Shakespearean Verse Speaking: Text and Theatre Practice

This book, first published in 2009, uses evidence from theatrical hand-books, performance practice and drama training to provide a synthesis of academic and theatrical approaches to the Shakespearean text. Abigail Rokison's work combines scholarship with practical exploration in the rehearsal room. In looking at theatrical interaction with early printed and modern edited texts, Rokison investigates the potential impact of editorial principles of lineation and punctuation on theatrical delivery. The book alerts editors to ways in which actors may interpret editorial emendations, and theatre practitioners to diverse authorial, editorial and compositional methods. It contains suggestions for a 'theatrical text' which makes clear the metrical structure of a scene whilst also indicating areas of ambiguous lineation. Providing a fresh perspective on Renaissance actors' parts, the book includes detailed analysis of the structural properties of the verse, in particular short lines, shared lines, end-stopping and enjambment in a range of Shakespearean texts.

Abigail Rokison is Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Cambridge University, and is Director of Studies in English and Drama with Education at Homerton College, Cambridge.