■■■■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■ ■ ■■

■■■
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookstep.com/download/ebook-54793606/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Calculate with Confidence, 8e (Oct 26,

2021)_(0323696953)_(Elsevier) 8th Edition Morris Rn
Bsn Ma Lnc

https://ebookstep.com/product/calculate-with-
confidence-8e-oct-26-2021_0323696953_elsevier-8th-edition-morris-
rn-bsn-ma-lnc/

Cotton and Williams' Practical Gastrointestinal

Endoscopy - The Fundamentals, 8e (Apr 22,
2024)_(1119525209)_(Wiley-Blackwell) 8th Edition Walsh

https://ebookstep.com/product/cotton-and-williams-practical-
gastrointestinal-endoscopy-the-
fundamentals-8e-apr-22-2024_1119525209_wiley-blackwell-8th-
edition-walsh/

Pneumologie Référentiel pour la préparation de l EDN

Collège des enseignants de pneumologie 8e ed 8th
Edition College Des Enseignements De Pneumologie

https://ebookstep.com/product/pneumologie-referentiel-pour-la-
preparation-de-l-edn-college-des-enseignants-de-
pneumologie-8e-ed-8th-edition-college-des-enseignements-de-
pneumologie/

Orgia dos loucos 1st Edition Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa

https://ebookstep.com/product/orgia-dos-loucos-1st-edition-
ungulani-ba-ka-khosa/
Lo straniero A2 B1 Primi Racconti 1st Edition Marco
Dominici

https://ebookstep.com/product/lo-straniero-a2-b1-primi-
racconti-1st-edition-marco-dominici/

Centro 1 A1 A2 1st Edition Daniele Baldassarri Manuela

Brizzi

https://ebookstep.com/product/centro-1-a1-a2-1st-edition-daniele-
baldassarri-manuela-brizzi/

954 Netzwerk Verbens of A1 A2 and B1 with extra grammer

Emglisch- Deutsch : Hancie Wanem Phago | Nitesh Hamal

https://ebookstep.com/product/954-netzwerk-verbens-
of-a1-a2-and-b1-with-extra-grammer-emglisch-deutsch-hancie-wanem-
phago-nitesh-hamal/

Un giorno diverso A2 B1 Primi Racconti 1st Edition

Marco Dominici

https://ebookstep.com/product/un-giorno-diverso-a2-b1-primi-
racconti-1st-edition-marco-dominici/

Reporteros Internacionales 2 A1 A2 Libro del alumno 1st

Edition Difusión

https://ebookstep.com/product/reporteros-
internacionales-2-a1-a2-libro-del-alumno-1st-edition-difusion/
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 remediable—re-mē´dĭ-a-bl.
tedious—tē´dĭ-us, or tēd´yus.
débris—dā-brē´.
hysteria—hĭs-tē´rĭ-a, not hĭs-târ´rĭ-a.

The Vowel Sound as in “Creed”

Note: The tongue is arched upward; tip at base of lower front
teeth. This is a double sound. The mouth has a tendency to narrow
on the second resonance.

believe—bē-lēv´, not blēv.

cleanly—(adv) klēn´lĭ.
congenial—kon-jēn´yal, not kon-jēn´nĭ-al.
evening—ē´vn-ĭng, or ēv´nĭng.
grease—(n)—grēs.
grease—(vb)—grēz, or grēs.
idea—ī-dē´a, not ī´dē-a.
sleek—slēk, not slĭk.

The Vowel Sound as in “Glide”

Note: This is a double sound. Open mouth on first resonance with
contact low and middle, but narrower aperture on second with
contact high and front. Tongue is moderately low on first resonance
and then arches and widens on second.

bicycle—bī´sĭk-l, not bī-sīk´l.

blithe—blīth (th is sub-vocal).
decisive—dē-sī´sĭv, not dē-sī´zĭv.
defile—(n) dē-fīl´, not dē´fīl.
 defile—(vb) de´fīl.
demise—de-mīz´, not de-mez´.
demoniacal—dem-o-nī´ak-al, not de-mo´nĭ-ak-al.
derisive—de-rī´siv, not de´ri-siv.
device—dē-vīs.
devise—dē-vīz.
enquiry—ĕn-kwī´rĭ, not ĕn´kwīr-ĭ.
horizon—hō-rī´zŏn.
incisive—ĭn-sī´sĭv.
incisor—ĭn-sī´zẽr.
indictment—ĭn-dīt´mĕnt, not ĭn-dīk´ment.
acclimate—ăk-klī´māt, not ăk´klĭm-āt.

