How To Learn The English Speech Rhythm

One of my favourite things in life is Shakespeare (who uses/used the natural English Speech Rhythm)  BUT before you leave 🙂  so many actors massacre it – deliver the 500 years old words without the essential rhythm, destroying your understanding  of it and making it sound like gobbledygook.

Literally.

Honestly, this isn’t how it should sound.

 

Shakespeare and The Natural English Speech Rhythm

Back in the 1990’s Dustin Hoffman came to London to do The Merchant of Venice with Sir Peter Hall a famous Shakespeare director – and it was the most amazing production and throughly enjoyable.

Sir Peter Hall knew, loved and breathed Shakespeare and everyone who worked for him had to understand the meter (the rhythm in which the lines were written and so to be performed) and how Shakespeare was cleverly directing the actor to make clear sense of each line and so keeping the poetry understandable.

A lot of Shakespeares audiences couldn’t read or write, so you certainly weren’t expected to tip up having studied for a GCSE or A level in English Literature (!) to understand what  the hell was going on – AND THAT’S THE POINT!

If you don’t understand what an actor is saying when he or she are speaking Shakespeare – the chances are they are miss-stressing the phrase and so emphasising the wrong words or syllables making it maddeningly incomprehensible.

 

Shakespeare Used The Natural English Speech Rhythm

I didn’t learn this at drama school but I did learn this from a member of Sir Peter Hall’s cast.

My dear friend sat me down and we read Shakespeare together until I could do it and it literally changed my life!

 

The Royal Shakespeare Company

I did actually get into the Royal Shakespeare Company – but sadly the interest rates on mortgages at that time were so high, about 15%, that my co owner of the flat had defaulted on his side of the mortgage after a year or more of secretly not paying his share (I was on tour as an actress so didn’t realise) and in order to save my home from repossession,  I had to payoff not only his debts, but take on the whole mortgage..

There was no way I could dash off to Stratford Upon Avon, live on the basic wage, pay my agent 10% before tax and national and insurance and keep my home..

So I decided to stay in London and pay all the bills by focusing on voice overs, tv ads and my lovely teaching.

But luckily,  this wonderful gift – the golden key into understanding Shakespeare – is such a pleasure to pass on.. and helps such a wide group of people.

Because, if you are learning to speak English well, learning how to deliver a small verse of Shakespeare, will teach you how to speak in the most natural English Speech Rhythm thus improving your clarity in English.

 

Teaching Shakespeare for Acting or The English Speech Rhythm

A lovely young lady I’ve just been teaching has just won a drama scholarship because I taught her this – it really does open up all the plays 🙂

Also, if you are Indian, or Pakistani, or Russian or Chinese, it is a fantastic way to learn the English speech rhythm.

Basically, we speak in the rhythm Shakespeare used in which to write his verse, all those hundred of years ago.

And by me teaching someone this English speech rhythm,  a Chinese or Indian person can suddenly sound very well spoken and super clear, in English.

Yes really!

It’s all about rhythm.

It can be difficult to do the authentic English Speech Rhythm rhythm unless you know where to put your tongue for the elongated vowels that need to be stressed but –

 

 Let’s Have A Go Anyway 🙂

To make it simple so that you can have a go now – think of a line of William Shakespeare’s verse in this way…

1.

Ignore the spelling and take note of the syllables or beats in the words, ie how the words are spoken or said and how they feel in your mouth. Yes really. Remember words are sophisticated grunts.

eg the word over has 2 syllables or beats, pronounced oe-veu   ….

I prefer the word ‘beats’.  It’s less Greek and easier to spell 🙂

2.

Note that if W.S. has too many beats in a line or word, which means the stresses wouldn’t be on the words or syllables/beats that he wants the actor to stress – he’ll just delete!

eg over, becomes o’er.

He puts an apostrophe where the letter should have been –  that would have made the word have two syllables/beats. By removing it, the actor pronounces it in one beat rather than two: o’er

3.

Know that he made up lots of words. so if a word looks and feels and sounds a bit like something you recognise the sound of – it’s probably a William Shakespeare made up word. 🙂

4.

The rhythm of each line of verse is this:  1, 2, 1 ,2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2…   totalling 10 beats

BUT sometimes it might end up being 11    eg if the last word on the line was a word like happen.

We stress the ha’ bit of the word so the 11th beat isn’t stressed (ppen)

…therefore  it doesn’t matter that he’s gone over the syllable/beat  allowance for that line, so to speak.

5.

Every line starts with ‘ONE’

6.

If you get stuck or confused work backwards.

Go to the last word stress that and go backwards.

The last word will be stressed whether it’s only at the beginning of a 2 beat word like happen or the end of a two beat word like toward.

If its one beat, it’s obvious and therefore easier – like be/she/so

7.

Try Reading this – and stressing the bold parts.

How happy some o’er other some can be

Through Athens I am thought as fair as she 

But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so  

Note the actor would have to jazz ‘trius’ of Demetrius to sound like one beat to make the line work.

Working backwards can help you figure these anomalies out.

(The ‘me’ after De is pronounce ‘mee’.)

8.

This really works   – and will instantly give you an English speech rhythm!

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If any of you fancies just one lesson to learn this wonderful skill please do get in touch.

This skill is useful  for Drama School Entry or School Drama Scholarships or for International Business and Public Speaking.

As a business executive if you can speak English in the English speech rhythm you will immediately be more understood by a wider variety of people because the rhythm and the pronunciation of English work in tandem:  they need each other.

I have helped many people into top drama schools;  helped younger ones win their school drama scholarships; taught grown ups how to improve their English rhythm of Speech and so improve their public speaking for work and it helps to soften an intrusive or difficult to understand accent, in spoken English.

It works!

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A Useful Tool for Enunciation is Great Voices To Learn From

© Rachel Preece 2024.   This material may not be copied or plagiarised without the written consent of the author and must always be attributed to Rachel Preece