Richard Noyes

I've been reading, studying and enjoying William Shakespeare's plays, sonnets and poems for decades, and have regularly collected my favorite speeches and lines.I recently reread this lengthy compendium. The review of accumulated speeches triggered a fresh reading of Will's* complete works with the express purpose of finding more language gems that I may have missed during previous readings.In the better-late-than-never department, I quickly realized that in order to gain a full appreciation of the writing, the speeches needed explanation. Extended efforts on deciphering the meaning of the speeches, and the lines making up each speech, soon evolved into this book. The format for Over 400 Pivotal Speeches in 16 Shakespeare Plays Critiqued took on the present form when I saw that each important speech needed a preamble and a summary. To my knowledge, this technique has not been used before, at least extensively. As you will see, it works well and improves understanding.Appreciating Structure and CompositionBefore going through the key speeches of the plays line-by-line, I'd never fully appreciated Will's syntax, character development and usage. And it was a joyous revelation.Moreover, when I undertook the detailed-language search I quickly saw that the best speeches informed the composition of the scenes in which they were spoken. And then analyzing the speeches from scene-to-scene and act-to-act, I came to better grasp the structure of the complete play. I don't know if Will planned it this way, or whether it resulted from his innate aptitude, but the best speeches are the links needed to better discern the plots of the plays. You may have already have known that, but for me it was an important breakthrough.I occasionally drop in lines that are not in themselves great quotes, but set the memorable speeches and storytelling in context. Comprehending the Play's Speeches and Plot from a Performance Perspective.I always thought that I understood the storyline of each play, but when I began the in-depth study of key speeches I learned that I knew less about the plays than earlier believed.For example, in the three great tragedies examined in Part One, an event or a mistake launched each play. And spurred by the speeches, the stories hurtle to their grim conclusions: Hamlet met his father's ghost and learned that he was murdered by his brother; Lear foolishly divided his kingdom and banished his good daughter; Macbeth heard the witch's prophecy that he will become king, and it drove him to murder.In addition, I approached my reading of and commentary on the plays from a performance viewpoint. Will didn't write his plays to be read by future generations of enthusiasts like you and me. It's likely that the thought never crossed his mind. Rather, he expected that the only readers of his plays would be the actors. He was an actor who wrote for actors, and that's why they like to play his roles and speak his lines. I recommend that you visualize the lines being spoken and performed onstage as you read the speeches, as well as my comments that follow. Even better, speak the lines yourself, simulate Will the actor. You can bet that he spoke the words as he wrote them. Also, imagine you are directing the play. How would you instruct the actors? Think about the set design and how that fits with the speech you are reading.Dissecting the speeches opens doors to Will's gift of narrative perfection. We know he adapted the stories of earlier authors such as Ovid, Plutarch, Holinshed, plus Greek and Roman tragedians. As good as the writing and the stories from these luminaries is, Will turned their works into eternal magic. As you will see, your speech choices may have been different, but I believe you'll find my selections, and the comments about them, useful. I hope that my interpretations will spur discussion and help to improve mastery.

Over 400 Pivotal Speeches in 16 Shakespeare Plays Critiqued

S. Robert Lichter

Discusses the need to reform the media's coverage of presidential politics

Richard Noyes

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