Clues to Acting Shakespeare (3rd ed) Read online

  Hamlet: To be, or not to be—that is the question. (III, i)

  In this blank verse line, there are eleven syllables. The final syllable, the feminine ending, is a soft and unstressed syllable. The line scans like this:*

  To recognize the feminine ending, you must count the syllables in the blank verse line. If you count eleven and notice that the final syllable would not be stressed—like “tion,” “ing,” or “en,”—you have a feminine ending. If you count eleven (or perhaps more) syllables but note that the final syllable must be stressed, you cannot use the feminine ending. In this case, use elision—contracting two words or syllables into one, like “I’ll” from “I will”—to establish ten syllables.

  In the following example, in which Hamlet speaks to Horatio with an eleven-syllable line, Shakespeare has already elided a two-syllable word into one, but the reader must elide another word, as “man” is stressed and would not make a feminine ending.

  Hamlet: Horatio, thou art e’en as just a man (III, ii)

  Note “even” is already elided to “e’en” and pronounced as one syllable. The actor must elide “Horatio” to “Horat’o,” pronounced as three syllables. Now the line can be spoken in ten syllables with correct rhythm.

  Elision is used frequently in Shakespeare. Here are more examples. In the first, Shakespeare provides the elision:

  Gloucester: As flies to wanton boys are we to th’ gods; (IV, i)

  Note that the fifth foot has three syllables, even with “th’gods” elided. This is acceptable and does not harm the meter.

  In the following examples, the actor must determine the elision:

  Lady Macbeth: He brings great news. The raven himself is hoarse (I, v)

  Elide “raven” to “rav’n,” spoken as one syllable; however three sounds in the third foot also works.

  Caesar: Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace to-night. (II, ii)

  Elide “heaven” to “heav’n” spoken as one syllable.

  Ghost: Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin. (I, v)

  Elide “even” to “e’en,” spoken as one syllable.

  To elide or not to elide can be a confusing choice. If no help is available, choose the way that sounds best to your ear, while keeping the rhythm.

  As clear

  As morning roses newly washed with dew.

  THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, II, i

  WHAT IS A SHORT OR SHARED LINE?

  A short line consists of fewer than ten syllables. If the line is finished by the following line, usually spoken by the next speaker, it is a shared line. If not finished by the next line, the missing syllables are probably a direction from the author instructing the actors to take a pause before continuing.

  For example, here’s Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice begging Portia’s forgiveness for the “lost” ring. His speech ends with a short line which she finishes with her first line. Then she ends her speech with a short line which he finishes. Generally the actor who finishes a short verse line has a quick cue to keep the rhythm.

  Bassanio: Portia, forgive me this enforced wrong;

  And in the hearing of these many friends

  I swear to thee, even by thine own fair eyes,

  Wherein I see myself,—

  Portia:Mark you but that!

  In both my eyes he doubly sees himself,

  In each eye, one. Swear by your double self,

  And there’s an oath of credit.

  Bassanio:Nay, but hear me (V, i)

  Here is another example. In Juliet’s second of three exits in the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, she first speaks a short line which he finishes, then a short line which is unfinished and certainly calls for a pause as he watches her leave. Does the pause call for a kiss?

  Juliet: Tomorrow will I send.

  Romeo:So thrive my soul,—

  Juliet: A thousand times good night! (exits)

  Romeo: A thousand times the worse, to want thy light! (II, ii)

  In the first two lines, his “So thrive my soul” finishes her “Tomorrow will I send.” His second line, “A thousand times the worse, to want thy light!” is a regular verse line, and therefore it is not intended to complete her unfinished second line.

  So there is an unfinished two feet after “A thousand times good night!” A four-syllable pause to be filled—a “dee dum dee dum.” How? A kiss? A cross to the door and turn back? A cross and run back? A cross and thrown kiss? A hand clasp? A hand kiss? Just an exit? Your choice.

  Farewell, farewell! One kiss and I’ll descend.

  ROMEO AND JULIET, III, v

  WHAT IS A RHYMED COUPLET?

  Just what it sounds like. Here are examples from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which all of the verse rhymes and dozens of rhyming couplets can be found.

  Helena: O, that a lady, of one man refused,

  Should of another therefore be abused! (II, ii)

  Another:

  Hermia: So far be distant; and, good night, sweet friend.

  Thy love ne’er alter till thy sweet life end. (II, ii)

  Play the rhyme, don’t try to cover it up. There is great pleasure in speaking and hearing it.

  You will notice that your sonnet, and all of the other sonnets, ends with a rhyming couplet.

  I have spoke the truth.

  ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, V, iii

  WHAT ARE SCANSION AND STRESSES?

  Marking the soft and stressed syllables in a blank verse line is called scanning the line, or scansion. In a regular blank verse line, the second syllable of each foot is stressed, as shown on page 15. Shakespeare, however, achieves effects by creating irregular lines. In the following example, lines 1, 2, and 4 are usually considered regular, while line 3 is irregular. These are the opening four lines in Romeo and Juliet.

