We don't need no stinking punctuation!

I have many friends in cyber land that are fanatics about spelling, grammar and punctuation. They are going to hate this post!

When dealing with Shakespearean work, and interesting idea I came across and use is to GET RID OF ALL PUNCTUATION! I know that sounds radical, especially coming from someone who considers Shakespeare almost sacred. But let us think it through. We have no actual copies of Shakespeare's works in his own hand. We have copies of copies printed by his friends or scribes. And given the number of copies printed over the years, it is easy to imagine that the punctuation we are looking at is suggested rather than concrete. The line breaks are easier to feel comfortable with, as in many cases the Bard was writing in iambic pentameter, a rather precise structure for each line.But commas, periods, semi-colons and the rest are more iffy.

So a wonderful exercise for an actor is to make a copy of a Shakespeare speech, and get rid of all punctuation. Now you can speak the words, (they are meant to be said aloud), and see what pattern makes sense to you in the character you are building.

Here is Hamlet's famous speech with punctuation:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
 The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd.

And without, even getting rid of the line breaks::

To be or not to be that is the question Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them To die to sleep 

No more and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd.

Pacing, emphasis, structure are now at the actors command, and you may uncover some great treasure here! Now I am not saying to read the whole piece with no punctuation, rather, try adding your own, for you own delivery.

By the way, in terms of getting as "pure" a copy as possible, I look for First Folio copies when possible, and love the Arden editions.

J.T. Turner

The Actors Sensei