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.