Shakespeare First Folio WorkshopAdapted from Kate Buckley © 1999

This Figure, that thou here seest put,It was for gentle Shakespeare cut,Wherein the Graver had a strifewith Nature, to out-doo the life :

O, could he but have drawne his witAs well in brasse, as he hath hit

His face; the Print would then surpasseAll, that was ever writ in brasse.

But, since he cannot, Reader, lookeNot on his Picture, but his Booke.

— Ben Jonson on Martin Droeshout's engraving on the First Folio

To the great Variety of Readers.

From the most able, to him that can but spell : There you are number'd. We had rather you were weighd. Especially, when the fate of all Bookes depends upon your capacities : and not of your heads alone, but of your purses. Well ! It is now publique, & you wil stand for your priviledges wee know : to read, and censure. Do so, but buy it first. That doth best commend a Booke, the Stationer saies. Then, how odde soever your braines be, or your wisedomes, make your licence the same, and spare not. Judge your six-pen'orth, your shillings worth, your five shillings worth at a time, or higher, so you rise to the just rates, and welcome. But, whatever you do, Buy. Censure will not drive a Trade, or make the Jacke go. And though you be a Magistrate of wit, and sit on the Stage at Black-Friers, or the Cock-pit, to arraigne Playes dailie, know, these Playes have had their triall alreadie, and stood out all Appeales ; and do now come forth quitted rather by a Decree of Court, then any purchas'd Letters of commendation.It had bene a thing, we confesse, worthie to have bene wished, that the Author himselfe had liv'd to have set forth, and overseen his owne writings ; But since it hath bin ordain'd otherwise, and he by death departed from that right, we pray you do not envie his Friends, the office of their care, and paine, to have collected & publish'd them; and so to have publish'd them, as where (before) you were abus'd with diverse stolne, and surreptitious copies, maimed, and deformed by the frauds and stealthes of injurious impostors, that expos'd them : even those, are now offer'd to your view cur'd, and perfect of their limbes; and all the rest, absolute in their numbers, as he conceived the'. Who, as he was a happie imitator of Nature, was a most gentle expresser of it. His mind and hand went together: And what he thought, he uttered with that easinesse, that wee have scarse received from him a blot in his papers. But it is not our province, who onely gather his works, and give them you, to praise him. It is yours that reade him. And there we hope, to your divers capacities, you will finde enough, both to draw, and hold you : for his wit can no more lie hid, then it could be lost. Reade him, therefore; and againe, and againe : And if then you doe not like him, surely you are in some manifest danger, not to understand him. And so we leave you to other of his Friends, whom if you need, can bee your guides : if you neede them not, you can leade your selves, and others. And such Readers we wish him.John Heminge.Henrie Condell.

What we gaine from using the First FolioCambridge EditionWhat a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason:How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me; no , nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.

First Folio1350: What a piece of worke is a man! how Noble in 1351: Reason? how infinite in faculty? in forme and mouing 1352: how expresse and admirable? in Action, how like an An-gel? 1353: in apprehension, how like a God? the beauty of the 1354: world, the Parragon of Animals; and yet to me, what is 1355: this Quintessence of Dust? Man delights not me; no, 1356: nor Woman neither; though by your smiling you seeme 1357: to say so.

(keep in mind question marks, were also used, at times, for exclamation marks. But it’s interesting to note that the first sentence uses and exclamation mark and the rest of the speech does not.)

Guidelines

Definitions Small WordsVerse & Prose Assonance & AlliterationHeightened & Direct Language RepetitionSpelling IronyEcphonesis “O” AntithesisPunctuation & Breathing Double EntendreParenthetical BanterDashes Documents & LettersCapitalization Italics & QuotationsIambic Pentameter MemorizationShared & Short Lines Scoring the TextMonosyllabicTheory of Separation

Definitions – Know what you are saying at all times! Use Lexicons and footnotes from multiple sources for best understanding.

Verse & Prose – 75% Poetic Line Form 25% Prose FormFor the purpose of this class we will focus our attention on verse speaking. But note, most verse guidelines may be applied to prose speaking. Only breathing guidelines become more relaxed. The form of writing (verse or prose) indicates clues for characterization. Prose is an indication that the character might be of lower class, comic or mentally off-center.

Heightened & Direct Language – Heightened is a form of speech not usually found in everyday usage. Metaphor, Similes . . . are elevated forms found in Shakespeare’s poetry. Direct language is simply what is said . . . “Here comes the King.”. Both types of language are clues into a characters state of mind or characterization.

Example: 1: Actus primus. 2: [ Enter Anthonio, Salarino, and Salanio.]

3: Anthonio.

4: In sooth I know not why I am so sad, 5: It wearies me: you say it wearies you; 6: But how I caught it, found it, or came by it, 7: What stuffe 'tis made of, whereof it is borne, 8: I am to learne: and such a Want-wit sadnesse makes of 9: mee, 10: That I haue much ado to know my selfe. 11: Salario.Your minde is tossing on the Ocean, 12: There where your Argosies with portly saile 13: Like Signiors and rich Burgers on the flood, 14: Or as it were the Pageants of the sea, 15: Do ouer-peere the pettie Traffiquers 16: That curtsie to them, do them reuerence 17: As they flye by them with their wouen wings.

