Children -- Books and reading; Children's literature -- Bibliography; Children's stories -- Bibliography; Storytelling
I have often suggested to young teachers two experiments in support
of this theory. They are not practical experiments, nor could they
be repeated often with the same audience, but they are intensely
interesting, and they serve to show the _actual_ effect of appealing to
one sense at a time. The first of these experiments is to take a small
group of children and suggest that they should close their eyes while
you tell them a story. You will then notice how much more attention is
given to the intonation and inflection of the voice. The reason is
obvious. With nothing to distract the attention, it is concentrated on
the only thing offered the listeners, that is, sound, to enable them to
seize the dramatic interest of the story.
We find an example of the dramatic power of the voice in its appeal to
the imagination in one of the tributes brought by an old pupil to
Thomas Edward Brown, Master at Clifton College:
"My earliest recollection is that his was the most vivid teaching I
ever received; great width of view and poetical, almost passionate,
power of presentment. We were reading Froude's History, and I shall
never forget how it was Brown's words, Brown's voice, not the
historian's, that made me feel the great democratic function which the
monasteries performed in England; the view became alive in his mouth."
And in another passage: "All set forth with such dramatic force and
aided by such a splendid voice, left an indelible impression on my
mind."[5]
A second experiment, and a much more subtle and difficult one, is to
take the same group of children on another occasion, telling them a
story in pantomime form, giving them first the briefest outline of the
story. In this case it must be of the simplest construction, until the
children are able, if you continue the experiment, to look for
something more subtle.
I have never forgotten the marvelous performance of a play given in
London many years ago entirely in pantomime form. The play was called
"L'Enfant Prodigue," and was presented by a company of French artists.
It would be almost impossible to exaggerate the strength of that
"silent appeal" to the public. One was so unaccustomed to reading
meaning and development of character into gesture and facial expression
that it was really a revelation to most of those present--certainly to
all Anglo-Saxons.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account