(This is initially a speech delivered for the Interpretive Reading Manual (Advanced Communication Series) of Toastmaster International. My Advanced Speech 2)
Main objective of Advanced Speech 1 is to Interpret A Poetry — It challenges the speaker to use imagery, rhythm, meter, cadence, and rhyme to convey the meanings and emotions of the poetry. The speech should be 6 to 8 minutes.
For this project, I chose one of the poems posted in the Transparency Site.
I chose this particular poem because of its meaning. Right now, I am into this concept of us (as an individual) having multiple stories. And that it is a grave mistake to know a person just by a single story like being poor or being part of a certain race.
As much as possible, I would like to encourage us to look at a person beyond physical appearance, beyond the first impression and beyond on what society has characterized them to be. The more you know about a person's life, the more you see each other's similarities. We are after all a human being. So do not put a period in one's personality. Perhaps (just perhaps) the person that you truly hate is much like you.
Although this poem interprets stories in general (and not personality), it explains why we are so fond of them. It is because in those stories we see our own.
Another reason I chose this is because my goal is to be a storyteller.
There is only one story
by Ken Sanes
There is only one storywhether it is told by a lyric poet or a dramatist,
or a writer of epics or novels,
or a reciter of myths and folktales.
The story is filled with beginnings and endings
and it is forever coming to a climax,
which is why, somewhere in the telling,
young lovers are always sneaking off
to profess their love,
and young soldiers, imbued with ideas of glory,
are dying in battle.
 |
| http://www.readersdigest.co.in |
because it is our story,
with a change in the verbs and nouns
to hide the truth
and enrich the meaning.
It is a story about adventurers
on a ship that travels the oceans
searching for a lost island,
or an undefiled heart,
or something as simple
as a pile of treasure, with rubies and gold coins
locked in a wooden chest.
Of course, the story also includes pirates
who try to steal the treasure
because there really are pirates
or else there are rivals
or earthquakes or stubborn fathers
who refuse to accept the destiny of love
for their daughters.
But it is also a story about people
who get carried away by their own foolishness
in endearing ways --
mocking, gossiping, fighting and pretending --
then melting into each other’s arms
in moments of truth and reconciliation,
so we can laugh and cry without regret.
And it is about a man in control
of everyone but himself,
who refuses to see the world as it is,
until he drags down the people around him,
as he is besieged by doubts
and unable to find a foothold
in a turning world.
Of course, the story has many facets,
and it can be told in many ways.
Sometimes it is about a crisis of conscience,
which leads to a moment
when everything changes,
or about a journey into the depths
where the monsters of myth and sexual nightmare
lurk in the recesses of cave walls.
And very rarely it is about life as a puzzle,
in which the pieces of speech
are merely sounds
that seem external to the human world.
Whatever the specifics,
we know it is about a basic aspect of life,
which is that every desire has a counter-desire,
and every goal has an obstacle,
just as each of us has an adversary,
out there and in our selves,
who stands in our way, vowing to get revenge.
We’re familiar with the details,
but we’re not certain what kind of story it is,
which is why we mix it up in the telling,
and are always ready to hear it again,
even though we know it by heart from the inside,
like the young boy who is almost pleading
before he goes to sleep.
“Please,” he says to his indulgent father.
“Please tell me the story.”
According to the author, this is part four of the long poem "Let Me Tell You a Story."
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment