-ce. The two errors to be avoided in enunciating this element, are, 1st, that of commencing with too broad a sound ; thus, " aece," for ice (dece;) 2d, that of commencing it with too flat a sound; thus, " decc," for ice. — See remarks on " tonic " elements. Dice Bide Life Lime Fight Dive rice ride rife time light hive vice side wife 15. 0, prime as in O-ld. might rive A prevalent error in the local usage of New England, makes thia o too short ; thus, " horn," for home. A common error of the Mid- dle States makes the sound too broad ; thus "farce " fox force. Oh Go Bold Home Lone Hope lo wo cold loam bone mope so foe hold foam stone grope both ford fort course gore boat oath sword port force more coat sloth forge sport 16. Ou, source as in Ou-r. pour dote The prevailing errors on this element, are " fat" " dur" and "cur" for our, (o sounding as in done.) The first two of these Commonly mispronounced " gawd*' ''goad" "goud? or "gad.''' 34 ORTHOPHONY. errors are current in the pronunciation of the Southern and Middle States ; the last, in that oi New England. Out How Loud Cow Fowl Crown ounce now cloud count howl drown owl vow proud 17. Oi, gown as in Oi'l. growl frown The two errors usually exhibited in enunciating this element, are 1st, beginning the diphthong with the sound of o, in own, instead of that of o, in on; 2d, closing with a sound resembling a, in ale, in- stead of i, in in. Boil Toil Joy Coin Bron Eejoice coil soil hoy join spoil appoint foil coy toy loin groin avoid Use Tune Feud Cue Human cure dupe hew due useful lure fume few sue humor 18. U, as in Z7-se, [long, as in the verb, — short, as in tne noun.] The common errors in articulating this compound element, consist in, 1st, turning the whole sound into oo, as in ooze ; 2d, making the diphthong commence with a, in ale, instead of e, in eve, shortened, or the sound of y, in yet. Student Constitution stupid institution stewing revolution II. " Subtonic" Elements. 1. L, as in L-u-ll. Loll Lie Lad All Weal Dull 2. M, as in ikf-ai-m. Tha common error in the enunciation of this element, is f .hat of sounding it too slightly, and in a slack and lagging style. Mime May Move Am Him Hum 3. N, as in N-u-n. The common fault of enunciation in this, as in the preceding ele- ment, is a want of that force which belongs to energetic and animated utterance. Nine Nay Now An Den Dm ENUNCIATION OF WORDS. 35 1 jR, as in E-ap. [R initial, before a vowel, or after a consonant. .] The error to be avoided in articulating- this element, is that of pro- longing it into a " roll," or that of substituting for it tbe soft sound of r "final." A correct articulation, in this instance, always pre- sents \d the ear a firm, clear, and distinct, but very brief sound. Raw Eed Kid Ream Robe Rude Rub rye rent rim reel rose rule rufF ray rest rip reap roam rue rust Brag Brave Grave Crane Pray Trade Stray urass brain grim crag prate track stride brad braid groan cry prone tread strut 5. R, as in Fa-r ; [r final, or before a consonant.] The error most frequent in the articulation of this element, is that of omitting it, through inadvertency. This fault is one of the con- spicuous peculiarities of the style of pronunciation prevalent among the uncultivated classes of the city of London. But it is not less so, even among educated people, in the United States. The soft r, being one of the few liquid consonants which our language possesses, should never be omitted in enunciation. At the same time, it should never be converted into the opposite r, as in rap, as it often is, in the style of foreigners; neither should it ever be dwelt upon, or prolonged in sound. It is properly but a " vanish," in its effect on the ear ; as its vibrating and murmuring articulation prevents it from becoming forci- ble or distinct. The tongue should execute it with a delicate motion adapted to its slight and evanescent character. Hare Bar Ear Ire Ore Lure Bur dare car fear hire core pure cur fare mar hear mire door sure pur Orb Arm Earn Dark Pearl Art Burn horn harm fern hark marl dart turn form farm learn lark whirl part churn Murmur former charmer warmer warbler burner forlorn Exercise on words containing both sounds of R. [The difference in the sounds of the luird and the soft * should be exactly observed.] Rare Rear Roar Reared Roared Rarely Drier error horror terror brier prior truer crier regulai barrier tenier merrier farrier barrier courier 36 ORTHOPHONY. 6. Ng, as ill Si-Tig ; [or n, before g hard or k.] King Gong Hang Hung Bank Ink ring wrong bang tongue rank sink wing prong rang sprung drank wink Hanging Ringing Lancing Mangling Haranguing twanging winging glancing dangling prolonging swinging bringing dancing wrangling besprinkling 7. B, as in B-a-be. The forcible execution of this, and the two following elements, in a very clear and compact form, is often indispensable to the full effeu* of vivid emotion. Babe Ball Mob Curb Did Gag Mad Bed Bead Blab 8. Dj as in D-i-d. Dawn Den Laid 9. G, as in G-z-g, Gave Gall Gull Hag Log 10. F, as in F-al-z;e. Valve Vaunt Cave Leave Velvet Survive 11. Z, as in Z-one, [or s flat.] Maze Has Daisies 12. Z, as in A-z-ure, [or s, as in measure.] Zone Dis Seizure Measure Vision Composure 13. Y, as in Y-e. Derision Ye yea- Yes 2 Young Yawn you youth yell Yearly yellow 14. W, as in W-oe. Way Was Ware Wed Wine 15. TH, as in TH-ine. They Than Then Thee Bathe Beneach 1 Yay, not " y«." 2 Yes, not " yiss." In these and a few other words, the •tyle recoBMJJeii«4 by Walker, is now obsolete ENUNCIATION OF WORDS. 37 16. J", as in J-oy, [and G, soft.] Jay Jar Jilt Page Giant Judge III. "Atonic" Elements, f All " atonies," from their utter want of vocality, need great force and precision in their articulation.] 1. P, as in P-i-pe. Pulp Pall Pile Pale Paper Pulpy 2. T, as in T-en-f. Tight Tall Top Mat Tatter Total 3. C, hard, and K, as in C-a-Z-e ; and Q, as in Q-ueen. Key Cane Queen Creak Deck Cork 4. F, as in F-i-fe. Fade Fell File Off Hoof Fly 5. S, (sharp,) and C, soft, as in C-ea-se. Say See Sauce Mass Source Ceaseless 6. H 9 as in H-e. Hail Had Heel Hit What Whet 7. Th, as in TA-in. Thank Through Thong Thrust Hath Breath 8. Sk, as in Fash. Sham Shine Share Shroud Ash Hush 9. Ch, as in CA-ur-cA. Chair Check March Chine Fetch IV, Syllabic Combinations, 1. Initial Syllables. The common faults in the enunciation of syllables, consist in a slack, obscure articulation of the single elements of which they are 38 ORTHOPHONY. composed, and, in addition, the fault of negligently allowing a vowel sound to intervene between the consonants; thus, " bald, 11 for bid. True taste will pever allow a slovenly style of articulation, but wil always maintain a neat, clear, and exact sound of every element, in whatever combination it may occur. Bl, el, Jl, gl, pi, si, spl. Blame, bleed, blow, blest. Claim, clean, clime, close, clot. Flame, flee, fly, flit. Glare, gleam, glide, gloss. Place, plea, p T y> please. Slay, sleep, slide, slew. Spleen, splice, splay. Br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, spr, tr, str, shr. [The following words need attention to a clear, distinct enunciation of the hard r, — free, however, from prolongation and roll.] Brave, bread, brink. Crave, creep, cried, crust. Drain, dream, dry, drop. Frame, free, fro, freeze. Grain, green, grind, ground. Pray, preach, pry, proud. Spray, spring, sprung, sprang. Trace, tree, try, trust, track, tread, trip, true. Stray, street, strife, strength. Shrine, shroud, shrub, shriek Sm, sn, sp, st. Small, smite, smote. Snare, sneer, snow, snug. Space speed, spike, spear. Stay, steer, stile, stop. 2. Final Syllables. Ld, If, Ik, hn, Ip, Is, It, Ive. Bold, hailed, tolled. Elf, wolf, gulf, sylph. Milk, silk, bulk, hulk. Elm, helm, whelm, film. Help, gulp, Alp, scalp. Falls, tells, toils. Fault, melt, bolt, hilt. E lve, delve, revolve. M 1 d, 7ns, nd, ns, nk, nee, nt. Maim'd, claim'd, climb'd, gloom'd. Gleams, sti earns, climes, stems. And, band, hand, land, lined, moaned. Gairs, dens, gleans, suns. Bank, dank, drink, link. Dance, glance hen:e, ounce. Ant, want, gaunt, point. Rb, rd, rk, rm, rn, rse, rs (rz,) ri, rve, rVd, rlc'd, rm'd, rnd, rst, rv'd. Barb, orb. herb, curb, barb'd, orb'd, curb'd, disturb'd. Hard ENUNCIATION OP WORDS. 39 herd, hir'd, board, lord, gourd, bar'd, barr'd. Haik, lark, jerk stork, work, mark'd, jerk'd, work'd. Arm, harm, farm, alarm, arm'd, harm'd, alarm'd. Earn, learn, scorn, thorn, burn, turn, worn, shorn, earn'd, scorn'd, burn'd, turn'd. Hearse, verse, force, horse, dar'st, burst, first, worst, hears'd, vers'd, forc'd, hors'd. Bars, bears, hears, wears, pairs, tares, snares, repairs. Mart, dart, start, hurt, pert, girt. Carve, curve, serve, starve, carv'd, curv'd, serv'd, starv'd. Sm, s'n, sp, st, ss'd, ks, ct, k'd, ft, ftd, pt, p'd, p'n tin, d'n, tin, fn. Chasm, schism, prism, criticism, witticism, patriotism. 1 Reas'n, seas'n, ris'n, chos'n. Asp, clasp, grasp, wasp, lisp, crisp. Vast, mast, lest, dost, must, lost, mist ; pass'd, bless'd, gloss'd, miss'd. Makes, quakes, likes, looks, streaks, rocks, crooks. Act, fact, respect, reject ; wak'd, lik'd, look'd, rock'd. Waft, oft, left, sift, quaff'd, scofT'd, laugh'd. Apt, wept, crept; sipp'd, supp'd, slop'd, pip'd, popp'd. 'Op'n, rip'n, weap'n, happ'n. Tak'n, wak'n, weak'n, tok'n, drunk'n. Sadd'n, gladd'n, lad'n, burd'n, hard'n, gard'n. Grav'n, heav'n, riv'n, ov'n, ev'n, giv'n, wov'n. Bright'n, tight'n whit'n. Lst, 771st, nst, rst, dst, rdst, rmdst, r?idst. Call'st, heal'st, till'st, fill'st, roll'st, pull'st. Arm's! charm'st, form'st, harm'st. Can'st, runn'st, gain'st, against, (agenst.) Durst, worst, erst, first, bar'st, barr'st, hir'st Midst, calPdst, fill'dst, roll'dst. Heard'st, guard'st, reward'st discard'st. Arm'dst, harm'dst, form'dst, charm 'dst. Learn'dst scorn'dst, burn'dst, turn'dst. Ble, pie, die, rl, bVd, dVd, pVd, rid. Able, feeble, bible, double; troubl'd, babbl'd, bubbl'd doubl'd. Ample, steeple, triple, topple; tripl'd, toppFd, dappl'd, crippl'd. Cradle, saddle, idle, bridle; cradl'd saddl'd, idl'd, swaddl'd. Marl, hurl, whirl; world, huil'd, whirl'd, furl'd. 1 O and E shoild never be heard, in these and similar words, unless in sing. ing, and then only when a verse demands ihe syllable as a requisite to metre 40 ORTHOPHONY. Ngs, ngst, ng'd, ngdst. Rings, wrongs, hangs, songs ; hang'st, sing'st, wrong's^ bring'st; wrong'd, hang'd, clang'd ; wrong'dst, throng'dst. V. Exercise in transition from one class of Elements to another. The design of tins exercise is to impress vividly on the mind the distinctive quality of each species of sound, and the effect of each oa the organic action. — The columns are to be read across the page VI. " Tonics:' " Subtonics." "Atonies." AA\ B-€L-bo P-i-pe A-m B-i-d T-en-t A-TL ®*-g C-z-ke E-ve F-al-z?e F-i-fe Oo-Ze Z-one C-ea-se E-VT A-z-ure Fu-sh JE-nd TH-en Th-in I-n J"-ud-ge Ch-ur-ch Exercise in transition from one to another. class of Organic Ac Labials. Dentals. Aspirate. B-z-be B-i-d H-e P-i-pe T-en-t Nasals. M-ai-m Th-in N-u-n W-oe TH-ine Si-7ig V-rI-vq J-oy Linguals. F-i-fe Ch-m-ch L-VL-ll Palatics* A-z-ure R-a-n C-n-ke Fn-sh F-a-r G-a-g C-ea-se F-e Z-one VII. Exercise in difficult Combinations of Elements. 1. Z7, as in Use. Lwcibration Institution Accwmwlate Incalculably lwg&brious constitution manipulate superiority incalculable revolution deglutition supremacy ENUNCIATION OF WORDS. 41 Words of many syllables Absolute y abstinently accessory accurately agitated adequately angularly antepenult architecture agriculture Annihilate antipathy apocrypha apostatize appropriate assiduous assimilate associate auricular Acquiescence acquisition alienation Necessarily ordinarily momentarily temporarily voluntarily Obediently immediately innumerable intolerable dishonorable ambiguously articulately collaterally colloquially Affability agricultural allegorical alimentary astrological atmospherical Christianity chronological Coextensively Annihilation annunciation appreciation apologetic association circumlocution apocalyptic circumvolution coagulation colonization commemoration Congratulatory authoritatively disinterestedly expostulatory Die'.etically disin^enuousness Immutability compatibility ecclesiastical spirituality 3. Repetition of Elements. Hail ! heavenly /^armony. Up the high, hill he Aeaved a huge round stone. Heaven's first star alike ye see. Let it wave proudly o'er the good and brave The supply lasts still. And gleaming arid streaming and steaming and learning And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing, And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping, And curling and whirling and purling and! twirling, Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting, Delaying and straying and playing and spraying, Advancing and glancing and prancing and dancing, 4# 42 ORTHOPHONY. Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling- and boiling, And thumping mid flumping 1 and bumping and jumping, And dashing and flashing- and splashing' and clashing-, And so never ending, but alwaijs descending-, Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending, ' All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar ; And this way the water comes down at Lodore. It is the Hist sten that costs. The deed was done in broad day. No?ie now was left to tell the mournful tale. Ta&e care that you be not deceived, — dear friends. Lie Zightly on her, earth. ! her step was light on thee. Thou wast struck dumb with amazement. Can no one be found faithful enough to warn him of his danger ? No one dared do it. A good deal of disturbance ensued. He gave him good advice which he did not take. A dark cloud spread over the heavens. Had he but heeded the counsel of his friend, he might have been saved. He came at last Zoo late to be of any service. The magistrates stood on an elevated platform. 1 It is a fact familiar in the experience of most teachers, that, after the utmost care in the systematic cultivation of the utterance of young readers, by regular analytic exercises, such as the preceding, the influence of colloquial negligence in habit, is so powerful, that the same individual who has just articulated, with perfect exactness, the elements on a column, — while he is kept mechanically on his guard against error, by express attention to details, — will, immediately on beginning to read a page of continuous expression of thought, relapse into his wonted errors of enunciation. To correct this tendency , no resoi t is so effectual as that of studying analytically a few lines, pre- vious to commencing the usual practice of a reading lesson. The attention must first be turned to the words as such, — as forms of articulation, — then to their sounds in connection with their sense. The following will be found useful modes of practising such exer- 1 These an 1 similar examples, as they occur in reading lessons, should be repeated till they can be executed with perfect distinctness, and with rui easy exertion of the organs. But a hard and labored style shculd be ca/efully avoided as a very ba. fault. PRONUNCIATION. 43 cijes as are now suggested. Begin at the end of a line 5 sentence, or paragraph, so as to prevent the possibility of reading negligently : then, 1st, articulate every clement in every word, separately and very distinctly, throughout the line or sentence ; 2d, enunciate every syl- lable of each word, throughout the line or sentence, clearly and exactly ; 3d, pronounce every ivord, in the same style ; 4th, read the line or sentence, from the beginning, forward, with strict attention to the manner of pronouncing every word ; 5th, read the whole line or sentence with an easy fluent enunciation, paying strict attention to the expression of the meaning, but without losing correctness in tlie style of pronunciation. This is, apparently, a merely mechanical drill ; but its effects are strikingly beneficial, in a very short time. The habits of classes of young readers have thus been, in some instances, effectually changed, within a very few weeks, from slovenliness and indistinctness to per- fect precision and propriety, united to fluency and freedom of style. To adults, also, the practice of such exercises as have been men- tioned, proves, in the highest degree, useful, as an effectual means of correcting erroneous habit, and of acquiring that distinctness of utterance which is so important in the exercise of public speaking, or in that of private reading, for social and literary purposes. An exercise of great practical value, as regards the formation of habit in enunciation, is, to select from every reading lesson, before and after the regular consecutive reading of a piece, all words and phrases which contain difficult combinations, and repeat them often PRONUNCIATION. A full statement of the rules of usage in pronunciation, as regards the accent of polysyllables, does not properly fall within the scope of this work, which is designed rather for the cultivation of the voice, and the discipline of the organs, than as a manual of orthoepy. The most important classes of errors in pronunciation, have been already indicated. But this branch of the subject is discussed, at greater length, in the " American Elocutionist," to which the present volume is introductory. It occurs in a form adapted to the instruction of young readers, in the " Introduction to the American Common-School Reader and Speaker," and is presented for the use of professional speakers, in the volume entitled " Pulpit Elocution." l For the present purpose it may suffice to suggest the benefit arising from the daily systematic study of a good standard dictionary of orthoepy; such as Walker's, which, — with due allowance for a very few points in which custom has slightly changed since that work was written, — remains the most accurate report of authorized cus- tom, in the vast majority of places where the English language is spoken. If Dr. Webster's dictionary be preferred, the 8vo edition of it, prepared by Mr. J. E. Worcester, will be found the most use- ful ; as it contains, in the introduction, a full list of all words in 1 The works mentioned in the text, are prepared by the compiler of thii •nanual 44 ORTHOPHONY. which Dr. Webster's style is peculiar to himself, or merely to the local custom of New England, which, as regards the standard of the genuine pronunciation of the English language, is justly considered, elsewhere, as liable to the same objections with the local peculiarities of Scotland or of Ireland, — current, as sanctioned by respectable authority, in their several regions, but, when referred to the standard of general English usage, to be condemned as faults. CHAPTER in. "QUALITY" OF VOICE. The learner, having acquired, by the exercises prescribed in the preceding chapters, a free and forcible use of the breathing apparatus, and of the organs of speech which are employed in articulation, has thus laid the requisite foundation for the course of vocal training in " expression," or the various qualities of utterance, which are the appropriate language of emotion. The word utterance, as a term in elocution, is used to designate the mere act of forming and emitting voice : it does not necessarily imply any of those functions of the organs by which articulate sound is pro- duced ; thus we speak of a person uttering a cry, a groan, a sigh, a moan, a sob, or a laugh. In a correspondent use of language, we read that " the seven thunders uttered their voices." The function of utterance is necessarily attended, however, with a given degree of force in sound, — from that of whispering, or of any of the intermediate stages, to that of shouting and calling. It implies, also, a certain note of the scale, — high, low, or intermediate in pitch. The utterance of successive sounds is, farther, slow, rapid, or mode- rate, as regards the rate of movement. These properties, — force, pitch, and rate, or movement, coexist in one strain of utterance, and are, to the ear, independent of the process of articulation or the func- tion of speech. An example of mere utterance is furnished in the successive notes of a song hummed or sung without words, — or sung at such a distance from us, that we cannot distinguish the words. The case is similar, when we overhear a person reading, or talking, in an adjoining room, but when we do not hear so distinctly as to recognize the enunciation of letters or syllables. We perceive, in such instances, that the voice of the reader or speaker, is soft or loud, high or low, and that it moves fast or slow ; but we cannot tell what is said: we hear the utterance, but not the articulation, of vocal sound. The formation of even a single sound of the human voice, is neces- sarily attended by yet another property, its predominating quality as WHISPERING. 