carry away the memory of inappropriate gesture and striking attitude. Gesture should be simple, sincere, and suited to the word.

SECTION III. LIMITS OF PERSONATION

Public readers and speakers are under great temptation to act out many things which should be left to the imagination. In no respect has the criticism of judicious minds been so severe as against undue impersonation. The following simple laws, if put into practice, will reduce such tendency to a minimum.

1. FIRST LAW

The speaker should personate only when uttering the direct words or strong emotion of a character. In the following lines from "Horatius at the Bridge" one may very properly personate the strong soldier giving the command. He may take a manly, heroic, but modest attitude, such as this courageous Roman is supposed to have taken at the time :

Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,

With all the speed ye may;

I, with two more to help me,

Will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path a thousand

May well be stopped by three.

Now who will stand on either hand,

And keep the bridge with me?-Macaulay.

Of a very different nature are the descriptive passages. In such there is a tendency with young students to personate, to act out the descriptions. The following lines are spoken about Astur and Horatius, and not by them. Hence they should not be personated:

Then, whirling up his broadsword

With both hands to the height,
He rushed against Horatius,

And smote with all his might.

He reel'd, and on Herminius

He lean'd one breathing-space,

Then, like a wild-cat mad with wounds,

Sprang right at Astur's face. — Ibid.

This does not mean that there should be no action, but that what is used should be suggestive, not personative, i.e. the acts may be pointed out by the describer and pictured to the imagination, but not actually done. Let the student apply this principle in the following passage from the same poem:

So he spake, and, speaking, sheathed

The good sword by his side,

And, with his harness on his back,

Plunged headlong in the tide.

Ibid.

To act that which should be left to the imagination has much the same effect upon an audience as the explanation of a joke.

2. SECOND LAW

There must be a distinction between the reciter and the actor. While the vocal expression is practically the same, the action in the two cases is very different. The actor is aided by the costume, the scenery, the support, and the accessories. He draws and sheathes his sword or dagger. He gives a letter, a book, or other material thing to the character addressed.

The reader or personator does not depend on costume and stage trappings for effects. He draws upon the imagination for the scenes, characters, and accessories. He indicates the drawing of the sword and the using of it, but does not sheathe it or account for it afterwards. He extends the hand with an imaginary book or letter, or opens the palm to receive some material thing. He leaves to the imagination of the audience much which the actor produces. He should not therefore encroach upon the actor's art.

SECTION IV. ACTION IN FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Literal action should not be used in figurative language. The violation of this law is common in the first stages of speech making. The youth who pointed to his own open mouth in speaking of the "jaws of the hydra-headed monster " violated this principle. The distinguished preacher who literalized "striking at the very gates of heaven," with a high jump and a violent swing of his fist at the pearly gates, was also doing violence to this law. "The heart of the nation," "A whirlwind of revolution," and "No friend of liberty who has not dropped his head are expressions that need no literal action to make them impressive.

CHAPTER II

REQUISITES OF ACTION

The Requisites or qualities of action are four, — (1) Grace, (2) Force, (3) Precision, and (4) Economy.

SECTION I. GRACE

Grace of action is the ease and freedom of bodily movements. It comes of the simple but harmonious action of all parts of the body. Grace requires that there be curve enough to overcome stiffness and awkwardness, but not enough for extravagance.

SECTION II. FORCE

Force is the energy put into gesture or other bodily movements. It may be gentle, moderate, or impassioned, dependent upon the feeling or emotion. Tranquillity, for example, requires gentle force; didactic thought, moderate strength; and rage, impassioned action. Ease may be acquired by persistent exercise in æsthetic physical culture, and especially in movements in technique of action (see page 229).

SECTION III. PRECISION

Precision is the proper timing of action. Gestures are often placed on the wrong word, the head stroke in the passing bow is not timed to the step, and the look is not suited to the word. Any gesture or other movement out of time is like a note of music out of time. It breaks the harmony.

Precision of gesture embraces three acts, -(1) Preparation, (2) Stroke, and (3) Return.

1. THE PREPARATION

The Preparation of a gesture occurs on the three or four syllables immediately preceding the word to be emphasized. Gesture would better be prepared too early than too hastily, for the poise of the hand in the air creates expectancy on the part of the audience. In preparation the hand is usually relaxed and moves through an arch until it arrives at the point where the sweep or expressive part begins. One should guard against superfluous, out-of-the-way curves in preparation. The movement should be simple but free.

2. THE STROKE

The Stroke is the sudden impulse that ends the expressive part of the gesture. It comes from the elbow, wrist, and fingers, and occurs on the accented syllable of the emphatic word. Its force is gentle, moderate, or impassioned in accordance with the sentiment. In order to get the full effect of a gesture, the hand may be held in place a moment after the stroke, and may emphasize the thought by slight impulses on other leading words in the sentence. Such impulses are given from the elbow and shoulder without renewing the preparation, and with but little wrist action; e.g. "There is Boston and Concord and Lexington and Bunker Hill and there they will remain forever"; "Give generously and freely."

3. THE RETURN

The Return of a gesture should be made when it has served its purpose and no other is to follow immediately. The hand should be brought easily but directly to the side or to some other position of repose. Two extremes should be avoided : first, drawing in the hand by some circuitous route and placing it away mechanically; and second, letting it fall so heavily as to attract attention.

SECTION IV. ECONOMY

Economy of action is the judicious use of appropriate action. There may be too little or too much gesture. Either is a violation of economy. Well-executed gestures may tire by their frequency or attract attention by their infrequency. Two arms are often used where one would do. A favorite gesture often becomes a noticeable habit. The index finger may be shaken in rebuke once or twice with good effect, but if shaken continually it loses force and grows monotonous.

The amount of gesture depends upon the temperament of the speaker and the character of the speech. It may be curbed in one speaker and stimulated in another. True economy calls for just enough to reënforce the thought and no more.

CHAPTER III

LAWS GOVERNING ACTION

As the excellencies and faults of speech may be determined by a knowledge of vocal principles, so correct and incorrect gesture or attitude may be detected by the study of the underlying principles or laws which govern action. We shall treat (1) the Zones of the Body, (2) the Arms, (3) Principles of Gesture, (4) Planes of Gesture, (5) the Legs, and (6) Positions and Attitudes.