that we have uttered, that he is thinking with us. kind of a pause is called an Emphatic Pause. IN THE FIELDS The little cares that fretted me, Among the fields, above the sea, The foolish fears of what may happen, Among the rustling of the corn, Where drowsy poppies nod, Where ill thoughts die and good are born, Out in the fields with God. This Elizabeth Barrett Browning When you are talking, if you say something that you consider important, you will give one word earnestly and forcibly, making an emphatic pause after this word before you give the other words belonging to the same idea, to be sure that the one listening to you realizes it. This makes language forcible. The emphatic pause comes just before, or more frequently just after, the important word. This pause is sometimes longer than one in which you are merely getting the idea for yourself. Man is his own star, and the soul that can John Fletcher Read over some passage which interests you, or which you wish to impress upon others. Not only pause to receive ideas yourself, but pause in the very midst of phrases, keeping the whole thought in mind, and note how emphatic the passage becomes. In the preceding, for example, no tice the effect of a pause after the word "light," the word "influence," and the word "fate." Notice the effect of strong emphasis on 66 angels," giving the word lower in pitch, also on "shadows," with the remaining words on a lower key. THE BOY The Boy from his bedroom window Looked over the little town, And away to the bleak, black upland The moon came forth from her cavern, Of a tarn in the swarthy moorland; Or perhaps the whole was a dream. For I never could find that water Many fine things had I glimpses of, And said, "I shall find them one day." They were, I cannot say. William Allingham Tell some simple story and be sure to pause until you receive a definite impression from every successive idea. Give each successive impression as great variety as you would in conversation. Take time to picture every event to yourself and give others time to create the scene and situation. THE BEAR THAT PLAYED AT SOLDIER "It was in a little country town," said the Moon, "I saw it last year. Down in the inn parlor sat a man who was traveling about with a bear. He was eating his supper. Bruin, poor fellow, who never did any harm to anybody, grim enough though he looked, poor Bruin stood outside, tied up behind the stack of firewood. Up in the garret, in the light of my clear rays, three little children were playing: the eldest might be six years old, the youngest not more than two. 'Stump, stump.' Was a step coming up stairs? who could it be? The door flew open; it was Bruin, great shaggy Bruin. He had become tired of standing down in the yard, and had now found his way up stairs. I saw it all," said the Moon. "The children were so frightened at the great shaggy beast, they crept each of them into a corner; but he found them all three out, and touched them all over with his nose, but he did them no harm whatever. 'This is surely a big dog,' they thought, and so they began to stroke him. Then he laid himself down on the floor, and the youngest boy threw himself above him, and hid his head, with its golden curls, in the beast's thick black fur, playing at hide-and-seek. Now the eldest boy took his drum, and beat upon it till it thundered again. Then the bear rose up on his hind legs and began to dance. It was very charming, indeed. Next each boy took his gun, and the bear must have one also, and he held it quite properly; this was a splendid comrade that they had got. Then they marched ‘one, two; one, two.' Presently someone came to the door, and it opened. This was the mother of the children. You should have seen her dumb terror, her face as white as chalk, her mouth half open, her eyes fixed and staring. But the youngest boy nodded ever so joyfully and shouted at the top of his voice and said, 'We are just playing at soldiers!' And at this moment the bear's keeper came in.” Hans Christian Andersen XV. SILENT READING AND READING ALOUD "High and Low." The showers fall as softly Upon the lowly grass As on the stately roses That tremble as they pass. The sunlight shines as brightly As on the golden harvest, The fields of waving corn. The wild birds sing as sweetly Dora Read Goodale If you read this poem first silently, or for yourself alone, and then aloud, trying to make somebody understand you or think with you, what are some of the differences between the two readings? When you read for yourself you generally read fast. When you read for others you read more slowly. In both cases you find your attention stopping an instant and then moving onward. You must stop longer, however, when reading aloud because you not only take in the words and their meaning, but get such hold of the meaning, such definite thought pictures, such control of your body and breath, that you can speak words to others. In silent reading your eye goes forward rapidly, the mind immediately following it. When reading aloud your mind must hold only one idea at a time, grasping the words that belong to it, till you give this group of words. You must not let your mind run on and try to call the words after it, without regard to centres of attention. Failure to make a distinction between silent reading and reading aloud is one of the chief causes of poor reading. When you read poorly you will find, if you observe yourself, that you are trying to read aloud just as you read silently. To read aloud you must pause often and longer. TRIFLES A raindrop is a little thing, But on the thirsty ground, It helps to make the flowers of spring, A ray of light may seem to be Lost in the blaze of day; But its sweet mission God can see, Who sends it on its way. Daniel Clement Colesworthy It is a good exercise to read something silently, then talk about it, telling what you have read, and lastly, read it aloud trying to make it interesting to someone. Make it as pointed as you can and observe the difference in the three methods. In the first your attention almost skims along, taking in idea after idea very quickly. In the second you think and choose your words to tell what it is you read. In the third place your thinking is similar to your thinking when you talk. You first look over the words and think as definitely and forcibly as you did when you were talking, which necessitates many pauses. Finally you give the phrases, one at a time and definitely. You should learn to make your silent reading very rapid. Hunt up good things to read. Try to read something silently every day and thus gain the power to read rapidly and to tell what you have read. This is an excellent method of training attention. You will see that whether you talk or whether you read aloud, you must pay attention to one thing at a time, and let that thing fill your mind, just as you did in the first poems that you studied. Always be careful, however, not to confuse silent reading with reading aloud. Take some simple story and after reading it through silently, see how much of the story you can tell. Then read it aloud and make it vivid and real to someone else. Make that person see and enjoy it just as you do. Notice carefully in what ways your reading aloud is different from silent reading. XVI. WORDS AND THE EYE Wrens and robins in the hedge, Wrens and robins here and there; Building, perching, pecking, fluttering, Christina Georgina Rossetti In reading silently or aloud observe what your eye does. It should grasp a group of words at a time, Many people's eyes however, act slowly and sluggishly, and they must therefore be trained. Read over some passage, such as this parable, genuinely thinking one thing at a time, and notice that the eye grasps at once a number of words which stand for a single idea. THE TREE AND THE REED "Well, little one," said a tree to a reed that was growing at its foot, "why do you not plant your feet deeply in the ground, and raise your head boldly as I do?” "I am contented with my lot," said the reed. "I may not be so grand, but I think I am safer." "Safe!" sneered the tree. "Who shall pluck me up by the roots or bow my head to the ground? "" |