Language and Rhetoric

1. Language and Rhetoric • Language defining the characters • Language, characterization, and humor • Dialogue defining relationships • High and low language • Using allusion

2. Language defining characters • The way in which a character is made to speak is a device of characterization. • We learn some things about a particular character by observing the way he acts in different situations. • We usually are reinforced in our estimation of the character by the way in which he speaks.

3. Language, characterization, and humor • Very early in Shakespear’s famous comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare introduces the company of actors who are to perform the play within the play. They have become one of the most famous and humourous tribes of men in the history of the theatre and primarily because Shakespeare has delicately used language as a device of characterization.

4. Language, characterization, and humor • Through Bottom’s speeches we quickly see the soul of his personality; there is no substitute for carefully chosen dialogue in establishing humour.

5. Dialogue defining relationship • While dialogue in plays first and foremost defines the characters as they speak, dialogue also is tantamount to the definition of relationships within the play • The language that a particular character uses when talking to one person in the play will be altogether different from the language he uses when talking to another character

6. Dialogue defining relationship • As we see the different kinds of language employed by the same character throughout the play, we slowly are led both to an understanding of the rounded personality of that character and to an understanding of the relationships he has with other characters

7. High and Low language • In most plays we are able to determine whether the language on the whole is “high’ or ‘low”. • By “high” we mean lofty, formal, rhetorically polished language and even language which relies strongly on fanciful expression. • By “low” we mean simple, plain, and unadorned language. • It is important to identify the range of the language in order to determine the conventions within which the playwright is working

8. Using Allusion • Another aspect of high style is the use of allusion. • The mere mention of faraway exotic-sounding places transports the audience quickly into a higher realm; the allusion to places and people presents a sense of grandeur and elevates the import of a speech.