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THE TREMOR, OR TREMBLING QUALITY, is a tremulous, sobbing tone of voice, used to express pity, tenderness, hope, and excessive grief or joy: Pity the sorrows of a poor old man

Whose trembling limbs have borne him to your door.

The birds are glad; the briar-rose fills
The air with sweetness; all the hills
Stretch green to June's unclouded sky;
But still I wait with ear and eye

For something gone which should be nigh.

IV. RATE.

Rate is the duration or time of sound and movement in reading and speaking.

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QUICK RATE is used to express joy, sudden alarm, confusion, and other lively emotions :

From the streams and founts I have loosed the chain :
They are sweeping on to the silvery main,—

They are flashing down from the mountain brows,—
They are flinging spray o'er the forest boughs,--
They are bursting fresh from their sparry caves,
And the earth resounds with the joy of waves!
And there was mounting in hot haste: the steed,
The mustering squadron, and the clattering car,
Went pouring forward with impetuous speed,
And swiftly forming in the ranks of war;
And the deep thunder, peal on peal afar,
And near, the beat of the alarming drum,
Roused up the soldier ere the morning star;

While thronged the citizens, with terror dumb,

Or whispering, with white lips "The foe! They come! they come!" MODERATE RATE is used in ordinary discourse, narration, simple description, and the gentler forms of the emotions:

The farmer's calling is full of moral grandeur. He supports the world, is the partner of Nature, and peculiarly a "co-worker with God." The sun, the atmosphere, the dews, the rains, day and night, the seasons--all the natural agents--are his ministers in the spacious temple of the firmament.

SLOW RATE is used in expressing grandeur, solemnity, reverential awe, earnest prayer, veneration, solemn denunciation, and deep pathos. It is generally executed with moderate force:

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the hills moved and shook, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens, also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet; and he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters, and the thick clouds of the skies.

V. SLUR.

Slur is a gliding, wave-like movement of the voice, dropping upon unimportant words and clauses, and rising upon those which express the main ideas or emotions, so as to leave them in distinct relation to each other, and bring out their full effect.

In the following examples, the expressions to be read with the Slur are indicated by being inclosed in brackets:

When Cheerfulness, [a nymph of healthiest hue,

Her bow across her shoulder flung,

Her buskins gemmed with morning dew,]

Blew an inspiring air.

His friend, [who was apprised of the state he was in, and who naturally concluded he was ill, ] offered him some wine.

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Monotone is a degree of sameness of sound, employed in reading passages of sustained dignity and solemnity. It is executed with the Orotund Quality, Slow Rate, and Moderate Force.

Yet a few days, and thee

The all-beholding sun shall see no more

In all his course; nor yet in the cold ground,
Where thy pale form was laid with many tears,
Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist

Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim
Thy growth to be resolved to earth again;
And, lost each human trace, surrendering up

Thine individual being, shalt thou go

To mix forever with the elements,

To be a brother to the insensible rock,

And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain
Turns with his share, and treads upon.

VII. TRANSITION.

Transition is a change of voice used in reading, to represent the utterance of a different speaker, or to indicate a new train of thought or turn of sentiment.

Nothing is more disagreeable in the delivery of many public speakers than that dead monotony of voice which wearies an audience, weakens the strongest logic, and dulls the finest sentiment. By a proper attention to Transition in reading or speaking, the tamest matter can be rendered pleasing and effective.

Transition should be effected temperately and without apparent effort; but whenever the reader enters upon a new train of thought, notice thereof should be given to the ear, by such a change in pitch, time, rate, or force, as its proper rendering may require.

Rouse, ye Romans!-Rouse, ye slaves!

Have ye brave sons? Look in the next fierce brawl
To see them die!

"Good morning, neighbor!" No answer. "Good morning," I repeated. He did not look up.

What matter how the night behaved?

What matter how the north-wind raved?
Blow high, blow low, not all its snow

Could quench our hearth-fire's ruddy glow.—

O, Time and Change! With hair as gray

As was my sire's that winter day,

How strange it seems, with so much gone
Of life and love, to still live on!

PROSE.

The term Prose is generally applied to all composition which is not written in verse. Its principal varieties are, Letters, Reviews, Essays, Travels, History, Biography, Fiction, Discourses, and the Drama.

LETTER, a written communication from one person to another.

REVIEW, a critical notice of a literary publication.

ESSAY, a treatise or dissertation on some special theme.

