[Sca-cooks] _Shakespeare for Dummies_

[kattratt]

I know that it has been a few days but I did want to comment on one
thing Master A said...


Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

> I always thought the best Shakespearean portrayals went to a fair
> amount of trouble to maintain the rhythm of iambic pentameter, almost
> singing the parts.
>
> Adamantius

In this you are partly right.  There are actually two schools that
gernerally fight over this very subject.
My observations were that it was mostly the English Department arguing
for the "true keeping of the verse" (Maintaining the Iambic pentameter
style) whereas the Theatre Department seems to want to "preserve the
meanings of the words."  (What the actors are saying) this style
generally follows the punctuation and not the verse.
My personal thoughts on the matter have always been to read the plays as
PLAYS in the Theatre and as a POEM in the English Class.  As a poem you
lose most of the meaning but you get to see what skill Shakespeare had
in organizing phrases and sentences into poetic readings.  If you want
the story though go and watch it being performed or since nowadays we
don't have that much Shakespeare being done... (Well at least not around
my neck of the kingdom) then rent the movie.  One of them at least.  I
have never ever thought that the teaching of Shakespeare in the English
Classroom was a good idea since the English teacher is generally looking
at the mecahnics but still trying to convey the story.  This leads to
the old "I Don't get it!!!" Or "This is boring!!!"
I will never forget the student in my highschool that brought the whole
class back awake (Ok most of them at least) with the comment he made
after noticing that over half of the class was asleep.
"Forsooth my kind educator, it seems that our tonings have bored our
colleagues beyond their years!  Please note they have but slumbered here
whilst your droning tripped our ears."
Since I was one of the few awake ones in the class let me say I almost
wet my pants while laughing.

Sigh
Nichola