Browsing by Subject "henkilöhistoria"

Onni Savola was a key person in the development of the art of poetry reading in Finland from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Although he was often regarded as the first professional elocutionist in Finland, there was not much written about him in the literature. The aim of the thesis is to find out in what ways the career of Onni Savola as an elocutionist develops, and reflect that on his influence as a pioneer of the Finnish art of poetry reading and elocution. The aim was also to clarify the influence of Onni Savola on to the Finnish literature of recitation and the history of Finnish speech science. According to earlier research literature, the poetry reading and the recitation share the same roots in the history of Finnish speech science. The thesis is biographical and its context is the history of the art of poetry reading as well as the Finnish literature of the recitation. The data consist of official documents, press, biographies, memoirs, photos and approximately 20 pages of Onni Savola's autobiography. In addition the letters sent and received by Onni Savola as well as memoirs and interviews by Onni Savola himself and the people who has written about him were used. The data is from 1870's to 2000's. In his literature, Onni Savola had a profile in helping other elementary teachers working in the field of poetry reading as well as in authoring of books and teacher guides. When comparing Savola and his fellow teachers in terms of material production, he was a forerunner in his pedagogy with an emphasis on students' own interpretation and voice. He was also the first elocutionist who widely offered his services to many people in the field. The career of Onni Savola is a textbook example of the shift in the traditions of poetry reading in Finland from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Yet, his main achievements are in teaching of poetry reading. One can say Onni Savola had a remarkable influence on derivation and the development of the traditions of theatre and academic poetry reading.