103
What is the best way to read these sentences out aloud?
James Boswell tells us that Samuel Johnson, who had a poor opinion of the way actors declaimed their lines, challenged celebrity actor-manager David Garrick to recite the Ninth Commandment,
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour,
and pronounced with glee that Garrick had read it improperly, by failing to stress the two words ‘not’ and ‘false’. Johnson’s biographer Sir John Hawkins (in whose recollection the example sentence was the Seventh, concerning adultery) said that Garrick put the stress on ‘shalt’.
How would you read it? And how would you read the following?
1 Behold, the half was not told me. [1 Kings 10:7]
When the Queen of Sheba came to see the glory of Solomon’s court.
2 There shall no deceitful person dwell in my house; he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. [Psalm 101:10]
David promises to be more discriminating.
3 Thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. [Luke 15:27]
He was offended because his father had just ordered the fatted calf, no less, to be served in honour of his wastrel brother.
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104
Choose one of these words and use it metaphorically, not literally.
A metaphor is a figure of speech, such as ‘I smell at rat’, ‘he’s just a paper tiger’, ‘the club is swimming in debts’, ‘he’s toast!’ or ‘Westminster is the mother of Parliaments’. As a rule, when we say such things we don’t mean them literally. We say them because they create a powerful mental image that is much more effective than the literal truth. The Bible is full of metaphors: I am the door, the Lord is my rock and my fortress, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, etc..
A related figure of speech is the simile. ‘My son is as brave as a lion’ is a simile. ‘My son is a lion’ is a metaphor. ‘She’s like a breath of fresh air’ is a simile. ‘She’s a breath of fresh air’ is a metaphor. With a simile, there’s always a tell-tale ‘as...as’ or ‘like’. Metaphors simply do without them. In creating a metaphor, it can be helpful to start with a simile.
Use each word below in a metaphor. Try to create sentences that show clearly why the word has been chosen.
IShield. IILadder. IIIProp. IVRoad. VBurn. VIBlow. VIIHeart.
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105
We all want our politicians to be clever men, but being cunning isn’t the same as being wise.
Join each group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
He is short-sighted. He will not achieve anything. [Ahead. Fail. Unless.]
He is honest. Few politicians are. [Majority. Rare. Unlike.]
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106
Make as many words as you can using the letters of one nine-letter word. Can you beat our score?
107
The best holidays are the ones that make us long for home.
Join each group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
I’d like to be at home. I am on holiday. I will go home in a week. [End. Relief. Still. ]
She was on holiday. She wanted to go home. The holiday was a success. [Achieve. Mean. What.]
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108
Suggests words that rhymes with these words, and see if you can match our score.
For each word below, suggest words that rhyme with it. See if you can think of at least the number indicated.
1 Water. (4)
2 Double. (4)
3 Love. (4)
Above. Bubble. Daughter. Dove. Glove. Mortar. Porter. Quarter. Rubble. Shove. Stubble. Trouble.
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