🎈Shakespeare Unit 2 – Shakespeare's Language: Poetic Techniques

Key Poetic Devices in Shakespeare's Works

• Shakespeare employs a wide array of poetic devices to create vivid imagery, convey complex emotions, and engage his audience
• Alliteration involves the repetition of initial consonant sounds in a series of words ("When to the sessions of sweet silent thought")
• Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within words to create internal rhyme and musicality ("Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks")
• Consonance refers to the repetition of consonant sounds, often at the end of words, to create a rhythmic effect ("And summer's lease hath all too short a date")
• Onomatopoeia uses words that phonetically imitate the sounds they describe, adding auditory depth to the text ("Hark! Hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings")
  • This device helps bring the play's action and setting to life for the audience
• Hyperbole employs exaggeration for emphasis or dramatic effect ("All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand")
• Personification attributes human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract concepts, making the text more relatable and engaging ("Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May")
• Synecdoche uses a part to represent the whole or vice versa, creating a more concise and poetic expression ("lend me your ears" to mean "listen to me")

Iambic Pentameter: The Heartbeat of Shakespeare's Verse

• Iambic pentameter is a metrical pattern consisting of five pairs of syllables (iambs), with the second syllable in each pair being stressed
• This rhythmic structure mimics the natural cadence of the English language and is often compared to a heartbeat
• Shakespeare's use of iambic pentameter lends a musical quality to his verse and helps actors memorize and deliver their lines
• The regular meter also allows for variations and disruptions to convey shifts in mood, tone, or character
  • For example, a character's speech may deviate from the standard iambic pentameter when they are experiencing strong emotions or mental turmoil
• Iambic pentameter is used extensively in Shakespeare's plays, particularly in the dialogue of noble or high-status characters
• The famous opening lines of "Romeo and Juliet" demonstrate perfect iambic pentameter: "Two households, both alike in dignity"
• Mastering iambic pentameter is essential for actors performing Shakespeare, as it helps them interpret and deliver the text effectively

Sonnets: Shakespeare's Lyrical Masterpieces

• Shakespeare's sonnets are 14-line poems that adhere to a strict rhyme scheme and structure
• The English (Shakespearean) sonnet consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a concluding couplet, with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
• Sonnets often explore themes of love, beauty, mortality, and the power of poetry itself
• The volta, or turn, is a shift in the poem's tone or subject matter that typically occurs between the 12th and 13th lines
• Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?") is one of his most famous and oft-quoted works
  • In this sonnet, the speaker compares his beloved to a summer's day, ultimately concluding that their beauty surpasses that of nature
• Sonnet 130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun") subverts traditional love poetry by using unconventional and even unflattering comparisons to describe the speaker's lover
• The sonnets showcase Shakespeare's mastery of language, his ability to convey complex emotions, and his innovative approach to a traditional poetic form

Wordplay and Puns: Shakespeare's Linguistic Wit

• Shakespeare was a master of wordplay, often using puns, double entendres, and clever turns of phrase to add humor, depth, and ambiguity to his works
• Puns are a form of wordplay that exploit the multiple meanings of a word or the similarity in sound between two words
• In "Romeo and Juliet," Mercutio's dying words, "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man," contain a dark pun on the word "grave"
• Malapropisms, or the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, are often used by comic characters like Dogberry in "Much Ado About Nothing" ("Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons")
• Double entendres are phrases with two interpretations, often one innocent and one risqué, as seen in Hamlet's exchange with Ophelia: "Do you think I meant country matters?"
• Shakespeare's wordplay not only entertains but also reveals character, advances the plot, and adds layers of meaning to the text
• Appreciating and understanding Shakespeare's wordplay is crucial for fully engaging with his works and their inherent wit and cleverness

Metaphors and Imagery: Painting with Words

• Shakespeare employs vivid metaphors and imagery to create a rich sensory experience for his audience and to convey abstract ideas through concrete comparisons
• Metaphors are figures of speech that describe one thing in terms of another, often to highlight a shared quality or to make a complex concept more relatable
  • In "As You Like It," Jaques famously compares the world to a stage and people to actors: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"
• Extended metaphors, or conceits, are elaborate comparisons that span multiple lines or even an entire passage, such as the comparison of love to a tender rose in Sonnet 54
• Imagery engages the audience's senses by evoking vivid mental pictures through descriptive language
  • In "Macbeth," the titular character describes the night of Duncan's murder using powerful visual and auditory imagery: "The night has been unruly: where we lay, our chimneys were blown down"
• Synesthesia, a type of imagery that blends multiple senses, is used in "Twelfth Night" when Orsino describes music as "the food of love," combining gustatory and auditory senses
• Shakespeare's metaphors and imagery not only beautify his language but also serve to characterize, set the mood, and convey complex themes and emotions

Blank Verse vs. Prose: Switching It Up

• Shakespeare alternates between blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) and prose to differentiate characters, signal changes in tone or setting, and convey social hierarchies
• Blank verse is typically used by noble or upper-class characters, as well as in formal situations or soliloquies
  • In "Hamlet," the prince's famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy is written in blank verse, reflecting his contemplative state and the gravity of his thoughts
• Prose, or unmetered speech, is often used by lower-class characters, in informal situations, or to indicate a character's mental instability
  • In "Hamlet," the prose dialogue between Hamlet and Polonius showcases Hamlet's feigned madness and Polonius's long-windedness
• Shifts between blank verse and prose can also signal changes in a character's emotional state or the tone of a scene
  • In "Othello," Iago's manipulation of Othello is marked by a shift from verse to prose, reflecting the breakdown of Othello's noble bearing and Iago's insidious influence
• The interplay between blank verse and prose adds variety and depth to Shakespeare's works, helping to create a sense of realism and to underscore the complexities of character and situation

Shakespeare's Influence on Modern English

• Shakespeare's works have had a profound and lasting impact on the English language, introducing countless new words, phrases, and idioms that are still in use today
• Shakespeare is credited with coining over 1,700 words, many of which are common in modern English, such as "bedazzled," "swagger," and "fashionable"
• He also popularized existing words by using them in new and innovative ways, such as employing "steel" as a verb meaning to harden or strengthen
• Many of Shakespeare's phrases and expressions have become part of the English lexicon, such as "break the ice," "heart of gold," and "wild-goose chase"
• Shakespeare's influence extends beyond vocabulary and phrases; his works have shaped the way we think about language, storytelling, and the human experience
• The enduring popularity of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets has helped to standardize and spread the English language across the globe
• Modern authors, playwrights, and screenwriters continue to draw inspiration from Shakespeare's techniques, themes, and language, ensuring his ongoing relevance and influence

Applying Shakespearean Techniques in Your Writing

• Incorporating Shakespearean techniques into your own writing can help to elevate your style, engage your readers, and create a more powerful emotional impact
• Experiment with iambic pentameter to add a sense of rhythm and musicality to your poetry or dramatic dialogue
• Use alliteration, assonance, and consonance to create a pleasing sound and to emphasize key words or ideas
• Employ metaphors and vivid imagery to make abstract concepts more relatable and to engage your readers' senses
• Play with puns, double entendres, and other forms of wordplay to add humor, depth, and ambiguity to your writing
• Alternate between different styles (such as blank verse and prose) to signal changes in tone, character, or setting
• Draw inspiration from Shakespeare's themes, such as love, power, and the human condition, to add depth and universality to your work
• Study Shakespeare's techniques for developing characters, constructing plots, and creating dramatic tension, and adapt these strategies to suit your own writing style and goals