How did Shakespeare sound to the audiences of his day? For the first time this disc offers listeners the chance to hear England's greatest playwright performed by a company of actors using the pronunciation of his time. Under the guidance of Ben Crystal, actor, author of Shakespeare on Toast and an expert in original Shakespearian pronunciation, the company performs some of Shakespeare's best-known poems, solo speeches and scenes from the plays. Hear new meanings uncovered, new jokes revealed, poetic effects enhanced. The CD is accompanied by an introductory essay by Professor David Crystal. An essential purchase for every student and lover of Shakespeare. Track listing: 1. Sonnet 116 (in modern English) 2. Sonnet 116 (in original pronunciation) 3. Sonnet 71 4. Sonnet 18 5. Sonnet 154 6. A Midsummer Night s Dream Flower of this purple dye (Oberon) 7. As You Like It A fool, a fool (Jaques) 8. Hamlet To be, or not to be (Hamlet) 9. Henry V Once more unto the breach, dear friends (Henry V) 10. Macbeth Is this a dagger which I see before me (Macbeth) 11. Richard II I have been studying how I may compare (Richard II) 12. The Winter s Tale Since what I am to say (Hermione) 13. As You Like It All the world's a stage (Jaques) 14. The Merchant of Venice The quality of mercy (Portia) 15. The Two Gentlemen of Verona When a man's servant shall play the cur with him (Launce) 16. Richard III I call'd thee then vain flourish of my fortune (Queen Margaret) 17. Richard III Now is the winter of our discontent (Gloucester) 18. The Tempest Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and groves (Prospero) 19. Twelfth Night Were not you even now with the Countess Olivia? (Malvolio and Viola) 20. The Comedy of Errors Why, how now, Dromio! (Antipholus of Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse) 21. Romeo and Juliet But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? (Romeo and Juliet) 22. Much Ado about Nothing Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while? (Benedict and Beatrice) 23. Julius Caesar Stay, ho! and let us hear Mark Antony (Antony and plebeians) 24. Twelfth Night Save thee, friend, and thy music (Viola and Feste) 25. Hamlet My honoured lord! (Guildenstern, Rosencrantz and Hamlet) 26. Othello How goes it now? he looks gentler than he did. (Emilia and Desdemona) 27. King Lear Give me the map there (King Lear, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia) 28. Macbeth Good morrow, noble sir. (Lennox, Macbeth, Macduff, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Donalbain and Malcolm)
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.60
Trade in Shakespeare's Original Pronunciation: Speeches and Scenes Performed as Shakespeare Would Have Heard Them for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.60, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Review
A picture may well speak a thousand words, but this single CD demonstrates the difference that a thousand new and often surprising pronunciations make to our better appreciation of what the text really meant. Listening to this selection of familiar sonnets, monologues and scenes from Romeo and Juliet, Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello made me wonder why RSC and Globe directors don't insist on authenticity. --Sue Arnold, The Guardian, 21 April 2012
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Those who've heard that Shakespeare spoke with an American accent will be reassured by this issue: the accent is certainly not standard southern English, but its (for us) strong regional feel has charm. It is reassuring too to find that the result is easy to follow. It's a real plus to hear rhymes destroyed by pronunciation changes restored to what they were, and to hear all four syllables in a word like 'ambition'.
But the downside is that the readers don't simply read: they act, and they have been told to read each line as if it were the immediate expression of emotion. The result is an exaggerated delivery, full of breaks and changes of mood, which kills tne metre and destroys the rhetorical coherence of speeches. This mode of delivery derives from the realism of films and TV. It has nothing to do with the Elizabethan stage.
But the downside is that the readers don't simply read: they act, and they have been told to read each line as if it were the immediate expression of emotion. The result is an exaggerated delivery, full of breaks and changes of mood, which kills tne metre and destroys the rhetorical coherence of speeches. This mode of delivery derives from the realism of films and TV. It has nothing to do with the Elizabethan stage.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Heli
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Interesting, but some sonnets are hard to follow because the sound was not properly edited for the human voice. And please, ye actors, stop whispering, we want to hear what you say without having to tweak the sound and adjust the equalizer settings.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By B. C. Dobson
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very interesting CD. Interesting to hear. Didn't know the CD existed and so was a great find and at a good price.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 5 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
