Elocution is the art of delivering written or extemporaneous composition with force, propriety, and ease.

It deals, therefore, with words, not only as individuals, but as members of a sentence, and parts of a connected discourse: including every thing necessary to the just expression of the sense. Accordingly, it demands, in a special manner, attention to the following particulars; viz., ARTICULATION, ACCENT, EMPHASIS, INFLECTION, MODULATION, and PAUSES.

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SECTION I.
ARTICULATION.

Articulation is the art of uttering distinctly and justly the letters and syllables constituting a word.

It deals, therefore, with the elements of words, just as elocution deals with the elements of sentences: the one securing the true enunciation of each letter, or combination of letters, the other giving to each word, or combination of words, such a delivery as best expresses the meaning of the author. It is the basis of all good reading, and should be carefully practiced by the learner.

ELEMENTARY SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS.

VOWEL SOUNDS.
TONICS.
Element.		Power.
1.—1A	as in	Ape.
2.—2A	"	Arm.
3.—3A	"	All.
4.—4A	"	At.
5.—5A	"	Care.
6.—6A	"	Ask.
7.—1E	"	Eve.
8.—2E	"	End.
9.—1I	"	Ice.
10.—2I	"	It.
11.—1O	"	Old.
12.—2O	"	Do.
13.—3O	"	Ox.
14.—1U	"	Use.
15.—2U	"	Up.
16.—3U	"	Pull.
17.—OI	"	Oil.
18.—OU	"	Out.
CONSONANT SOUNDS.
SUB-TONICS.
19.—B	as in	Bat.
20.—D	"	Dun.
21.—G	"	Gun.
22.—J	"	Jet.
23.—L	"	Let.
24.—M	"	Man.
25.—N	"	Not.
26.—R	"	Run.
27.—V	"	Vent.
28.—W	"	Went.
29.—Y	"	Yes.
30.—1Z	"	Zeal.
31.—2Z	"	Azure.
32.—NG	"	Sing.
33.—TH	"	Thy.
A-TONICS.
34.—F	as in	Fit.
35.—H	"	Hat.
36.—K	"	Kid.
36.—P	"	Pit.
38.—S	"	Sin.
39.—T	"	Top.
40.—CH	"	Chat.
41.—SH	"	Shun.
42.—TH	"	Thin.
43.—WH	"	When.

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21: Soft G is equivalent to J; soft C to S, and hard C and Q to K. X is equivalent to K and S, as in box, or to G and Z as in exalt.

42: WH is pronounced as if the H preceded W, otherwise it would be pronounced W hen. R should be slightly trilled before a vowel. For further instructions, see Sanders and Merrill's Elementary and Elocutionary Chart.

SUBSTITUTES FOR THE VOWEL ELEMENTS.

For Long A.

For Flat A.

For Broad A.

For Short A.

For Intermediate A.

For Long E.

For Short E.

For Long I.

For Short I.

For Long O.

For Long Slender O.

For Short O.

For Long U.

For Short U.

For Short Slender U.

For the Diphthong OI.

For the Diphthong OU.

There is no pure Triphthongal sound in the language. Buoy is equivalent to bwoy. U being a consonant.

SUBSTITUTES FOR THE CONSONANT ELEMENTS.

F.

J.

K.

S.

T.

V.

Y.

¹Z.

²Z.

NG.

SH.

CH.

B, D, G, H, L, M, N, P, and R, have no substitutes.

The most common faults in ARTICULATION are

I. The suppression of a syllable; as,

II. The omission of any sound properly belonging to a word; as,

III. The substitution of one sound for another; as,

IV. Produce the sounds denoted by the following combinations of consonants:—

Let the pupil first produce the sound of the letters, and then the word or words in which they occur. Be careful to give a clear and distinct enunciation to every letter.

1. Bd, as in rob'd; bdst, prob'dst; bl, bl and, able; bld, hum-bl'd; bldst, troubl'dst; blst, troubl'st; blz, crumbles; br, brand; bz, ribs.
2. Ch, as in church; cht, fetch'd.
3. Dj, as in edge; djd, hedg'd; dl, bridle; dld, riddl'd; dlst, handl'st; dlz, bundles; dn, hard'n; dr, drove; dth, width; dths, breadths; dz, odds.
4. Fl, as in flame; fld, rifl'd; flst, stifl'st; flx, rifles; fr, from; fs, quaffs, laughs; fst, laugh'st, quaff'st; ft, raft; fts, wafts; ftst, grft'st.
5. Gd, as in begg'd; gdst, bragg'dst; gl, glide; gld, struggl'd; gldst, haggl'dst; gist, strangl'st; glz, mingles; gr, grove; gst, begg'st; gz, figs.
6. Kl, as in uncle, ankle; kld, trickl'd; kldst, truckl'dst; klst, chuckl'st; klz, wrinkles; kn, black'n; knd, reck'n'd; kndst, reck'n'dst; knst, black'n'st; knz, reck'ns; kr, crank; ks, checks; kt, act.
7. Lb, as in bulb; lbd, bulb'd; lbs, bulbs; lch, filch; lcht, belch'd; ld, hold; ldst, fold'st; ldz, holds; lf, self; lfs, gulfs; lj, bulge; lk, elk; lks, silks; lkt, milk'd; lkts, mulcts; lm, elm; lmd, whelm'd; lmz, films; ln, fall'n; lp, help; lps, scalps; lpst, help'st; ls, false; lst, call'st; lt, melt; lth, health; lths, stealths; lts, colts; lv, delve; lvd, shelv'd; lvz, elves; lz, halls.
8. Md, as in doom'd; mf, triumph; mp, hemp; mpt, tempt; mpts, attempts; mst, entomb'st; mz, tombs.
9. Nch, as in bench; ncht, pinch'd; nd, and; ndst, end'st; ndz, ends; ng, sung; ngd, banged; ngth, length; ngz, songs; nj, range; njd, rang'd; nk, ink; nks, ranks; nkst, thank'st; nst, wine'd; nt, sent; nts, rents; ntst, went'st; nz, runs.
10. Pl, as in plume; pld, rippl'd; plst, rippl'st; plz, apples; pr, prince; ps, sips; pst, rapp'st; pt, ripp'd.
11. Rb, as in herb; rch, search; rcht, church'd; rbd, orbd; rbdst, barb'dst; rbst, disturb'st; rbz, orbs; rd, hard; rdst, heard'st; rdz, words; rf, turf; rft, scarfd; rg, burg; rgz, burgs; rj, dirge; rjd, urg'd; rk, ark; rks, arks; rkst, work'st; rkt, dirk'd; rktst, embark'dst; rl, girl; rld, world; rldst, hurld'st; rlst, whirl'st; rlz, hurls; rm, arm; rmd, arm'd; rmdst, harm'dst; rmst, arm'st; rmz, charms; rn, turn; rnd, turn'd; rndst, earn'dst; rnst, learn'st; rnz, urns; rp, carp; rps, harps; rpt, warp'd; rs, verse; rsh, harsh; rst, first; rsts, bursts; rt, dart; rth, earth; rths, births; rts, marts; rtst, dart'st; rv, curve; rvd, nerv'd; rvdst, curv'dst; rvst, swerv'st; rvz, nerves; rz, errs.
12. Sh, as in ship; sht, hush'd; sk, scan, skip; sks, tusks; skst, frisk'st; skt, risk'd; sl, slow; sld, nestl'd; slz, westles; sm, smile; sn, snag; sp, sport; sps, lisps; spt, clasp'd; st, stag; str, strike; sts, rests; sw, swing.
13. Th, as in thine, thin; thd, breath'd; thr, three; thst, breath'st; thw, thwack; thz, writhes; tl, title; tld, settl'd; tldst, settl'dst; tlst,settl'st; tlz, nettles; tr, truuk; ts, fits; tw, twirl.
14. Vd, as in curv'd; vdst, liv'dst; vl, driv'l; vld, grov'l'd; vldst, grov'l'dst; vlst, driv'l'st; un, driv'n; vst, liv'st; vz, lives.
15. Wh, as in when, where.
16. Zd, as in mus'd; zl, dazzle; zld, muzzl'd; zldst, dazzl'dst; zlst, dazzl'st; zlz, muzzles; zm, spasm; zmz, chasms; zn, ris'n; znd, reas'n'd; znz, pris'nz; zndst, impris'n'dst.

