Shakespeare's StagecraftFor many years, critics and students of Shakespeare have tended to stress that his plays are poetic structures embodying 'themes', and these structures have been analysed in great detail. Professor Styan advocates another approach. The plays were written for acting, in a theatre of a particular type. If we ask what effects this kind of theatre encouraged and how Shakespeare exploited them, the plays are seen as a sequence of stage-effects, planned with great art so as to enrich, reinforce and modify each other. Professor Styan begins with the known facts about the Elizabethan theatre, stressing the effect of the size of the apron stage, and the degree in which the spectators situated all around are involved in the action. It was a theatre of movement and grouping, and above all speech. Shakespeare's verse is full of suggestions about how it is to be delivered; it is, in Professor Styan's word, 'gestic'. Professor Styan shows in very many examples, quoting the text and examining its dramatic implications, what the words suggest about movement over the stage, about the relationship between groups of players on the stage, and about the delivery and dramatic effect of the words themselves. Thus we build up a new sense of the whole play. This is a convenient and comprehensive introduction to the study of Shakespeare's dramatic craftsmanship, which also reopens that direction of enquiry which Granville-Barker first explored. |
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Page v
... . Controlling the visual images . Crowds . Armies into battle . Two - fold grouping . Grouping , three- and four - fold . The Shakespearian spectacular . page 1 7 28 53 81 109 III SHAKESPEARE'S AURAL CRAFT 6 Speaking the Speech page 141 V ...
... . Controlling the visual images . Crowds . Armies into battle . Two - fold grouping . Grouping , three- and four - fold . The Shakespearian spectacular . page 1 7 28 53 81 109 III SHAKESPEARE'S AURAL CRAFT 6 Speaking the Speech page 141 V ...
Page vi
... speech . The setting and the solo speech . 7 The Orchestration of Speech Contrasting patterns of sound . Duologue and duet . Pace . Crescendo . Variation of tempo . A note on pause and silence . 172 8 Total Theatre IV CONCLUSIONS Eye ...
... speech . The setting and the solo speech . 7 The Orchestration of Speech Contrasting patterns of sound . Duologue and duet . Pace . Crescendo . Variation of tempo . A note on pause and silence . 172 8 Total Theatre IV CONCLUSIONS Eye ...
Page 2
... speech or a sequence of speeches , a scene or a sequence of scenes , will appear . The dimension of time 2 Introduction.
... speech or a sequence of speeches , a scene or a sequence of scenes , will appear . The dimension of time 2 Introduction.
Page 3
... speech or movement , or the change or intensifying of their tone or manner , must also be indicative of Shakespeare's stage sense . Movement , tempo and mood are not the qualities in a play that are most readily recognized from the ...
... speech or movement , or the change or intensifying of their tone or manner , must also be indicative of Shakespeare's stage sense . Movement , tempo and mood are not the qualities in a play that are most readily recognized from the ...
Page 15
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