It will not be an exaggeration to say that William Shakespeare is rightly considered the most influential and the most controversial figure in the history of English literature, and especially dramaturgy. It is hardly possible even to enumerate all the works dedicated to his personality and his works.
The peculiarities of his style have always been a subject of thorough literary analysis. Our thesis is that Shakespeares versification underwent significant change in his later works. We may speak about the transition towards more complex structures in his literary style, especially regarding the rhythmic and logical organization of the verses. It would be better to substantiate this statements by some examples from “The Winters Tale”
Certainly, the typical feature of the author’s plays and sonnets is the so-called blank verse. Shakespeare always attempted to adhere to his manner, but he created many versions of this blank verse. For example, a great number of his early plays and poems are characterized by the so-called “end-stopping”. In other words, every sentence, every phrase corresponds to a single line. However, we cannot say the same about “The Winter’s Night”.
For example, if we take the third act and the second scene. Hermione is being indicted with treason. Her monologue or probably it would be better to say defense speech is the bright example of the transition that we have already mentioned. First, we should say that her speech is full of enjambments, which means that the syntactic unit such as for example phrase or sentence does not correspond to the single line; on the contrary, each unit begins in the middle of the line. For example (Shakespeare, 70):
HERMIONE. Since what I am to say must be but that
Which contradicts my accusation, and
The testimony on my part no other
But what comes from myself, it shall scarce boot me
To say ‘Not guilty.
This literary device can be traced throughout Hermione’s speech. Such complexity of the structures is the characteristic feature of the authors later works. Moreover, we see that the rhythmic organization of his verses changes. It is no longer a traditional iambic parameter, which is the succession of stressed and unstressed syllables. In fact, it is hardly possible even to classify it. Probably, such disorder or chaos reflects the inner world of Hermione, the state of confusion.
False accusation blush, and tyranny
Tremble at patience. You, my lord, best know-
Who least will seem to do so- my past life.
There were several reasons for the author to resort to such a technique. First, he wanted to describe the emotional state of the Queen, especially the utter astonishment. If it had not been for the punctuations marks, it would have been very difficult for the reader even to understand the meaning of the lines, because they seem to be so abrupt.
Another peculiar feature is the abundance of parallel constructions. As a rule, this stylistic device intensifies or probably emphasizes certain ideas or facts. For example, Hermione appeals to her husband Leontes (Shakespeare, 71).
To your own conscience, sir, before Polixenes
Came to your court, how I was in your grace,
How merited to be so;
Now, we may observe a certain controversy, because these lines exemplify Shakespeares earlier style, with its traditional rhythmic organization. The quoted passage proves that the author combines the two types of verification. To a certain degree, it is typical of “The Winters Tale” in general.
As we have already mentioned the logical organization of his verses underwent some change. At first glance, such a statement may sound strange, to say the least. However, if we look at the use of similes in the passage, we may see that they are utterly unpredictable. The person, who reads these lines for the first time, may not even understand them, because simile is usually based on comparison of one thing with another. We cannot say the same about Hermiones speech
Who least will seem to do so- my past life
Hath been as continent, as chaste, as true,
As I am now unhappy
Thus, having analyzed the main peculiarities of Shakespeare’s play “The Winters Tale”, we can conclude that his style is somewhat different from his early writing manner, especially as far as the versification of the play is concerned. We may observe the transition towards a more complex structure, in terms of logical organization and rhythmic structures. The most typical feature is the abruptness of the sentences, which in turn leads to unpredictable rhythmic structures. However, we should also mention that the analyzed passage contains some examples of Shakespeare’s earlier style. Therefore, we may observe a very unusual combination of verse structures.
Bibliography
Shakespeare. “The Winters Tale ”. BiblioBazaar, LLC, 1992.