Quarterly Journal of Speech

ISSN: 0033-5630 (Print) 1479-5779 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rqjs20

Goethe's rules for actors; A translation with an

introduction

Arthur Woehl

To cite this article: Arthur Woehl (1927) Goethe's rules for actors; A translation with an
introduction, Quarterly Journal of Speech, 13:3, 243-264, DOI: 10.1080/00335632709379690

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00335632709379690

Published online: 06 Jun 2009.

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 A STROBOSCOPIC DISC 243

notations of the phenomena as they occur. But, especially with the

phonograph record, these phenomena can be repeated, checked and
rechecked as often as may be necessary.
With respect to the principle on which it operates, no original-
ity is claimed. But it is thought that this simple device, "home-
made," as was said, yet theoretically and practically sound, may be
of some use to those who may have occasion to make certain studies
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in which it may be employed.

GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS

A TRANSLATION W I T H AN INTRODUCTION

ARTHUR WOEHL
Cornell University

Goethe's fame as poet has overshadowed his fame as régisseur

and stage director. Yet Goethe the régisseur and stage director
contributed as much to German theatrical art as Goethe the poet
to German literature. There was, properly speaking, nothing that
could be called a German theatre up to the time of Goethe. It is
true that there were theatre buildings, traveling companies, and a
few actors of note. But in contrast with most of the other Euro-
pean countries, Germany, as she lacked a national political centre,
lacked also a national theatrical centre. During the seventeenth
and early eighteenth centuries the country was overrun with Eng-
lish, French, Italian, and Dutch traveling companies which pro-
vided popular amusement in German translations of their own
national plays, or else continued the tradition of the Haupt-und-
Staatsaktionen or the Italian commedia dell'arte. There was noth-
ing in Germany to compare with the Comedie Française or even
the Danish Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, in both of which perman-
ent troupes of actors where trained in the acting tradition of the
plays of Racine or Moliere or Holberg.
The Court theatre at Weimar, under Goethe's direction, be-
came the training school for a tradition of German acting, estab-
lishing a definite national impress which had far-reaching effects.
Its effect upon German literature was equally great. To Goethe's
recognition of the need of a special technique in writing for the
stage, many of his plays, as well as Schiller's, owe their present
 244 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

form. It was Goethe who defined the ideals and principles that
have had the most profound influence on the German theatre down
to the present day.
When, at the urgent invitation of Duke Karl August, Goethe
came to the Court of the duchy of "Weimar in 1775, he was twenty-
six years of age and had already won distinction as the author of
Werther and Götz von Berlichingen. At his arrival he found a
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small Court, some members of which were brilliant, all of which

were interested chiefly in seeking pleasure. There was no theatre
(the former theatre building was burned in 1774) but the Court
delighted in open-air plays, masques, and pageants, and Goethe
took an active part in producing and acting them. Many of his
minor pieces were especially written for production during this
period. It cannot be said, however, that he very seriously occupied
himself with theatrical matters until 1791. He had become what
Herder called the pontifex maximus of the Duke's territory, * serv-
ing as Privy Councillor, War Commissioner, President of the
Chamber of Finance, Commissioner of Mines, and in many other
capacities. In 1780 a new theatre building had been erected. It
was let out in 1784 to Joseph Bellomo, the manager of a touring
company. Bellomo had a very small subsidy from Duke Karl, but
even so found it difficult to make ends meet. After a struggle of
six years, lie asked for a cancellation of his contract.
The Duke then determined to have his own company, but being
unable to find a notable theatrical manager to take charge, he natur-
ally turned to the man who was managing practically everything
else in the duchy. So in 1791 Goethe became director of the
Weimar Court Theatre.
From the beginning Goethe ruled with the hand of a tyrant,
a kindly one to be sure, but tyrant nevertheless. He had little with
which to work. Funds were small, the actors willing but untrained,
and there was practically no theatre equipment. His ideal in stage
production was a perfect ensemble, a harmony of the whole, and he
labored endlessly to achieve it. He instituted reading rehearsals,
where, before actual rehearsals began, each scene was gone over,
action and business planned out, and all problems of interpretation
discussed. Formal rehearsals were not common at this time : even
1
P. Hume Brown, Life of Goethe, 2 vols. See Chap. XVII, XVIII, of
Vol. I.
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 245

