EXERCISES

1.  Choose from class reading—­present or recent—­some passage in conversation.  Discuss the traits exhibited by the speakers.  Formulate in a single statement the point made by the remarks.  Does the interest rise enough to make the passage dramatic?

2.  Several members of the class should read certain passages from books, poems, etc.  The class should consider and discuss the characterization, interest, point, climax.

3.  Read Chapters VI and VII of Silas Marner by George Eliot.  Are the characters well marked?  Is the conversation interesting in itself?  Does the interest rise?  Where does the rise begin?  Is there any suspense?  Does the scene conclude properly?  If this were acted upon a stage would any additional lines be necessary or desirable?

4.  Read the last part of Chapter XI of Silas Marner.  What is the point?

5.  Memorize this dialogue and deliver it before the class.  Did the point impress the class?

6.  Consider, discuss, and test passages from any book which the members of the class know.

7.  Present before the class passages from any of the following: 

Dickens A Christmas Carol
               A Tale of Two Cities
               David Copperfield
George Eliot Silas Marner
               The Mill on the Floss
Scott Ivanhoe
               Kenilworth
               The Lady of the Lake
Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn
               The Prince and the Pauper
O. Henry Short Stories
Thackeray Vanity Fair
               Henry Esmond
               Pendennis
Kipling Captains Courageous
               Stalkey and Co. 
Hugo Les Miserables
Tennyson Idylls of the King
               The Princess
Arnold Sohrab and Rustum
Stevenson Treasure Island
Gaskell Cranford
Carroll Alice in Wonderland
Kingsley Westward Ho!
Barrie Sentimental Tommy

Characters in Plays.  In acting regular plays you may find it necessary to follow either of the preceding methods of characterization.  The conception of a character may have to be supplied almost entirely by some one outside the play.  Or the dramatist may be very careful to set down clearly and accurately the traits, disposition, actions of the people in his plays.  In this second case the performer must try to carry out every direction, every hint of the dramatist.  In the first case, he must search the lines of the play to glean every slightest suggestion which will help him to carry out the dramatist’s intention.  Famous actors of characters in Shakespeare’s plays can give a reason for everything they show—­at least, they should be able to do so—­and this foundation should be a compilation of all the details supplied by the play itself, and stage tradition of its productions.