Speech Formation and Dramatic Art

GA 282 — 4 September 1924, Dornach

Speech Course for Participants in the Dramatic Course IV

Artistic speech requires the involvement of the entire organism — the nervous and sensory systems, the circulatory system, and the metabolic system. Breathing and pulse are in a ratio of 1:4; 18 breaths and 72 heartbeats per minute. The Greeks, who still truly sensed the supernatural and also expressed it, because they were not yet centered in the ego as people are today, expressed these laws in hexameter. Three dactyls, a caesura on one breath; then again three dactyls, a pause, end of line.

— ◡ ◡ — ◡ ◡ — ◡ ◡ / — ◡ ◡ — ◡ ◡ — ◡ ◡ /

Greek epic poetry must be recited more; in Nordic epic poetry, there is already a strong declamatory influence due to the high and low tones.

Recitation == more for epic poetry
Declamation = more for lyric poetry.

Sing, O Muse, of the wrath of Peleus' son Achilles

— ◡ ◡ — ◡ ◡ — — [Pause for breath] — ◡ ◡ — ◡ ◡ — — [Pause]

Two systems in rhythm: normal breathing 18 - blood, pulse 72 = 1:4. If the caesura is not brought in, something is missing. Here, attention must be paid not only to the fluid rhythm, but also to the correct, meaningful coloring of the vowels. Make the tone transparent: inner modulation in Muse: u; in contrast, Empuse: u hard. Tackle, express: anger! The will already plays into the pulse.

In Homer: the immortal sounds through poetry - in Klopstock: addressed as the soul. Today: it is completely gone.

We have heard many wonders in old tales
of heroes praised for their great deeds

In Old Germanic: high and low tones. This poetry dealt with events in supernatural worlds that weighed on the soul like a nightmare: mar=nightmare! But: still connected to the whole human organization. Compare the child as it grows. People, when still young - poetry arises from the forces of growth: the epic is the original form of poetry. If we want to find style again, we must stick to these things.

Difference: recitation — declamation

Recitation

In ancient times there stood
A castle, so high and lofty,
It shone far across the land
To the blue sea.

Put all this down so that people can see it! For example: z in “there stood”: must captivate us. Use the a that projects the events into ancient times. “In ancient times”: move away. o in “castle”: full, rounded. “High and noble”: to make it seem pompous, make it vivid. “Across the land”: structure it, but not blur it. “Blue sea”: move away.

General remarks. The musical weaves itself together. Speech needs the gesture of movement, which must never be stopped. This is the greatest danger for some who feel the singing much more than the plastic. - The conscious element of will, which must only come to life later in the poem when the dramatic strikes the poem, must not be too strong. - If the dramatic force predominates, the epic is pushed back; it becomes too strong.

Declamation

Above all peaks
There is peace.
In all the treetops
You feel
Hardly a breath;
The birds are silent in the forest.
Just wait, soon
You too will rest.

First part: You have to bring the will into the fully exhaled breath; out of the conscious mind, not head resonance; with lip sounds, otherwise it's horrible; objective, almost epic description. You go more with the feeling when you speak with the freely exhaled breath.

In the second part, detach yourself from yourself in particular. The objective description is over, finished. The poet enters his inner self. At “wait only,” his chest system springs into action. This must be emphasized by a pause against the background of the other. After “soon,” there is time to breathe, to take a new breath. Linger a little on “rest.” — There is no particular pain in the poem, but rather a completely serene willingness, even a desire, to rest. — But in addition to the head system from which the first was spoken, there is also the rhythmic system, which is the emotional life.