The Vowel Sound as in “It”

Note: Tongue arched forward high; tip behind lower front teeth;
mouth open wide; contact high and forward.

bivouac—bĭv´wăk.
breeches—brĭch´ĕz.
bristle—brĭs-l, not brĭst´l.
chivalrous—shĭv´al-rŭs.
civil—sĭv´ĭl, not sĭv´l.
commiserate—kŏm-mĭz´er-āt, not kŏm-mĭs´ẽr-āt.
conflict—(vb) kŏn-flĭkt´; (n) kŏn´flĭkt.
considerable—kŏn-sĭd´ẽr-a-bl, not kŏn-sĭd´ra-bl.
delivery—dē-lĭv´ẽr-ĭ, not dē-lĭv´rĭ.
grisly—grĭz´lĭ, not grĭs´lĭ.
 gristly—grĭs´lĭ, not grĭz´lĭ.
infinite—ĭn´fĭn-ĭt, not ĭn-fī´nīt.
itinerary—ī-tĭn´ẽr-a-rĭ.
licorice—lĭk´ō-rĭs, not līk´rĭsh.
mischievous—mĭs´chĭ-vŭs, not mĭs-chē´vŭs.
sinister—sĭn´ĭs-tẽr, not sĭ-nĭs´tẽr.

The Vowel Sound as in “On”

Note: Tongue sags; mouth moderately open; lips rounded; contact
low and back of center.

accost—ăk-kŏst´, not ăk-kôst´.

broth—brŏth, not brôth.
choler—kŏl´ẽr, not kō´lẽr.
column—kŏl´ŭm, not kŏl´yŭm.
combatant—kŏm´băt-tănt, not kom-bāt´tant.
chronological—krŏn-ō-lŏg´ĭk-cal.
comparable—kŏm´på-rå-bl, not kŏm-pâr´å-bl.
conversant—kŏn´vẽr-sant, not kŏn-vẽr´sant.
dross—drŏs.
economic—ē-kō-nŏm´ĭk or ĕk-ō-nŏm´ĭk.
hollow—hŏl´lō, not hŏl´la.
homage—hŏm´āj, not hōm´ĭj.
honest—ŏn´ĕst, not ôn´nŭst.
honorable—ŏn´ŏr-a-bl, not ŏn´ra-bl.
hostage—hŏs´tāj, not hōs´tāj.
hovel—hŏv´ĕl, not hŭv´ĕl.
 The Vowel Sound as in “Go”
Note: Tongue sags; mouth moderately wide; lips well rounded;
contact midway back. This is a single sound “given to all open
syllables.”

associate—ăs-sō´shĭ-āt, not ăs-sō´sĭ-āt.

chorist—kō´rĭst, not kôr´ĭst.
cognomen—kŏg-nō´mĕn.
commodious—kŏm-mō´dĭ-ŭs.
comptroller—kŏn-trō´lẽr.
Corot—kō-rō´.
corporeal—kôr-pō´rē-ăl.
decorum—dē-kō´rŭm, not dē-kôr´ŭm.
deplorable—dē-plō´ra-bl, not de-plôr´a-bl.
diplomatist—dĭ-plō´mā-tĭst.
forensic—fō-rĕn´sĭk, not fôr-ĕn´sĭk.
indecorum—ĭn-dē-kō´rŭm, not ĭn-dĕk´ō-rŭm.
ivory—ī´vō-rĭ, not īv´rī.
oral—ō´ral, not ôr´al.
stony—stō´nĭ, not stŭn´ĭ.
trophy—trō´fĭ.