  Chorus: Two households, both alike in dignity,

  In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

  From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny,

  Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. (Pro)

  Using regular scansion, in the third foot of line 3, the word “break” would not be stressed. For the sense of the line, however, your common sense tells you that the verb “break” is more important than the preposition “to,” so the stresses are inverted and the line scans like this:

  The third foot is called a trochaic foot, or trochee, as opposed to an iambic foot. The first syllable is stressed and the second unstressed, and the rhythm is broken. With just a little practice, you will learn to recognize irregular stresses and words that break the rhythm.

  HOW DO I SELECT THE BREATHING POINTS?

  It’s easy to know when to breathe in Shakespeare; it’s hard to make yourself do it. Breathe at the natural stops—the punctuation points—and not at the end of a verse line simply because, on paper, it looks like the end of a line. In verse, many lines are enjambed, which means the “thought” implicit in the line runs on from one line to the next without a break (or punctuation). In the above four lines from the Romeo and Juliet prologue, each line ends with punctuation, and you can breathe comfortably. But end-of-line breathing is usually not the case. In the following example, select the breathing points.

  Mercutio: O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you.

  She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes

  In shape no bigger than an agate stone

  On the forefinger of an alderman,

  Drawn with a team of little atomies

  Over men’s noses as they lie asleep. (I, iv)

  Notice the enjambed lines. You would not take a breath after lines 2, 3, or 5. Circle the correct breathing points—after “O,” “you,” “midwife,” “alderman,” “asleep”—and memorize them at the same time you work on and memorize text. You will discover that breathing correctly actually helps you memorize. While inhaling physically, you mentally “inhale” your next line. While exhaling physically, you “exhale” the line. This technique is studied in more detail in chapter 5.

  WHAT I
S A CAESURA?

  Pronounced si-zhoor´-ə, it is a “sense” pause, usually in the middle of a blank verse line. Some verse lines contain punctuation, others do not. On the ones that do not, a sense pause is almost always present. Mark it like this: //.

  A sense pause does not mean a breath pause. Don’t breathe at the caesura unless the breath is planned and necessary.

  Look again at the lines of Hermia and Helena in the rhyming couplet section on p.17. In each case, their first line contains punctuation and their second line does not. In each second line, we can insert a caesura.

  Helena: Should of another // therefore be abused!

  Hermia: Thy love ne’er alter // till thy sweet life end.

  Note the elision by the author of “ne’er” from “never,” creating a one-syllable word. Shakespeare sometimes elides consonants, although elision of vowels is more common.

  By using the caesura, the lines are broken into separate phrases. Separate phrases identify separate thoughts. Identifying thoughts clarifies the lines. We’ll work more on phrasing and caesura in chapter 3.

  TEXT STUDY SEEMS ACADEMIC: DOES IT MATTER?

  The red plague rid you

  For learning me your language!

  THE TEMPEST, I, ii

  Text study matters, because the structure matters. Compared to music, the structure is the notation. Compared to baseball, the structure is the hand-eye coordination. You’ve got to put it together if you’re going to hit the ball.

  *All line quotes are taken from The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, Alfred Harbage, General Editor. New York: Viking Penguin, 1977.

  *Some actors prefer:

  CHAPTER 3

  Scansion, Phrasing, and Caesura

  IN THE PREVIOUS chapter, we defined each of these terms. Now we’ll look at them in greater detail.

  SCANSION

  Here is our simple modern-day blank verse line scanned. Each two syllables comprise one foot, and the soft and stressed syllables are marked.

  Here’s a better line from Romeo and Juliet.

  Romeo: But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? (II, ii)

  Break the line into feet:

  But soft! / What light / through yon / der win / dow breaks?

  Mark the stresses:

  When you read the line, place emphasis on the stressed syllables: “soft,” “light,” “yon,” “win,” “breaks.” With your hand, beat out these stressed words or syllables on the table or chair. Read the line a few times by beating out and over-stressing the five stressed words or syllables, then forget the scansion and read the line naturally.

  If you’ve beat out the rhythm with your hand and emphasized the stressed syllables, you will discover that when you “forget” scansion and read the line more naturally, you automatically give a slight emphasis to the stressed words. Your goal is to achieve naturalness and honesty, but to do so by stressing the correct words.

  For the Shakespearean line to be truthful, it is necessary to play the correct stresses. Let’s test this idea by reading a line incorrectly. Here’s the opening line from The Merchant of Venice.

  Antonio: In sooth I know not why I am so sad. (I, i)

  If we follow the scansion, the stresses are “sooth,” “know,” “why,” “am,” and “sad.” Read the line instead by stressing “In,” “I,” “not,” “I,” “so” and see what you get. That’s probably not what you want!

  For anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing.

