4. +
Rhyme in The Comedy of Errors
Couplets: Two lines that rhyme and have the
same meter
Slant rhyme: sounds of the final of words of
the line are similar but not identical
Internal rhyme: rhyme that occurs within a
single line of verse, or between internal
phrases across multiple lines.
6. +
Words and Phrases
The English language owes a great debt to
Shakespeare. Endlessly imaginative and not overly
concerned with grammatical convention, his scripts
contain thousands of never-before-seen words—a
diverse collection of loan-words from foreign
languages, compound words from existing English
terms, nouns turned into verbs, and creatively
applied prefixes—many of which have entered into
everyday language
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/wordsinvented.html
http://mentalfloss.com/article/48657/20-words-we-owe-william-shakespeare
8. +
A Comedy of Errors
High time
Twelfth Night
An improbable fiction.
Hob nob
Laugh oneself into stitches
Phrases
The Tempest
Strange bedfellows.
Such stuff as
dreams are made
on.
In a Pickle
9. Othello
A foregone conclusion.
Green-eyed monster.
I will wear my heart
upon my sleeve.
Neither here nor there.
Vanish into thin air.
Pomp and circumstance.
Richard III
A tower of strength.
A horse, a horse! My
kingdom for a horse!
Short shrift.
The winter of our discontent
10. +
.
'tis = it is
ope = open
o'er = over
gi' = give
ne'er = never
Shakespeare’s Contractions
Here are a few of the most common
contractions found in Shakespeare
i' = in
e'er = ever
oft = often
a' = he
e'en = eve
11. +
Sentences: Syntax
The most common simple sentence in modern English follows a familiar
pattern: Subject (S), Verb (V), Object (O).
"John caught the ball."
This is as perfectly an understood sentence in modern English as it was
in Shakespeare's day. However, Shakespeare was much more at liberty
to switch these three basic components—and did, quite frequently.
Shakespeare used a great deal of SOV inversion, which renders the
sentence as this:
"John the ball caught.”
From Shakespeare Resource Center: “Shakespeare's Grammar”
12. +
Sentences: Transitory Device
Shakespeare also throws in many examples of OSV construction:
"The ball John caught.”
Shakespeare seems to use this colloquially in many places as a
transitory device, bridging two sentences, to provide continuity.
Shakespeare (and many other writers) may also have used this as a
device to shift end emphasis to the verb of a clause. Also, another
prevalent usage of inversion was the VS order shift:
"caught John" instead of "John caught”
This order seems to be primarily a stylistic choice
From Shakespeare Resource Center: “Shakespeare's Grammar”
13. +
Sentences: Rhyming
Another reason for Shakespeare's utilization of this order
may be more practical. The romance languages of Italian
and French introduced rhymed verse; Anglo-Saxon poetry
was based on rhythm, metrical stresses, and alliteration
within lines rather than rhymed couplets. With the
introduction of rhymed poetic forms into English literature
(and, since the Norman invasion, an injection of French to
boot), there was a subsequent shift in English poetry.
Verbs in English are easy to rhyme because so many
English verbs are monosyllabic.
From Shakespeare Resource Center: “Shakespeare's Grammar”
14. +
Sentences: Blank Verse
Of course, Shakespeare wrote a great deal of work in blank
verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter: lines of five feet, each foot
being iambic, meaning two syllables long—one unstressed
followed by a stressed syllable). Frankly, Elizabethans allowed
for a lot more leeway in word order, and Shakespeare not only
realized that, he took advantage of it. By utilizing inverted word
orders, Shakespeare could effectively place the metrical stress
wherever he needed it most—and English is heavily dependent
on vocal inflection, which is not so easily translated into writing, to
suggest emphasis and meaning. In his usage of order inversion,
however, Shakespeare could compensate for this literary
shortcoming.
From Shakespeare Resource Center: “Shakespeare's Grammar”
16. +
Simile
This trope compares two things that have some things in common. Examples:
Blind as a bat
Pretty like a flower
Hard as a rock
Metaphor
The metaphor compares two things that have very little in common but do share
a trait or characteristic. It says something is something else to show what they
have in common. Examples:
He is an ogre.
You are my sunshine.
