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Show CHAPTER VII SIXTH AIM: THE IMPORTANT IDEA "There is only one rule for emphasis-gumption."-ALFRED AYRES. Central Concept. You may have observed in analyzing the compound sentences given in the last chapter that the main ideas, "Ye, stay and read" and "Sing Heavenly Muse" grew stronger and stronger at every addition. This is necessarily true, because with the increase of modifiers and modifiers of modifiers the strength of the important idea must become more intense in order to be able to carry the weight. The purpose of this step is to read so that the Important ideas will stand out without being pounded upon, and so that the less important ideas will be given their exact value without 'being thrown out. All values are relative. Most readers have only two values; they think that ideas are either important or they are unimportant. The important ideas are usually pounced .ipon and howled at, while the unimportant ones are "read faster and in lower pitch," and thus thrown out of the window to be hurled into the rubbish heap. No idea is absolutely unimportant. There are in numerable values. The difference between the untrained and the trained reader is that the latter has gained, through infinite practice, the skill to make clear to the audience the smallest .differentiation in ideas. It is hard for a listener to get the idea unless this clearly T4e more exactly the ideas are weighed and the better the proportionment of concepts, the easier it will be for the auditor. Such exactness and proportion will go far toward making "the thought clear and impressive." Emphasis. The important idea' is made to stand out by that subtle means, emphasis. Most people who have heard the term have a misconceived idea that emphasis means force. Often the differentiation is made. idea is made stand out to by the· very absence of force. For example: Be a soldier, be a hero, be a man. If you will experiment with this sentence, reading it aloud, it will become plain that the last idea is the most important and has the least force. It is distinguished from the other ideas by its very 94 |
