“Shakespeare’s Use of the
[Renaissance] Theory [of
Composition]”
By Sister Miriam Joseph
About Sister Miriam Joseph
 Lived from 1898-1982
 Earned her doctorate from
Columbia University
 Had additional degrees
from Saint Mary’s College
in Indiana & University of
Notre Dame
 A member of the Sisters of
the Holy Cross
 A professor of English at
Saint Mary's College from
1931 to 1960.
Additional publications
 The Trivium: The Liberal
Arts of Logic, Grammar,
and Rhetoric
 Discerning the Ghost in
Hamlet
 Shakespeare's Use of the
Arts of Language
 The Trivium in College
Composition and Reading
 Many other articles in
scholarly journals including
Shakespeare Quarterly
Renaissance writers
 The Renaissance was a time of intense ferment in
all areas of life — religion, science, politics,
domestic relations, culture. That ferment was
reflected in the literature of the era, which also
registered a heightened focus on and analysis of
the self and the personal life
 These new elements of Shakespeare’s day have
been implemented into our everyday writing
 Shakespeare implemented his knowledge of
terms, the forms, and the processes of
argumentation into his plays
History of the Renaissance
Theory
 Began as a co-requisite of the mathematical
persuasion such as geometry, astronomy, music
grammar and dialect
 Defined as a penetrating and comprehensive
analysis of thought and its expression
 Elements of logos, pathos, and ethos are
encouraged as important entities of composition
during this time like no other in its past
Main influences on Shakespeare
 His creative art illustrates most fully the variety
and compass of the Renaissance theory of
composition
 His writing possessed the perfect blend of logic,
grammar, and rhetoric
– Logic is the art of thinking; grammar, the art of inventing
symbols and combining them to express thought; and
rhetoric, the art of communicating thought from one
mind to another, the adaptation of language to
circumstance
Group Work
 “Translate” the following famous soliloquy
from Hamlet in modern language for the
modern student. Suppose Shakespeare was
writing it now.
– How would his audience analysis change?
Available:
http://the-tech.mit.edu/
Shakespeare/hamlet/hamlet.3.1.html
Passage
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
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 pith 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
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 pith 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
Follow up questions
 Because this passage was a well known
soliloquy, did you find it easier to “translate”
into modern day English?
 Do you think this passage has influenced
orators in their delivery of speeches?
– Why or why not? If so, how?
Discussion Questions
 Do you believe his writings are still relevant in
the classroom today?
 Will the teaching of Shakespeare ever be
obsolete?
 Paul Oskar Kristeller stated, “Rhetoric is important,
as it always was, as a technique of expression, for
we wish and try to write and speak well and clearly.
Yet our universe of discourse, and in system of
education that should reflect this universe,
rhetoric should not occupy the center, but be
subordinated, not only with philosophy, but also to
the sciences as well as to poetry and the other
arts.”(228)
Group Activity
 Get back into your groups and discuss one
following questions:
 Is your own personal writing influenced by Shakespeare’s
work? How specifically?
 When was your first exposure to Shakespeare? What was
your initial reaction?
 As we emerge ourselves into a more multimedia society,
how will we be able to incorporate the more traditional
media?
Reasons for choosing
selected topic
 I feel it is always important to know where
your writing derives; it gives you a better
sense of yourself
 Shakespeare undoubtedly is one of the
most well- renowned authors of all time
 Curious to know the level of influence his
writing has made on peers
Final thoughts
“…the function of the trivium is the
training of the mind for the study
of matter and spirit, which
constitute the sum of reality. The
fruit of education is culture, which
Mathew Arnold defined as 'the
knowledge of ourselves and the
world.‘” ~Sister Miriam Joseph
Either hand in or e-mail written
“prompt” to:
kyger@purdue.edu
Subject: English 470 Prompt/
yourlastname