In some instances the time order, in others the logical order, or any natural order of events or things, will give the proper sequence of items. Emphasis. Emphasis is that mode of expression which tends to produce a clearer, livelier, or weightier meaning than would otherwise result from the words employed. Among the many methods of producing emphasis three are most often used, emphasis by position, emphasis by proportion, and emphasis by repetition. When we emphasize by position, we call attention to the thought by an unusual order of words. A good example of this is shown where the lame man at the gate of the temple, as related in Acts iii, 6, asked alms of Peter and John. Peter said to him, "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee." He emphasized his words by the unusual position he thus employed. When we say much about important points, and little about unimportant points, we emphasize by proportion. Emphasis by proportion is often accomplished by a skillful massing of important details. In Patrick Henry's Speech before the Virginia Convention, which is full of weighty emphasis, there is a sentence which is remarkably emphatic. And it is not hard to see how the orator builds up his emphasis. He has just stated that the colonists are not weak. He desires now to say that the American people are invincible. We may state it this way: our people are invincible He takes the word people, and adds to the thought several ideas: first, their number; second, the fact that they are armed, and armed in a just cause; and third, that the country in which they dwell is unusually well adapted for defense against an enemy. Here is what he says, and it would be hard to find a finer example of emphasis by proportion. three millions of people are armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Repetition has much to do with emphasis. We are told that the Roman orator Cato, bent on the absolute destruction of Carthage, closed every statement he made, and every speech he uttered, with the ominous words, Delenda est Carthago, "Carthage must be destroyed." EXERCISES ON THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE ENGLISH (a) Testing for Effect. - Read how Hector lays aside his helmet, Homer's Iliad, book vi, line 505 to line 633, William Cullen Bryant's translation.1 Hector, parting from Andromache, lays aside his helmet to take his little child. It would be hard to find anything in literature more beautiful, or more true to human nature than this. Read it over until you get the story, then forget everything else. Put the book aside and ponder over it. Picture the scene, the great warrior, the loving wife, and the tender child, "a babe too young to speak," afraid of his father's crested helmet. The hero lays it aside to play with his little child, and then passes out to battle. 1. Tell the story, making it as effective as you can. Do not attempt to tell it in Bryant's style; he writes in poetry, and you are writing in prose. Catch something of the dignity and beauty of the story, then tell it as the words come to you. 2. Examine your story to see if you have secured the right effect. Try to anticipate and forestall the criticisms of your classmates. Test it with regard to the following points. Unity. Is the current of your story hinde If so, cut out any detail that is in the way. at any point? Coherence. Did you get ahead of your story anywhere, or is everything in its proper order? Emphasis. Did you do what you set out to do, and are the striking things put in an emphatic way? If your story fails in any of these respects, rewrite it with more care. 1 If on account of difficulty in obtaining the books here referred to, or for any good cause, the instructor prefers to postpone this and similar exercises until later in the high school course, there is no reason why it should not be done. The aim of Effective English is to encourage freedom of choice in composition material for both teacher and pupil. No exercises in this book are offered as required; they are suggested. The freer the teacher feels as to what to use, and what to omit, or when to use anything suggested, the better. (b) Drill in Unity. Tell how to plan a vegetable garden. Consult any boys who have "made good" the past summer, working in gardens, orchards, or on farms, for themselves or for hire. Tell when, where, and what to plaut, and why. Group your points about one central idea. Test your work for unity; if it lacks unity, rewrite it. (c) Drill in Coherence. — Refer to the Odyssey, book viii, lines 120 to 291, Bryant's translation, and tell the story of Ulysses' prowess in the games of Antinous. Test your story for unity and coherence. Do not use any word, and especially any incident, that will not materially advance the story. Antinous, king of Phæacia, proposes a series of games in honor of Ulysses, his guest. During the progress of these games Ulysses is taunted by one of the Phæacians, who provokes him to throw the discus. Ulysses easily distances all competitors. (d) Drill in Emphasis. - Dogs play an important part in modern warfare. They ferret out the wounded, carry dispatches across shellswept fields, accompany sentinels on lonesome outposts, serve as couriers and patrols, and drag heavy loads over snow-covered mountains. Think out a story, orally or in writing, of how such a dog, Airedale, Eskimo, or shepherd, helped a member of his regiment in time of need. Put emphasis into it. One minute, or one hundred words. (e) Class Criticism.—1. When selected papers are read in class, let the pupils judge of but two things, Was the story interesting? Did it sound as if the speaker or writer had used an outline, so as to keep his story well in hand? 2. As several stories are told or read in class, based on "Ulysses Throwing the Discus,” let some one student, chosen beforehand, watch the story part of this exercise and report on how it was handled, with a view to (1) unity, (2) coherence, and (3) emphasis. 3. In telling any story, let three students report on the paragraphing; that is, how the pupils handled the different parts of the story, as based on the items of the outline by which they worked. (f) Vocational Guidance. A High School Project.1 Tell how to i The best results will flow from encouraging each pupil to form a specific project or point of view with regard to a limited subject to be presented to a particular audience, to observe how well he succeeds in prepare, plant, and care for an old-fashioned garden. This should be in charge of (1) a committee of girls who have succeeded in a project of this kind; or (2) a group of girls who have decided to have such a garden as part of their school duties. The idea is to have a garden to which one may go at any time in the late spring, and during the summer and autumn, and be able to cut a generous supply of flowers. Interviews should be sought and reported as to views and suggestions of flower lovers in the community. The flowers may be utilized for decoration of the schoolrooms, or sent to the homes of those without gardens. (g) Business Letters.1-1. Reply to an actual business letter. A letter selected by the teacher is read to the class. Any points in doubt may be explained. The name and address of the firm is written on the blackboard. Each pupil will compose a letter in reply. These letters will then be submitted for suggestion and criticism to a committee of three, who will study them for a few minutes and make such comments as the committee think necessary. The letters will then be handed back to the writers, and a new letter written, keeping in mind all that has been said. One third of the class will be put in charge of corrections, each member of this committee receiving three letters, to be corrected by him and returned to the writer with his criticisms. All the pupils will rewrite the letter in the English notebook. 2. Business letter written by entire class. Suppose that a piece of statuary, ordered by the high school, is found on its arrival to be badly cracked. The shipper must be informed of its receipt, its condition, and the supposed cause of the defect. A claim for damages from the railroad may have to be filed. All these matters, as brought out by oral discussion, are to be noted on the blackboard. The pupils will then compose sentences dealing with each phase of the situation. These sentences are to be criticized by the entire class. Each pupil is his purpose, and to learn from the successes and failures of himself and his classmates what the most effective methods of communication are. - From the Report of the National Joint Committee on the Reorganization of High School English. 1 Suggested by The Teaching of High School English, State of New Jersey, and quoted by the new English Syllabus, Board of Regents, State of New York. While this anticipates the definite study of business letters in Chapter XI, it may prove profitable here. Its use at this time, however, is optional. |