Savor the Feel of Words
Many years ago I studied Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with a wise teacher, David Perry.
My partner and I brought in the scene from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where Titania and Oberon, the Queen and King of the Fairies, confront one another.
We decided to play the scene with a sense of flirtation and provocation. I remember sprawling on a love seat backwards, legs in the air, while I fed myself long strands of red licorice.
David watched the scene patiently. When we were done, he asked:
“What makes you think Oberon and Titania are frivolous beings? What makes you believe that the creatures who rule all of the natural world would bicker? These two are not bickering. They are enraged.”
I ventured, “Well, in our interpretation…”
“No. Shakespeare tells the actor how the character feels and behaves with the sound of the words. Titania’s language is full of plosives (comes from “explosive”) and hissing. Try it again. Pro-NOUNCE the words. Feel the shape and meaning of the words in your mouth and on your lips. And stand up.”
I rolled off of the couch, tossed the licorice in the bin, and stood tall.
I leaned into the feeling of the words in my mouth, played with the sounds, and allowed Shakespeare to lead me into the psyche of Titania.
See the below bolded phrases to hear the spitting, fiery, hissing fury of Titania.
TITANIA
…I know
When thou hast stolen away from fairy land,
And in the shape of Corin sat all day,
Playing on pipes of corn and versing love
To amorous Phillida. Why art thou here,
Come from the farthest Steppe of India?
But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon,
Your buskin'd mistress and your warrior love,
To Theseus must be wedded, and you come
To give their bed joy and prosperity.
Shakespeare knew the power of onomatopoeic language to touch his audience viscerally. In fact, many great speakers throughout English-speaking history depend on the short, guttural, consonant-driven, explosive and vivid Anglo-Saxon language to deliver messages that move people.
This week, notice the words you choose, notice their sound and feel, savor every consonant and round vowel.
Next week, we look at the power of Anglo-Saxon words as compared to those derived from Latin.
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