CHAPTER 36

Reading Shakespeare Aloud

IN THIS CHAPTER, selected material from part one is condensed for secondary English and drama teachers, and students who may not have time to study the complete book. High school students could begin their Shakespeare studies with this chapter. Shakespeare reading groups and persons who simply enjoy reading the plays and poems could also begin here. When more detailed instruction is needed, refer to part one.

Worksheets are included. These may be enlarged and reproduced so that each reader or student has a copy. Combined with the worksheets, a teacher might use this chapter as an outline for a unit of instruction on Shakespeare. Selected scenes and monologues suitable for student practice are listed.

While studying specific skills, examples of film and video performances as noted in part six may be helpful. For the student who wants additional study, many useful works are included in the bibliography.

What is the end of study, let me know?

LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST, I, i

PREPARATION

Many people do not realize that Shakespeare is meant to be read or spoken aloud. Not only is the work better aloud, it is ten times better! By learning only a few reading (and acting) skills, anyone can read and enjoy the plays, sonnets, and poems.

Most Shakespearean studies concentrate on one of these:

• “Meaning” of the thoughts, metaphors, or imagery

• The historical significance of specific events as they relate to the plays

• Analysis of characters—why do they do this or that?

These types of studies are important and will help you as an actor or reader. They are especially helpful when acting or reading a “realistic” play, which means a play with language written like modern speech. On the other hand, with a Shakespearean play, that research and background won’t help you in the same way.

Background knowledge is useful only after you’ve taken a preliminary step not usually necessary with a realistic play. With Shakespeare, or any play written in “heightened” language—which is language composed with a specific rhythmic pattern—you must first learn what the language is doing and read it according to its rhythm and meter. If you don’t first learn the skills required to speak the language, information from other studies won’t do you one bit of good, because the listener will have no idea what you are saying.

You may already believe that Shakespeare is too difficult to understand. Perhaps you have heard it read aloud, or read it aloud yourself, and concluded that it makes no sense. If that is the case, you are simply reading without applying the speaking skills required to clarify the language, or you are hearing someone else read who is not using the skills. Of course, once you’ve learned the skills, any background information can and should be used to make your reading or acting as complete and truthful as possible. But first you must know and use the speaking skills.

Here is a helpful analogy: You want to play a song on the piano. You bang away at the keys, but don’t know which ones to hit. How many listeners will recognize the song? With Shakespeare, the words are the notes. Hit the right notes, and the listener will know what you mean.

FOUR SIMPLE SKILLS

The key to reading Shakespeare aloud is knowing which words to emphasize. Selecting these words is really quite simple, and the following easy-to-learn skills will get you started. If this information is completely new to you, don’t feel alone. Most people, including many actors, haven’t a clue how to do this. But if you use these four skills and read the verse aloud, it will make sense:

• Support the final word in each line

• Emphasize the stressed words or syllables

• Separate the thoughts (phrasing)

• Breathe only at punctuation points

Follow these simple guidelines and discover that Shakespeare is, indeed, better—a lot better—than it might have first seemed. It is, in fact, remarkably beautiful.

SIMPLE BREATHING WARMUP

When working on Shakespeare (or any dramatic text), it’s helpful to be relaxed and breathing properly. You want your breathing to be deep and fill the lungs. To experience that feeling, lie on your back on the floor, arms at your sides, knees raised, and breathe deeply in through your nose, out through your mouth. As your lungs fill, you will feel your lower back press into the floor. Establish a slow breath in/breath out rhythm. Notice how easy it is to concentrate. Allow your focus to become concentrated. Now memorize what your muscles are doing to fill your lungs with air. When you sit or stand up, try to keep that muscle group working and your breathing deep.

Now you’re ready to read this language. (And here is an added benefit: If you read some of the lines while lying on your back and breathing correctly, you will notice how nicely your voice lowers in pitch and fills out in resonance.)

FIRST SKILL: SUPPORT THE FINAL WORD IN EACH LINE

The end of the blank verse line is usually more important than the beginning or middle. (Blank verse is explained in the next section.) When reading Shakespeare aloud, support the end of the line—including both the final phrase and final word—and notice the sudden clarity. This speaking style is dramatically opposed to the modern tendency to allow lines to fade away, like songs without endings.

