Title: Working with Shakespeare
1Working with Shakespeare
- So, you have got a piece of Shakespearean text to
work with. Where do you begin? How on earth
are you going to get to grips with it?
2Working with Shakespeare
- This presentation is designed to help you
discover and apply some of the skills necessary
to ACT Shakespeare, discover the power of his
language and bring his characters to life on
stage.
3Working with Shakespeare
- You will learn about
- Scansion,
- Breathing,
- Antithesis,
- Caesura,
- Reading Character,
- Paraphrasing.
4Working with Shakespeare
- Never forget that the roles of Ophelia, Juliet,
Cleopatra, Desdemona etc. were created for
thirteen-year-old BOYS to play.
5Working with Shakespeare
- Did these boys possess an exceptional
understanding of mature women to help them play
their roles effectively? - Unlikely.
6Working with Shakespeare
- What they did have was TECHNIQUE.
- With that they could play the role clearly and
well enough for the audience to read and
understand the psychology and motivation of the
character.
7Working with Shakespeare
- What follows is an introduction to the TECHNIQUES
necessary to begin to play Shakespeare.
8SCANSION
- Scansion is a technical term which describes the
rhythm and structure of verse. - Most of Shakespeares plays are written with
Blank Verse.
9SCANSION Blank Verse
- Blank verse is a form of poetry which has a
regular rhythm but does not rhyme. - The basic line in Shakespeare is five strong
beats long, usually arranged in what we call
iambic pentameter. - Look at the following line.
10Alas, that love, so gentle in his view,Should be
so tyrannous and rough in proof.
- This is said by Benvolio in Act I Scene I of
- Romeo and Juliet.
11SCANSION The Iambic
- The rhythm of the iambic is ti-TUM.
- If you note each stressed syllable with capital
letters you may find it easier to read the rhythm
of the line.
12aLAS, that LOVE, so GENtle IN his VIEWshould BE
so TYrannOUS and ROUGH in PROOF.
- Try reading this aloud and see just how the
rhythm works.
13SCANSION - Elision
- In some lines of text you will find that
Shakespeare has abbreviated some words (usually
marked with an apostrophe) to keep the rhythm
flowing. - This is called elision
- Look at the following example and try it out loud
(remember to keep the five beats)
14Horatio, thou art een as just a man
15SCANSION - Elision
- Notice how Shakespeare has elided even into
een. This is very common in Shakespeare, as
is eer for ever and i the for in the.
16SCANSION - Elision
- Also notice how Shakespeare expects us to
pronounce Horatio with only three syllables and
not four in order to keep the rhythm right. - This is a bit of elision you, as an actor, have
to sort out.
17SCANSION - Exercise
- Look at the following and have a go at scanning
and eliding to make it fit the iambic pentameter
18He brings great news. The raven himself is hoarse
- Lady Macbeth, from
- Macbeth I,v.
19SCANSION - Exercise
- Here the word raven is pronounced almost as if
it had only one syllable ravn, but, if the
rhythm of the line is strong and flows properly,
it sounds natural.
20Please remember that in Shakespearean English the
final ed in the past tense of a verb is
frequently pronounced.i.e. calléd NOT calld
UNLESS that is what the text states.
21SCANSION - Enjambment
- Another important concept is ENJAMBMENT.
- This basically means that you must not come to a
full stop at the end of a line unless there is
the punctuation there to stop you. - Look at these lines
22Now entertain conjecture of a timeWhen creeping
murmur and the poring darkFills the wide vessel
of the universe.
- From Henry V, Act IV Chorus
23SCANSION - Enjambment
- All these lines make one unit of sense and should
be read without a break.
24SCANSION - Exercise
- Now look at the lines again and see just how big
and important the final words of each line are.
Hit them hard. Do not let the energy drop and
swallow the final words of a line. They are
usually the most important. - This means that, though you do not stop, you give
the word at the end of the line a little more
weight.
25Now entertain conjecture of a timeWhen creeping
murmur and the poring darkFills the wide vessel
of the universe.