45 • tone "--in the popular sense of that word. When we overhear, as already supposed, a person reading or talking, but at such a dis- tance from us, or with such objects intervening, that we cannot make out the articulate character of the sounds which are uttered, we may still be able to say, with confidence, that the voice of the reader or speaker has a cheerful or a mournful tone, a lively or a solemn sound. Farther, we say, perhaps with equal certainty, that the per- son has a hollow, a guttural, a nasal, a sharp, a thin, a rough, a round, a full, or a smooth voice. The utterance of even a single exclamation of emotion, may, in this way, enable us to define the feeling of a reader or speaker, and, at the same time, to recognize the " quality," — as it is termed, — of his voice. WHISPERING. The progressive discipline of the organs, for the purposes ot utter- ance, comprises the practice of every stage of audible voice, from whispering to shouting and calling. We proceed, now, to the first stage of utterance, — that of whispering , which is the nearest, in style and effect, to breathing, and forms the extreme of " aspirated," or breathing " quality." The function of whispering lies, as it were, half way between breathing and " vocality," or the actual production of vocal sound, in the form termed by musicians " pure tone." Whispering differs from even the '* explosive," or strongest form of the breathing exer- cises, in being articulated as a mode of speech, and in taking on, to a certain extent, the qualities of 4 ' expression ;" thus we no 1 only use the whisper for secret communication, but for the utterance of exces- sive fear, or of deep awe, suppressed anger, or any other naturally violent emotion, when it is kept down by some overawing restraint. Whispering, therefore, as a discipline of the organs of voice, car- ries on, to a greater extent, and with more special effect, all the bene- ficial results of the exercises in full, deep, and forcible breathing. The whisper, even in its gentlest or "effusive" form, should, as a vocal exercise, be practised on the scale of public speaking, — that is to say, with a force sufficient to create full and distinct articulation, and intelligible utterance, in a large hall, or any similar apartment. The function of whispering, on this scale, it will be easily per- ceived, demands the full expansion of the chest, a deep inspiration, a 'powerful expulsion of the breath, the practice of frequent pausing and renewing the supply of breath, without which a forcible whisper can- not be sustained. This species of exercise combines, therefore, the discipline of full and energetic respiration, with that of forcible utterance. It demands a large and a frequent supply of breath, and trains the student to close attention to his habit of breathing, and to the position of the body and the action of the organs. It thus facilitates the acquisition of a perfect control over the organs of speech, — the prime requisite to easy and effective utterance. A subsidiary advantage attending this process of powerful whiaf *r- . 46 ORTHOPHONY. ingy, consists in the greatly increased intensity which it produces in the organic function of articulation. The whisper being performed as if addressedUo a person at the distance of a hundred feet from the speaker, compels a force of percussion in the tongue and the other minor Organs of speech, sufficient to compensate for the absence of the common round tone of the voice. The style of enunciation, accordingly, becomes that of the most intense earnestness. The exercise now prescribed, therefore, is of immense advantage, as a preparatory discipline to the organs of speech, as well as a process of training for full-toned and energetic use of the voice. Whispering, — like breathing, and like resonant vocal utterance, — has the three forms described under the head of Exercises in Breathing, — " effusive," or tranquil ; " expulsive," or forcible ; and " explosive," or abrupt and violent. 1. " Effusive " Whispering, This mode of utterance belongs to tranquil emotion, wnen express- ed in the language of deep-felt awe or profound repose, which repres- ses, by an approach to fear, at the same time that it excites the voice by its intensity. The exercise in " effusive " whispering, should be practised with strict attention to full, deliberate breathing, and the exact articulation of every element, — 1st, on all the " tonic " L elements of the lan- guage ; 2d, on the " subtonics ;" 3d, on the " atonies;" 4th, on syllables ; 5th, on words, as arranged in the columns of Exercises in Articulation ; 6th, on the following stanza, 2 which should be often repeated. Exercise. Stillness of Night. — Byron " All heaven and earth are still, — though not m steep, But breathless, as we grow when feeling most ; And silent, as we stand in thoughts too deep : — All heaven and earth are still : From ;he high host Of stars to the lulled lake, and mountain coast, All is concentrated in a life intense, Where not a beam, nor air, nor leaf is lost, But hath a part of being, and a sense Of that which is of all Creator and Defence." 2 *See Chapter on Orthoepy, and Tables of Orthophony. 2 It is not meant that the above stanza is necessarily and uniformly to he whispered, in reading or reciting the passage from which it is takeq, Tlia extract is here used as a convenient exercise, merely. 2. H ISgjpu Thii- species of exercise, being riu ceding, and corresponding, in energy, tory utterance, when given forth with the voice, has yet a more powerful influence on the the vocal organs. It should be repeatedly pe*.. utmost force of the whisper, which the student can Co. elements, syllables and words, and on the following e.» tone of which implies the intensest force of earnest utterance, pressed by apprehension approaching to fear. Exercise. Military Command . — Anonymous. " Soldiers ! You are now within a few steps of the enemy's outpost. Our scouts report them as slumbering in parties around their watch-fires, and utterly unprepared for our ap- proach. A swift and noiseless advance around that projecting rock, and we are upon them, — we capture them without the possibility of resistance. — One disorderly noise or motion may leave us at the mercy of their advanced guard. Let every man keep the strictest silence, under pain of instant death!" 3. "Explosive" Whispering. The " explosive" whisper, like the " explosive 5 ' Dreathing, imparts a still greater power to the vocal organs, by the vivid, abrupt, and instantaneous force, with which it bursts out. Tne explosive inten- sity of articulation, which it produces, calls at the same time for the utmost precision in the functions of the ton l From the Latin phrase " ore roiundo," used by the poet Horace, in al'u- sion to the round and full utterance and flowing 1 - eloquence of the Greeks. 64 ORTHOPHONY. expansion of the organic parts, and a ringing fulness, round ness, and smoothness of sound. 1 "Orotund" quality may, in one of its forms, (the shout,) be regarded as the maximum of " pure tone," united with the mos* powerful resonance of the pharynx. Like the pure tone, however, it admits of degrees ; and we find it existing, according to the greater or less intensity of emotion, in the different forms of "effusive," "expulsive," and "explosive," force. In other cases, it partakes of " aspiration,' ' being rendered " impure," by violence of emotion and for^e of breath. We proceed to the exemplification of the first of the above gradations. I. " EFFUSIVE OROTUND." This designation is applied to that species of utterance in which the voice is not sent forth from the organs by any obvious voluntary expulsion, but is rather suffered to effuse itself from the mouth into the surrounding air. It resembles the insensible and unconscious act of tranquil breathing, as contrasted with the effort of panting. But though perfectly gentle in its formation, and passing but little beyond the limits of merely " pure tone," it still obviously extends beyond that form of voice, and assumes a somewhat different charac- ter. " Pure tone," in its " effusive" form, is executed princi- pally by the full expansion of the chest, a large inhalation but a very gentle and limited expiration ; whilst " effusive orotund" gives a very free egress to the breath, and, by its larger volume of sound, and greater emissive force, uses more breath, in the production of sound. " Effusive pure tone " is obtained chiefly by skilful withholding of the breath, and using the larynx so gently and so skilfully, that every particle of air passing through it, is converted into sound. " Effusive orotund" demands a wider opening of tho organs, and a freer and firmer use of them, so as to produce a bolder and rounder tone. It resembles, however, in its style, the " effusive" function of " pure tone," in its gentle and su3 lained swell of utterance, as contrasted with the " expulsive' and " explosive" forms of the " orotund." 1 For a more minute description of" orotund " quality, we refer to the work of Dr. Rush. "effusive orotund." 65 Ihe n w odes of feeling or emotion which are expressed by u effusive orotund voice," are pathos, — when mingled with grandeur and sublimity, — and solemnity and reverence, when expressed iu similar circumstances. — Pathos, divested of grandeur, subsides into " pure tone," merely. The same result takes place in the utterance of solemnity, if unaccom- panied by sublimity. But reverence, always implying gran- deur or elevation in its source, is uniformly uttered by the "orotund" voice, though from the tranquillity, and the partial awe, with which it is attended, its force does not go beyond the " effusive" form, — as maybe observed in the appropriate tone of adoration, uttered in the exercise of devotion. Analysis thus shows us the value of the " orotund," as imparting dignity of effect to utterance, even in its gentler moods. It teaches us, moreover, the inefficacy or the inappropriateness of all utterance which, in giving forth the language of noble and inspiring emotion, falls short of " orotund " quality, and reduces the style of voice to that of ordinary or common-place topics. Gray's Elegy, for exam- ple, if read without " orotund," becomes feeble and trite, in its style ; Milton's Paradise Lost, if so read, becomes dry and flat ; and the lan- guage of devotion, uttered in the same defective style, in prayer, or in psalms and hymns, becomes irreverent in its effect. The mode of securing the advantages of " orotund " utterance, is, in the first place, to give up the whole soul to the feeling of what is read or spoken in the language of grave and sublime emotion. The mere superficial impression of a sentiment, is not adequate to the effects of genuine and inspiring expression. The reader or speaker must be so deeply imbued with the spirit of what he utters, that his heart overflows with it, and thus inspires and attunes his organs to the full vividness of expressive action. The ample and noble effect of " orotund" utterance, can never be acquired through the clearest apprehension of a sentiment by the understanding merely : the heart must swell with the feeling ; and the stream of emotion must gush over the whole man. Nor is it sufficient that the reader's feeling bo commensurate with the mere personal impression of a sentiment : genuine expression demands such a surplus, as it were, of emotion that it is sufficient to overflow the reader's own being, and impel and cnrrv on with it the sympathies of his audience. The reader must himself feel the inspiration of number enkindling his personal emo- tion, and elevating and expanding his being, for the full outpouring of expression. But few readers seem fully to feel the difference between the quiet and passive state in which we sit and give up our imagination to be impressed by the language of an author, and the communicative and active energy requisite to stamp even such an impression on the minds of otheis. In the former case, we are but involuntary, or, at 66 ORTHOPHONY. the most, consentaneous recipients: in the latter, we are tie positive and voluntary creators of effect. The deep and full feeling of an author's sentiment, then, is the natural preliminary to expressive effect and consequent " orotund." But, from the imperfections of early culture, attention is, in most cases, demanded, at the same time, to the state and functions of the organs. The effect of " effusive orotund," on the voice, is identical in its quality with the soft, but round and deep tone of a prolonged yawn, — a form of voice which comes, obviously, from the peculiarly wide and free position of the organs in that act. Hence arises the sugges- tion to repeat voluntarily the effort of loud and prolonged yawning, and watch its peculiar effect on the sound of the voice, and repeat and prolong the sound in the form of the yawn, till it can be executed at pleasure. "Effusive orotund" is, in one view, nothing else than " pure tone " rendered intense and ample in volume, by vigo- rous emission of breath, and by laryngial quality, or the full deep ringing effect of a free use of the larynx, and an ample expansion of the pharynx. The same position and move- ments of the organs, therefore, are used in the one, as in the other. The larynx operates in both with the consentaneous enlargement of the pharynx, the elevation of the veil of the palate, and the exactly^ balanced use of the nasal passage, — a style in which it is neither too much compressed, nor too widely opened, but exerted in the mode required to produce what musicians term " head tone." The cultivation of vocal music, in the form of singing bass, is one of the most effectual means of securing the property of " effusive orotund" utterance, in reading and speaking. The following, and similar examples, together with the tabular elements, should be attentively and repeatedly practised, till the full, clear, deep and perfect resonance of the " orotund " quality of voice, is perfectly at command. I. Examples of "Effusive Orotund." 1. Pathos and Gloom> or Melancholy mingled with Gran* deur. 1 From Gray's Elegy. " The curfew tolls, — the knell of parting day; The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea ; 1 Pathetic, tranquil, and solemn emotions, always pass from " pure tone * to " orotund quality," when force or sublimity, in any degree, marks the lan- guage in which these emotions are uttered. "effusive orotund." 67 The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me. " Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, And all the air a solemn stillness holds ; Save where the beetle wheels his drony flight, And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds. " Save that, from yonder ivy-mantled tower, The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wandering near her secret bower, Molest her ancient, solitary reign. ' Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap ~« Each in his narrow cell forever laid, — The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn, Or busy housewife ply her evening care ; No children run to lisp their sire's return, Or climb his knees, the envied kiss to share." 2. Solemnity and Sublimity combined. Milton's Invocation of Light. 'Hail! holy Light, — offspring of Heaven, first-born, Or of the Eternal coeternal beam May I express thee unblamed ? since God is light, And never but in unapproached light, Dwelt from eternity, — dwelt then in thee, Bright effluence of bright Essence increate 1 Or hear'st thou, rather, pure ethereal stream, Whose fountain who shall tell? — Before the sun, Before the heavens thou wert, and, at the voice Of God, as with a mantle didst invest The rising world of waters, dark and deep, Won from the void and formless infinite." 68 ORTHOPHONY. 3. Reverence From the Book of Psalms. ' Bless the Lord, O my soul ! O Lord, my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honor and majesty; who coverest thyself with light as with a garment ; who stretches t out the heavens like a curtain : who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters : who maketh the clouds His chariot , who walketh upon the wings of the wind ; who laid the foun- dations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever " II. " EXPULSIVE OROTUND." This form of the " orotund," or full utterance of public reading and speaking, bears precisely the same relation to the preceding, that " expulsive " bears to " effusive " " pure tone." It arises from the forcible action of the abdominal muscles, added to full expansion of chest, and deep inspiration. It has the same laryngial property which justifies the application of the term " orotund" to the " effusive " style of that form of utterance. "Expulsive orotund" belongs appropriately to earnest or vehement declamation, to impassioned and poetic excitement of emotion, and consequently to whatever language is uttered in the form of shouting. The first-mentioned of these styles, — the declamatory, ia exemplified in public address or debate, on exciting occasions. The second is heard in the utterance of passion, when the reader or speaker passes beyond the mere voluntary and con- scious force of "declamatory" utterance, and, in pa it, becomes himself, — in common with his audience, — an un- conscious, involuntary subject of the impelling emotion which he expresses. The third form of " expulsive orotund," is at once the impassioned and the voluntary burst of emotion which transcends the customary forms and effects of speech, and, in the spirit of enthusiastic excitement, utters itself in shouts and exclamations. " EXPULSIVE OROTUND." C9 Thia form of utterance, — the "expulsive orotund," — is one of the noblest functions of the human voice. It is this which gives to the ear the full effect of the majesty of man, as a being of heart and will and imagination. Without the full command of this property of utterance, the public reader or speaker falls short of whatever effect naturally belongs, in human speech, to the union of depth, force, and grandeur of emotion. The language of the loftier feelings of the soul, unaided by this natural advantage, becomes familiar, low, and trivial. The forcible and manly eloquence of Demosthenes or of Chatham, divested of the full "expulsive" utterance of deep and powerful emotion, would become ridiculous in its effect on the ear and the imagination. The same would be true of the style of our own eminent contemporary and countryman, Webster. Depth, weight, and fulness of tone, form one powerful assemblage of effects, in all his utterance on great and exciting occasions. To form the voice to the extent of the full property of " expulsive orotund," care should be taken to maintain a perfectly erect attitude of body, the chest fully expanded, and projected, and the shoulders depressed, — to maintain, also, a vigorous play of the abdominal mus- cles, and to practise the organic act of prolonged coughing, in a mod- erate form, which is the natural mechanical function most nearly resembling " expulsive orotund." The elements of the language should be practised in a similar style ; and to these exercises should be added the repeated and energetic practice of the following exam- ples. Practice on the " crying " voice, or weeping utterance of sorrow, is another expedient for rendering nature's processes conducive to culture. The act of crying, being, in its mechanism, a perfect " ex pulsive orotund." Exairiples of "Expulsive Orotund" . 1. — "Declamatory " Style. From Webster's Speech of John Adams. " Sink or swim) live or die, survive or perish, I give my Land and my heart to this vote ! " " Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. My judg ment approves this measure ; and my whole heart is in it. Al. that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it ; and I leave off, as I began, that, live or die, survive or perish, I am for the declaration. It is my living sentiment ; and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment : — independence now, and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER ! " 70 ORTHOPHONY. 2. — " bnpassioned" Poetic Style, From Carey's Ode on Eloquence. * Where rests the sword ? — where sleep the brave? Awake ! Cecropia's ally save From the fury of the blast ! Burst the storm on Phocis' walls, — Rise ! or Greece forever falls ; Up . or Freedom breathes her last ! " 3. — Weeping Utterance. (" Crying" Voice.) Prince Arthur, [to Hubert, whose attendants are binding the PRINCE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PUTTING OUT HIS EYES.] — ShdkspearC " Alas ! what need you be so boisterous rough ? I will not struggle, — I will stand stone still. For Heaven's sake, Hubert, let me not be bound ! Nay, hear me, Hubert ! drive these men away, And I will sit as quiet as a lamb : I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word, Nor look upon the irons angrily. Thrust but these men away, and I '11 forgive you, Whatever torment you do put me to ! " f 4. — Shouting. Richmond to his Troops. — Shafapeare. " Advance your standards, draw your willing swords ! Sound drums and trumpets, boldly and cheerfully ! God, and Saint George ! Richmond and victory ! " III. "EXPLOSIVE OROTUND." The "explosive" form of the "orotund" utterance, bears the same relation to " effusive " and " expulsive orotund," that " explosion" in breathing or whispering, bears to " effusion w and " expulsion," in those forms. It implies an instantane- ous burst of voice with a quick, clear, sharp, and cutting eflec* on the ear. M EXPLOSIVE OROTUND." 