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Oral Interpretation

Oral Interpretation. Poem Short Story. Your Presentation. Be friendly in appearance Do not hurry your presentation Pause and look at the audience Tell why you selected the piece Tell about the author, setting, etc. Use activity and gestures to impart mood and meaning. Your Presentation.

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Oral Interpretation

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  1. Oral Interpretation Poem Short Story

  2. Your Presentation • Be friendly in appearance • Do not hurry your presentation • Pause and look at the audience • Tell why you selected the piece • Tell about the author, setting, etc. • Use activity and gestures to impart mood and meaning

  3. Your Presentation • Voice must tell and imply much by using a variety of the following Vocal Controls: • Pause- a lull in the presentation or conversation • Rate- speed at which a speaker talks • Pitch- the vocal notes (highs and lows) that a speaker reaches while speaking • Melody- a sweet or agreeable succession or arrangement of sounds • Intensity- the degree to which something is made acute or sharpened; an enhancement • Tone- speaker’s attitude toward a subject as reflected by his voice and choice of words

  4. Your Presentation • Do not block voice flow or face; bounce head up and down • Do place your hand on the book to mark your place; allow your face to express • At the conclusion, pause a second or two • At the conclusion, do no slam the book shut or shuffle papers.

  5. Poem Selection • Keep audience in mind • Does it give insight, beauty, amuse, entertain, etc? • Totally analyze and interpret the poem • Know the place and time of setting • At the beginning, state title, author, why selected and give historical background

  6. Short Story Selection • Must have vocal changes within story • Build suspense • Lead to a climax • Conclude swiftly • Be spontaneous • Stay close to the audience

  7. Short Story Selection • Preparing • Know meaning of every word and reason for punctuation • Try to understand authors point of view and philosophy • Acquire knowledge of the circumstances that surround the story • Acquire knowledge of the setting surrounding the story • Capture its mood • Paraphrase: get rid of “he said” • Practice aloud until almost 80% of your attention is going to the audience

  8. Chapter 16 Notes OverviewI. What is Oral Interpretation? • Not trying to mimic a voice…that’s “doing an impression” • You create an appropriate and original voice to give life to words on a page. • Oral Interpretation is the art of communicating works of literature by reading them aloud.

  9. I. What is Oral Interpretation? • One of the oldest of human social activities. • Literature was passed down orally before paper replaced memory • Experiencing a rebirth in the U.S. • Storytelling effective tool to persuade potential client of the quality of a product, or to convince employees of a policy change.

  10. I. What is Oral Interpretation • Historians point to ancient Greece as birthplace for art of interpretation • Wandering minstrels, rhapsodes, would assemble to read their works in public competition. • Poetry Readings popular during Augustan Age (27 BC – AD 14) • Recitation contests in Middle Ages • In U.S., before radio and t.v., families would read aloud in evening • Today, “performance poetry” & “poetry slams” popular in coffeehouses and bookstores.

  11. II. Choosing Your Material • Where to look • Anthologies • Teacher suggestions • Librarians • ** Your own taste in literature ** • Choose a work that you enjoy reading • Moved you the most? • Made you stop and think? • Favorite selections?

  12. II. Choosing Your Material • Consider quality of the literature • Valued for beauty and permanence or universal interest • High quality literature offers insights into life, inner truths that teach lasting lessons • Consider occasion and desires of your audience

  13. III. Interpreting Your Material • Meaning • All the ideas communicated by the work • Analyze those ideas to create performance • Know meanings of each word • Ex. From To Kill a Mockingbird • Apoplectic: a person in a fit of rage • Denotative & Connotative Meanings • Connotative = Implied Meaning of a word • Definition of “Love” has a different Connotative meaning to nearly every person • Paraphrase selection to understand meaning • Theme: Central Idea you must make clear in your interpretation.

  14. III. Interpreting Your Material • Feeling • Mood: the particular feeling in a work; the emotional tone created by the work • Example poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas pg. 409 • Angry tone- father had given up the will to live. • Admiration- the “wild men” • Use voice to change from anger to admiration back to anger again.

  15. III. Interpreting Your Material • Determine Narration • Who is telling story • Whom that person is telling story to • What relationship that person has to the events described • How much knowledge that person has of those events. • Once persona is determined, use imagination to fill-in details- vocal characteristics and facial expressions

  16. III. Interpreting Your Material • Prose: First-Person Narrations • Read sample from McAfee’s “This is My Living Room” • What does narrator look like? • How is he dressed? • Where does he live? • What kind of accent might he have? • How old is he? • How does the narrator feel about his wife and children? • Answer these Q’s to help decide how to portray this narrator in your interp.

  17. III. Interpreting Your Material • Prose: Third-Person Narrations • Example from O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” • Ask same type of questions • Now must portray two characters • The author’s omniscient narrator’s “voice” • Grandmother’s “voice”

  18. III. Interpreting Your Material • Poetry • Be especially sensitive to author’s intent • Understand some technical terms • Meter • Rhythm • Rhyme • Imagery

  19. III. Interpreting Your Material • Meter • Measures rhythm in a line of poetry • Determined by what syllables you stress in the words that make up the line • Stress placed based on your knowledge of proper pronunciation and on your interpretation of the poem. • Rhythm • Flow of stressed and unstressed syllables

  20. III. Interpreting Your Material • Rhyme • Repetition of sounds between words or syllables or the endings of lines of verse. • Be careful not to “singsong” which can distract from effectiveness of your reading • Imagery • Language that creates mental pictures

  21. IV. Presenting Your Material • Introducing Your Material • Same principles you learned apply here • Characters need to be identified • Relationships explained • Important plot points outlined • Don’t spoil the story by “giving away the ending” but don’t allow listeners to be confused • Establish mood consistent with the mood of the selection itself • Keep it brief; aim for about 1 minute

  22. IV. Presenting Your Material • Cutting Your Material • May need to cut, or condense…why? • Too much material • Certain parts of selection may be inappropriate • Particular episode may lessen the overall effect • Longer short stories, might choose a climactic scene only • Cut in, not out! Build your cutting around your favorite lines. • Eliminate dialogue tags (he said, she said) • Eliminate minor characters that might confuse listeners • Cut references to events that you do not have time to fully explain

  23. IV. Presenting Your Material • Developing Your Material • Eye Contact • Character Placement • Characterization • Avoid stereotypes • Word Color • I want to kiss you vs. Please pass the butter • Showmanship

  24. IV. Presenting Your Material • Practicing Your Material • Read aloud! • Practice exactly as you plan to present it. • Videotape yourself and watch it back • Practice in front of a mirror

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