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Shakespeare As You Like It: Effective Use Shakespeare As You Like It: Effective Use Of Sound In Jaques Speech Shakespeare As You Like It: Effective Use of Sound In Jaques Speech As infamous as Shakespeare is, and as well known as his works are, some prose are just simply more extraordinary than the rest. There are many ways to look at Jaques speech, such as use of language or imagery yet, something we often do not reflect on is the sound of the prose. When reading this particular speech, the subject is directly related to the sounds Shakespeare has chosen. We are guided gracefully through the stages of life in twenty-seven lines.
As it is read aloud, the reader hears the actual sounds that each stage exhibits, and finds themselves part of the speech, experiencing it, as opposed to merely reading it. The introduction is like a drum-roll before the show starts. The intonation at which the reader proceeds begins with a high sound due to? (a) ll? 1 being the first word. The? aw sound is repeated at the beginning and three times during the next sentence, ?
And all the men and women merely players; ? (2. 7. 140). The next sentence is lower in pitch, using a lower? e sound? ... exit and their entrances, ? (2. 7. 141). Reappearing in the final two sentences, before the actual ages begin, is the?
aw sound. The fluctuation like that of a ring master, is striving to gain attention before the show starts. The first three stages can be considered the childhood progressing into adulthood stages. ? Mewling and puking? (2. 7. 144), are two words, which when said, they are slurred and unclear, much like that of the speech of an infant. The? ew in mewling and the?
you sound in puking are common noises from young children. Next we reach the schoolboy stage. Young men are often reluctant to attend school, and their protests take the form of? whining? (2. 7. 145).
When the word whining is pronounced, it sounds like a whine. The word starts with a dragged out? why sound, making the reader again feel like they are making the sounds which are pertinent to that age. Words associated with lovers are soft and flowing, much like those used by Shakespeare in the prose of this age. ?
Sighing like furnace, with woeful ballad? (2. 7. 148), depict more emotion than seen within the prior two stages. When sighing is pronounced, it takes the form of an actual sigh, causing the reader to actually act out the verb instead of simply speaking it. The three initial stages are complete, leaving the reader dangling on the edge of adulthood. Soldiers are usually equated with fast wit and decisiveness. The use of short words and short sounds emphasize these next five lines of prose in Jaques speech. ? Jealous in honor, sudden, and quick in quarrel, ? (2. 7. 151) is a line which is said quickly and brashly due to the short sounds such as?
pard 150) and? quick? (2. 7. 151) which are contained within it. The stage of the justice is equated with wit and wisdom. A slower sounding, softer word choice is effective here. ? In fair round belly? (2. 7. 154) is much softer than the previous stage. The?
ou sound in round and the? ell sound in belly combine to make a softer tone. As the man in this speech ages, his vocabulary as well as the sounds he uses illustrate how he is aging. The last two stages in Jaques speech in Shakespeare's As You Like It, are nearing the end of the mans life. Looked fondly upon, a? pantaloon 158) is simply an older man wanting to be young again by pulling pranks and such.
The sounds in this age, are still soft, with more? s sounds. ? (S) lipped? (2. 7. 158), ? With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side 159), ? For his shrunk shank, ? (2. 7. 161) as well as, ?
whistles in his sound. ? (2. 7. 163) are all examples of usage of sound. The speech is breaking down as the man ages, and he begins again to slur words and use more s, possibly due to the loss of teeth as he ages. In the final stage, second childishness, a regression back to childhood is evident. The speech is almost completely reverted to the soft ss made as a child. Out of a possible twenty- four words, fourteen contain the s sound, the last sentence being almost all s, ? Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. ? (2. 7. 166).
Therefore as the reader speaks this speech, he is actually acting out how speech is gained and then is eventually lost. Through his effective use of sound, Shakespeare successfully guides the reader along the seven stages of life, masterfully using the sounds which are apparent during the actual stages themselves. Bibliography Shakespeare, William, ? As You Like It? , The Riverside Shakespeare, Evans et al. , (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974) 365 - 400.
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