Poetry vs. Storytelling

I have a theory: we enjoy a Shakespeare production more when there is a balance between poetry and storytelling. I feel that Shakespeare's poetry should support the story, and that Shakespeare isn't really Shakespeare without the poetry. It's becoming very popular to rid Shakespeare's plays of poetry (or to "translate" them to contemporary English altogether), in an attempt to make them more accessible. While accessibility is certainly important, I feel that by utilizing the poetry in Shakespeare's text effectively, we can provide the audience with a more rich experience, while still telling the story. It's all about balance.

Too much emphasis on the poetry makes for more of a recitation than a play. 'cause WHEN you SEE a PLAY where ALL the AC-tors SPEAK like THIS, it ALL gets VE-ry TIRE-some AF-ter ON-ly SEC-onds, SEE? These tools should be to assist in telling the story, not distracting from it. In Much Ado About Nothing, the play is very much in prose until Claudio and Don Pedro begin to speak of love. The shift to verse when matters of the heart are being discussed doesn't need to be overwrought for the audience to feel the new groove. The rhythms support the text; characters in love often speak in verse because these feelings are too big for the everyday prose they may otherwise use. Likewise, if a character starts rhyming, they may be doing so to impress another character or the audience with their wit, or even to annoy another character. 

Image: Tee Public

Neglecting poetry in favor of the plot negates the whole reason the play was written in this beautiful language and rhythms and rhymes in the first place. There are countless ways to make a love-sick teen named Romeo fall for a headstrong girl named Juliet. The fact that their first lines to each other form a sonnet is simply divine! Why? Because NO ONE SPEAKS IN SONNETS SPONTANEOUSLY IN REAL LIFE. That's a big part of what makes it magical. If you take the poetry out of the equation, then what is truly special to show the audience that these two are meant to be? "Hey, girl" doesn't cut it.

The goal is to give the story the spotlight and to use the poetry as the structure to tell this tale. Here are some questions to help you determine your path through the poetry:

Do the characters know they are speaking in verse?

If they are rhyming?

If they are using a lot of metaphors?

Are the words they're speaking spontaneous, or have they been well-rehearsed for this much-anticipated moment?

Is their alliteration proving their intellect, or is it a fun coincidence that they realize after the fact, or are they oblivious? 

These are just some of the ways we can use the poetry of Shakespeare to help support the story. What ways do you use Shakespeare's poetry to help tell the story? Let me know in the comments!

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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!

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Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!

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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What's Up with the Lexicon?

One of the most-used tools for understanding Shakespeare is Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary, commonly referred to as "the lexicon". For the uninitiated, this book will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. It is a phenomenal tool in finding the exact meaning of most words as they are used in Shakespeare's works.

WHY YOU NEED IT

If you don't know what you're saying, the audience won't know what you're saying! If you are just kinda sure about the meaning of these 400-year-old lines, you won't be telling the story in a specific and clear way, and your audience's experience will suffer. Some of the words in Shakespeare's plays are antiquated, and have fallen out of use, others have changed in meaning over time, and still others were invented by the Bard himself. Nobody just knows this stuff inherently; all classical actors are expected to do a substantial amount of research outside of rehearsal.

WHERE TO FIND THE LEXICON

The Lexicon is available online here, or in two printed volumes if you prefer a hard copy. 

HOW TO USE IT:

1. Pick the word you want to look up... duh.

2. Hardcopy: Use the appropriate volume (A-M or N-Z) just like a dictionary to find the word you're searching for.

Online: Use the toolbar on the left to find your word (listed alphabetically; this may take a few clicks - see the image below).

Note: if you choose to use the "search" tool in the upper right, be aware that your search will be across many other reference materials, not just the Lexicon, and it may include works by other authors, as the search includes the entire reference database established by Tufts.

Choose the first letter, then the alphabetical group, then the word you're searching for.

...And that's how we get to caddis.

(We still might have to figure out what a riband is, though.)

In both the online and hardcopy versions of the Lexicon, words that can be different parts of speech will be listed separately for each use; you may need to determine whether this is a verb, noun, adjective, etc. 
"Female", for example, is shown in two separate entries:

3. Look through the definitions available to find the reference to the play, act, scene, and line for the word you want to define. These are abbreviated, and can take some getting used to. For example, Romeo & Juliet is Rom., Comedy of Errors is Err., Henry VI Part 2 is H6B, and so on. The act number is in Roman Numerals: I, II, III, IV, or V. The scene number will be listed as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., followed by the line number. Most of the time, the reference material for the line of the play containing the word you are researching will be listed after the definition for that word, as well as most or all of the other instances that word used with the same intended meaning is found throughout the canon.