The Vowel Sound as in “Home”

Note: This is a double sound. The first resonance is identical to the
above single (o) as in (Go), but for the second resonance the contact
is the upper back part of mouth with widening of the tongue.

Azores—ăz-ōrz´, not ā-zôrz´.

brooch—brōch, not bro͝ och.
 console—kŏn-sōl´.
corps (military)—kōr; (pl.) kōrz.
cote—(n) kōt, not kŏt.
divorce—dĭv-ōrs´, not dĭv-ôrs´.
homely—hōm´lĭ, not hŭm´lĭ.
oaths—ōthz (sub-vocal) not ōths.
sword—sōrd, not sôrd nor s-wôrd.
won’t—(will not)—wōnt.
yolk—yōlk or yōk, not yĕlk.
recourse—rē-kōrs´.
shewn—shōn.
shew—shō.
vaudeville—vōd´vĭl.
von—fōn, not vŏn.

The Vowel Sound as in “Us”

Note: Tongue sags; open mouth; contact about half way back and
midway between the upper and lower jaw.

adult—a-dŭlt´, not ăd´ŭlt.

cunning—kŭn´nĭng, not kŭn´nĭn.
government—gŭv´ẽrn-mĕnt, not gŭv´ẽr-mĕnt.
hundred—hŭn´drĕd, not hŭn´dẽrd.
promulgate—prō-mŭl´gāt.
pumice—pŭm´ĭs.
illustrate—ĭl-lŭs´trāt, not ill´ŭ-strāt.
mongrel—mŭng´grĕl, not mŏng´grĕl.
 muskmelon—mŭsk´mĕlŏn, not mŭsh´mĕlŏn.
nuptial—nŭp´shal, not nūp´shal.
pumpkin—pŭmp´kĭn, not pŭnk´ĭn.
supple—sŭp´l, not so̅ o̅ ´pl.

The Vowel Sound as in “Use”

Note: Tongue arched; mouth well open; contact back of upper front
teeth for first resonance, then to upper back part of mouth for the
second; lips well apart for the first sound and then well rounded and
extended for the second with a slight sagging of the tongue. This is a
double sound.

blue—blū, not blo̅ o̅ .

rude—rūd.
rural—rū´răl, not rûr´l.
nuisance—nū´săns, not no̅ o̅ ´săns.
newspaper—nūz´pā-pẽr, not nūs´pā-pẽr.
Tuesday—Tūz´dā, not To̅ o̅ z´då.
minutely—mĭ-nūt´lĭ.
tube—tūb, not to̅ o̅ b nor tyub.
tulip—tū´lĭp, not to̅ o̅ ´lĭp.
usually—ū´zhū-a-lĭ, not ūzh´lĭ.
virtue—vẽrt´ū, not vẽr´cho̅ o̅ .
stupid—stū´pĭd, not sto̅ o̅ ´pŭd.
virtually—vẽr´tū-al-lĭ, not vert´choo-li.
virulent—vĭr´yū-lĕnt.
vituperate—vī-tū´pẽr-āt.
ablution—ăb-lū´shŭn, not ă-blo̅ o̅ ´shŭn.
 The Vowel Sound as in “Choose”
Note: Tongue sags slightly with tip at base of lower front teeth;
mouth well open; lips well rounded and extended; contact at upper
back part of mouth. Notice that this (oo) resonance is the same as
the second resonance in (u).