  HAMLET, III, ii

  Now you need a pencil, not a pen. Put this book down and mark the scansion in your monologue and sonnet. Then read them aloud a few times, hitting the stressed syllables. Overdo it. Pound it out. You can pull back to realism later.

  By overdoing, you discover meaning and “problems.” Are there problems? Likely there are, so let’s find them. For example, is there a stress that seems wrong? Or is there a line that won’t scan to ten syllables? Trust your common sense, and remember that Shakespeare obtains much of his effect by inverting stresses, which changes the rhythm of the line. He will also write eleven syllable lines, sometimes with feminine endings, and, on occasion, lines of twelve to fourteen syllables. Here are examples that may be similar to your material.

  Remember the Romeo and Juliet line from chapter 3?

  Chorus: From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny,

  The line scans like this:

  An action verb like “break” actually breaks the rhythm and creates a trochaic foot. Here’s another example, as Juliet speaks to the Friar:

  Juliet: Conceit, more rich in matter than in words,

  Brags of his substance, not of ornament. (II, iv)

  The line scans like this:

  “Brags” breaks the rhythm. Often trochaic feet are found in the first foot of a line. The third foot is also popular, as in “break” above.

  Here are regular lines and then a twelve-syllable line. Puck speaks to the Fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

  Puck: The King doth keep his revels here tonight.

  Take heed the Queen come not within his sight.

  For Oberon is passing fell and wrath,

  Because that she, as her attendant, hath

  A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian King. (II, i)

  Four lines scan as regular, but in line 5, which has twelve syllables, we must elide twice—because “king” is not a feminine ending—and also discover a trochaic foot.

  We have elided “stolen” to one syllable (“stol’n) and “Indian” to two syllables (“In-d’an”). “Stol’n” also breaks the rhythm. Now the line works.

  Here are a few examples of feminine endings. In the first four lines of Sonnet 58, note that lines 2 and 4 have feminine endings:

  That god forbid that made me first your slave,

  I should in thought control your times of pleasure,

  Or at your hand th’ account of hours to crave,

  Being your vassal bound to stay your leisure.

  The lines scan like this:

  Note the elision in line 3.

  Here’s Iago in Othello:

  Iago: And what’s he then that says I play the villain, (II, iii)

  The eleven-syllable line scans like this:

  The “lain” of “villain” would not be stressed, so we know it’s a feminine-ending line.

  In your monologue and sonnet, mark all words that break the rhythm, circle all feminine endings, elide as necessary, and check your initial scansion.

  You discover changes in the rhythm by applying scansion and trusting your common sense. When the rhythm changes, play it. Once you are comfortable that your monologue and sonnet are correctly scanned, move on to “phrasing.”

  PHRASING

  Phrasing means to break the verse line into individual thoughts. If you take any Shakespearean speech or sonnet, the obvious phrases are separated by punctuation. Paraphrasing Webster, for our purpose, a “phrase” is a group of words that create a thought on which the mind can focus momentarily, and which can be preceded or followed by a pause. As most actors know, it is easier to mark the phrases than it is to handle them vocally.

  Here’s an example in which most of the phrases are clearly marked by punctuation. In Julius Caesar, Brutus responds to Cassius’s hint that Caesar has become too powerful.

  Brutus: That you do love me I am nothing jealous. (1)

  What you would work me to, I have some aim. (2)

  How I have thought of this, and of these times, (3)

  I shall recount hereafter. For this present, (4)

  I would not so (with love I might entreat you) (5)

  Be any further moved. What you have said (6)

  I will consider; what you have to say (7)

  I will with patience hear, and find a time (8)

  Both meet to hear and answer such high things. (I, ii) (9)

  In lines 6‒9, notice the phrases not separated by punctuation.

  Here are those lines plus the next five. Caesuras (//) ha
ve been inserted to mark those phrases not already separated by punctuation. Some actors prefer to circle the phrases. Notice that the final four lines have no punctuation at all.

  Brutus:What you have said // (6)

  I will consider; what you have to say // (7)

  I will with patience hear, and find a time // (8)

  Both meet to hear and answer // such high things. (9)

  Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this: (10)

  Brutus had rather be a villager // (11)

  Than to repute himself a son of Rome // (12)

  Under these hard conditions // as this time (13)

  Is like to lay upon us. (14)

  The last is a “short line,” calling for a pause or completion by the next speaker. In this case, Cassius finishes the line with “I am glad . . .”

  Why bother to mark the phrases? Your goal is to know the phrasing of the line so that you can (1) separate the thoughts, (2) play one phrase against another, which is called antithesis, (3) allow a thought to continue to the next line, as needed, and (4) identify your breathing spots, just like singing.

  Shakespeare uses antithetical words, phrases, or thoughts in nearly every speech. To handle this language, you must master playing antithesis, and this mastery begins with phrasing. For the actor, antithetical words, phrases, or thoughts provide clear insight into the meaning of the text. Antithesis is the subject of chapter 8.