Metre, rhythm and sounds of silence in Shakespeare
Metre, rhythm and sounds of silence in Shakespeare
This article draws a sharp distinction between the terms ‘metre’ and ‘rhythm’. It explores the meaningful non-semantic values in Shakespeare’s verbal patterns, and the super-metrical rhythms they create. It considers the religious and educational contexts in which ordinary people in the sixteenth century experienced metre – experiences which often included the use of paraphrase or hearing something against a memory of another version of the same thing. And it argues that in English, where poets are compelled to grapple with the competing forces of accent and syllable length, the interplay between metre and rhythm can be exploited in fluid, even seemingly improvisational ways. In the spoken language of plays, this feature can be used to aid characterisation by creating specific dramaturgical effects, including different kinds of noise and, crucially, significant silences, which can be missed when metre and rhythm are used as interchangeable terms.
Religion, accent, dramaturgy, education, syllable
289-301
King, Ros
7b27456c-0da8-432b-a82f-ee19af23d4fb
13 July 2022
King, Ros
7b27456c-0da8-432b-a82f-ee19af23d4fb
Abstract
This article draws a sharp distinction between the terms ‘metre’ and ‘rhythm’. It explores the meaningful non-semantic values in Shakespeare’s verbal patterns, and the super-metrical rhythms they create. It considers the religious and educational contexts in which ordinary people in the sixteenth century experienced metre – experiences which often included the use of paraphrase or hearing something against a memory of another version of the same thing. And it argues that in English, where poets are compelled to grapple with the competing forces of accent and syllable length, the interplay between metre and rhythm can be exploited in fluid, even seemingly improvisational ways. In the spoken language of plays, this feature can be used to aid characterisation by creating specific dramaturgical effects, including different kinds of noise and, crucially, significant silences, which can be missed when metre and rhythm are used as interchangeable terms.
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Published date: 13 July 2022
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Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Ros King.
Keywords:
Religion, accent, dramaturgy, education, syllable
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Local EPrints ID: 475471
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/475471
ISSN: 1745-0918
PURE UUID: 66c1c4b9-d5ff-4c51-8a92-1b0a061f0bb3
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Date deposited: 20 Mar 2023 17:40
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 21:39
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