Spelling – Elizabethans spelled words the way they wanted them to sound and in printing you will find:

s interchanged with f u interchanged with v I interchanged with ju interchanged with w I interchanged with aye ayre interchanged with aire, heir

Double consonants at the end of the verse line, elongate the preceding vowelBeautifull, fantasticall, temporall, majesticallE at the end of a word (breake) emphasize the preceding vowel and USE the ending consonantDouble consonant + E (warre, sonne) elongate the preceding vowel and press on the double consonant soundUnvoic’d syllable ‘d and ‘st banish’d / know’st / thron’d / see’stVoiced syllable ed and est banished / knowest / throned / seest

The Ecphonesis O – to cry out with passionO Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? 828: Denie thy Father and refuse thy name: 829: Or if thou wilt not, be but sworne to my Loue, 830: And Ile no longer be a Capulet.

Capitalization – Capitalized words within the verse lines can be used for irony, contrast or as a tool to deeper emotional connection. Where words are capitalized the word is Important! Caps indicate that the actor should take particular note of the word and do SOMETHING with it. Make a choice about why you’ve chosen it, what it means to you, the character. Never ignore it. Capitalizations NOT to stress are those found at the beginning of the verse line, proper names and locations.

And Brutus is an Honourable man.The Crow doth sing as sweetly as the Larke.Vnburthen'd crawle toward death. Our son of Cornwal, And you our no lesse louing Sonne of Albany,

Breaking down a monologue

Queene.My Lord of Suffolke, say, is this the guise? 429: Is this the Fashions in the Court of England? 430: Is this the Gouernment of Britaines Ile? 431: And this the Royaltie of Albions King? 432: What, shall King Henry be a Pupill still, 433: Vnder the surly Glosters Gouernance? 434: Am I a Queene in Title and in Stile, 435: And must be made a Subiect to a Duke? 436: I tell thee Poole, when in the Citie Tours 437: Thou ran'st a-tilt in honor of my Loue, 438: And stol'st away the Ladies hearts of France; 439: I thought King Henry had resembled thee, 440: In Courage, Courtship, and Proportion: 441: But all his minde is bent to Holinesse, 442: To number Aue-Maries on his Beades:

443: His Champions, are the Prophets and Apostles, 444: His Weapons, holy Sawes of sacred Writ, 445: His Studie is his Tilt-yard, and his Loues 446: Are brazen Images of Canonized Saints. 447: I would the Colledge of the Cardinalls 448: Would chuse him Pope, and carry him to Rome, 449: And set the Triple Crowne vpon his Head; 450: That were a State fit for his Holinesse.

Punctuation & Breathing – punctuation marks are like notations in music. Breathing and Punctuation go hand in hand when using folio technique. Punctuation indicates a place for a new thought and how long a breath should last is also determined by punctuation. Shakespeare makes it quite natural. He uses punctuation and breath for emotional, physical and dramatic effect. The only time you should not breathe are at commas, in the middle of the verse line and Full Stops in the middle of the verse line.

. Period ? Question Mark ! Exclamation point

A Full Stop – is punctuated at the END of the verse line. It indicates a stop in thought. If it is a question mark, expect an answer. If a period or exclamation point, formulate your next thought before proceeding. A full breath should be taken at these point during the stop. Take as long as you wish to fill your lungs. (note: British actors call these end stops)

885: O my good Lord, why are you thus alone? 886: For what offence haue I this fortnight bin 887: A banish'd woman from my Harries bed? 888: Tell me (sweet Lord) what is't that takes from thee

Full stop punctuation found in the MIDDLE of the verse line is called a MID STOP. Change your energy for the next thought after this punctuation mark with strong and immediate intent. It signals a change. DO NOT BREATHE. Make your choice to proceed quickly launching ahead into the next thought found after the period mark. The need to continue is GREAT. However, the danger is rushing, and not completing the first thought. This is an important part of technique.

978: Did all the Cheualrie of England moue 979: To do braue Acts. He was (indeed) the Glasse 980: Wherein the Noble-Youth did dresse themselues.

3547: You vnderstand me not, that tell me so: 3548: I doe not speake of flight, of feare, of death, 3549: But dare all imminence that gods and men,

3550: Addresse their dangers in. Hector is gone: 3551: Who shall tell Priam so? or Hecuba?

2350: Am I Romes slaue? What penny hath Rome borne? 2351: What men prouided? What munition sent 2352: To vnder-prop this Action? Is't not I 2353: That vnder-goe this charge? Who else but I,

Commas – Commas mark the end of a phrase of thought. They indicate THINKING. If found at the END of the verse line keep the energy up, take a quick catch-breath in order to propel the next phrase with support. One of the keys to making Shakespeare interesting is to lift the ends of the verse lines vocally. Remember the drive of a thought does not end until a Full Stop. Commas found in the middle of the verse line, like this one, also demand a life in tone, keeping the thought driving upward without a breath. You may take a SHORT pause at a comma when there is a change in through in the middle of the verse line, but do not take a breath. You may take a catch-up breath if there is no punctuation at the end of the line IF it does not break up the thru thought.

Lear.To thee, and thine hereditarie euer, 86: Remaine this ample third of our faire Kingdome, 87: No lesse in space, validitie, and pleasure 88: Then that conferr'd on Gonerill.

4: Open your Eares: For which of you will stop 5: The vent of Hearing, when loud Rumor speakes?

Colons & Semi-colons – Both of these punctuation notations mark the end of a phrase of thought, but do not mark the conclusion of the main idea. Only a full stop tells the actor to end. Colons and semi-colons tell the actor that a new phrase of thought is coming and he or she will need a shift in energy to make that thought clear and separate from the previous thought. Take a quick breath at this point and you will accomplish the change. We call it gear shifting from thought to thought, propelling the ideas forward, with support breath, toward their destination at the end of the complete sentence. The breath you take should be a short, “thinking” breath.