For example, here is Portia speaking to Shylock in the courtroom scene of The Merchant of Venice.

Portia:    The quality of mercy is not strained,(IV, i)

Read the line aloud, and let the second phrase (“is not strained”) fall away so that you can barely hear it. When read that way, the line seems to be about something called “mercy” and something else we aren’t quite sure about.

Now read the line aloud a second time, and support the second phrase (“is not strained”) with equal or more power than you give the first phrase (“The quality of mercy”), and be certain to emphasize the final word “strained.” What is the line about? Now it’s about a quality called “mercy,” which is not obtained by “straining” at it. Now the line makes sense.

Romeo has this response to Friar Laurence’s counseling:

Romeo:    Thou canst not speak of that thou dost not feel.(III, iii)

Read the line aloud and let the final word “feel” drop away so you can barely hear it. What is the line about? Romeo is telling the Friar he can’t speak. Now read the line aloud again and support the word “feel.” What is the line about? Romeo may be telling the Friar, who is presumed celibate, that he has never known the love of a woman, so how can he counsel? Now the line is rich with possibilities.

Try this very effective exercise. Select a few lines of verse—there are examples in Skill Worksheet #1, beginning on page 250—then place a cardboard box on the floor in front of you. Be sure that each line you select consists of ten syllables. We’ll work on eleven- and twelve-syllable lines in the next section.

As you read the lines, kick the box on the final syllable of each ten-syllable line. Kicking the box puts energy into your reading, allows your entire body to become involved, and forces you to support the end of the line. Kick on exactly the final syllable. Using Romeo’s line, don’t kick on “not,” and don’t kick after “feel.” Kick on the f of “feel.” On Portia’s line, kick on the s of “strained.” Practice this skill with other lines, and you’ll soon discover that supporting the final word through use of the diaphragm becomes second nature. You will notice that people listen to you.

Refer to Skill Worksheet #1 for other practice lines and speeches. Check the index for more detailed study of this skill.

SECOND SKILL: EMPHASIZE THE STRESSED WORDS OR SYLLABLES

To make your reading even more understandable, add this second skill. Blank verse—which is a form of writing the English language in ten-syllable lines, not necessarily rhyming—has a specific rhythm, which identifies the important words.

Each pair of syllables creates one “foot.” So the blank verse line has five “feet.” Each foot has a soft stress and a hard stress. Think of your own foot: The heel is soft, and the ball is hard. When you walk, the rhythm is soft/hard, soft/hard, soft/hard, and so on. Try it and speak the rhythm aloud. In blank verse, this rhythm becomes dee dum, dee dum, dee dum, dee dum, dee dum—five feet, five soft stresses, five hard stresses, one blank verse line. This type of line is called iambic pentameter.*

Most scholars and stage directors agree that blank verse is the closest written expression of English speech. Without realizing it, you speak blank verse all the time. For example, “What would you like to do this afternoon?” and “Let’s go to town and buy an ice cream cone” are two lines of blank verse! For your own enjoyment, converse for awhile in blank verse, and write some original lines.

Breaking a blank verse line into feet and marking the stresses is called scanning the line, or scansion. Here is Romeo gazing at Juliet’s balcony:

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?(II, ii)

Break the line into five feet, two syllables per foot:

But soft! / What light / through yon / der win / dow breaks?

Now mark the stresses, for soft, for hard:

When you read the line aloud, stress the hard syllables: “soft,” “light,” “yon,” “win,” “breaks.” With your hand, beat out these stressed words or syllables on the table or chair, while you read the line aloud three or four times. Then forget scansion and read the line naturally.

Notice that you still give a slight emphasis to the stressed words. Your goal is to achieve naturalness and honesty, while stressing the correct words. By not achieving this goal, you unintentionally disguise the meaning of the line. To prove this point, read the line aloud and emphasize the soft syllables: “But,” What,” “through,” “der,” “dow.” Notice the problem? That is what happens if you emphasize the wrong word or words.

