Bottom (as Pyramus)
Ralph
One of the challenges of performing, or even just reciting, Shakespeare’s plays is finding a balance between being natural -- of sounding like a real character, like a person who is saying something -- while at the same time acknowledging that most of the language itself is a kind of poetry.
Athena
And since people don’t normally speak in verse, that can be hard to pull off.
Ralph
So, one of the things that’s going on with this little performance of Bottom-as-Pyramus is to decide just how bad of an actor Bottom is. Does he perform his lines beautifully and naturally, or does the rhyming verse pull him into sounding a little ridiculous?
Athena
Let’s look at the beginning of this speech by Pyramus.
These lines are in a poetic form found throughout Shakespeare’s works: iambic pentameter, which you may have already learned about –
Ralph
Iambic pentameter is constructed of lines that are 10 syllables long…
that can usually be divided into pairs of alternating stresses that have a kind of heartbeat rhythm -- da dum, da dum, da dum, da dum, da dum.
Athena
The word ‘iambic’ refers to that rhythm unit of da-dum, also called a foot
And penta, in pentameter, means five, so Iambic pentameter has 5 chunks of the iambic rhythm
Ralph
One of the things that’s amazing about this form of verse is that the iambic rhythm is naturally found in lots of English words and phrases -- in other words, the English language has a lot of that rhythm built into it already, and Shakespeare sees it as his job to make brilliant use of it.
Athena
For example, the phrase ‘for shining now so bright’ naturally has a da-dum da-dum da-dum rhythm, though the feel of the rhythm can be subtle...
Ralph
...for shining now so bright
Or it can feel exaggerated...
... for SHIning NOW so BRIGHT
Athena
So, doing a good job of performing or reciting Shakespeare means letting that natural rhythm work but not letting it get to obvious or sing-songy.
Let’s use this little chunk of speech by Pyramus as an example. Go ahead, Ralph, and recite these lines with an exaggerated rhythm.
Ralph
Sweet moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams.
I thank thee, moon, for shining now so bright;
For by thy gracious golden glittering gleams
I trust to take of truest Thisbe sight.
Athena
If an actor on the stage delivered these lines as Ralph just did, it would sound horrible, as if he’s doing a bad job of reciting a nursery rhyme. This time Ralph’s going to deliver them in a more naturalistic style.
Ralph
Sweet moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams.
I thank thee, moon, for shining now so bright;
For by thy gracious golden glittering gleams
I trust to take of truest Thisbe sight.
Athena
So, is Bottom a good actor or a bad actor? Any actor playing Bottom would have to decide about that for him or herself…
Ralph
But there’s lots of evidence for the case that he’s a bad actor.
Athena
First, it’s not his profession. He’s a weaver, and acting is just a hobby for him.
Ralph
Second, he’s a bit of an exaggerator already. He’s already shown us that he likes things to be over the top.
Athena
Finally, the lines themselves seem written in a way that leads naturally to bad acting.
Ralph
That’s right, Ralph. Let’s look at what comes next. Pyramus discovers Thisbe’s bloody coat, and the tone of his speech changes.
Athena
In some ways, Shakespeare is making a smart change of pace.
The lines feel naturally more dramatic and tense because they get shorter, and the rhymes come more quickly.
Ralph
And there’s a new poetic pattern, which is a break from the iambic pentameter: two short, four-syllable lines that rhyme with each other…
Athena
Followed by a third, slightly longer, six-syllable line, and when the 4-4-6 pattern is repeated, the two third lines rhyme with each other…
Ralph
That’s neat!
Athena
But notice, too, that it’s harder to make this sound natural, especially with the rhyming.
The lines almost force you to sound a little ridiculous.
Ralph
But stay! O spite!
But mark, poor night,
What dreadful dole is here?
Eyes, do you see?
How can it be?
O dainty duck, O dear!
Athena
And the phrase ‘dainty duck’ seems to take away from the seriousness, too.
As with all of Shakespeare, there’s no one, right way to read these lines!
Ralph
There’s room to play, and it’s up to you to make some of your own decisions, though thinking about the character who is saying the lines, and what the context is, might give you some clues to performance choices.