V. Avoid blending the termination of one word with the beginning of another, or suppressing the final letter or letters of one word, when the next word commences with a similar sound.

NOTE.—By an indistinct Articulation the sense of a passage is often liable to be perverted.

1. Will he attempt to conceal his acts?
   Will he attempt to conceal his sacks?
2. The man had oars to row her over.
   The man had doors to row her rover.
3. Can there be an aim more lofty?
   Can there be a name more lofty?
4. The judges ought to arrest the culprits.
   The judges sought to arrest the culprits.
5. His ire burned when she told him her age.
   His sire burned when she told him her rage.
6. He was awed at the works of labor and art.
   He was sawed at the works of labor an dart.
7. He was trained in the religion of his fathers.
   He was strained in the religion of his fathers.

1. Bravely o'er the boisterous billows,
   His gallant bark was borne.
2. Can craven cowards expect to conquer the country?
3. Click, click, goes the clock; clack, clack, goes the mill.
4. Did you desire to hear his dark and doleful dreams?
5. "Firm-paced and slow, a horrid front they form,
   Still as the breeze; but dreadful as the storm."
6. The flaming fire flashed fearfully in his face.
7. The glassy glaciers gleamed in glowing light.
8. How high his honors heaved his haughty head!
9. He drew long, legible lines along the lovely landscape.
10. Masses of immense magnitude move majestically through the vast empire of the solar system.
11. Round the rough and rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.
12. The stripling stranger strayed straight toward the struggling stream.
13. She uttered a sharp, shrill shriek, and then shrunk from the shriveled form that slumbered in the shroud.
14. For fear of offending the frightful fugitive, the vile vagabond ventured to vilify the venerable veteran.
15. Amidst the mists, with angry boasts,
    He thrusts his fists against the posts,
    And still insists he sees the ghosts.
16. Peter Prangle, the prickly prangly pear picker, picked three pecks of prickly prangly pears, from the prangly pear trees, on the pleasant prairies.
17. Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb; now, if Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb. Success to the successful thistle sifter.
18. We travel sea and soil; we pry, we prowl;
    We progress, and we prog from pole to pole.

SECTION II.
ACCENT AND EMPHASIS.

ACCENT and EMPHASIS both indicate some special stress of voice.

Accent is that stress of voice by which one syllable of a word is made more prominent than others; EMPHASIS is that stress of voice by which one or more words of a sentence are distinguished above the rest.

The accented syllable is sometimes designated thus: (); as, com-mand-ment.

NOTE I.—Words of more than two syllables generally have two or more of them accented.

The more forcible stress of voice, is called the Primary Accent; and the less forcible, the Secondary Accent.

In the following examples the Primary Accent is designated by double accentual marks, thus:

Ed-u-cate, ed-u-ca-tion, mul-ti-ply, mul-ti-pli-ca-tion, sat-is-fy, sat-is-fac-tion, com-pre-hend, com-pre-hen-sion, rec-om-mend, rec-om-mend-a-tion, mo-ment-a-ry, com-mun-ni-cate, com-pli-ment-al, in-dem-ni-fi-ca-tion, ex-tem-po-ra-ne-ous, coun-ter-rev-o-lu-tion-a-ry.

NOTE II.—The change of accent on the same word often changes its meaning.

NOTE III.—Emphatic words are often printed in Italics. When, however, different degrees of emphasis are to be denoted, the higher degrees are designated by the use of Capitals, LARGER or SMALLER, according to the degree of intensity.

1. Our motto shall be, our country, OUR WHOLE COUNTRY, and NOTHING BUT OUR COUNTRY.
2. Thou Child of Joy! SHOUT round me: let me HEAR thy shouts, thou happy Shepherd Boy!
3. Freedom calls you! quick, be ready,
   Think of what your sires have done;
   Onward, ONWARD! strong and steady,
   Drive the tyrant to his den;
   ON, and let the watchword be,
   Country, HOME, and LIBERTY.
   

NOTE IV.—Emphasis, as before intimated, varies in degrees of intensity.

1. He shook the fragment of his blade,
   And shouted: "VICTORY!
   Charge, Chester, CHARGE! On, Stanley, ON!"
2. A month! O, for a single WEEK! I as not for years', though an AGE were too little for the much I have to do.
3. Now for the FIGHT! now for the CANNON PEAL!
   ONWARD! through blood, and toil, and cloud, and fire!
   Glorious—the SHOUT, the SHOCK, the CRASH of STEEL,
   The VOLLEY'S ROLL, the ROCKET'S BLAZING SPIRE!
   
4. Hear, O HEAVENS! and give ear, O EARTH!

NOTE V.—Emphasis sometimes changes the seat of accent from its ordinary position.