some of the better known actors were negligent in giving lines as

the author had written then. Goethe's ideas on the value of reg-
ular and frequent rehearsals are expressed in some detail by Wil-
helm Meister in a lecture to his traveling companions.2 At Weimar
Goethe consistently attended all rehearsals and dealt out summary
punishment to any actor who infringed upon the rules.
With the coming of Schiller to Weimar in 1800 Goethe's inter-
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est in the theatre reached its peak, and the five years from then
until Schiller's death were the brightest in the history of the
theatre. It was during this period that the Rules for Actors were
set down, though- they had doubtless been taking shape in the
author's mind for some years. The two great poets worked in al-
most perfect unanimity. Their ideals and ultimate purposes in
theatrical art were the same, although they often differed in their
means of attaining them. Their co-direction was a source of satis-
faction to Goethe himself and Schiller's death in 1805 was a great
blow to him. He continued his sole direction thereafter, but with
increasing difficulty, thanks to the caprices of Caroline Jagemann,
one of the actresses and the Duke's mistress. This talented actress
and singer was too fond of intrigue and power not to cause trouble.
She became ungovernable and the war between her and Goethe grew
so intolerable to him that in 1808 he sent in his resignation, an
event probably not unforeseen by the actress. At that time Goethe's
wife, and also the Duchess, persuaded him to remain. In 1817,
however, when the Duke, at the instigation of Caroline Jagemann,
now titled Frau von Heygendorf, decided to bring to the theatre a
play in which a trained dog was the hero, Goethe could endure it
no longer and sent in a final resignation. From that time the
Weimar theatre declined and quickly sank into oblivion.
Of the Bules themselves a few words are necessary. It will be
noticed that they are, in general, mechanical and arbitrary. As
rules for inexperienced actors, they are, it will also be noticed, in
general both acute and sound. In practice, they gave rise to a
severely classical style of declamation which Goethe favored.
Mantzius remarks: "There is a well-known saying of Goethe's that
he would undertake to make an actor out of any well-grown gren-
adier. Those words were no empty boast : for theatrical art of this
2
Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, trans. by Carlyle, Bk.
IV, Chap. II, pp. 200-201.
 246 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

kind not even a grenadier would be necessary."3 The system un-

deniably tended to reduce the players to automata. It is not unlike-
ly that Goethe himself deplored his own system of training voice
and body for the stage, but finding few of his actors who possessed
enough education to work in any other way, decided to devote his
energies to training them externally. Amateurs in any age have
presented the same problem, and a set of rules is one way out.
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Ludwig Tieek, though he admired Goethe's dramatic principles

in other respects, violently opposed his method of stage delivery.
Tieck maintained that the only proper speech for the stage was
that based on ordinary conversation. However, the natural tone of
conversation was actually not far from Goethe's own ideal. In
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, speaking of Frau Melina, he
says: "She soon acquired an accurate mode of playing; she at-
tained the natural tone of conversation altogether, that of keen
emotion she attained in some degree."4 And elsewhere in the same
work he commends the actor for " a high degree of truth, ease, and
'frankness,' " while condemning "our starched characters upon the
stage."5 If he had among his actors any of real talent we may
assume that he did not trouble them with rules. For the beginners
or the dullards the Bules provided a compass to guide them until
they were able to direct their own course.6
The strict discipline had its effect. Out of this small group of
actors of average ability Goethe built a theatrical company which
could claim a place among the first in Germany. His pupils carried
the system to all parts of Germany. If it introduced" a coldly ex-
ternal school of acting which had little to do with naturalness, it
should be remembered that even that was an improvement over
what had gone before. Moreover, it did nothing to harm the really
great among the actors, for they were, as always, above mechanical
rules of this kind.
The chief value of the Rules today is perhaps their historical
significance. They are important and interesting when compared
with the theories of Eiccoboni, Talma, Coquelin, and others, which
collectively give us our knowledge of changing ideals in acting.
3
Karl Mantzius, A History of Theatrical Art in Ancient and Modern
Times, 6 vols., Vol. VI, p. 267.
4
Bk. V. Chap. XVI, p. 323.
5
See Bk. IV, Chap. XVIII, p. 258, and Bk. II, Chap. XI, p. 119.
6
See Section 90 of the Bules for Actors.
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 247

RULES F O B ACTORS 7
1803
The art of the actor is made up of speech and bodily move-
ment. In the following paragraphs we shall give some rules and
suggestions on both of these, beginning with speech.*
DIALECT
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1
When a provincialism creeps into a tragic discourse the most
beautiful poetry is disfigured and the ear of the auditor is of-
fended. Therefore, the first and most necessary point in the train-
ing of an actor is that he free himself from all errors of dialect and
strive to attain a perfectly pure pronunciation. No provincialism
will do on the stage ! Nothing must be heard there but pure Ger-
man idiom, which has been cultivated through good taste, art, and
science.9
2
He who has to struggle with the habits of dialect should adhere
to the universal rules of German speech and seek to enunciate quite
clearly the new forms he wishes to develop even more distinctly
than they really ought to be. Even exaggerations are advisable in
this case, without risk of detriment, for it is a peculiarity of human
nature always to return willingly to its old customs, and of its own
accord- to normalize what has been exaggerated.

