In a series of weekly blogs I have been researching the poetic techniques of the pseudonymous "William Shakespeare" (See previous blog entry: "Shakespeare's Prosody") in an attempt to determine the level of education the dramatist from Stratford-upon-Avon would have acheived in his short life of 52 years. Generally speaking, poets are by nature extremely egotistical, and none more so than our homespun “William Shakespeare”. A lot has already been written about William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon, most of which is in many people’s view gross speculation, supposition and idle presumption on either the personality, life, education and talents of this remarkable aesthete. However, very little has been written about his actual identity although since the 1920’s J. T. Looney cast serious doubts on there being any evidence to support the widespread assumption that it was William Shakspere of Stratford who was responsible for the plays and poetry attributed to a pseudonymous “William Shake-speare”.

It has been said that Shakespeare was first and foremost a poet and secondly a dramatist (A Companion to Shakespeare Studies-Cambridge University Press viz: George Rylands: “Shakespeare as a Poet”). Yet by the standards of other 16th century poets Shakespeare has in many respects been over-rated by critics and intellectuals for reasons which I will delineate in due course. Shakespeare’s poetry is largely epithetical, habitually repetitive in terms of themes or style, epigrammatic, in parts platitudinal and in other minute ways symbolic, euphuistic and metaphorical. Only a very small part of it is relevant to our time and a small percentage has a unique quality in terms of style and narrative content. Only a small percentage of the population enjoys or appreciates a farming lifestyle of shepherds tending their flocks or youth disdaining sexual indulgence through to sexual ravishment in Tuscany (eg: "A Lover's Complaint" & "The Rape of Lucrece"). In my view his imaginative and historical dramas far exceed his rather tedious poetic style, indeed his best poetry can be found in his dramas partly because theatre lends itself to short, brilliant bursts of dialogue or soliloquy that evince a strong and definite emotional response from its’ audience rather than the poetic epics which tend to drag on endlessly repeating the same old personal expression of rejected or unrequited love, or the joys and tragedies of personal experience. Shakespeare’s poetry in the dramas is extremely immersive and evokes a powerful emotional response from the participants through the spoken word, the narratives of his dramas are simple and easily assimilated into the imagination of the crowd. While his volumes of poetry such as Venus & Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece, A Lover’s Complaint, The Passionate Pilgrim etc were intended for an educated and enlightened group of well-heeled aristocrats and merchants who were acquainted with classical literature and who were well-read. The dramas on the other hand were open to all and sundry who could afford a few pence to be entertained for an evening or an afternoon. Furthermore, those tomes of poetic indulgence were for those who understood and appreciated the intellectual and romantic mores of ancient Greece, Rome and Bohemia. These classics, while typical of the age, lacked innovation, harking back to some "long-lost Golden Age" which the working class of the time had little knowledge or experience of. They adhered to an educated elite’s appreciation of classical metres, tragical and ironic themes romanticised by poets such as Chaucer, Surrey and Wyatt on which “Shakespeare” aka: Edward de Vere was breast-fed as a youth. For the early part of his career as a poet Shakespeare emulated the courtier poets of his time such as Spenser, Gascoigne and Fletcher attempting to match or exceed them in proficiency and technique but without success. In the second part of his poetic career Shakespeare matched his skill, since he was undoubtedly provocative and competitive, with poets such as Sidney, Marlowe, Raleigh, Chapman, Jonson and Daniel, but yet again failing to exceed them although occasionally matching them. In the last and final phase of his career as a poet he floundered in his attempts to master or absorb the metaphysical styles of Donne and Marvel (ie: The Phoenix & the Turtle was one such attempt). With little hope or chance of real success, given his age and lack of experience he finally died leaving "The Sonnets" which were pirated and printed after his death in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe.

We begin this week with, Anthimeria (an-thi-mer'-i-a) is the substitution of one part of speech for another or when a word is used as a different part of speech than it is usually employed. “When the rain came to wet me once and the wind to make me chatter, when the thunder would not peace at my bidding,” (“King Lear”, 4.6.114.) Anthimeria is an example of substitution:

 [Reads the Quote]

Leonato, with a letter:

I learn in this letter that Don

Pedro of Aragon comes this night to Messina.

Messenger:

He is very near by this. He was not three

leagues off when I left him.

