For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, And makes us rather bear those ills we have, Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.-Hamlet. "In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof an image was before my eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 'Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?'' And now the grave for its cold breast has won thee, Must feel thee cold, for a chill hand is on thee; Upon his clustering hair!— Willis. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell upon the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by a mighty wind. And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.-Bible. "Toll, toll, toll, "Night, sable goddess, from her ebon throne, Her leaden sceptre o'er the slumbering world. "When for me the silent oar Parts the Silent River, Of the strange Forever, Shall I miss the loved and known? EMPHASIS. Emphasis produces a primary beauty of oratory; it gives the nice distinctions of meaning, the refined conceptions which language is capable of expressing, and imparts a a force and harmony to composition which its absence would render lifeless, and frequently unintelligible. The best rule for emphasizing justly is to study the true meaning of the author, and lay the stress upon such words as you would make impressive were you conversing upon the same subject. Examples. Athos, thou proud and aspiring mountain, that liftest thy head unto the heavens, be not so audacious as to put obstacles in my way; if thou dost, I will cut thee level with the plain, and hurl thee headlong into the sea.—Absurd boast of Xerxes. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord liveth, the man that has done this thing shall surely die; “And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." And Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man."-Bible. The raven himself is hoarse, That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. -Macbeth. "I tell you, though you, though all the world, though an angel from heaven, should declare the truth of it, I would not believe it." proper stuff! This is the proper painting of your fear; This is the air-drawn dagger, which, you said, Authoriz'd by her grandam. Shame itself! Carve You look but on a stool. -Macbeth, Act III, Scene 4. "A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Daniel! O wise young judge, how I do honor thee!" Speak clearly, if you speak at all; "How?" for "What?" -O. W. Holmes. A thousand hearts are great within my bosom. -Richard III. Born for your use, I live but to obey you; -Tragedy of the Revenge, Act 5. CLIMAX. A Climax is a figure in rhetoric, which rises in force and dignity of expression with the sense, and is productive of much grandeur and effect. The rule for reading or speaking a climax, is to raise the voice progressively with the subject. Examples. "And from the sacrifice, by priestly hands, Sweet, spicy incense, like a voiceless prayer, Floats up on perfumed wings to Mercy's throne." "Ilear the loud alarum bells, Brazen bells; What a tale of terror now their turbulency tells ! With a desperate desire, And a resolute endeavor Now, now to sit, or never, By the side of the pale-faced moon." "Yet this is Rome, That sat on her seven hills, and from her throne Was greater than a king!—And once again,— "But see! he has stepped on the railing, he climbs with his feet and hands, And firm on a narrow projection, with the belfry beneath him, he stands. Slow, steadily mounting, unheeding aught save the goal of the fire, Still higher and higher, an atom, he moves on the face of the spire." Not wholly lost, O Father! is this evil world of ours; "Hark!—the bell, the bell! The knell of tyranny,-the mighty voice And listening heaven, proclaims the glorious tale "Let old Timotheus yield the prize, "Strike-till the last armed foe expires; ANTI-CLIMAX. This figure, the reverse of the Climax, imparts force, beauty, and pathos to language. Begin the passage in the middle tone, letting the voice fall to the lowest tone. Examples. "Were I an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country I never would lay down my arms! -never! never! never!" |