Breaking Down the Bard - Dactyls

A dactyl is not a dinosaur - but "dinosaur" is a dactyl!

A dactyl is a metric foot in poetry that is one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. You could also think of this like a musical triplet. 

 

 

 

Some words that are dactylic all by themselves are:

Endlessly

Cabbages

Murmuring

President

Mockingbird

Hamilton

... and...

You guessed it: Dinosaur.

Take a look at these dactylic lines of verse, where I've shown the line first as it would appear in a script, followed by how I would scan it:

Julia (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)

Trampling contemptuously on thy disdain

TRAMP-ling con-TEMP-tous-ly ON thy dis DAIN

 

*Pronounce "contemptuously" con - TEMP - chuss - lee to keep it four syllables.

Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

I am a spirit of no common rate

I am a SPI-rit of NO com-mon RATE

Claudius (Hamlet)

Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go.

 

MAD-ness in GREAT ones must NOT un-watch'd GO.

There is usually more than one way to scan a line of verse. A lot of people would make Titania's line perfect iambic pentameter:

i AM a SPI-rit OF no COM-mon RATE

And while that is completely acceptable, I really like the choice of dactyls for this line. Midsummer is a play that is largely in perfect iambic pentameter, so looking for opportunities to utilize other rhythms and shake it up is a good idea. This is especially powerful here, where Titania might be showing her magical abilities to impress Bottom, who is trying to escape the woods while she is willing him to stay.

Making Julia's line dactylic can help to emphasize the physical action of her stomping all over the torn pieces of the letter she has received. Also, attempting to make this line perfect iambic pentameter sounds really strange:

tramp-LING con-TEMP-tous-LY on THY dis-DAIN

Nope. It's weird. So is Claudius' line:

mad-NESS in GREAT ones MUST not UN-watch'd GO.

Dactyls are pretty frequent in Shakespeare's verse, so when you see a line that can't be perfect iambic pentameter, check to see if it could be dactylic instead!

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Breaking Down the Bard - Trochees

Now that you know what verse is, and what perfect iambic pentameter is (and if you don't, feel free to read my previous Breaking Down the Bard posts to catch up), we've been tackling what happens when the verse has variations that break the pattern of perfect iambic pentameter.

Say this line of verse, and try to make it perfectly iambic:

Beauty is bought with judgement of the eye

beau-TY is BOUGHT with JUDGE-meant OF the EYE

Sounds flippin' weird, right? It sounds strange because nobody says "beauty" like "beau-TY"... and if they did, you would probably laugh at them. 

The word "beauty" is spoken with the emphasis on the first syllable: "BEAU-ty". It breaks the mould of the style of verse that is prevalent in this play (Love's Labour's Lost), and grabs our attention; which is great for the actor playing the Princess, because she is sort of schooling Boyet with this line. It sounds better when it's spoken like this:

BEAU-ty is BOUGHT with JUDGE-ment OF the EYE

Wow. Like a normal human is talking.

As you probably guessed from the title of this post, this type of metric foot is called a trochee. A trochee is the opposite of an iamb; a trochee is a stressed syllable, followed by an unstressed syllable, and an iamb is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. 

Side note: it's pronounced "TROH-key". And yes, the word trochee IS A TROCHEE. Boom. But when you say "iamb", that's a trochee, too, so don't get too excited... you didn't just crack the verse code.

Just like iambs, trochees can be a word all on their own, or they can overlap two words, or be part of a larger word with more syllables. Some words that are trochaic all by themselves are: rainbow, bowling, baseball, country, delta, never, and zero.

Often, trochees will appear at the beginning of a line of Shakespeare's verse, where there has been primarily iambic pentameter. It gets the listener's attention:

Cousin, thou wast not wont to be so dull.

Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead,

And I would have it suddenly perform'd.

COU-sin, thou WAST not WONT to BE so DULL.

shall I be PLAIN? i WISH the BAS-tards DEAD,

and I would HAVE it SUD-den-LY per-FORM'D.

