The Nuts and Bolts of Shakespeare: Piecing together Shakespeare's Grand Design William Shakespeare is a name that is known

b !ust about e"er literate person in the world# The contribution his work had on his time cannot be disputed# $ar!orie Garber claims that his effect transcends further than his time% &Shakespeare makes modern culture and modern culture makes Shakespeare'()iii*# +urthermore Da"id ,r stal adds% &-ll fluent modern .nglish speakers% nati"e or non nati"e% ha"e an immensel powerful start% in that the alread know o"er /0 per cent of the language that Shakespeare uses'(12*# With this being said it can be argued that b understanding the fundamentals of Shakespeare's st le% modern readers can piece together the linguistic nuts and bolts to ascertain the simpler meaning in Shakespeare's work# B writing in a wa to be heard and not read% Shakespeare utili3ed the techni4ue of rh thm to engage his listeners% and assist them in establishing connections within his work# Sean $c ."o endorses this idea b stating% &5ou might think that writing which is meant to be heard% not read% would be simpler to understand###What actuall happens is that the language gets more patterned: it tends to ha"e distincti"e rh mes and repetitions of words% phrases% and wa s of sa ing things'(16*# $uch of Shakespeare's work was meant to be performed% and thus one must pa special attention to the phonological aspects of his work# 7ne of these aspects% rh thm% is found in almost all of his work and is imperati"e to his success# .nglish is a stressed based language% and rh thm occurs when the stresses of certain words fall into a pattern of regular inter"als# This concept of using rh thm was not onl used b Shakespeare% but appears in toda 8s modern culture# ,onsider the lines of a fa"orite song that repeat o"er and o"er in our brain# 9n the l rics of our fa"orite song% man times specific words or sounds are stressed to establish a meaning# These lines are carefull constructed with rh thm and repetition in such a wa that it becomes easier for our brain to recogni3e% store% and reiterate# The same goes for an &stud rh mes' such as &9 before . e)cept after ,'# :h thm can be said to be one of the most basic aspects of the .nglish language% as% &###rh thmical properties of a mothers speech can be heard b her foetus in the womb from around si) months; language<specific rh thms are the first features to be heard in the phonetic output of an infant at about nine months of age'(,r stal 102*# When children begin learning% the most common method of memori3ation is to use a rh me# Think of how man childrens literature books are centered around this idea# .ssentiall % rh thm is one of the first forms of language we recogni3e and regurgitate in our ounger ears% thus it pla s in important role in our understanding of larger% more comple) issues# 9n one of Shakespeare's most well known sonnets% Sonnet =1>% he uses the method of rh thm to assist the reader in deri"ing meaning# ?e uses an -B rh me scheme% which cause the entire sonnet to be read in such a wa that the similar sounds help to establish connections within the brain# +or e)ample the words &temperate' and &short a date' allude to the fact that summer passes too 4uickl % while &Thou(meaning & ou' in a plural conte)t*' is more constant# +urthermore the words &hea"en shines' and &sometimes declines' shows the parado) between beaut and death# 9t also alludes to the fact that one who shines to bright and too fast% while ultimatel face a rapid decline as well# The final lines in the sonnet% the couplet of &see' and &thee'% wrap up the sonnet and pro"ide the listener or reader with a sense of finalit # Thus it can be said that this rh thmical wa of writing also helps to establish a beginning and an end% and

