Understanding Shakespeare

Summary

This video script explores the enduring legacy of William Shakespeare, often referred to as The Bard, and delves into his writing techniques used to appeal to diverse audiences at the Globe Theater. It explains the use of prose and verse to entertain both the nobility and commoners, highlighting the importance of Shakespeare's ability to resonate with different social classes. The script also discusses the structure and significance of sonnets in his works, using 'Romeo and Juliet' as an example to illustrate the call and response pattern and the contrast between spiritual and sensual imagery. The video encourages viewers to appreciate Shakespeare's dense and layered writing, meant to be experienced through performance rather than just reading.

Takeaways

• 🎭 William Shakespeare is often referred to as The Bard, a term indicating his authority and headship in English literature.
• 👑 Shakespeare was highly regarded in his time, even being commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I and rumored to have worked on the King James Bible.
• 🏟️ The Globe Theater, where Shakespeare's plays were performed, had a unique structure with different social classes occupying different areas, influencing his writing style.
• 📜 Shakespeare's plays were written to appeal to a diverse audience, alternating between prose for the commoners and verse for the nobility.
• 🤹‍♂️ Prose was used for comedic relief and lower-status characters, making the plays accessible to the groundlings in the pit.
• 🎭 Verse was utilized for higher-class characters to engage the nobility with complex themes and vocabulary.
• 📝 Shakespeare's writing often switches between prose and verse without a constant standard, depending on the editor of the book.
• 📚 Sonnets are a key form of verse used by Shakespeare, characterized by a specific rhyme scheme, rhythm, and structure.
• ❤️ The use of sonnets in 'Romeo and Juliet' signifies a mature love, contrasting with the spiritual and sensual imagery throughout the play.
• 📖 Shakespeare's works are best experienced through performance rather than just reading, emphasizing the importance of the theatrical experience.
• 📚 The Norton anthology of Shakespeare's complete works is recommended for those interested in exploring Shakespeare's extensive contributions to literature.

Q & A

What is the significance of the term 'The Bard' in reference to William Shakespeare?

The term 'The Bard' refers to a poet with authority and headship, similar to how presidents of clubs or universities are referred to with a lowercase 'b' compared to the President of the United States. In this case, 'The Bard' with a capital 'B' signifies Shakespeare's high regard and authority in English literature, indicating his status as perhaps the greatest English-speaking writer.

Why was Shakespeare commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I and King James I?

Shakespeare was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to write plays that honored her family's lineage, including the famous histories of Richard III and Henry V. It's rumored that he was also commissioned by King James I during the production of the King James Bible to reconstruct and analyze the Psalms, reflecting his influence and the esteem in which he was held.

What was the challenge that playwrights faced when writing for the Globe Theater?

The challenge was to entertain a diverse audience with vastly different social statuses, ranging from nobility to commoners. There was always the fear that either the nobility wouldn't endorse the play or the commoners would openly mock and heckle it during the live show.

How did Shakespeare adapt his writing style to cater to the different social classes in his audience?

Shakespeare effectively altered his writing style from character to character and scene to scene. He used prose for comedic relief characters and those of lower stature, which resonated with the commoners, and verse for characters of higher class to entertain the nobility due to the greater working vocabulary and complex character development.

What is the difference between prose and verse in Shakespeare's works?

Prose is made up of sentences and paragraphs without any rhyming structure, similar to normal writing today, and was usually attributed to characters of lower stature or for comedic relief. Verse, on the other hand, is poetry and was used for characters of higher class, offering a greater working vocabulary and complex character development.

How does the script describe the visual cue for when Shakespeare switches between prose and verse in his works?

The script mentions that prose lines often run continuously from margin to margin, while verse is usually made up of narrower lines all aligned on the left, creating jagged right-hand edges determined by the end rhyme or rhythm. Editors might also indent every other line of poetry to align the end rhyme.

What are the three attributes that identify a Shakespearean sonnet?

A Shakespearean sonnet can be identified by its rhyme scheme, rhythm, and structure. It consists of 14 lines with a specific rhyme scheme, predominantly written in iambic pentameter, and follows a structure of three quatrains followed by a couplet.

What is the role of the couplet in a sonnet?

The couplet in a sonnet serves a vital role, usually arriving in the form of a grand conclusion to the theme or idea explored in the quatrains. It often provides a summary or a twist that wraps up the sonnet's message.

How does the use of spiritual imagery in the sonnet between Romeo and Juliet signify their relationship?

The use of spiritual imagery, such as words like 'holy', 'saint', 'pray', 'sin', and 'faith', contrasted with the imagery of sensual body parts like hands and lips, signifies that their romance is not just a childish lusting but a higher form of love, indicating an equal partnership.