NOTE VI.—There are two kinds of Emphasis:—Absolute and Antithetic. ABSOLUTE EMPHASIS is used to designate the important words of a sentence, without any direct reference to other words.

1.

2. The UNION, it MUST and SHALL BE PRESERVED!

3.

KNOWLES.

4. When my country shall take her place among the nations of the earth, THEN and not TILL then, let my epitaph be written.

EMMETT.

5. If you are MEN, follow ME! STRIKE DOWN yon guard, and gain the mountain passes.

6.

7. This doctrine never was received; it NEVER CAN, by any POSSIBILITY, BE RECEIVED; and, if admitted at ALL, it must be by THE TOTAL SUBVERSION OF LIBERTY!

8. Are you Christians, and, by upholding duelists, will you deluge the land with blood, and fill it with widows and orphans.

BEECHER.

9. LIBERTY and UNION, NOW and FOREVER, ONE and INSEPARABLE.

WEBSTER.

10. Treason! cried the speaker; treason, TREASON, TREASON, reechoed from every part of the house.

11. The war is inevitable,—and LET IT COME! I repeat it, Sir,—LET IT COME!

PATRICK HENRY.

12.

MISS MITFORD.

13.

KNOWLES.

14. I shall know but one country. The ends I aim at, shall be "My COUNTRY'S, my GOD'S, and TRUTH'S."

WEBSTER.

NOTE VII.—ANTITHETIC EMPHASIS is that which is founded on the contrast of one word or clause with another.

1. The faults of others should always remind us of our own.

2. He desired to protect his friend, not to injure him.

3.

SHAKESPEARE.

4. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.

BIBLE.

5. We can do nothing against the truth; but for the truth.

BIBLE.

6. He that is slow to anger, is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.

BIBLE.

NOTE VIII.—The following examples contain two or more sets of Antitheses.

1. Just men are only free, the rest are slaves.

2. Beauty is like the flower of spring; virtue is like the stars of heaven.

3.

BRYANT.

4. A false balance is abomination to the Lord; but a just weight is his delight.

BIBLE.

5. A friend can not be known in prosperity; and an enemy can not be hidden in adversity.

6. It is my living sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment: INDEPENDENCE NOW, and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER.

WEBSTER.

7. We live in deeds, not years,—in thoughts, not breaths,—in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives, who THINKS THE MOST,—FEELS THE NOBLEST,—ACTS THE BEST.

8. You have done the mischief, and I bear the blame.

9. The wise man is happy when he gains his own approbation; the fool when he gains that of others.

10. We must hold them as we hold the rest of mankind—enemies in war,—in peace, friends.

JEFFERSON.

NOTE IX.—The sense of a passage is varied by changing the place of the emphasis.

1. Has James seen his brother to-day? No; but Charles has.

2. Has James seen his brother to-day? No; but he has heard from him.

3. Has James seen his brother to-day? No; but he saw yours.

4. Has James seen his brother to-day? No; but he has seen his sister.

5. Has James seen his brother to-day? No; but he saw him yesterday.

REMARK.—To determine the emphatic words of a sentence, as well as the degree and kind of emphasis to be employed, the reader must be governed wholly by the sentiment to be expressed. The idea is sometimes entertained that emphasis consists merely in loudness of tone. But it should be borne in mind that the most intense emphasis may often be effectively expressed, even by a whisper.

SECTION III.
INFLECTIONS.

INFLECTIONS are turns or slides of the voice, made in reading or speaking; as; Will you go to New [Transcriber's Note: Two missing lines in printing, page 25 in original.] or to [Transcriber's Note: Remainder of paragraph is missing.]

All the various sounds of the human voice may be comprehended under the general appellation of tones. The principal modifications of these tones are the MONOTONE, the RISING INFLECTION, the FALLING INFLECTION, and the CIRCUMFLEX.

The MONOTONE is that sameness of sound, which arises from repeating the several words or syllables of a passage in one and the same general tone.

REMARK.—The Monotone is employed with admirable effect in the delivery of a passage that is solemn or sublime.

1. O thou that rollest above, round as the shield of my fathers: whence are thy beams, O sun, thy everlasting light?

OSSIAN.

2.

PRENTICE.

3. God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise.

4. Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at His feet. He stood and measured the earth: He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: His ways are everlasting.

BIBLE.

5. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

ID.

6.

7.

THOMSON.

REMARK.—The inappropriate use of the monotone,—a fault into which young people naturally fall,—is a very grave and obstinate error. It is always tedious, and often even ridiculous. It should be studiously avoided.

The RISING INFLECTION is an upward turn, or slide of the voice, used in reading or speaking; as,

The FALLING INFLECTION is a downward turn, or slide of the voice, used in reading or speaking; as,

In the falling inflection, the voice should not sink below the general pitch; but in the rising inflection, it is raised above it.

The two inflections may be illustrated by the following diagrams:

1.

2.

3.

4.

REMARK.—The same degree of inflection is not, at all times, used, or indicated by the notation. The due degree to be employed, depends on the nature of what is to be expressed. For example; if a person, under great excitement, asks another:

RULES FOR THE USE OF INFLECTIONS.

Direct questions, or those which may be answered by yes or no, usually take the rising inflection; but their answers, generally, the falling.

1. Will you meet me at the depot? Yes`; or, I will`.
2. Did you intend to visit Boston? No`; or, I did not`.
3. Can you explain this difficult sentence? Yes`; I can.
4. Are they willing to remain at home? They are`.
5. Is this a time for imbecility and inaction? By no means`.
6. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest`.
7. Were the tribes of this country, when first discovered, making any progress in arts and civilization? By no means`.
8. To purchase heaven has gold the power?
   Can gold remove the mortal hour?
   In life, can love be bought with gold?
   Are friendship's pleasures to be sold?
   No`; all that's worth a wish, a thought,
   Fair virtue gives unbribed, unbought.
   
9. What would content you`? Talents? No`. Enterprise? No`. Courage? No`. Reputation'? No`. Virtue? No`. The man whom you would select, should possess not one, but all of these`.

NOTE I.—When the direct question becomes an appeal, and the reply to it is anticipated, it takes the intense falling inflection.

1. Is` he not a bold and eloquent speaker`?
2. Can` such inconsistent measures be adopted`?
3. Did` you ever hear of such cruel barbarities`?
4. Is this reason`? Is` it law`? Is it humanity`?
5. Was` not the gentleman's argument conclusive`?

