Breaking Down the Bard - "-ed" Endings

Have you ever wondered how classical actors know when to say "bless'd" or "bless-ed", "murder'd" or "murder-ed", "remember'd" or "remember-ed"? The truth is, a lot of them don't if it isn't already marked in their script for them, which it often isn't. Not to worry, though, I'm going to take the guesswork out of the "-ed ending" for you!

First things first: you need to know whether you're speaking in verse or prose. (Not sure? Here's how to tell the difference.)

If you're speaking in prose, you will usually pronounce the word however it's most commonly pronounced, most likely without the extra accented syllable. The main reason you might decide to emphasize the -ed would be for the sake of comedy; if a character is mocking another character, or attempting to sound more educated than they are, or is seeking to impress someone in vain, this might be a particularly fun character choice! I love hearing Benedick say "marri-ed" (as though it's a difficult word for him to say, or a foreign concept), or Bottom say "Pyramus is not kill-ed indeed" (because he is imagining speaking to the Duke at a very formal affair, and attempting to convince the other mechanicals to write a prologue for the play).

When speaking in verse, there are two things you need to consider:
1. How does this syllable change the rhythm of the line?
2. Is this word part of a rhyme?

Lord Capulet is a prime example:
Dead art thou! Alack, my child is dead,
And with my child, my joys are buried.

That second line can be perfect iambic pentameter, which I prefer here. It will scan like this:
and WITH my CHILD, my JOYS are BU-ri-ED.

See that? We need to stress the -ed in "buried", making it three syllables in order to fit the structure of iambic pentameter... otherwise, it's a syllable short. Also, when we make "buried" three syllables, it suddenly rhymes with the line before it, giving it additional weight and finality.

By contrast, Antipholus of Syracuse has this to say:
Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking, mad or well-advised?
Known unto these, and to myself disguised?

One could choose to say "WELL-ad-VIS-ed" and "my-SELF dis-GUIS-ed", therefore keeping the rhyme scheme and choosing a feminine ending for each line, but by keeping the lines perfect iambic pentameter, with "WELL-ad-VISED" and "my-SELF dis-GUISED", we still keep the rhyme, and keep the meter flowing.

KEEP IN MIND: Some editors will write "well-advis'd" and "myself disguis'd". While this can certainly be useful, it may just be one person's opinion, and it may not necessarily be the option that is best for the production you are doing. Compare different editions of the script, and see what works best for you!

Now, let's look at Bolingbroke in Richard II:
You have misled a prince, a royal king,
A happy gentleman in blood and lineaments,
By you unhappied and disfigured clean;

This part of the speech can easily be entirely in perfect iambic pentameter. Check it out:
you HAVE mis-LED a PRINCE, a ROY-al KING,
a HAP-py GEN-tle-MAN in BLOOD and LIN-ea-MENTS*,
by YOU un-HAP-pied AND dis-FIG-ured CLEAN;

*lineaments here might be pronounced "lin-ya-ments" or "lin-a-ments", depending on preference, in order to keep the meter. 

Notice how in the third line here, "unhappied" and "disfigured" are each three syllables in order to maintain the verse structure. It rolls off the tongue quite easily and keeps the pace clipping along.

One more example, from Julius Caesar:
That I was constant Cimber should be banished,
And constant do remain to keep him so.

We have two clear options, but neither of them are perfect iambic pentameter:
that I was CON-stant CIM-ber SHOULD be BAN-ished
and CON-stant DO re-MAIN to KEEP him SO.

or

that I was CON-stant CIM-ber SHOULD be BAN-ish-ED
and CON-stant DO re-MAIN to KEEP him SO.

The first option features a feminine ending by making "banished" two syllables, while the second, with a three-syllable "banished" becomes a six-foot line, or iambic hexameter. Both of these choices are 100% acceptable, depending on what is preferred in the production.

Pretty simple, right? With a little practice, you'll be sure to impress the next time you step onstage or into the audition room!

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