Why Shakespeare loved iambic pentameter - David T. Freeman and Gregory Taylor
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2024
- View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/why-shakesp...
Shakespeare sometimes gets a bad rap in high schools for his complex plots and antiquated language. But a quick peek into the rhythm of his words reveals a poet deeply rooted in the way people spoke in his time - and still speak today. Why do Shakespeare’s words have such staying power? David T. Freeman and Gregory Taylor uncover the power of iambic pentameter.
Lesson by David T. Freeman and Gregory Taylor, animation by Brad Purnell.
"Shakespeare's most poetic lines don't just talk about matters of the heart, they follow its rhythm."
Yeah that's so beautiful
yea this strikes me too
It's... poetic
Best part of the video.
That was deep
They taught us Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Macbeth at school without telling us about Iambic Pentameter.
Really?
@@thomashayes5597 yup
Same thing here but they also want us to write a poem using iambic pentameter... they just never taught us a poetry unit
I think they're usually supposed to, I certainly learned about it.
Me getting an assignment to research shakespear and his style
Poetry is the rhythm of the heart. I like that observation.
Not poetry... A specific rhythm in poetry...
Another reason Shakespeare gets maligned is because most of his work was plays, not novels. We read them as novels today, but in order to fully appreciate it, it has to be seen as a play.
Keaton Smith Everytime I read a play it's always portrayed on stage much better then I could have ever imagined it out to be.
"The weight of this sad time we must obey;
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young
Shall never see so much, nor live so long."
Most excellent and prolifically profound!!! You are a very gifted writer.
@@ADDIDASSSSSSSSSSSSSS It's old Bill's lines, not Numa's.
@@ADDIDASSSSSSSSSSSSSS bruh
@@tinibari456 I guess I was actually crediting the writing of Shakespeare and not Numa. No wonder Numa seemed so gifted. Thanks for clarifying the actual writer. Keep rocking!
@@ADDIDASSSSSSSSSSSSSS Ha, it's been a while since I made that comment. But don't worry if you don't recognize Shakespeare right away! just read him and you'll learn to recognize his style.
This was great. English is my second language and learning this stuff specially without teacher during quarantine is kind of hard. I watched so many videos about iambic pentameter but non of them helped me like this. I totally understood. Thank you :)
you are welcome
I always found the problem with iambic pentameter is that it's not always clear if a syllable really is stressed or whether you are just imposing the stress to make it fit. In the example of "To be or not to be" we learn that "to" is an unstressed word, and then at 2:40 we're told that "to" is stressed. In the example "i am a pirate with a wooden leg" I would have naturally stressed the capitalised syllables "I am a PIrate with a WOODen LEG", possibly with the I unstressed.
Shakespeare varied his meter a lot. He'd sometimes swap the first iamb with a trochee and throw in other different types of feet to emphasize different parts of the poem and produce a more varied sound.
Also, meter is often relative. A syllable/word can be unstressed in one line but stressed in another depending on the surrounding syllables.
IN my HANDS i HELD a BOOK
and BURNing IT was ALL it TOOK
to SET the CROWD aFLAME
The first 'it' is surrounded by softer syllables (was and ing), so it is stressed. 'Took' and 'all' are harder sounding making the second 'it' unstressed. Now remember that not all stressed syllables are created equal. Some are much heavier than others (burn vs it), and the context in which they appear can vary the amount of stress they are given. In addition to this, if a strong metrical pattern has been previously established in the poem we will subconsciously try and connect the words we read to that rhythm. This can cause somebody to read a syllable with more stress to fit a pattern, but it can also make it much more noticeable when the poem breaks the pattern.
The key is just to approach this not as an exact science. There's a lot of variance to it.
@@bronzenrule I appreciate your explanation. Of course, I'm still not conversant, but it's so much cleared now. In your explanation, why not just be vigil of the meter and the stress will serendipitously fall exigent (in the mind of the reader)? In shaded arbor I sat in deep thought/Through the leaves sunlight strikes and I am taught.
I’m inclined to believe that Shakespeare was doing this subconsciously because it sounded good. Do what sounds good
I don’t think it’s that exact… there’s also often variations on the iambic by one or two extra or less syllables
Iambic foot - it is so cool
I always use it, as a rule.
For even frosh in English One
can go ta DUM ta DUM ta DUM.
Such a creation is thy art that you present.
Ricardo Rivera it actually is
@@rajandsamuel Sorry, 7 months later. It's actually iambic tetrameter.
I read this with iambic pentameter
Shakespeare was like; haha *writing* heart goes brrRRR brrRRRR brrRRRR
lol
2:42 rip moon never forget
XD
Just paying my respects to the moon 😔✋
Perhaps
He deid
It's also when I found out today that poetic meters have patterns like a drum beat would. Simply think the kick as an unstressed syllable, and the snare as a stressed syllable, and you've got a beat made from a foot. Damn, poetry _is_ music!
It took my latin teacher 3 weeks to make me understand poetic meters! Here is so well explained! Thank you!