- From Henry V, Act IV Chorus
26SCANSION - Exercise
- Notice also how Shakespeare deliberately varies
the rhythm of the third line by reversing the
order of the stresses to catch your ear
27now ENterTAIN conJECcture OF a TIMEwhen CREEping
MURmur AND the PORing DARKFILLS the wide VESsel
OF the UN-i-VERSE.
28SCANSION - Exercise
- Notice that the shift in rhythm falls on a verb.
- Verbs are very often given more stress in
Shakespeares verse than we commonly tend to
today. - Even a common verb like to be often carries
enormous importance. - (There is one very famous example!)
29SCANSION Feminine Endings
- Sometimes Shakespeare finishes a line with an
unstressed syllable. This is not unusual in
poetry and is called a feminine ending in the
old books. - Look at this famous example and try it for
yourself.
30To be or not to be that is the question
31SCANSION Feminine Endings
- A feminine ending is usually there to push your
energy straight through to the next line, it sort
of speeds up the pulse of that heavier, final
word.
32To be, or not to be, that is the
questionWhether tis nobler in the mind to
sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune,Or to take up arms against a sea of
troubles,And by opposing end them
33SCANSION Feminine Edings
- Notice how all of those lines have feminine
endings and that Hamlet has not yet completed his
first sentence. - Boy! Is he upset!
34SCANSION Rhyming Couplets
- Not all of the writing in Shakespeare is in blank
verse. - At important moments and at the end of major
scenes characters will speak a rhyming couplet.
35SCANSION- Rhyming Coulplets
- A rhyming couplet is two successive lines of
iambic pentameter which rhyme with each other. - It is important when speaking these lines to
follow all the guidelines used so far so as to
give them the importance Shakespeare intends.
36Away before me to sweet beds of
flowersLove-thoughts lie rich when canopied
with bowers.
37SCANSION Other Rhythms
- Shakespeare also uses other forms of verse to
show a characters homely or supernatural
background. - Look at this example of Pucks speech from Act II
of A Midsummer Nights Dream.
38SCANSION Other Rhythms
- Notice how Shakespeare uses a common four strong
beat per line structure for the first four lines
then finishes it with a rhyming couplet in
pentameter.
39I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a
round,Through bog, through bush, through brake,
through brierSometime a horse I'll be, sometime
a hound,A hog, a headless bear, sometime a
fireAnd neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar,
and burn,Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at
every turn.
40SCANSION Missed Beats
- Sometimes you will find that a line in the middle
of a speech or piece of dialogue has fewer than
five beats. This is often Shakespeares way of
showing the actor(s) that there is a pause there.
41SCANSION - Exercise
- Look at the following example and read it with
the pauses (marked thus for each beat) in
place. - (Note that I have used the First Folio for this
exchange from Othello Act III sc ii.)
42Enter Desdemona and AemiliaOthello If she be
false, Heaven mockd it self Ile not
believet.Desdemona How now, my deere
Othello? Your dinner, and the generous
Islanders By you invited, do attend your
presence.Othello I am to blame.Desdemona Why
do you speak so faintly? Are you not well.
Othello I have a pain upon my Forehead,
heere.
43SCANSION - Exercise
- It is obvious from the text itself that Othello
is not listening to Desdemona until she asks
after his health. He then must gather his
thoughts and come up with an answer, one which
reveals his doubt about her fidelity.
44SCANSION - Exercise
- The way the last line is printed in the First
Folio, with the capital letter and the extra e
in here, is taken by many to show that these
words need to carry extra weight.
45Desdemona Why do you speak so faintly? Are you
not well. Othello I have a pain
upon my Forehead, heere.The menace of
Othellos line (totally missed by Desdemona but
obvious to the audience painforeheadhornscucko
ld) is all the greater by the time he takes to
prepare it and the deliberate emphasis on the
last two words is astounding. Add to that the
obvious physical action of touching or rubbing at
the spot, its significance so plainly missed by
the innocent Desdemona, and the total antithesis
of this couple screams at you from the stage.
This Mars and Venus (he is a Moor, she from
Venice) are obviously set on a collision course.
