Shakespeare's Language
Tone and Diction
When we speak of the tone of a line or passage in Shakespeare, we usually mean the mood conveyed therein or the particular attitude a speaker conveys. Sometimes the speaker’s tone is wistful; sometimes it is bitter. In some instances, his tone is celebratory, euphoric or triumphant. In others, it is dejected. In many cases, the tone shifts within a speech in the drama, often signaled by shifts in the language therein or in the punctuation we see (which may or may not be Shakespeare’s own…more on this subject later!)
Think of tone as what his facial expressions might reveal. How does the speaker feel about what he’s saying and the person to whom he speaks? If you could see him speak the words, what would his face betray about his emotions, and what, specifically, in the language suggests these emotions in particular?
Shakespeare’s speaker’s diction, or word choice, usually plays a significant role in setting the tone. Think of diction like this: If you don’t do your homework, I might call you a “slacker,” a “wastrel,” or a “poor student.” Each one suggests something about about you that’s a little bit different from the others. But more importantly, my use of one of these over the others also tells you something about me—in fact, my choice may say more about me and my values than it does about you or your (lack of) action. We can learn a lot about people by the way they talk about things, particularly by the words they choose in their speech.
Rhythm, Rhyme, Meter, and Scansion
Rhyme is the effect created by matching sounds; it can be internal (within a line) or in end-rhymes in 2 or more lines.
It is distinct from Rhythm, the pattern of sounds created by syllables; though all arrangements of language have rhythm, not all language will rhyme.
Meter is the term for the dominant rhythmic pattern found in a particular verse form, determined in English poetry by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables running through lines. Meter helps produce rhythm (which verse always has) and sometimes rhyme (which verse may not have, as in the case of blank verse).
Scansion is the term we use to explain meter works within a single line and over the course of a group of lines.
To scan Shakespeare’s verse, follow these steps:
1. Block off a line of verse into 5 iambs or feet—that is, 5 sets of two syllables. Then mark the normal spoken syllable stress of words of two or more syllables by placing a long dash above it to accent it. For example, in the line below, “forty,” “winters,” and “besiege” all have two syllables. In “forty” and “winter,” the first syllable is normally stressed (say them out loud and see). In “besiege,” the second syllable is normally stressed. For the syllables in bold/underline below, we mark a stress symbol above them, like this.
2. Then you can mark the other syllable in the same foot (in the same group of two syllables) as “unstressed.” In the foot in which one syllable is already marked as “stressed,” the other syllable in the foot is usually unstressed, For example, in the first foot “for” is already marked as stressed, so you would probably mark “when” as un-stressed (u). In the third foot “ters” is already marked non-stressed, so you would mark “shall” as stressed.
4. For any unmarked foot remaining, such as foot 5, you will need to determine whether the stress pattern follows the feet that came before it. You can make this determination based on your sense of which word is likely to receive more emphasis when you speak the line, or simply go with the typical pattern in regular iambic pentameter and simply mark the first syllable “unstressed” followed by a stressed syllable. Read it aloud that way. Does it sound ok? Then you’re probably correct…
What Does Scanning the Meter Tell us?
Well, sometimes it tells us nothing at all––or rather, it doesn't tell us much that seems interesting. So if these instructions confuse you, don’t panic. Sometimes, though, the meaning of a poem is significantly enhanced by notable elements accentuated by meter; in other cases, meter can help actors discern the appropriate pacing of a speech. And sometimes, because of mis-matched meter, we are alerted to places in old texts that are missing lines.
In some cases, we find Shakespeare varying the rhythm of otherwise regular lines by using the following irregularities:
1. Trochaic: The first syllable in the foot is given strong stress, the second syllable light stress.
2. Pyrrhic: Both syllables in the foot receive light stress.
3. Spondee: Both syllables in the foot receive strong stress.
These irregularities will effect how the verse sounds and therein help set its tone, determine its meaning, and force the actor speaking the lines to articulate the words in a specific way.
Masculine and Feminine Endings
Some of Shakespeare’s lines also contain what his contemporaries described as "feminine" endings. Renaissance writers varied the ways that lines of poetry ended, classifying them as either “masculine” or “feminine.” Masculine end rhyme involves only one syllable in a regular line of iambic pentameter; for instance, a 10-syllable line might end with the word “cries” or “lies.” Feminine endings have two syllables; a line might end with “fashion” or “passion,” making for an 11-syllable line instead of 10.
Masculine: That time / of year / thou may’st / in me / behold
Shall I / compare / thee to / a summ / er’s day
Feminine: For Shame / deny/ that thou / bear’st love/ to an-y
To be / or not / to be /that is / the ques-tion
Shakespeare’s use of feminine endings can also have significance, depending on the context of the work in question; some of the most interesting cases involve his complex commentary on gender, as in Sonnet 20, a poem about a man whose feminine beauty makes him desirable and attractive to the speaker that consists entirely of lines with 11-syllables, a facet of form that emphasizes the “addition” Nature has given the young man (i.e., a male sex organ):
A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women's fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue, all hues in his controlling,
Much steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.