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Shakespeare's

Shakespeare's. language. William Shakespeare used language to:. create a sense of place seize the audience’s interest and attention explore the widest range of human experience. “. He was a genius for dramatic language. ”. 1. Blank verse.

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Shakespeare's

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  1. Shakespeare's language

  2. William Shakespeareused language to: • create a sense of place • seize the audience’s interest and attention • explore the widest range of human experience “ He was a genius for dramatic language ”

  3. 1. Blank verse • unrhymed lines with an arrangement of unstressed • and stressed syllables known as iambic pentameter “ In sooth / I know / not why / I am / so sad / ” (from The Merchant of Venice)

  4. 2. Variations on metre • to make his verse less monotonous, Shakespeare: • altered the pattern of unstressed • and stressed syllables “that this too too sullied flesh would melt” (from Hamlet)‏ A shot from Hamletby Franco Zeffirelli (1990). • altered the expected number of syllables “There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple” (from The Tempest)‏ • divided a single line between two or more speakers Emilia: Why, would not you? Desdemona: No, by this heavenly light! (from Othello)‏

  5. VERSE 3. Use of verse and prose PROSE • generally used • by lower-class characters • in comic scenes • in informal conversations • generally used • by aristocratic characters • in serious or dramatic scenes

  6. 4. Imagery a. clusters of repeated images build up a sense of the themes of the play, like light and darkness in Romeo and Juliet A shot from Romeo+Julietby Baz Luhrmann (1996). b. imagery from nature c. imagery from Elizabethan daily life, like: sports and hunting; shipping and the law; jewels; medicine

  7. 4. Imagery d. use of metaphors and similes “There’s daggers in men’s smiles” (from Macbeth)‏ “The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath ” (from The Merchant of Venice, IV.i.179–181)‏ e. use of personification “Come, civil Night; Thou sober-suited matron all in black.” (fromRomeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene II)‏ A shot from The Merchant of Venice by Michael Radford (2004).

  8. 5. Antithesis • The contrast of direct opposites. “Why then, Obrawling love,Oloving hate, O any thing, of nothingfirst created: O heavylightness, seriousvanity” (from Romeo and Juliet) Frank Dicksee Romeo and Juliet (1884).

  9. 6. Repetition • Repeated words or phrases add to: • the emotional intensity of a scene “Oh horrible, oh horrible, most horrible!” (The Ghost inHamlet)‏ • its comic effect “O night, O night, alack, alack, alack, I fear my Thisbe’s promise is forgot! And thou, O wall, O sweet, O lovely wall.” (Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream)‏

  10. 7. Hyperbole • Extravagant and obvious exaggeration “Blow me about in winds! Roast me in sulphur! Wash me in steep-downgulfs of liquidfire!” (from Othello) ( ) Othello is haunted by the knowledge that he has wrongly killed Desdemona

  11. Verbal irony 8. Irony Dramaticirony The audience knows something that a character on stage does not It is structural: one line or scene contrasts sharply with another Saying one thing but meaning another In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony calls Brutus “an honourable man” but means the opposite In Macbeth Duncan’s line “He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust”is followed by the stage direction “Enter Macbeth”

  12. YOU 9. Pronouns: you and thee Send clear social signals THEE • More formal and distant form • Suggests respect for a superior • Courtesy to a social equal • Implies either closeness or contempt • Friendship towards an equal • Superiority over someone considered a social inferior • Used to address someone of higher social rank • Can be aggressive or insulting

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