Shakespearean Sound

To contact us Click HERE
I came across this interesting article the other day and it really got me thinking: First of all, how do we really know what the accents and dialects of Shakespeare's time sounded like, and second does it actually make a difference in our acting of his works?

This article provided some neat sound clips of actors using the supposed accurate accents in some of Billy's more famous works like Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, my two favorites! But --- it doesn't actually give a source or shed light on the facts where we got this supposed accurate form of speaking Shakespeare as he himself would have heard it. So, that got me interested in finding more out about this process to finding the "right" accent.

I came across this cool blog, you should read it: Dialect Blog. It spoke of the various misconceptions people have about the way that Shakespeare's works should sound. Received Pronunciation or "RP" has been often described as the correct way, while others claim that Elizabethan speech must have sounded more like a standard American accent today. This blog asks the question: why do we bother with getting the accent exactly right? Why do we not perform Shakespeare in our native accents and modify them to agree with our characters? Ay! Therein lies that damn rub. We can get too concerned as actors in getting everything perfect. This is not possible. I, as well as many others, tend to have a problem with this. While I support doing your Shakespeare in your own accents, I think it is an interesting topic of discussion... so --- away I go again! Hello Google.

There's a whole website about it! : http://www.pronouncingshakespeare.com/. So, in my research (think 2 hours max on the googles) I was able to find little of the origin of Original Pronunciation or "OP." Original Pronunciation is best described as sounding like an english-irish accent. Here's a video of Kansas University in association with David Crystal's first production using OP  to hear an example:


My best guess is that it was derived from the spelling and grammatical clues drawn from the original scripts (or the best copies we have of them). This is so intriguing for die-hard bard fans like me, to hear what we think is the closest to what it might have sounded to be an audience member at the Globe back in Elizabethan England. But on the other hand, I am a strong believer in creating your Shakespeare Characters from yourself. I think it's silly for actors in America to do Shakespeare plays and sonnets in RP British accents, and vice versa for British or any other nationality of actor. Your characters are alive from you with your voice. Unless you have to change your tonality for status or vocal injuries of characters, I think it should be your voice coming from your Lady Macbeth's mouth. Your Hotspur's war-cry. You're Puck's giggle.

That being said, this is truly fascinating, and I would love to workshop it and read more about OP. What do you think about accents, dialects and general tonality when it comes to Shakespeare, or any other character you are portraying? Have you ever had to drastically alter your voice (excluding different accents) in tone?

Best,

Micah