There might be a trochee on a line with a feminine ending, and/or at the beginning of a line after a feminine ending:

Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return. 

TWO of the FAIR-est STARS in ALL the HEAV-en*

HAV-ing some BUS-'ness, DO en-TREAT her EYES

to TWIN-kle IN their SPHERES till THEY re-TURN

*As per usual, I will remind you that there are many ways to scan a line of verse. For this particular example, I have chosen to trochee the first foot, and pronounce "heaven" with two syllables to demonstrate the feminine ending. You certainly could keep the line in perfect iambic pentameter (by eliding "heaven" to "heav'n"), or any number of other options!

It doesn't have to be at the beginning of a line of verse:

O, what authority and show of truth

Can cunning sin cover itself withal!

o, WHAT au-THOR-i-TY and SHOW of TRUTH

can CUN-ning SIN COV-er it-SELF with-AL!

And when something magical is happening, Shakespeare might decide to use a trochaic style of verse INSTEAD OF iambic pentameter:

Double, double, toil and trouble;

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

DOU-ble, DOU-ble, TOIL and TROU-ble;

FI-re BURN and CAUL-dron BUB-ble.

Or

Shall we their fond pageant see?

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

SHALL we THEIR fond PAG-eant SEE?

LORD, what FOOLS these MOR-tals BE!

Trochees are awesome, because they shake things up and keep the audience listening! It sends a new energy and says, "listen up!" at just the right moment, so be on the lookout for this exciting kind of verse!

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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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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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Breaking Down the Bard - Scansion

Our patterns of speech have various rhythms, made up of combinations of stressed or unstressed syllables or words. In reality, the amount of emphasis we place on words and syllables is a broad spectrum. Some people will delve into those different levels of emphasis when it comes to poetry, and that is totally cool. However, when we're looking at classical verse text, particularly Shakespeare, we generalize with either "unstressed" or "stressed" syllables.

If everything was emphasized to the same degree, odds are good you would sound like a robot... which IS a choice, if that's what you're looking for. But for the other 99.99% of the time, you're gonna need to pay attention to the patterns of speech.

Let's look at the following sentence:
I never said she stole my money.

The choice of which word to emphasize in this sentence changes the entire meaning.
I never SAID she stole my money. (But I wanted to.)
I never said SHE stole my money. (It was Ava, not Isabella!)
I never said she stole MY money. (She stole Jaxon's.)

How you choose to deliver your lines can also change how your character is perceived, and possibly even the plot of the play! Therefore, it's important to pay close attention to the weight you give your words.

"Scansion" is the name for the markings you'll make in your script to remind yourself where you'd like the stresses to fall in your lines of verse. (You "scan" a line of verse, the markings themselves are "scansion".)

SUPER IMPORTANT:
THERE IS USUALLY MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SCAN A LINE OF VERSE.
It's not about "right" and "wrong", it's about telling the story clearly and effectively. In a show, this is usually a collaborative effort.

There are many ways to mark your verse, but the most common in America (right now), is:

If you were taught something else, or prefer something else, that's okay! Formatting gets all kinds of cray on a computer, so if I can't handwrite something, you'll SEE me TYPE like THIS. it CER-tain-ly ISn't i-DEAL, BUT it GETS the POINT a-CROSS.

Let's look at some scanned perfect iambic pentameter:

See how the unstressed and stressed syllables are clearly denoted? It's super easy to follow, especially with that tricky word at the end of the second line, "deserts". It's not DESerts, like the Sahara, but it's pronounced like "desserts" (like cake), and it means merit, or claim to honor and reward.

If you're not dealing with iambic pentameter, it might look like this:

This poem by William Blake is a great example of a different kind of verse.

Additionally, some people find it helpful to mark where the end of each "foot" is. The foot is kind of like the measure, if you want to think of this as music. It's even marked just like a measure ending is in sheet music, with a vertical line:

There you have it! The easy intro to scansion - which will make you look like SUCH a pro when you walk into your next first day of rehearsal!

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