46SCANSION - Prose
- It is worth noting that Shakespeare also lets his
characters speak in prose ordinary, everyday,
unrhymed, non-rhythmical speech.
47SCANSION - Prose
- Shakespeare usually uses prose to show ordinary
people, not Lords, Ladies or heroes. His clowns
often speak in prose and a hero who can speak
with common people in prose is often shown to
have a special warmth.
48SCANSION - Prose
- Look at this example from Twelfth Night when
Olivias servant, Malvolio, tells her of a young
messenger at her gate.
49Madam, yond young fellow swears he will speak
withyou. I told him you were sick he takes on
him tounderstand so much, and therefore comes to
speakwith you. I told him you were asleep he
seems tohave a foreknowledge of that too, and
thereforecomes to speak with you. What is to be
said to him,lady? he's fortified against any
denial.
50SCANSION - Prose
- Obviously, there are no special rhythmical
requirements of speaking Shakespearean prose.
You only have to understand it and make it sound
natural!
51SCANSION - CUES
- There is just one major point left to examine
- Picking up cues.
52SCANSION - CUES
- THE FIRST RULE IS SIMPLE
- NEVER LET THE ENERGY DROP AT THE END OF A LINE OR
SPEECH. - HAND A FULL LOAD OF ENERGY ON TO THE NEXT ACTOR
TO SPEAK.
53SCANSION - CUES
- This can be reduced to the simple but memorable
motto of - SPIT IT OUT DONT SWALLOW IT!
54SCANSION - CUES
- You will find that Shakespeare often makes a
character finish a speech half way through a line
of pentameter. - This means that the next speaker MUST keep the
rhythm of the line running when they pick up
their cue WITHOUT A PAUSE (unless there is a
definite, written break in the verse as in the
extract from Othello used above).
55SCANSION - CUES
- Look at the following example from A Midsummer
Nights Dream when the four young lovers are in
the throes of a major row
56DEMETRIUS Quick, come!HERMIA
Lysander, whereto tends all
this?LYSANDER Away, you Ethiope!DEMETRIUS
No, no
he'llSeem to break loose take on as you would
follow,But yet come not you are a tame man,
go! LYSANDER Hang off, thou cat, thou burr!
vile thing, let loose,Or I will shake thee from
me like a serpent!HERMIA Why are you grown so
rude? what change is this?Sweet love,--LYSANDER
Thy love! out, tawny
Tartar, out!Out, loathed medicine! hated potion,
hence!
57SCANSION - CUES
- You can see here just how quickly this argument
needs to be taken by the way the lines are
divided between the speakers.
58BREATHING
- The next major trick to learn is how to breathe
properly, when to take a breath and how to
control your breathing through a long line of
text.
59BREATHING
- The breathing MATTERS.
- In acting Shakespeare you need to approach the
verse almost as if you were going to sing it.
60BREATHING
- Remember Shakespeare makes language work in a
way very few people have ever been able to
before. - So TREAT THE WORDS WITH RESPECT!
61BREATHING
- The basic rule of thumb in working Shakespeares
lines is - Dont breathe until there is an important
punctuation mark.
62BREATHING
- Here is a simple guide to punctuation. It should
help you to find where to take a breath and how
to divide your speech into manageable chunks.
63BREATHING - ,
- Normally the comma does NOT demand a breath. A
comma denotes - a change in the tone of voice or energy,
- a shift of focus,
- a qualifying point,
- the naming of the person to whom the line is
being said.
64Speak this line aloud using the changes of tone
rather than pauses (and remembering all that we
have done before) Alas, that love, so gentle in
his view,Should be so tyrannous and rough in
proof.
65BREATHING AND
- The semi-colon is usually used to show an
opposite point from what has gone before, often
occurring suddenly and forcefully to the
thinker/speaker. - It can be shown by a greater change of voice tone
and a SLIGHTLY fuller top-up breath.
66BREATHING AND
- The colon is usually used to show that what
follows is an expansion of what has just been
said or an example of it. - It can be shown by taking a top-up breath and
changing voice tone.
