Issues in the Instrumental Study
of Poetry Reading
REUVEN TSUR
Stress Maximum in the Seventh Position
7
1.
The world is charged with the grandeur of God
2.
Burnt after them to the bottomless pit
3.
How many bards gild the lapses of time
4.
And with these words his temptation pursued
7
7
7
Instrumental Case Studies
First case study.
5.
e
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme...
k
s
pre
ss
ʔ
A
Figure 1Wave plot of “express A” in Hodge’s performance ʔ indicates glottal stop)
e
k
Figure 2
s
pre
Wave plot of “express A” in Sheen’s performance (no glottal stop)
listen to Douglas Hodge’s reading of Excerpt 5.
listen to Michael Sheen’s reading of Excerpt 5.
ss
A
listen!to Michael Sheen’s reading of Excerpt 5—doctored!version!1.!
listen to Michael Sheen’s reading of Excerpt 5—doctored!version!2.
Second case study.
6.
listen to the reading Gielgud 1 of Excerpt 6.
listen to the reading Gielgud 2 of Excerpt 6.
to ∫∫∫ unnnn
Figure 3
∂e heavnnnn
∂atl ea
d sm en to∂is h e ll
Wave plot and pitch extract of “To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell” Gielgud 11
The lower window presents the wave plot display which shows a plot of the wave amplitude (in volts) on the
vertical axis, as a function of time (in milliseconds) on the horisontal axis. The upper window presents a fundamental frequency plot, which displays time on the horizontal axis and the estimated glottal frequency (F0 = pitch) in Hz
on the vertical axis.
1
to ∫∫∫ u nnnn ∂e h ea v nnnn ∂at
Figure 4
l
ea
dsm e n to ∂i s
h e ll
Wave plot and pitch extract of “To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell” Gielgud 2
Third case study.
Fourth case study.
7.
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York
listen to Simon Russell Beale’s reading of Excerpt 7.
n
o
Figure 5
w
i s
ma de gl o ri ou
Figure 6
di s
Figure 7
the wi n t
er
o f our di s
c
on t e
n
t
Wave plot and pitch contour of “Now is the winter of our discontent”
s
s
umm er
by
thi
s s u n
of Yor
k
Wave plot and pitch contour of “Made glorious summer by this sun of York”
c o n
t e
n
t
Y or
k
Wave plots of “discontent” and “York” excised from a reading of excerpt 3.
listen to the reading of “discontent” and “York”.
Fifth case study
8.
merengj a messze multba visszaríván
muse, weeping and yearning back to the distant past
listen to Ferenc Kállai’s reading of Excerpt 8.
Sixth case study.
9.
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
listen to Roger Lloyd Pack’s reading of Excerpt 9.
an a ll
∫ud c raj bew are
bewa re
hi s
f la ∫iŋ a j
hisfloatiŋhai r
Figure 8 Wave plot and pitch extract of “And all should cry, Beware! Beware! / His flashing eyes, his floating hair!” read by Lloyd Pack.
Recorded Readings
Beale, Simon Russell et al. reading William Shakespeare: Great Speeches and Soliloquies. Naxos AudioBooks Na 20 1512.
Gielgud, Sir John reading Shakespeare: Ages of Man. HarperCollins AudioBooks HCA 53.
Gielgud, Sir John reading Sonnets of William Shakespeare. Caedmon SRS 241 C-D.
Hodge, Douglas reading John Keats. Hodder Headline AudioBooks HH 186. (1995).
Kállai, Ferenc reading Babits’s “Esti Kérdés”, on Varietas Delectat 3 (Hungaroton 14279).
Pack, Roger Lloyd reading S.T. Coleridge. Rough Winds Productions. (2000)
Sheen, Michael reading Great Poets of the Romantic Age. Naxos AudioBooks NA20 2112. (1994).