PRONUNCIATION
3
As in music the correct, precise, and pure striking of each sin-
gle tone is the foundation of all further artistic execution, so in the
art of the actor the clean and perfect pronunciation of each word is
the basis of all higher recitation and declamation.
7
I have used for the translation the text of the Weimar (1901) edi-
tion of Goethe's Werke, vol. 40.
8
Italics mine.
9
Although we may regard this as more or less of a commonplace,
Goethe had every reason for insisting upon a standard of pure High Ger-
man at Weimar. He himself spoke the language of his native Frank-
furt; Schiller's speech -was particularly broad Swabian; and the actors,
collected from all parts of Germany, represented almost every other dia-
lect.
 248 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

4
Pronunciation is perfect when no letter of a word is sup-
pressed, but when all appear according to their true value.
5
It is clean when all words are so delivered that the thought
strikes the hearer easily and distinctly.
Both together make expression complete.
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6
The actor should seek to acquire such a diction, realizing
clearly how a slurred letter or a word pronounced indistinctly
makes a whole sentence ambiguous, with the result that the
audience loses the illusion and is often provoked to laughter, even
in the most serious scenes.
7
In words that end in em or en one must be careful to express
the final syllable clearly; otherwise this syllable is lost, since one
does not hear the e at all.
For example :
folgendem, not folgend'm
hörendem, not îiorend'm
8
One must also be careful of the letter 6, which is very easily
confused with w, with the result that the whole sense of the speech
can be spoiled and made unintelligible.
For example :
Leben um Leoen, not Lewen um Lewen.
9
So also p and b, t and d, must be markedly distinguished.
Therefore the beginner should make a great difference in both, and
should express p and t more strongly than they ordinarily would
be, especially if, on account of his dialect, he would naturally in-
cline to the opposite.
10
When the consonants that sound alike follow each other, be-
cause one word ends with the same letter with which the other be-
gins, a pause must be made, in order to distinguish both words.
For example :
Schliesst sie blähend den Kreis des Schönen.
There must be a pause between blühend and den.
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 249

11
One must especially guard against unclear utterance of all
final syllables and final letters ; in the first place, this rule is to be
observed primarily with m, », and s, because these letters designate
the terminations which govern the chief word, consequently indi-
cate the relation of the chief word to the rest of the sentence, and
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thus define the exact meaning of the sentence.

12
Furthermore, one must express chief words, proper names, and
conjunctions clearly and distinctly. For example, in the verse
But the Fury frightens me
Protectress ol this place,
the proper name Fury and the main word protectress, in this case
very important, are prominent. Hence both must be enunciated
with particular distinctness.
13
In general, proper names must be uttered with more emphasis
than usual, because such a name is intended to strike the auditor
particularly. For it very often happens that a person is mentioned
in the first act who appears for the first time in the third act, and
often even later. The public must be made aware of this fact. How
can that be done except by clear, vigorous pronunciation ?
14
In order to perfect his diction, the beginner should utter every-
thing very slowly, expressing syllables, and particularly final
syllables, strongly and clearly, in order that the syllables which
must be spoken rapidly be not unintelligible.
15
It is also advisable to speak in as low a pitch as possible at the
beginning, and then, modulating, steadily to rise in tone; for by
this means the voice attains great range and is trained to the dif-
ferent modulations needed in declamation.
16
For that reason it is also very well at the beginning to utter all
syllables, whether long or short, as long, and in as low a tone as the
voice allows, since otherwise in rapid speech one usually emphasizes
only the verbs.
17
False or incorrect memorization is for many players the cause
 250 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

of false and incorrect pronunciation. Before one entrusts anything

to his memory, he should read, slowly and deliberately, the passage
to be memorized. In this one must avoid all emotion, all declama-
tion, all play of the imagination; but one must endeavor only to
read correctly and then to learn accurately ; thus many an error,
both of dialect and pronunciation, will be avoided.
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RECITATION AND DECLAMATION