Shakespeare’s language is written in this regular “dee dum, dee dum” rhythm, with effects achieved by use of irregular lines. For example, a word to be stressed might be placed in the unstressed position, or an eleventh syllable—a “dee” without a “dum”—might be added. Here’s an example of breaking the rhythm in the opening speech of Romeo and Juliet.

Chorus:    Two households, both alike in dignity,(1)

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,(2)

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,(3)

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.(Pro) (4)

Lines 1, 2, and 4 are regular blank verse lines; but notice line 3. First, separate the line into feet:

From an / cient grudge / break to / new mut / iny.

In the third foot, the verb “break” (in the non-stressed position) is more important than the preposition “to” (in the stressed position). The stress in that foot is inverted, and you must read it accordingly. This type of foot is called a trochaic foot, or trochee, rather than an iambic foot.

Read the line aloud twice, first emphasizing “to,” then emphasizing “break.” How do you know when a word breaks the rhythm? Scan the line, and with a little practice, your common sense will tell you.

For example, in the fourth foot of the same line, you could argue that “new” also breaks the rhythm and is as important as “mut.” That’s a good argument, because it points out that an earlier mutiny is starting over again. Read it aloud twice, once each way, then choose the way which seems right to you.

You might also argue that, in line 1, “Two” is as important as “house.” That’s a reader choice, but could be a good one, because it clarifies the number of families involved in the fray. Lines often have three or more stresses back-to-back (there are even lines with ten stressed syllables), as this line has “Two,” “house,” and “holds,” all of which you could choose to stress.

In each case, scan the line to decide if and where the rhythm breaks, then speak accordingly. If you decided to stress “Two,” “holds,” and “new,” the lines would scan like this:

The next example, the most famous line in Shakespeare, illustrates an added syllable—a “dee” without a “dum”—as Hamlet contemplates action.

To be, or not to be—that is the question.(III, i)

The line scans like this:

This line has eleven syllables and calls for a soft or unstressed ending. This “feminine” ending, used throughout Shakespeare, allows a line to end without a stressed syllable. You kick the box on “ques-”—not on “-tion.” Let “-tion” just be there, giving the line a soft ending.

When scanning a blank verse line, if you don’t count ten syllables and five feet, you may be looking at a feminine ending. But another possibility is to change the eleven-syllable line to ten by eliding two syllables or words into one. For example, “I will” becomes “I’ll” and is spoken as one syllable.

For another example, in the following eleven-syllable line, Shakespeare has already elided a two-syllable word into one syllable, but the reader must elide another word, as “man” is stressed and would not make a feminine ending.

Hamlet:    Horatio, thou art e’en as just a man(III, ii)

Note “even” is already elided to “e’en” and pronounced as one syllable. The reader must elide “Horatio” to “Horat’o,” pronounced as three syllables. Now the line can be spoken in ten syllables with correct rhythm.

In the previous line, “question” is not spoken with emphasis on the second syllable; it can be a feminine-ending line. But “man” is a stressed word, so you must find an elision somewhere in the line to compress it to ten syllables. Often feminine-ending words end in “-ing,” “-en,” and “-tion.”

See Skill Worksheet #2 on page 252 for more examples of elision and for practice lines and speeches. If you want more study of this skill, check the index.

THIRD SKILL: SEPARATE THE THOUGHTS

You now have two skills for reading Shakespeare: (1) supporting the end of the line and (2) scanning to emphasize the stressed words and rhythm changes. There’s a third skill, phrasing, which is no more difficult than the first two. All blank verse lines can be divided into phrases. When you read aloud, separate the phrases slightly. Each phrase is a thought; if you run the thoughts together the listener gets lost.

Many phrases are separated by punctuation marks. When there is no punctuation, separate each phrase with a slight pause. This pause is called a caesura (si-zhoor´-), meaning a “sense pause.” This is not a “breath” pause; it’s much shorter. It is just a slight pause that allows the ear to hear an emphasis placed on the phrase or word you just said or are about to say.