71 fhis mode of voice proceeds from a violent and abrupt exertion of the abdominal muscles, acting on the diaphragm, and thus discharg- ing a large volume of air, previously inhaled. The breath, in this process, is, as it were, dashed against the glottis or lips of the larynx, causing a loud and instantaneous explosion. In the act of " explo- sion " the chink of the glottis is, for a moment, closed, and a resist- ance, at first, offered to the escape of the breath, by a firm compres- sion of the lips of the larynx, and downward pressure of the epiglot- tis. After this instant pressure and resistance, follows the explosion caused by the appulsive act of the abdominal muscles and the dia- phragm, propelling the breath, with powerful and irresistible volume, on the glottis, and epiglottis, which at length give way, and suffer the breath to escape, with a loud and sudden report, of a purely explosive character. The preceding and accompanying state of the organs, in the act of "explosion," sufficiently indicates the propriety of this mode of utterance being termed " orotund;" as it possesses all the depth, roundness, and fulness of the other forms of that " quality," which have been already discussed, and implies farther, that these are now compacted and condensed, to an extraordinary degree, so as to make the sound of the voice resemble, in its effect on the ear, that of a firm and hard ball striking against the surface of the body. "Explosive orotund" is the language of intense passion: it is heard when the violence of emotion is beyond the control of the will, and a sudden ecstasy of terror, anger, or any other form of intensely excited feeling, causes the voice to burst forth involuntarily from the organs, with all the sudden and startling effect that would arise from its sound being forced out, by a sudden blow, applied to the back of the speaker. It exists only in the extremes of abrupt emotion, as in the burst of anger, or the shout of courage, and admits of no gradations. This form of the human voice is one of the most impressive in it3 effect. By a law of our constitution, it acts with an instantaneous shock on the sympathetic nerve, and rouses the sensibijty of tlio whole frame ; it summons to instant action all the senses ; and in the thrill which it sends from nerve to brain, we feelits awakening and inciting power over the mind. With the rapidity of lightning it pen- etrates every faculty, and sets it instinctively on the alert. It seems designed by na.ure as the note of alarm to the whole citadel within the soul. We hear the "explosive orotund quality" exemplified in the sudden alarm of fire, in the short and sharp cry of terror or of warning, at the approach of instant and great danger 72 ORTHOPHONY in the eruptive curse of furious anger, in the abrupt exclama- tion of high-wrought courage, and in the burst of frantic grief In reading and recitation, it belongs appropriately to the highest ecstatic effects of lyric and dramatic poetry, as the language of intense passion. Without the full command of this element, emotion becomes lifeless and ineffective in tone ; and the inspired language of the poet dies upon the tongue. To gain the full command of " explosive orotund " voice, the prac* tice of the elements, of syllables, and words, in the tones of anger and terror, should be frequently repeated, along with the following and similar examples. A previous organic practice should also be repeatedly made, on the mechanical exercise of abrupt and loud coughing, which is the purest form of " explosive orotund." The vocal elements and syllabic combinations should be repeated in the form of a sudden cough, at the opening of each sound. Laughing, — in its strongest and fullest style, — is another natural form of " explosive orotund ;" and the mechanical practice of the act is one of the most efficacious modes of imparting to the organs the power of instantaneous " explosion," required in the vivid expression of high-wrought feeling. These processes at once secure a vigorous state of the organs of voice, and a round and compacted form of sound. No exercise is so effectual for strengthening weak organs, or imparting energy to tone, as the "explosive orotund " utterance. Like all other powerful forms of exertion, it should not, at first, be carried very far ; neither should it be practised without a due inter- spersing of the gentler and softer exercises of voice. Pursued exclu- sively, it would harden the voice, and render it dry and unpleasing in its quality. Intermingled with the other modes of prsfctice, it secures thorough- going force and clearness of voice, and permanent vigor and elasticity of organs. Examples of "Explosive Orotund" 1. Courage. (" Explosive " Shouting.) Ode to the Greeks. — Anon. " Strike for the sires who left you free ! Strike for their sakes who bore you ! Strike for your homes and liberty, And the Heaven you worship, o'er you ! " 2. Anger. Antony, [to the conspirators.] — Shakspeare. " Villains ! you did not threat, when your vile daggers Hacked one another in the sides of Csesar ! " EXPLOSIVE OROTUND." 73 You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like hounds, And bowed like bondmen, kissing Caesar's leet ; Whilst damned Casca, like a cur, behind, Struck Caesar on the neck. — Oh ! flatterers !" 3. Terror. From Halleck's Marco Bozzaris. " To arms ! — they come ! — the Greek, the Greek ! " 4. Hurry and Commotion. Maceeth to his Officer. — ShaJcspeare. " Send out more horses, — skirr the country round ; Hang those that talk of fear ! — Give me mine armor." " ASPIRATED QUALITY." The " qualities" of voice which are most frequently exemplified in reading and speaking, are those which have been defined and ex- emplified, under the designations of "pure tone" and "orotund." Deviations from purity of tone, are usually to be regarded as faults of inadvertency or of personal habit. Still, there are some classes of emotions, which, from their peculiar nature, require, as one element in their "expression," an "aspirated quality," or that in which, from the forcible character of the feeling, operating with a corre- sponding effect on the organs, more breath is expelled from the tra- chea, in the act of utterance, than is converted into sound by the exertion of the larynx. The stream of air which the excited action of the expulsory muscles, throws out, under the influence of certain passions, becomes too wide and too powerful to be moulded by the glottis and controlled by the vocal chords, which, for the moment, become, as it were, either paralyzed or convulsed, and unable to act with effect. Hence a rushing sound of the breath escaping, unvo- calized, is heard along with the partially vocalized sounds by which such passions are expressed. The half-whispering voice of fear, and the harsh, breathing sound of anger, are examples in point, in the extremes of" expression." The agitating character of these and similar emotions, disturbs the play of the organs, and not only prevents, in utterance, the effect of purity of tone, : — which is always connected with comparative tran- quillity of feeling, — but causes, by " aspirated quality," or redun- dant breath superadded to vocal sound, a positive impurity of tone, which has a grating effect on the ear, — somewhat as takes place when we hear a person attempting to play on a wind instrument which has been cracked, and which allows a hissing sound of the breath to escape along with the musical notes. 74 ORTHOPHONY. The emotions which are naturally expressed by the stiong- est form of " aspirated quality," are principally of that class which an eminent writer on the passions has denominated " malignant," from their peculiar character and effect, as con- trasted with those of others which he denominates " genial." The former class includes fear, hatred, aversion, horror, ange^, and all similar feelings : the latter, love, joy, serenity, tenderness, pity, &c. " Aspirated quality," like other forms of utterance, may exist, according to the force of emotion, in the three grada- tions of "effusive," "expulsive," and "explosive" voice. The muscular action attending utterance in the form of " as- pirated quality," is usually such as to blend with the "aspira- tion" either a "pectoral" or a "guttural" resonance, very strongly marked. Hence these properties of voice, which would, in the expression of other emotions, be mere organic faults, now become requisites to effect, and are, therefore, comparative excellences. They require, accordingly, special study and practice as modes of " expressive " utterance. The "aspirated quality," in the "pectoral" form, belongs usually to despair, deep-seated anger, revenge, excessive fear, horror, and other deep and powerful emotions. Other emotions, however, besides those which may be designated as "malignant," partake of "aspirated quality." Awe, may be mentioned as an example, which, when pro- found, is always marked by a slight aspiration, and a " pec- toral quality." Joy and grief too, become " aspirated" when highly characterized. Ardor and intense earnestness of emotion, are always " aspirated." The fervent expression of love, and even of devotion, admits, accordingly, of " aspi- rated " utterance. " Aspiration," like " tremor," thus becomes a natural sign of extremes in feeling; and these two proper- ties united, form the acme or highest point of " expression." The ' aspirated quality," in the " guttural" form, belongs, in various degrees, to all malignant emotions. In its stronger expression, it gives a harsh, animal, and sometimes even fiend-like character to human utterance, as in the malice li ASPIRATED QUALITY." 75 and revenge of Shylock. In a reduced, though si_ highly impassioned degree, it gives its peculiar choking effect to the In 1he yell of rage and fury, " aspiration " is displaced by perfectly " pure tone " of the loudest sound, — by a law of man's organize ion , which it is unnecessary here to analyze, but which seems to make all the extremes, or utmost reaches of human feeling, musical in their effect. Joy, and the extremes of both grief and anger, may bo mentioned as illustrations. Aversion, disgust, displeasure, impatience, dissatisfaction^ and discontent, all, in various degrees, combine "aspirated" utterance and " guttural quality." The due " aspiration " of the voice, in all the emotions which have been enumerated as requiring that property, is a point indispensable to the natural and appropriate " expression" of emotion, and conse- quently an important accomplishment of good elocution, whether in reading or speaking. To learners who have practised the exercises in whispering, which is the extreme of " aspiration " this quality will not prove difficult of acquisition. It will be of great service, however, to power of " expression," to render the command of " aspiration " easy by fre- quent repetition on elements, syllables, and words, selected for the purpose, and on the examples contained in the " exercises on aspi rated quality," in the Appendix. CHAPTER IV. FORCE. A primary characteristic of utterance, as expressive of emotion, is the degree of its energy, or force. The effect of any feeling on sympathy, is naturally inferred from the degree of force with which the sound of voice, in the utterance of that feeling, falls upon the ear of the hearer. The cause of this impression upon the mind, is, obvi- ously, the law of organic sympathy, by which one part of the human frame naturally responds to another. A powerful emotion not only affects the heart and the lungs, and the other involuntary agents of life and of expression, but starts the expulsory muscles into voluntary action, and produces voice, the natural indication and language of feeling. The degree of force, therefore, in a vocal sound, is intui- tively taken as the measure of the emotion which causes it. Except, on\y, those cases in which the force of feeling paralyzes, as it were, the organs of the voice, and suggests the opposite measure of infer 76 ORTHOPHONY. ence, by which a choked and struggling utterance, a supprtssed 01 inarticulate voice, or even absolute silence, becomes the index to tho heart. The command of all degrees of force of voice, must evidently be essential to true and natural expression, whether in reading or speaking. Appropriate utterance ranges through all stages of vocal sound, from the whisper of fear and the murmur of repose, to the boldest swell of vehement declamation, and the shout of triumphant courage. But to give forth any one of these or the intermediate tones, with just and impressive effect, the organs must be disciplined by appropriate exercise and frequent practice. For every day's observation proves to us, that mere natural instinct and animal health, with all the aids of informing intellect, and inspiring emotion, and exciting circumstances, are not sufficient to produce the effects of eloquence, or even of adequate utterance. The overwhelming power of undisciplined feeling, may not only impede but actually prevent the right action of the instruments of speech ; and the novice who has fondly dreamed, in his closet, that nothing more is required for effective expression, than a genuine feeling, finds, to his discomfiture, that it is, perhaps, the very intensity of his feeling that hinders his utterance ; and it is not till expedience and practice have done their work, that he learns the pri- mary lesson, that force of emotion needs a practised force of will, to balance and regulate it, and a disciplined control over the organs, to give it appropriate utterance. The want of due training for the exercise of public reading or speaking, is evinced in the habitual undue loudness of some speak- ers, and the inadequate force of others the former subjecting their hearers to unnecessary pain, and the latter to disappointment and uneasiness. Force of utterance, however, has other claims on the attention of students of elocution, besides those which are involved in correct ex pression. It is, in its various gradations, the chief means of impart- ing strength to the vocal organs, and power to the voice itself. The due practice of exercises in force of utterance, does for the voice what athletic exercise does for the muscles of the body : it imparts the two great conditions of power, — vigor and pliancy. "Vocal gymnastics" afford no discipline more useful than that which accompanies the daily practice of the various gradations of force. Exercises of this description, enable the public speaker to retain perpetually at command the main element of vivid and impres- sive utterance ; and they furnish to young persons of studious and sedentary habit the means of thorough invigoration for the energetic use of the voice, required in professional exertions. Vocal exercises of the kind now suggested, are also invaluable aids to health, and cheerfulness, and mental activity, in all who prac- tise them, and are not less useful in training the voice for the gentle utterance required in the practice of reading in the domestic or tho social circle, than in invigorating it for public performances. The effect of vocal training in the department of force, is greatly augmented* when the bolder exercises are performed in the open ail FORCE. 77 or in a large hall. A voice trained on this scale of practice, easily rocommodates itself to a more limited space ; while it is equally true, that a voice habituated to parlor reading only, usually fails in the attempt to practise in a room more spacious. Farther, the fact is familiar to instructors in elocution, that persons commencing practice with a very weak and inadequate voice, attain, in a few weeks, a perfect command of the utmost degrees of force, by performing their exercises out of doors, or in a hall of ample dimensions. It is a matter of great moment, in practising the exercises in force, to observe, at first, with the utmost strictness, the rule of commenc- ing with the slightest and advancing to the most energetic forms of utterance. When practice has imparted due vigor and facility, it will be a useful variation of order, to commence with the more powerful exertions of the voice, and descend to the more gentle. It is a valuable attainment, also, to be able to strike at once, and with perfect ease and precision, into any degree of force, from whispering to shouting. As the exercises in the various " qualities" of the voice, have already led us over the ground of " force," in all its gradations, it will be sufficient to present them once in succession, without farther explanation. CSee " exercises on force," in the appendix.) DEGREES OF FORCE. The perfect command of every degree of force, and an exact dis- crimination of its stages, as classified by degree and character of emotion, are indispensable to correct and impressive elocution. Extensive and varied practice on force, in all its gradations, becomes, therefore, an important point, in the vocal culture connected with elocution. Nor is it less valuable as the chief means of imparting power of voice and vigor of organ, — as was formerly intimated. The student's attention is again directed to the importance of this element, for the purpose of securing a patient and persevering prac- tice on elementary sounds, with an exclusive view, at present, to the mechanical exertion of the organs in the successive stages of mere loudness of voice. It will be found a useful practice to repeat the first line of each example in succession. After having completed the practice on force, as prescribed in the preceding exercises, — in which its degrees are indicated by the feel- ing expressed in each example, — the various component elements of the language, the "tonics," " subtonics," and "atonies," and examples of their combination in syllables and wcrds, may be repeated successively, (1.) in forms corresponding to the style of each exercise ; (2.) in the musical gradations of" pianissimo," (very soft;) "piano," (soft;) "mezzo piano," (moderately soft ;) "mez- zo," (moderate;) "mezzo forte," (moderately loud;) "forte,* (loud;) and " fortissimo," (very loud ;") (3.) in successive stages, commmencing with the slightest and most delicate sound that can be uttered in " pure tone," and extending to the most vehement force of shouting and calling in the open air, and with all the power that the voice can yield. 7* 78 ORTHOPHONY. Persons who practise such exercises several times a day, 1 for ten or fifteen minutes at a time, will find a daily gain in vocal power ana organic vigor to be the invariable result : every day will enable them to add a degree to their scale of force. To young persons whose organs are yet fully susceptible of the benefits of training, to students and sedentary individuals, in general, whose mode of life is deficient in muscular exercise, and consequently in power of voice, and tc professional men whose exercises in public speaking are at compara- tively distant intervals, (in which case, the organs need the aid of invigorating daily practice more than in any other,) the mechanical practice of graduated force, is the most effective aid that can be found. The kind of exercise now recommended, if presented in a form addressed to the eye, might be marked thus : Each dot represents, in this scale, one and thi ui, j sound, or word, repeated with a gradually increasing force. The' repetition of the same sound, for at least a dozen times, is preferred to a change of elements, because, by repetition, the ear becomes, as it were, a more exact judge of the successive degrees of force, when not distracted by attention to anything else than the one point of mere loudness. This exercise can never injure, but will always strengthen, even weak organs, if the gradation of voice be duly observed, and the note of the scale kept rigorously the same, throughout, and not pitched, — at first, — either very high or very low on the scale. CHAPTER V. "STRESS." Force, as a property of voice, may be regarded either as it exists in consecutive or in single sounds. Thus, the force of utterance, in a sentence or a clause, may be on one phrase, or even on a single word. In the pronunciation of a word, it may be exclusively on one 1 It may not be improper to remark here, that vocal exercise should be prac- tised at a point of time as nearly as may be intermediate to the hours as- signed/or meal-times ; as the organs are then in their best condition, — neit .: er embarrassed nor exhausted, as regards the state of the circulation. The rule of the Italian vocal training, which prescribes powerful and continued exer- tion of voice, before breakfast, with a view to deepen the " register," implies & state of organs already inured to fatigue ; and the stereotype direction of the old physicians, to declaim after dinner, with a view to promole digestion, implies either a meal in the poet's style of " spare fast, that oft with gods doth diet," or a strength of the digestive organ, that can render it callous to the powerful shocks which energetic declamation always irr parts by impas- sioned emotion, to that chief "local habitation" of the "sympathetic norve. STRESS." 79 sy!lable In the enunciation of a syllable, the organic force may lie chiefly on a single letter. In the sound of a letter, the force of the voice may lie conspicuously on the first, or on the last part of the sound, on the middle, or on both extremes ; or it may be distributed, with an approach to equalizing force, over all parts of the sound. The term " stress," as used by Dr. Eush, is applied to the mode in which force is rendered perceptible or impressive, in single sounds. Stress includes two elements of vocal effect : — 1st, mere force of sound; 2d, the time which it occupies. To these may be added, not improperly, a third element, which is the result of the union or combination of the other two, viz., abrupt or gradual emission. The classification of the forms of stress is as follows : 1st, " Radical stress" or that in which the force of utter- ance is, usually, more or less " explosive," and falls on the " radical " (initial, or first) part of a sound. 2d, "Median stress" that in which the force is "expulsive" or " effusive," and swells out whether slowly or rapidly, at the middle of a sound. 3d, " Vanishing stress" or that which withholds the " ex- pulsive" or "explosive" force till the "vanish," or last moment of the sound. 