He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age,

doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion. (“Much Ado About Nothing”, Act 1, Scene 1, Line 1)

Any reference to Anthropomorphism is the portrayal of an animal with human abilities, e.g. speaking or laughing such as the transformation of Bottom into an ass who speaks tenderly to Tatiana, Queen of the Witches. It differs from personification, which rhetorically portrays inanimate objects or abstractions with having human characteristics as in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” when Bottom introduces the character of the mechanical talking to the Moon:

“Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams, I thank thee, Moon, for shining now so bright”. And the description of one of the mechanicals:

“This man, with lanthorn, dog,  and bush of thorn,

Presenteth Moonshine; for, if you will know,

By moonshine did these lovers think no scorn to meet”.

However, the play "Two Gentlemen Of Verona", later attributed to “Shakespeare”, was extremely popular largely because it featured the comedian William Kempe in the character of Launce and his dog Crab intended as a gift to Silvia which, from a performance perspective in Elizabethan drama, was undoubtedly a piece of comic vaudeville:

“This shoe, with the hole in it,

Is my mother, and this my father; a vengeance

on't! there 'tis: now, sith, this staff is my

sister, for, look you, she is as white as a lily and

as small as a wand: this hat is Nan, our maid: I

am the dog: no, the dog is himself, and I am the

dog--Oh! the dog is me, and I am myself; ay, so, so.

Anthropomorphism is an example of Substitution.

Meanwhile Antimetabole (an'-ti-me-ta'-bo-lee) is the repetition of words or phrases in an inverted or reverse order in which the phrases suggest opposing meanings. “How / much better is it to weep at joy than to joy at weeping!” (Much Ado About Nothing Act 1, scene 1.13.) In effect Antimetabole is a type of chiasmus, which is a similar inversion but of actual words whose meanings are not necessarily opposite. Chiasmus is similar to epanados, which also repeats the terms after presenting them. Antimetabole is an example of Comparison, Parallelism, or Repetition.

Duke, as Friar:

So then you hope of pardon from Lord Angelo?

Claudio:

The miserable have no other medicine

But only hope. I have hope to live and am prepared to die.

To sue to live, I find I seek to die,

And seeking death, find life. Let it come on.

Duke, as Friar:

Be absolute for death: either death or life

Shall thereby be the sweeter. Reason thus with life:

If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing

That none but fools would keep. (Measure for Measure Act 3, Scene 1.1)

Whenever we encounter antisagoge (Greek: “leading into against”) it defines a very complex figurative process whereby an order is given and a reward offered if it is obeyed and a punishment described if it is ignored. A good example can be found in “The Winter’s Tale” (Act 1, scene 2) when Leontes says to Camillo:

“Do’t, and thou hast the one half of my heart;

Do’t not, thou split’st thine own.”

An Antipast (Greek: “drawn out in contrary direction”) is a metrical foot composed of two stressed syllables flanked either side by two unstressed syllables in other words an iamb followed by a trochee. There are very few examples in classical prosody of this particular technique. It is similar in some respects to Antistrophe (Gr: “turning counter”) whereby a chorus moves from left to right and back again but this term is also used to describe the alignment of stanzas in an Ode (antode: Greek opposite song particularly in comedy aka: parabasis a contrary response to a previous song).

It is similar to Antithesis, (aka: antistoichon) which presents contrasting or opposite ideas but not as viable alternatives. In “Measure for Measure” (Act 2. Scene 4.95), Angelo, the classic sexual harasser, adopts a method of sexual extortion similar to King Edward’s in “Henry VIth Part 3” (Act 3. Scene 2.36). Both men begin with oblique insinuations about their desires, which could be inadvertently misunderstood. When the women, Isabella in “Measure for Measure” and Lady Grey in Henry VIth engage in an exchange of opinion.

Angelo:

Were not you then as cruel as the sentence

That you have slander'd so?

Isabella:

Ignomy in ransom and free pardon

Are of two houses: lawful mercy

Is nothing kin to foul redemption.

Angelo:

You seem'd of late to make the law a tyrant;

And rather proved the sliding of your brother

A merriment than a vice.

Isabella:

O, pardon me, my lord; it oft falls out,

To have what we would have, we speak not what we mean:

I something do excuse the thing I hate,

For his advantage that I dearly love.

Angelo:

We are all frail.

Antithesis (an-tith'-e-sis) is the juxtaposition of contrasting or opposite ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction. “The evil that men do lives after them, / The good is oft interred with their bones;” (Julius Caesar, Act 3. Scene 2.82.) It is similar to alliosis, which presents contrasting ideas as alternatives or choices. Antithesis is an example of Comparison, Parallelism.

Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this son of York,

And all the clouds that loured upon our house

In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. (Richard III Act 1, Scene 1.1)

The use of Antonomasia is where a figure of speech or epithet stands in for the proper name of someone or something. Such as the phrase “Soul of the Age”, or “Star of Poets” employed by Ben Jonson, and like “The Bard of Avon” is commonly referring to “William Shakespeare” of Stratford-upon-Avon.

From the Greek literally ‘taking away’ Aphaearesis (aph-aer'-e-sis) is the deletion of a syllable or letter from the beginning of a word to create a new word. “O thou dull god, why liest thou with the vile / In loathsome beds, and leav'st the kingly couch / A watch-case or a common ‘larum-bell?” (Henry IVth Part 2, Act 3. Scene 1.3). Also see syncope, the removal of a syllable or letter from the middle of a word, and apocope (Gr: “cutting-off”), the deletion of a syllable or letter from the end of a word. Aphaearesis is an example of Omission.

Another example of omission would be Aphesis (Greek: “letting go”) which is the loss of an unstressed initial vowel, eg: the word ‘squire for esquire. Or in a sentence “And so far blameless proves my enterprise / That I have ’nointed an Athenian’s eyes.” (“A Midsummer Night's Dream", Act 3. Scene 2.368). See apocope, in which the last syllable is dropped; and syncope, in which the middle syllable is dropped. Aphesis is an example of Omission.

Oberon, to Robin:

This is thy negligence. Still thou mistak’st,

Or else committ’st thy knaveries willfully.

Robin:

Believe me, king of shadows, I mistook.

Did not you tell me I should know the man

By the Athenian garments he had on?

And so far blameless proves my enterprise

That I have ’nointed an Athenian’s eyes; (A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 3, Scene 2, 366)

While a similar term exists for Apocope (a-pok'-o-pe) is the deletion of a syllable or letter from the end of a word. “With Clifford and the haught Northumberland…” (“Henry VI Part 3", scene 2.1.153). See aphaearesis, the deletion of an unstressed initial vowel, and syncope, the deletion of a middle consonant or syllable. Apocope is an example of Omission.

While an omission or denial may be perceived as an affirmation as in the use of apophasis (Greek: “speaking from”) as is the case in Hamlet when the Prince advises his mother Gertrude at the end of the bedroom scene (Act 3, scene 4) but goes on to list a series of injunctions:

“Not by this, by no means, that I bid you do:

Let the bloat King tempt you again to bed;”

Aside from this there is the use of Aporia (a-po'-ri-a) which is an expression of insincere doubt, in which the writer or speaker pretends not to know a key piece of information or not to understand a key connection in a related topic or situation. This often leads on to an insoluble conflict between rhetoric and thought or loss of meaning due largely to an imposed constraint. Aporia is an example of Contradiction, Omission. A good example can be found in Shakespeare's famous Roman history play "Julius Caesar":

“They that have done this deed are honorable.

What private griefs they have, alas, I know not,

That made them do it.” (Julius Caesar, 3.2.82.) Aporia is an example of Omission.

While there is also the use of Aposiopesis (a-pos-i-o-pee’-sis) from the Greek meaning “becoming silent” which is a sudden breaking off of an utterance before it is completed, usually in moments of emotional distress:

“O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me,

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

And I must pause till it come back to me…” (Julius Caesar, 3.2.82.)

Another good example can be found in "King Lear" (Act2, scene 4) in which he lets fly with:

“No, you unnatural hags, I will have such revenges on you both,

That all the world shall-I will do such things,-

What they are, yet I know not; but they shall be the terrors of the earth!”

In a scene between Romeo and Juliet’s nurse the nurse suddenly breaks off from her dialogue:

Nurse:

Doth not rosemary and Romeo begin both with a letter?

Romeo:

Ay, nurse; what of that? both with an R.

Nurse:

Ah. mocker! that's the dog's name; R is for

the--No; I know it begins with some other

letter:--and she hath the prettiest sententious of

it, of you and rosemary, that it would do you good

to hear it. (Act 2, scene 4, Romeo & Juliet)

Aposiopesis is an example of Interruption, Omission.

The use of Apostrophe (a-pos'-tro-phe) which in Greek means literally “turning away” is the breaking off of discourse to address an absent person, or to an inanimate object or abstraction, as if personified (not to be confused with the punctuation mark):

“Age, thou art sham'd!

Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods! (Julius Caesar. Act 1. Scene 2.142.)

Apostrophe is an example of Omission. Or in Act 2, scene 1 of the play “Macbeth” where he is left alone to ruminate on a supernatural vision related to personal fate:

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
 

Alongside of that is the use of Apposition that is the interrupting of a sentence with a word or phrase to add descriptive content. “The winds did sing it to me, and the thunder, / That deep and dreadful organ pipe, pronounced / The name of Prosper.” (“The Tempest” Act 3. Scene 3.114). Similar to a parenthesis but appositions are less interruptive, more like clauses providing clarifying or additional information. Apposition is an example of Augmentation.

While an aptronym is a word which describes the occupation of a character used as a surname such as “Farmer” and, “Tailor” (Macbeth), that are commonly employed in Morality plays from the time (Geoffrey Chaucer) as well as Edmund Spenser’s “Fairie Queen”. Nicknames as such are employed in a derogatory and comedic sense for the mechanicals in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream") namely Snug, Snout, Flute, Quince, Bottom, Starveling etc. But see also “Four Humours” in Commedia d’elle Arte.

The use in a dialogue or lyric of arsis and its counterpart thesis (Greek: “lifting up and setting down”) refers specifically to the rhythm of the verse whereby the long syllable of thesis, a dactyl, is followed or ‘set down’ by an arsis (2 short syllables or beats). See also thesis and antithesis.

Generally speaking the frequent use of Assonance (ass'-o-nance) which is the repetition or similarity of the same internal vowel sound in words of close proximity. “Beauty’s ensign yet / Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks.” ("Romeo and Juliet", Act 5. Scene 3.73). Assonance is an example of Repetition.

In his comedies we often see the use of Asteismus (as-te-is'-mus) which is a witty joke (from the Greek, “clever talk”) in which a word or phrase is turned on the user as in  ”The Taming of the Shrew” Act 2. Scene 1.209 but it could so easily be seen as a ‘double entendre’ or pun:

“Katherine:

What is your crest? A coxcomb?

Petruchio: A combless cock, so Kate will be my hen.

Katherine: No cock of mine. You crow too like a craven.

The use of Asteismus is an example of: Augmentation, Word Play

While Asyndeton (a-syn'-de-ton) is the omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words as in "Julius Caesar", Act 3. Scene 1.164.

“Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, shrunk to this little measure?”

See also polysyndeton, which repeats the same conjunction between words or phrases in a series. Asyndeton is an example of Omission.

A dramatic term Bathos (Gr: meaning “depth”) is the placement of the least important item in a series anticlimactically at the end where the reader expects something dramatic. It is usually used ‘tongue-in-cheek’ and quite humorously. While striving for the sublime in poetry or drama the author over-reaches themselves and arrives unwittingly at the absurd or ridiculous. “I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes; and moreover I will go with thee to thy uncle's.” ("Much Ado About Nothing", Act 5. Scene 2.95). See also climax and anti-climax. Bathos is an example of Arrangement.

A blazon from the French meaning a “coat of arms” is derived from Petrarch’s use of it that often dwelt on the various parts of a woman’s body; a catalogue of her physical attributes analogous or synonymous with other natural and unnatural objects. The practice was established as early as the 13th century (Geoffrey of Vinsauf, and Marot, Blazon de Beau Tetin, 1536). Later exploited by Spenser (Epithalamion, 1595) and Sir Phillip Sidney Astrophel & Stella (1591) and Thomas Lodge’s Phillis (1593) as well as “Shakespeare”:

“Her goodly eyes like sapphires shining bright,

Her forehead ivory white,

Her cheeks like apples which the sun hath rudded,

Her lips like cherries charming men to bite.” (Edmund Spenser, Epithalamion)

In "The Rape of Lucrece" Shakespeare exercises his own form of a blazon:

"Her breasts, like ivory globes circled with blue, 

A pair of maiden worlds unconquered,

Save of their lord no bearing yoke they knew, 

And him by oath they truly honoured. 

These worlds in Tarquin new ambition bred;

Who, like a foul usurper, went about 

From this fair throne to heave the owner out."

But in his Sonnets (#130) he refrains from employing any blazons to describe his lover’s body and further qualifies and denies his mistress being so idolised comparatively and subjectively idealised:

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red, than her lips red:

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks."