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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
iambic pentameter and hamlet
I know that iambic pentameter is 10 beats per line, so how does shakespeare use it? I always count the number of syllables he has per line, but they almost never add up to ten. for example, in the to be or not to be speech, how is it in iambic pentameter? like the first line has 11 syllables!
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.-- Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.-- Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.
Top answer
Shakespeare's iambic pentameter is often approximate. Usually there are five strong syllables per line, but not all of them are equally strong. There may be an extra weak syllable at the end of the line, as is seen frequently in the speech you cite.
- Shakespeare's iambic pentameter is often approximate.
- Usually there are five strong syllables per line, but not all of them are equally strong.
- There may be an extra weak syllable at the end of the line, as is seen frequently in the speech you cite.
- The beginnings of lines very often have a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables and a strong instead of the strict weak-strong weak-strong pattern.
- The same reversal of weak-strong to strong-weak is also seen in the middles of lines, as in Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought so as to get two strong syllables ( pale cast ) together, giving them more weight in the line.
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4 Answers
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Shakespeare's iambic pentameter is often approximate.
Usually there are five strong syllables per line, but not all of them are equally strong.
There may be an extra weak syllable at the end of the line, as is seen frequently in the speech you cite.
The beginnings of lines very often have a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables and a strong instead of the strict weak-s
Usually there are five strong syllables per line, but not all of them are equally strong.
There may be an extra weak syllable at the end of the line, as is seen frequently in the speech you cite.
The beginnings of lines very often have a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables and a strong instead of the strict weak-s
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If you're looking for perfection, best go to the sonnets. I expect less than a third of the lines in any given play are perfect.
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a slee
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a slee
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darknes down,blue it says ,smile a while sad it ends.
laught the mouth,bite the teeth.tick the clock beat the heart
my wife ,my friend and rejoyce i am,no more a time new is born
had to die fast it goes and quite you feel.........
laught the mouth,bite the teeth.tick the clock beat the heart
my wife ,my friend and rejoyce i am,no more a time new is born
had to die fast it goes and quite you feel.........
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