Indirect questions, or those which can not be answered by yes or no, usually take the falling inflection, and their answers the same.

1. How far did you travel yesterday`? Forty miles`.
2. Which of you brought this beautiful bouquet`? Julia`.
3. Where do you intend to spend the summer`? At Saratoga`.
4. When will Charles graduate at college`? Next year`.
5. What is one of the most delightful emotions of the heart`? Gratitude`.

NOTE I.—When the indirect question is one asking a repetition of what was not, at first, understood, it takes the rising inflection.

1. When do you expect to return? Next week.
   When did you say? Next week.
2. Where did you say William had gone? To New York.

NOTE II.—Answers to questions, whether direct or indirect, when expressive of indifference, take the rising inflection, or the circumflex.

NOTE III.—In some instances, direct questions become indirect by a change of the inflection from the rising to the falling.

1. Will you come to-morrow or next day? Yes.
2. Will you come to-morrow, or next day`? I will come to-morrow.

REMARK.—The first question asks if the person addressed will come within the two days, and may be answered by yes or no; but the second asks on which of the two days he will come, and it can not be thus answered.

RULE III.

When questions are connected by the conjunction or, the first requires the rising, and the second, the falling inflection.

1. Does he study for amusement, or improvement`?

2. Was he esteemed for his wealth, or for his wisdom`?

3. Sink or swim`, live or die`, survive or perish`, I give my hand and heart to this vote.

WEBSTER.

4. Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath-days, or to do evil`? to save life, or to kill`?

5. Was it an act of moral courage, or cowardice`, for Cato to fall on his sword`?

RULE IV. Antithetic terms or clauses usually take opposite inflections; generally, the former has the rising, and the latter the falling inflection.

1. If you seek to make one rich, study not to increase his stores but to diminish his desires`.

2.
They have mouths,—but they speak not`:
Eyes have they,—but they see not`:
They have ears,—but they hear not`:
Noses have they,—but they smell not`:
They have hands,—but they handle not`:
Feet have they,—but they walk not`.

BIBLE.

NOTE I.—When one of the antithetic clauses is a negative, and the other an affirmative, generally the negative has the rising, and the affirmative the falling inflection.

1. I said an elder soldier` not a better.

2. His acts deserve punishment` rather than commiseration.

3. This is no time for a tribunal of justice, but for showing mercy`; not for accusation, but for philanthropy`; not for trial, but for pardon`; not for sentence and execution, but for compassion and kindness`.

RULE V. The Pause of Suspension, denoting that the sense is incomplete, usually has the rising inflection.

1. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flocks shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet will I rejoice in the Lord`, I will joy in the God of my salvation`.

BIBLE.

NOTE I.—The ordinary direct address, not accompanied with strong emphasis, takes the rising inflection, on the principle of the pause of suspension.

1. Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you.

BIBLE.

2.
Ye living flowers, that skirt the eternal frost!
Ye wild goats, sporting round the eagle's nest!
Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain storm!
Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds!
Ye signs and wonders of the elements!
Utter forth GOD`, and fill the hills with praise`!

COLERIDGE.

NOTE II.—In some instances of a pause of suspension, the sense requires an intense falling inflection.

1. The prodigal, if he does not become a pauper`, will, at least, have but little to bestow on others.

REMARK.—If the rising inflection is given on pauper, the sense would be perverted, and the passage made to mean, that, in order to be able to bestow on others, it is necessary that he should become a pauper.

RULE VI. Expressions of tenderness, as of grief, or kindness, commonly incline the voice to the rising inflection.

1.

2. O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom'! Would God I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son!

BIBLE.

RULE VII. The Penultimate Pause, or the last but one, of a passage, is usually preceded by the rising inflection.

1. Diligence`, industry`, and proper improvement of time, are material duties of the young`.

2. These through faith subdued kingdoms`, wrought righteous-ness`, obtained promises`, stopped the mouths of lions`, quenched the violence of fire`, escaped the edge of the sword`, out of weakness were made strong`, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens`.

REMARK.—The rising inflection is employed at the penultimate pause in order to promote variety, since the voice generally falls at the end of a sentence.

RULE VIII. Expressions of strong emotion, as of anger or surprise, and also the language of authority and reproach, are expressed with the falling inflection.

1. On YOU`, and on your CHILDREN`, be the peril of the innocent blood which shall be shed this day`.

2. What a piece of workmanship is MAN`! How noble in REASON`! How infinite in FACULTIES`!

3. O FOOLS`! and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written concerning me`!

BIBLE.

4. HENCE`, HOME`, you idle creatures`, GET YOU HOME`, YOU BLOCKS`, YOU STONES`, YOU WORSE THAN USELESS THINGS`!

5. Avaunt`! and quit my sight`! let the earth hide thee`! Thy bones are marrowless`; thou hast no speculation in thine eyes which thou dost glare` with.

SHAKSPEARE.

6.

ID.

RULE IX. An emphatic succession of particulars, and emphatic repetition, require the falling inflection.

1.

2. A great mind`, a great heart`, a great orator`, a great career`, have been consigned to history`.

BUTLER.

REMARK.—The stress of voice on each successive particular, or repetition, should gradually be increased as the subject advances.

The CIRCUMFLEX is a union of the two inflections on the same word, beginning either with the falling and ending with the rising, or with the rising and ending with the falling; as, If he goes to ____ I shall go to ____.

The circumflex is mainly employed in the language of irony, and in expressing ideas implying some condition, either expressed or understood.

1. YoÛ, a beardless yoÛth, pretend to teach a British gÊneral.

2. What! shear a wÔlf? a prowling wÔlf?

3.

4. What! confer a crÔwn on the author of the public calÂmities?

5. But yoÛ are very wise men, and deeply learned in the truth; wÊ are wÊak, contÊmptible, mÊan persons.

6. They pretend they come to imprÔve our stÂte, enlÂrge our thÔughts, and freÊ us from Êrror.

7. But yoÛth, it seems, is not my Ônly crime; I have been accused of acting a theatrical part.

8. And this man has become a gÔd and Cassius a wrÊtched creature.

SECTION IV.
MODULATION.

MODULATION implies those variations of the voice, heard in reading or speaking, which are prompted by the feelings and emotions that the subject inspires.

REMARK.—To read the foregoing example in one dull, monotonous tone of voice, without regard to the sentiment expressed, would render the passage extremely insipid and lifeless. But by a proper modulation of the voice, it infuses into the mind of the reader or hearer the most animating and exciting emotions.