What does the repetition of the word 'sin' in the following quatrain of the sonnet suggest about Romeo and Juliet's relationship?

The repetition of the word 'sin' four times in immediate succession might foreshadow that their romance is doomed from the beginning, hinting at the tragic nature of their love story.

What is the recommended resource for those interested in exploring Shakespeare's complete works as mentioned in the script?

The script recommends the Norton anthology of Shakespeare's complete works, which is formatted clearly with history and information, making it a great resource for anyone looking to delve into Shakespeare's poems and plays.

Outlines

00:00

🎭 Shakespeare's Playwriting Mastery

This paragraph delves into the intricacies of Shakespeare's writing style and the historical context of his work. It highlights how Shakespeare was revered as 'The Bard' and his plays were commissioned by royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. The paragraph explains the unique challenges of writing for the diverse audience at the Globe Theater, where both nobility and commoners were entertained. Shakespeare's ability to switch between prose and verse to cater to different social classes is emphasized, with prose used for comedic relief and verse for complex themes and character development. The paragraph also discusses the visual cues in the text that indicate a shift in writing style, such as the alignment of lines for verse.

05:01

📜 The Art of Shakespearean Sonnets

This paragraph focuses on the structure and significance of sonnets in Shakespeare's work, particularly the use of rhyme scheme, rhythm, and structure. It describes the 14-line structure of sonnets, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet, which often serves as a grand conclusion to the theme. The paragraph explains the iambic pentameter rhythm, characterized by ten syllables per line, divided into pairs. It also discusses how Shakespeare uses sonnets to convey the depth of love in 'Romeo and Juliet,' employing a call and response pattern to signify equal partnership. The spiritual and sensual imagery in the sonnets is analyzed, with words like 'holy,' 'saint,' 'sin,' and 'faith' contrasted with 'hands' and 'lips.' The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the performance aspect of Shakespeare's work, suggesting that his words are meant to be experienced rather than read silently.

Keywords

💡Profane

The term 'profane' refers to treating something sacred with disrespect or irreverence. In the script, it is used metaphorically to describe the act of touching a holy shrine with an 'unworthiest hand,' symbolizing a moment of desecration or disrespect. The script uses this term to set a tone of reverence and to explore the themes of purity and desecration.

💡Palmer's kiss

A 'Palmer's kiss' is a term that historically refers to the kiss given by a pilgrim upon returning from a journey, often to a holy site. In the script, it is used to illustrate the sanctity of touch and the contrast between the sacred and the profane, as well as the idea of devotion and the physical act of kissing as a form of reverence.

💡Saints

Saints are individuals recognized for their holy and virtuous lives, often in religious contexts. The script mentions saints to draw a parallel between religious figures and the characters in Shakespeare's plays, suggesting a level of purity and moral authority that the characters aspire to or are compared against.

💡Pilgrim

A pilgrim is a traveler who undertakes a journey to a holy place as an act of devotion. In the script, the term 'pilgrim' is used to evoke the idea of a journey, both physical and metaphorical, and to explore themes of devotion, reverence, and the quest for spiritual enlightenment.

💡The Bard

The term 'The Bard' is a title used to refer to William Shakespeare, indicating his status as a preeminent poet and playwright. The script uses this term to emphasize Shakespeare's authority and influence in English literature and to highlight his enduring legacy.

💡Globe Theater

The Globe Theater was a theater in London associated with William Shakespeare and his plays. The script discusses the Globe to provide context for Shakespeare's writing style, explaining how the theater's structure and audience demographics influenced his use of prose and verse to appeal to different social classes.

💡Prose

Prose is a form of language that has a natural flow of speech and normal grammatical structure, without rhythm or rhyme. In the script, prose is mentioned as a writing style used by Shakespeare for comedic relief and characters of lower stature, making the plays accessible to the common audience.

💡Verse

Verse refers to a metrical form of poetry, often used in literature to convey heightened emotion or importance. The script explains that Shakespeare used verse for characters of higher class and for moments of significant thematic development, appealing to the more educated and elite audience members.

💡Sonnet

A sonnet is a 14-line poem with a specific structure and rhyme scheme, often used to express love or other deep emotions. The script discusses sonnets as a form of verse that Shakespeare used to establish character and story elements, particularly in the context of romantic relationships.

💡Iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter is a type of meter used in poetry, consisting of five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables per line. The script mentions this as the predominant rhythm of Shakespeare's sonnets, giving them a heartbeat-like rhythm that contributes to the emotional impact of the lines.

