Iain Anderson had his daughter recite the famous All the world’s a stage monologue from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, one line at a time.
This is fascinating to watch, certainly, but it also raises an interesting point. I found the meaning in this monologue much clearer, much easier to digest, because it was broken up into fragments, each of which was filmed as an individual scene. There’s a lesson there for teachers, I think. Regardless, enjoy.
Aside from the need to have a glossary on hand to pick out Shakespeare’s period-specific usage (for which the Folger Library paperbacks are terrific), this is actually one of his easier speeches to set before a modern audience. If it’s played right, that is.
The kid’s not making anything clearer when she’s holding a saw, without performing the meaning of the word “saws” as intended in the monologue.
So this is a cute home movie for a dad. 😉
He was also quite literal. Look at Shakespeare’s stage and you’ll note that above the stage are the Heavens and beneath the stage is Hell. Ergo, the world is the stage.
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All poetry, and most prose, benefits from appropriate delivery, using commas, periods, and paragraphs as the spaces they are meant to be. We all to often rush through reading or delivering such pieces, and do not hear them as intended.
Music helps us keep the meter, and is possibly why a song like “Whisky in the Jar” sounds great whether sung by Metallica or The Pogues.