4th, " Compound stress" or that in which the voice, with more or less of " explosive" force, touches forcefully and dis- tinctly on both the initial and the final points of a sound, but passes slightly and almost imperceptibly over the middle part. 5th, "Thorough stress" in which the initial, middle, and final portions of a sound, are all distinctively and impres- sively marked by special " expulsive force" of voice. 6th, " Tremor" tremulous, or intermittent " stress." 1. " RADICAL STRESS." This form of vocal force is exemplified in the mechanical act of abrupt coughing. 1 In speech, its highest form exists lu There are so few speakers able to give a radical stress to syllabic utter- ance, with this momentary burst, which I here mean to describe, that I must draw an illustration from the effort of coughing. It will be perceived that a single impulse of coughing, is not, in all points, exactly like the abrupt voice on syllables : for that single impulse is a forcing out ofalmost all the breath ; yet i.i the tonic element ' a- we ' be employed as me vocality of coughing, its 80 ORTHOPHONY. in the utterance of all sounds which embody starting and abrupt emotions ; as fear, anger , &c. It exists, also, although m a reduced form, in the tones of deter?nined will, earnest argument, emphatic and distinct or exact communication, ana other unimpassioned modes of expression. In the latter shape, " radical " stress does little more than impart to speech an additional degree of that clear, distinct, and energetic character of utterance, which is marked by the decision of its " radi- cal movement," — the phrase, (it will be recollected,) by which Dr. Rush has designated the opening, or initial part, of articulate sounds. But, even in this reduced degree, it forms one of the most valuable accomplishments of elocution ; for, although it does not, in this mode, aim at a sympathetic effect on passion or imagination, it subserves the substantially useful purpose of addressing, in clear, distinct style, the ear and the understanding. The definiteness and decision of the speaker's intention, the clear conviction of his judgment, the dis- tinctness of his perceptions, and the energy of his will, are all indi- cated in this natural language of voice. A due " radical stress," farther, imparts point and spirit to articulation : it gives an edge and a life to utterance, and hin- ders emotion from rendering the voice confused and indis- tinct. Vehemence, without " radical stress," becomes vocif- eration and bawling. The energy of the "radical movement," may, indeed, be justly termed the salt and the relish of oral communication, as it preserves the pungency and penetrating effect of articulate utterance. With- out due "radical stress," reading or speaking becomes insipid and ineffective. The argumentative speaker who has not this quality at command, seems to strike with the flat rather than the edge of the rhetorical weapon. 1 Carried to excess, it becomes, of course, a fault : it savors of dogmatical arrogance and assumption, of selfish wilful- aorui>; Tiening will truly represent the function of radical stress when used in aisccurse. " The clear and forcible radical stress can take place only after an intei rup- tion of the voice. It would seem as if there is some momentary occlusion in the larynx, by which the breath is barred and accumulated for the purpose of a full and sudden discharge. This occlusion is most under command, and the explosion is most powerful, on syllables beginning with a tonic element, cr with an abrupt one preceding a tonic ; for, in this last case, an obstruction in the organs of articulation, is combined with the function of the larynx, above supposed." — Dr. Rush. i " It is this," (radical stress,) " which draws the cutting edge of words across the ear, and startles even stupor into attention: — this which lessens the fatigue of listening, and outvoices the stir and rustle of an assembly: — arm it is the sensibility to this, through a general instinct of the animal ear, which gives authority to the groom- «md makes the horse submissive to hif angry accent." — Id EXAMPLES OF "STRESS." 81 nes«, and self-conceit. Persuasion, not intimidation, is the soul of eloquence ; argument, not assertion, the instrument of conviction ; sympathy, not opposition, the avenue to the heart. A uniform, hard "radical stress," therefore, can effect none of the best purposes of speech, and must ever be regarded as allied to violence and vulgarity, or the slang of party invective. The utter absence, however, of " radical stress," bespeaks timid- ity and indecision, confusion of thought, and feebleness of purpose. The speaker who fails in regard to the effect of the property of " radical stress," solicits our pity, rather than commands our respect. The right degree of this function indicates the manly, self-possessed, and impressive speaker. These remarks all apply, with correspond- ing force, to the exercise of reading. A feeble, vacillating, inex- pressive utterance, kills, as it were, by a slow but sure death, the sentiments of the most impressive writer ; and the hacking edge of a uniform, unmodified, "radical stress," turns the parlor or the class- room into the arena of a debating-club. False taste and style in the practice of elocution, sometimes lead to the cultivation of an exclusive habit of "radical stress," in the utterance of young readers and speakers. The effect of this fault is very unfavorable. The decision of tone which it implies, belongs properly to years and to experience, on special occasions, or to the language of vehement excitement. It is utterly incompatible with the just diffidence and respectful tone appropriate in youth, and for- ever prevents the winning effect of nature's genuine eloquence, in the tones of feeling chastened and subdued by reverence for truth and respect for man. The orator, however, and the reader, must still be regarded as, in their function, representing, for the moment, the sentiments of humanity, not merely the opinion or feeling of the individual. Hence, a just degree of firmness and force, (and the " radical stress " is the exponent of these qualities,) is a point indispensable to eloquent speaking and impressive reading. The practice of the following examples should be accompanied by an extensive and thorough course of discipline on all degrees of ' ' ex- plosion," in elements, syllables, and words, — advancing from the very slightest to the intensest form, and occasionally reversing the order, so as to reduce the function of explosion from its most impas- sioned to its nerely intellectual character and expression. EXAMPLES OF " RADICAL STRESS." I. "Impassioned Radical" Example 1. Fear. (" Explosive " Utterance : " Aspirated Guttural Quality.") From Byron's Lines on the Eve of Waterloo. ["While throng the citizens with terror dumb, Or whispering with white lips,] ' The foe !—- they come, they come ! ' " 82 ORTHOPHONY. 2. Anger and Scorn. (" Explosive " Utterance : "Aspirated Pectoral Quality/') Coriolanus, [to the People.] — Shakspeare. " You common cry of curs ! whose breath I hate As reek o* the rotten fens, — whose loves I prize As the dead carcasses of unburied men, That do corrupt my air, — J banish you!" 3. Courage. (" Explosive " Utterance : "Pure Tone.") " Up ! comrades, up ! — in Rokeby's halls Ne'er be it said our courage falls ! " II. "U?iimpassioned Radical." Example 1. Didactic Composition : Grave Style. 1 ("Pare Tone:" "Moderate Force," "Grave" Style. — Usual Style of a Sermon , or of a Moral or Political Discourse.) Immortality of the Soul. — Addison. " How can it enter into the thoughts of man, that the soul, which is capable of such immense perfections, and of receiving new improvements to all eternity, shall fall away into nothing almost as soon as it is created? Are such abilities made for no purpose ? A brute arives at a point of perfection that he can never pass : in a few years he has all the endowments he is capable of; and were he to live ten thousand more, would be the same thing he is at present. Were a human soul thus at a stand in her accomplishments, were her faculties to be full blown, and incapable of farther enlargement, I could imagine it might fall away insensibly, and drop at once into a state of annihilation. But can we believe that a thinking being, which is in a perpetual progress of improvements, and travelling on from perfection to perfection, — after having just looked abroad into the works of its Creator, and made a few discoveries of His infinite goodness, wisdom, and power,— L See foot note on next page. EXAMPLES OF U STRESS." 83 must perish at her first setting out, and in the very beginning* of her inquiries ? ' 2. Didactic Composition: Serious Style. 1 ("Pure Tone:" "Moderate" Force, "Serious" Style. — The usual form of utterance, in the reading of an Essay, or of x Lit erary or Scientific Discourse.) Moral Influence of Literature. — Fnsbie. :t The essay, the drama, the novel, have a most extensive and powerful influence upon the moral feelings and character of the age. Even descriptions of natural scenery owe much of their beauty and interest to the moral associations which they awaken. " In like manner, fine turns of expression or thought, often operate more by suggestion than enumeration. But w T hen feelings and passions are directly described, or imbodied in the hero, and called forth by the incidents of a. story, it is then that the magic of fiction and poetry is complete, — that they enter in and dwell in the secret chambers of the soul, moulding it at will. In these moments of deep excitement, must not a bias be given to the character, — and much be done to elevate and refine, or degrade and pollute, those sym- pathies and sentiments which are the sources of much of our virtue and happiness, or of our guilt and misery ? " 3. Poetic Composition: Animated Style} (< Pure Tone :" " Moderate " Force, " Lively " Style.) Spring. — Bryant. " Is this a time to be gloomy and sad, When our mother Nature laughs around ; When even the deep blue heavens look glad, Ana gladness breathes from the blossoming ground ? i Ir these examples the " radical stress " is merely of that gentle kind which gives distinctness and life to articulation, by a firm and clear " rad-fca* movement," and preserves the serious style from verging on the solemn, l.y "swell" and prolongation, or by drawling. The slightest form of a Ci^ar cough, is the mechanical standard of organic action, in this degree of "stress ;" and this distinction should be carefully observed ; for, when strong feeling is expressed in " grave," or in " serious," or in " animated " style, especially in poetry, the " stress " changes to " median," for greater " expres- sive effect." 84 ORTHOPHONY. " The clouds are at play, :n the azure space, And their shadows at play on the bright green v«*i And here they stretch to the frolic chase, And there they roll on the easy gale. " And look at the broad- faced sun how he smiles On the dewy earth that smiles on his ray, On the leaping waters and gay young isles, — Ay. look, and he '11 smile thy gloom away." 4. Poetic Composition: Gay Style. ( * Pure Tone :" Moderately Strong Force, " Brisk" Style.) Voice of Spring. — Mrs. Hemans. " Y e of the rose lip and the dew-bright eye And the bounding footstep, to meet me fly ! With the lyre and the wreath and the joyous lay, Come forth to the sunshine, — I may not stay." Spring. — Bryant. " There 's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower, There 's a titter of winds in that beechen tree, There 's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea ! " II. " MEDIAN STRESS." This form of " stress " Dr. Eush describes as " a gradual strengthening and subsequent reduction of the voice, similar to what is called a swell, (swell and diminish,) in the Ian guage of musical expression." " Radical stress," with its abrupt explosion, is the irrepressible burst of forcible utterance, in the language of unconscious and invol- untary emotion. It is the expression of passion rather than of will. " Median stress," on the contrary, is more or less a conscious and intentional effect, prompted and sustained and enforced by the will. It is the natural utterance of those emotions which allow the inter- mingling of reflection and sentiment with expression, and which pur- posely dwell on sound, as a means of enhancing their effect. The swell of " median stress "is, accordingly, more or less ample and prolonged, as the feeling which it utters is moderate, or deep and fell, lofty and awful. " STRESS." 85 "Median stress" has the form of "effusive" utterance in sublime, solemn, and pathetic emotions : it becomes " expul- sive," in those which combine force with grandeur, as in admiration, ^courage, authoritative command, indignation, and similar feelings. But its effect is utterly incompatible with the abruptness of " explosion." Its comparatively mu« STca.. character adapts it, with special felicity of effect, to the mebdy of verse, and the natural " swell " of poetic expres- sion. This mode of " stress," is one of the most important in its effects on language, whether in tlje form of speaking or of reading. Desti- tute of its ennobling and expansive sound, the recitation of poetry sinks into the style of dry prose, the language of devotion loses its sacredness, the tones of oratory lose their power over the heart. There is great danger, however, of this natural beauty of vocal ex- pression being converted into a fault by being overdone. The habit recognized under the name of "mouthing," has an excessively increased and prolonged " median swell " for one of its chief charac- teristics. In this shape, it becomes a great deformity in utterance, — particularly when combined with what is no infrequent concomi tant, the faulty mode of voice, known as " chanting " or " singing.' Like sweetness among savors, this truly agreeably quality of sound, becomes distasteful or disgusting, when in the least degree excessive. The practice of " median stress," therefore, requires very close attention. The spirit of poetry and the language of eloquence,— the highest effects of human utterance, — render it indispensable as an accomplishment in elocution. But a chaste and discriminating ear is requisite to decide the just degree of its extent. " Median stress" is found in conjunction with most of the emotions which are uttered in the forms of " pure tone" and " orotund :" it exists also, though less perceptible in its effect, in union with " aspirated quality." It accompanies, likewise, all stages of force, from the slightest to the most vehement. EXAMPLES OF " MEDIAN STRESS." I. "Effusive" Utterance. "Pure Tone:" "Subdued" Force. ., Patios. (Gentlest form of "median stress,"— a barely perceptible " swell.") Death of the Infant. — Mrs. Hemans. " Calm on its leaf-strewn bier, Unlike a gift of Nature to Decay, — 86 ORTHOPHONY. Too rose-like still, too beautiful, too dear, — The child at rest before its mother lay : ~ Even so to pass away, With its bright smile ! — Elysium what wert thou To her that wept o'er that young slumberer's brow ? 2. Solemnity, (" Swell" moderately increased.) The Past. — Bryant. " Thou unrelenting Past ! Strong are the barriers round thy dark domain ; And fetters, sure and fast, Hold all that enter thy unbreathing reign, " Far in thy realm withdrawn Old empires sit in sullenness and gloom ; And glorious ages gone Lie deep within the shadow of thy womb. " Childhood, with all its mirth, Youth, Manhood, Age, that draws us to the grouna, And last, Man's Life on earth, Glide to thy dim dominions, and are bound." 3. Tranquillity. Death of the Good Man. — Bryant. 1 Why weep ye, then, for him, who, having won The bound of man's appointed years, — at last, Life's blessings all enjoyed, life's labors done, Serenely to his final rest has passed ; While the soft memory of his virtues, yet, Lagers like twilight hues, when the bright sun is set ? u His youth was innocent ; his riper age, Marked with some act of goodness, every day; And, watched by eyes that loveu him, calm and sage Faded his late declining years away. Cheerful he gave his being up, and went To share the holy rest that waits a life well spent. " u STRESS." 87 4. Reverence. (Fuller " swell.' ) " Effusive orotund qiMlity." From the Forest Hymn. — Bryant. " Father ! Thy hand Hath reared these venerable columns ; Thou Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down Upon the naked earth ; and, forthwith, rose All these fair ranks of trees. They in Thy sun Budded, and shook their green leaves in Thy breeze, And shot towards heaven. The century -living crow, Whose birth was in their tops, grew old and died Among their branches, till, at last, they stood, As now they stand, massy, and tall, and dark,— Fit shrine for humble worshipper to hold Communion with his Maker ! " 6 Pathos and Sublimity. (Full and prolonged " swell.") From David's Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan. " How are the mighty fallen ! — Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives ; and in their death ihey were not divided ; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. — Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights ; who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel ! — How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle ! O Jonathan ! thou wast slain in thy high places ! — How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished ! " ^ 6 Solemnity y Sublimity, and Fervor. (" Fullest swell n \ From the Book of Psalms. " Oh ! sing unto the Lord a new song ; for he hath done marvellous things : his right hand and his holy arm hath got- ten him the victory. — Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth : make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp ; with the haj-p, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet, make 88 ORTHOPHONY. a joyful noise before the Lord the King. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands : let the hills be 'oyful together." II. "Expulsive" Utterance. "Pure Tone :" "Moderate" Force. 1. Grave Style. 1 (Gentle and pure " median stress," without prolongation.) The Neglect of Religion. — Alison. " The excuses of youth, for the neglect of religion, are those which are most frequently offered, and most easily admitted. The restrictions of religion, though proper enough for maturer age, are too severe, it is said, for this frolicsome and gladsome period. Its consolations, too, they do not want, Leave these to prop the feeble limbs of old age, or to cheer the sinking spirits of adversity. — False and pernicious maxim ! As if, at the end of a stated number of years, a man could become religious in a moment! As if the husband- man, at the end of a summer, could call up a harvest from the soil which he had never tilled ! As if manhood, too, would have no excuses ! And what are they ? That he has grown too old to amend. That his parents took no pains with his religious education, and therefore his ignorance is not his own fault. That he must be making provision for old age ; and the pressure of cares will allow him no time to attend to the evidences, or learn the rules of religion. Thus life is spent in framing apologies, in making and breaking resolutions, and deferring amendment, till death places his cold hand on the mouth open to make its last excuse, and one more is added to the crowded congregation of the dead." i This example furnishes an instance of the •'•"grave " style assurn'og the " median stress," for impressive effect, as formerly mentioned. " STRESS." 89 2. Serious Style. 1 A Median stress," still shorter in duration, but increased in force ) Pleasures of the Naturalist. — Wood. *' Whether the naturalist be at home or abroad, in every different clime, and in every season of the year, universal riture is before him, and invites to a banquet richly icplen- \shed with whatever can invigorate his understanding, or gratify his mental taste. The earth on which he treads, the air in which he moves, the sea along the margin of which he walks, all teem with objects that keep his attention perpet- ually awake, excite him to healthful activity, and charm him with an ever-varying succession of the beautiful, the wonder- ful, the useful, and the new." 3. Animated Style} (The approach to poetic description renders the "swell" still more forcible and full, but also allows the voice to dwell comparatively longer upon it.) Early Rising. — Robinson. %l He who rises early, is met by the domestic animals, with peculiar pleasure : one winds and purs about him, another frisks and capers, and does everything but speak. The stern mastiff, the plodding ox, the noble horse, the harmless sheep, the prating poultry, each in its own way expresses joy when he first appears. Then how incomparably fine is the dawn- ing of the day, when the soft light comes stealing on, at first glimmers with the stars, but gradually outshines them all How beautiful are the folding and parting of the gray clouds, drawn back like a curtain, to give us a sight of the most magnificent of all appearances, the rising of the sun ! Haw rich is the dew, decking every spire of grass with colored 1 These examples illustrate the application of the "median stress" to "se- rious" and : animated" style, from fulness of feeling and effect. Had the composition been of a lower tone, the utterance would have exemplified the application of the " un impassioned radical." 