18
By recitation is understood a delivery which, without emo-
tional raising of the tone, yet not quite without modulation, lies
midway between cold, quiet speech and highly excited speech.
The auditor must always feel that in this case the speech is ob-
jective.
19
Therefore it is necessary to emphasize the passages to be recited
and deliver them with the feeling and the sentiment which the
content of the poem inspires in the reader ; neverthless this should
be done with moderation and without that emotional forgetfulness
of self which is required in declamation. The reciter, to be sure,
follows with the voice the ideas of the poet and the impression
which is made on him by the mild or horrible, pleasing or displeas-
ing subject; on the horrible he places the horrible tone, on the
tender, the tender tone, on the solemn, the solemn tone, but these
are merely results and effects of the impression which the subjeet
matter makes on the reciter ; he does not alter thereby his original
character, he does not disown his nature, his individuality, and is
to be compared with a piano upon which I play in its natural tone,
given by the mode of construction. The passage which I deliver
compels me to observe, by its composition, forte or piano, dolce or
furioso, but this is done wiithout my using the modulation which
the instrument possesses,—on the contrary, it is merely the over-
flowing of the soul into the fingers, which through their com-
pliance, their stronger or weaker impressing and touching of the
keys, put into the passage the spirit of the composition, and there-
by excite the feelings which can be stirred by its content.
20
But it is quite different with declamation or heightened recita-
tion. Here I must leave my inborn character, disavow my nature,
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 251

and place myself wholly in the attitude and mood of him whose
rôle I declaim. The words which I utter must be brought out with
energy and liveliest expression, so that I seem to experience each
emotional impulse as actually present.
Here the player on the piano employs the soft pedal and all
modulations which the instrument possesses. If they are used with
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taste, each in its proper place, and if the player has studied in ad-
vance, with spirit and diligence, the application and the effect
which can be produced through them, then he can be sure of the
most beautiful and completest result.
21
One might call the art of declamation an art of music in prose,
since, in general, it has a great deal that is analogous to music.
But one must make the distinction that music, answering its own
purposes, moves with more freedom ; the art of declamation, on the
other hand, is much more limited in the range of its tones and is
subject to an alien purpose. Of this principle the declaimer must
always take the strictest consideration. For if he varies his tones
too quickly, if he speaks either too low or too high, or through too
many semitones, then he is singing ; but in the opposite case he falls
into monotony, which even in simple recitation is a mistake—two
rocks, one as hazardous as the other, between which still a third lies
sunken, to wit, the ministerial cadence. It is easy, while evading
the one or the other danger, to run aground on this one .
22
In order to attain a correct declamation one must consider well
the following rules :
If, to begin with, I completely understand the meaning of the
words and have mastered them perfectly, then I must seek to ac-
company them with a suitable tone of voice, and express them as
rapidly or slowly, as vigorously or gently, as the meaning of each
sentence requires. For example:
Nations vanish—must be said half-loud, murmuringly.
Names are forgotten—must he said more clearly, more sonorously.
Dark oblivion spread dusky wings of night over whole races—must
be said hollowly, deeply, and with terror.
23
In the following passage :
Quickly throwing myself from my steed
I press after him. . . etc.
 252 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

a much faster tempo must be chosen than in the foregoing sentence ;

for the content of the words clearly demands it.
24
When passages occur which are interrupted by others, as if
they were separated by marks of parenthesis, then what comes be-
fore and what goes after must be slightly separated, and the tone,
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which was interrupted by the intervening speech, must thereafter

be continued. For example :
And yet it is the first childish quarrel
Which, propagated in an unhappy line,
Has given birth to the newest misfortune of this day.
Must be declaimed thus :
And yet it is the first childish quarrel
Which—propagated in an unhappy line—
Has given birth to the newest misfortune of this day.
25
When a word occurs which on account of its meaning is suited
to an intensified utterance, or which perhaps in and for itself, on
account of its own nature and not on account of the meaning it is
made to carry, must be expressed with a more strongly articulated
tone, then one must take care not to abandon suddenly the quiet
delivery, vociferate with full force this significant word, and then
relapse to the quiet tone; but one must prepare the hearer, as it
were, by a judicious distribution of emphasis, by giving a more
articulate tone to the preceding words, then modulate up to the
significant word, so that it is uttered in a full and round union with
the others. For example, in the line
Among the sons' fiery strength,
the word fiery is one which in and for itself demands more em-
phasis; consequently it must be declaimed with intensified tone.
Accordingly, it would be very incorrect if I suddenly broke off the
tone on the preceding word sons' and then delivered the word fiery
with vehemence ; rather, I must give a more articulate tone to the
word sons' so that I can progress by degrees to that amplitude of
expression which the word fiery requires. Spoken in this manner it
will of course sound full and beautiful and the ultimate aim of the
expression will be completely attained.
26
When several words follow the exclamation 01 a pause must
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 253

