Table Of ContentOral Interpretation
In its 13th Edition, the iconic Oral Interpretation continues to prepare students to analyze
and perform literature through an accessible, step-by-step process. New selections join classic
favorites, and chapters devoted to specific genres—narrative, poetry, group performance,
and more—explore the unique challenges of each form. Now tighter and more focused than
its predecessors, this edition highlights movements in contemporary culture—especially
the contributions of social media to current communication. New writings offer advice and
strategies for maximizing body and voice in performance, and enhanced devices guide novices
in performance preparation.
Timothy Gura is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Speech Communication Arts and
Sciences at Brooklyn College, CUNY, in the USA.
Benjamin Powell is Associate Professor of Speech, Communications, and Theatre Arts at City
University of New York Borough of Manhattan Community College, in the USA.
Oral Interpretation
Thirteenth Edition
Timothy Gura
Benjamin Powell
Based on the pioneering work of Charlotte I. Lee
Thirteenth edition published 2019
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Taylor & Francis
The rights of Timothy Gura and Benjamin Powell to be identified as authors of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published 1952 Houghton Mifflin
Twelfth edition published 2016 Routledge
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gura, Timothy, author. | Powell, Benjamin, author.
Title: Oral interpretation / Timothy Gura, Benjamin Powell.
Description: 13th edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017055885 | ISBN 9781138082205
(hardback) | ISBN 9781138082212 (pbk.) | ISBN
9781315108865 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Oral interpretation.
Classification: LCC PN4145 .L35 2018 | DDC 808.5/4—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017055885
ISBN: 9781138082205 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781138082212 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781315108865 (ebk)
Typeset in Minion Pro
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Why Do You Need This New Edition? xviii
To the Student xix
To the Instructor xxi
PART I BASIC PRINCIPLES 1
CHAPTER 1 A Beginning and an End 3
CHAPTER 2 Analyzing the Selection 23
CHAPTER 3 Voice Development for Oral Interpretation 69
CHAPTER 4 Use of the Body in Oral Interpretation 99
PART II INTERPRETATION OF PROSE 127
CHAPTER 5 Prose: Style, Types, Nonfiction 129
CHAPTER 6 Prose: Narration 163
PART III INTERPRETATION OF DRAMA 195
CHAPTER 7 Drama: Structure and Performing 197
CHAPTER 8 Technique and Solo Performance of Drama 223
vi Contents
PART IV INTERPRETATION OF POETRY 249
CHAPTER 9 Language of Poetry 251
CHAPTER 10 Structure of Poetry 283
PART V GROUP PERFORMANCE 309
CHAPTER 11 Group Performance of Literature 311
APPENDIX A Building and Presenting a Program 341
APPENDIX B A Brief History of Theories of Interpretation 348
Acknowledgements 356
Index 361
Full Contents
Why Do You Need This New Edition? xviii
To the Student xix
To the Instructor xxi
PART I BASIC PRINCIPLES 1
CHAPTER 1 A Beginning and an End 3
Expect This 3
Interpretation Requires Communicating 3
Performance 4
Text 5
Interpretation Engages an Audience 6
Ethical Responsibilities 7
Technical Responsibilities 7
Interpretation Involves a Literary Work in Its Intellectual and Emotional
Entirety 7
Analysis: Content 8
Analysis: Structure 8
Interpretation Celebrates a Literary Work in Its Aesthetic Entirety 9
Important Early Questions: Why Perform? Is This Acting? 9
Sources of Material 11
Choosing Your Selection: Three Touchstones 12
Universality 12
Individuality 13
Suggestion 13
Applying the Touchstones 13
“The Story of an Hour” 14
Kate Chopin
First Thoughts about Chopin and the Touchstones 16
Universality 16
Individuality 16
Suggestion 17
“New Words” 17
Maury Yeston
viii Full Contents
First Thoughts about Yeston and the Touchstones 18
Universality 18
Individuality 19
Suggestion 19
A Final Word 19
Remember This 20
Bibliography 20
CHAPTER 2 Analyzing the Selection 23
Expect This 23
Preparing the First Performance 23
Major Structural Components 24
Denotative and Connotative Meanings 24
Persona 25
Locus 26
Climax 27
Major Aesthetic Components 28
Unity and Harmony 28
Variety and Contrast 29
Balance and Proportion 29
Rhythm 30
The Technical Challenges of Performing 31
Preparing Your Script 32
Using Excerpts 32
Placing Action Out Front 33
Making the Most of Introductions 35
Using the Tools—Preparing a Story We Already Know and a Poem
We Meet for the First Time 35
Sample Analysis of a Story 36
Organization of the Story 36
Nature of the Narrator and Characters 37
Applying the Intrinsic Factors to Rehearsal and Performance 38
Sample Analysis of a Poem 39
“I Felt a Funeral” 39
Emily Dickinson
Organization of the Poem 40
Nature of the Persona 41
Charting the Details 42
Applying the Intrinsic Factors in Rehearsal 43
Synthesis 45
Analysis/Rehearsal—Rehearsal/Analysis: Bringing
the Parts Together 45
Full Contents ix
Rehearsing the Selection 45
Analyzing the Rehearsal and the Performance 46
Remember This 47
Selections for Analysis and Oral Interpretation 48
“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” 48
Walt Whitman
“Sonnet” 49
John Keats
“The Starlight Night” 49
Gerard Manley Hopkins
“Desert Places” 50
Robert Frost
From A Christmas Memory 51
Truman Capote
“Sweet Corn” 52
Tony Earley
“Dreaming” 54
Amanda McBroom
“Homework” 55
Peter Cameron
“Upon Learning That a Junior High School Acquaintance Has Been
Nominated for an Academy Award” 60
Joanne Gilbert
“How to Watch Your Brother Die” 62
Michael Lassell
From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 65
J. K. Rowling
Bibliography 67
CHAPTER 3 Voice Development for Oral Interpretation 69
Expect This 69
A Note for People with Disabilities 69
Relaxation Technique 70
Breath Control 71
Breathing Exercises 71
Volume and Projection 74
Control and Focus of Projection 74
Pitch and Quality 76
“The Wild Honeysuckle” 77
Philip Freneau
From “I Hear America Singing” 77
Walt Whitman
Rate and Pause 77