8* 90 ORTHOPHONY. spa lgles of endless variety, and of inexpressible beauty ! Larks mount, and fill the air with a cheap and perfect music ; and every tree, every steeple, and every hovel, emits a coo- ing or a twittering, a warbling or a chirping, — a hailing of the returning day.' 4. Declamatory Force. Resistance to Oppression. — Sheridan. " Shall we be told that the exasperated feelings of a whole people, goaded and spurred on to clamor and resistance, were excited by the poor and feeble influence of their secluded princesses ? or that they could inspire this enthusiasm and this despair into the breasts of a people who felt no griev- ance, and had suffered no torture? — What motive, then, could have such influence in their bosoms ? What motive ! — That which Nature, the common parent, plants in the bosom of man, and which is congenial with, and makes part of his being, — that feeling which tells him that man was never made to be the property of man; but that, when through pride and insolence of power, one human creature dares to tyrannize over another, it is a power usurped, and resistance is a duty, — that principle which tells him, that resistance to power usurped is not merely a duty which he owes to himself and to his neighbor, but a duty which he owes to his God, in asserting and maintaining the rank which He gave him in the creation ! — to that common God, who, where he gives the form of man, whatever may be the complexion, gives also the feelings and the rights of man, — that principle which neither the rudeness of ignorance can stifle, nor the enervation of refinement extinguish, — that principle which makes it base for a man to suffer when he ought to act ; which, tending to preserve to the spec'ies the original designations of Providence, spurns at the arrogant distinctions of man, and vindicates the independent quality of his race." 11 STRESS." 91 5. Impassioned Force. (A full and gushing " swell" of grief.) Antony, [before the Conspirators.] — Shakspeare " That I did love thee, Caesar, oh ! 'tis true . If then thy spirit look upon us now, Shall it not grieve thee, dearer than thy death, To see thy Antony making his peace, Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes, Most noble ! in the presence of thy corse ? Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds, Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood, It would become me better, than to close In terms of friendship with thine enemies. Pardon me, Julius ! — Here wast thou bayed, brave hart, Here didst thou fall ; and here thy hunters stand, Signed in thy spoil, and crimsoned in thy lethe. O world ! thou wast the forest to this hart ; And this, indeed, O world, the heart of thee ! How like a deer, stricken by many princes, Dost thou here lie ! " 6. Shouti7ig and Calling. # £The strongest " swell " of which the voice is capable, the note pro* longed.) Cinna, [after the assassination of Cjesar.] — ShaJcspeare. "Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead ! — Run hence ! proclaim, cry it about the streets ! " Cassius. " Some to the common pulpits ! and cry out, Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement !" III. " VANISHING STRESS." The word " vanishing," in this use of it, is divested entirely of its usual meaning. It has no reference whatever to an effect corresponding to the gradual disappearing of a visible object, withdrawing from the eye. It refers, as a technical teim, .nerely to the last audible moment of a vocal sound, — as 92 ORTHOPHONY the word " vanish " was technically used in speaking of the "vanishing movement" in the utterance of a sound or the enunciation of a letter. The terms " radical" and " vanish," used in elocution, with reference to the property of " stress," are always to be understood as exactly synonymous, the former, with the word initial, and the latter, with the worti final. We hare observed, thus far, that some emotions, in their utter ance, throw the " stress," or force of vocal sound, upon theirs/ por- tion of an element, as in the " explosive radical " of anger, of fear , of scorn, and similar passions ; while others retain the " stress " foe the effect of a " swell," or expulsive force, on the middle of a note* as in the " median" style of the shout of triumph, or the gentle, but full- swelling tone of reverence, or adoration. We proceed now tc those emotions which express themselves by a jerking furce, 01 " stress," thrown out at the " vanish " or close of a sound. The force of utterance in the expression of emotions marked by " vanishing stress," begins with a light and gentle, audi ends with a- heavy and violent sound, which leaves off instantly and abruptly. But although the sound, in such cases, is obviously slight at its commencement, and powerful at its close, it is by no means a gradual formation and increase of force, easily followed by the ear or analyzed by the mind. On the contrary, the whole duration of such sounds is very brief and transient, and their effect on the ear excessively abrupt, as well as violent. This form of " stress," being the natural expression of extreme emotion, does not admit of the gradations which may not unfrequently be traced in the " radical " and " me- dian " modes. It exists only in the shape of a protracted or deferred " explosion." Its nature is incompatible with " ex- pulsion," or any inferior force. A pretty accurate impression of the character of the " vanishing stress," may be obtained by listening to the sound of a musket, when, through negligent loading, or from damp powder, it "hangs fire," and a partially hissing, but gTOwing sound precedes the final explo- sion. It is exhibited in the mechanical functions of the human organs of respiration and of voice, when the workman who is using a heavy sledge-hammer brings it down in coincidence with a groan- ing expiration, terminating at the moment of the blow, in the form " STRESS " 93 faLiiliarly termed a grunt. It is exemplified, in its moral effect, 10 the language of a child stung to a high pitch of impatient or peevish feeling, and uttering, in the tone of the most violent ill-temper, its appropriate " I won't!" or " You shan't !" In such circumstances the " explosion " of passion is deferred, or hangs, for a moment, on the ear, till the " vanish " or final part of the sound bursts out from the chest, throat, and mouth, with furious vehemence ; leaving, in its abrupt termination, an effect directly contrary to the dying wail of grief, or the gentle vanish of the tone of love. The obvious preparation of the organs for the vocal effect, in the expression of " vanishing stress," implies its compara- tive dependence on volition. Hence it is the natural utter- ance of determined purpose, of earnest resolve, of stern rebuke, of contempt, of astonishment and horror, of fierce and obsti- nate will, of dogged sullenness of temper, of stubborn passion, and all similar moods. It is the language, also, of peevish- ?>sss and impatience, and, sometimes, of excessive grief Like all other forms of impassioned utterance which are strongly narked in the usages of natural habit, this property of voice is indis- pensable to appropriate elocution, whether in speaking or reading. VVithout " vanishing stress," declamation will sometimes lose its manly energy of determined will, and become feeble song to the ear. High-wrought resolution can never be expressed without it. Even the language of protest, though respectful in its form, needs the aid of the right degree of " vanishing stress," to intimate its sin- cerity and its firmness of determination, as well as its depth of con viction. But when we extend our view to the demands of lyric and dra- matic poetry, in which high-wrought emotion is so abundant an element of effect, the full command of this property of voice, as the natural uttesance of extreme passion, becomes indispensable to true natural, and appropriate style. EXAMPLES OF " VANISHING STRESS." Determined Purpose and Earnest Resolve, Example 1. — [Webster, on Freedom of Debate.] I" Pectoral quality :" " Declamatory " force : Bold " stress.") " On such occasions, I will place myself on the extreme boundary of my right, and bid defiance to the arm that would push me from it." 94 ORTHOPHONY. 2. [Otis, against "Writs of Assistance."] ("Quality" and force, as in Example 1: "Stress" more dtlio erate.) " Let the consequences be what they will, I am determined to proceed. The only principles of public conduct which are worthy of a gentleman or a man, are, to sacrifice estate, health, ease, applause, and even life, at the sacred call of his country." 3. [Swiss Deputy's reply to Charles of Burgundy.] ("Aspirated Pectoral Quality;" "Impassioned" force: Increased " stress.") " You may, if it be God's will, gain our barren and rugged mountains. But, like our ancestors of old, we will seek refuge in wilder and more distant solitudes ; and when we have resisted to the last, we will starve in the icy wastes of the glaciers. Ay, men, women, and children, we will be frozen into annihilation together, ere one free Switzer will acknowledge a foreign master ! " 4. [Campbell's war-song of the Greeks.] ^" Orotund Quality:" "Impassioned" force: "Stress" still more vehement.) " We Ve sworn, by our country's assaulters, By the virgins they Ve dragged from our altars, By our massacred patriots, our children in chains,, By our heroes of old, and their blood in our veins, That living, we will be victorious, Or that dying, our deaths shall be glorious. " Stern Rebuke. Itaa Henry V. [to Lord Scroop, on the detection of his Treason.] — Shakspearc. ('Aspirated Pectoral Quality:" "Impassioned" force: Vehemen* "stress.") " But oh \ What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop, thou cruel Ungrateful, savage, and inhuman creature 1 STRESS. 05 Thou that didst bear the keys of all my counsels, That knew'st the very bottom of my soul, That almost might'st have coined me into gold, Wouldst thou have practised on me for thy use ? " Contempt and Mockery. Qteen Constance, [to the Arch-duke of Austria.] — Shakspcars. ("Aspirated oral, and guttural Quality :" "Impassioned" force: Violent " stress.") \S " Thou slave ! thou wretch ! thou coward ! Thou little valiant, great in villany I > Thou ever strong upon the stronger side ! Thou Fortune's champion, that dost never fight But when her humorous ladyship is by To teach thee safety ! " Astonishment and Horror. Macduff, [on discovering the murder of Duncan.] — Shalcspcare. (Extremely " Aspirated pectoral Quality :" " Impassioned " force ; Excessive " stress") " Oh ! horror ! horror ! horror ! — Tongue nor heart, Cannot conceive, nor name thee ! " Confusion now hath made his masterpiece ! Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence The life o' the building. " Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight With a new Gorgon ! " Fierce and Stubborn Will. Siiylock, [refusing to listen to Antonio.] — Shakspcare. (" Aspirated, pectoral and guttural Q \ality :" " Impassioned " vehe* mence : Excessive '' stress.") " I '11 have my bond ; I will nDt hear thee speak: I '11 have my bond ; and therefore speak no more. 96 ORTHOPHONY. I '11 not be made a soft and dull-eyed fool, To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yieM To Christian intercessors. Follow not ; I '11 have no speajdng ! I will have my bond * Peevish Impatience. HoTsruR, [irritated against Henry IV.] — Shakspsare. " Why, look you, I am whipped and scourged witn rods, Nettled, and stung with pismires, when I hear Of this vile politician Bolingbroke ! " IV. " COMPOUND STRESS." This designation is applied to that form of " stress " which throws out the voice forcibly on the first and the last part of a sound, but slights, comparatively, the intermediate portion. It is, then, the application of a " radical" and a " vanishing" stress on the same sound, without an intervening " median.'' It is the natural mode of " expression," in the utterance of surprise, and sometimes, though less frequently, of othei emotions, as contempt and mockery, sarcasm and raillery. In the instinctive uses of the voice, this function seems specially designed to give point and pungency to the " radical" and " vanish," or opening and closing portions of sounds which occupy a large space of time, and traverse a wide interval of the " scale." The " explo- sive" force at the commencement of such sounds, and the partial repe- tition of " explosive " utterance at their termination, seems to mark distinctly to the ear the space which they occupy, and thus intimate their significant value in feeling. We see an analogous proceeding which addresses itself to the eye, when the workman, desirous of obtaining a perfectly exact measure, makes a deep indentation with the end of his rule, at each end of a given line, or distance, upon the object which he is measuring. Such indentations may illustrate the design or the effect, of the pungent points of sound, in " compound •stress :" they are distinct and impressive marks, and utter an impor- sant meaning. The use of this form of " stress " belongs appropriately to feelings of peculiar force or acuteness. But on this very account, it becomes an indispensable means of natural expression and true effect, in many passage.- of reading and speaking. The difference between vivid and dull or flat utterance, will often turn on the exactness with which this expressive function of voice is exerted. The careful and repeated practice of " compound stress," on ele- ments, syllables, and words, should accompany the repetition of the "STRESS." 97 following- examples. To give these last, however, their true char- acter and full effect, the imagination must be wholly given up to the supposed situation of the speaker; so as to receive a full sympathetic impression of the feeling to be uttered. Vivid emotion only, can prompt true expressive tone. EXAMPLES OF " COMPOUND STRESS." 1. Extreme Surprise. Q hen Constance, [when confounded with the intelligence of tub union of Lewis and Blanche, and the consequent injury to her son, Arthur.] — Shakspeare. ("Aspirated, guttural, and oral Quality:" "Impassioned" force.) " Gone to be married ! Gone to swear a peace ! False blood to false blood joined ! Gone to be friends ! Shall Lewis have Blanche, and Blanche these provinces ? " It is not so ; thou hast misspoke, misheard, — Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again : It cannot be ; — thou dost but say 't is so." 2. Surprise , Perplexity, and Contempt. [The examples of "compound stress" occur in the words which the servant repeats after Coriolanus. He has entered, poorly clad, and unrecognized, the mansion of aufidius, and is ill received ey the domestics, whom he treats with harshness and disdain 1 Shakspeare. Servant. " Where dwellest thou ? Coriolanus. * Under the canopy. Serv. Under the canopy ! Cor. Ay! Serv. Where 's that ? Cor. V the city of kites and crows. Serv, V the city of kites and crows ! — (WTiat an ass it is !) - - Then thou dwellest with daws too ? Cor. No : I serve not thy master." 1 The disdainful and repulsive manner of Coriolanus, causes all his replies to become striking examples of the most abrupt " radical stress." The short and snappish reply of petulance, always takes this form. It is not till provo- cation or irritation has stung its subject to the pitch of intolerable excite- ment, that utterance assumes the " vanishing stress." a 98 ORTHOPHONY. V. " THOROUGH STRESS." This species of " stress " is produced by a marked force of utterance, placed distinctively on each part of a sound to which the "radical," "median," and "vanishing" forms of stress, would apply separately. It exhibits all of these, in succession, on one and the same sound. The "thorough stress" is the natural mode of utterance in powerful emotion of that kind which seems as it -were, to delight in full and swelling expression, and to dwell upon and amplify the sounds of the voice. As far as vocal effect can be an exponent of feeling, this peculiarly characterized force, which omits no prominent portion of a sound, but pervades and obtrudes each one, would seem the appropriate lan- guage of all emotions which, in poetic phraseology, are said to " fill the soul," "swell the bosom," "fire the heart," or "delight and charm the fancy." " Thorough stress," is accordingly, the characteristic mode of " expression" in the utterance of rapture, joy, triumph, and exultation, lofty command, indignant emotion, disdain, exces- sive grief, or whatever high-wrought feeling seems for the time to wreak itself on expressive sound. It is obviously the language of extreme or impassioned feeling only. It abounds, accordingly, m lyric and dramatic poetry. It is found, how- ever, in all vehement declamation in which the emotion is sus- tained by reflective sentiment, as in the excitement of virtu- ous indignation and high-souled contempt. " Thorough stress " is one of the most powerful weapons of ora- tory, as well as one of the most vivid effects of natural feeling. If indiscriminately used, it becomes ineffective, as savoring of the habit and mannerism of the individual, rather than of just and appropriate Mioigy. In such circumstances, it becomes rant ; and when joined, as it sometimes is, to the habit of " mouthing," it can excite nothing but disgust in a hearer of well-regulated taste. Juvenile readers, however, in some instances, from diffidence, and students, from their enfeebling mode of life, are apt to fall far short of the requisite decree of this expressive function of the voice. To obtain the full command of it in all its applications, and to preserve K a!\vcys from excess, much careful practice on appropriate exam- ines, n.nd on letters, syllables, and words, becomes indispensable, aa t« yr^parau xy discipline in elocution "stress.'''' 99 EXAMPLES OF " THOROUGH STRESS." Rapture, Joy, Triumph, Exultation. (" Expulsive orotund :" " Impassioned " force : Powerful " stress.") 1. From the Dying Christian. — Pope* " Lend, lend your wings ! I mount, I fly ! O Grave ! where is thy victory ? O Death ! where is thy sting ! " ("Expulsive orotund:" Force of shouting: Vehement " stress' \ 2. From Moore's Lines on the Fate of Naples. " Shout, Tyranny, shout Through your dungeons and palaces, ' Freedom is o'er ! ' " Lofty Command. ' (" Expulsive orotund," and " sustained " force of calling, combined : Powerful and prolonged " stress.") From Satan's Call to his Legions. — Milton. " Princes ! potentates ! Warriors, the flower of heaven ! once yours, now lost. If such astonishment as this can seize Eternal spirits, Awake ! arise ! or be forever fallen ! " Yehement Indignation. ("Expulsive orotund :"" Declamatory" force : Vehement" stress.") From Chatham's Rebuke of Lord Suffolk. " These abominable principles, and this more abominable avowal of them, demand the most decisive indignation. I call upon that right reverend and this most learned Bench to vindicate the religion of their God, to defend and support the justice of their country. I call upon the bishops to interpose the unsullied sanctity of their lawn, upon the judges to intei« pose the purity of their ermine, to save us from this pollution. .100 , . < « " ORTHOPHONY. I call upon the honor of your lordships, to reverence the dignity of your ancestors, and to maintain your own. I call upon the spirit and humanity of my country, to vindicate the national character." Disdain, Satan, [to Ithuriel and Zephon.] — Milton, (" Expulsive orotund :" " Impassioned" force : Powerful " stress.") " Know ye not then," said Satan, filled w r ith scorn, " Know ye not me ? — Ye knew me once no mate For you ; there sitting where ye durst not soar : Not to know me argues yourselves unknown, — The lowest of your throng." Violent Grief, Lady Gapulet, [on the apparent death of Juliet.] — Shakspeare. ("Aspirated pectoral and oral Quality:" "Explosive" utterance: "Impassioned " force : Violent " stress.") M Accurs'd, unhappy, wretched, hateful day ! Most miserable hour that e'er time saw, In lasting labor of his pilgrimage ! " TREMOR, OR " INTERMITTENT STRESS." When, by the hysterical or excessive force of impassioned feeling, the breath is agitated into brief successive jets, in* stead of gushing forth in a continuous stream of unbroken sound, a tremor, or tremulous effect of voice, is produced, which breaks its "stress" into tittles or points; — much in the same way that a row of dots may be substituted to the eye, for one continuous line. The human voice, in the case now in view, is as appropriately said to " tremble," as when we apply the term to the shivering motion of the muscular frame. The " tremor" of the voice is the natural expression of all emotions which, from their peculiar nature, are attended with a weakened condition of the bodily organs ; such aa "stress.*' 10) extreme feebleness from age, exhaustion, sickness, fatigue grief and even joy, and other feelings, in which ardor or extreme tenderness predominates. In the reading or the recitation of lyric and dramatic poetry, this function of voice is often required for full, vivid, and touching expres- sion. Without its appeals to sympathy, and its peculiar power over the heart, many of the most beautiful anl touching passages of Shakspeare and Milton become dry and cold. Like the tremula of the accomplished vocalist, in operatic music, it has a charm, for the absence of which nothing can atone ; since nature suggests it as the genuine utterance of the most delicate and thrilling emotion. The perfect command of " tremor," requires often-repeated prac- tice on elements, syllables, and words, as well as on appropriate pas- sages of impassioned language. EXABIPLES OF " TREBIOR." 