💡Call and response

Call and response is a pattern of communication or performance in which a speaker or group alternates with a listener or group, often used in music and poetry. The script refers to this pattern in the context of a sonnet spoken by two characters, indicating an equal partnership and a dialogue between them.

Highlights

Shakespeare's works are often considered impenetrable due to their complex writing styles and historical context.

Shakespeare was highly regarded in his time, referred to as 'The Bard', implying authority and headship.

Queen Elizabeth I commissioned Shakespeare to write plays honoring her family's lineage, including 'Richard III' and 'Henry V'.

Shakespeare's plays were performed at the Globe Theater, which had a diverse audience from nobility to commoners.

Playwrights had to entertain a wide social spectrum, balancing the approval of nobility and the engagement of commoners.

Shakespeare's brilliance is evident in his ability to alter his writing style to resonate with different audience members.

Pros, or prose, was used for comedic relief and characters of lower stature, making the dialogue accessible to commoners.

Verse was attributed to characters of higher class, appealing to the nobility with complex vocabulary and themes.

Shakespeare's best lines are often in verse, showcasing his ability to please both immediate audiences and secure noble patronage.

The transcript explores the use of sonnets in Shakespeare's writing, characterized by a specific rhyme scheme, rhythm, and structure.

Sonnets typically consist of 14 lines with a specific rhyme scheme and are written in iambic pentameter.

The couplet in a sonnet often serves as a grand conclusion to the theme explored in the preceding quatrains.

Shakespeare uses spiritual and sensual imagery in his sonnets to convey the depth of romantic relationships.

The call and response pattern in 'Romeo and Juliet' signifies an equal partnership, setting the tone for their love story.

The use of the word 'sin' in the sonnet foreshadows the doomed nature of Romeo and Juliet's romance.

Shakespeare's writing is dense and multi-layered, requiring an understanding of the context and style to fully appreciate.

Shakespeare's works were meant to be experienced through performance rather than just read on the page.

The Norton anthology of Shakespeare's complete works is recommended for those interested in exploring his poetry and plays.

Transcripts

[Music]