If you use the caesura (marked //) to practice separating phrases, then forget the pauses and speak naturally, you will notice that, even when speaking rapidly, the phrases have been embedded in your mind as individual thoughts, and you will automatically handle each separately. In this next example, Brutus’s answer to Cassius, after hearing the suggestion that Caesar has grown too strong, is broken into phrases by inserting caesuras. Where a phrase is already identified by punctuation, a caesura is not inserted.

Brutus:      What you have said //(1)

I will consider; what you have to say //(2)

I will with patience hear; and find a time //(3)

Both meet to hear and answer // such high things.(4)

Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this:(5)

Brutus had rather be a villager //(6)

Than to repute himself a son of Rome //(7)

Under these hard conditions // as this time(8)

Is like to lay upon us.(I, ii) (9)

Work on the speech, separating the thoughts as marked (some readers and actors prefer to circle the phrases rather than to use caesura marks), then forget the marks, and read the speech naturally.

You should discover that you give individuality to each thought, regardless of how quickly you speak. (The final line is called a “short line,” meaning that either a pause sufficient to complete the ten-syllable rhythm is intended, or the line is finished by the next speaker. In this case, Cassius will finish the line with “I am glad,” to make ten syllables.)

At this point you might create an exercise designed to focus the reader’s attention on separation of phrases. Read aloud from punctuation point to punctuation point (which are also your breathing points), and force yourself to stop at each point. Give the reader something to do at each point. For example, read lines 1 and 2, up to the word “consider.” (Note that the line contains two phrases, as do other lines that follow, but only walk and breathe at punctuation points.) Then walk silently to another spot in the room before reading the next line, which ends on “hear.” Then walk silently to another spot in the room, and so forth. Moving between the punctuation points causes you to consider what you have said and what you will say as separate thoughts. After reading the speech with the thoughts separated, forget the moving, and read the speech naturally.

Separating phrases separates individual thoughts. You must also watch for shorter phrases within longer ones. For example, “Under these hard conditions” is a shorter phrase within the longer one, which includes all of lines 6–9. You may want to expand the exercise to move on these inside phrases as well. Once the phrases are separated, it will be easy to discover different interpretations for the individual thoughts and then to select the reading you like.

Refer to Skill Worksheet #3 on page 256 for additional phrasing exercises. If you want more study of the phrasing skill, refer to the index.

FOURTH SKILL: BREATHE ONLY AT PUNCTUATION POINTS

Added to the three skills you’ve now learned—kicking the box, scanning the line, and phrasing—remember to breathe at the right places. When reading Shakespeare, random breathing can destroy the sense of the line, because the misplaced pause for a breath fractures the thought.

A reliable guide is this: Breathe at the punctuation points. Don’t breathe at the end of a phrase (as in Brutus’s lines 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8) unless the phrase ends with a punctuation mark (as in the middle of lines 3, 4, 5, and 9). The speech appears in worksheets #3 and #5 on pages 256 and 265.

Verse lines are often enjambed, which means the thought in the line continues to the next line without pause or punctuation. Shakespeare’s lines are more often than not enjambed. Brutus’s speech above has end-of-line punctuation (and breathing points) only on lines 4 and 5. The other lines require breathing at the punctuation points within the lines. In Macbeth’s speech below, all lines are enjambed except 1, 2, and 4. Line 10 is enjambed into 11, because it continues “He chid the sisters/When first they put the name of King upon me.”

In this example, Macbeth, having killed the king, now contemplates killing his friend, Banquo.

Macbeth:  To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus—(1)

Our fears in Banquo stick deep,(2)

And in his royalty of nature reigns that(3)

Which would be feared. ’Tis much he dares; (4)

And to that dauntless temper of his mind(5)

He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour(6)

To act in safety. There is none but he(7)

Whose being I do fear; and under him(8)

My genius is rebuked, as it is said(9)

Mark Antony’s was by Caesar.(III, i) (10)

This speech contains typical Shakespearean punctuation. The breathing points are the punctuation marks. Circle them, and then read the speech aloud, breathing at each mark. You will find that it is quite easy to speak from one breathing point to the next. The longest stretch is two and one-half lines. (In the previous Brutus speech, the longest stretch is three and one-half lines.)

