"His pure and eloquent blood Spoke in his cheek, and so distinctly wrought, CALISTHENICS PREPARATORY TO GESTURE I. Stand erect, chest prominent, body in easy poise. II. Dangle the hands, and shake the arms freely from the shoulders (a) at the side; (b) held horizontally in front, and (c) horizontally at the side. III. Rotate the body on the hip-joints, letting the arms and hands swing freely. Begin slowly, turning the trunk and head as much as possible, then gradually accelerate until the movement is as rapid and energetic as possible. IV. Raise the upper arm slowly, the forearm and hand trailing. Now unfold the arm and hand by consciously vitalizing in turn the forearm, wrist, palm, fingers, the hand opening at about the level of the hips and midway between the front and side. Practice this with the right arm and hand, then the left, then both together. V The same as No. IV, except that the hands are to be unfolded at about the level of the shoulders. VI. Practice the foregoing unfolding movement, first with one arm and hand, and then with both together, the hands unfolding directly in front at first; then, in succession, during five or six repetitions, end the movement at varying angles between the front and the side. VII. Move your arm and hand up and down, your wrist preceding, letting your hand and fingers bend as the hair of a brush when painting. VIII. Imagine you are raising a pound ball held in the palm of the hand; raise it to a level with the head, then cast it down, letting it roll out of the palm and over the fingers. IX. Practice turning from side to side. First turn your eyes to the right, then turn your face in that direction, step back with the right foot and as you do so swing your body toward the right and at the same time turn the left heel outward. X. Turn toward the left in a similar manner. EXAMPLES FOR DRILL IN MECHANICS OF GESTURE I. Descriptive Gesture: 1. The hawk swooped down to the ground and carried away a little chick. 2. Two armies were encamped on opposite sides of the river. The Federals here, the Constitutionalists, there. A mile down the river was a lake. Overhead the sun looked down on the silver stream as it flowed peacefully towards its goal. 4 3. I had rather have lived in a hut with the vines growing over the door and the grapes growing purple in the kisses of the autumn sun, with my loving wife knitting by my side as the day died out of the sky. Happiness and Liberty. INGERSOLL. 4. The assassin enters, through the window already prepared, into an unoccupied apartment. With noiseless foot he paces the lonely hall half-lighted by the moon. He winds up the ascent of the stairs and reaches the door of the chamber. He enters and beholds his victim before him. The face of the innocent sleeper is turned from the murderer, and the beams of the moon, resting on the gray locks of the aged temples, show him where to strike. The fatal blow is given. The murderer retreats, retraces his steps to the window, passes out through it as he came in, and escapes. The White Murder Trial. WEBSTER. 5. She cut his bonds. He stood upright, looked round with a laugh of wild exultation, clapped his hands together, sprang from the ground as if in transport on finding himself at liberty. He looked so wild that Jeanie trembled at what she had done. "Let me out," said the young savage. "I wanna, unless you promise—” "Then I'll make you glad to let us both out." He seized the lighted candle and threw it among the flax, which was instantly in a flame. Jeanie screamed and ran out of the room; the prisoner rushed passed her, threw open a window in the passage, jumped into the garden, sprang over its inclosure, bounded through the woods like a deer, and gained the seashore. Meantime, the fire was extinguished; but the prisoner was sought in vain. The Heart of Midlothian. SCOTT. 6. The dog now aroused himself and sat on his haunches, his ears moving quickly backward and forwards. He kept his eyes fixed on me with a look so strange that he concentrated all my attention to himself. Slowly he rose up, all his hair bristling, and stood perfectly rigid, and with the same wild stare. I had no time, however, to examine the dog. Presently my servant emerged from his room; and if I ever saw horror in the human face, it was then. He passed by me quickly, saying, in a whisper, "Run, run! it is after me!" He gained the door to the landing, pulled it open, and rushed forth. I followed him into the landing involuntarily, calling him to stop; but, without heeding. me, he bounded down the stairs, clinging to the banisters, and taking several steps at a time. I heard, where I stood, the street door open, heard it clap to. I was left alone in the haunted house. The Haunted and the Haunters. 7. A granite cliff on either shore: And in and out, forever more, The surging tides of ocean pour, And past the towers the white gulls soar, The Brooklyn Bridge. POE. PROCTOR. Thy heart is heavy, and thine eyes are dim, Selected thee to feel his chastening rod, The Leper. II. Locative Gesture: WILLIS. The South is the land of promise. 5. Thou art the man. III. Emphatic Gesture: 1. I demand to know the truth. 2. Jack, you are not my friend. I will never stoop to conquer. "Too low they build who build beneath the stars." 3. I love him because he is truthful. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. "My answer will be a blow.” "The motive is unworthy." 9. "Truth gives wings to strength." 10. IV. "Trust men and they will be true to you.” Question Gesture: 1. Let a number of students get on the stage and look intently at some object. Have criticisms come from the class. 2. Bring to the class a written report of your observations of the "foot work" of some speaker. 3. Observe a group of children playing. Imitate before the class the physical expression of some one child and have the class determine the mood illustrated. 4. Have each student in turn express bodily certain general types of emotions, as: Joy, Grief, Love, Hate, Courage, Fear, Hope, Despair, Defiance, Anger, Surprise. CHAPTER VI FORMS OF PUBLIC ADDRESS Numerous and varied have been the classifications of public addresses. The classification here used is both historic and psychologic. Public speech is primarily a mental process -one mind must influence other minds. The method employed is largely dependent on the purpose of the address: what is the main object of the speaker in making the speech? And this chief purpose must never be lost sight of by the speaker. The speaker may desire I. to give information; II. to arouse the emotions; III. to move men to action; or to make a choice; or IV. a combination of these purposes. I. THE ESSAY. This form of public speaking is primarily intellectual. It is that form of public address wherein is used such material, style of composition, and manner of delivery as will convey best to the minds of the listeners the information the speaker has to impart. The purpose is to convince. The essay is usually read from a manuscript, however, the purpose of the address, not the manner of delivery, determines its classification. It may be 1. descriptive, 2. expository, 3. narrative, or 4. argumentative. It is descriptive when it delineates the attributes of an object with respect to some one period of time. It is a vocal photograph. The description may be so vivid, so artistic as to arouse various emotions and actions; but that is a secondary effect, not a primary purpose. It is narrative when it relates the succession of events. The purpose is to tell what happened. It is expository when some subject is outlined |