ELOCUTION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10288, 17 July 1911, Page 6

ELOCUTION.

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE

JUDGE

Seen by an Ago reporter, Mr Baeyertz made the following remarks on the Competitions, and also gave r- me hints and suggestions for the In-i-ont of students of elocution :

"I think the committee of the iVJaaterton Competitions Society have every reason to be more than satisfied with the result of their enterprise-. From an aesthetic, as well as from a financial standpoint, the competitions in Masterton have been more successful than was either the first essay . m Dunedin or in Christchurch. I have enjoyed myself here hugely. Tbi members of the Coimmittee have been oapable, enthusiastic and helpful. The Competitors have been admirable sports, and the audiences keenly intelligent and encouraging. There can be no reasonable doubt that the Competitions will be productive of mucb. good in your «ity. A scheme is already afoot to start a Shakespeare Club* and this will be of incalculable value as a stimulus to the study of good literature. I hope your papers will hold out the right hand of fellowship to the Shakespeare Club, as cordially as they have to the Competitions themselves. There is plenty of talent here, and all this year's competitors should begin their studies now for next year's festival, amd not wait till a month or two before it takes place. I hope, also, to see many of them in Wellington next October. Perhaps a few words about elocution may be of interest to your readers. ' GENERAL HINTS. 1. Consider first the nature of the piece, and study it till you thoroughly understand its purport and intent before attempting to get your effects. 2. If a poem, find out all you can • about the metre. 3. Be sure you understand all incidental allusions.

4. Underline the important words in every line, and doubly underline words which require special emphasis. Mark all places where a pause will heighten the effect. , 5. Be correct, but avoid pedantry. 6. Recite to the back row. Be natural; if you can't be natural, be as .natural as you can.

TECHNIQUE. ' 1. Inflection is the upward or downWard slid© of the voice in the scale. In the senfierice, "Does Catherine of 'Arragon deserve praise or blame?" on the word "praise" the voice should slide upwards, and on the word "blame" th© voice should slide downward in the scale. Reverse this process, and observe the effect. Much of the kconsequentiality in reciting and reading is due to faulty inflection. Find out the note on which you usually speak, and follow, or get some musical friend to follow, your reciting on the piano. Practise speaking, at first softly, to five notes of. the ascending and descending diatonic and chromatic scales. This will help you to gain control over your voice, and to be of your inflections and modular tions '•'■■•' , 2. Modulation is a change of key, and prevents monotony. Commenco your speech or recitation about the middle of your vocal register (this is eaialyrVjcertained on the piano), then modulate into a higher key to express ganger, isurprisej excitement, joy, or triumph, and into a lower key to express; solemnity, sorrow, pain,, sympathy, pity or shame. Practise modulation at the piano. 3; As regards gesture, it should be eas 3 r > graceful, and have point in it. The arnis, unlike the bowing arm, of the vioiihist- should be moved from the shoxilder, nbt from the elbows, and above all, gesture must not be inappropriate nor overdone. ; 4. The quality of most \ untrained. yodcea can be improved by N correcting' defective production, and by practise in singing and talking softly up and down the scale at the piano. Correct breathing is also very important, not only to improve the quality of the voice, but also an aid to vocal control. 5. Correct enunciation and' articulation can only be achieved by most painstaking effort. Every word must be with absolute distinctness. When beginning to practise a piece it is well to.slightly exaggerate the correct sound of every salable, and as 30 marks are awarded for pronounciation, every doubtful word must be well considered. also, nol to run final consonants into initial ..vowels«. "Which are the children of, a nidle (an,idle) brain?" 6. Emphasis of sense amd feeling 'are .of the highest importance. "Queen Catherine's Defence" and"The Balcony Scene" are crowded with examples of emphasis of feeling:

And to besfcoy your pity on me; for I am a most poor woman, and a strcmgef** 0 Romeo, Romeo; wherefore art thou Romeo ? Deny -uhy father, and refuse thy name; and so forth. * As an example of emphasis of sense take the four words "How oam'st thou hither?" Which is "correct? ; Tr, m ca m 'st thou hither ? Hot- mm'sf thou.hither ? ..\ . .'■, Wow enxr,'fit thou hither? How caro'st thou hither? ■ or. .';■'..■.■ i > Now cnm'st thou hither ? ■ ■" .7 . The correct accent pf everi dohbtful word should also be .obtained

from the dictionary. 8. When it is necessary to draw particular attention to a word, (1) an oratorical pause, las'it is called, serves the purpose ©f arousing the interest of the audience. (2) In other cases a telling effect can be obtained by a pause after the important word. (a) "Bv just his horse's mane —a boy.''' (b) "Legs—wide, arms —locked behind." A rough-and-ready rule ia to make a pause whenever the questions How? WhichP When? Where? What? can be asked. The emotional pause serves to heighten the emotional effect produced by the reciter: "Shoot —if you must —this old—grey head — But spare—your country's flag—she said." Of course, pauses are very much a matter of individual taste, and a somewhat different, but perhaps equally impressive, effect may be obtained by making a long pause after "But" and "country's," instead of as above given. 9. Lines which are solemn, tranquil, or pathetic should be recited slowly, whereas in lines which express mirth, surprise, or which rouse passion, the tempo must be quickened. So much for the technique, which, of course, is of little avail unless the elocutionist thoroughly understands the piece he is reciting.' Those who enter for one or more of the Shakespearean pieces should read not only the extract to be recited, but also the whole play, together with any literature within reach bsaring upon the subject. "The University Tutorial Series," edited by Dr. Rolfe, is,an excellent edition. Dr. Rolfe's editions contain some fine engravings; each has an introduction to the' play—historical and exegitioal; and there are also copious explanatory notes, which cannot fail to be of service to the competitor. Here is a list of a few books that may be useful to students : t , "Lectures on Elocution," C. T. Plumptree, 15s. "Recitation," Burrell. 3s 6d. "Grammar of .Elocution," 3s 6d. "Public Speaking," Holyoake, 3s 6d. "Voice, Song, and Speech," ' Dr. Lennox : BroWne and; Behuke, ss. "How to Develop Voval Power," Sandl&nds, Is. "Clear Speaking and Good Reading," Burrell, as 6d.