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Shakespeare 6/23/19

HOW DOES SHAKESPEARE USE PROSE

SHAKESPEARE USED PROSE TO:

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT HIS CHARACTERS

INTERRUPT THE RHYTHMIC PATTERNS OF THE PLAY.

DISTINGUISH LOW CLASS CHARACTERS FROM THE

HIGHER-CLASS, VERSE-SPEAKING CHARACTERS.

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

FOR EXAMPLE: HAMLET

ONE OF HAMLET’S MOST POIGNANT
SPEECHES IS DELIVERED ENTIRELY IN PROSE, EVEN
THOUGH HE IS A PRINCE. IN THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLE,
SHAKESPEARE INTERRUPTS HAMLET’S
VERSE WITH A HEARTFELT REALIZATION ABOUT
THE BREVITY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. THE IMMEDIATENESS
OF THE PROSE MAKES US
REALIZE HAMLET IS GENUINELY THOUGHTFUL AND
SOLEMN. IT ALSO HUMANIZES HIM AND MAKES HIM
MORE RELATABLE.

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

LETS WATCH THE CRASH COURSE

ON HAMLET…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My14mZa-eq8

Duel coding

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

EFFECTS OF PROSE
TO MAKE DIALOGUE MORE REALISTIC
MANY SHORT, FUNCTIONAL LINES LIKE “AND I, MY LORD,” AND “I PRAY YOU LEAVE ME” ARE
WRITTEN IN PROSE TO GIVE THE
PLAY A SENSE OF REALISM. IN SOME LONGER SPEECHES, SHAKESPEARE USED EVERYDAY
LANGUAGE TO ALLOW THE AUDIENCE TO IDENTIFY WITH HIS CHARACTERS.

TO CREATE COMIC EFFECT

SOME OF SHAKESPEARE’S LOW
-CLASS COMIC CREATIONS ASPIRE TO SPEAK IN THE FORMAL LANGUAGE OF
THEIR SUPERIORS, BUT DO NOT HAVE THE INTELLIGENCE TO ACHIEVE THIS AND THEREFORE
BECOME OBJECTS OF RIDICULE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE UNEDUCATED DOGBERRY IN MUCH ADO
ABOUT NOTHING ATTEMPTS TO USE MORE FORMAL LANGUAGE BUT KEEPS GETTING
IT WRONG. IN ACT 3, SCENE 5, HE INFORMS LEONAT
O THAT “OUR WATCH, SIR, HAVE INDEED COMPREHENDED TWO AUSPICIOUS PERSONS.” HE
MEANS “APPREHENDED” AND“SUSPICIOUS”.

TO SUGGEST A CHARACTER’S MENTAL INSTABILITY

IN KING LEAR, LEAR’S VERSE DETERIORATES INTO PROSE AS THE PLAY U
NFOLDS TO SUGGEST HIS INCREASINGLY ERRATIC MENTAL CONDITION.

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

NOW YOU TRY…

USING YOUR PREVIOUS
EXAMPLE OF PROSE, EXPLAIN
IN YOUR NOTES WHAT YOU
THINK SHAKESPEARE WAS
TRYING TO ACHIEVE BY USING
COMMON LANGUAGE. WRITE
AT LEAST THREE SENTENCES TO
JUSTIFY YOUR THOUGHTS.
WHEN YOU ARE DONE, SHARE
WITH YOUR PARTNER.

Progress Monitoring Question/Duel Coding (pic of

servants and commoners who speak prose, often used for
comedic effect)

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All Shakespeare 6/23/19

IAMBIC PENTAMETER
In a line of poetry, an iamb is a foot or beat consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a
stressed syllable, or a short syllable followed by a long syllable. For example, deLIGHT, the SUN,
forLORN, one DAY, reLEASE. English is the perfect language for iambus because of the way the
stressed and unstressed syllables work. Interestingly enough, the iamb sounds a little like a
heartbeat.
Pentameter is simply penta, which means 5, meters. So a line of poetry written in pentameter has
5 feet, or 5 sets of stressed and unstressed syllables. In basic iambic pentameter, a line would
have 5 feet of iambs, which is an unstressed and then a stressed syllable. For example ‘Shall I
compare thee to a summer’s day?’ from Shakespeare’s sonnet 18.

shall I | compARE | thee TO | a SUM | mers DAY?

da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM

A video explaining iambic pentameter further

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5lsuyUNu_4
Duel coding

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

LET’S TRY TOGETHER

SOME OF SHAKESPEARE'S MOST FAMOUS LINES ARE IN IAMBIC PENTAMETER. ON YOUR NOTES,
CIRCLE THE SYLLABLES IN THE FOLLOWING LINES THAT ARE STRESSED, THEN TURN TO YOUR
PARTNER AND SPEAK EACH LINE OUT LOUD USING AN EXAGGERATED IAMBIC PENTAMETER.