1. The Tremor of Age and Feebleness, (" Pure Tone i" " Subdued " force of Pathos : Tremulous utterance, throughout.) Stanza from a popular Ballad. " Pity the sorrows of a poor old man, Whose trembling limbs have borne him to your door, Whose days are dwindled to the shortest span ; — Oh ! give relief; and Heaven will bless your store ! ' 2. Exhaustion and Fatigue. ("Aspirated pectoral and oral Quality:" "Suppressed" force: * ' Tremor ' p throughout. ) From " As you like it." — Shakspeare, Adam, [to Orlando.] " Dear master, I can go no farther: Oh ! I die for food ! Here lie I down, and measure out my grave. Farewell ! kind master." (" Pure Tone :" " Subdued " force of Pathos : Occasional " tremor * of Tenderness.) Orlando, [to Adam.] "Why, how now, Adam! — no greater heart in thee ? Live a little; comfort a little; cheer thyself a little. For my sake be comfortable ; hold death awhiie at the arm's end: I will here be with the 3 presently 9* 102 ORTHOPHONY. Well said ! thou look'st cheerily : and I '11 be with thee quickly. — Yet thou liest in the bleak air: Come, I will beai thee to some shelter. Cheerly, good Adam ! " 3. Sickness. King John, [on the eve of his death, to Faulconbridge.] — Shatepca-e. (" Aspirated pectoral Quality :" " Suppressed " force : Gasping ana tremulous utterance.) " cousin, thou art come to set mine eye : My heart hath one poor string to stay it by, Which holds but till thy news be uttered ; And then all this thou seest, is but a clod And module of confounded royalty. " 4. Excessive Grief. Jwe, [to Adam, after their fall and doom.] — Milton. ( u Aspirated pectoral and oral Quality:" " Impassioned" force: Weeping utterance : " Tremor," throughout.) " Forsake me not thus, Adam : witness heaven What love sincere, and reverence in my heart I bear thee, and unweeting have offended, Unhappily deceived : thy suppliant, I beg, and clasp thy knees ; bereave me not, Whereon I live, thy gentle looks, thy aid, Thy counsel in this uttermost distress, My only strength and stay : forlorn of thee Whither shall I betake me, where subsist ? " 5. Extreme Pity. ("Pure Tone:" "Impassioned" force: Weeping and tremuluai utterance.) From the Tempest. — Shakspeare. Miranda, [to her father.] " Oh ! I have suffered With those that I saw suffer ! a brave vessel, Who had, no doubt, some noble creatures in her, Dashed al to pieces. Oh ! the cry did knock "stress." 103 Against my very heart ! Poor souls ! they perished. Had I been any god of power, I would Have sunk the sea within the earth, or ere It should the good ship so have swallowed, and The freighting souls within her ! " 6. Joy and Admiration. [Alonzo's exclamation, on beholding his son Ferdinand, whom he had supposed drowned.] — Shakspeare. ("Pure Tone:" "Impassioned expulsive" force: "Tremor" of joy, throughout.) " Now all the blessings Of a glad father compass thee about ! " ("Pure Tone:" "Impassioned expulsive" force: Ecstatic "tre- mor " of joy, wonder, and love.) Miranda. " Oh ! wonder ! How many goodly creatures are there here ! How beauteous mankind is ! Oh ! brave new world, That has such people in 't ! " The various modes of " stress " have been so copiously illustrated, that it seems unnecessary to add special exercises, at the close of this chapter. Before proceeding to the next subject, however, the stu- dent will derive much benefit from reviewing the examples of the different forms of " stress," and practising them in conjunction with the elementary sounds and combinations, and with the addition of the following words, as classified for this purpose. "Tonic Elements" Av?e Arm An Eve Ooze En End all ah! add eel fool erst ebb awtu) art as ear POCT earth else In Air Dp Or On Ah Zee ill hair as orb odd ace esle is hvt aghl order off aim ides Old Out Oil Use own owl oyster Ural ore owt oily your 104 ORTHOPHONY. " Subtonics." Sing Babe Did ha?ig bulb died Gag on rr Maim Nun Ray Far madam nine rip bear mime noun rock hear tongue bib dared Gog Valve Zone Azure Ye Woe Lull TH'me Joy revolve zeal measure yon way loll THey judgi relpet zest pleasure you wax lily THan jar "Atonies." Pipe Tent Cake Fife Cease He Thin Fush Church pulp tat cark fief assess hail thank hush chaste pop tut casque fitful stocks hand thaw harsh chat Words comprising elements of opposite character and forma- tion. Awe An Arm End jEve In Ooze Up 7ce In Old On ahl art all add always at Lull Cake loll cark lily kick Nun Cease nine assess noun stocks ebb ell eel it ear it fool us poor ugh ! Maim Tent madam tat mime Zone disease tut Thin thinketh isle H ides it Ran own odd ore off rip rock disowns thanketh Far hear hear Azure Fife measure fief pleasure fitful Teachers who are instructing classes will find great aid in the use of the black board, for the purpose of visible illustration, in regard to the character and effect of the different species of " stress." Exer- cises such as the following, may be prescribed for simultaneous prac- tice in classes. (Repeat six times in sue- ("Radical Stress") £> -411, cession, with constantly increasing force.) ("Vanishing Stress.") <| " " " " " " ("Median Stress.") <> " " " " " " ('"Compound Stress.") [X] " " " " " " ("Thorough Stress.") O " " " " " " ("Tremor") " " " " * " "melody." 105 To commence with a definite idea of the mode of stress in each instance, set out from the standard of a given emotion decidedly marked, and let the degree of emotion and the force of utterance be increased at every stage. Thus, let [> represent the " radical stress " on the sound of 0, in the word all, in the following example of authoritative command: "Attend all!" — <^] the "vanishing stress " on the same element, in the following example of impatience and displeasure : " I said all, — not one or two." — <3> the " me- dian stress" on the same element, in reverence and adoration: " Join all ye creatures in His praise ' " — {^> that while you are admiring the sun plunging beneath the vault of the west, another observer is beholding him as he quits the region of the east, — in the same instant reposing, weary, from the dust of the evening, and awaking, fresh and youthful, in the dews of morn ! There is not a moment of the day in which the same sun is not rising, shining in his zenith, and setting on the world ! Or, rather, our senses abuse us : and there is no rising, nor setting, nor zenith, nor east, nor west ; but all is one fixed point, at which every species of light is beaming, at once, from the unalterable orb of day." Animated Didactic Style, in Conversation. (" Pure Tone :" " Moderate " force : " Unimpassioned radical," and lively "median stress.") Imaginary Happiness. — I " People imagine they should be happy in circumstances which they would find insupportably burdensome in less than a week. A man that has been clothed in fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day, envies the peasant under a thatched hovel ; who, in return, envies him as much his palace and his pleasure-grounds. Could they exchange situ- ations, the fine gentleman would find his ceilings were too low, and that his casements admitted too much wind ; that he had no cellar for his wine, and no wine to put in his cel- lar. These with a thousand other mortifying deficiencies woud shatter his romantic project into innumerable frag ments in a moment.' ' Animated Didactic Style, in Public Discourse. ("Expulsive Orotund:" " Moderate " force : Energetic " radical ' and " median stress.") Virtue. — Fawcett. " Blood, says the pride of life, is more honorable thai< money. Indigent nobility looks down upon untitled opu PITCH. 113 »ence. This sentiment, pushed a little farther, leads to the point I am pursuing. Mind is the noblest part of man ; and of mind, virtue is the noblest distinction. "Ho?iest man, in the ear of Wisdom, is a grander name, is a more high-sounding title, than peer of the realm, or prince of the blood. According to the eternal rules of celestial pre- cedency, in the immortal heraldry of Nature and of Heaven, Virtue takes place of all things. It is the nobility of angels ! It is the majesty of God ! " 11. "Low" Pitch. This designation applies to the utterance of those feelings which we are accustomed to speak of as " deeper " than ordi- nary. Low notes seem the only natural language of grave emotions, such as accompany deeply serious and impressive thoughts, grave authority, or austere manner. The transition in the voice, from " middle " to " low " pitch would be exemplified in passing from the utterance of a thought which is merely serious, — and so termed in contradistinction, rather to one of an animated and sprightly character, — to that of one still deeper in its shade of feeling, and which would be appropriately termed grave. At the stage of voice expressive of the latter, we should perceive an obvious though not very strikingly marked deepening of tone, or descent on the scale. It is to this degree of depression of voice, properly, that the word Mow," in its connection with pitch, is applied, in elocution, as a technical designation ; there being still lower notes of the scale implied in the expression of those emotions which are still deeper in character and deeper in utterance. The full and impressive effect of a sentiment, particularly in cir- cumstances of a grave character, as on the occasion of an address on topics of politics, morals, or religion, must often be dependent on appropriate gravity of tone. A uniformly grave tone, even in public reading or speaking, becomes, it is true, dull and uninteresting. But the absence of a due degree and application of it, divests public speaking of dignity and authoritative effect, and deprives deep senti- ment of its impressive power over the mind. The " grave " sty .-a carried too low, becomes "solemn," — a fault in consequence of which the lawyer and the popular orator sometimes seem to usurp the tone of the pulpit, and the preacher to lose the vocal and the moral power which comes from touching distinctly all the chords of sacred eloquence, and not dwelling exclusively upon one. There ia more than a mere music to the ear, in the skill with which a prac- tised elocutionist leads his own voice and the svmpathies of his 10* 114 ORTHOPHONY. audience, as they glide gradually but perceptibly down the succes sive stages of emotion, from serious attention, to grave listening, and solemn impression. The attainment of a perfect control over " pitch," renders the prac- tice of all its gradations highly important, ^The following examples require attentive practice in conjunction with the repetition of the elements and of words selected from the exercises in enunciation. EXAMPLES OF " LOW " PITCH. Grave and Impressive Thought. (" Pure tone :" " Moderate" force : " Unimpassioned radical" and moderate "median stress.") Age. — Godman. 44 Now comes the autumn of life, — the season of * the sere and yellow leaf/ The suppleness and mobility of the limbs diminish ; the senses are less acute ; and the impressions of external objects are less remarked. The fibres of the body grow more rigid ; the emotions of the mind are more calm and uniform ; the eye loses its lustrous keenness of expres- sion. The mind no longer roams abroad with its original excursiveness : the power of imagination is, in great degree, lost. Experience has robbed external objects of their illusive- ness : the thoughts come home : it is the age of reflection. — It is the period in which we receive the just tribute of venera- tion and confidence from our fellow-men, if we have so lived as to deserve it, and are entitled to the respect and confidence of the younger part of mankind, in exact proportion to the manner in which our own youth has been spent, and our maturity improved." Grave, Austere, Authoritative Manner. ("Expulsive orotund:" "Declamatory" force: Firm "median stress.") Cato [in reply to Cjesar's Message through Decius.] — Addison. " My life is grafted on the fate of Rome. Would he save Cato, bid him spare his country Bid him disband his legions, PITCH. 115 Restore the commonwealth to liberty, Submit his actions to the public censure, And stand the judgment of a Roman senate. — Bid him do this, and Cato is his friend." III. "Very Low" Pitch. This designation applies to the notes of those emotions which are of the deepest character, and which are accord- ingly associated with the deepest utterance. These are, chiefly, the following: deep solemnity, awe, amazement, horror, despair, melancholy, and deep grief. The exceedingly " low pitch " of these and similar states of feel ing, is one of those universal facts which necessarily become laws of vocal expression, and, consequently, indispensable rules of elocution. Any passage, strongly marked by the language of one of these emo- tions, becomes utterly inexpressive without its appropriate deep notes. Yet this fault is one of the most prevalent in reading, especially with youth. That absence of deep and powerful emotion of an expressive character and active tendency, which usually char- acterizes the habits of the student's life, often leaves a great defi- ciency in this element of vocal effect, even in individuals who habit- ually drop into the fault of a slackness of organic action which causes too low a pitch in serious or in grave style. The "very low " pitch is not a mere accidental or mechanical result : it requires the aid of the will, and a special exertion of organ, to produce it. This lowest form of pitch is one of the most impressive means of powerful natural effect, in the utterance of all deep and impressive emotions. The pervading and absorbing effect of awe, amazement, horror, or any similar feeling, can never be produced without low pitch and deep successive notes ; and the depth and reality of such emotions are always in proportion to the depth of voice with which they are uttered. The grandest descriptions in the Paradise Lost, and the profoundest meditations in the Night Thoughts, become trivial in their effect on the ear, when read with the ineffectual expression inseparable from the pitch of ordinary conversation or dis- course. The vocal deficiency which limits the range of expression to the middle and higher notes of the scale, is not, by any means, the unavoidable and necessary fault of organization, as it is so generally supposed to be. Habit is in this, as in so many other things, the cause of defect. There is truth, no doubt, in the remark so often made in defence of a high and feeble voice, that it is natural to the individual, or that it is difficult for some readers to attain to depth of voice witbout incurring a false and forced style of utterance. But, in most cases, it is habit, not organization, that has made certain notes natural or unnatural, — in other words, familiar to the ear, 01 116 ORTHOPHONY. the reverse. The neglect of the lower notes of the scale, and, con- sequently, of the organic action by which they are produced, maj render a deep-toned utterance less easy than it would otherwise be. But most teachers of elocution are, from day to day, witnesses to the fact, that students, from the neglect of muscular action, and from all the other enfeebling causes involved in sedentary habits and intellec- tual application, sometimes commence a course of practice, with a high-pitched, thin, and feminine voice, which seems at first incapable of expressing a grave or manly sentiment, and, in some instances, appears to forbid the individual from ever attempting the utterance of a solemn thought, lest his treble tone should make the effect ridiculous ; but that a few weeks' practice of vocal exercise on bass notes and deep emotions, as embodied in rightly selected exercises, often enables such readers to acquire a round and deep-toned utter- ance, adequate to the fullest effects of impressive eloquence. The exercise of singing bass, if cultivated as an habitual practice, has a great, effect in imparting command of deep-toned expression, in reading and speaking. Reading and reciting passages from Milton and from Young, and particularly from the Book of Psalms, or from hymns of a deeply solemn character, are exercises of great value for securing the command of the lower notes of the voice. The practice of the following examples should be accompanied by copious exercises on the elements, and on words selected for the pur- pose. These exercises shouR be repeated till the student can, at any moment, strike the appropriate note of awe or solemnity, with as much certainty as the vocalist can execute any note of the scale EXAMPLES OF "VERY LOW" PITCH. Deep Solemnity, Sublimity, and Awe Cato, [in Soliloquy.] — Addison, ( (t Effusive and Expulsive orotund :" "Subdued and Suppressec force : " Median stress.") " It must be so ; — Plato, thou reasonest well ! Else, whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire This longing after immortality ? Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror, Of falling into nought ? Why shrinks the soul Back on herself, and startles at destruction ? *T is the Divinity that stirs within us : 'T is Heaven itself that points out an hereafter, And intimates Eternity to man. Eternity! — thou pleasing, — dreadful thought! Through what variety of untried being, PITCH. 117 Thiough what new scenes and changes must wc pass ! The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me ; But shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it." Awe, Dismay, and Despair, ("Aspirated pectoral Quality :" " Suppressed' ' force: "Median stress.") The Pestilence. — Porteou* " At dead of night, In sullen silence stalks forth Pestilence : Contagion, close behind, taints all her steps With poisonous dew : no smiting hand is seen ; No sound is heard ; but soon her secret path Is marked with desolation : heaps on heaps Promiscuous drop. No friend, no refuge, near : All, all is false and treacherous around, All that they touch, or taste, or breathe, is Death f " Deep Grief. Affliction and Desolation. — Young. ("Effusive and expulsive orotund:" "Impassioned" and "sub- dued" force : " Vanishing " and " median stress.") " In every varied posture, place, and hour, How widowed every thought of every joy ! Thought, busy thought ! too busy for my peace ! Through the dark postern of time long elapsed. Led softly, by the stillness of the night, Led like a murderer, (and such it proves !) ] Strays, (wretched rover !) o'er the pleasing past : In quest of wretchedness perversely strays, And finds all desert now ! " IV. "High" Pitch. The analysis of vocal expression, as regards the effect of "pitch," leads us now to the study of those modes of utterance which lie above the middle, or ordinary, level of the voice. The higher portion of the musical scale is associated with 1 18 ORTHOPHONY. the notes of brisk, gay, and joyous emotions, with the excep- tion of the extremes of pain, grief, and fear, which, from their preternaturally exciting power, compress and render rigid the organic parts that produce vocal sound, and cause the peculiarly shrill, convulsive cries and shrieks which express those passions. Tracing the voice upward, as it ascends from the usual pitch of "serious" or of " animated expression," we observe it obviously rise, when it passes from the " animated," or lively, to the " gay" or brisk style, which implies a positive exhilaration, or vivid excite- ment of the animal spirits. Cheerfulness will suffice to produce " animation;" but joy is requisite to cause " gaiety." THe proper- ties of voice, in the utterance of these feelings, are correspondent to their gradations of sensibility. " Animation" is expressed by " pure tone," " unimpassioned radical stress," and " middle pitch :" gaiety, by ''expulsive orotund," vivid "radical and median stress," and "high pitch." The command over " pitch," in its application to joyous emotions is not, it is true, of so much importance to the public speaker, as the power of adopting the appropriate tone of serious, grave, and solemn feeling. It is, however, an indispensable accomplishment in elocu- tion, for the purposes of private and social reading ; as much of the pleasure, as well as the true effect, of expression, in the reading of pieces adapted to the parlor, and the family or the social circle, depends on the vivid utterance and comparatively high pitch which occasionally prevail in the appropriate style of such reading ; since it is not unfrequently marked by gay delineation and high-wrought graphic effect of incident, description, and sentiment. A " pitch " too low for the natural effect of gay and exhilarated feeling deadens the effect of wit and vivacity, and renders, perhaps, a most expressive strain of composition, tame and dull, when it should abound in the tones of life and brilliancy. Juvenile readers, from diffidence, often withhold the true effect of the voice in the reading of scenes of gaiety and joyousness, by allow ing the pitch to remain too low. The gravity and austerity of the student's life, incline him to the same mode of utterance, as a habit, and hence impair that freshness of effect, even in serious communi- cation which comes from the frequent practice of utterance in strains of joy and gaiety. The proverbial dulness arising from " all work and no play," is felt nowhere more deeply than in the habits of the voice. Long-continued, intense mental application, betrays itself uniformly, in a tendency to hollow, "pectoral" tone; and the uniform " drowsy bass " of some public speakers, is but the uncon- scious yielding to this natural effect. To give the voice suppleness, pliancy, and mobility, much atten- tion must be bestowed on practice for the regulation of pitch. The following examples should be carefully repeated in conjunction with the elements and detached words, till the " high pitch " of joy is per- fectly at command. PITCH. J 1 9 EXAMPLES OF "HIGH" PITCH. Gay, or brisk, style, Joy. From the Voice of Spring. — Mrs. Hemans. \ %t Expulsive orotund :" " Impassioned " force : " Median stress, *\ * I come ! I come ! — ye have called me long : I come o'er the mountains with light and song! Ye may trace my step o'er the wakening earth, By the winds which tell of the violet's birth, By the primrose stars in the shadowy grass, By the green leaves opening as I pass. " From the streams and founts I have loosed the chain ' They are sweeping on to the silvery main, — They are flashing down from the mountain brows, — They are flinging spray o'er the forest-boughs, — They are bursting fresh from their sparry caves ;— And the earth resounds with the joy of waves !" Exultation. From the Hymn of the Stars. — Bryani. ( a Quality," force, and " stress," as before, but more fully given.) " Away, away ! through the wide, wide sky, — The fair blue fields that before us lie, — Each sun with the worlds that round him roll, Each planet, poised on her turning pole, With her isles of green, and her clouds of whitei And her waters that lie like fluid light ! " For the source of glory uncovers his face, And the brightness o'erflows unbounded space ; And we drink, as we go, the luminous tides In our ruddy air and our blooming sides : Lo ! yonder the living splendors play ! Away ! on our joyous path away ! 