be made, and made so that the 0! in itself constitutes an exclama-

tion.
For example :
O! —my mother!
O! —my sons!
not:
O my mother!
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O my sons!
27
Just as it is recommended in pronunciation that proper names
be spoken clearly and distinctly, so the very same rule is repeated
in declamation, with the addition only, that the more strongly artic-
ulated tone is required. For example:
Not, where golden Ceres laughs,
And peaceful Pan, the guardian of these fields
In this verse two significant proper names occur—names containing
the whole sense. If, therefore, the declaimer glides over them light-
ly, even though he may speak them clearly and perfectly, the whole
passage loses immeasurably. It will of course occur to the educated
person when he hears the names that they are derived from the
mythology of the ancients, but the true meaning in them can escape
him ; through the stressed tone of the person speaking them, how-
ever, the meaning will be clear to him. Likewise for the man of
little education, if the peculiar import is not known, the more
strongly articulated tone will excite the imagination, and he will
fancy under these names something analogous to that which they
truly mean.
28
The declaimer is free to select his own stops, pauses, and so
forth; but he must guard against destroying the true meaning,
which he can do by this means just as easily as by an omitted or
badly expressed word.10
10
Anton Genast, stage manager at the Weimar Theatre, tells us of
the extreme care and attention which Goethe gave to pauses after punc-
tuation marks. At a reading-rehearsal of Calderon's The Constant Prince
he laid down definite rules. "He was extremely painstaking about this:
Commas, semicolons, colons, exclamation and question marks had to be
strictly observed in recitation; he demanded a pause for each of these
marks and denoted their varying lengths graphically in this fashion:
_, ; ! ? " Edward Genast: Aus Weimars klassicher
und nachklassischer Zeit (Classical and Post-Classical Times at Weimar)
pp. 107-8.
 254 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 8PEECB EDUCATION

29
One can readily understand from these few observations what
unending toil and time it costs to make progress in this difficult
art.
30
For the beginning actor it is very beneficial always to speak
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everything as deeply as possible. For thus he gains a great range

in voice and can give perfectly all further shadings. But if he
habitually begins too high, he soon loses masculine depth of tone
and with it the true expression of the lofty and spiritual. And how
can he be assured of success with a shrill and squeaking voice Î If
he has completely mastered the lower register he will certainly be
able to express perfectly all possible shadings.
RHYTHMICAL DICTION
31
All the rules and observations made under the head of dec-
lamation are here presupposed as fundamental. But it is especially
the character of rhythmical delivery that the subject must be de-
claimed with an even more lofty and emotional expression. Bach
word is to be uttered with a certain impressiveness.
32
The rhythmical structure as well as the end-rhymes must not
be indicated too strikingly, but the context must be observed as in
prose.
33
If one has iambics to declaim he must be careful to indicate the
beginning of each verse by a slight, scarcely perceptible pause, not
sufficient, however, to interrupt the flow of the declamation.11
POSTURE AND MOVEMENT OF THE BODY ON THE STAGE

On this part of the player's art some general principles may

also be given, to which, of course, there are innumerable exceptions,
all of which, however, go back again to the principles. "We must
11
This practice was especially scored by Tieck. See his essay,
"Uber das Temps, in welchem auf der Bühne gesprochen werden soll" (On
the Time Which Should Be Observed in Stage Delivery), Dramaturgische
Blätter, Vol. II.
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 255

strive so vigorously to assimilate these that they become second

nature.
35
First, the player must reflect that he must not only imitate Na-
ture, but must also present her ideally, and that therefore his pre-
sentation must unite the true with the beautiful.
36
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Hence each part of the body must be completely in his control

so that he can make use of each member for the desired expression,
freely, harmoniously, and gracefully.
37
Let the position of the body be erect, the chest up, the upper
half of the arms to the elbows close to the body, the head turned
slightly towards the person to whom one is speaking, yet so slightly
that three-quarters of the face is always turned towards the
audience.
38
For the actor must constantly remember that he is on the stage
for the sake of the public.
39
Accordingly, it is mistaken naturalness for the actors to play to
each other as if no third person were present; they should never
j)lay in profile, nor turn their backs to the audience. If it is done
for the sake of characterization or of necessity, let it be done with
judgment and grace.
40
One must also be especially careful never to speak in toward
the stage, but always speak out toward the public. For the player
must always divide his attention between two objects : that is, be-
tween the person to whom he is speaking and his audience. Instead
of turning the whole head away, it is better, when necessary, merely
to turn the eyes.
41
It is a cardinal point that when two actors are playing to-
gether, the speaker always moves back, and the one who has stop-
ped speaking moves down slightly. If one makes use of this advant-
age with understanding, and through practice can go about it quite
without constraint, the best effect arises for the eye as well as for
the intelligibility of the speech. A player who masters this will,
 256 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

with others equally skilled, produce a very fine effect and have a
great advantage over those who do not observe it.
42
If two persons are conversing, the one who stands on the left
should guard against pressing too closely on the person on the
right. The distinguished person (women, elders, superiors) al-
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ways always stands on the right side. Even in ordinary life one
keeps some distance from one whom he respects; the contrary
argues a lack of breeding. The player should show himself a cul-
tivated person and for that reason should observe this rule most
rigidly. The one who stands on the right side must therefore main-
tain his right and must not permit himself to be pushed toward the
wings, but hold his ground and perhaps with his left hand signal
the obtrusive one to keep his distance.
43
A fine pensive attitude, for a young man, for example, is this :
keep the fourth dance position, the chest and the whole body turned
directly out, the head slightly inclined to the side with the eyes fixed
on the ground and both arms left hanging.12