IF MU-/ -SIC BE / THE FOOD / OF LOVE, / PLAY ON ("TWELFTH NIGHT")

BUT, SOFT! / WHAT LIGHT / THROUGH YON / DER WIN / DOWBREAKS? ("ROMEO AND JULIET")

Duel coding

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

LETS LISTEN TO AN EXAMPLE…

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg1qTs5pdeM

Duel coding

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

VERSE EFFECTS
• TO MAKE THE DIALOGUE SOUND MORE FORMAL
• VERSE WAS THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY THE NOBILITY AND UPPER CLASS INSHAKESPEARE'S DRAMAS. MOST OF
• SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS ARE WRITTEN ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS. THE HISTORIES AND TRAGEDIES WRITTEN BY
• WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WERE WRITTEN IN VERSE TO CONVEY A FORMAL ANDSERIOUS TONE. VERSE, EVEN WITHOUT RHYME
HAS A MAJESTIC QUALITY TO IT.

• TO DRAW THE AUDIENCE IN AT KEY MOMENTS

• BLANK VERSE COMMANDS THE LISTENER'S ATTENTION. THE AUDIENCE MUSTLITERALLY, PHYSICALLY LEAN IN TO
• CONCENTRATE AND UNDERSTAND THE MEANING BEHIND THE LINES. BECAUSETHE WORDS ARE SO SPECIFICALLY, SO
• JUDICIOUSLY CHOSEN, THE READER OR LISTENER IS MEANT TO INDULGE IN THE FEELING OF THE WORDS, MUCH LIKE THE
CHARACTERS THEMSELVES.

• TO HEIGHTEN DRAMA
• VERSE IS MOST OFTEN USED IN LONG STRETCHES OF DIALOGUE CALLED MONOLOGUES OR SOLILOQUIES AT TIMES OF
• GREAT EMOTION FOR CHARACTERS. CHARACTERS USE VERSE TO PROCESS THEIR FEELINGS OF JOY, LOVE, LOSS,
• ANGER AND FEAR. THIS GIVES THE READER OR LISTENER AN INDICATIONTHAT WHAT THE CHARACTERS ARE EXPERIENCING
IS CRUCIAL TO THE STORY.

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

NOW YOU TRY

• USING YOUR PREVIOUS EXAMPLE OF VERSE, EXPLAIN IN

YOUR NOTES WHAT YOU THINK SHAKESPEARE
WAS TRYING TO ACHIEVE BY USING VERSE. WRITE
AT LEAST THREE SENTENCES TO JUSTIFY YOUR THOUGHTS.
WHEN YOU ARE DONE, SHARE WITH YOUR PARTNER.

Progress Monitoring Question/Duel Coding (pic

of very dramatic scene from MacBeth.)

Ms. Krasko 1


All Shakespeare 6/23/19

RECALL
• WITHOUT LOOKING BACK AT YOUR NOTES, TURN TO
YOUR PARTNER AND RECALL THE DEFINITIONS OF
PROSE AND VERSE. GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF THE TYPES
OF CHARACTERS WHO WOULD SPEAK EACH, AND THE
REASON SHAKESPEARE USEDTHAT LANGUAGE.

Culminating Activity

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All Shakespeare 6/23/19

MAKE IT YOUR OWN WAY

• NOW THAT YOU ARE ALL EXPERTS ON PROSE AND VERSE.
WRITE A SHORT SCRIPT OF DIALOGUE THAT INCLUDES AT
LEAST FOUR LINES IN VERSE, AND FOURLINES IN PROSE.
KEEP IN MIND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH, AND FOR
WHICH PURPOSE THEY ARE USED.

Culminating Activity

Ms. Krasko 1