The voice is modulated in three different ways. First, it is varied in PITCH; that is, from high to low tones, and the reverse. Secondly, it is varied in QUANTITY, or in loudness or volume of sound. Thirdly, it is varied in QUALITY, or in the kind of sound expressed.

PITCH OF VOICE.

Pitch of voice has reference to its degree of elevation.

Every person, in reading or speaking, assumes a certain pitch, which may be either high or low, according to circumstances, and which has a governing influence on the variations of the voice, above and below it. This degree of elevation is usually called the KEY NOTE.

As an exercise in varying the voice in pitch, the practice of uttering a sentence on the several degrees of elevation, as represented in the following scale, will be found beneficial. First, utter the musical syllables, then the vowel sound, and lastly, the proposed sentence,—ascending and descending.

Although the voice is capable of as many variations in speaking, as are marked on the musical scale, yet for all the purposes of ordinary elocution, it will be sufficiently exact if we make but three degrees of variation, viz., the Low, the Middle, and the High.

1. THE LOW PITCH is that which falls below the usual speaking key, and is employed in expressing emotions of sublimity, awe, and reverence.

YOUNG.

2. THE MIDDLE PITCH is that usually employed in common conversation, and in expressing unimpassioned thought and moderate emotion.

1. It was early in a summer morning, when the air was cool, the earth moist, the whole face of the creation fresh and gay, that I lately walked in a beautiful flower garden, and, at once, regaled the senses and indulged the fancy.

HERVEY.

2.

3. THE HIGH PITCH is that which rises above the usual speaking key, and is used in expressing joyous and elevated feelings.

M.F. TUPPER.

QUANTITY.

QUANTITY is two-fold;—consisting in FULLNESS or VOLUME of sound, as soft or loud; and in TIME, as slow or quick. The former has reference to STRESS; the latter, to MOVEMENT.

The degrees of variation in quantity are numerous, varying from a slight, soft whisper to a vehement shout. But for all practical purposes, they may be considered as three, the same as in pitch;—the soft, the middle, and the loud.

For exercise in quantity, let the pupil read any sentence, as,

first in a slight, soft tone, and then repeat it, gradually increasing in quantity to the full extent of the voice. Also, let him read it first very slowly, and then repeat it, gradually increasing the movement. In doing this, he should be careful not to vary the pitch.

In like manner, let him repeat any vowel sound, or all of them, and also inversely. Thus:

[Illustration]

[Transcriber's Note: The illustration is a row of the letter "O," increasing in size across the page, followed by a row of the letter "O" decreasing in size. The presumed intent is to convey loudness.]

REMARK.—Quantity is often mistaken for Pitch. But it should be borne in mind that quantity has reference to loudness or volume of sound, and pitch to the elevation or depression of a tone. The difference may be distinguished by the slight and heavy strokes on a bell;—both of which produce sounds alike in pitch; but they differ in quantity or loudness, in proportion as the strokes are light or heavy.

RULES FOR QUANTITY.

1. SOFT, OR SUBDUED TONES, are those which range from a whisper to a complete vocality, and are used to express fear, caution, secrecy, solemnity, and all tender emotions.

1.

HOOD.

2.

D.E. GOODMAN.

3.

2. A MIDDLE TONE, or medium loudness of voice, is employed in reading narrative, descriptive, or didactic sentences.

3. A LOUD TONE, or fullness and stress of voice, is used in expressing violent passions and vehement emotions.

1.

PIERPONT.

2.

QUALITY.

QUALITY has reference to the kind of sound uttered.

Two sounds may be alike in quantity and pitch, yet differ in quality. The sounds produced on the clarinet and flute may agree in pitch and quantity, yet be unlike in quality. The same is true in regard to the tones of the voice of two individuals. This difference is occasioned mainly by the different positions of the vocal organs.

The qualities of voice mostly used in reading or speaking, and which should receive the highest degree of culture, are the Pure Tone, the Orotund, the Aspirated, and the Guttural.

RULES FOR QUALITY.

1. THE PURE TONE is a clear, smooth, sonorous flow of sound, usually accompanied with the middle pitch of voice, and is adapted to express emotions of joy, cheerfulness, love, and tranquillity.

2. THE OROTUND is a full, deep, round, and pure tone of voice, peculiarly adapted in expressing sublime and pathetic emotions.

3. THE ASPIRATED TONE of voice is not a pure, vocal sound, but rather a forcible breathing utterance, and is used to express amazement, fear, terror, anger, revenge, remorse, and fervent emotions.

4. THE GUTTURAL QUALITY is a deep, aspirated tone of voice, used to express aversion, hatred, loathing, and contempt.

NOTATION IN MODULATION.

(o)	high.
(oo)	high and loud.
(o)	low.
(oo)	low and loud.
(=)	quick.
('')	short and quick.
(sl.)	slow.
(p.)	soft.
(pp.)	very soft.
(f.)	loud.
(ff.)	very loud.
(pl.)	plaintive.
(<)	increase.
(>)	decrease.

(p.)	Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows,
	And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows;
(f.)	But when loud surges lash the sounding shore,
	The hoarse rough verse should like the torrent roar.
(sl.)	When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw,
	The line, too, labors, and the words move slow:
(=)	Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain,
	Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main.

POPE.

(o=)	Go ring the bells and fire the guns,
	And fling the starry banner out;
(ff.)	Shout "FREEDOM" till your lisping ones
	Give back the cradle shout.

WHITTIER.

(pl.)	"And now, farewell! 'Tis hard to give thee up,
	With death so like a gentle slumber on thee!—
	And thy dark sin!—oh! I could drink the cup
	If from this woe its bitterness had won thee.
	May God have called thee, like a wanderer, home,
	My lost boy, Absalom!"

WILLIS.

(sl.)	The sun hath set in folded clouds,—
	Its twilight rays are gone,
(o)	And, gathered in the shades of night,
	The storm is rolling on.
(pl.)	Alas! how ill that bursting storm
(>)	The fainting spirit braves,
(p.)	When they,—the lovely and the lost,—
(pl.)	Are gone to early graves!

(o)	On! onward still! o'er the land he sweeps,
(>)	With wreck, and ruin, and rush, and roar,
	Nor stops to look back
	On his dreary track
('')	But speeds to the spoils before.

MISS J.H. LEWIS.

