This quick, fun video will make you a trochee expert in just 90 seconds!
Shakespeare Coach Emily Staudt breaks down the Bard in a fun, approachable way
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Thursday
VIDEO - Trochees
Let's talk about TROCHEES! These are the exact opposite of iambs, which I explain here.
This quick, fun video will make you a trochee expert in just 90 seconds!
This quick, fun video will make you a trochee expert in just 90 seconds!
Wednesday
Breaking Down the Bard VIDEO - Verse vs Prose
Do you know how to tell the difference between verse and prose?
This is something that trips a lot of people up, but my quick, minute-long video shows you how to tell the difference INSTANTLY. Check it out!
This is something that trips a lot of people up, but my quick, minute-long video shows you how to tell the difference INSTANTLY. Check it out!
Breaking Down the Bard - Feminine Endings
Now that you've got a handle on the difference between verse and prose, what perfect iambic pentameter is, and what scansion is (and if you don't, follow the links to get caught up!), we're gonna take a look at what happens when things aren't so "perfect" in a line of iambic pentameter anymore. We'll call these "variations" to the verse, and today we're going to start with "feminine endings".
Take a look at this section of Shakespeare's 20th Sonnet:
A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart but not acquainted
With shifting change as is false women's fashion
This whole sonnet is unconventional, because every line of verse has an extra, unstressed syllable at the end! Since iambic pentameter is ten syllables per line, alternating between unstressed and stressed syllables, this sonnet breaks the "rules":
a WO-man's GEN-tle HEART but NOT ac-QUAINT-ed
A line of verse that has an additional unstressed or weak syllable outside of the traditional structure (in this case, iambic pentameter) has what we call a "feminine ending", or a "weak ending". Yes, this is opposed to a stressed or "masculine" ending. It has absolutely nothing to do with the subject being a male or female, it is entirely about whether the last syllable in the line is stressed or unstressed. Misogyny, I know... I didn't come up with the name.
Why is there an extra syllable at the end of the line?
Well, first of all, the words at the ends of the lines in the above poem rhyme in an "A B A B" pattern, and the rhythm helps to emphasize that. Shakespeare has rhymes all over the place, and they aren't all quite so obvious as "painted" and "acquainted", or "passion" and "fashion." Rhymes are not a requirement for a feminine ending, but be on the lookout for them!
Second, these are the words that Shakespeare wanted for these lines. I don't say this as a cop-out; Shakespeare was certainly smart enough to choose other words that would rhyme AND maintain the meaning AND fit into perfect iambic pentameter... or he could have invented ones that he wanted. He chose not to.
Third, it breaks up the rhythm and gets our attention. If the verse stays too perfect for too long, it can get boring, and we stop listening. This little hiccup at the end of the line helps keep our attention!
Let's check out a few more lines of verse to find other examples of this particular variation:
This speech from Henry V:
When we have matched our rackets to these balls,
We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set
Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.
Might scan* like this:
when WE have MATCHED our RACK-ets TO these BALLS,
we WILL, in FRANCE, by GOD'S grace, PLAY a SET
shall STRIKE his FA-ther's CROWN in-TO the HA-zard.
This speech from Love's Labour's Lost:
Now, madam, summon up your dearest spirits,
Consider who the King your father sends,
To whom he sends, and what's his embassy.
Might scan* like this:
now MAD-am, SUM-mon UP your DEAR-est SPIR-its,
con-SID-er WHO the KING your FA-ther SENDS,
to WHOM he SENDS, and WHAT'S his EM-bas-SY.
And this speech from Macbeth:
And yet the eight appears, who bears a glass
Which shows me many more; and some I see
That twofold balls and treble sceptres carry.
Might scan* like this:
and YET the EIGHT ap-PEARS, who BEARS a GLASS
which SHOWS me MAN-y MORE; and SOME i SEE
that TWO-fold BALLS and TREB-le SCEP-tres CAR-ry.
*I say that it MIGHT SCAN like this because there is often more than one way to scan a line of verse. I have chosen to maintain the structure of perfect iambic pentameter when scanning these lines, in order to illustrate the feminine endings effectively.