TRAVELS, an account of occurrences and observations during a journey. HISTORY, a narrative of events transpiring in a nation or state.

BIOGRAPHY, an account of the life and character of a particular person. FICTION, a story made up of invented incidents.

DISCOURSES, treatises intended to be delivered orally.

DRAMA, a composition, either poetical or prose, in which the action or narrative is represented by living characters.

FIGURES OF SPEECH.

A Figure of Speech is a mode of expression in which words are used in other than a literal sense. The most common figures are, the Simile, Metaphor, Allegory, Antithesis, Apostrophe, Personification, and Climax.

A SIMILE is a word or phrase by which we liken one thing to another; as, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine;" "The king's favor is as dew upon the grass.'

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A METAPHOR is a word implying similitude without directly asserting it. Thus, “That man is a fox" is a metaphor; but "That man is like a fox" is a simile.

AN ALLEGORY is a continued metaphor. It is a figurative discourse in which the principal subject is described by another subject resembling it in its properties and circumstances. Parable and Fable are closely allied to Allegory.

ANTITHESIS consists of words or sentiments in the same sentence contrasted with each other; as, "They were enemies in war; in peace, friends."

APOSTROPHE is a turning away from the regular course of thought, and addressing some object in the second person.

PERSONIFICATION consists in attributing life to things inanimate. It often accompanies Apostrophe; as, 'Put on thy strength, O Zion."

CLIMAX is a form of expression in which a sentence rises, as it were, step by step in importance, force or dignity.

NOTE.-Antithesis, Apostrophe and Climax are not figures of speech in the strict sense of the term, but they are generally so classed, and are placed here on that account.

POETRY.

Poetry is the product of an excited and creative imagination, expressed in the form of verse.

POETRY IS GENERALLY CLASSED under the heads of EPIC, Dramatic, LYRIC, ELEGIAC, DIDACTIC, SATIRIC and PASTORAL.

AN EPIC POEM is a poetical recital of some great and heroic enterprise.

DRAMATIC POETRY.-See definition of Drama. There are two kinds of Drama: Tragedy and Comedy. The greatest dramatist in English Literature is Shakspeare.

LYRIC POETRY, as its name denotes, originally meant poetry intended to be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre. The most common form is the Ode or Song.

AN ELEGY is a poem of a sad and mournful character celebrating the virtues of some one deceased.

A DIDACTIC POEM is one which aims chiefly to give instruction.

A SATIRE is a poem intended to hold up the follies of mankind to ridicule. It exposes faults in general rather than in individuals.

A PASTORAL POEM is one which describes country life.

VERSIFICATION.

A verse, or line, of poetry consists of successive combinations of syllables, called feet.

A Foot is a certain portion of a line of poetry consisting of two or more syllables combined with reference to accent.

LENGTH OF A LINE. The length of a line is expressed by the number of accents or feet it contains. Practically, we have in English verse only six varieties of lengths; namely, the Monometer, Dimeter, Trimeter, Tetrameter, Pentameter, and Hexameter, or one foot, two feet, three feet, etc. THE PRINCIPAL ENGLISH FEET are the Iambus, the Trochee, the Anapest, and the Dactyl.

1. THE IAMBUS is a poetic foot consisting of a short syllable and a long one; as, de mand, con fers.

2. THE TROCHEE is a poetic foot consisting of a long syllable and a short one; as, hate ful, ho ly

3. THE ANAPEST is a poetic foot consisting of two short syllables and one long one; as, con tra vene.

4. THE DACTYL is a poetic foot consisting of one long syllable and two short ones; as, pos si ble.

SCANNING consists in dividing verse according to the feet composing it. OF VERSE, or poetic measure, we have, accordingly, four principal kinds or orders; namely, IAMBIC, TROCHAIC, ANAPESTIC, and DACTYLIC.

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There slumber England's dead."

ANAPESTIC OF FOUR FEET, OR TETRAMETER.

There came to the beach a poor exile of E | rin
The dew on his thin¦ robe was heav¦ and chill:
For his country he sighed, | when at twi | light repair | ing
To wander alone | by the wind beaten hill.

TROCHAIC OF FIVE FEET, OR PENTAMETER.

"Mountain | winds! oh! | whither | do ye | call me!

Vainly vainly would my | steps pur | sue;

Chains of care to lower | earth enthrall me,

Wherefore thus my | weary | spirit | woo."

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