Transcript The original speech

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 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.
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 PENTAMETER
Shall 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
HAMLET
To be, or not to be – that is the question;
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them
PROSE
BENEDICK
This 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 VERSE
BENEDICK
This 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 hath
A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king.
She never had so sweet a changeling;
And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight 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?
MACBETH
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly. If the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success - that but this blow
Might 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 cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor. This even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To 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 hath
A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king.
She never had so sweet a changeling;
And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight 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.
MACBETH
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly. If the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success - that but this blow
Might 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 cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor. This even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To our own lips. He's here in double trust...
MACBETH
1. If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
2. It were done quickly. If the assassination
3. Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
4. With his surcease success - that but this blow
5. 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 cases
8. We still have judgment here; that we but teach
9. Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
10. To plague the inventor. This even-handed justice
11. Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
12. To our own lips. He's here in double trust...
Line
Syllable
12
11
10
9
8
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Line
Syllable
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
SHARED LINES AND PAUSES
MACBETH
Hath he asked for me?
LADY
Know you not he has?
SHARED LINES AND PAUSES
MACBETH
Thou canst not say I did it; never shake
Thy gory locks at me.
ROSS
Gentlemen, rise. His highness is not well
SHAKESPEARE DETECTIVES, WHAT TO
LOOK FOR:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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)
Does the extract change between any of the above? If so, what could that mean
is happening to the characters?
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?
Do the syllables add up to 10 between shared lines or should they be left as
pauses?
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?
Is the speech complicated or simple? Are there midline endings, shared or
short lines of meter?
If there are mid-line endings, what kind of emotions might be making the
characters interrupt themselves?
If there are shared lines of metre, what does that say about the characters’
relationships?
If there are short lines of metre, what might the character be doing or saying
in the gap?
Do the characters use thou/you to each other? Do they switch? If so, why?