From every battle-field of the revolution—from Lexington and Bunker Hill—from Saratoga and Yorktown—from the fields of Entaw—from the cane-brakes that sheltered the men of Marion—the repeated, long-prolonged echoes came up—(f.) "THE UNION: IT MUST BE PRESERVED" (<) From every valley in our land—from every cabin on the pleasant mountain sides—from the ships at our wharves—from the tents of the hunter in our westernmost prairies—from the living minds of the living millions of American freemen—from the thickly coming glories of futurity—the shout went up, like the sound of many waters, (ff.) "THE UNION: IT MUST BE PRESERVED."

BANCROFT.

(p.)	Hark!
(sl.)	Along the vales and mountains of the earth
(o)	There is a deep, portentous murmuring,
(=)	Like the swift rush of subterranean streams,
	Or like the mingled sounds of earth and air,
	When the fierce tempest, with sonorous wing,
	Heaves his deep folds upon the rushing winds,
(<)	And hurries onward, with his night of clouds,
	Against the eternal mountains. 'Tis the voice
	Of infant FREEDOM,—and her stirring call
	Is heard and answered in a thousand tones
(<)	From every hill-top of her western home;
	And lo! it breaks across old Ocean's flood,—
(oo)	And "FREEDOM! FREEDOM!" is the answering shout
	Of nations, starting from the spell of years.

G.D. PRENTICE.

(<)	The thunders hushed,—
	The trembling lightning fled away in fear,—
(p.)	The foam-capt surges sunk to quiet rest,—
	The raging winds grew still,—
(pp.)	There was a calm.
(o,o,)	"Quick! Man the boat!" (=) Away they spring
	The stranger ship to aid,
(f.)	And loud their hailing voices ring,
	As rapid speed they made.

(p)	Hush! lightly tread! still tranquilly she sleeps;
	I've watched, suspending e'en my breath, in fear
	To break the heavenly spell. (pp.) Move silently.
	Can it be?
	Matter immortal? and shall spirit die?
	Above the nobler, shall less nobler rise?
(<)	Shall man alone, for whom all else revives,
	No resurrection know? (o<) Shall man alone,
	Imperial man! be sown in barren ground,
	Less privileged than grain, on which he feeds?

YOUNG.

(=)	Away! away to the mountain's brow,
	Where the trees are gently waving;
('')	Away! away to the vale below,
	Where the streams are gently laving.

	An hour passed on;—the Turk awoke;—
	That bright dream was his last;—
	He woke—to hear his sentry's shriek,
(oo)	"To ARMS! they come! (ff.) THE GREEK! THE GREEK!"
(pl.)	He woketo die, midst flame and smoke,
	And shout, and groan, and sabre stroke,
	And death shots falling thick and fast
	As lightnings from the mountain cloud;
	And heard, with voice as trumpet loud,
	Bozzaris cheer his band;—
(oo)	"Strike—till the last armed foe expires!
	Strike—for your altars and your fires!
	Strike—for the green graves of your sires!
	God, and your native land!"

HALLECK.

	He said, and on the rampart hights arrayed
	His trusty warriors, few, but undismayed;
(sl)	Firm paced and slow, a horrid front they form,
(pp)	Still as the breeze, (oo) but dreadful as the storm!
(p.)	Low, murmuring sounds along their banners fly,
(ff.)	REVENGE, or DEATH!—the watchword and reply;
(oo)	Then pealed the notes, omnipotent to charm,
(f.)	And the loud tocsin tolled their last alarm!

CAMPBELL.

(_o') His speech was at first low toned and slow. Sometimes his voice would deepen, (_oo) like the sound of distant thunder; and anon, ('') his flashes of wit and enthusiasm would light up the anxious faces of his hearers, (<) like the far-off lightning of a coming storm.

(>)	Receding now, the dying numbers ring
(p.)	Fainter and fainter, down the rugged dell:
(pp.)	And now'tis silent all—enchantress, fare thee well.

(=)	Oh, joy to the world! the hour is come,
	When the nations to freedom awake,
	When the royalists stand agape and dumb,
	And monarchs with terror shake!
	Over the walls of majesty,
	"Upharsin" is writ in words of fire,
	And the eyes of the bondmen, wherever they be,
	Are lit with their wild desire.
(<)	Soon, soon shall the thrones that blot the world,
	Like the Orleans, into the dust be hurl'd,
	And the world roll on, like a hurricane's breath,
	Till the farthest nation hears what it saith.—
(ff.)	"ARISE! ARISE! BE FREE!"

T.B. READ.

(p.o)	Tread softly—bow the head,—
	In reverent silence bow,—
	No passing bell doth toll,—
(pl.)	Yet an immortal soul
	Is passing now.

MRS. SOUTHEY.

(^o_f.) SPEAK OUT, my friends; would you exchange it for the DEMON'S DRINK, (ff.) ALCOHOL? A shout, like the roar of a tempest, answered, (^oo) NO!

(oo)	The combat deepens! (ff.) ON! YE BRAVE!
(=)	Who rush to GLORY, (p.) or the GRAVE!
(ff.)	WAVE, Munich, all thy banners WAVE!
	And CHARGE with all thy CHIVALRY!
(pl.)	Ah! few shall part where many meet!
	The snow shall be their winding sheet,
	And every turf beneath their feet
(sl.o)	Shall be a soldier's sepulcher!

CAMPBELL.

(sl.)	At length, o'er Columbus slow consciousness breaks,
(oo)	"LAND! LAND!" cry the sailors; (ff.) "LAND! LAND!"—he awakes,—
('')	He runs,—yes! behold it! it blesseth his sight!
	THE LAND! O, dear spectacle! transport! delight!

SECTION V.

THE RHETORICAL PAUSE.

RHETORICAL PAUSES are those which are frequently required by the voice in reading and speaking, although the construction of the passage admits of no grammatical point.

These pauses should be as manifest to the ear, as those which are indicated by the comma, semicolon, or other grammatical points, though not commonly denoted by any visible sign. In the following examples they are denoted thus, ("").

1.

DIMOND.

2.

This pause is generally made before or after the utterance of some important word or clause on which it is especially desired to fix the attention. In such cases it is usually denoted by the use of the dash (—).

1. God said—"Let there be light!"

2.

No definite rule can be given with reference to the length of the rhetorical, or grammatical pause. The correct taste of the reader or speaker must determine it. For the voice should sometimes be suspended much longer at the same pause in one situation than in another; as in the two following

Pause a moment. I heard a footstep. Listen now. I heard it again; but it is going from us. It sounds fainter,—still fainter. It is gone.

John, be quick. Get some water. Throw the powder overboard. "It can not be reached." Jump into the boat, then. Shove off. There goes the powder. Thank Heaven. We are safe.