CARRIAGE AND MOVEMENT OF THE HANDS AND ARMS

44
In order to attain free movement of the hands and arms, actors
never carry a walking-stick.
45
They must completely avoid this new-fangled manner of plac-
ing the hand in the breast of the long waistcoat.13
46
It is extremely incorrect to hold the hands either over each
other or resting on the stomach, or to stick one, or perhaps even
both, in the waistcoat.
i2
There is a remarkable similarity between rules for training the
actors in the Hauptaktionen of a century earlier and the rules in this and
following paragraphs. See Mantzius, vol. V, pp. 24-26.
13
With this and the following paragraph, compare a quotation from
Mantzius, vol. V, p. 328, where a colleague says of Thomas Betterton: "Mr.
Betterton . . . had fat short Arms, which he rarely lifted higher than his
Stomach—his Left Hand frequently lodg'd in his Breast, between his Coat
and Waist-coat, while with his Right, he repar'd his Speech."
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 257

47
The hand itself must neither be clenched, nor be held in
soldier-like fashion, with the whole palm lying along the thigh, but
the fingers must be held partly half-curved, partly straight, but
never stiff.
48
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The two middle fingers should always remain together, the

thumb, index, and little finger hanging somewhat curved. In this
manner the hand is in its proper position and in its correct form
for all movements.
49
The upper half of the arms should always rather hug the body
and move in a much smaller arc than the lower half, which should
have the greatest flexibility. For if I raise my arm but slightly
when the discussion is about ordinary things, so much more effect
is produced when I extend it above my head. If I do not moderate
my motion in the weaker expressions of my speech, I have not force
enough for the stronger ones and thus the gradation of the effect is
entirely lost.
50
Moreover, the hands should never return to their position of
rest until I am about to conclude my speech, and then only by de-
grees as the speech draws to a close.
51
Movement of the arms always occurs part by part. First of all
the hand lifts or moves, then the elbows, and then the whole arm.
It should never be raised all at once, without the succession just
mentioned, for the movement would appear wooden and unsightly.
52
It is of great advantage to a beginner to force himself to hold
his elbows at his sides as much as possible, thus gaining control
over this portion of his body and attaining the ability to execute his
gestures according to the rule just laid down. Let him train him-
self, therefore, in ordinary life always to hold his arms bent back,
or indeed, if he is alone, tied back. In walking or in unoccupied
movements, let him allow the arms to hang, never compress the
hands, but keep the fingers constantly in motion.
 258 THE QUARTERLY JOVRVAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

53
The picturing gesture with the hands must seldom be used, yet
it should not be entirely omitted.
54
One must be on his guard against indicating with the hand any
portion of his body that is spoken of; for example, when Don
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Manuel in The Bride of Messina, " says to his chorus :

Choose too a cloak woven
Of gleaming silk, of a pale shimmering purple.
Fasten upon the shoulder a golden cicada.
It would be extremely incorrect if the player were to touch his
shoulder with his hand at the last words.
55
If picturing gestures must be used let them appear uninten-
tional.
In particular cases there are exceptions here also, but this can
and should be taken as a general rule.
56
The picturing gesture with hand against the breast to designate
one's own person must be used as seldom as possible, and then only
if the meaning unconditionally requires it, as for example, in the
following passage from The Bride of Messina:
I—have brought no more hate;
I scarcely even know why we cruelly fought.
Here the first I may properly be marked with the picturing ges-
ture by the motion of the hand against the breast.
To make this gesture beautifully, however, one must notice that
the elbow must be quite separated from the body and then the arm
must be raised ; still the hand must not be brought up to the breast
with a wide swing. The hand must not be placed flat on the breast,
but must barely touch it with the thumb and the fourth finger. The
other three must be held, not lying on, but curved over the arch of
the breast, as if conforming to it.
57
In moving the hands one must, as much as possible, avoid
bringing the hand before the face or covering the body with it.
58
If I must extend my hand, and the right hand is not expressly
14
Schlller's Greek tragedy.
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 259

