The Tempest: Act III

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Shakespeare is famous today not only because of his plays but also because of his poetry.

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Shakespeare was an expert poet, and his skill influenced his writing style in his plays as well. His plays are comprised of two styles of writing: verse and prose.

Verse, or lines of poetry, can be rhymed or unrhymed (blank).

In The Tempest, most of the verse is not in a pattern that is always obvious to our ears. Instead, look for visual clues.

In both rhymed and blank verse, the line of print does not extend to fill the whole page, and the first word of every line is capitalized.

Example of rhymed (Act II, Scene I)

• ARIEL
• (aside) Prospero my lord shall know what I have done.
• So, King, go safely on to seek thy son.

Example of blank (unrhymed)(Act I, Scene II)

• PROSPERO
• The government I cast upon my brother
• And to my state grew stranger, being transported
• And rapt in secret studies. Thy false uncle
• Dost thou attend me?

Prose refers to ordinary speech with no pattern or rhythm.

Look for the visual clue. A long passage in prose is typically printed like an ordinary paragraph instead of being centered. Standard rules of capitalization apply.

Example (Act II, Scene II)

• TRINCULO
• Heres neither bush nor shrub to bear off any weather at all.
• And another storm brewing, I hear it sing i th wind. Yond same black cloud, yond huge one, looks like a foul bombard that would shed his liquor. If it should thunder as it did before, I know not where to hide my head. Yond same cloud cannot choose but fall by pailfuls. (sees CALIBAN)

The verse in Shakespeare's plays is exciting because most of it is written in iambic pentameter.

Watch this TEDEd video for a thorough description of iambic pentameter.

To summarize, iambic pentameter is a five-foot metrical line of a weak syllable followed by a strong syllable. Remember the trick the video showed you: I AM a PI rate WITH a WOOD en LEG.

Now that you can identify the differences between verse and prose, you need to understand why Shakespeare used both in his plays.

Shakespeare wrote in verse for the following reasons.

Aesthetic Appeal: Shakespeare's use of verse added musicality to his plays, making them more pleasing to the ear. By using iambic pentameter, he created a pleasing cadence that could enhance the emotional impact of his dialogue and make it more memorable.

Elevation of Characters: Shakespeare's use of verse also served to elevate his characters, particularly the nobility. In his time, poetry was considered the language of the upper class and the educated, so by having his aristocratic characters speak in verse, he signaled their high status.

Flexibility: Verse allowed Shakespeare to be more flexible in his language. It allowed him to play with words, use metaphors, and create puns that would not have been possible in prose. This flexibility gave Shakespeare's language richness and complexity that contributed to the depth of his characters and the themes of his plays.

Differentiation: Shakespeare also used verse to differentiate between different characters and social classes. For example, he often used blank verse for his noble characters and prose for his commoners. This helped to create a sense of hierarchy and class distinction within his plays.

Convey Emotion: Shakespeare used verse to convey the emotional state of life. For example, when a character feels angry or passionate, their lines might be written in short, sharp bursts of verse, while a sad character might speak in longer, more drawn-out lines.

Practicality: Finally, it's important to note that Shakespeare's choice to write in verse was also practical. Plays were performed in open-air theaters, where the acoustics were poor, and there were no microphones. By using verse, Shakespeare ensured that his actors would be heard and understood, even in noisy and crowded environments. The rhythmic pattern of verse also helped actors remember their lines more easily.

Shakespeare wrote in prose for the following reasons.

Character Depiction: Shakespeare often used prose to depict commoners, servants, and comic characters. Prose was a more natural form of speech that could convey the everyday language of ordinary people. This helped to differentiate these characters from the more elevated language of the nobles, who were often depicted in verse.

Realism: Shakespeare used prose to create a sense of realism. By using the language of the time and place, he was able to immerse the audience in the world of the play and create a sense of historical authenticity.

Convey Madness: Shakespeare used prose to convey madness and insanity, particularly in characters like Ophelia in Hamlet or Edgar in King Lear. He could convey these characters' disordered thoughts and emotions by using broken, disjointed, or nonsensical language.

Variety: Finally, Shakespeare used prose as a contrast to verse. By alternating between prose and verse, he created a sense of variety and complexity within his plays. This helped keep the audience engaged and interested in the play's actions.

Once you have absorbed and understood prose and poetry, continue to the Got It? section to work with iambic pentameter.