booth—bo̅ o̅ th (sub-vocal).
Booth (name)—bo̅ o̅ th.
food—fo̅ o̅ d, not fo͝ od.
roof—ro̅ o̅ f, not ro͝ of.
coupon—ko̅ o̅ ´pŏn, not kū´pon.
room—ro̅ o̅ m, not rŭm nor ro͝ om.
broom—bro̅ o̅ m, not bro͝ om.
hoof—ho̅ o̅ f, not ho͝ of.
spoon—spo̅ o̅ n, not spo͝ on.
forsooth—fōr-so̅ o̅ th´, not fōr-so̅ o̅ th´ (sub-vocal).
poor—po̅ o̅ r, not po͝ or.
root—ro̅ o̅ t, not ro͝ ot.
coop—co̅ o̅ p, not co͝ op.
tour—to̅ o̅ r, not tûr.
tournament—to̅ o̅ r´na-mĕnt or tûr´na-mĕnt.
troubadour—tro̅ o̅ ´ba-door, not tro̅ o̅ ´pa-dûr.
 PART TWO
Identification of the Reader with the Story, or
Sympathetic Reading
FIRST STEP. Getting the author’s MOOD. Catching the author’s
vision. Emotional response. Distinguishing between ordinary reading
and reading with author’s emotional appreciation. Emphasizing value
of MOOD. Discussing control of emotion. Repressed feeling versus
expressed feeling.
SECOND STEP. Word meaning—relation of word to group.
Associative meaning of words. More vocabulary. Study of tone color.
Use of Onomatopœia.
THIRD STEP. Study of Moods. Variety of Moods. Change and
inter-change of Moods in a selection. Human nature and Mood.
Colloquial expressions of the same Mood in classical language.

“Blessings upon all the books that are the delight of

childhood and youth and unperverted manhood! Precious are
the sympathetic tears which dim the page and which it is so
wholesome to encourage in early life as a check to the growth
of selfishness and egoism.”
—Hiram Corson, “The Voice and Spiritual Education,” p.
163.
 CHAPTER IX
GETTING THE AUTHOR’S MOOD

Hints to the Student

Before the pupil is ready for this second step, Sympathetic
Reading, he must have mastered part one, Intelligible Reading. The
first step was concerned primarily with the development of the
intellect, but the second step appeals primarily to the emotions,
one’s sympathetic response to mood.
The outlines for the study of a selection, given later, will be found
very helpful as a basis and guide for study and analysis.

MEMORABILIA
By Robert Browning

Ah, did you once see Shelley plain,

And did he stop and speak to you,
And did you speak to him again?
How strange it seems, and new!

But you were living before that,

And also you are living after;
And the memory I started at—
My starting moves your laughter!

I crossed a moor, with a name of its own

And a certain use in the world, no doubt,
Yet a hand’s-breadth of it shines alone
’Mid the blank miles round about:

For there I picked up on the heather

And there I put inside my breast
A moulted feather, an eagle-feather!
Well, I forget the rest.

THE JOY OF THE HUMAN VOICE

How much squandering there is of the voice! How little

there is of the advantage that may come from conversational
tones! How seldom does a man dare to acquit himself with
pathos and fervor! And the men are themselves mechanical
and methodical in the bad way who are most afraid of the
artificial training that is given in the schools, and who so often
show by the fruit of their labor that the want of oratory is the
want of education.
How remarkable is the sweetness of voice in the mother, in
the father, in the household! The music of no chorded
instruments brought together is, for sweetness, like the music
of familiar affection when spoken by brother and sister, or by
father and mother.
—Henry Ward Beecher, from “Lectures on Oratory.”

The one great object in reading is to get at the mind of the author.
What did he mean? What did he intend me to feel as I read? What is
his real message? How can I best reach the mind and heart of the
author, the poet, the dramatist, through his written words?
This is the real mission of literature, and he is a poor teacher who
fails to impress the heart of his students with its importance. Too
often teachers spend the valuable time of their students with matters
of entirely subsidiary importance, such as the style of the author,
questions as to when, where and how he wrote, his figures of
speech, his methods of composition, and the like. All these are of
importance to those who are learning to write, and are of interest to
others, but the prime reason for all literature is that the author has
something of greater or lesser importance to say, which he wishes to
reach the mind and heart of his reader.
 Take, for instance, Browning’s exquisite short poem above. What
good does it do the student to engage his attention with Browning’s
style, his verse forms, etc.? To him the matter of prime importance is
that he shall know what Browning meant.
This is the vital question in all reading.
That literature which is a mere collection of fine words, beautifully
arranged in perfect sentences, is “as sounding brass and a clanging
cymbal.” To have any real significance it must be surcharged with
high, lofty, pure, stirring human emotion; and to feel the same
emotion that the writer felt as he penned poem, essay, novel, story
or drama is the aim of every intelligent and thoughtful reader. One of
the best possible ways of accomplishing this is by reading aloud—
even when one is alone. One writer boldly affirms that we can never
know the vital, spiritual message of a writer until we have put his
words upon our tongue and sent them winging away in speech,
freighted with the meaning that has reached our minds.
In reading carefully this poem of Browning, observe if the very
nature of the theme does not demand the various modulations of the
human voice to give it adequate interpretation. Repeat the first two
lines, thinking of their purpose, and then see if you do not feel
somewhat of an emotional thrill which must be akin to that which was
felt by Browning when he thought of his great teacher, that
marvelous poet, Shelley.
Is it possible really to get the heart throb of this poem unless we
sing it out through the voice? The major portion of time spent in
literary study should be through oral interpretation. Let a pupil read
to you, and instantly you can detect whether or not he understands
what he is reading. Corson said he believed the time is coming when
examinations in literature will be wholly oral. He goes on to say:

