Oral Interpretation PDF
Preview Oral Interpretation
Oral Interpretation In its 13th Edition, the iconic Oral Interpretation continues to prepare students to analyze and perform literature through an accessible, step-by-step process. New selections join classic favorites, and chapters devoted to specific genres—narrative, poetry, group performance, and more—explore the unique challenges of each form. Now tighter and more focused than its predecessors, this edition highlights movements in contemporary culture—especially the contributions of social media to current communication. New writings offer advice and strategies for maximizing body and voice in performance, and enhanced devices guide novices in performance preparation. Timothy Gura is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Speech Communication Arts and Sciences at Brooklyn College, CUNY, in the USA. Benjamin Powell is Associate Professor of Speech, Communications, and Theatre Arts at City University of New York Borough of Manhattan Community College, in the USA. Oral Interpretation Thirteenth Edition Timothy Gura Benjamin Powell Based on the pioneering work of Charlotte I. Lee Thirteenth edition published 2019 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Taylor & Francis The rights of Timothy Gura and Benjamin Powell to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published 1952 Houghton Mifflin Twelfth edition published 2016 Routledge Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gura, Timothy, author. | Powell, Benjamin, author. Title: Oral interpretation / Timothy Gura, Benjamin Powell. Description: 13th edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. Identifiers: LCCN 2017055885 | ISBN 9781138082205 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138082212 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315108865 (ebk) Subjects: LCSH: Oral interpretation. Classification: LCC PN4145 .L35 2018 | DDC 808.5/4—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017055885 ISBN: 9781138082205 (hbk) ISBN: 9781138082212 (pbk) ISBN: 9781315108865 (ebk) Typeset in Minion Pro by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents Why Do You Need This New Edition? xviii To the Student xix To the Instructor xxi PART I BASIC PRINCIPLES 1 CHAPTER 1 A Beginning and an End 3 CHAPTER 2 Analyzing the Selection 23 CHAPTER 3 Voice Development for Oral Interpretation 69 CHAPTER 4 Use of the Body in Oral Interpretation 99 PART II INTERPRETATION OF PROSE 127 CHAPTER 5 Prose: Style, Types, Nonfiction 129 CHAPTER 6 Prose: Narration 163 PART III INTERPRETATION OF DRAMA 195 CHAPTER 7 Drama: Structure and Performing 197 CHAPTER 8 Technique and Solo Performance of Drama 223 vi Contents PART IV INTERPRETATION OF POETRY 249 CHAPTER 9 Language of Poetry 251 CHAPTER 10 Structure of Poetry 283 PART V GROUP PERFORMANCE 309 CHAPTER 11 Group Performance of Literature 311 APPENDIX A Building and Presenting a Program 341 APPENDIX B A Brief History of Theories of Interpretation 348 Acknowledgements 356 Index 361 Full Contents Why Do You Need This New Edition? xviii To the Student xix To the Instructor xxi PART I BASIC PRINCIPLES 1 CHAPTER 1 A Beginning and an End 3 Expect This 3 Interpretation Requires Communicating 3 Performance 4 Text 5 Interpretation Engages an Audience 6 Ethical Responsibilities 7 Technical Responsibilities 7 Interpretation Involves a Literary Work in Its Intellectual and Emotional Entirety 7 Analysis: Content 8 Analysis: Structure 8 Interpretation Celebrates a Literary Work in Its Aesthetic Entirety 9 Important Early Questions: Why Perform? Is This Acting? 9 Sources of Material 11 Choosing Your Selection: Three Touchstones 12 Universality 12 Individuality 13 Suggestion 13 Applying the Touchstones 13 “The Story of an Hour” 14 Kate Chopin First Thoughts about Chopin and the Touchstones 16 Universality 16 Individuality 16 Suggestion 17 “New Words” 17 Maury Yeston viii Full Contents First Thoughts about Yeston and the Touchstones 18 Universality 18 Individuality 19 Suggestion 19 A Final Word 19 Remember This 20 Bibliography 20 CHAPTER 2 Analyzing the Selection 23 Expect This 23 Preparing the First Performance 23 Major Structural Components 24 Denotative and Connotative Meanings 24 Persona 25 Locus 26 Climax 27 Major Aesthetic Components 28 Unity and Harmony 28 Variety and Contrast 29 Balance and Proportion 29 Rhythm 30 The Technical Challenges of Performing 31 Preparing Your Script 32 Using Excerpts 32 Placing Action Out Front 33 Making the Most of Introductions 35 Using the Tools—Preparing a Story We Already Know and a Poem We Meet for the First Time 35 Sample Analysis of a Story 36 Organization of the Story 36 Nature of the Narrator and Characters 37 Applying the Intrinsic Factors to Rehearsal and Performance 38 Sample Analysis of a Poem 39 “I Felt a Funeral” 39 Emily Dickinson Organization of the Poem 40 Nature of the Persona 41 Charting the Details 42 Applying the Intrinsic Factors in Rehearsal 43 Synthesis 45 Analysis/Rehearsal—Rehearsal/Analysis: Bringing the Parts Together 45 Full Contents ix Rehearsing the Selection 45 Analyzing the Rehearsal and the Performance 46 Remember This 47 Selections for Analysis and Oral Interpretation 48 “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” 48 Walt Whitman “Sonnet” 49 John Keats “The Starlight Night” 49 Gerard Manley Hopkins “Desert Places” 50 Robert Frost From A Christmas Memory 51 Truman Capote “Sweet Corn” 52 Tony Earley “Dreaming” 54 Amanda McBroom “Homework” 55 Peter Cameron “Upon Learning That a Junior High School Acquaintance Has Been Nominated for an Academy Award” 60 Joanne Gilbert “How to Watch Your Brother Die” 62 Michael Lassell From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 65 J. K. Rowling Bibliography 67 CHAPTER 3 Voice Development for Oral Interpretation 69 Expect This 69 A Note for People with Disabilities 69 Relaxation Technique 70 Breath Control 71 Breathing Exercises 71 Volume and Projection 74 Control and Focus of Projection 74 Pitch and Quality 76 “The Wild Honeysuckle” 77 Philip Freneau From “I Hear America Singing” 77 Walt Whitman Rate and Pause 77
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