1 20 ORTHOPHONY. V. " Away, away ! — In our blossoming bowers, In the soft air wrapping these spheres of ours, In the seas and fountains that shine with morn, See Love is brooding, and Life is born ; And breathing myriads are breaking from night, To rejoice like us, in motion and light!" V. "Very High" Pitch. The extreme of the upper part of the musical scale, as far as it is practicable to individuals, in the management of the voice, is the natural range of pitch for the utterance of ecstatic and rapturous or uncontrollable emotion. It belongs, accord- ingly, to high-wrought lyric and dramatic passages, in strains oi joy, grief, astonishment, delight, tenderness, and the hyster- ical extremes of passionate emotion generally. As the appropriate utterance of excessive feeling, the " extremely high pitch " is not so important for the general purposes of elocu- tion, as the "middle" or the "high." Passages requiring this mode of expression must obviously be of comparatively rare occur- rence. It is not less true, however, that the peculiar beauty, or power, or natural effect, of a strain of poetry, may depend, for its true expression, on the command which the reader or reciter pos- sesses over this element of voice. It is equally certain that practice and discipline on the uppermost notes of the scale, give the voice great pliancy, on the range immediately below ; and that the frequent repetition of the highest note which the student can command, is one of the most efficacious means of imparting firm, clear, and well- compacted tone. The following examples, together with the elements and selected words, should be repeated, as daily exercises, for the purpose of training the organs to easy execution on high notes. EXAMPLES OF "VERY HIGH" PITCH. Ecstatic Joy. [SONO OP THE VaLKYRIUR, OR FATAL SlSTERS, TO THE DOOMED WAR rior.] — Mrs. Hemans. (" Expulsive Orotund :" " Sustained " force of calling and shouting " Median stress.") " Lo ! the mighty sun looks forth ! — Aim ! thou leader of the north ! PITCH. 121 Lo ! the mists of twilight fly — We must vanish, thou must die ! " By the sword, and by the spear, By the hand that knows not fear, Sea-king ! nobly shalt thou fall ! There is joy in Odin's hall ! " Astonishment. Dromio of Syracuse, [on his being mistaken for his brother.] — Shdkspeare. ("Expulsive Orotund:" "Impassioned" force: "Thorough < stress.") " This drudge laid claim to me ; called me Dromio ; swore I was assured to her ; told me what private marks I had about me, as the mark of my shoulder, the mole in my neck, the great wart on my left arm, — that I, amazed, ran from her as a witch ; and I think, if my breast had not been made of faith, and my heart of steel, she had transformed me to a curtail- dog, and made me turn i' the wheel." To attain a perfect command of " pitch," as an element of expres- sion, it will be a useful exercise, to review, in close succession, all the examples of " pitch," and to add, at each stage, a repetition of the elements and of words. The student who can borrow the aid of the musical scale, will derive great benefit from the exactness which it will impart to his practice ; as it will enable him to observe and to remember certain notes as the appropriate pitch for natural and impressive reading, in passages characterized by given emotions. The habit of analyzing passages, so as to recognize readily their pre- dominating feeling, and, consequently, their " pitch," is one which every earnest student of elocution will cultivate with persevering dil- igence, till he finds himself able, from a single glance at the first line of a piece, to determine its gradation of feeling, and its true note in utterance. Besides practising the examples of" pitch," in the order in which they occur in the preceding pages, it will contribute much to facility in changing the " pitch" of the voice, if the student will vary the order of the examples, so as to become accustomed to pass easily from one point of the scale to another, — as from highest to lowest, and the reverse. The practice of the elements and of words, should always be added to the repetition of the examples. 11 122 ORTHOPHONY. "TRANSITION" IN PITCH. The paucity of terms in our language, fcr the various phenomena of voice, has laid writers on elocution under an imagined necessity of using some words, borrowed from other sciences or arts, in a manner not consistent with scientific accuracy of expression. Thus, the word " modulation," which has an exact meaning in music, has been used in elocution, in an irregular manner, to designate the observ- ance of the difference of pilch, in the utterance of emotions, as they occur successively in reading or speaking. Popular, and even repu- table usage, has sanctioned this application of the term. But as it tends to create confusion of ideas, when it is used in certain relations to elocution which regard the " melody " of the component parts of sentences, it would be better, perhaps, to regard the transitions of the voice from one strain to another, in consecutive reading, as merely the necessary assumption of a new " pitch," adapted to each successive emotion, and being nothing else, as* a vocal accomplish- ment, than skill in instancy striking a given note of the scale. A passage of composition, in prose or verse, used as an exercise in reading, may be marked to the ear by one prevalent tone of feel- ing, which allows or requires little or no variation of voice, and, con- sequently, as little transition from one note of the scale to another We find one piece, as Milton's Allegro, for example, pervaded by the expressive tones, and "high" notes, and consequent "high pitch," of Joy throughout, — another, as the same author's Pense- roso, marked by the prevalence of the style of grave musing and poetic melancholy, with their appropriate expression in " low " notes, and, therefore, " low pitch." Other compositions are characterized by great and frequent transi tions of feeling and of utterance, and consequently by corresponding high or low notes, and the frequent transition from one to the other. It is to these changes of voice that the term "modulation" has sometimes been arbitrarily applied ; and it is to the department of elocution sometimes designated by this term, that we now proceed in our analysis. This branch of our subject is one of the utmost importance to the student. Without the power of easy and exact accommodation of voice to the natural " pitch " of every successive emotion in a piece, there can be no such thing as natural or impressive reading. But variation of " pitch " is a topic on which we need not dwell ; as it is> practically, but the consecutive application of the same functions of voice to which we have just 'been attending in detached and separate instances. Let the student read in close sequence, and with perfect exactness of " pitch," all the examples given under that head, and he will have necessarily executed, at the same time, an extensive practice in " transition " from one portion of the scale to another, as he shifted the pitch of his voice in passing from one example to another. A piece of varied topics and style, in prose writing, or what has been termed a Pindaiic ode, in lyric poetry, will furnish, by its changing character of thought and expression, appropriate occasiora PITCH. 123 fb^ frequcr.t and great transitions on the scale, as \he voice passes from the utterance of one strain of emotion to that of another. EXAMPLES OF " TRANSITION " IN PITCH. 1. From Joy to Grave and Pailxtic Emotion. (From " High " to " Low Pitch.") The Voice of Spring. — Mrs. Hemans. "High." " Away from the dwellings of care-worn men, The waters are sparkling in grove and glen ! Away from the chamber and sullen hearth, The young leaves are dancing in breezy mirth ! Their light stems thrill to the wild- wood strains ; And youth is abroad in my green domains ! — "Low." " But ye — ye are changed since ye met me last ! There is something bright from your features passed ! There is that come over your brow and eye, Which speaks of a world where the flowers must die ! -• Ye smile ! but your smile hath a dimness yet : — Oh ! what have ye looked on since last we met ? " 2. From Horror to Tranquillity, (From " Very Low " to " Middle Pitch.") Stanzas from a Russian Poet. — Bomring. " Very Low" " How frightful the grave ! how deserted and drear ! With the howls of the storm-wind, the creaks of the bier, And *he white bones all clattering together ! "Middle Pitch." " How peaceful the grave ! its quiet how deep : Its zephyrs breathe calmly ; and soft is its sleep ; And flowrets perfume it with ether." 124 ORTHOPHONY , 3. From Rapture to Grief. (From " Very High " to " Low Pitch.") Stanzas from Mrs. Hemans. M Very ITigh." * Ring joyous chords ! — ring out again ! A swifter still and a wilder strain ! And bring fresh wreaths ! — we will banish all Save the free in heart from our festive hall. On through the maze of the fleet dance, on ! " — "Lew." 11 But where are the young and the lovely? — gor.e r Where are the brows with the red rose crowned, And the floating forms with the bright zone bound ? And the waving locks and the flying feet, That still should be where the mirthful meet? — They are gone ! — they are fled, they are parted all : — Alas ! the forsaken hall ! " 4 From Triumph and Exultation, to Grave, Pathetic, ana Solemn feeling, and thence returning to Triumph and Exultation. (From " High" to " Low," and thence to " High Pitch.") " Mark ye the flashing oars, And the spears that light the deep ? How the festal sunshine pours Where the lords of battle sweep ! " Each hath brought back his shield ; — Maid, greet thy lover home ! Mother, from that proud field, Io ! thy son is come ! " "Low." " Who murmured of the dead ? Hush ! boding voice. We know PITCH. 125 That many a shining head Lies in its glory low. " Breathe not those names to-day . They shall have their praise ere long, And a power all hearts to sway, In ever-burning song." "High:' " But now shed flowers, pour wine, To hail the conquerors home ! Bring wreaths for every shrine ! — Io ! they come, they come ! " 5. From Tranquillity to Joy and Triumph, Awe, Scorn, Awe, Horror, Exultation, Defiance, Awe, — successively. [Israel's Triumph over the King of Babylon.] — Isaiah. [Tranquillity: "Middle Pitch:"] "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: — [Joy and Triumph: "High Pitch:"] they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, * Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.' — [Awe: "Law Pitch ;"] Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy coming : it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth : it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. — [Narrative: "Middle Pitch :"] All they shall speak, and say unto thee, — [Scorn: "High Pitch :"] * Art thou also become weak as we ? Art thou become like unto us V — [Awe : "Low Pitch :"] Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols :' — [Horror : " Very Low Pitch :"] * the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.' — [Exultation: "Middle Pitch :"] * How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning ! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations !' — [Defiance: "High Pitch:"] i For thou hast said in thy heart, u I will ascend info heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars c" God. I will ascend 11* 126 ORTHOPHONY. above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High."— [Awe : "Low Pitch:"] ' Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.' " 11:3 same " transitions " of " pitch M which occur in passing from one paragraph or stanza to another, may also take place within the limits of a single sentence, if the feeling obviously changes from clause *o clause, — as in the following extract. Reverence and Awe. (" Low pitch :" rising gradually to " middle," in the fourth lu.e.) Adoration. — Porteous. " O Thou ! whose balance does the mountains weigh, Whose will the wild tumultuous seas obey, Whose breath can turn those watery worlds to flame, That flame to tempest, and that tempest tame," — Deepest Reverence and Awe. ("Very low pitch.") " Earth's meanest son, all trembling, prostrate falls, ' Reverence and Adoration. (" Low pitch.") " And on the boundless of Thy goodness calls." Solemnity. (Pitch still lower.) " May sea and land, and earth and heaven be joined, To bring the eternal Author to my mind ! " Awe. ("Very low pitch.") " When oceans roar, or thunders roll, May thoughts of Thy dread vengeance shake my soul!' THE "PHRASES" OF "SENTENTIAL MELODY." If we bring our analysis of a sentence into still closer distinctions of melody and pitch, we pass from clauses to phrases. The " melody PITCH. 12? A phrases and their relative " pitch," involve topics too numerous and too intricate for discussion in an elementary work. These sub- jects will be found fully explained in the work of Dr. Rush. We will select a few points of practical application and of primary impor- tance. The " phrases of melody," in a sentence, admit of being arranged in two classes : — 1st, those which prevail in the body of a sentence ; 2d, that which occupies the last three syllables of a sen- tence, and forms the cadence. The former is termed the " current melody ;" the latter, the " melody of the cadence." The investigation of melody and pitch, in phrases, requires atten- tion to the important distinction of "discrete" and "concrete" sounds. " Discrete " sounds consist of notes produced at intervals, or in close succession, but in detached and distinct forms, as in run- ning up or down the keys of a piano, or the chords of a harp ; or producing similar sounds on a violin, by twitching the strings with the finger, instead of gliding over them with the bow ; or in the laughing utterance of delighted surprise, as when we laugh a " fifth " or an " octave " up the scale, on the interrogatory interjec- tion "eh?" or when, in the laughing utterance of derision, we run down the scale, in the same way, in the long-drawn sound of the word "no!" In these last-mentioned instances, every note is executed by a distinct and separate little jet, or tittle, of voice. To such sounds, then, the word " discrete" in its proper etymological sense, may be justly applied, as intimating that they exist apart. " Concrete " sounds, on the other hand, are produced by a succes- sion of notes gliding into each other so imperceptibly to the ear, that they cannot be detached from each other ; as when the violinist, in playful execution, sometimes makes his instrument seem to hold dia- logue, in the tones of question and answer, by drawing the bow across the strings, while he slips his left hand, upward and down- ward, so as to shorten or lengthen the strings, and thus cause the sounds to glide up or down the scale, in one continuous stream of " mewing" sound. A parallel illustration may be drawn from the natural use of the voice, when we pronounce the interrogatory "eh?" of surprise, in a serious mood, but with great earnestness, — merely causing the voice to slide smoothly up the scale, through the interval of a " fifth " or an " octave," or when we utter the word "no!" in the tone of full and bold denial, and make the voice sweep continu- ously down the scale, through a similar interval. In the " current melody " of a sentence, every syllable includes a "radical" and a "vanishing movement," united, which, in unim- passioned expression, occupy the space, on the scale, of one tone, or pa*s from one note to the next above it on the scale. The succes- sion of" concrete " tones, is uniformly at the interval of a tone, up- ward or downward on the scale, as the case may be. The rise of voice within each syllable may therefore be called its "concrete pit^h;" and the place that each syllable takes above or behw another, the " radical pitch." The " melody of phrases," prescribes no fixed succession of rad- ical pitch, although it usually avoids a repetition of the same " radi- cal pitch," unless for special effect; in extreme cases ; and it foibida 128 ORTHOPHONY. the see -saw tone of exact alternation, or measured recurrence, of 11 radical pitch." The convenience of using specific and exact term; 5, in relation to " melody " and " pitch," as they exist in speech, renders the follow ing distinctions important to the student of elocution. When two or more " concretes " occur in succession, on the same " radical pitch," they form a " monotone," or produce upon the ear the effect of unity or sameness of sound or tone. This concrete pitch is often used in conjunction with the low notes of awe, sub* limit]/, and solemnity, for impressive effect, resembling that of th(j deep tolling of a large bell. " Monotone," however, is not to b(* confounded with monotony, the besetting fault of school reading, anj which consists chieily in omitting or slighting the " radical stress,' and sometimes abolishing even the " radical movement " of elements " Monotone " is the sublimest poetic effect of elocution: monotony one of the worst defects. When the "radical pitch" is one note above or below that of the preceding tone, it is termed a " Rising " or a " Falling Ditone.' — When the radicals of three successive " concretes," rise or fall they become a " Rising " or a " Falling Tritone." — When there is a series of three or more, alternately a tone above and below each other, they form an " Alternate Phrase." When three "concretes" gradually descend in their "radical pitch " at the close of a sentence, the " vanish " of the last, instead of ascending, descends ; so as to give the peculiar closing effect to the cadence. This descent is, accordingly, for distinction's sake, termed the " Triad of the Cadence." It is in this peculiar " phrase " of " sentential melody," that the very general fault, popularly called " a tone," exists. The common style of cadence, instead of being spoken, is usually such as causes it to be sung, more or less, by deviating from the melody of the "triad," and, at the same time, losing "radical," and assuming " median stress," accompanied by a half-musical wave or undulation of voice. A clear, distinct, and exact succession of " radical {itch," in the form of the " triad," would, in most cases, destroy the false tone, and impart to reading more resemblance than it often possesses to speech or to conversation. The student will derive much assistance, in this branch of elocu- tion, from repeating the " tonic elements," and appropriate words selected from the exercises in the chapter on enunciation, wilh a view, first, to observe the " concrete" character of the elementary sounds of speech in their initial "radical" and rising "vanish." Let letters, syllables, and words, then be practised, successively in the forms of the phrases of the "monotone," "falling" am 4 " rising " " ditone," and " tritone," and the " triad of the cadence.' The following illustration, selected from the work of Dr. Rush will suggest the idea how the exercises in this department may h( practised in classes, by the use of the chart of exercises, or of the black-board. The object in view, in the use of such diagrams as the following is not to exhibit the strict application of any rule or priaciple of eio* PITCH. 