Reading must supply all the deficiencies of written or

printed language. It must give life to the letter. How
comparatively little is addressed to the eye, in print or
manuscript, of what has to be addressed to the ear by the
reader! There are no indications of tone, quality of voice,
 inflection, pitch, time, or any other of the vocal functions
demanded for a full intellectual and spiritual interpretation. A
poem is not truly a poem until it is voiced by an accomplished
reader, who has adequately assimilated it—in whom it has, to
some extent, been born again, according to his individual
spiritual constitution and experiences. The potentialities, so to
speak, of the printed poem, must be vocally realized. What
Shelley, in his lines “To a Lady, With a Guitar,” says of what
the revealings of the instrument depend upon, may be said
with equal truth of the revealings of every true poem; it

“Will not tell

To those who cannot question well
The spirit that inhabits it;
It talks according to the wit
Of its companions; and no more
Is heard than has been felt before,”

by those who endeavor to get at its secrets.

—Hiram Corson, “The Voice and Spiritual Education,” p.
29.

In this same connection let us add what Goethe has said:

Persuasion, friends, comes not by wit nor art,

Hard study never made the matter clearer.
’Tis the live fountain in the speaker’s heart
Sends forth the streams that melt the ravished hearer;
Then work away for life, heap book upon book,
Line upon line, precept upon example;
The multitude may gape and look
And fools may think your wisdom ample—
But would you touch the heart, the only method known,
My friend, is first to have one of your own.

Mood-Analysis
 The following is an illustration of what might be called the “mood-
analysis” of a selection. For the sake of convenience the sentences
in the excerpt are numbered. The important thing for the student to
bear in mind is to see that the author’s purpose is completely
grasped, and then render it in the proper mood.
First: Read the selection paragraph by paragraph. Then arrange
the several points in their respective order. Now give them orally as
simply and progressively as possible.
Second: Read the selection again by paragraphs and this time
determine what are the important and unimportant words. Then give
these important words a greater force of utterance.
Third: Do not fear to make many groups. It is imperative to grasp
the author’s ideas and pictures in separate detail. When each of
these has been well thought over, we are then ready to put these
separate parts into one complete and harmonious whole.
Fourth: Determine the mood which dominates each separate
picture or detail, then see how these fit into each other, like the parts
of a picture puzzle, perfecting the thought as a whole and making it a
living, harmonious, mental or spiritual conception.

