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THE ORIGINAL SPEECH Poetry versus Prose
THE ORIGINAL SPEECH Poetry versus Prose
Hedges: This was no man. Does a man have teeth the size of axe blades? Or ears like terrible tombstones? By tampering with nature, forcing vegetables to swell far beyond their natural size, we have brought a terrible judgement on ourselves.
To rewrite the speech in poetry it would look like this...
Hedges: This was no man. Does a man have teethThe size of axe blades? Or ears like terrible tombstones? By tampering with nature, forcing vegetables to swell Far beyond their natural size, we have brought A terrible judgement on ourselves.
People write in sentences and speak in thoughts:
If the speech was broken down into parcels of sense or thoughts, it would probably look more like this...
Hedges: This was no man. Does a man have teeth the size of axe blades? Or ears like terrible tombstones? By tampering with nature, forcing vegetables to swell far beyond their natural size, we have brought a terrible judgement on ourselves.
WHAT SHAKESPEARE MEANS TO US “To be, or not to be – that is the question...”
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players...”
“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse...”
WHY YOU CAN’T JUST TRANSLATE...“To be, or not to be?”
vs.
“Shall I live, or shall I kill myself?”
LOST IN TRANSLATION“The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”
Could translate as...
“The whiskey is great, but the steak is terrible”
PROSE VERSUS POETRY Prose – writing which reflects the rhythm of
everyday English speech. Doesn’t have rhythmical units and no structured number of syllables per line
Blank Verse – which has a metric structure but doesn’t rhyme (e.g. Iambic pentameter)
Rhyming Verse – as above, but which a rhyming scheme
Sonnet – a verse consisting of 14 lines of iambic pentameter. Rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.
Song
IAMBIC PENTAMETERShall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Shall I com-pare thee to a sum-mer’s day? x / x / x / x / x /
10 pairs of syllables, one weak, one stressed which creates a steady rhythm
De-DUM, De-DUM, De-DUM, De-DUM, De-DUM,
PROSE VERSUS POETRY HAMLETTo be, or not to be – that is the question; Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortuneOr to take arms against a sea of troublesAnd by opposing end them
PROSEBENEDICKThis can be no trick. The conference was sadly borne. They have the truth of it from Hero. They seem to pity the lady; it seems her affections have their full bent. Love me?
BENEDICK IN BLANK VERSEBENEDICKThis can be no trick. The conference was Sadly borne. They have the truth of it from Hero. They seem to pity the lady; It seems her affections have their full bent. Love me?
WHERE ARE THE FULL STOPS? PUCK The king doth keep his revels here to-night.Take heed the queen come not within his sight;For Oberon is passing fell and wrath,Because that she as her attendant hathA lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king.She never had so sweet a changeling;And jealous Oberon would have the childKnight of his train, to trace the forests wild.But she perforce withholds the loved boy,Crowns him with flowers and makes him all her joy.
WHERE ARE THE FULL STOPS? MACBETHIf it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere wellIt were done quickly. If the assassinationCould trammel up the consequence, and catchWith his surcease success - that but this blowMight be the be-all and the end-all! - here,But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,We'd jump the life to come. But in these casesWe still have judgment here; that we but teachBloody instructions, which, being taught, returnTo plague the inventor. This even-handed justiceCommends the ingredients of our poison'd chaliceTo our own lips. He's here in double trust...
MACBETHIf it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere wellIt were done quickly. If the assassinationCould trammel up the consequence, and catchWith his surcease success - that but this blowMight be the be-all and the end-all! - here,But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,We'd jump the life to come. But in these casesWe still have judgment here; that we but teachBloody instructions, which, being taught, returnTo plague the inventor. This even-handed justiceCommends the ingredients of our poison'd chaliceTo our own lips. He's here in double trust...
PUCK The king doth keep his revels here to-night.Take heed the queen come not within his sight;For Oberon is passing fell and wrath,Because that she as her attendant hathA lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king.She never had so sweet a changeling;And jealous Oberon would have the childKnight of his train, to trace the forests wild.But she perforce withholds the loved boy,Crowns him with flowers and makes him all her joy.
MACBETH1. If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well2. It were done quickly. If the assassination3. Could trammel up the consequence, and catch4. With his surcease success - that but this blow5. Might be the be-all and the end-all! - here, 6. But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, 7. We'd jump the life to come. But in these cases8. We still have judgment here; that we but teach9. Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return10.To plague the inventor. This even-handed justice11.Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice 12.To our own lips. He's here in double trust...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Line
Syllable
12
11
10
9
8
7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Line
Syllable13
12
11
10
9
8
7
SHARED LINES AND PAUSESMACBETHHath he asked for me?
LADYKnow you not he has?
SHARED LINES AND PAUSES MACBETHThou canst not say I did it; never shakeThy gory locks at me.
ROSSGentlemen, rise. His highness is not well
SHAKESPEARE DETECTIVES, WHAT TO LOOK FOR: 1. Look at the extract: does it have a rhyme scheme? Does each line begin with a
capital letter? Or are the words closer to natural speech? (Verse, Blank Verse or Prose)
2. Does the extract change between any of the above? If so, what could that mean is happening to the characters?
3. Is there a regular, structured rhythm like iambic pentameter or does it jump all over the place? If it does, what does this say about the characters’ state of mind?
4. Do the syllables add up to 10 between shared lines or should they be left as pauses?
5. Are there any words you don’t recognise? Can you work out the meaning from the rest of the line or do you have to look it up?
6. Is the speech complicated or simple? Are there midline endings, shared or short lines of meter?
7. If there are mid-line endings, what kind of emotions might be making the characters interrupt themselves?
8. If there are shared lines of metre, what does that say about the characters’ relationships?
9. If there are short lines of metre, what might the character be doing or saying in the gap?
10. Do the characters use thou/you to each other? Do they switch? If so, why?
