{"id":3984,"date":"2017-07-25T00:38:53","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T00:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=3984"},"modified":"2019-04-29T17:59:58","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T17:59:58","slug":"why-you-should-fear-no-fear-shakespeare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/why-you-should-fear-no-fear-shakespeare\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Fear No Fear Shakespeare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why You Should Fear No Fear Shakespeare<\/em><\/h3>\n \"\"<\/a><\/span>

Written by\u00a0Rose Helsinger<\/p>\n

July 23, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font>

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We\u2019ve all been there. You\u2019re assigned in class, or cast in a production of, a Shakespeare play you\u2019re not familiar with. It\u2019s incredibly easy to hop on the Internet and order yourself a copy of the No Fear Shakespeare <\/i>version of the text. It has a side-by-side translation of every line. It does the work for you\u2026and that\u2019s exactly the problem.<\/p>\n

In order to perform Shakespeare fully, text work is a necessity. Shakespearean text work involves an analysis of scansion, punctuation, and paraphrasing.<\/p>\n

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Paraphrasing is by nature, taking the text and putting it into your own words. It\u2019s the most important part of text work as you understand and connect to the piece. This is what No-Fear Shakespeare<\/i> claims to do for you. However, they never could because paraphrasing is about your own<\/em> words. In using a No-Fear Shakespeare, <\/i>you\u2019re using someone else\u2019s connection to your character.<\/p>\n

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An easy example of why No-Fear Shakespeare <\/i>isn\u2019t reliable is to look at the two types of paraphrasing. Literal paraphrasing is what the text is saying translated into modern English or \u201chow the dictionary would say it.\u201d Figurative paraphrasing is what the text means to you, the overall emotional ideas and figurative language or \u201chow you would say it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example of the original text to read out loud. Always practice Shakespeare out loud, it\u2019s meant to be read that way. In Shakespeare\u2019s time people were more auditory than visual. They would say that they\u2019re going to listen to a play, rather than see a play. Try reading this out loud and see how it fits in your voice.<\/p>\n

PHOEBE:
\n<\/strong>I would not be thy executioner;
\nI fly thee, for I would not injure thee.
\nThou tell\u2019st me there is murder in mine eye:
\n‘Now I do frown on thee with all my heart;
\nAnd if mine eyes can wound, now let them kill thee:
\nNow counterfeit to swoon; why, now fall down;
\nOr if thou canst not, O, for shame, for shame,
\nLie not, to say mine eyes are murderers!
\nNow show the wound mine eye hath made in thee:
\nScratch thee but with a pin, and there remains
\nSome scar of it; but now mine eyes,
\nWhich I have darted at thee, hurt thee not,
\nNor, I am sure, there is no force in eyes
\nThat can do hurt.<\/p>\n

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Confusing and a little clunky right? That\u2019s the challenge of Shakespearean text. In most contemporary plays the text does half the work for you communicating the story to the audience, however with classical text an actor has to work twice as hard to tell the story.<\/p>\n

Now, try reading this literal translation of the monologue from No-Fear Shakespeare<\/i>:<\/p>\n

PHOEBE:
\n<\/b>I don\u2019t want to be your executioner: I\u2019m trying to avoid you so that I won\u2019t hurt you. You tell me my eyes are murderous. I\u2019m frowning at you with all my might right now. If my eyes can injure, let them kill you now. Go ahead. Faint, fall down\u2014if you don\u2019t, then you\u2019re lying about my eyes being murderers. Come on, show me the wound that my eyes have caused. If you get scratched with a pin, it leaves a scar; but my eyes, which I\u2019ve darted at you, haven\u2019t even left a mark. Now I am sure that eyes can\u2019t hurt a person.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s less confusing than the original text. It\u2019s a way to quickly understand the surface level and explain the metaphors. But, would anyone really speak like that? Phoebe is confronting the man who is so desperately in love with her, he\u2019s pursued her endlessly, despite her shutting him down over, and over, and over again, but he always comes back relentlessly infatuated and after all this he calls her his executioner. The thing that\u2019s missing from No-Fear Shakespeare<\/i>\u2019s version is the visceral quality of the emotions and stakes in the text. Phoebe is filleting this man\u2019s hopes and dreams alive with her speech and the translation misses all the fire and passion in the text.<\/p>\n