Notice that "mischief" has two distinct definitions, both of which are listed here. If we were looking up Don John's line "Will it serve for any model to build mischief on?" - from Much Ado About Nothing, Act I, Scene 3, we can see that it is listed with the second definition: "evil done on purpose, harm, injury." Much Ado About Nothing is abbreviated "Ado", along with the act, scene, and line number, which reads "Ado, I, 3, 49". We even get a portion of the line typed out for us in this instance.

Of course, there are many other references you can use in order to get a better grasp on what you're saying, but the Lexicon is a very popular tool that many regard as an industry standard - and now you know how to use it!

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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!

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How Your Musical Theatre Skills Will Make You A Kick-@$$ Shakespearean Actor

If you can "kick your face" and "belt for Jesus", I'll bet you already have a lot of skills that you could use as a Shakespearean actor! Did you know that musical theatre has a lot in common with Shakespeare? I'm not just talking about the adaptations of Romeo & Juliet into West Side Story or The Taming of the Shrew into Kiss Me, Kate. There are skills that cross over between the two art forms that you might not have realized!

Christian Borle as Shakespeare in Something Rotten!

Photo: Joan Marcus

Both Shakespeare and musical theatre contain scenes that have performance elements that elevate the production beyond what the audience experiences in daily life. If someone is singing at you in real life, you'd probably think they were crazy, and that guy spitting rhymes on the subway is probably not the next Kanye, BUT when an audience sees a show, they buy into the world of the play where these situations are normal! These activities would seem ridiculous if they weren't being done onstage, but skilled actors can pull it off. These actors can jump back and forth between normal, everyday speech (aka prose) and singing or speaking in verse at the drop of a hat, and when it's good, it is so good, amiright?

Another skill that artists in both types of theatre need is a facility with rhythm and meter. An actor who can tell a story through a song, where the speed and rhythm of the lyrics are predetermined, while still making it seem as though they are uttering these words aloud spontaneously is probably giving a memorable performance! This isn't much different from Shakespeare's verse, where the structure of the rhythm is given to a performer and it is their job to bring the words to life while maintaining the poetry in the text - it might actually be easier, since the actor may not have to belt a G simultaneously!

Not to be overlooked is the fact that there is often music and dancing in Shakespeare's plays. Performers with a background in musical theatre are at a distinct advantage here, as they are accustomed to telling stories through dance and song! There have been countless productions of The Tempest with Ariel played by a dancer, and although no one says that Ophelia is the best singer in Denmark, it certainly doesn't hurt to have a trained singer playing her when she goes mad!

So whether it's Othello or Oklahoma!, Hamlet or Hamilton, actors with these skills are some of the most versatile (and kick-@$$) around!

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Breaking Down the Bard - Verse vs Prose

One of the very first things you need to learn as a classical or Shakespearean actor is how to identify when you are speaking in Verse or Prose. Knowledge of this super simple thing can be the difference between looking like you know your stuff or looking like a total noob.

WHAT IS VERSE?

Simply put, verse is poetry. If a character is speaking in poetry, there is very often a reason behind it; whether it is because they are addressing the King, are royalty themselves, or they are in love. It doesn't have to rhyme, and it isn't necessarily "iambic pentameter" (though it often is, and we can get into that later).

WHAT IS PROSE?

Prose is everyday, non-poetic speech. This paragraph, for example, is entirely in prose. Prose is often used for plain-speaking characters, and usually - but not always - used to denote characters of lower social classes. Kings may speak in prose, but when they do, it is generally in informal situations (like confiding in a close friend).

HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE:

Most editors make telling the difference between verse and prose as easy as possible when they are printing a new edition of the play. Here's an example of what the current industry standard for verse looks like:

Why should you think that I should woo in scorn?

Scorn and derision never come in tears.

Look when I vow, I weep; and vows so born,

In their nativity all truth appears.

How can these things in me seem scorn to you,

Bearing the badge of faith to prove them true?

While prose looks more like this:

I have of late - but wherefore I know not - lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition, that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament; this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appeareth nothing to me but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors. What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a god! The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals, and yet to me what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me - nor woman neither, though by your smiling, you seem to say so.

One of the easiest ways to tell if you are working with verse or prose is to see if the first letter of each line is capitalized. If so, it's probably verse! If not, and the lines of text fill the entire column in a block instead of being left justified, then it is probably prose!

There you have it; the first steps to identifying whether you are speaking in verse or prose!

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