Latin teachers explain things in the most complicated way possible haha
I'm not surprised , it's worth remembering each language has several poetic meters and rhyming traditions (though some are borrowed from other cultures and/or adapted). But I agree the description of Shakespeare's use of iambic pentameter was well explained !
beautifully explained, thanks!
4:07 Iambic pentameter is described as:
unstressed stressed | unstressed stressed | unstressed stressed | unstressed stressed | unstressed stressed. With the pattern bendy line shoe
But at 4:20 we see Trochaic Hexameter as ALSO being unstressed stressed | unstressed stressed and so on when we were earlier told that Trochaic meant stressed unstressed, but we see unstressed stressed.
Blew right over my head until I reviewed it again.
"Words to heat of deeds too cold breath gives." That line rocks. And you can use it to give someone courage! Courage enough... to kill.
I tried to make a poem based on that video. But I'm not a native speaker.
O thee, who shine as bright as moon itself
Just let my words reside inside your heart
The sun will come to melt your wall of ice
Then I sow seeds of love and wait, and wait
Till we unite our soul with every rose
Anyone could check the grammar for me please?
So, Ishould write "O, Thou" etc.?
Hey, that's an amazing start! The fourth line, though, is not in iambic pentameter, as 'I' is an unstressed syllable and 'sow' is a stressed one. It should be the other way round. Just write it differently and it'll be one great read :)
For instance, "I sow the seeds of love, and wait, and wait"
aditya narayan
Well, great! Thanks, man.
Hari Taqwan Santoso this is beautiful
This is a great film that clearly explains meter as a whole, how iambic pentameter works and most importantly, why it was used Shakespeare's plays. Nicely done!
Amazing way to explain how Shakeaspeare is beyond any drama wrighter in History. As a Drama Teacher from Argentina i´m thanked for this lesson.
Now every time I tell a tale, to children yet unlearned, Iambic prose will surely build a healthy, lifelong interest. And interest in the works of him whose words spans age to age, shall yield for those young little minds a passion for the stage.
Superb lesson on the heartbeat of the flow and rhthym of verse in Shakespeare.
Thank you, what a clear, entertaining way of looking at Shakespeare's use of rhythm.
Thank you! I love this connection between the heartbeat and rhythm!
Why do people always quote "To be or not be..." when someone is holding a skull? If I recall correctly shouldn't that be the "Alas poor Yorick..." quote?
you're right...
why do they do it?
good question.
I think they were probably going for recognisability rather than accuracy, although you're totally right.
One does not simply place pictures correctly.
I personally like the scene and the quote being put together. One man alive; holding the skull, one man dead; the skull. "To be or not to be... That is the question."
I don't know much about poetry, but that scene with that quote sure raises some philosophical thought material.
Thus conscious does make cowards of us all!!!
oh my gosh the part with the heart is so amazing!
This is an extremely helpful video for visual learners. I found it to be very useful in clarifying these hard to grasp concepts for this writer. With nice animations, it was especially helpful in portraying the poetic concepts of Meter / Feet / iambic pentameter .
This hands down the best videos I have seen on youtube till date............ thank you Ted
Maravilloso. Gracias por subirlo.
It is the favor'd form of English verse,
Especially when ruled Elizabeth.
Will Shakespeare wrote all of his plays therein;
So also Kit, and many other bards.
The first, the third, fifth, seventh, and the ninth
Of syllables are left without a stress.
The rest are stress'd; it mimics human speech.
That was beautifully done
Thank you for the explanation.
I love you Ted-ED! I now understand it so well!
Andrew Rodrigues I’m trying to make a playlist on Spotify in this format... idk why I’m like this
Shakespear's most poetic lines don't just talk about matters of the heart they follow its rhythim. Wow really great ending line.
Great explanation and very useful in my Shakespeare lessons ! Thanks a lot 👍🙏
what a beautiful explanation!
i love the pun in the description. thank you for this amazing video ted- ed! you're saving lives and you don't even know it
The pirate illustration was so good! Thanks a bunch!
The ending made me fall in love with the iambic pentameter even more than Halo got me interested in it.
"Child of my enemy, why have you come? I offer no forgiveness, a father's sin passed to his son."
Great observations! I most especially enjoyed the end: "Shakespeare's most poetic lines don't just TALK about matters of the heart...they follow its rhythm." How poetic! :)
Perfect explanation!
Brilliant video as alway! I did however notice that the red foot print diagram for Trochaic Hexameter at 4:24 appears to be iambic (curve follow by foot print, instead of the reverse).
Poetry is one of my great weaknesses (the same way that math might be for others). This helps, but is still hard for me to understand. I'm just going to have to watch it again to get it down.
Ted is so awesome. Every video: Stuff I never knew, about stuff I never knew I cared about
Wow! This is so intuitively explained.
Brilliant. Thank you!
Excellent explanation. Thank you very much.
Awesome video, it explained a lot!
Beautiful!!
Wow! That was great. Got me at the heart thing.
This video is so helpful!!! Thank you so much!