THE MAN WHO WEARS THE BUTTON

By John Mellen Thurston[6]
1. Sometimes in passing along the street I meet a man who, in the
left lapel of his coat, wears a little, plain, modest, unassuming bronze
button. 2. The coat is often old and rusty; the face above it seamed
and furrowed by the toil and suffering of adverse years; perhaps
beside it hangs an empty sleeve, and below it stumps a wooden peg.
3. But when I meet the man who wears that button I doff my hat and
stand uncovered in his presence—yea! to me the very dust his
weary foot has pressed is holy ground, for I know that man, in the
dark hour of the nation’s peril, bared his breast to the hell of battle to
keep the flag of our country in the Union sky.
 4. Maybe at Donaldson he reached the inner trench; at Shiloh held
the broken line; at Chattanooga climbed the flame-swept hill, or
stormed the clouds on Lookout Heights. 5. He was not born or bred
to soldier life. 6. His country’s summons called him from the plow,
the forge, the bench, the loom, the mine, the store, the office, the
college, the sanctuary. 7. He did not fight for greed of gold, to find
adventure, or to win renown. 8. He loved the peace of quiet ways,
and yet he broke the clasp of clinging arms, turned from the witching
glance of tender eyes, left good-by kisses upon tiny lips to look death
in the face on desperate fields.
9. And when the war was over he quietly took up the broken
threads of love and life as best he could, a better citizen for having
been so good a soldier.
10. What mighty men have worn this same bronze button! Grant,
Sherman, Sheridan, Logan, and an hundred more, whose names are
written on the title-page of deathless fame. 11. Their glorious
victories are known of men; the history of their country gives them
voice; the white light of publicity illuminates them for every one. 12.
But there are thousands who, in humbler way, no less deserve
applause. 13. How many knightliest acts of chivalry were never seen
beyond the line or heard of above the roar of battle.
14. God bless the men who wear the button! 15. They pinned the
stars of Union in the azure of our flag with bayonets, and made
atonement for a nation’s sin in blood. 16. They took the negro from
the auction-block and at the altar of emancipation crowned him—
citizen. 17. They supplemented “Yankee Doodle” with “Glory
Hallelujah,” and Yorktown with Appomattox. 18. Their powder woke
the morn of universal freedom and made the name “American” first
in all the earth. 19. To us their memory is an inspiration, and to the
future it is hope.—From an address at a banquet of the Michigan
Club of Detroit, February 21, 1890.
(To find the designated mood of any sentence in the above
selection refer to its corresponding number below.)

1. Pleasant meditation.
 2. Pity and compassion.
3. Veneration and pride.
4. Heroism and triumph.
5 and 6. Loyal self-denial.
7 and 8. Heroic self-sacrifice.
9. Admiration and enterprise.
10. Compassion.
11. Praise and honor.
12 and 13. Contrast.
14. Supplication.
15. Heroic patriotism.
16. Justice.
17. Unity.
18. Sublimity.
19. Gratitude.

Now take Joaquin Miller’s magnificent and stirring poem

“Columbus” and analyze it in the same fashion. Here is the analysis
made of it by an intelligent reader on his own initiative, without any
knowledge of the method we would have each student master and
follow:

A Student’s Analysis of “Columbus”