This school is a zoo.
Pun
A pun repeats a word or phrase but means it in a different way. A good example
is from Groucho Marx:
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
Wordplay
17. Personification
This trope gives human attributes to things that are not human. Examples:
The flowers nodded their heads.
The pizza disagreed with me.
The old car wheezed and complained.
Hyperbole
This trope uses exaggeration to get its point across. Examples:
He’s been here hundreds of times.
I’ll die from embarrassment.
She has tons of money.
Litotes
This trope understates to emphasize a point and is opposite to a hyperbole.
Examples:
That’s not the worst idea.
She’s not the most attractive person.
I am not a happy camper.
18. +The wordplay in this section is driven by a rhetorical device
called anadiplosis: words at the end of one line are picked up
at the beginning of the next. This is Dromio of Ephesus
speaking to Antipholus of Syracuse
Returned so soon? Rather approached too late.
The capon burns, the pig falls from the spit.
The clock hath strucken twelve upon the bell;
My mistress made it one upon my cheek.
She is so hot because the meat is cold.
The meat is cold because you come not home.
You come not home because you have no stomach.
You have no stomach, having broke your fast.
But we that know what 'tis to fast and pray
Are penitent for your default today.
(1.2.43-52)
19. +
Reading Exercise
People in your group will alternate reading lines from the
next slide. Sit or stand in a circle and read the lines in
order. Do it a second time, faster.
Next, choose one word from your line(s) that you feel is
most important. Now recite in order the important words.
Then, do it again faster.
We will have a couple of groups
perform aloud.
21. +
Scene Evaluation
The concept of word choice is central to
evaluating writing.
Which words did you identify as the most
important in this scene?
Why?
How might you summarize this scene?
Do the important words you chose help you
understand it better?
How many different words for “crazy” does the
Courtesan know?
Does her vocabulary affect the scene?
Let me
ask you!
23. +
The Royal Shakespeare Company
Act 5 Scene 1 Line 137 (5:1:137) to line 164 1:01
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2TmaMFXuvk
Judi Dench summarizes the situation for the duke!
26. +
Question
Shakespeare’ s choice to make
misidentification unintentional
complicates the issue of both identity
and trickery. Misidentification causes a
rapid switching between social positions.
For instance, Adriana is both an alluring
temptress who tries to trick a traveler and
a loyal wife who mistakenly invites an
impostor into her house. Find a scene of
intentional or unintentional deception.
Who is the trickster? What are the results
of the miscommunication or
misidentification?
Adriana the Temptress?
27. +
Question
Discuss the theme of Identity as it is presented in the play.
Is there a difference between public/social identities and
private identities?
28. +
Question
Are the Dromios servants or slaves?
Are their beatings meant to be farcical?
Are farce and social custom
interconnected? Can you think of a
contemporary example?
29. + Questions Discuss Pinch
and his role in the
story
What is thought to be the
longest insult in all of the
plays of Shakespeare is found
in
The Comedy of Errors, 5:1
30. +
The Royal Shakespeare Company:
Satan Come Forth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd-1M2VQnzQ
Act 4 Scene 4 line 51 to line 136 10:46
This is the scene
starring Pinch
31. +
Recitation: A Sonnet or Soliloquy 50 points
Each person in class will do one presentation of either
a sonnet or soliloquy (speech/monologue), including a
written summary—half a page describing the content
and the formal elements —and a memorized
performance. You may read the summary either before
or after your recitation. Please be prepared to turn in
an appropriately formatted (MLA) copy of your
summary. Please bring a printed copy of your
memorized speech for the overhead projector. You
may complete this assignment beginning week four. A
sign up sheet will be available, but piece selection will
be based on the order of post #3.
32. If you don’t know where to start, check the links on the website
to the sonnets and great soliloquys, speeches, and
monologues.
Read: The three trickster articles under
“Course Readings”
Post #3: QHQ on one of the three. Don’t all
do the same article!
Choose your recitation piece and post the
following information:
1. Title of Sonnet or Title of Play and
Act/Scene/Lines. Remember, you may not
duplicate another student’s recitation, so
note which are posted before you choose.
Posting order will be the final
determination of who chose first.