129 c idon, but merely to aid the mind in attaining an exact apprehension of the nature and character of the elements of vocal sound, in certain relations. It is not meant that either the couplet from Pope's Homer, which is introduced in the following illustration, or the lines which follow it, must be read with the precise melody exhibited in the dia- gram, or that they cannot be appropriately read with any other. The design of this exemplification, is merely to show the different forms of " radical pitch," as they occur in the actual use of the voice, and to render the practice of them definite and exact. The repetition of the exercise will render the ear accurate and discriminating, and will preserve the student from inadvertently contracting the false intona- tion arising from the general neglect of this part of elocution, and from the impossibility of discussing or explaining its peculiari- ties till the means of instruction were furnished by exact analysis and precise nomenclature, — benefits for which science and education stand equally indebted to the discriminating genius and philosophic investigation of Dr. Rush. " That quarter most the skilful Greeks annoy, E -&-**- _®L <£-&- Monotone, Falling Ditone. Rising Tritone. Rising Ditone. Where yon wild fig trees join the walls of Troy.' * iJ d •* d — ** n the moment of uttering the "radical " of the expressive soured to that of uttering its " vanish," being a rising " third ;" the voice glid- ing upward, with a continuous sound, terminating in the note v»Kch lies on the third degree of the scale above the " radical :" — 2d, the more expressive " slide " of greater surprise, or of wonder, — occu- pying the interval of an upward " fifth ;" the gliding sound terminat ing on the note which is on the fifth degree of the scale ^bove the " radical :" — 3d, extreme surprise, excessive wonder, or astonishment, whether real or affected, (and, particularly, if the latter,) will impel the voice with a slide which glides through a whole " octave," or interval of eight notes, from the " radical " to the " v&iish." Again, let it be supposed that the person who is listening to the narrator, is answering in the derisive tone of mockery. The voice, in tlds case, will utter the word " indeed!" in the downward " slide ;" and if we suppose, farther, the tone of emotion increased in intensity of expression, at each stage, the effect may be to produce the fame thiee intervals of the scale as before, but in the opposite direction : — 1st, the downward " third," — 2d, the downward " fifth," — 3d, the downward " octave ;" the voice gliding down with a continuous sound, through each of these intervals, in succession, //hde uttering the last syllable of the expressive word " indeed!" Similar illustrations might be drawn from the natural " expres- sion " of other strong or distinctly marked emotions. But these wil. occur in subsequent examples. A clear and broad definition is all that is now requisite. 132 ORTHOPHONY. The " slides " of the voice have three important and dis rinct offices ; and these produce the three principal forms of the ' slide :" 1st, the " slide of passion or emotion" — 2d, the " distinctive slide," or that which is addressed to the under- standing and the judgment, as in designation, comparison, and contrast, — 3d, the "mechanical slide," which belongs to the mechanism of a sentence, and the local position of phrases; as in the special instance of the partial cadence, which takes place when a distinct portion of the sense is completed, although the whole sentence is not finished; as in this instance : " Let your companions be select ; let them be such as you can esteem for their good qualities, and whose virtu- ous example you may emulate." We have another example in the " triad " of the full and final cadence falling en^liely within one syllable, as in the following emphatic negation : " No ; by the rood, not so I " Another " slide " which serves a mechanical puipose, rather than one of thought or feeling, is the " penuhimate slide " of most sentences, which serves the purpose of raising the voice deliberately and distinctly, previous to its final descent at the close of the sentence, and thus renders the cadence more perceptible and more impressive ; as in the fol- lowing example : " Let the young go out, under the descend- ing sun of the year, into the fields of nature." Few parts of elocution are more important to the practical teacher or to the earnest student, than the discrimination of the " partial " and the " final " cadence. The confounding of these two descents of voice, causes the two prevalent errors of school reading and popular oratory, as contradistinguished "from true, natural, and appropriate expression. The school-boy, in attempting to give the " partial " cadence, when endeavoring to comply with his teacher's injunction. to " use a falling inflection," gives the full " trjad " of the cadence, on the last three syllables, in the phrase of the preceding example^ u be select:" which of course produces, at the colon, the proper effect of a period. The habitual tone of school reading, inclining, in didac- tic style, to a declamatory chant, the young reader, when he comes to the proper place of the cadence, at the close of the sentence, sub- stitutes, for the proper " triad," — on the last three syllables, — the <; rising ditone," on the first and second, and a "concrete third " with a downward " vanish," on the third ; and these are commonly eaiercd still more conspicuous by the unhappy effect, (intended, THE l( SLIDE." 133 apparently, as a compensation for the want of true cadence,) of a superadded "wave." This " drift," or prevailing effect of false intonation, in the " melody of sentences," pervades the style of voice current in school reading, in academic declamation, and in public addresses, and substitutes something like the effects of song for those of speech. The "triad" of the cadence derives its closing effect of repose and approaching cessation of voice, partly from its contrasting with the previous "penultimate upward slide," which usually occurs at the last comma, or similar pause, of a sentence, and terminates the penultimate clause ; sometimes from a previous " falling tritono " preceding the penultimate rise ; and always from its own regular descent, which reseir bles the effect of a gradual but distinct succes- sion of downward steps. The " partial " cadence of complete sense, but incomplete period, on the contrary, preserves its more abrupt effect of imperfectly finished succession of sounds, by adopting, in the last three syllables of the clause to which it is applied, the " rising ditone " on the first and second, and the " concrete of the second," with downward " vanish," on the third. The effect of full cadence is thus entirely avoided, and yet that of partial completeness of sense, secured ; the voice ending on a strain too high for the one, and yet, by the " concrete of the second " with the downward " vanish," pre- serving the indication of temporary cessation and slight repose. I. THE SLIDE OF EMOTION. The "slide of emotion " extends through an interval corre- sponding, in every instance, to the intensity of feeling implied in "expressive" words, and may, accordingly, be measured, in most instances, by the " third," the " fifth," or the " octave." Strong emotions are expressed by the " downward slide ;" except surprise, and earnest, or impassioned interrogation, which usually adopt the " upward slide" of the " fifth" or the " octave." EXAMPLES. 1. Impetuous Courage and Fierce Determination. Richmond to his Troofs. — ShaJcspeare. (" Orotund " and " aspirated pectoral quality :" Shouting : " Explo- sive radical" and "expulsive median stress:" "High pitch." The "downward slide" of the "third," takes place on every emphatic word in the first four lines, and 'he " downward fifth " on the remainder, as indicated by the grave accent, the usual mark for this " slide.") 12 134 ORTHOPHONY. " Fight, gentlemen of England ! fight, bold yedmen f Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head : Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood , Amaze the welkin with your broken staves. — A thousand hearts are great within my bosom : Advance our standards, ;set upon our foes ! Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George, Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons ! Upon them ! Victory sits on our helms." 2. Impassioned burst of Scorn. From Cokiolanus. — Shakspeare. ("Aspirated pectoral and guttural quality :" Violent force : " Explo- sive radical stress :" " High pitch.' ' The exemplification occurs in the reply of Coriolanus, which contains the " downward slide ' of the " octave," in the words " Measureless liar !" and " Boy!" and the " downward fifth " on the other emphatic words.) Aufidius. " Name not the god, Thou boy of tears. Coriolanus. Measureless liar ! thou hast made my heart Too great for what contains it. Boy ! Cut me to pieces, Volscians : men and lads, Stain all your edges on me. Boy ! — If you have writ your annals true, 't is there That, like an eagle in a dovecot, I Fluttered your Volscians in Corioli : Alone I did it.— Boy!" 3. Indignant Rebuke. Marullus to the People. — Shakspeare. ("Orotund and aspirated pectoral quality :" "Impassioned" force: " Explosive radical stress :" " Low pitch :" " Downward slide * of the "fifth." " Begone ! run to your houses, fall upon your kneas, Pray to the gods to intermit the plagues That needs must light on this ingratitude ! " THE "SLIDE." 135 4. Excessive Grief. (< Aspirated pectoral quality :" Weeping utterance : " Impassioned * force : Violent " vanishing stress :" " High pitch : ,,(|1 Downward slide "of the "fifth.") David, [bewailing the death of Absalom.] " my son Absalom ! my son, my son Absalom ! Would God I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son!" 1 5. Exception. — Surprise, Earnest and Impassioned Interro- gation. Extract from Chatham. ("Aspirated pectoral quality :" " Declamatory " force : " Compoui d stress :" " High pitch :" " Upward fifth.") "Can ministers still presume to expect support 2 in their infatuation ? Can parliament be so dead to its dignity and its duty, as to give its support to measures thus obtruded and forced upon it ? " From Cicero's Accusation of Verres. " Is it come to this ? Shall an inferior magistrate, a gov- ernor, who holds his whole power of the Roman people, in a Roman province, within sight of Italy, bind, scourge, torture with fire and red hot plates of iron, and at last put to the infamous death of the cross, a Roman citizen ? " Marullus to the People. — Shakspeare. " O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, Knew ye not Pompey ? Many a time and oft Have you climbed up to walls and battlements, To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 1 For fuller exemplification of the "slide," see "American Elocutionist," in which this and the other departments of sentential and rhetorical elocution, are fully discussed. The present volume, being designed merely as a manual for training in orthophony, and as an introduction to the Elocutionist, is lim- ited to sued an outline of the subject as might afford sufficient ground for the intelligent practice of a course of elementary exercises. 2 Tlie acute accent is the usual mark of the " upvvarl slide," or "rising inflection." 13b ORTHOPHONY. Your infants m your arms, and there nave sat The live-long day, with patient expectation, To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome : And when you saw his chariot but appear, Have you not made a universal shout, That Tiber trembled underneath her banks To hear the replication of your sounds, Made in her concave shores ? l And do you now put on your best attire ? And do you now cull out a holiday? And do you now strew flowers in his way, That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood ? n II. THE " DISTINCTIVE " SLIDE. This slide, it will be recollected, is used not for purposes of pas- sion or emotion, but for suggestions connected with the understand- ing and judgment, — that which may be termed intellectual, not im~ passioned, expression. The " downward distinctive slide " extends, usually, through the interval of a " third." It is used, first, for mere designation, as in announcing a subject or topic, in didactic style, in introducing a person or an event in narrative, or an object, in descriptive style ; as in the following examples : " The duties of the citizens of a republic formed the subject of the orator's address." " Among the eminent men of the period of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin held a conspicuous place." " From the date of the American Revolution, commenced a new era in the history of man." " The dazzling summits of the snow-capt mountains in the distance, threw an air of enchantment over the scene." This slide is used also, for distinction in contrasts, as in the latter )f two correspondent or antithetic words or phrases, in which the contrast is exactly balanced; thus, "I would neither be rich nor poor," or when the antithesis is unequal, and one word or phrase is intentionally made more expressive 1 An interrogation of peculiar emphasis, or of great length, takes the down ward slide; as, in sudi cases, the effect of interrogation is lost in chat of THE " SLIDE." 137 than the other, in which case the more emphatic word or phrase takes the downward slide : thus, " I would rather be rich than poor." — The " distinctive upward slide" occurs in the word " rich" in the former of these examples; and it may be given also in the word "poor" in the latter, if pronounced with peculiar distinctive force, so as to authorize, in the sound of the word "poor" an upward slide, instead of a cadence, at the close of the sentence, — an effect which often takes place in the unstudied and natural use of the voice, and which cor- responds somewhat to the rebound of the ball, when it is thrown against the wall with sufficient force to produce that effect. EXAMPLES OF " DISTINCTIVE SLIDES." I. Simple Designation. 1. Didactic Style. " The progress of the Italian opera, in this country, will form the subject of this essay." " The downfall of the Roman empire was the next great theme chosen by that eminent historian." " The origin of the distinctions of rank in society, forms one of the most interesting topics of historical investigation." 2. Narrative Style. " The conspiracy of Catiline, as related by Sallust, was one of the most atrocious designs ever plotted by desperate and heartless villany." " From the time when the people enjoyed the right of electing their tribunes, they fondly deemed their libeity secure! against future encroachments." " The usurpation, as it has been termed, of Oliver Crom- well, rightly interpreted, is one of the most memoralle of lessons to monarchy, ever taught in the great school of history." 3. Descriptive Style. M A sudden shower puts an end to the gaiety of the revel- 12* 138 ORTHOPHONY. lers, and sends them scampering in all directions for shel- ter." H The spots on the disc of the sun, which, in some instances, are larger than a continent or an ocean, with us, are, it is believed, openings in the luminous atmosphere of that body, exhibiting the dark surface beneath." " The first primrose of the spring, was peeping through the shrivelled herbage at the roots of the hedge, along the side of the lane." II. Comparison and Antithesis, or Contrast. 1. Comparison of Single Objects. " As is the beginning, so is the end." 2. Double Comparison. " As we cannot discern the moving of the shadow over the Mial-plate ; so we cannot trace the progress of the mind in knowledge." 3. Contrast of Single Objects. " I mingled freely with all classes of society, and narrowly observed the life of the peasant, as well as that of the prince." 4. Double Contrast, or Antithesis. " As it is the part of justice never to do violence, it is thaf of modesty never to commit offence. " III. THE " MECHANICAL SLIDE." This form of the " slide" was defined as either " upward ' or " downward ;" the former occurring at the close of the penultimate clause of a sentence, in preparation for its cadence ; the latter, when the cadence, from the absence of accent on preceding syllables, descends in the form of a 1 In double contrasts, the full " distinctive slide of the third," falls only on the prominent parts of the contrast, the leading and determining words at the middle and the end of the sentence : the other pair of contrasted words are usually restricted to " falling " and " rising ditone," in their " radical pitch.' THE M SLIDE." 139 u concrete downward slide" on a single sound, which in- eludes, within itself, the whole interval otherwise occupied by a " discrete triad." Another form of the " mechanical slide," is used to indicate, as mentioned before, complete sense, or the finishing of an independent part of a sentence. Its effect, as a descent of voice, differs to the ear from that of the cadence, in the fact formerly stated, of its commencing ana ceasing at a higher point of the scale, and from its not being preceded by the "penultimate slide," nor by a previous descent of voice which prepares the ear for the deliberate and full effect of cadence. It may be termed the " downward slide of complete sense" or "partial" cadence, as contrasted with its opposite, the " upward slide " of the " third," in incom- plete sense, assumed, on purpose, in the middle of a sentence, to create expectation of farther expression, for the completion of a thought ; or the " upward third " of unimpassioned inter- rogation, which also implies incomplete or undetermined sense. The M downward slide of complete sense," may be so denominated also, as contrasted with the mere effect of " con- crete pitch," when a reader, as was formerly supposed, for the purpose of illustration, is suddenly interrupted in the act of reading, and breaks off at an incomplete phrase. EXAMPLES. 1 . — " Penultimate Slide," " The signification of our sentiments, made by tones and gestures, has this advantage above that made by words, that it is the language of nature." " In epic poetry, the English have only to boast of Spenser and Milton, who neither of them wanted either genius or learning to have been perfect poets ; and yet both of them are liable to many censures." 2. — "Partial Cadence" at the close of a clause which forms complete sense, " Greatness confers no exemption from the cares ajid sor- rows of life : its share of them frequently bears a melancholy proportion to its exaltation." 140 ORTHOPHONY. " In man, we see a creature whose thoughts are not limited Dy any narrow bounds either of place or time, who carries his researches into the most distant regions of this globe, and beyond this globe, to the planets and heavenly bodies ; looks backward to consider the first origin of the human race; casts his eyes forward to see the influence of his actions upon pos- terity, and the judgments which will be formed of his char- acter a thousand years hence : a creature who traces causes and effects to great lengths and intricacy ; extracts general principles from particular appearances; improves upon his discoveries, corrects his mistakes, 1 and makes his very errors profitable." 3. — -"Upward Slide of incomplete or suspended sense" "Were men entirely free from vice, all would be uni- formity, harmony, and order." " The idea of that Divine Being, whose benevolence and wisdom have, from all eternity, contrived and conducted the immense machine of the universe, so as at all times to pro- duce the greatest possible quantity of 2 happiness, is certainly, of all objects of human contemplation, by far the most sub- lime." " If a man is deeply impressed with the habitual and thorough conviction, that a benevolent and all-wise Being can admit into the system of His government no partial evil which is not necessary for the universal good, he must consider all the misfortunes which may befall himself, his friends, his society, or his country, as necessary for the prosperity of the universe, and therefore as what he ought, not only to submit to with resignation, but as what he himself, if he had known all the connexions and dependences of things, ought sincerely and devoutly to have wished for." 4. — "Upward Slide" of " unimpassioned interrogation" " Have you heard the news ? Can we place any depen- 1 " Penultimate upward slide." * A " rising tritone" is sometimes the equivalent of the upward slide at the third." THE M SLIDE.'*' 141 dcnce on the report ? Is it probable that such an event could have been kept so long concealed ? " " Shall we adopt the measures proposed by this speaker? Are the arguments which he has advanced sufficient to pro- duce conviction? Can we proceed with perfect confidence that we shall not have to retrace our steps ? " " Does the work relate to the interests of mankind ? Is its object useful, and its end moral ? Will it inform the under- standing, and amend the heart ? Is it written with freedom and impartiality? Does it bear the marks of honesty and sincerity ? Does it attempt to ridicule anything that is good or great ? Does a manly style of thinking predominate in it ? Do reason, wit, humor, and pleasantry, prevail in it ? Does it contain new and useful truths?" CHAPTER VIL "TIME." The chief characteristics of utterance, which are subjects of atten- tion in vocal culture, are the " quality" of the voice, as sound, merely, and its "expression," as produced by " force," " stress," "melody," or "pitch," and "time," — properties equivalent to those which are comprehended, in music, under the heads of" qual- ity," "dynamics," (force,) "melody," and "rhythm," (the effect of the union of" accent," or comparative force, and " time," on the sequence of sounds.) The subject of " time " is that which remains to be discussed, as the ground of practical exercises in elocution, " QUANTITY." The study of time, as a measure of speech, will lead to the primary classification of single vowel sounds, as long or short, in duration, according to their character and expression, as elements of language. The contrast, in the duration of the " tonic element," or vowel sound,