First dwell upon the outlines of the history of Columbus, his early
struggles and mastery of hardships. Recall that it was in his day that
the new idea of the rotundity of the earth was being largely
discussed. Watch the growth of this idea in his thought, until there
springs up the confident assurance that if this idea be true it must be
possible to reach India—or any other land—by sailing around the
earth in either direction. Confident of his idea, his scientific mind
demands knowledge, demonstration. He seeks help to find out. Is
rebuffed on every hand. Called crazy, insane, a fool, a lunatic. The
idea persists. It grows into an obsession. He knows, and now his
soul demands that he compel other people to know. The more
rebuffs the greater his determination. Get hold here of the great
fundamental thought that moves the universe, that works all the
marvels that man has accomplished, viz., that when you link up with
Truth, you are linked up with God—the Supreme Power of the
Universe—and there cannot be any failure to a man so connected.
All Columbus had to do was to persist. He did so, and finally Isabella
and Ferdinand were convinced, the money needed was raised, the
ship provided, and the happy, joyous Columbus sets sail to
demonstrate to the world that which his soul had already convinced
him was true.
Now remember the ignorance of the world at large on the subject.
Recall that his sailors were densely ignorant and fearfully
superstitious, but Columbus had never given that a thought.
He sets sail, full of delight, happiness, confidence. Now refer to the
poem. 1. He and his sailors alike knew that the islands of the Azores
and the Gates of Hercules were behind them. 2. Here, however, is a
difference in the knowledge of Columbus and his sailors. He, with
the eye of scientific confidence, could see ahead, though there was
nothing in sight but shoreless seas, not even the ghost of shores.
The sailors saw nothing but the uncharted and unknown seas. Do
you not feel their awe and superstitious fears? Can you not picture
their fearful whisperings together as they sail further and further into
the unknown? The mate is the means of communication between
them and the admiral. 3. Observe the dread of sailors and mate. The
stars with which they are familiar disappear and new and strange
ones appear, adding new fuel to their superstitious fears. 4. The
mate asks Columbus how he shall reply to these fears. His mood is
one of fear and growing alarm excited into the action of questioning.
5. Now ask yourself: What would be Columbus’s natural reply?
Remember he has given years of thought to this subject. He has no
question as to the success of the voyage. Expecting to sail on
uncharted seas, they have no fears for him. He knows what he will
find when he has gone far enough around. The fears and questions
of the mate are absurd, preposterous. There is but one answer:
Calmly and confidently he gives it, “Why, say, Sail on! and on!”
Matter of fact, almost indifferent, totally unconscious of the seething
fears bubbling up every moment afresh in the hearts of his sailors.
What kind of intonation in his voice would such a question call forth?
6. For the time being the questionings of the men are satisfied,
and they sail and sail (don’t hurry in giving this repetition) as winds
might blow. The fears and questionings now begin afresh. 7. The
fear is indicated in the word blanched, and in the mate’s words. 8.
Being away from familiar scenes, and all other men, his and his
sailors’ small minds fear that even God has lost sight of them. The
winds are lost, God is not here. 9. Hence there is increasing urgency
in his second appeal to the admiral. But Columbus (10), seeing the
vision that has been familiar to him for many years, and preoccupied
by his dream, neither sees any reason for fears, nor does he yet
become aware of the fear expressed in the mate’s voice. His reply,
therefore, is the quiet, scarcely heard voice of the dreamer, given
much lower and quieter than his ordinary talking voice, but with the
deep intensity of a man who has but one purpose.
Pause now for a few moments to allow this quiet urge of the
admiral to sink in. Don’t hurry. Then let the next stanza open with
some degree of haste and excitement. 11. The mate’s tone now is
one of definite, open remonstrance. It is all very well for his admiral
to say “Sail on!” He—the mate—has to come in direct conflict with
the men. They are growing mutinous. They are growing ghastly wan
and weak. Even he, 12, had begun to think of home and, in spite of
himself, tears, 13 (for is not this suggested in “a spray of salt wave”?)
washed his swarthy cheek. Hence now, his question is more definite.
He seeks to “pin” the admiral down to a fixed time, 14. He gives him
until dawn to see land. But the admiral, feeling that each dawn sees
him nearer to the goal of his heart’s desire, and impatient that the
foolish fears and unreasoning terrors of his men should even
threaten the possible thwarting of this desire, replies sternly,
impatiently and somewhat fiercely, 15. He shall say at break of day,
land or no land, fears or no fears, but one thing, and he puts such
emphasis upon it that no one can misunderstand.
Here, again, pause. Let this firm determination “seep” into the
minds of the hearers. A few moments is long enough, but to speed
on immediately to the fourth stanza is to lose a striking effect. Then,
in perfectly natural, quiet voice, continue the story: They sailed. 16.
Observe the repetition of this statement. Why is it repeated? A
thoughtful author doesn’t repeat for nothing. Here, by the repetition,