67Ay, do, persever, counterfeit sad looks,Make
mouths upon me when I turn my backWink each at
other hold the sweet jest upThis sport, well
carried, shall be chronicled.If you have any
pity, grace, or manners,You would not make me
such an argument.But fare ye well 'tis partly
my own faultWhich death or absence soon shall
remedy. Try this speech using all the breathing
and scansion tricks you have learned so far. You
should find that Helenas upset is clear from the
rhythm of this speech.
68BREATHING - .
- It does exactly what it says on the tin.
- It is a FULL STOP-BUT ONLY WHEN IT OCCURS AT THE
END OF A SPEECH OR LINE OF VERSE! - Stop,
- Take a full breath,
- Start again on a new sentence about a new subject.
69BREATHING - ! ?
- In Shakespeares time exclamation and question
marks were not always given the same weight as a
full stop. - The First Folio often uses them where we would
use commas. - You will need to try out the scansion and
breathing for yourself to come to the best fit. - Have a go at Hamlet again.
70To be, or not to be, that is the
questionWhether tis nobler in the mind to
sufferThe Slings and Arrows of outrageous
Fortune,Or to take up Arms against a Sea of
troubles,And by opposing end them to die, to
sleepNo more and by a sleep, to say we endThe
Heart-ache and the thousand Natural shocksThat
flesh is heir to? Tis a consummationDevoutly to
be wished.
71That is the first sentence of the speech, and
Shakespeare still does not let the actor take a
full-stop breath! In fact the poor actor has
twenty-five lines before he hits an end of line
stop. But dont worry! Shakespeare does give
him a massive caesura in a four beat line to take
a pause. More of that later.P.S. The capital
letters are from the First Folio and could be
taken as marks to show which words need heavier
hitting.
72ANTITHESIS
- Antithesis is a word which describes something
standing in opposition to another. - You may want to go shopping but I want to go for
a swim. - In the above line the words you and I are in
antithesis.
73ANTITHESIS
- I didnt know whether to laugh or to cry.
- Here the antithesis is between the verbs to laugh
and to cry.
74ANTITHESIS
- Shakespeare uses antithesis all the way through
his plays to show oppositions between people,
uncertainties, problems and tensions both in
groups and within the individual.
75ANTITHESIS
- Antitheses can be found at every level in
Shakespeare between groups, individuals, moods,
opportunities hopes and fears - Between Acts, scenes and speeches.
76ANTITHESIS
- Sometimes the antitheses are so strong that the
words in opposition stand right next to each
other and challenge the listener to make sense of
them e.g. Romeos - O, brawling love! O, loving hate!
77ANTITHESIS
- O, brawling love! O, loving hate! These
strongest of all antithetical utterances are
called oxymorons (from the Greek meaning
sharp/dull).
78ANTITHESIS
- When reading your scenes find and mark the
antitheses and be sure to hit them hard enough
for an audience to register at least the key
words in opposition.
79ANTITHESIS
- In a dialogue the antitheses can really help show
the power and nature of the relationship between
the characters. - Look at the following excerpt from Romeo and
Juliet
80JULIET Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near
dayIt was the nightingale, and not the
lark,That pierced the fearful hollow of thine
earNightly she sings on yon pomegranate-treeBe
lieve me, love, it was the nightingale. ROMEO
It was the lark, the herald of the morn,No
nightingale look, love, what envious streaksDo
lace the severing clouds in yonder eastNight's
candles are burnt out, and jocund dayStands
tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.I must be gone
and live, or stay and die. ACTIII sc.v
81ANTITHESIS
- Make sure you find and play these antitheses to
help power your performance. - Antithetical words will fall in stressed
positions and need to be hit hard.
82CAESURA
- Caesura is a technical term meaning a break in
the middle of a line of verse. - In a line of Hexameter (six feet to the line) the
break is always bang in the middle. - With pentameter there is much more of a choice.
83CAESURA
- Shakespeare, being the great poet he is, plays
with every possible use of the caesura.
84CAESURA
- So what is it for?
- It shows a clear break from one, old idea into a
new one. - Being in the middle of a line it shows that the
idea comes quickly, strikes the thinker/talker
hard and fast.