1710: To be, or not to be, that is the Question: 1711: Whether 'tis Nobler in the minde to suffer

337: Therefore I pre'thee 338: Supply me with the habit, and instruct me 339: How I may formally in person beare 340: Like a true Frier: Moe reasons for this action

341: At our more leysure, shall I render you; 342: Onely, this one: Lord Angelo is precise, 343: Stands at a guard with Enuie: scarce confesses 344: That his blood flowes: or that his appetite 345: Is more to bread then stone: hence shall we see 346: If power change purpose: what our Seemers be.

Parenthetical PhrasesThe text shows the character having a thought, changing that thought to a new thought, then returning to the old thought. The parenthetical thought is a diversion or digression. They “color” a sentence. It is most interesting to the audience if you Change the pitch or speed of your voice when introducing the new thought found within parenthetical punctuation. Parenthetical phrases also qualify an expression or are used as an after-thought. Parenthetical phrases can be indicated by ( ), or commas. Sometimes they are not punctuated at all. For the actor a parenthetical phrase means change: vocal change in speech, pitch and attitude. For clarity take a catch-up breath before or after the punctuation. Always look for the thru-thought to make sense of parenthetical phrasing.

Don Armado I do affect the very ground (which is base) where she shoe (which is baser) Guided by her foot (which is basest) doth tread.

Horatio At least the whisper goes so: Our last King,Whose image even but not appear’d to us,Was (as you know) by Fortinbras of Norway,(Thereto prick’d on by a most emulated Pride)Dar’d to the Combate. In which, our Valiant Hamlet,(For so this side of our known world esteem’s him)Did slay this Fortinbras: who by a Seal’d Compact,Well ratified by Law, and Heraldry,Did forfeit (with his life) all those his LandsWhich he stood seiz’d on, to the Conqueror: …

DashesDashes (—) in Shakespeare indicate that the character is changing who s/he is speaking to. The changes for an actor are similar to those needed with parenthetical statements. Always look to understand the new thought in connection to the thru-thought or thought that comes before the dash.

Score for punctuation, Breathing, Capitalization and Spelling.

1710: To be, or not to be, that is the Question: 1711: Whether 'tis Nobler in the minde to suffer 1712: The Slings and Arrowes of outragious Fortune, 1713: Or to take Armes against a Sea of troubles, 1714: And by opposing end them: to dye, to sleepe 1715: No more; and by a sleepe, to say we end 1716: The Heart-ake, and the thousand Naturall shockes 1717: That Flesh is heyre too? 'Tis a consummation 1718: Deuoutly to be wish'd. To dye to sleepe, 1719: To sleepe, perchance to Dreame; I, there's the rub, 1720: For in that sleepe of death, what dreames may come, 1721: When we haue shuffel'd off this mortall coile, 1722: Must giue vs pawse. There's the respect 1723: That makes Calamity of so long life:

Blank Verse and Iambic PentameterBy Michael J. Cummings...© 2003. ......Shakespeare wrote most of the lines in his plays in blank verse, which is unrhymed iambic pentameter. (Note: Shakespeare's sonnets were also written in iambic pentameter, but the lines had a rhyming scheme. For more information on this scheme, see sonnets.)  ......To understand iambic pentameter, you first need to understand the term ''iamb.'' An iamb is a unit of rhythm consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The words ''annoy,'' ''fulfill,'' ''pretend,'' ''regard,'' and ''serene'' are all iambs because the first syllable of each word is unstressed (or unaccented) and the second syllable is stressed (or accented). Iambs can also consist of one word with a single unstressed (unaccented) syllable followed by another word with a single stressed (accented) syllable. In addition, they may consist of a final unstressed syllable of one word followed by an initial stressed syllable of the next word. The following line from Romeo and Juliet demonstrates the use of iambs. The stressed words or syllables are underlined: ...... ...............But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

Here are two more lines from Romeo and Juliet that also demonstrate the use of iambs:  . ...............I will not fail: 'tis twenty years till then. ...............I have forgot why I did call thee back.

        When a line has five iambs, it is in iambic pentameter. The prefix ''pent'' means ''five.'' (A figure with five sides is called a ''pentagon''; an athletic competition with five track-and-field

events is called a ''pentathlon.'') The suffix ''meter'' (in ''pentameter'') refers to the recurrence of a rhythmic unit (also called a ''foot''). Thus, because the above lines contain iambs, they are ''iambic.'' Because they contain five iambs (five feet) they are said to be in iambic pentameter. Finally, because the words at the end of each line don't rhyme, the lines are said to be in unrhymed iambic pentameter. 

        Blank verse was modeled after ancient Greek and Latin verse. It was first used in 1514 in Renaissance Italy by Francesco Maria Molza. In 1539, Italian Giovanni Rucellai was the first poet to label the unrhymed iambic pentameter in his poetry as blank verse (versi sciolti in Italian). Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey, first used blank verse in English in his translation of Vergil's epic Latin poem The Aeneid. The first English drama in blank verse was Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex, staged in 1561, by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton. It was about an early British king. Later in the same century, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare turned blank verse into high art when they used it in their plays. Marlowe used the verse form in Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine, and Edward II. Shakespeare used it in all of his plays. In Germany, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) popularized blank verse in his poem "Nathan the Wise" ("Nathan der Weise"), published in 1779. 