---

It is of the utmost importance, in order to secure an easy and elegant style in reading, to refer the pupil often to the more important principles involved in a just elocution. To this end, it will be found very advantageous, occasionally to review the rules and directions given in the preceding pages, and thus early accustom him to apply them in the subsequent reading lessons. For a wider range of examples and illustrations, it is only necessary to refer to the numerous and various exercises which form the body of this book. They have been selected, in many cases, with a special view to this object.

iad-minded man”; a sort of demi-god who was every one and no one, a Proteus without individuality of his own. The theory has held the field for nearly a century, probably because it flatters our national vanity; for in itself it is fantastically absurd and leads to most ridiculous conclusions. For instance, when Coleridge had to deal with the fact that Shakespeare never drew a miser, instead of accepting the omission as characteristic, for it is confirmed by Ben Jonson's testimony that he was “of an open and free nature,” Coleridge proceeded to argue that avarice is not a permanent passion in humanity, and that Shakespeare probably for that reason chose to leave it undescribed. This is an example of the ecstasy of hero-worship; it is begging the question to assume that whatever Shakespeare did was perfect; humanity cannot be penned up even in Shakespeare's brain. Like every other man of genius Shakespeare must have shown himself in his qualities and defects, in his preferences and prejudices; “a fallible being,” as stout old Dr. Johnson knew, “will fail somewhere.”

Even had Shakespeare tried to hide himself in his work, he could not have succeeded. Now that the print of a man's hand or foot or ear is enough to distinguish him from all other men, it is impossible to believe that the mask of his mind, the very imprint, form and pressure of his soul should be less distinctive. Just as Monsieur Bertillon's whorl-pictures of a thumb afford overwhelming proofs of a man's identity, so it is possible from Shakespeare's writings to establish beyond doubt the main features of his character and the chief incidents of his life. The time for random assertion about Shakespeare and unlimited eulogy of him has passed away for ever: the object of this inquiry is to show him as he lived and loved and suffered, and the proofs of this and of that trait shall be so heaped up as to stifle doubt and reach absolute conviction. For not only is the circumstantial evidence overwhelming and conclusive, but we have also the testimony of eye-witnesses with which to confirm it, and one of these witnesses, Ben Jonson, is of rare credibility and singularly well equipped.

Let us begin, then, by treating Shakespeare as we would treat any other writer, and ask simply how a dramatic author is most apt to reveal himself. A great dramatist may not paint himself for us at any time in his career with all his faults and vices; but when he goes deepest into human nature, we may be sure that self-knowledge is his guide; as Hamlet said, “To know a man well, were to know himself” (oneself), so far justifying the paradox that dramatic writing is merely a form of autobiography. We may take then as a guide this first criterion that, in his masterpiece of psychology, the dramatist will reveal most of his own nature.

If a dozen lovers of Shakespeare were asked to name the most profound and most complex character in all his dramas it is probable that every one without hesitation would answer Hamlet. The current of cultivated opinion has long set in this direction. With the intuition of a kindred genius, Goethe was the first to put Hamlet on a pedestal: “the incomparable,” he called him, and devoted pages to an analysis of the character. Coleridge followed with the confession whose truth we shall see later: “I have a smack of Hamlet myself, if I may say so.” But even if it be admitted that Hamlet is the most complex and profound of Shakespeare's creations, and therefore probably the character in which Shakespeare revealed most of himself, the question of degree still remains to be determined. Is it possible to show certainly that even the broad outlines of Hamlet's character are those of the master-poet?

There are various ways in which this might be proved. For instance, if one could show that whenever Shakespeare fell out of a character he was drawing, he unconsciously dropped into the Hamlet vein, one's suspicion as to the identity of Hamlet and the poet would be enormously strengthened. There is another piece of evidence still more convincing. Suppose that Shakespeare in painting another character did nothing but paint Hamlet over again trait by trait—virtue by virtue, fault by fault—our assurance would be almost complete; for a dramatist only makes this mistake when he is speaking unconsciously in his proper person. But if both these kinds of proof were forthcoming, and not once but a dozen times, then surely our conviction as to the essential identity of Hamlet and Shakespeare would amount to practical certitude.

Of course it would be foolish, even in this event, to pretend that Hamlet exhausts Shakespeare; art does little more than embroider the fringe of the garment of life, and the most complex character in drama or even in fiction is simple indeed when compared with even the simplest of living men or women. Shakespeare included in himself Falstaff and Cleopatra, beside the author of the sonnets, and knowledge drawn from all these must be used to fill out and perhaps to modify the outlines given in Hamlet before one can feel sure that the portrait is a re-presentment of reality. But when this study is completed, it will be seen that with many necessary limitations, Hamlet is indeed a revelation of some of the most characteristic traits of Shakespeare.

To come to the point quickly, I will take Hamlet's character as analyzed by Coleridge and Professor Dowden.

Coleridge says: “Hamlet's character is the prevalence of the abstracting and generalizing habit over the practical. He does not want courage, skill, will or opportunity; but every incident sets him thinking: and it is curious, and at the same time strictly natural, that Hamlet, who all the play seems reason itself, should be impelled at last by mere accident to effect his object.” Again he says: “in Hamlet we see a great, an almost enormous intellectual activity and a proportionate aversion to real action consequent upon it.”

Professor Dowden's analysis is more careful but hardly as complete. He calls Hamlet “the meditative son” of a strong-willed father, and adds, “he has slipped on into years of full manhood still a haunter of the university, a student of philosophies, an amateur in art, a ponderer on the things of life and death who has never formed a resolution or executed a deed. This long course of thinking apart from action has destroyed Hamlet's very capacity for belief.... In presence of the spirit he is himself 'a spirit,' and believes in the immortality of the soul. When left to his private thoughts he wavers uncertainly to and fro; death is a sleep; a sleep, it may be, troubled with dreams.... He is incapable of certitude.... After his fashion (that of one who relieves himself by speech rather than by deeds) he unpacks his heart in words.”