TO SUM UP:
A feminine ending is when there is an unstressed syllable at the end of a line of poetry, especially one that is an extra syllable added to the pre-established meter. This "hiccup" in the rhythm helps keep the audience's attention, sometimes emphasizes a rhyme, and is 100% intentional!
Wanna step up your Shakespeare game?
Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first lesson!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!
Thursday
Breaking Down the Bard - Iambic Pentameter
Alright, it's time to deal with the elephant in the room. We're gonna talk about that big scary phrase you hear thrown around all the time, but never quite understood: IAMBIC PENTAMETER.
Let's set the record straight: not all verse is iambic pentameter, but it just so happens that Shakespeare used it a lot. (If you don't know what verse is, that's okay! I cover that here.) We're going to learn what iambic pentameter IS, so that we can have a jumping off point into other kinds of verse. Don't freak out or feel overwhelmed. In just a few minutes, you are TOTALLY going to understand iambic pentameter.
Say the following sentence out loud:
I parked my car in Harvard Yard, alright?
That was iambic pentameter. So is this one:
If music be the food of love, play on...
One of these is Shakespeare, and one isn't. No big deal. English speakers fall into the pattern of iambic pentameter ALL THE TIME without even realizing it!
So, what IS this fancy-schmancy iambic pentameter thing anyway? Let's break it down:
An "iamb" is when a pair of syllables (also called a "foot" in poetry) are spoken with the first syllable unstressed, and the second syllable stressed. Words like "because", "today", "provide", "between", and "tonight" are all iambic; they have two syllables, and the second syllable gets the stress.
"Pentameter" means there are five ("penta" means five) of those poetic feet to make up each line in the verse ("meter").
Therefore, perfect* iambic pentameter is simply a type of writing where each line has ten syllables, with five unstressed syllables and five stressed syllables that alternate throughout the line, beginning with an unstressed syllable. It sounds like:
da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM
*Of course, rules are made to be broken, and we'll talk about that later on.
Check out these Shakespeare lines that are perfect iambic pentameter:
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
(but SOFT, what LIGHT through YON-der WIN-dow BREAKS?)
And though she be but little, she is fierce.
(and THOUGH she BE but LIT-tle, SHE is FIERCE.)
The matter's in my head and in my heart.
(the MAT-ter's IN my HEAD and IN my HEART.)
A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!
(a HORSE! a HORSE! my KING-dom FOR a HORSE!)
So, to review:
An iamb:two syllables, first unstressed, second stressed
Penta- : five. Think "pentagon", which has five sides, or Pentatonix, that awesome a capella group with five members
meter: a line of poetry
There you go! Now you know what iambic pentameter is!
Next week on Breaking Down the Bard... Scansion!
Wanna up your Shakespeare game?
Email me at shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first session!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!
Email me at shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first session!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!
Monday
Easy Inspiration
When was the last time you went to see a show? I'm not talking about the latest Bond movie (although I'm sure it's great), but an honest-to-goodness live piece of theatre? Where you're in the same room as the performer(s) - you can see them, they can see you, and it will only happen exactly that way with exactly those people ONCE?
I see several shows a month. My minimum is two shows per month, but I often exceed that. I absolutely love live theatre, not just because I'm an actor, but because of the stakes involved in each performance. There is no "take two". It's all about NOW, what's happening in the moment. All of us are in the same room, part of the same shared experience, but I might walk out loving the show and the guy next to me might leave at intermission because he hates it so much. There's subjectivity. It's personal, even though there may be hundreds of people in the audience.
I'll see just about anything. I tend to lean toward Shakespeare or other classical plays because it's so useful to me to see what choices are being made in performance. I'll see the same play by different companies over and over and over, because no two productions are ever the same. It's great to see different interpretations of these stories. Last night, I went to see something more experimental: a rap/hip-hop version of a Shakespeare play, and it was a lot of fun!
Let's be real, the hundreds of plays I've seen over the years haven't all been successful (though most of them were). I've seen some shows that really fell flat on their faces, but these shows taught me just as much if not more than the shows I enjoyed. In seeing shows that I didn't ultimately enjoy, I also got to consider what about it wasn't working for me, and why, which can inform my future work as an actor.