Shared LinesServe up the last line of your speech to your scene partner and that actor then picks up the energy by jumping on his or her first line. Understanding shared lines involves simple knowledge of iambic pentameter. Ten syllables to a verse line is the norm.

Isabella An mercy then will breathe within your lipsLike Man new made.

Angelo Be you content (fair Maid)…

Short Lines (incomplete lines of verse)A pause before or after a short line can indicate time for thought or a physical stage direction.

Spare him, spare him. Here comes the King.

Iambic PentameterShakespeare wrote, as his basis for rhythm, ten syllables to the verse line. This is the natural rhythm of the English language.

The “iamb” foot is a two-syllable unit of rhythm where the second syllable gets the emphasis. Examples of words that are iambic appear below. Consider how you would say them. Where does your voice naturally rise in pitch, strengthen, or get louder? That’s the syllable that is emphasized.

alone below away around forget surprise

prepared respect condemn within alas content

When you put 5 iambic feet together (that’s pairs of syllables), that’s “pentameter” (5 feet). Guess how many total syllables make up a line of 5 iambic feet? That’s right, 10, which brings us back to the point we started with: Shakespeare wrote, as his basis for rhythm, ten syllables to the verse line.

[Note: In the example text below, look for shared lines and short lines.)

Masculine (+) Feminine (-) Alexandrine (A) Incomplete (I) Rhythm Change (%)

Angelo Your Brother is a forfeit of the Law, 10+And you but waste your words. 6

Isabella Alas, alas: 4+Why all the souls that were, were forfeit once 10+And he that might the vantage best have took 10+ %If he, which is the top of Judgment, should 10+But judge you, as you are? Oh, think on that, 10+And mercy then will breathe within your lips 10+Like man new made. 4

Angelo Be you content (fair Maid) 6+It is the Law, not I condemn your brother, 11-Were he my kinsman, brother or my son, 10+It should be thus with him; he must die tomorrow. 12 A %

Isabella Tomorrow? Oh, that’s sodaine, 7 ISpare him, spare him: 4 IHe’s not prepared for death; even for our kitchen 12 A %We kill the fowl of season: shall we serve heaven 12 A %With less respect then we do minister 10+To our gross selves? Good, good, my Lord, bethink you; 11- %There’s many have committed it. 10+

Monosyllabic words, phrases, or lines.Monosyllabic words and phrases usually tell the actor to slow down thoughts because the ideas you are using, or thoughts you are working through, are important.

Hamlet To be, or not to be, that is the Question:

Constance I trust I may not trust thee for thy word.

Theory of Separation – not trust, that’s soon, hand down

Small Words - (and, yet, but, or, therefore)Always indicate a change of thought. They are words of logic.

Assonance - The likeness of vowel sounds indicate emotionality

Lady Anne O would to god the inclusive VergeOf Golden Mettall, that must round my Brow,Were red hot Steele, to sear me to the Braines.

I feel the need, the need for speed!Tom Cruise, Top Gun

Alliteration - The likeness of sounds at the beginnings of words also indicate emotion

Berowyn Dread Prince of Placates, King of Codpieces,Sole Emperator and great general!Of trotting Parrators (O my little heart).

Step forward, Tin Man. You clinking, clanking , clattering collection of caliginous junk. And you Scarecrow, You billowing bale of bovine fodder.

The Wizard of OzRepetition - By stressing, or treating each repetition differently, whether it be repetition of sounds, words or phrases, the meaning of the language become clearer, and emotion evolves if you give the word, or phrase, more emphasis each time you say it. A natural build will occur that will have a strong foundation. Be aware that repetitions may crop up in scenes, not just individual speeches.

Capulet Proud, and I thank you, and I thank you not.Thank me no thankings, nor proud me not prouds…

Cassius I was born as free as Caesar. [here there are repetitions of sounds: az, ē, rrr, c, z]

Irony - The discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, what is said and what is done, what is expected or intended and what happens, what is meant or said and what other understand. You know ‘em: situational, dramatic, and verbal.

Antithesis - Ok, so we’ve talked about dichotomies, dualities, and plain old contrasts. But now let’s get fancy and talk about such concepts as “antithesis.”

Finding opposites in the text will help convey meaning. Play these up so the audience will understand the problem your character is dealing with. People use opposites often to indicate reason, or that they have otherwise put a lot of thought into what they are saying.

Hamlet This Spirit dumb to us, will speak to him. [dumb/speak]

The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but I can never forget what they did here.

Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address” [remember/forget, say/did, we/they]

Rhymes - Allow the character to enjoy his or her own cleverness, usually indicating the end of a speech. It is very easy to get into a downward inflection with rhymes. Avoid that.

Katherine Then vale your stomachs, for it is no boot,And place your hands below your husband’s foot:In token of which duty, if he please,My hand is ready, may it do him ease.

Double Entendre - The dirty bits. Shakespeare took a very lively and curious interest in sex. He used sexual puns to amuse and titillate his audiences.

Parolles Man setting down before you, will undermine you, and blow you up.

Banter – Light playful joking, which sometimes has a dep sub-text. Enjoy.

Pet. Who knowes not where a Waspe does weare his sting? In his taile.

Kate.In his tongue?

Pet.Whose tongue.

Kate.Yours if you talke of tales, and so farewell.

Pet.What with my tongue in your taile.

Documents & Letters – not always easy to spot . . .

Quotations – can be found in “ “ , italics, or with no punctuation at all. Songs, proverbs, bible quotes, sayings of the times, proclamations are all found in Shakespeare’s plays. Use common sense when searching for quotations and use footnotes and other editions for assistance.

