EMPHASIS. EMPHASIS, in its widest signification, comprehends the various vocal means by which thought and emotion are made significant and impressive. given in the following three ways: I. BY FORCE : BACK to thy punishment. II. BY TIME :— Emphasis is He gave one long lingering look behind. III. BY SLIDE : I. I come to bu'ry' Cæsar, not to praise him'. 2. O`, certainly`, the elec'tions` are coming on`. 3. Thou Fortune's' champion, thou dost never fight' But when her humorous lady'ship' is by To teach thee safe'ty'! King John, Act III., Sc 1. Shakespeare. The above means for giving emphasis are generally used in conjunction, and when so used, one of them usually predominates and characterizes the emphasis. FORCE predominates in impassioned thought. TIME, in the expression of solemnity, awe, sublimity, reverence, endearment, etc., and to denote long time. and great distance. SLIDE predominates in contrasted ideas, in irony, ridicule, etc., and generally in scorn. The practical application of the foregoing rules and principles will be found in the following sentences. I. Rienzi. 2. Rouse, ye Romans! ROUSE, ye slaves! From every hill, by every sea, In shouts proclaim the great decree, "All chains are burst, all men are free! Hurrah, HURRAH, HURRAH!" Mitford. 3. The war is inevitable, and let it come! I repeat it, sir, LET IT COME ! 4. Catiline. Patrick Henry. Come, consecrated Lictors, from your thrones; 5. Cry" Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war. Julius Cæsar, Act III., Sc. 1. 6. Croly. Shakespeare. Arm, gentlemen, to arms! for I have thrown Henry IV., Part I., Act V., Sc. 3. 7. 8. Up and away! Our soldiers stand full fairly for the day. Shakespeare. He loosed the steed-his slack hand fell-upon the silent face He cast one long deep troubled look, then turned from that sad place! Bernardo del Carpio. 9. Mrs. Hemans. The time is long past, and the scene is afar, The Light-House. Moore. IO. Soldier, rest! thy warfare o'er, Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking; Days of danger, nights of waking. In our isle's enchanted hall, Hands unseen thy couch are strewing; Every sense in slumber dewing. Lady of the Lake, Canto I. II. See how she leans her cheek upon her hand! That I might touch that cheek! Romeo and Juliet, Act II., Sc. 2. Scott. Shakespeare. 12. Thou glorious mirror! where the Almighty's form Glasses itself in tempests; in all time, Calm or convulsed,-in breeze, or gale, or storm,- Dark-heaving,-boundless, endless, and sublime! Childe Harold, Canto IV. 13. And louder yet into Winchester rolled As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray, Sheridan's Ride. Byron. T. B. Read. 14. Festus. We live in deeds', not years"; in thought, not breath' ; In feelings', not in figures on a dial'; We should count time by heart throbs. lives He most Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. Bailey. 15. They come, and to my beard they dare Their own liege lord and master born- Baron Rudiger. 16. For he made me mad A. G. Greene. To see him shine so brisk, and smell so sweet, Of guns, and drums, and wounds-heaven save the And telling me the sovereign'st thing on earth Was spermaceti—for an inward bruise. Henry IV., Part I., Act I., Sc. 3. Shakespeare. "Truly, sir, all that I live by is with the awl." Julius Cæsar, Act I., Sc. 1. 18. " Id. 'Very well, ma'am, very well! So a husband is to have no influence-no authority!" Authority? No, to be sure! If you wanted authority over me, you should have adopted me, and not married me ; I am sure you were old enough.” The School for Scandal, Act I., Sc. 2. Sheridan. There is no Emphasis is relative-not absolute. such thing as emphasis and not emphasis in reading and speaking. All thought that is voiced is relatively emphatic. The difference is only in degree. There may be different readings of the same sentence by different persons (or by the same person), and both be correct, or at least admissible. In poetically constructed, in complex, and in involved sentences, misapplied emphasis is a common fault. To ascertain the relative importance of the words and ideas in such sentences, the words should be so trans posed as to put the sentence into its simplest and most prosaic form. What is found to be more significant in this form, remains so in its complex or poetical construction. Except for special purposes and to a limited extent, the endeavor to indicate degrees of emphasis by means of type, is more misleading than helpful. The same is true regarding signs of inflection for modulation. After a certain amount of practice is had under rules in accordance with general principles, the best plan is to study the sentence or paragraph until the mind has become thoroughly imbued with the thought and feeling, and then it should be read as thought and felt. The emphasis, as well as the other elements of expression, will then generally take care of themselves. ANTITHESIS : Antithesis relates to words and sentiments that are compared, contrasted, or opposed in meaning. The antithesis of ideas is brought out by emphasis, according to the rule already given for "contrasted ideas." Emphasis by modulation or slide characterizes the expression of antithetic thought. A change of inflection generally occurs in the emphasis of antithetic ideas. If it is the falling inflection in one, it is the rising in the other. The contrasted idea is sometimes implied. I. Striving to better, oft we mar what's well. 2. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings. Julius Cæsar, Act I., Sc. 2. 3. Give it an understanding, but no tongue. Hamlet, Act I., Sc. 2. Shakespeare. Id. |