DISCUSSION STARTER
“Above all, the art of reading aloud should be cultivated”
-Alfred Lord Witehead
How can careful reading help you better understand
literature in a way where you can interpret it using
your voice?
SPECIAL ACTIVITY
A special
performance
(Humorous
Interpretation by
Grant Markwell)
At this time, get
with a partner
and read your
short passage to
them. After,
critique one
another in terms
of techniques you
have learned.
LOOKING AHEAD
As you become a better oral interpreter, your understanding of
literature will be enhanced because you will become a more
careful reader. Careful reading will lead you to new insights about
the meaning of the literature as well as make more sensitive to
the beauty of the language.
The audience too, will share this intellectual and emotional
experience , for you will not only entertain audience members
with your performance, you will bring literature alive for them.
INTRODUCTION
Oral interpretation
is still an
important part of
your life.
Storytelling, radio,
news, essays
WHAT IS ORAL INTERPRETATION?
Do not impersonate a familiar voice
Simply create an appropriate and
original voice to give life to words on a
page.
After analyzing the meaning and feeling
behind those words, you use your voice
and body to share the words with
others.
ORAL INTERPRETATION
The art of communicating works
of literature by reading aloud
well.
ORAL INTERP HISTORY
Oral Interp is one of
the oldest human
social activities.
Until paper
replaced
memory, people
needed to
communicate
orally.
HOW CAN I USE THIS IN DAILY LIFE?
Your own history is available to you in human
form. You can ask your parents, grandparents
or other family members or friends to tell you
how things were “way back when”
When the story is being told, oral tradition is
kept alive.
TO USE ON THE JOB
The business world now realizes that storytelling can be
an effective tool to persuade a potential client of the
quality of a product, or to convince employees of a
policy change.
How/why do you think this is so?
YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
Nelson Madela was convicted of the charges against him and
sentenced to life in prison. However, he was freed in 1990 after
serving 17 years.
Mandela continued his involvment in politics. His efforts in the end
paid off. He ended up receiving the Nobel Peace Price for his
efforts in promoting a democratic South Africa. Mandela was
elected president in 1994.
“During my time I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the
African people. I have fought against white domination. I have
cherished ideal of a democratic and free society in opportunities.
It is an ideal which I hope to live for to and achieve. But if needs
be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
RECALLING THE FACTS
1.Why is impersonating a familiar
voice not interpretation?
2.How might businesses use the art
of storytelling?
THINKING CRITICALLY
At current rates, some 90 % of the
world languages will vanish during
the next century. As these
languages face extinction, what can
be done to preserves the stories
and memories that will be lost in
the disappearing words?
TIPS ON CHOOSING
Anthologies: books that include literary works by
subject matter (such as love, war, nature)
Ask your teacher to provide suggestions
Ask Connie Kibbey for literature that could be read
aloud.
3 THINGS TO CONSIDER
•
your own tastes in literature.
•
Choose something of quality.
•
The occasion or desires of your audience.
RECALL THE FACTS
1. Name three things you should consider in
selecting material for an interpretive
reading.
2. What are the literary works called that collect
material by subject matter?
• To interpret a selection well, you
must first understand it.
• You do this by considering both the
meaning and the feeling of the
piece.
• After that, you must adapt your
interpretation to the requirements
of the form: prose, poetry, or
drama.
MEANING
An important part of the process analysis is to
know what each word means (and how each
word relates to every other word) so that you
can share that understanding with the
audience.
Denotation: the dictionary meaning
Connotations: the implied meaning
THEMES
These are central ideas in a literary work
Knowing this theme helps you to make choices
in interpreting the denotative and the
connotative meanings of all the words.
FEELING
What feelings the author is trying to convey?
Mood: a feeling in the work, an emotional tone.
INTERPRETING PROSE
You must determine who is the narrator.
Who is the narrator telling the story to?
What relationship does that person have
to the described event?
POINT OF VIEW
First person: using “I” to identify the narrator
Third person: describing characters as “he” or
“she”
Second person: the author addresses “you”
INTERPRETING POETRY
Meter: Instead of measuring distance,
meter measures the rhythm in a line of
poetry.
Rhythm: the flow of stressed and
unstressed syllables.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ1S1
cl8JOw
INTERPRETING POETRY CONT.
Rhyme: a repetition of sounds between
words or syllables or the endings of lines
of verse.
Imagery: the language that creates mental
pictures. These pictures differ in the
minds of the reader and the listener.
INTERPRETING DRAMA
The goal of the actor is to make
the performance as close to real
life as possible.