PronunciationsDuke = dewke, use the liquid “d”For = not furJust = not jistGet = not gitTo = not tuh

And = not an, use the final “d”Before, report, delaty, deny – do not use the long ee sound. Use the short “I” sound as in

“bi fore”.

Cutting Shakespeare – each line of iambic verse in Shakespeare takes approximately 3.5 seconds to say. Multiply that by the number of line and divide to get total length of the play. Cut long lists, descriptive parenthetical phrases and prose.

Shakespeare’s Advice to YOU!

1848: [Enter: Hamlet, and two or three of the Players]Ham

1849: Speake the Speech I pray you, as I pronounc'd 1850: it to you trippingly on the Tongue: But if you mouth it, 1851: as many of your Players do, I had as liue the Town-Cryer 1852: had spoke my Lines: Nor do not saw the Ayre too much 1853: your hand thus, but vse all gently; for in the verie Torrent, 1854: Tempest, and (as I say) the Whirle-winde of 1855: Passion, you must acquire and beget a Temperance that 1856: may giue it Smoothnesse. O it offends mee to the Soule, 1857: to see a robustious Pery-wig-pated Fellow, teare a Passion 1858: to tatters, to verie ragges, to split the eares of the 1859: Groundlings: who (for the most part) are capeable of 1860: nothing, but inexplicable dumbe shewes, & noise: I could 1861: haue such a Fellow whipt for o're-doing Termagant: it 1862: out-Herod's Herod. Pray you auoid it. Player1863: I warrant your Honor. Ham1864: Be not too tame neyther: but let your owne 1865: Discretion be your Tutor. Sute the Action to the Word, 1866: the Word to the Action, with this speciall obseruance: 1867: That you ore-stop not the modestie of Nature; for any 1868: thing so ouer-done, is fro[m] the purpose of Playing, whose 1869: end both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twer 1870: the Mirrour vp to Nature; to shew Vertue her owne 1871: Feature, Scorne her owne Image, and the verie Age and 1872: Bodie of the Time, his forme and pressure. Now, this 1873: ouer-done, or come tardie off, though it make the vnskil-full 1874: laugh, cannot but make the Iudicious greeue; The 1875: censure of the which One, must in your allowance o're-way 1876: a whole Theater of Others. Oh, there bee Players 1877: that I haue seene Play, and heard others praise, and that 1878: highly (not to speake it prophanely) that neyther hauing 1879: the accent of Christians, nor the gate of Christian, Pagan,

1880: or Norman, haue so strutted and bellowed, that I haue 1881: thought some of Natures Iouerney-men had made men, 1882: and not made them well, they imitated Humanity so abhominably. 1883: Play

1884: I hope we haue reform'd that indifferently with 1885: vs, Sir. Ham

1886: O reforme it altogether. And let those that 1887: play your Clownes, speake no more then is set downe for 1888: them. For there be of them, that will themselues laugh, 1889: to set on some quantitie of barren Spectators to laugh 1890: too, though in the meane time, some necessary Question 1891: of the Play be then to be considered: that's Villanous, & 1892: shewes a most pittifull Ambition in the Foole that vses 1893: it. Go make you readie. [Exit Players]

First Foliofirst published edition (1623) of the collected works of William Shakespeare, originally published as Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies. It is the major source for contemporary texts of his plays.

The publication of drama in the early 17th century was usually left to the poorer members of the Stationers’ Company (which issued licenses) and to outright pirates. The would-be publisher had only to get hold of a manuscript, by fair means or foul, enter it as his copy (or dispense with the formality), and have it printed. Such a man was Thomas Thorpe, the publisher of Shakespeare’s sonnets (1609). The mysterious “Mr. W.H.” in the dedication is thought by some to be the person who procured him his copy.

The first Shakespeare play to be published (Titus Andronicus, 1594) was printed by a notorious pirate, John Danter, who also brought out, anonymously, a defective Romeo and Juliet (1597), largely from shorthand notes made during performance. Eighteen of Shakespeare’s plays were printed in quartos (books about half the size of a modern magazine) both “good” and “bad” before the First Folio (a large-format book) was published in 1623. The bad quartos are defective editions, usually with badly garbled or missing text.

For the First Folio, a large undertaking of more than 900 pages, a syndicate of five men was formed, headed by Edward Blount and William Jaggard. The actors John Heminge and Henry Condell undertook the collection of 36 of Shakespeare’s plays, and about 1,000 copies of the First Folio were printed, none too well, by Jaggard’s son, Isaac.

In 1632 a second folio was issued and in 1663 a third. The second printing (1664) of the latter included Pericles (which otherwise exists only in a bad quarto) and several other plays of

dubious attribution, including The Two Noble Kinsmen (which appeared in a quarto of 1634 and is now thought to have been a collaboration of Shakespeare and John Fletcher) and Cardenio (now lost), as well as The London Prodigal and The History of Thomas Lord Cromwell. In 1685 the fourth and final folio was published.

