Shakespeare?

Question

Why does Shakespeare use alot of Blank verse/ Iambic Pentameter in Macbeth. And what is the importance of this?
I think it is to stress greater importance to the character. Is this rite, and what do the rest of yous think of Shakespeares reasons to do this?

Answer 1

I'm not sure why you're singling out Macbeth, as Shakespeare used both extensively.

My guess is that Shakespeare used iambic pantameter for its rhythm. The natural beat of the plays helps the actors to remember lines, and it creates a natural way for the emotion of the dialogue to be expressed.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Iambic pentameter was used because the people of the Renaissance were infatuated with the Greeks (Neoclassical). The term originally applied to the quantitative meter of Classical Greek poetry, in which an iamb consisted of a short syllable followed by a long syllable.

Shakespeare was merely a product of his time - writing what the people wanted. I'm sure that if he wrote during a different era in history, his style would have reflected the pop culture.

The blank verse was used so liberally because he used rhyme as stage direction. Remember that the stages at his time often did not include sets, props, or even costumes most of the time (only the very wealthy could afford them). Notice that he rhymes at the end of scenes - this would alert the audience that the scene was ending - when everyone left (exeunt is Latin for "they all leave") the stage and the last line was a rhymed couplet. When the stage was sometimes emptied during scenes, he would not have a rhymed couplet.

The rhyme plus the empty stage alerted people that scene was ending and that they should listen to the first line of he next player to understand the setting or description of the new scene.

Answer 3

Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that it was popular at the time.

The iambic pentameter da-DA-da-Da-da-DA-da-DA-da-DA makes it nearly impossible to put emphasis on the wrong syllable. e.g. "Give me a coke a burger and some fries"

Perect iambic pentameter, and no syllables sound wrong.

Tragic characters speak in blank verse not only to make them hearable in a large noisy house, but to accent the important words, and to aid in memorization.

When Shakespeare deviated from the iambic pentameter it was always intentional and to make a point.

The speech of 'Is this a dagger that I see before me'
'The handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee'

Contains 11, not 10 syllables, and is to show Macbeth's indecision, since the extra syllables throw off the rhythm.
Hamlet does the same in "To Be or not To Be"

The wierd sister's chants are not in IP either, but in sets of 8, to show their other-worldliness.

Answer 4

I agree with Sparky buzzsaw's answer. Also iambic pentameter was considered the 'natural' meter. It was used extensively in poetry during Shakespeare's time. It was also used by Christopher Marlowe, who was probably the 2nd greatest playwright of the Elizabethan era.

And last of all: Shakespeare uses rhyming 'iambic pentameter' in his early plays, and he drops the rhyme in his later plays.

Answer 5

The Iambic Pentameter rythm is the nearest rythm to the natural speech rythm. Therefore, Shakespeare uses IP to convey the idea of natural conversation in general. Where is Shakespeare is clever is that he breaks the rythm in order to emphasise a particular point or feeling. For example: the rythm of IP is: de-dum, de-dum, de-dum, de-dum, de-dum (10 beats) so we can say "I am go-ing to have my tea with him". Now let us say "I think I am go-ing to murder him" the word murder is two strong beats i.e. dum-dum instead of de-dum. Let us now transport ourselves to the Globe Theatre. The masses in the courtyard are not listening to every single word they only hear the rythm (elizabethan audiences were more atuned to rythm in speech than we are, a bit like rap music today). They would distinguish the word "murder" because it broke the basic rythm and therefore told the story. To summarise Shakespeare uses blank verse (natural speech) and then changes the rythm at critical moments to make an effect, for example "is this a dagger I see before me" the beat here is de-dum, de-dum-dum, de-dum, de-dum-de.

Answer 6

If you think that is why he uses it, make sure your arguement backs up your thoughts, so long as does, it won't get marked down when you give it in.