works to engage the listener or propel the reader# .ssentiall % it keeps the piece &mo"ing' and gi"es it more life than !ust a cluster of words# ?owe"er the main hindrance of rh thm to the modern reader is it re4uires the use of punctuation that has changed in meaning since Shakespeare8s' time# -nother important aspect of Shakespeare's fundamentals that one must understand% is the specific use of punctuation throughout his works# -gain% one must consider that his work is to be heard and not read% thus the placement of punctuation is essentiall creating the mood of the words# Shakespearean punctuation is a bit difficult to e"aluate% as the regular usage of punctuation was !ust beginning in this time% and thus some of the meanings ha"e changed# +or e)ample man writers of this time confused the usages of the 4uestion mark and the e)clamation point% due to their similar appearance# +urthermore the apostrophe of modern times works to omit letters in words such as &can't' or &here's'% signals a possession on words such as &cats'' or &dogs''% or helps establish when there are plurals in phrases such as B's% @'s% T's% etc# ?owe"er in the time of Shakespeare% &9t was !ust primaril to mark an omission (elision* of a letter% whether spoken or silent% as in th' for the or hang'd for hanged% and this is is one of the most distincti"e features of the grapholog of the pla s'(,r stal >6*# 9n some instances% more than one letter has been omitted% which sometimes is wh people claim Shakespeare to be a complicated read# There are se"eral reasons for the omitting of letters including: enabling a word to fit into a line% stressing emphasis of a particular sentence% helping to identif a character or characters speech% or simpl because the words meaning is alread apparent to the reader and the e)tra letter is not re4uired for comprehension# -nother piece of punctuation highl used in Shakespearean works is the h phen# The h phen became popular in 12A0% and was used similarl as it is toda % to !oin or link ideas together# Shakespeare used it primaril to indicate a word<break or to identif compound e)pressions# 9n Sonnet =1>% Shakespeare uses punctuation mainl as a method to aid in the creation of rh thm% howe"er it is also used as a mode to communicate to the reader b which means the piece should be read# Perhaps the greatest hindrance to the modern reader is the changed meaning of the apostrophe# Shakespeare uses words such as &ow'st' and &grow'st' that to the modern reader look unfamiliar due to the unfamiliar used of the apostrophe# ?owe"er b understanding that Shakespeare's apostrophe is simpl used as a place holder for an unneeded letter% the modern reader will 4uickl reali3e that the seemingl intimidating words of &ow'st' and &grow'st' are simpl !ust to be understood as &owest' and &growest'# Thus &thou(meaning & ou' in a plural conte)t*' owns the beaut % and this beaut continues to grow in the lines of "erse# +urthermore the punctuation placed at the end of a line signals to the reader the tone% and how long a pause% if an % should be gi"en# The meaning of the period% 4uestion mark% comma% and semi<colon are mostl similar to the meanings of the modern time% thus not much confusion is deri"ed from the use of these marks# +or e)ample% &Shall 9 compare thee to a summer's da B' is read with a rising pitch to inflect a 4uestion% &Thou art more lo"el and more temperate#' is read with the appropriate pause after the period% and &:ough winds do shake the darling buds of $a %C-nd summer's lease hath all too short a date#' is read with a slight pause at the comma with the continuation of the sentence until the longer pause at the period# Punctuation% like rh thm% aides in the o"erall st le of the sonnet# Perhaps the greatest fundamental of Shakespeare's st le that one must understand is 9ambic

Pentameter# 9ambic Pentameter was highl popular during the .li3abethan era of Shakespeare8s time% and utili3es a &da<dum' rh thm pattern# -lthough something that most sh awa from% the idea of 9ambic Pentameter is actuall a relati"el simplistic idea# - meter describes the patterns of s llables in a line% while an 9amb represents a foot consisting of a stressed and unstressed s llable% the &da<dum'# Penta means fi"e% thus 9ambic Pentameter can be simplified as being a poem consisting of fi"e feet of 9ambs# ,r stal belie"es the idea of 9ambic Pentameter eas to comprehend% &###the pentameter comes closest to the wa our brain actuall processes e"er da speech# 9f we e)amine the length of rh thmCtone<units in normal con"ersation% we find that /2 percent of them ha"e been between one and fi"e stressed s llables'(1@0*# The ma!orit of Shakespeare's earl work consists of this form% and the drama he has written also maintains this form# To ha"e his audience appreciate what he has written% Shakespeare needed to present it using what ,r stal calls% & - special mode of orator '(11A*# People went to theaters to be entertained and thus are &###not !ust e)pecting to hear some content% but to hear that content presented in a different wa from how it would be if it were !ust 'said'# The more the reciters can introduce special de"ices into their speech% the more we are impressed'(,r stal 11A*# B mastering the art of using stressed and unstressed s llables of the .nglish language% Shakespeare was able to present a rh thm that his audience clung too# This techni4ue is used in man forms of modern work to establish the same connection Shakespeare had with his audience so man ears ago# +or e)ample when one tells a !oke% it usuall consists of some kind of language rh thm or stressing of particular s llables% leading up to a &punchline'# The same use of language rh thm can be heard in a speech gi"en b important figures# ,onsider the famous lines b Dohn +# Eenned in his inaugural address% &-sk not what our countr can do for ou<ask what ou can do for our countr '# This line emplo s the Shakespearean use of language rh thm and repetition to embed an idea into its audience# 9t is through the parameters of 9amic Pentameter that Shakespeare has written Sonnet =1>% and the stressing of specific s llables attributes for some of the uni4ue wording and punctuation# The most abstract wording and punctuation used% as mentioned before% is the words &ow'st' and &grow'st'# To the modern reader% it would seem far simpler to !ust write the words as &owest' and &growest'% a"oiding the confusion regarding their meaning as well as the possible misinterpretation of the apostrophe# ?owe"er in regarding the form of 9ambic Pentameter% it becomes e"ident that this is not an option# 9n obser"ing the lines% with the stressed s llables in bold and the unstressed s llables in Italics% the fi"e feet containing iambs can be noticed% &Nor lose possession of that fairthou ow'st;###When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st.' The reason the that &ow'st' and &grow'st' were not written as &owest' and &growest' was to meet the metrical constraints of 9ambic Pentameter# Thus% the apostrophe% b omiting the place of a letter% also ser"es as a metrical regulator b omitting an e)tra s llable# Word order is another aspect affected b the parameters of 9ambic Pentameter# +or e)ample the lines% &Andsummer's lease hath all too short a date#CSometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines%' are a more comple) wa of sa ing that summer is often too short and "er hot# ?owe"er the words used and the order in which the are placed is a result of writing within the form of 9ambic Pentameter# 9nstead of sa ing &the hot summer sun shines too bright 4uickl '% the boundaries of 9ambic Pentameter encourage a more creati"e wa of wording that often re4uires normal sentence structure to change# The relationship between 9ambic Pentameter and sentence structure is also seen in the number of sentences per line# The metrical

constraints associated with 9ambic Pentameter sometimes call for a sentence per line% a sentence per two lines% and e"en a clause per line# Sonnet =1> e)hibits e)amples of all these# Fines 1<@ are an e)ample of the simplest relationship between 9ambic Pentameter and sentence structure% a sentence per line# -bo"e this in comple)it is the sentence per two lines% seen in lines 6<G and again in lines 16<1G# The most comple)% a clause per line% is seen in lines 2<> and again in lines /<1@# This structure affects the wa the poem is read% as the pace of reading ine"itabl increases depending on the comple)it of the 9ambic Pentameter<sentence structure relationship# 9n understanding the fundamentals of Shakespeare's st le% modern readers can read his work with ease and appreciation for his techni4ue# $uch of the an)iet associated with reading Shakespeare is simpl due to ignorance regarding the language and form that he wrote with# B alle"iating this ignorance% the modern reader can not onl gain knowledge in the form of meaning deri"ed from his work% but b the process the took to break down and ac4uire that meaning# 9n most things in life% it is not onl the accomplishment that matters% but the process one took to achie"e that accomplishment# B learning how to e"aluate and understand the process and fundamentals of things% one can ac4uire a greater knowledge and appreciation for not onl Shakespeare% but for the world the li"e in# Fife is nothing more than a pu33le; all the pieces are here% the !ourne is simpl learning how to put them together# 9n the end its not finishing the pu33le that matters% its the process of figuring out where to put each indi"idual piece#

Works ,ited: ,r stal% Da"id# Think on my Words: Exploring Shakespeare's Hni"ersit Press% @00># Print anguage! ,ambridge: ,ambridge

Garber% $ar!orie# Shakespeare and "odern #ulture! New 5ork: Pantheon Books% @00># Print

$c."o % Sean# &,hapter 1: Shakespeare's Fanguage (1*#' Shakespeare: The Basics# 11<62# n#p#:Ta lor I +rancis FtdC Books% @000# iterary $eference #enter! Web# 10 -pr# @016

Shakespeare% William# &Sonnet 1>#'The Early "odern %eriod! .d# Da"id Damrosch and Ee"in D#?# Dettmar# +ourth ed# New 5ork: Fongman% @010# 1@0G# Print# Jol# 1B of The ongman Anthology of &ritish iterature!