Helping Shakespeare Make an Easy CrossingBy MARGO JEFFERSONPublished: November 19, 1996Americans are still touchy about their right and readiness to do Shakespeare (among other classics). In turn, the English can be lofty and possessive. But as Gertrude Stein said, they have their own history of their literature, and that is their own affair. I'm interested in what American English does with all this. It's such a modern language, greedy for what's new, foreign and unsanctioned: made-up words; mixed dictions; disruptive grammars and inflections; furious debates about what's proper and what's not. American English courts the present and the future. It doesn't pay much attention to the past, even its own, possibly because it wasn't acknowledged to be an independent language until the 20th century. It's edgy, it's aggressive, and our actors have evolved a style to match. That style plays against and around talk; it uses actions and reactions to trick, ambush and syncopate words. Our actors work wonders with driving tempos and behind-the-beat ironies of phrasing. They tend to turn stilted and self-conscious (even bumptious and hostile) faced with language that takes a lot of time and space to unfold, that luxuriates in words for their sound and shape and seeks to fully express rather than half-conceal intimate thoughts and needs. Take Baz Luhrmann's ''Romeo and Juliet.'' I still love it, but when it flounders it flounders here. Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo, for instance: Mr. DiCaprio is a true screen beauty with a gift for conveying muted longing and discontent. But his low-voltage, passive voice and manner give him no way to show that Romeo's love of extravagant, self-dramatizing words is inseparable from his love of extravagant, self-dramatizing actions. Claire Danes is more resourceful: somehow she finds a way to mate Juliet's speech (flowing and singsong) with Valley Girl diction (punchy but singsong). She also needs more range. But she is touching and convincing; she makes emotional and musical sense. And the same is true of Harold Perrineau's Mercutio: he knows how to throw his voice and body into the maelstrom of this young man's kinetic speech. When I saw Trevor Nunn's film of ''Twelfth Night,'' I envied his British actors their ease with Shakespeare's word-music: the play of tone, the nuances of phrasing. But there is more than one school of musical interpretation. English diction and phrasing are the most traditional, which makes them seem the most appropriate and natural. It doesn't necessarily make them the most interesting or engaged. Besides, there is a slight lugubriousness in Mr. Nunn's direction. Since he sets the play in the 19th century, at first I thought this was his way of acknowledging that period's dense rhythms and textures. But I'm afraid it was just a touch of the suave self-importance one finds in so many Masterpiece Theater productions. What I really envy these English actors is their technique. Knowledge is power, and for a performer, power is grounded in technique. That's what can leave American actors flailing and

gasping when they play Shakespeare (and not just Shakespeare), especially alongside the British. George Bernard Shaw produced one of the cleanest descriptions of technique I've yet read when he wrote that an actor should be able to march up to any director, producer or writer and say in all truth: ''I know my vowels and consonants as a phonetic expert, and can speak so as to arrest the attention of the audience whenever I open my mouth, forcibly, delicately, roughly, smoothly, prettily, harshly, authoritatively, submissively, but always artistically, just as you want it. I can sit, stand, fall, get up, walk, dance and otherwise use my body with the complete command of it that marks the physical artist.'' (What about that intangible called the soul, you ask? The best description of that can be found in Eva Le Gallienne's book on Eleanora Duse, ''The Mystic in the Theater.'') Without technique, the actor's soul must languish. If you're going to speak verse, you need to study verse: read it, speak it, over and over till the sound and sense of it course through your body and blood. (You do the same when you're learning a piece of music.) You need to know (hear, speak, feel) prose and poetry of whatever period you're working in, and not so as to mimic; so as to choose when you mimic, when you revise and when you invent. The point is American actors need emotionally expressive language that draws on every kind of rhythm, line, meter and diction. American history and literature are filled with it. Why else do James Fenimore Cooper, Edith Wharton, Henry James, assorted versions of the Civil War and the struggle for the West keep showing up on our movie and television screens, alongside Daniel Defoe, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and Europe during World War I? I want our actors to be able to say: I have steeped myself in the fierce sermons of the Puritans; the craftily impassioned rhetoric of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass; the long, generous line of Walt Whitman; the terse packed stanzas of Emily Dickinson. There are documents of the wars and truces between Indians and Europeans in America: treaties, speeches of conquest and surrender, of fury and mourning. The drama of these exchanges is overwhelming. Let them work with old melodramas, minstrel farces, vaudeville sketches and stand-up routines, songs, linguistically outrageous burlesques of everything from Shakespeare and Verdi to empire-building and women's suffrage. Let them test all those fake dialects and true vernaculars: urbane British-American, urban mean streets, backwoods and antebellum drawls, operetta, blues and swing-time diction. Make them watch old movies, listen to old singers and steal whatever they need. Opera singers have to learn more than one style. Jazz and popular singers do too, now that their repertory goes back at least a century. Why should actors do less? When he defined the actor's craft, Shaw did concede the limits of age and sex. Today we argue fiercely about the limits of race and ethnicity too. But limits shift as suddenly (and sometimes as violently) as the borders between human intelligence and artificial intelligence or reality and virtual reality. Frankly, I'm much more interested in the limits of talent and imagination. Do I hear some churlish murmurings about political correctness at this point? I am talking about the stuff of American culture. How do we make art without it?