85O it came oer my ear like the sweet soundThat
breathes upon a bank of violets,Stealing and
giving odour. Enough, no moreTis not so sweet
now as it was before.Twelfth Night Act I
scene i
86CAESURA
- In the line just given you can see how Duke
Orsinos mind changes and plunges him into
frustration as he remembers his love and how cold
she is towards him.
87CAESURA
- When you speak the line with the caesura you
notice that a brand new energy, tempo and focus
need to be hit. - In this instance it clearly demonstrates Orsinos
changeable and easily swayed nature.
88CAESURA
- That was an easy caesura to spot because it was
marked by a full stop. - Shakespeare marked it clearly in the line as an
antithetical feeling and thought.
89CAESURA
- This is the grand use of the caesura, to help
reveal antithesis. - As you will already have seen there is often a
slight shift of focus, almost a mini-antithesis
in almost every line of Shakespearean verse,
sometimes marked with punctuation, sometimes not.
90CAESURA
- It is the rocking of these energies around the
caesura which give Shakespearean verse its life
and energy sometimes gentle, sometimes stormy.
91CAESURA
- Look at the following speech from Act II sc ii of
Measure For Measure and see how Angelos stormy
thoughts are revealed by the caesuras
92Whats this? Whats this? Is this her fault or
mine?The tempter or the tempted, who sins most,
ha?Not she nor doth she tempt, but it is IThat
lying by the violet in the sun,Do as the carrion
does, and not the flower,Corrupt with virtuous
season. Can it beThat modesty may more betray
our senseThan womans lightness? Having waste
ground enoughShall we desire to raze the
sanctuary,And pitch our evils there? O fie fie
fie!What dost thou, or what art thou, Angelo?
93CAESURA
- Just how disturbed the young man is becomes
apparent when you play the scansion, breathing,
antitheses and caesuras. - Its all in the technique.
94CAESURA
- Lets have another look at that famous bit of
Danish again and try to put all weve done so far
into practice.
95To be, or not to be, that is the
questionWhether tis nobler in the mind to
sufferThe Slings and Arrows of outrageous
Fortune,Or to take up Arms against a Sea of
troubles,And by opposing end them to die, to
sleepNo more and by a sleep, to say we endThe
Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocksThat
flesh is heir to? Tis a consummation Devoutly
to be wished. To die to sleep,To sleepe,
perchance to Dream aye, theres the rub,For in
that sleep of death what dreams may come,When we
have shuffld off this mortal coil,Must give us
pause. Theres the respectThat makes
calamity of so long life
96Isnt it wonderful how Shakespeare shows us the
turmoil and torment of this young man of action
soldier, courtier, poet and then brings him to
an abrupt and breathless halt on the very word
pause!It becomes obvious that this is no
effete mothers boy maundering on about his
neuroses but a fired up youth wrestling with all
his considerable intellectual might with one of
the greatest philosophical debates just as it
really hits home. He is being torn apart and the
struggle is clear in the breathlessness of his
delivery.The mis-spelled sleepe is there in
the First Folio and probably indicates that the
word should be more drawn out than the sleep
which occurs just before it.
97REMEMBER THISAs an actor you should always ask
yourselfWhat does the character do to me as I
learn to speak its lines?
98READING CHARACTER
- Peter Brook advises his actors to imagine that
Shakespeare possessed a unique tape recorder
which recorded not only what people SAID but also
what they THOUGHT.
99READING CHARACTER
- He then had to find a way to put this
understanding down on paper. - The means he evolved was POETRY.
100READING CHARACTER
- When a character is alone and thinking out loud
to the audience (what is known technically as a
soliloquy) they will always tell the truth, even
if they are an habitual liar in the rest of the
play when talking to anyone else.
101READING CHARACTER
- Shakespeares audience used to love the tension
between knowing what a characters true
objectives are and seeing the devious means he or
she uses to get them.
102READING CHARACTER
- This state of the audience knowing what most of
the characters dont is called DRAMATIC IRONY.
103READING CHARACTER
- Have a look at one of his great villains to see
how he exploits this ironic antithesis when
creating the roles of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth,
Iago (in Othello), Richard III c.
