Sometimes, for big emphasis, it is advisable to lay stress on every single syllable in a word, as _absolutely_ in the following sentence:

    I ab-so-lute-ly refuse to grant your demand.

Now and then this principle should be applied to an emphatic sentence by stressing each word. It is a good device for exciting special attention, and it furnishes a pleasing variety. Patrick Henry's notable climax could be delivered in that manner very effectively: "Give--me--liberty--or--give--me--death." The italicized part of the following might also be delivered with this every-word emphasis. Of course, there are many ways of delivering it; this is only one of several good interpretations that might be chosen.

    Knowing the price we must pay, the sacrifice we must make, the     burdens we must carry, the assaults we must endure--knowing full     well the cost--yet we enlist, and we enlist for the war. For we     know the justice of our cause, and _we know, too, its certain     triumph._

    --_From "Pass Prosperity Around,"_ by ALBERT J. BEVERIDGE,     _before the Chicago National Convention of the Progressive Party_.

Strongly emphasizing a single word has a tendency to suggest its antithesis. Notice how the meaning changes by merely putting the emphasis on different words in the following sentence. The parenthetical expressions would really not be needed to supplement the emphatic words.

    _I_ intended to buy a house this Spring (even if you did not).

    I _INTENDED_ to buy a house this Spring (but something     prevented).

    I intended to _BUY_ a house this Spring (instead of renting as     heretofore).

    I intended to buy a _HOUSE_ this Spring (and not an automobile).

    I intended to buy a house _THIS_ Spring (instead of next     Spring).

    I intended to buy a house this _SPRING_ (instead of in the     Autumn).

When a great battle is reported in the papers, they do not keep emphasizing the same facts over and over again. They try to get new information, or a "new slant." The news that takes an important place in the morning edition will be relegated to a small space in the late afternoon edition. We are interested in new ideas and new facts. This principle has a very important bearing in determining your emphasis. Do not emphasize the same idea over and over again unless you desire to lay extra stress on it; Senator Thurston desired to put the maximum amount of emphasis on "force" in his speech on page 50. Note how force is emphasized repeatedly. As a general rule, however, the new idea, the "new slant," whether in a newspaper report of a battle or a speaker's enunciation of his ideas, is emphatic.

In the following selection, "larger" is emphatic, for it is the new idea. All men have eyes, but this man asks for a _LARGER_ eye.

This man with the larger eye says he will discover, not rivers or safety appliances for aeroplanes, but _NEW STARS_ and _SUNS_. "New stars and suns" are hardly as emphatic as the word "larger." Why? Because we expect an astronomer to discover heavenly bodies rather than cooking recipes. The words, "Republic needs" in the next sentence, are emphatic; they introduce a new and important idea. Republics have always needed men, but the author says they need _NEW_ men. "New" is emphatic because it introduces a new idea. In like manner, "soil," "grain," "tools," are also emphatic.

The most emphatic words are italicized in this selection. Are there any others you would emphasize? Why?

    The old astronomer said, "Give me a _larger_ eye, and I will     discover _new stars_ and _suns_." That is what the _republic     needs_ today--_new men_--men who are _wise_ toward the _soil_,     toward the _grains_, toward the _tools_. If God would only raise     up for the people two or three men like _Watt_, _Fulton_ and     _McCormick_, they would be _worth more_ to the _State_ than that     _treasure box_ named _California_ or _Mexico_. And the _real     supremacy_ of man is based upon his _capacity_ for _education_.     Man is _unique_ in the _length_ of his _childhood_, which means     the _period_ of _plasticity_ and _education_. The childhood of a     _moth_, the distance that stands between the hatching of the     _robin_ and its _maturity_, represent a _few hours_ or a _few     weeks_, but _twenty years_ for growth stands between _man's_     cradle and his citizenship. This protracted childhood makes it     possible to hand over to the boy all the _accumulated stores     achieved_ by _races_ and _civilizations_ through _thousands_ of     _years_.

    --_Anonymous_.

You must understand that there are no steel-riveted rules of emphasis. It is not always possible to designate which word must, and which must not be emphasized. One speaker will put one interpretation on a speech, another speaker will use different emphasis to bring out a different interpretation. No one can say that one interpretation is right and the other wrong. This principle must be borne in mind in all our marked exercises. Here your own intelligence must guide--and greatly to your profit.

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