Forms of AddressThe Elizabethans had a very socially stratified society. Unlike modern day in the USA, people were well aware of their social standing as compared to the social standing of the person they

were addressing. While its not uncommon to address someone as Sir or Madame, most people don't use such honorifics while walking down the street. Sometimes in modern usage we address people by their professions as the Elizabethans did; this manifests itself in certain situations such as: Good evening, Officer or Yes, your Honor . This is also found with Doctor, Professor, but note not with Lawyer; respect is given where it is due! While at faire, in order to feel comfortable addressing people, you need to have a feeling for your social level and theirs. Fortunately, people wear clothing in accordance with their social standing, making it easy to make a quick judgement. The words used to address someone are based on both social status and familiarity. For example, the Earl of Warwick could refer to the Earl of Pembroke as Pembroke, My Lord, cousin, Sir, etc. depending on the circumstance. Coming from a merchant or peasant, both would be addressed as my Lord, my Lord Earl, or similar. Sir or Mistress is always a safe bet for someone who is not nobility but who is dressed well. An older man might be addressed as Father . Someone of your social standing or slightly above could be called Goodman, Goodwife or by their name or profession as Master Patrick or Master Brewer. A familiar tone may be taken by calling someone Cousin. To children, my lad/lass, or good young sir is appropriate, perhaps erring on the side of safety with my young lord/lady To nobility, my Lord, or my Lady is safe if you don't know their exact name or title. The Queen is of course referred to as Your Highness or Your Grace . In the third person, the Queen can be called Her Majesty, but this is not appropriate for addressing the Queen directly. Dukes, Duchesses can be likewise be addressed as Your Grace. Puritans refer to themselves as Brother and Sister, others might address them as Good Puritan, if they did not know their name. Arch-Bishops and Bishops are refered to as Your Grace, whereas lower members of clerical orders are refered to as Sir Priest . Deacons, Sextons, etc. would be refered to as Master or, if of obviously lower economic status, Goodman . Officeholders, such as judges, constables, or bureaucrats, and knights, or esquires may be called Your Honour or Your Worship . In general, extra words such as Good may be thrown in to add further flattery and pomp to an address. Good my Honorable Lord Constable!. Wench refers to a serving woman and is a perfectly acceptable form of address when appropriate. Personally I hesitate at addressing travelers as wench unless they've demonstrated a willingness to play. Sirrah doesn't have the same modern-day connotations as wench, but it should! It is a slightly demeaning way to address someone: such as a surly child, or in jest to a friend. Coming from a better, this address would sting a bit.

Services and OccupationsYou get... From the...Books Stationer or booksellerCloth MercerHats Milliner or HatterSuit of Clothes TailorShirts/Smocks SeamstressReady made clothes Draper

Arrows FletcherBows BowyerHorseshoes FarrierOther iron work BlacksmithArmour ArmourerA Portrait LimnerLegal Service LawyerDrugs etc. ApothecaryDentistry Barber Surgeon

In the city...A Stapler Buys and sells raw wool; also silk and linen.A Draper Deals in cloth (wholesale), plus some ready-made garments and dry

goods.A Mercer Is the cloth retailer: the local fabric store is a mercer's shop. One may

be a silk mercer or a wool mercer, for example.

In your own household, your...

Man of Business Is your accountant, looks after your investmentsSteward Oversees the running of your estates.Factor Does business for you in London, or in another country.Nurse Takes care of infants and young children.Wet Nurse Breast feeds the baby (maybe as long as the first 2 years.)Tutor Educates your children

College sells First Folio of the Bard to pay bills Report by Arts Correspondent Catherine Milner in The Sunday Telegraph, 2nd March 2003

One of English literature's most valuable works - a First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays - has been sold by Oxford University's Oriel College for an estimated £3.5 million to pay for building repairs and textbooks.

The book, which was printed in 1623 and has been kept in the college's library for more than two centuries, was bought by Sir Paul Getty, the philanthropist, in a private deal concluded in New York. Sir Paul, who bought the book in a deal brokered by Maggs Brothers, an antiquarian book sellers, said that he had purchased the work to accompany several other Shakespeare folios that he already possesses. "I had had, for some years, the Second, Third and Fourth Folios in their original bindings - the First, of course, was one of the towering books in English antiquarian bookhunting - and I was thrilled to get it," Sir Paul told The Telegraph. The First Folio will be kept with the rest of Getty's famed collection of books and manuscripts in the library of Wormsley Lodge, his 2,500-acre estate in Oxfordshire. Some academics at the university have expressed concern at the sale, warning that it sets an unfortunate precedent which could lead to other literary classics being sold to meet short-term funding gaps. Others, however, have spoken of their relief that the First Folio - a work regarded

