Working on George Bernard Shaw Monologues

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Working on George Bernard Shaw Monologues

• The Art of Rhetoric Argument

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SAINT

• JOAN

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Before

• JOAN. They do come to you but you do not hear
  them. You have not sat in the field in the
  evening listening for them. When the angelus
  rings you cross yourself and have done with it
  but if you prayed from your heart, and listened
  to the thrilling of the bells in the air after
  they stop ringing, you would hear the voices as
  well as I do. (Turning brusquely from him) But
  what voices do you need to tell you what the
  blacksmith can tell you that you must strike
  while the iron is hot? I tell you we must make a
  dash at Compiègne and relieve it as we relieved
  Orleans. Then Paris will open its gates or if
  not, we will break through them. What is your
  crown worth without your capital?
• Saint Joan

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Beginnings, Middles and Ends

• JOAN. They do come to you but you do not hear
  them. You have not sat in the field in the
  evening listening for them. When the angelus
  rings you cross yourself and have done with it
  but if you prayed from your heart, and listened
  to the thrilling of the bells in the air after
  they stop ringing, you would hear the voices as
  well as I do. (Turning brusquely from him) But
  what voices do you need to tell you what the
  blacksmith can tell you that you must strike
  while the iron is hot? I tell you we must make a
  dash at Compiègne and relieve it as we relieved
  Orleans. Then Paris will open its gates or if
  not, we will break through them. What is your
  crown worth without your capital?

Beginning is a response. Middle is one argument
in two parts. End is a final rhetorical question.
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Looking For Lists Verb Action

• JOAN. They do come to you but you do not hear
  them. You have not sat in the field in the
  evening listening for them. When the angelus
  rings you cross yourself and have done with it
  but if you prayed¹ from your heart, and listened
  to the thrilling² of the bells in the air after
  they stop ringing, you would hear³ the voices as
  well as I do. (Turning brusquely from him) But
  what voices do you need to tell you what the
  blacksmith can tell you that you must strike
  while the iron is hot? I tell you we must make a
  dash¹ at Compiègne and relieve² it as we relieved
  Orleans. Then Paris will open³ its gates or if
  not, we will break4 through them. What is your
  crown worth without your capital?

1?2?3 verb action drives the idea forward.
Notice past, present, future verb progression in
the 1st example. Whenever you see a list, use it
to your advantage forward momentum, rhythm.
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Looking For Parallel Structures Compare/Contrast
or Antithesis

• JOAN. They do come to you but you do not hear
  them. You have not sat in the field in the
  evening listening for them. When the angelus
  rings you cross yourself and have done with it
  but if you prayed from your heart, and listened
  to the thrilling of the bells in the air after
  they stop ringing, you would hear the voices as
  well as I do. (Turning brusquely from him) But
  what voices do you need to tell you what the
  blacksmith can tell you that you must strike
  while the iron is hot? I tell you we must make a
  dash at Compiègne and relieve it as we relieved
  Orleans. Then Paris will open its gates or if
  not, we will break through them. What is your
  crown worth without your capital?

Compare/contrast drives the idea forward.
Whenever you see this structure, find which words
need lifting to make the point crystal clear.
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Punctuation (or Drive For Curtain)

• Period. End of an idea. Drive forward ? to each
  one, then // stop.

Colon The clause that comes after a is
dependent on the earlier clause. It is a
continuation, a modification, clarification. The
means the idea is not finished. Drive forward ?
Semi-colon The clause that comes after a is a
clause that could stand on its own, but it
achieves greater meaning if linked to the earlier
clause. Drive forward ?
E x p a n d e d Word. Shaws italics.
Dashes. Sets off parenthetical ideas.
Ellipses. Rarely used.
Breathing Full stops // at periods. Catch
breaths elsewhere.
Oral/Aural signal Downward glide? at periods.
Upward? or neutral? (sideways) glide elsewhere.
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Pronunciation

• JOAN. They do come to you but you do not hear
  them. You have not sat in the field in the
  evening listening for them. When the angelus
  rings you cross yourself and have done with it
  but if you prayed from your heart, and listened
  to the thrilling of the bells in the air after
  they stop ringing, you would hear the voices as
  well as I do. (Turning brusquely from him) But
  what voices do you need to tell you what the
  blacksmith can tell you that you must strike
  while the iron is hot? I tell you we must make a
  dash at Compiègne and relieve it as we relieved
  Orleans. Then Paris will open its gates or if
  not, we will break through them. What is your
  crown worth without your capital?

More often than not, choose the Anglicized
pronunciations an-je-lus, Cohm-pyen, Or-leenz
or Or-le-enz, Pa-ris.
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Web Resources

• Whatever you do, look it up and be consistent.
• http//history.boisestate.edu/westciv/audio/
• http//www.yourdictionary.com/
• www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/s (free e-texts)

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Tactics

• JOAN. They do come to you but you do not hear
  them. You have not sat in the field in the
  evening listening for them. When the angelus
  rings you cross yourself and have done with it
  but if you prayed from your heart, and listened
  to the thrilling of the bells in the air after
  they stop ringing, you would hear the voices as
  well as I do. (Turning brusquely from him) But
  what voices do you need to tell you what the
  blacksmith can tell you that you must strike
  while the iron is hot? I tell you we must make a
  dash at Compiègne and relieve it as we relieved
  Orleans. Then Paris will open its gates or if
  not, we will break through them. What is your
  crown worth without your capital?

Tactic change
Tactic change
Tactic change
Structure With each tactic Joan compares
herself to them.
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Word Quality

• JOAN. They do come to you but you do not hear
  them. You have not sat in the field in the
  evening listening for them. When the angelus
  rings you cross yourself and have done with it
  but if you prayed from your heart, and listened
  to the thrilling of the bells in the air after
  they stop ringing, you would hear the voices as
  well as I do. (Turning brusquely from him) But
  what voices do you need to tell you what the
  blacksmith can tell you that you must strike
  while the iron is hot? I tell you we must make a
  dash at Compiègne and relieve it as we relieved
  Orleans. Then Paris will open its gates or if
  not, we will break through them. What is your
  crown worth without your capital?

Note change in weight and feel and sound.
Crown/capital- hard k sounds, alliterative.
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(No Transcript)
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GBS-In his own voice
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• I am old. Over eighty, in fact. Also, I have a
  white beard and these two facts are somehow
  associated in peoples minds with wisdom thats
  a mistake. If a persons a born fool, the folly
  will get worse, not better, by a long lifes
  practice. By having lived four times as long as
  any of you, gives me only one advantage over you
  I have carried small boys in my arms--and
  girls--and see them grow into sixth form
  scholars then into young men and women in the
  flower of youth and beauty then into brides and
  bridegrooms who think one another much better and
  lovelier than they really are then into middle
  age paterfamiliases and anxious mothers with
  elderly spreads and finally Ive attended their
  cremations(?). Well, now, you maynt think much
  of this, but just consider some of your school
  fellows may surprise you by getting hanged
  others of whom you have the lowest opinion who
  turn out to be geniuses and become one of the
  great men of your time therefore always be nice
  to young people.

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The Four Examinations

• Some of the questions can be answered whole or in
  part textually within the monologue alone, but
  not all.
• You must read the rest of the play for the other
  answers.
• Dont surmise. Dont make things up. Answers
  must be supported textually, book and verse. Tell
  me where in the text your answer is supported.

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Your Assignment

• Read over the assignment carefully.
• Choose your monologue.
• Memorize/Prepare it thoroughly.
• Read the play.
• Hand in a copy of your monologue with text work.
  (see Instruction page)
• Hand in a separate page answering the basic
  questions. (see Instruction page.)