Hamlet in Denmark: The Dane Abides
C. Fee
DIS
Spring 2015
The Folio Technique
Shakespeare tells the actor when to go fast and when to go slow; when to come in on cue,
and when to accent a particular word or series of word. He tells the actor much else; and he
always tells him when to do it (provided the actor knows where to look). But he never tells
him why. The motive, the why, remains the creative task of the actor. -Sir Peter Hall
The first and most important lesson is that there are no rules about how to do Shakespeare, just
clues. Everything is negotiable. -Antony Sher
PUNCTUATION & BREATHING
Punctuation marks are like notations in music. They indicate a place for a new thought and how long
a breath should last. Shakespeare uses punctuation and breath for emotional, physical and dramatic
effect.
1. Full Stop – stop punctuation (period, exclamation/question mark) 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 though before proceeding. Full breaths should be taken. Take as long as
you wish to fill your lungs. Often referred as “end stops” or “coffee and cigarette break.”
Oh, my good Lord, why are you thus alone?
For what offense have I this fortnight been
A banish’d woman from my Harry’s bed?
Tell me (sweet Lord) what is it takes from thee (H4)
2. Mid Stop – stop punctuation found in the middle of the verse line. Change your energy for the next
thought with strong and immediate intent. It signals a change. DO NOT BREATHE. Make your
choice to proceed quickly, launching ahead in the next thought. You can ask your scene partner to try
to interject at these points.
Am I Rome’s slave? What penny hath Rome borne?
What men provided? What munitions sent
To under-prop this Action? Is’t not I
That under-goe this charge? Who else but I, … (KJ)
3. Commas – mark the end of phrase of thought. They indicate THINKING. If found at the end of a
verse line, keep the energy up, and take a quick catch breath. If found in the middle of a verse line
demand a lift in tone, but do not take a breath.
To thee, and thine hereditary ever,
Remaine this ample third of our faire Kingdom, No less in space, validity, and pleasure
Than that confer’d on Gonerril. (Lear)
4. Colons & Semi-colons – Both of these notations mark the end of a phrase or thought, but do not
mark the conclusion of the main idea. Only a Full Stop tells the actor to end. Colons and Semis 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. Take a quick breath and you’ll accomplish this change. Often called “gear shifts.”
To be or not to be, that is the Question:
Whether tis Nobler in the minde to Suffer… (Hamlet)
And will as tenderly be lead by'th' Nose
As Asses are:
I hav't: it is engendred: Hell, and Night,
Must bring this monstrous Birth, to the worlds light. (Othello)
5. Parenthetical Phrases – The 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 the sentence. Change your pitch and/or speed of voice at these points. They
are marked by ( ) or commas. Sometimes they are not punctuated at all. Take a catch up breath
before or after.
And many a man there is, even at this present,
Now while I speak this, holds his wife by the arm, (Winter’s Tale)
At least the whisper goes so: Our last King, Whose image even now but appear’d to us Was (as you
know) by Fortinbras of Norway, (Thereto prick’d on by a most emulate Pride)
Dar’d to the Combat. (Hamlet)
WORDS, WORDS, WORDS…
Capitalized words – found within in the verse line, can be used for irony, contrast or tool to deeper
connection. Capitalized words (not to be confused with proper names) are important!
And Brutus is an Honorable man.
The Crow doth sing as sweetly as the Larke.
Our son of Cornwall,
And you our no less loving Sunne of Albany.
Final “E” – Can indicate two things:
1.) Shakes wants you to HIT that final consonant hard.
2.) Shakes wants you to prolong the vowel sound.
Teach me deere creature how to thinke and speake:
The Bugge which you would fright me with, I seeke:
It is the Cause, it is the Cause (my Soule)
Ecophonesis – to cry out with passion.
Can be a breath, grunt, moan, etc…
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
O that this too, too solid flesh would melt
O for a Muse of Fire