Now what other personage is there in Shakespeare who shows these traits or some of them? He should be bookish and irresolute, a lover of thought and not of action, of melancholy temper too, and prone to unpack his heart with words. Almost every one who has followed the argument thus far will be inclined to think of Romeo. Hazlitt declared that “Romeo is Hamlet in love. There is the same rich exuberance of passion and sentiment in the one, that there is of thought and sentiment in the other. Both are absent and self-involved; both live out of themselves in a world of imagination.” Much of this is true and affords a noteworthy example of Hazlitt's occasional insight into character, yet for reasons that will appear later it is not possible to insist, as Hazlitt does, upon the identity of Romeo and Hamlet. The most that can be said is that Romeo is a younger brother of Hamlet, whose character is much less mature and less complex than that of the student-prince. Moreover, the characterization in Romeo—the mere drawing and painting—is very inferior to that put to use in Hamlet. Romeo is half hidden from us in the rose-mist of passion, and after he is banished from Juliet's arms we only see him for a moment as he rushes madly by into never-ending night, and all the while Shakespeare is thinking more of the poetry of the theme than of his hero's character. Romeo is crude and immature when compared with a profound psychological study like Hamlet. In “Hamlet” the action often stands still while incidents are invented for the mere purpose of displaying the peculiarities of the protagonist. “Hamlet,” too, is the longest of Shakespeare's plays with the exception of “Antony and Cleopatra,” and “the total length of Hamlet's speeches,” says Dryasdust, “far exceeds that of those allotted by Shakespeare to any other of his characters.” The important point, however, is that Romeo has a more than family likeness to Hamlet. Even in the heat and heyday of his passion Romeo plays thinker; Juliet says, “Good-night” and disappears, but he finds time to give us the abstract truth:

Juliet appears again unexpectedly, and again Hamlet's generalizing habit asserts itself in Romeo:

We may be certain that Juliet would have preferred more pointed praise. He is indeed so lost in his ill-timed reverie that Juliet has to call him again and again by name before he attends to her.

Romeo has Hamlet's peculiar habit of talking to himself. He falls into a soliloquy on his way to Juliet in Capulet's orchard, when his heart must have been beating so loudly that it would have prevented him from hearing himself talk, and into another when hurrying to the apothecary. In this latter monologue, too, when all his thoughts must have been of Juliet and their star-crossed fates, and love-devouring Death, he is able to picture for us the apothecary and his shop with a wealth of detail that says more for Shakespeare's painstaking and memory than for his insight into character. The fault, however, is not so grave as it would be if Romeo were a different kind of man; but like Hamlet he is always ready to unpack his heart with words, and if they are not the best words sometimes, sometimes even very inappropriate words, it only shows that in his first tragedy Shakespeare was not the master of his art that he afterwards became.

In the churchyard scene of the fifth act Romeo's likeness to Hamlet comes into clearest light.

Hamlet says to Laertes:

In precisely the same temper, Romeo says to Paris:

This magnanimity is so rare that its existence would almost of itself be sufficient to establish a close relationship between Romeo and Hamlet. Romeo's last speech, too, is characteristic of Hamlet: on the very threshold of death he generalizes:

There is in Romeo, too, that peculiar mixture of pensive sadness and loving sympathy which is the very vesture of Hamlet's soul; he says to “Noble County Paris”:

And finally Shakespeare's supreme lyrical gift is used by Romeo as unconstrainedly as by Hamlet himself. The beauty in the last soliloquy is of passion rather than of intellect, but in sheer triumphant beauty some lines of it have never been surpassed:

The whole soliloquy and especially the superb epithet “world-wearied” are at least as suitable to Hamlet as to Romeo. Passion, it is true, is more accentuated in Romeo, just as there is greater irresolution combined with intenser self-consciousness in Hamlet, yet all the qualities of the youthful lover are to be found in the student-prince. Hamlet is evidently the later finished picture of which Romeo was merely the charming sketch. Hamlet says he is revengeful and ambitious, although he is nothing of the kind, and in much the same way Romeo says:

whereas he plays the chief part and a very active part in the drama. If he were more of a “candle-holder” and onlooker, he would more resemble Hamlet. Then too, though he generalizes, he does not search the darkness with aching eyeballs as Hamlet does; the problems of life do not as yet lie heavy on his soul; he is too young to have felt their mystery and terror; he is only just within the shadow of that melancholy which to Hamlet discolours the world.

Seven or eight years after writing “Romeo and Juliet,” Shakespeare growing conscious of these changes in his own temperament embodied them in another character, the melancholy “Jaques” in “As You Like It.” Every one knows that Jaques is Shakespeare's creation; he is not to be found in Lodge's “Rosalynde,” whence Shakespeare took the story and most of the characters of his play. Jaques is only sketched in with light strokes, but all his traits are peculiarly Hamlet's traits. For Jaques is a melancholy student of life as Hamlet is, with lightning-quick intelligence and heavy heart, and these are the Hamlet qualities which were not brought into prominence in the youthful Romeo. Passages taken at haphazard will suffice to establish my contention. “Motley's the only wear,” says Jaques, as if longing to assume the cap and bells, and Hamlet plays the fool's part with little better reason. Jaques exclaims:

And Hamlet cries:

The famous speech of Jaques, “All the world's a stage,” might have been said by Hamlet, indeed belongs of right to the person who gave the exquisite counsel to the players. Jaques' confession of melancholy, too, both in manner and matter is characteristic of Hamlet. How often Shakespeare must have thought it over before he was able to bring the peculiar nature of his own malady into such relief:

“I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is emulation; nor the musician's, which is fantastical; nor the courtier's, which is proud; nor the soldier's, which is ambitious; nor the lawyer's, which is politic; nor the lady's, which is nice; nor the lover's, which is all these; but it is a melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples, extracted from many objects, and, indeed, the sundry contemplation of my travels; which, by often rumination, wraps me in, a most humourous sadness.”

This “humourous sadness,” the child of contemplation, was indeed Shakespeare's most constant mood. Jaques, too, loves solitude and the country as Hamlet loved them—and above all the last trait recorded of Jaques, his eagerness to see the reformed Duke and learn from the convert, is a perfect example of that intellectual curiosity which is one of Hamlet's most attaching characteristics. Yet another trait is attributed to Jaques, which we must on no account forget. The Duke accuses him of lewdness though lewdness seems out of place in Jaques's character, and is certainly not shown in the course of the action. If we combine the characters of Romeo, the poet-lover, and Jaques, the pensive-sad philosopher, we have almost the complete Hamlet.

It is conceivable that even a fair-minded reader of the plays will admit all I have urged about the likeness of Romeo and Jaques to Hamlet without concluding that these preliminary studies, so to speak, for the great portrait render it at all certain that the masterpiece of portraiture is a likeness of Shakespeare himself. The impartial critic will probably say, “You have raised a suspicion in my mind; a strong suspicion it may be, but still a suspicion that is far from certitude.” Fortunately the evidence still to be offered is a thousand times more convincing than any inferences that can properly be drawn from Romeo or from Jaques, or even from both together.