demanded, I can just as well use the left ; for there is no right or
left on the stage—one must only try constantly not to spoil the
picture to be presented by an unsuitable position. If, however, I
am unavoidably forced to extend the right hand, and if I am so
placed that I would have to extend my hand across my body, it is
preferable to step back a little and extend it so that my body re-
mains en face.
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59
The player must bear in mind on which side of the theatre he
is standing, in order to adapt his gesture accordingly.
60
He who stands on the right side must gesture with the left
hand, and conversely, he who stands on the left side must gesture
with the right, so that the breast will be covered as little as possi-
ble by the arms.
61
In impassioned speeches where one gestures with both hands
this consideration must nevertheless be fundamental.
62
For exactly the same purpose, and so that the breast be turned
towards the audience, it is advantageous for the one who stands on
the right side to keep the left foot forward, the one on the left to
keep the right foot forward.
PANTOMIME
63
To attain a correct pantomime and also to be able to criticize it
rightly, one should note the following rules :
Let one place himself before a mirror and speak what he is
to declaim, only softly, or rather not at all, let him simply think
the words. The advantage of this is that he is not carried along
by the declamation but can easily perceive every false move, which
does not express what is thought or softly uttered, just as he can
also select beautiful and suitable gesture and imprint on thé whole
pantomime, as a stamp of art, a movement corresponding to the
meaning of the words.
64
But this presupposes that the player has previously made fully
his own the character and the whole situation of the person he is
to represent, and that his imagination works on the material pro-
 260 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

perly; for without this preparation he will be able neither to de-

claim nor to act correctly.
65
It is of great advantage for the beginner, in order to master
pantomime and make his arms pliant and supple, to try to make
his rôle intelligible to another without reciting it, solely by panto-
mime; for in that case he is forced to select the most suitable
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gestures.
TO BE OBSERVED IN REHEARSAL
66
To acquire an easier and more suitable movement of the feet
one must never rehearse in boots.
67
Let the actor, particularly the younger man, who has to play
lovers and other light rôles, keep a pair of slippers at the theatre in
which to rehearse, and he will soon notice the good effects of this
practice.15
68
One should not permit himself to do anything in rehearsal
that he cannot do in the play.
69
The women should put aside their small purses.
70
No actor should rehearse in a cloak, but should have the hands
and arms free, as in the play. For the cloak not only hinders him
from making proper gestures, but forces him to acquire false ones,
which he then repeats involuntarily in the presentation.
71
The actor should also make no movement in rehearsal which is
unsuitable to the rôle.
72
He who places his hand in his bosom in rehearsing tragic rôles
runs the risk, in the actual performance, of fumbling for an open-
ing in his armour.

15
The same advice is given the players In Wilhelm Meister's Appren-
ticeship, Bk. V, Chap. VIII, p. 295. Many other suggestions in this chap-
ter parallel closely the advice given here.
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 261

BAD HABITS TO BE AVOIDED

73
Among the very clumsy errors to be avoided is this : the actor
who is sitting should not, in order to bring his chair farther for-
ward, pass his hands between his legs, seize the chair, then raise
himself slightly, and so drag it forward. This is an offense not
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only against appearance, but still more against comfort.

74
The actor should show no pocket-handkerchief on the stage;
even less should he blow his nose, still less should he spit.18 It is
frightful, in the midst of an artistic production, to be reminded of
these natural occasions. One may have with him a small handker-
chief, as indeed is now the fashion, as a help in case of need."

BEARING OF THE ACTOR IN ORDINARY LIFE

75
In ordinary life, too, the actor must remember that he is to
be part of a public presentation.
76
Hence he must guard himself against habitual gesture, pos-
tures, and positions of the arms and body, for if during the play
his attention must be directed to avoiding such habits, it is to be
a great extent lost to the play.
77
It is, therefore, absolutely necessary that the actor be com-
pletely free from all habits, so that in the presentation he can
16
Goethe's impression of this may well have been obtained from the
actor Konrad Ekhof, who was guest player at Weimar about two years
after Goethe's arrival. He appeared in a play with Goethe, the Duke Karl
August, and others. Although a famous actor of some attainment, he had
a number of crude mannerisms, among which were spitting and cough-
ing on the stage.
17
The use of the handkerchief on the stage was a French habit. Van-
hove, Talma's father-in-law, found two properties indispensable: a hand-
kerchief in tragedy, a snuff-box in domestic drama—and he would will-
ingly have introduced the habit of using the snuff-box in tragedy also. He
did do this on one occasion. Moreover, when presented with his first his-
torically correct Roman costume, he called the tailor's attention to the
lack of a pocket, asking him whether he was to believe that the Romans
did not blow their noses or blew them with their fingers. He got the
pocket.
 262 TEE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

