Reported or indirect speech is speech that is given in summary form rather than transcribed word for word and placed between quotation marks. For example, this speech from Tolstoy’s War and Peace

“I am very glad I did not go to the ambassador’s,” said Prince Hippolyte “— so dull.”

may be reported as

Prince Hippolyte said that he was very glad that he had not gone to the Ambassador’s, as it would have been so dull.

Read this exchange from the same novel:

See if you can report the substance of the conversation in the same fashion as the example above. You may wish to begin with something like

Anna asked Pierre...

In Think and Speak (1929), NL Clay asked his students questions such as:

Why was it stupid of the nurse to wake up her patient to give him a sleeping draught?

This is not as trivial as it sounds: it is an exercise in constructing various kinds of clause, especially causal and conditional. Try answering the question, and you’ll soon see.

This kind of humour was very popular with the ancient Greeks. Some examples were translated for us by American clergyman Charles Clinch Bubb (1876-1036), from a collection credited to Hierocles of Alexandria (5th century AD). The role of the addlepated nurse was taken by the stock character of the Pedant, someone who was just too literal-minded for his own good.

Why was it stupid? ...

1 A pedant whilst swimming almost choked to death. He made an oath that he would not go into the water again until he had first learned to swim well.

2 One of twin brothers died and a pedant meeting the survivor asked him, ‘Did you die, or was it your brother?’.

3 A son of a pedant being sent to battle by his father promised to return bringing the head of one of his foes. He replied, ‘Even though I see you coming without any head, I shall be glad.’

If these seem too easy, see how short you can make your answer, for example, 21 words or fewer.

Or, write down what the Pedant should have said.

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.

Metaphors

From Think and Speak

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 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.

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)

Suggested Rhymes (A-Z)

To what extent are these words synonymous? Give examples.

1 Brave.

2 Foolhardy.

3 Valiant.