17, Joaquin Miller seeks powerfully to impress upon his reader that
after they had sailed a long, long way further, they still sailed on.
Hence, is it not apparent there must be quite a little pause between
the first “they sailed” and the second? Try the effect of this and see
the result.
Now, 18, the mate, forced by his own and his sailors’ fears, though
assured of the displeasure of the admiral at his voicing of these
fears, braves his anger by calling his attention to the coming storm
on the sea, 19, and he becomes more agitated as he expresses his
own fears, 20. Yet he knows the courage of the admiral, and
consciously or unconsciously pays him the tribute of bravery. At the
same time, as hope has almost fled from the bosoms of himself and
his shipmates he asks the question, pleadingly, agonizingly: “What
shall we, 22, do when hope is gone?” In the answer all of
Columbus’s exasperation, despair, determination, are compressed.
Has he studied, prayed, pleaded, striven for years, and come thus
far to be balked by the fears of a few craven cowards? Is he now,
just now, when success must be close within his reach, to fail? No!
by the Eternal, he shall not fail! The childish cries of his men shall
not avail. He will compel them to go on, and, as though he were
maddened beyond control his words “leap like a leaping sword,” 23,
and cleave the air with ringing sound that strikes down all opposition,
Sail on! Sail on! sail on! AND ON!
Let the crescendo come with all the power, force, voice, of which
you are capable. Prepare for it. Get the lungs full of air. Put all the
intensity and passion of a lifetime’s hopes, desires, ambitions, into it,
and feel as though you had these cowardly sailors by the throat and
were determined upon pouring your will into their craven souls.
 Again pause, before going to the last stanza. Elbert Hubbard and
his wife, both of whom were public speakers and readers of high
order, regarded this sixth stanza as an anticlimax. Personally, I do
not. Properly given, it is a most powerful climax to a most powerful
poem. Ask yourself: After the expression of an overwhelming
emotion, what natural reaction is felt? One of weariness. Add this
thought to the thoughts expressed in the words. Long and endless
vigils, harassment from his men, doubts in his own soul, which,
however, he dare not voice. 25. That night was so dark because,
crushed by long-continued opposition, and his body weakened by
constant watchfulness, and the urge of his passion, even he lost
hope. But thanks be to God, there are men like Columbus, who,
even when hope seems gone, when there is no light whatever in
“that night of all dark nights” still persist. For, is it not darkest just
before dawn? Suddenly our minds are transferred to the lookout
man. He sees a speck. 26. Wonderingly he looks at it again and
again, until he is assured it is a light, so he gives the warning cry: “A
light!” 27. Now notice the repetition of the word light. Four times it
appears. Why? Most critics account such repetitions as proofs of an
author’s weakness, but they little know Joaquin Miller who so regard
his repetitions. Let your brain work awhile. Remember, Columbus
and his sailors have been weeks away from land, sailing on
unknown, uncharted seas. They are becoming used to seeing no
land, nothing but seas upon which even the winds have lost their
way. Yet the lookout sees a light. He satisfies himself. He gives the
signal call: “A light!” For dramatic purposes we can imagine that
every one on the vessel hears it. Incredulously they call out a query:
“A light?” It cannot be! But, sure of himself, and seeing it more
clearly each moment, the lookout assertingly replies, “A light! I tell
you!” Then, all doubt removed, filled with joy, their fears dispersed,
their bodings and apprehensions removed, the sailors hysterically
and joyously unite in the cry: “A light!” and the reason for the four “a
lights!” is made clear.
Now, the poet, 28, changes the thought and rapidly introduces
figures of speech. The light on the first land seen by Columbus
ultimately grows to the “starlit flag of freedom” of the United States,
the flag of the people, the flag of a true republic, the flag of genuine
democracy. But it grew further, 29. That light, and that flag, grew to
be “Time’s burst of dawn.” In other words, until all men, everywhere,
in every way, are free, mankind is still in the night. The dawn comes
only when men can be themselves, as God intended they should
when he created them. Hence triumphant joy should be expressed in
speaking of this flag, and what it means to the world.
Then, calmly, quietly, bring the mind back to the admiral. What did
he gain? 30. “A world.” And he gave that world its grandest lesson,
that of persistence in following the vision of the higher and larger
things, On, Sail on!

COLUMBUS

Behind him lay the gray Azores(1)

Behind the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,(2)
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate(3) said: “Now must we pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Adm’r’l, speak, what shall I say?”(4)
“Why, say,(5) ‘Sail on! Sail on and on!’”

They sailed and sailed(6) as winds might blow

Until at last the blanched mate(7) said:
“Why, now, not even God would know,
Should I and all my men fall dead.(8)
These very winds forget their way,
For God from these dread seas is gone,
Brave Adm’r’l, speak, what shall I say?”(9)
He said,(10) “Sail on! Sail on and on!”

“My men grow mutinous day by day;(11)

My men grow ghastly wan and weak!”
The stout mate thought of home;(12) a spray(13)
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
“What shall I say, brave Adm’r’l, say,