alongside the King James version of the Bible as one of the cornerstones of English literature - has been purchased by Sir Paul, who is renowned for his support of art and culture. Dr Alex Hardie, the bursar of Oriel College, confirmed the sale, saying that it had been forced by "a very tight funding climate". "We have had to do what we can to raise money through our own resources," he said. "We want to sustain the college's identity as a teaching and research centre of high quality, and to provide for students from the widest range of backgrounds. The sale of the First Folio will help us to do that." Dr Hardie would not disclose how much the book had been sold for, but admitted that the sum was "not a million miles away" from £3.5 million. The proceeds would help to fund a £1.25 million renovation of a 17th-century hall at the college, and also help to finance the annual £40,000 to £50,000 bill for books and periodicals. "Students have to balance their books and want to make sure that they don't have to break the bank by shelling out £100 on new textbooks - and that they can take them out of the library on extended loans," Dr Hardie added. Dr Hardie insisted that the sale would not affect the quality of learning at Oriel College. "I simply do not believe that there is any scholarly impact resulting from this sale. There are other similar copies, elsewhere, that students can look at," he said. Some academics expressed a different view. One Oxford don, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It is little short of scandalous that this book - which has been in the collection for more than 200 years and is a rare relic of the greatest writer of all time - should be sold off to pay for a few stones and some student textbooks." Anthony Nuttall, a professor of English at New College, Oxford, said: "Shakespeare First Folios are something special and selling them off sets a dangerous precedent. If colleges start selling off their family silver bit by bit in this way nobody will notice what is happening until it is too late." Dr Anthony James West, an academic, who in June will publish the second volume of a history of Shakespeare's First Folios, said, however, that the decision to sell to Sir Paul meant that the folio would be in good hands. "It's unfortunate that Oriel felt the need to sell the book but at least it is good that it has gone to a responsible owner and will be very well cared for. Ever since the 19th century people have complained that copies of the First Folio have been sold abroad, in particular to America, so people will welcome that at least this one is staying in Britain." The book bought by Sir Paul is a copy of one of the first editions of Shakespeare's plays ever published and was printed eight years after the playwright died. Only 228 copies of Shakespeare's First Folio still exist around the world, but most are in public institutions and are rarely available for sale. The publishing of the Shakespeare First Folio was the first time all of his plays were brought together into one volume. Until then, pamphlets, or "quartos" of his plays, were individually sold for sixpence at the door of the theatres. The First Folio originally numbered more than 1,000 books, and the printing of his plays together for the first time was a major undertaking; it included 36 plays, 18 of which had never been published before. The editors of the volume were two fellow actors, John Heminge and Henry Condell, who arranged the plays into three genres: Comedies, Histories and Tragedies. Sir Paul's copy was given to Oriel in 1786 by Lord Leigh, a former undergraduate who donated books and money to the college, despite being a certified lunatic who had spent several years in an asylum. The Oriel First Folio is particularly prized because it is intact but for two leaves and is still in its original binding.

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003

Men’s MonologuesPAROLLES/ALLS WELLS THAT ENDS WELL

Are you meditating on virginitie?wither'd peare: Will you any thing with it?

KING OF FRANCE(to Bertram)/ALLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL

Youth, thou bear'st thy Fathers face,To giue some Labourers roome.

BERTRAM/ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

O, they haue married me: Heere comes my clog.

HAMLET/HORATIO

Our last King, So by his Father lost:

KING/HAMLET

King.Though yet of Hamlet our deere Brothers deathWith this affaire along, for all our Thankes.

HAMLET/KINGKing.'Tis sweet and commendable As of a Father;

HAMLET/HAMLET

Oh what a Rogue and Pesant slaue am I?And can say nothing:

MACBETH/MACBETH

Two Truths are told, Time, and the Houre, runs through the roughest Day.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING/JOHN

I cannot hide what I seeke not to alter me.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING/BENEDICKE

Bene.O she misusde me past the indurance of a block:conference, with this Harpy:

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING/BENEDICKE

Bene.I doe much wonder, that one man seeing be of what colour it please God, hah!

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING/BENEDICKE

Bene.This can be no tricke, the conference was sadly[ Enter Beatrice.]

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING/LEONATO

Leon.Wherfore? Why doth not euery earthly thingTo her foule tainted flesh.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING/LEONATO

Leon.I pray thee cease thy counsaile,My griefs cry lowder then aduertisement.

OTHELLO/IAGO

Iago.O Sir content you. For Dawes to pecke at; I am not what I am.

OTHELLO/BRABANTIO

Bra.Oh thou foule Theefe, Subdue him, at his perill.

OTHELLO/OTHELLO

Othe.Most Potent, Graue, and Reueren'd Signiors, I won his Daughter.

OTHELLO/OTHELLO

Othe.Her Father lou'd me, oft inuited me: This onely is the witch-craft I haue vs'd.

OTHELLO/IAGO

Iago.Oh villanous: I haue look'd vpon the world 723: Adieu.

LOVES LABORS LOST/ARMADO

470: Brag.I doe affect the very ground (which is base) 487: whole volumes in folio. [ Exit.]

LOVES LABORS LOST/BEROWNE

Bero.The King he is hunting the Deare, 1350: Foole, sweetest Lady.

JULIUS CAESAR/BRUTUS

626: Brut.It must be by his death: and for my part, 650: And kill him in the shell.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM/PUCK

Puck.My Mistris with a monster is in loue, 1056: Tytania waked, and straightway lou'd an Asse.

WOMEN’S MONOGOLUESALLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL/HELEN

Then I confesse But knowes of him no more.

HAMLET/OPHELIA

Alas my Lord, I haue beene so affrighted. And to the last, bended their light on me.

HAMLET/QUEEN

One woe doth tread vpon anothers heele, Drown'd, drown'd.

OTHELLO/DESDEMONA

Most Gracious Duke, By his deere absence. Let me go with him.

OTHELLO/DESDEMONA

My Lord, is not my Lord; nor should I know him, And he's Indited falsely.

OTHELLO/AEMILIA

why, who would not make her hus-band The illes we do, their illes instruct vs so.

LOVES LABORS LOST/PRINCESS

Good L[ord]. Boyet, my beauty though but mean, Like humble visag'd suters his high will.

LOVES LABORS LOST/PRINCESS

Grant vs your loues.Neither intitled in the others hart.

KING JOHN/CONSTANCE

Con.Gone to be married? Gone to sweare a peace? But this one word, whether thy tale be true.

KING JOHN/CONSTANCE

my poore childe is a prisoner. My widow-comfort, and my sorrowes cure. [ Exit.]

THE WINTERS TALE/ HERMIONE

Since what I am to say, must be but that And onely that I stand for.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM/HELENA

Hell.O spight! O hell! I see you are all bent A poore soules patience, all to make you sport,

JULIUS CAESAR/PORTIA

Y'haue vngently Brutus Why you are heauy: