6. MILTON'S "PARADISE LOST.' Now storming fùry rose, 7. THE BELLS. Hear the loud alarum bells Brazen bells! What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells! How they scream out their affright! Too much horrified to speak, They can only shriek, shriek, Out of tune, In the clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire, With a desperate desire, And a resolute endeavor, Now, now to sit or never By the side of the pale-faced moon! POE. V. VERY LOUD OR DECLAMATORY FORCE. Very loud force prevails in oratorical declamation before large audiences. It is also heard in the tones of anger, of passion, of command, in calling or shouting, and in intensely dramatic reading. EXAMPLES. 1. Now for the fight! now for the cànnon peal, Forward! through blood and tòil, and cloùd, and Glorious the shout, the shock, the crash of steel, 4. Thy threats, thy mercy I defŷ, 5. He raised a shout as he drew on 6. From every hill, by every sea, In shouts proclaim the great decree, Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! 7. SPARTACUS TO THE GLADIATORS. [Radical and vanishing stress, and strongly marked circumflex inflections.] Ye stand here now like giants, as ye àre. The strength of brass is in your toughened sinews; but to-morrow some Roman Adonis, breathing sweet perfume from his curly locks, shall with his lily fingers pât your red brawn, and bet his sèsterces upon your blood. Hark! hear ye yon lion roaring in his dén? 'Tis three days since he tasted flesh; but to-morrow he shall break his fast upon yours, and a dainty meal for him ye will bè. If ye are beasts, then stand here like fat oxen, waiting for the butcher's knife! If ye are měn, follow mè!. Strike down yon guard, gain the mountain passes, and thère do bloody work, as did your stres at old Thermòpylæ! Is Spárta dead? Is the old Grecian spírit frozen in your véius, that you do crouch and cower like a belabored hound beneath his master's lash? Oh, cômrades! warriors! Thracians! if we must fight, let us fight for ourselves! If we must slaughter, let us slaughter our oppressors! If we must die, let it be under the clear sky, by the bright waters, in nòble, hónorable battle. KELLOGG. 8. CATILINE'S DEFIANCE. Conscript fáthers, I do not rise to waste the night in words: 9. RICHELIEU. Who spake of life? I bade thee grasp that treasure as thine hônor— Begone! redeem thine honor! Back to Marion— CROLY. Age and gray hairs like mine-and know thou 'st lost That which had made thee great and saved thy country. See me not till thou'st bought the right to seek me. Away! Nay, chèer thee thou hast not fail'd yetThere's no such word as fàil. BULWER. 8. If I could stand for a moment upon one of your high mountain tóps, far above all the kingdoms of the civilized world, and there might sée, coming úp, one after another, the bravest and wisest of the ancient wárriors, and státesmen, and kings, and monarchs, and priésts; and if, as they came úp, I might be permitted to ask from them an expression of opinion upon such a case as this, with a common vòice and in thunder tones, reverberating through a thousand válleys, and echoing down the ages, they would crý: "Liberty, Freedom, the Universal Brotherhood of Man!" I join that shout; I swell that anthem; I echo that praise forever, and for evermore. 11. THE WAR INEVITABLE. They tell us, sir, that we are weak-unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disármed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and ináction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual | resistance by lying supinely on our bucks, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sír, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. It is in vain, sir, to extènuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry péace, péace !-but there is no peace. The war is actually begûn! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding àrms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of cháins and slavery? Forbîd it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! PATRICK HENRY. VI. RECAPITULATION OF FORCE. 1. Force must be regulated by the thought or feeling to be expressed. 2. Soft force prevails in the expression of peaceful thought, of sentiment, of tranquillity, and of suppressed emotion. 3. Moderate force is the natural tone of conversation and of narrative, descriptive, and didactic composition. 4. Loud force prevails in the expression of anger, passion, sublimity, command, and strong feeling. 5. Very loud force prevails in calling and shouting; in cries of alarm, fear, and terror; and in intense dramatic expression. EXAMPLES OF FORCE. VERY SOFT. Low, low, breathe and blow, wind of the western sea. SOFT. How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank. MODERATE. Marley was dead, to begin with. LOUD. Hear the loud alarum bells-brazen bells! VERY LOUD. Liberty freedom! Tyranny is dead. Require each pupil to select, write out, and read in the class, a similar set of quoted illustrations. |