104Because Shakespeare wrote in very rich poetry,
and did that 400 years ago, we need to pay some
attention to the fact that we may not quite
understand all the words and ideas we are being
asked to express on stage.
105One good way to improve your understanding of the
text and your character is PARAPHRASING.
106Paraphrasing
- Check each speech you have to say and make sure
you can put the gist of it in your own words.
This will never be complete and will change as
your understanding increases.
107Paraphrasing
- Before you say your lines repeat your paraphrase
then say your lines bringing out all the force
and power of the verse to support the emotion of
the line.
108Paraphrasing
- The next time you run the section listen to the
previous speaker and, before you say your line,
paraphrase what their character has just said.
109Paraphrasing
- THIS WILL HELP MAKE SURE THAT YOU LISTEN
CAREFULLY TO OTHER CHARACTERS AND STAY INVOLVED
ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
110Paraphrasing
- Remember that Shakespeares actors never had the
whole text to work with, they only had their own,
handwritten, part with just the briefest of cues
added. This meant that they absolutely had to
listen carefully to what the others were saying
to get their timing and delivery right.
111Paraphrasing
- N.B. These handwritten parts were wound round a
stick they were, literally, rolls of parchment
the longer the part, the bigger the roll.
Although we now spell it differently the words
remain a large role etc.
112Upper, Lower, Parentheses.
- This is another useful tool to help you make the
contours of any speech you make clearer. - In this you break the speech down into the main
lines of the argument or report your character is
making and imagine them in Upper Case letters
(capitals). - Put the subsidiary parts in lower case.
- Then put the interjections or comments in
parentheses (in brackets).
113Upper, Lower, Parenthesis.
- When you read the piece through try pitching your
voice to show the different levels of meaning you
have decided. - This will give you some kind of contour to your
speech and help an audience follow the main line
of argument and the action. - Look at the following example and see how you
would attempt to break it down.
114- ISABELLA To whom should I complain? Did I tell
this,Who would believe me? O perilous
mouths,That bear in them one and the self-same
tongue,Either of condemnation or
approofBidding the law make court'sy to their
willHooking both right and wrong to the
appetite,To follow as it draws! I'll to my
brotherThough he hath fallen by prompture of
the blood,Yet hath he in him such a mind of
honour.That, had he twenty heads to tender
downOn twenty bloody blocks, he'ld yield them
up,Before his sister should her body stoopTo
such abhorr'd pollution.Then, Isabel, live
chaste, and, brother, dieMore than our brother
is our chastity.I'll tell him yet of Angelo's
request,And fit his mind to death, for his
soul's rest.
115Upper, Lower, Parenthesis.
- Now take a look at one suggested way of tackling
this and see if it reads easily.
116- ISABELLA TO WHOM SHOULD I COMPLAIN? DID I TELL
THIS,WHO WOULD BELIEVE ME? O perilous
mouths,(That bear in them one and the self-same
tongue,Either of condemnation or
approof)Bidding the law make court'sy to their
will(Hooking both right and wrong to the
appetite,To follow as it draws!) I'LL TO MY
BROTHERThough he hath fallen by prompture of
the blood,YET HATH HE IN HIM SUCH A MIND OF
HONOUR.THAT, had he twenty heads to tender
downOn twenty bloody blocks, HE'LD YIELD THEM
UP,BEFORE HIS SISTER SHOULD HER BODY STOOPTO
SUCH ABHORR'D POLLUTION.THEN, ISABEL, LIVE
CHASTE, (and, brother, die)MORE THAN OUR
BROTHER IS OUR CHASTITY.I'LL TELL HIM YET OF
ANGELO'S REQUEST,And fit his mind to death, FOR
HIS SOUL'S REST.
117Upper, Lower, Parenthesis.
- If you find this technique useful use it yourself
on a long, complicated speech.
118FINALLY
- There are no bit parts in Shakespeare.
- Whoever is talking is carrying the whole weight
of the play at that time. - We have only scratched the surface of
Shakespeares genius. - There is still so much left to discover.
- Good luck!