Iambic Pentameter

Cassidy Cash, the podcast host of That Shakespeare Life, interviews Shane Ann about iambic pentameter in Shakespeare’s plays. Iambic pentameter verse consists of five feet (a foot is an iamb).  Each foot is made up of two syllables – one syllable is stressed and the other is unstressed. Pentameter is taken from the Greek word “penta” meaning five. Therefore, iambic … Read More

Accents Dialects and Foreign Languages

Audio shakespeare pronunciation guide

Accents, Dialects and Foreign Languages. In some plays, accents are required of characters whose native language is not English. This occurs in both The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V. In the former, Dr. Caius, the physician, speaks English with a French accent and Hugh Evans, the schoolmaster, speaks English with a Welsh accent. The different accents of the … Read More

References

Audio Shakespeare Pronunciation App

References Audio Shakespeare Pronunciation App: Abbott, E. A. A Shakespearian Grammar. New York: Dover Publications, 1966. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 3rd Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. Allen, W. Sidney. Vax Latina. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965. Attridge, Derek. Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Barton, John. Playing Shakespeare. London and New York: Methuen, … Read More