Yes, sorry, these notes are basic, but even experienced actors need reminding that the meaning of Shakespeare’s lines can be hidden in his verse or ‘rhythm’, and that if actors do the same rhythm all the time it will simply sound boring!
When Shakespeare writes in verse he tells us which words are important.
There are usually 10 syllables in each line, five ‘strong’ and five ‘weak’.
Two examples, from HAMLET.
If a line has 10 syllables, then the rhythm will sound like this –
DUM ti DUM ti DUM ti DUM ti DUM ti
or if the line starts with a ‘weak’ syllable, it will sound like this –
ti DUM ti DUM ti DUM ti DUM ti DUM
So when Hamlet is asked by his mother – and her new husband – not to leave home, he replies –
” I shall in all my best obey you, Madam ”.
His line has eleven syllables, and Shakespeare has deliberately chosen words which stand out when we see the line’s rhythm –
– / – / – / – / – / –
I SHALL in ALL my BEST oBEY you, MADam”
He wants the actor to know that the word “oBEY” matters more “you”.
But some actors emphasize “YOU” instead – making it sound as if he is willing to obey “you” (his mother), and not his new father! Which would be incredibly rude of him, and is not what Shakespeare means by the line.
As an acting coach I encourage actors to say lines any way they like, but we know, from the verse, that Shakespeare wants Hamlet to sound polite, because the word “you” is not on a ‘strong beat’.
To be clear: if the actor hits the word ‘you’ the line sounds like this –
“ I SHALL in ALL my BEST obey YOU Madam ”
– which suggests that Hamlet is being rude to his step-father in public, and makes it hard for the actor playing the step-father to say his next line, – “It is a fair reply”!
Shakespeare wants Hamlet hide his hatred for his father, or be scared of showing his hatred, and the point of the play is to show Hamlet slowly changing.
In the same line – Hamlet gives some weight to the word “Madam”- which is the correct, polite term for his mother as she is a Queen, so he is showing her respect, and there may be a small, almost hidden feeling that he has been rude to his father but only just!
And this makes the audience watch out for what Hamlet will say next!
Another example . . . .
When Ophelia is asked by her Father to describe her feelings for Hamlet, she answers: “I do not know my Lord what I should think”
– so the ‘verse’ of her line makes five words stand out :
– / – / – / – / – /
I DO not KNOW my LORD what I should THINK“
BUT. some actors think “what” is the main word, so it sounds like –
– / – / – / / – – /
“I do not know my Lord WHAT I should think.”
which makes Ophelia sound angry, and is not what Shakespeare shows he means:
The ‘hiccup’ in the rhythm which stands out – when the line is said this new way – makes it seem as if Ophelia is complaining, when the poor girl just doesn’t even know what to “think”!
I am being completely truthful when I say that when I coach actors I let them say any line in any way that they wish, because their feelings should not be discouraged, and their confidence may develop this way, but it is just possible for some directors (or coaches) to suggest that she laughs during this line (or some directors) to want her laughing during the line . It might be imagined that she is even pregnant and hiding the fact, or – as happened in a recent performance – the actor playing her thought she was suggesting she is gay. And all I am saying here, is that those ideas are not in the lines. Shakespeare is sending a personal message to actors to show what the line means, in the verse, and the message is that Ophelia, who will eventually kill herself, is already feeling lost.
Ophelia wants her father know that she’s lost touch with her own brain. And the play is not only the ‘Tragedy of Hamlet’, – it is the tragedy of Ophelia as well.
I often find actors come to me when preparing a Shakespeare audition for drama schools, with the ‘beats’ of the verse marked in their script, (as shown above here), but it is not a drumbeat being repeated line after line, it is a chance to understand Shakespeare’s meaning. Then to some extent – the meter, the verse can be forgotten. Because an audience does not come to hear five hours of an old-fashioned ‘rap’ they come for a play which is about all of life.
Actors must work like detectives. Those who look at lines endlessly are often the ones who get jobs, and they may, in fact, allow everyone to think they have understood the lines the first time they read them! But any serious Director – or Casting director – will know after 10 seconds of listening, if actors truly ‘get’ their part, and in Shakespeare the parts are the most exciting but also the most difficult ever written. So clear the decks and get to work folks, if you’re serious about Mr S.!