Don’t breathe after “Banquo” in line 2 (the end of a thought), but after “deep,” and take the pause needed to finish the rhythm of this short line. Don’t breathe after “that” in line 3 (the end of the verse line on paper), but try it once to discover the problem for yourself. Likewise, try breathing after “mind,” “valour,” “he,” “him,” and “said.” Your common sense and good ear will tell you that the choice is wrong.

You might want to practice an exercise to focus your attention on breathing correctly. This works effectively: At each punctuation point, whether you have spoken one word or four lines, exhale all unused breath, then fill your lungs with a deep breath before speaking the next line. Do this at each punctuation point. Do not hurry, or you may sense dizziness. Concentrate on making yourself take the time to breathe deeply and fill the lungs before continuing. Try not to take little gasping breaths that fill only one-third of your lung capacity. After doing the exercise, read the speech naturally, and notice that you automatically breathe more deeply at the appropriate points. Reserve breath gives you power; running out of breath signals weakness.

In Skill Worksheet #4 on page 260 are a few more good speeches for breathing practice. For more advanced study, check the index.

A CONCLUDING NOTE

When reading Shakespeare, it’s natural to want to “act it out.” Readers will often “enhance” the language with sounds, gasps, crying, whispering, pauses for effect, sighs, and “ahs.” Such enhancements tend to destroy the rhythm. When the rhythm is lost, the thoughts—and the audience—are also lost.

Overpowering blank verse with emotion because “my character would do this” simply doesn’t work. Your reading becomes indulgent, because you’ve lost what is being said in favor of how it is being said. Generally this direction works: If you want to cry, cry after the line, not during the line. We must hear the words first, then we can experience your sorrow without the irritation caused by a muffled line.

The emotions needed by the character are already written into the verse. All you have to do is speak the lines honestly by using your newly-acquired reading/acting skills. These four skills are all you need to begin enjoying Shakespeare. Have fun!

I have some private schooling for you both.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, I, i

MORE ADVANCED STUDY

When reading Shakespeare aloud, the language will make sense if you use the four skills you’ve just learned. The meaning of most lines will be clear. There is, of course, more to learn. For advanced training, here are a few more skills. Refer to the index for more study of each.

Learn to handle antithesis, which is placing one word or thought against an opposite word or thought—like “To be” (one thought) “or not to be” (an opposite thought). Shakespeare is full of antithesis, and you will read better if you can identify the antithetical thoughts and play them. For more information and some exercises, see Skill Worksheet #5 on page 265.

Practice using elision. Lines often have eleven or twelve syllables. Sometimes they are feminine-ending lines, but sometimes words or pairs of words must be elided, or condensed together, so the rhythm will work. Some examples are included in Skill Worksheet #6 on page 268 and the Glossary of Terms.

Learn about the structure of speeches. The pattern is usually (1) introduction of an idea, (2) development, and (3) conclusion or summary.

Identify the imagery. Unlike modern playwrights, Shakespeare’s language is rich in images and metaphors—like Romeo’s “. . . Juliet is the sun” or Juliet’s “Gallop apace you fiery-footed steeds.”

Learn to analyze the text. Study what others before you have discovered about the meaning of specific words, ideas, and references. Write out a speech or sonnet in your own words.

Learn the acting skill of saying what you think when you think it. This skill is unlike the acting approach that allows you to think about the thought, then speak the subtext. See part one, chapter 6 for work on this skill and also on playing your action to achieve your objective.

Many of the basic skills learned for acting realistic texts can be applied to Shakespeare, especially the skills of playing your action to achieve your objective and staying in the moment. Listen to what the other character is saying, and respond honestly to that, don’t plan ahead. For more training, see part five and the bibliography of books available on acting Shakespeare. If you become interested in this greatest of all writers, consulting some of these works will be both exciting and rewarding. Enjoy the Bard!

* See iamb and iambic pentameter in the Glossary of Terms.