1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910971106103321

Autore

O'Dell Leslie

Titolo

Shakespearean language : a guide for actors and students / / Leslie O'Dell

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Westport, Conn. : , : Greenwood Press, , 2002

London : , : Bloomsbury Publishing, , 2024

ISBN

9798216014096

9786610708253

9781280708251

1280708255

9780313006944

0313006946

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (275 p.)

Disciplina

822.3/3

Soggetti

English language - Early modern, 1500-1700 - Pronunciation

English language - Early modern, 1500-1700 - Versification

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [253]-256) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Sound and Fury -- An Actor's Guide to Shakespeare's Verse -- Scansion -- The Sonnets -- Developing the Inner Ear -- The Flow of Thought and Feeling -- Putting It on Its Feet -- Messages in the Code -- Rhetoric -- Acquiring an Elizabethan Rhetorical Facility -- Structuring Argument -- Tangled Webs -- Recommended Reading -- Bibliography -- General Index -- Index of Plays and Characters.

Sommario/riassunto

Shakespeare was a master of language, his sayings have become part of everyday speech, and his plays endure, in part, because of the beauty of his verse. Shakespeare's language, however, poses special difficulties for modern actors because many of his words seem unusual or difficult to pronounce, he employs rhetorical devices throughout his works, and he carefully uses rhythm to convey sense.The relation of the modern actor to the Shakespearean text, the importance of understanding the nuances of his language, and the fundamentals of grammar are all thoroughly examined in this volume. Its heart is a



detailed consideration of the iambic code, the metrical system that Shakespeare used to give so much power to his verse. O'Dell also examines the importance of formal rhetoric in Elizabethan England and Shakespeare's artful use of rhetorical devices in his plays. As a practical reference guide, this volume keeps in mind the particular needs of theater professionals.