A few years ago, I was preparing for my first production of Much Ado About Nothing, And while I knew the show inside out, I hunted down videos on YouTube, re-watched the Branagh film, saw the Joss Whedon film the day it came out, as well as the BBC TV version and every live production I could catch in NYC, all before rehearsals started! Knowing what others had tried helped inform my choices, so that I could have even more tools in my toolbox as I went on to find how I would put my stamp on the character. For example, I learned that I didn't like Beatrice if she didn't smile in the first scene. The lines are a sharp and witty, but I found that if Beatrice smiles, I like her, and if she doesn't, I just think she's a jerk, which is tricky when you have to root for her character. It's a seemingly simple thing that I might never have discovered if I had not had so many productions to compare.
Lately, I've been going to the opera. The Met is pretty much the ultimate theatrical experience - it is bigger than Broadway in every way I could think of, without microphones!
I initially thought that a night at the opera would be more about being seen by others than about what's happening onstage, but the acting, musicianship, and storytelling of these masterpieces is stunning. When Tosca jumped from the tower, I gasped aloud. I was very worried for Gilda's safety during intermission of Rigoletto. Opera has very little to do with my career, but I have found myself wrapped up in the storytelling every time, and learning just as much from these performances as from any other.
I think everyone, especially actors, but EVERYONE, should see as much live theatre as possible. Even if you hate it, it will teach you something. It will inspire you. It will give you motivation. It will make you feel alive.
I see several shows a month. My minimum is two shows per month, but I often exceed that. I absolutely love live theatre, not just because I'm an actor, but because of the stakes involved in each performance. There is no "take two". It's all about NOW, what's happening in the moment. All of us are in the same room, part of the same shared experience, but I might walk out loving the show and the guy next to me might leave at intermission because he hates it so much. There's subjectivity. It's personal, even though there may be hundreds of people in the audience.
I'll see just about anything. I tend to lean toward Shakespeare or other classical plays because it's so useful to me to see what choices are being made in performance. I'll see the same play by different companies over and over and over, because no two productions are ever the same. It's great to see different interpretations of these stories. Last night, I went to see something more experimental: a rap/hip-hop version of a Shakespeare play, and it was a lot of fun!
Let's be real, the hundreds of plays I've seen over the years haven't all been successful (though most of them were). I've seen some shows that really fell flat on their faces, but these shows taught me just as much if not more than the shows I enjoyed. In seeing shows that I didn't ultimately enjoy, I also got to consider what about it wasn't working for me, and why, which can inform my future work as an actor.
A few years ago, I was preparing for my first production of Much Ado About Nothing, And while I knew the show inside out, I hunted down videos on YouTube, re-watched the Branagh film, saw the Joss Whedon film the day it came out, as well as the BBC TV version and every live production I could catch in NYC, all before rehearsals started! Knowing what others had tried helped inform my choices, so that I could have even more tools in my toolbox as I went on to find how I would put my stamp on the character. For example, I learned that I didn't like Beatrice if she didn't smile in the first scene. The lines are a sharp and witty, but I found that if Beatrice smiles, I like her, and if she doesn't, I just think she's a jerk, which is tricky when you have to root for her character. It's a seemingly simple thing that I might never have discovered if I had not had so many productions to compare.
Lately, I've been going to the opera. The Met is pretty much the ultimate theatrical experience - it is bigger than Broadway in every way I could think of, without microphones!
At The Met on Friday, November 6th, to see Tosca
I initially thought that a night at the opera would be more about being seen by others than about what's happening onstage, but the acting, musicianship, and storytelling of these masterpieces is stunning. When Tosca jumped from the tower, I gasped aloud. I was very worried for Gilda's safety during intermission of Rigoletto. Opera has very little to do with my career, but I have found myself wrapped up in the storytelling every time, and learning just as much from these performances as from any other.
I think everyone, especially actors, but EVERYONE, should see as much live theatre as possible. Even if you hate it, it will teach you something. It will inspire you. It will give you motivation. It will make you feel alive.
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