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 • 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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oral Interpretation