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Below is the figurative translation I used for the show. Everyone will have their own paraphrase and that\u2019s important. The way I\u2019d say something isn\u2019t the way you would say something. That\u2019s the point, it\u2019s forging a connection between you and the text. Try reading the paraphrase below out loud.<\/p>\n

PHOEBE:
\n<\/b>I am not <\/i>your damn murderer; I\u2019m avoiding you so I won\u2019t rip out your throat. You think my eyes can kill: I despise you from the bottom of my entire soul; so if my looks can kill, then die: seriously, are you going to faint; then faint like the little baby you are; oh you can\u2019t even faint for me, you get an L, you good for nothing loser. Don\u2019t you dare lie and say my resting bitch face could kill a man! Show me then where did I hurt you: Oh God, I touch you, and you bruise: but jeez if my looks, didn\u2019t try to kill you, and fail. So, clearly, looks can\u2019t kill.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clearer than the original text, easy to understand, and contains all the emotion and fire the character is feeling. The whole point of paraphrasing is getting out of your head and putting the text into your heart and body. You should feel something when you read it as it\u2019s made to get you in touch with your emotions. Using modern day references and swear words are completely acceptable in paraphrase. The line \u201cFie upon thee! Draw thy rapier,\u201d might mean nothing to you, but \u201cDamn you! Catch these hands,\u201d gives you something you can work with. One of my directors always said that paraphrasing was about hunting for the juiciest words that mean the most to you. It\u2019s the difference between \u201cI won\u2019t hurt you,\u201d and \u201cI won\u2019t rip out your throat.\u201d The image of ripping out someone\u2019s throat gives so much more for an actor to play with onstage and it\u2019s everything a paraphrase should be, specific and juicy.<\/p>\n

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I challenge you to make your own paraphrase before re-reading the text below out loud. Read the Shakespearean text with all the inflections and energy you\u2019d read a paraphrase with.<\/p>\n

PHOEBE:<\/strong>
\nI would not be thy executioner;
\nI fly thee, for I would not injure thee.
\nThou tell\u2019st me there is murder in mine eye:
\n‘Now I do frown on thee with all my heart;
\nAnd if mine eyes can wound, now let them kill thee:
\nNow counterfeit to swoon; why, now fall down;
\nOr if thou canst not, O, for shame, for shame,
\nLie not, to say mine eyes are murderers!
\nNow show the wound mine eye hath made in thee:
\nScratch thee but with a pin, and there remains
\nSome scar of it; but now mine eyes,
\nWhich I have darted at thee, hurt thee not,
\nNor, I am sure, there is no force in eyes
\nThat can do hurt.<\/p>\n

Do you feel a difference from the first time you read this text? At least a slight connection to your interpretation of Phoebe\u2019s emotions and carrying them through line readings is the entire point of paraphrasing.<\/p>\n

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I always say that Shakespeare is like a foreign language. The audience generally doesn\u2019t understand the text itself, however they can understand what\u2019s going on through the acting. Just like watching a soap opera, you don\u2019t have to understand what they\u2019re saying to understand what\u2019s going on, because the actors understand their text and through their emotion, inflection, and action everything becomes clear.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the problem with No Fear Shakespeare,<\/i> it can give you a shallow understanding of the text, but not the emotional connection needed both to perform Shakespeare and communicate the story to a modern day audience. Before you buy a copy of No-Fear Shakespeare<\/i>, at least give the work of paraphrasing a try. Whether you\u2019re performing a Shakespeare show or just doing a class project, I guarantee you, if <\/i>you don\u2019t know what your character is saying, then no one else does either.<\/p>\n

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More Shakespeare? Yes, please!<\/h3>\n