Wonderful video! I was taught something similar when getting help with my speech.
Greatly explained. Thank you
So easy to understand, love this video!! ❤️ Thank youuu so much for this.
- Tamara Allaine M. Pareñas
Cool video,explained a lot, thanks!!
Poetric is really the rhythm of the heart❤️ Thank you for this! - Elea Alyx Masibay
best explanation of this I've ever encountered. 2nd best? john barton of the RSC explained it on the ITV miniseries Playing Shakespeare -also available on RUclips
Thanks a lot! It was really hard to understand poetic rhythm before this video.
Thank you for educating us
Fitsgerald Almendral
I actually enjoyed reading A Midsummer Night's Dream. I found it easier to understand than some of his other works.
It's really helpful. Thank you so much.
What a man Shakespeare was! I adore him much more now! He was a great poet.
+Lee Spicer wtf
Lee Spicer chill man aha, just saying what u wrote was a bit creepy, no offence.
Lee Spicer aha thats k man just making an observation, u vexed by any chance ahaahaha
Lee Spicer Safe bro x,
Ps: y do u keep liking ur own comment?
In just 5 minutes, TED-ED just explained this topic better than my Literary Translation classes. I finally got it!!!
Brilliant video. Thank you.
I can` t tell how useful this lesson was.
Am I the only one reading the comments in iambic pentameter and failing miserably?
(ok I'll try iambic pentameter)
Seems not, but you can try to read this now.
Boy Bawang Thank you for this comment. (Am I iambic pentametering right?)
I will, must say, that I find you amusing, pal! So please, my friend, you can't and shouldn't stop it now :D
Beautiful !
I think it is amazing how the poems follow the rhythm of a heart.
thank you so much ted-ed
Wow...what a beautiful way to explain...thnk u
Thank you for uploading this, this helps me understand more about the topic :)) -Adrian Pelenio
Thank you very much for your videos - Angelo Rey Pusta
PLEASE ANOTHER VIDEO ABOUT SHAKESPEARE😭❤❤❤❤❤
Wow this is so powerful. completely articulates why I like poetry so much in a way I haven't been able to express before
Superb explanation
This is EXCELLENT!
Unfortunately I still don’t get it 💔
So in poetry, we divide lines into 'feet'. These are groups of stressed and unstressed syllables, usually with 1 stressed and at least 1 unstressed syllable. There are lots of types, but the one Shakey boi used the most was the 'iamb', which is one unstressed and one stressed syllable (da-DUM). The 'pentameter' part just means there are 5 feet per line, or 5 iambs. Hope that helps!
Awesome video and super helpful. Thanks!
That's so insightful n beautiful.
Iambic pentameter is so pre-neuralink anachronism :P
And now I have realized that Picard would add a rytm to a verbal reasoning of the Borg. Just imagine the spread of a pentameter through the universe: You will you will assimilated be :) Also Tomorrow and plus one day, and plus two days... minus equals one of twelfth - Borg rendition :)
Wonderfully explained with enjoyable graphics.
One minor point; at 4:20, isn't the first graphic, the one in red, incorrect? It appears to be an iambic hexameter.
If any of you have trouble with the stressed and unstressed syllables. You can go to a dictionary like marriam webster and find the word in its syllables which should look like this: \ sək-ˈses \ and \ bi-ˈhīnd \ The ( ' ) part is placed right before the stressed syllable. On dictionary.com the stressed part is marked with a deeper and fatter color.
This is the most subtle TedEd i have seen this year
5:04 a beatiful rhytm
excellent explanation!
Love you, TED Ed
This is so informative!!
This is awesome!
Thanks for this
Delarmente joseph
Thank you for this video! Much appreciated! -Hazel P. Burdeos
The poetic cadence of “Drunken Sailor” fits neatly into “Paw Paw Patch” & “10 Little Indians”
I loved it! thank you!
Thank you for this!♥️ -Ralph Henrae H. Gestopa
My teacher showed me this in class and it explains iambic pentameter very thoroughly. If you try and read a Shakespeare poem as the person here reads.
Wow, that was an eloquent lesson. Thank you.
No it wasn’t
My bad sorry wrong video
Arghhh thx TedEd I am a sucker for Sonnets 😊 especially iambic pentameter 💕👍🏻
Thank you for this! -Lovely Jane Batoy
Amazing
This was awesome!
You'll find if you read on of meters' truth/ of rythmic meaning found in Shakespeare's plays/ of sounding more poetic than uncouth/ and how to not be left here in a daze.
Pentameter, Iambic, first of all/ is nought but how I'm writing this right now/ If conquering the meters, first to fall/ Pentameter, the first that you should know.
If you must wonder as to what I did/ In upper writings, 'twas a visual rhyme/ Between them similarity is hid/ but see the word, of sound you must be rid.
And as this is a sonnet, you should know/ See couplets? That means there's not far to go.
This was excellent.
Great video. Thanks a lot.
I really learned a lot from this video, thank you! -Djajarah Zairelahar Corpuz
Excellent video👍