imagine himself completely in his rôle and husy his mind with his
assumed character.
78
On the contrary, it is an important principle for the actor to
take pains in ordinary life to give such a turn to his body, his
bearing, indeed to all his actions, that he will be kept in constant
practice. This will be of untold advantage for every part of the
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actor's art.
79
He who has chosen to be a tragic actor will perfect himself if
he seeks to bring out everything that he has to say with a certain
accuracy of tone as well as of expression, and also to retain in all
gestures a certain lofty manner. This of course must not be carried
too far, lest he become a laughing-stock for his fellow men, but
with this limitation he may let them constantly recognize the artist
training himself. This does him no dishonor, indeed, they will en-
dure quite willingly his peculiar bearing when because of this it
happens that they are compelled to look on him with astonishment
on the stage as a great artist.
80
Inasmuch as we wish to have everything represented on the
stage not only truly, but also beautifully, since the eye of the spec-
tator wishes to be charmed by pleasing groupings and positions,
the actor must strive to preserve these even when off the stage ; he
should always imagine before him a roomful of spectators.
81
"When he is learning the rôle by heart he must constantly ad-
dress himself to an audience ; even when he sits at table, by himself
or with others, he should always strive to form a picture, taking up
and setting down everything with a certain grace, as if it were on
the stage. In such a manner he must always form part of a picture.

ARRANGEMENT AND GROUPING ON THE STAGE

82
The stage and the auditorium, the actors and the audience, con-
stitute essentially a single whole.
83
The theatre is to be regarded much as a figureless tableau to
which the actor adds the figures.
 GOETHE'S RULES FOR ACTORS 263

84
Therefore one must never play too near the wings.
85
Just as seldom must one step into the proscenium. This is
the greatest impropriety; for the figure steps out of the room in
which it makes a complete unit with the scene-picture and with the
fellow-players.
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86
"When one stands alone on the stage, let him remember that
he is called upon to decorate the stage, and so much the more so
since the attention remains directed quite alone on him.
87
As the augurs with their staff divided the heavens into various
parts, the actor can mentally divide the stage into various rooms,
which for experiment can be represented on paper by rhombic
planes. The stage floor is then a kind of drafting-board ; for the
actor can determine which houses he will set foot in ; he can make
a memorandum of them on paper and is then certain that he will
not rage artlessly to and fro in impassioned speeches, but will
join the beautiful to the significant.
88
He who steps out for a monologue from the wings upstage
does well to move diagonally, so that he reaches the opposite side
of the proscenium; since in general diagonal movements are very
pleasing.
89
He who comes out from the farthest wing to another who is
already standing on the stage, must not walk out parallel with the
wings but must turn slightly towards the prompter.
90
Or . must make his own the sense of all these technical-gram-
matical rules, and constantly practice them so that they become
habit. Stiffness must disappear and the rule become only the
hidden outline of the living action.
91
This takes for granted that these rules will be observed primar-
arily when one has noble, worthy characters to represent.18. On
the other hand, there are characters which are opposite to these
18
i. e. the Rules have special reference to the acting of tragedy.
 264 THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH EDUCATION

noble ones, for example, the boors, the louts, and so forth. These
he will represent so much the better if, with art and understanding,
he does the opposite, always remembering, however, that it should
be an imitated presentation and not a vulgar actuality.

A SURVEY OP PHONETICS IN COLLEGES AND

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UNIVERSITIES IN THE UNITED STATES*

SARAH T. BARROWS
State University of Iowa

The data on which this report is based were obtained from

1. Answers to the questionnaires sent out by the Modern Foreign
Language Study.
2. The Survey of Linguistic Studies issued by the Linguistic So-
ciety.
3. A study of college and university catalogues.
4. Personal letters from persons especially interested in the
field of phonetics.
The study reveals a noticeable growth of interest in phonetics.
The subject of phonetics is taught in one hundred and fifty-three in-
stitutions of collegiate rank,1 either as an independent course or
as a part of a teacher's course, or practice course.
I. Applied Phonetics
1. Foreign Languages
Romance Departments show the greatest activity in phone-
tics. In one hundred and sixteen institutions, instruction
in French phonetics is given; in fifty-three institutions,
instruction in Spanish, and in five instutions, instruction
in Italian phonetics is offered.
In three institutions, the department of Romance Lan-
guages offers a course in general phonetics; in nine in-
* Read at the meeting of the Modern Language Association in Boston,
1926.
1
These figures are probably only approximately correct. Much of
the information obtained refers to the situation a year or more ago, and
courses in phonetics may have been added since; on the other hand, some
Institutions reporting courses in phonetics may hare used the term rather
broadly, and they may have referred to the phonetic method in teaching
languages rather than to courses in phonetics.