if I profane with my unworthiest hand

this holy Shrine the gentler sin is this

my lips two blushing pilgrims ready

stand to smooth that rough touch with a

tender kiss good

Pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much

which manly devotion shows in this for

Saints have hands that Pilgrim's hands

do

touch and palm to Palm is the holy

Palmer's kiss have not Saints lips and

holy Palmer too I Pilgrim lips that they

must use in prayer oh then dear Saint

let lips do what hands do they pray

Grant thou lest Faith turn to despair

Saints do not

move though grant for prayer sake then

move not while my prayers effect I take

through childhood past schooling and

into adulthood we've been told time and

time again that William Shakespeare is

perhaps the greatest English-speaking

writer to ever live after all his

admirers and peers would refer to him as

The Bard Bard meaning poet and that's

Bard with a capital B implying Authority

and headship similar to the way

presidents of clubs or universities are

lower case compared to the president of

the United States or how Norse and Greek

gods are lower case compared to the

judeo Christian God Shakespeare was so

highly regarded in his time that he was

commissioned by Queen Elizabeth the to

write plays that honored her family's

lineage including the famous histories

of Richard III and Henry V it's even

rumored that he was commissioned by

Queen Elizabeth's successor King James I

6 during production of the King James

Bible to reconstruct and lyze the Psalms

so we've seen Shakespeare's continued

influence throughout history but when we

sit down to pour over the text ourselves

it feels almost impenetrable like it was

written in another language in order for

us to better understand the nuances of

Shakespeare's complex writing styles we

must first acknowledge the context in

which these Works were created in the

late 16th century Shakespeare wrote and

performed as a part of the Lord

Chamberlain's men a troop of actors that

established the famous Globe Theater on

the outskirts of London and it's when we

examine how the globe practically

functioned as a theater that we begin to

understand Shakespeare's writing style

and the reasoning behind it the Globe

Theater was one of the first playhouses

constructed in London it consisted of

three tiers of galleries overlooking the

stage below and a standing area on the

ground surrounding the stage called the

pit or yard nobility sat in the

galleries which consisted of wooden

benches and roofs to protect from

inclement weather while the commoners

would occupy the pit below that was the

hardest task for playwrights at the time

you had to entertain a single room

consisting of vastly different ends on

the social status Spectrum there was

always the fear that either nobility

wouldn't endorse the play or the

commoners would openly Mock and Heckle a

play during the live show that's where

Shakespeare's Brilliance begins to show

he knew how to effectively alter his

writing style from character to

character and scene to scene in order to

resonate with the diverse audience he

would accomplish this by fluctuating

between pros and verse Pros is what we

would consider normal writing today made

up of sentences and paragraphs without

any rhyming structure whereas verse is

poetry Pros was usually attributed to

the comedic relief characters as well as

characters of lower stature this allowed

the audience specifically the

Groundlings in front of the stage to be

quickly entertained in such a way that

they could understand what was being

said by the actors on stage that way

they were invested in the story

throughout which kept them from growing

restless and bored and actively booing

and throwing food on the stage verse was

usually attributed to the characters of

higher class which would entertain the

audience members of higher stature due

to the greater working vocabulary and

complex character development and themes

they would enjoy seeing characters on

stage that resembled themselves

ultimately Shakespeare understood that

he had to please the miners in the

immediate for the individual performance

but he also knew that without the

approval and finances from nobility the

entire play itself would collapse and

fail that's why a vast majority of his

best lines are written in a form of

verse now is the winter of our

discontent to be or not to be that is

the

question oh Romeo

Romeo with four of the room you you

won't find a constant standard for when

Shakespeare switches between pros and

verse in his works because we're now

reading a format that varies from book

to book based on that particular book's

editor but in every book there's usually

a visual cue for the audience telling

them when the style of writing is

Shifting since Pros is plain speaking

it's common for those lines to run

continuously from margin to margin while

verse is usually made up of narrower

lines all aligned on the left creating

Jagged right- hand edges determined by

the end Rhyme or rhythm depending on the

editor they might also indent every

other line of poetry to align the end

Rhyme now verse encompasses many sub

genres of poetry but the main genre that

Shakespeare utilized is sonnets sonnets

can be identified by three attributes

rhyme scheme Rhythm and structure this

14line rhyme scheme is broken down into

three quatrains followed by a coulet

here the couplet serves a vital role

usually arriving in the form of a grand

conclusion to the theme or idea explored

in the quatrains in this example Romeo

and Juliet build a flirtation towards

the couet conclusion of their first

kiss the rhythm of these sonnets are

predominantly written in I Amic

pentameter in this style each sonnet

line consists of 10 syllables divided

into five pairs referred to as I AMS or

I Amic feet an AM is a metrical unit

made up of one unstressed syllable

followed by one stress syllable an

example of this unique Rhythm would be a

heartbeat

beat and that Rhythm sounds like this if

I profane with my unworthiest

hand now Shakespeare isn't only using

sonnets to appeal to the higher class

audience members he's also establishing

character and story elements the use of

poetry between Romeo and Juliet tells

the audience that this isn't a childish

lusting but true love this is a higher

faded love and what's unique about this

particular Sonet in the long list of

Shakespearean sonnets is that it's

spoken by two people there's a call and

response pattern that signifies that

this romance is an equal partnership

notice the spiritual imagery Shakespeare

uses throughout the sonnet words like

holy Saint prey sin and Faith are

contrasted with the imagery of Sensual

Body Parts such as hands and lips which

can be used for both praying and kissing

if we look at the next quatrain

immediately following this sonnet and

their first kiss the word sin is used

four times in immediate succession

perhaps foreshadowing that this romance

is doomed from the very

beginning Shakespeare's writing is dense

and multi-layered which can make it

extremely difficult but it helps to know

what to expect and look for when reading

however remember that Shakespeare's

words were never meant to be read on the

page they're to be experienced through

performance good

Pilgrim you to wrong your hand too

much which manly devotion shows in this

for Saints have hands that pilgrims

hands do touch and palm to Palm is Holy

Palmer's kiss have not Saints lips and

holy Palmer too I Pilgrim lips that they

must use in

prayer well then dear Saint let lips do

what hands do I pray Grant

thou lest Faith turn to despair

Saints do not move go grant for prayer

sake then move not while my prayers

affect I

tank hey everyone thanks for watching my

latest essay I definitely stepped

outside my comfort zone on this one but

I knew from the very beginning of

launching entertain the elk that I

didn't just want to pinge and hole

myself into exploring TV and film but I

wanted to explore all things art and

entertainment so I hope you're walking

away having a little more respect for

Shakespeare than you already did and are

maybe even inspired to pick up some

Shakespeare and read it again or for the

very first time I wanted to recommend

the Norton anthology of Shakespeare's

complete works I referenced this

countless times when making this essay

if you go to the link below in the

description it'll take you right there

you can pick it up it's great everything

is format Ed very clearly there's

history and information in here and it's

just a really great read to see

everything poems and plays wise of

Shakespeare so I can't recommend it

enough and if there was any footage or

music featured in this video that you

would like to see more please check the

description box below I'll have

everything laid out there for you thanks

again everyone for watching and I will

see you next time thanks