Persuasion on the Stage

And this person here must be shakespeare’s teacher.-

Hic Latīnē tantum loquimur.

Pardon me.

I said that we only speak Latin here.

But I don't know Latin. Could you speak in English?

Well, yes, ordinarily all of the class is communicated using Latin. But I assume I can make one exception for you now since you do seem to be an English speaking person.

Thank you very much. But first, I have something that I need to say–

This series blends historical research with fiction and imagined conversations. Not a documentary, not advice.

Today: the schooling that made Shakespeare’s language possible—and how those rhetorical “moves” show up in the plays like fingerprints.

Now Picture it: a grammar school. from at least six o'clock in the morning to 6 o'clock at night Monday through Saturday. Repetition that drills itself into the mind.

Latin. Translation. Memorization. Imitation.

Not because the world is kind, but because the world is competitive.

A boy learns to hold language in his mouth like a tool—and to sharpen it.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Welcome to the Hall of Imagination. And this episode is called Language as Persuasion. Now I would like to start out this podcast with a true story from graduate school. The professor started talking about rhetorical devices, something I'd never heard of before, and he explained that Shakespeare studied rhetorical devices in grammar school, and those devices laid the basis for the language he later used in his plays. Then the professor uttered one of the most dreaded sentences in the English language. Then he began listing ten rhetorical devices by name and told us to write down the meanings. There was one person, it seems like there's always one in every class, who was able to start writing furiously and got all the rhetorical devices correct. She was probably one of those people with a photographic memory. But the rest of the class, including me, had blank pieces of paper. Well, the professor was faced with a problem. It seemed that, at least in that graduate school class, getting an F meant you had flunked out. So the professor gave us the option of dropping our lowest grade on a paper or test. Obviously, with the exception of this now very hated person, we would have all failed out. All failed our majors after paying all that tuition. So ever since that time, I've had what you might call a very strange relationship with rhetorical devices and come to learn that the use of rhetorical devices really are at the basis of Shakespeare's greatness. Now, unlike that professor, I'm not going to throw all kinds of rhetorical devices at you at one or two settings. There are thousands of them. But I do want to try to expose you to rhetorical devices in a painless way and understand why they were used by Shakespeare. And I do think that incident caused me to develop an almost unnatural interest in rhetorical devices as well as rhetoric. Now, after that somewhat lengthy introduction, I want to take you to Shakespeare's school, the grammar school in Stratford, where he received his first education. It seems that they're setting up a very elaborate exhibit regarding William Shakespeare in this wax museum. And this person here must be Shakespeare's teacher. Pardon me? I was saying that we only speak Latin here. But I don't know Latin. Could you speak in English? Yes, uh yes, uh ordinarily all of the classes communicated using Latin. But I assume I can make one exception for you now, since you do seem to be an English speaking speaking person solely. Well, thank you very much. Uh but first I have something that I need to say. This series blends historical research with fiction and imagined conversations. Not a documentary, not advice. Today the schooling that made Shakespeare's language possible, and how those rhetorical moves show up in the plays like fingerprints. Now picture it. A grammar school from at least six o'clock in the morning to six o'clock at night, Monday through Saturday. Repetition that drills itself into the mind. Latin, translation, memorization, imitation, over and over again. Not because the world is kind, but because the world is competitive. A boy learns to hold language in his mouth like a tool and to sharpen it. Oh here's Master Shakespeare. Well, Master Shakespeare, would you be please be honest? Was learning about rhetoric miserable? Mr Bartley, I will speak to you in English. It was character building. That's what people say when something is miserable. Then yes, a very character building. So what were they doing? Just translating? Translating, reciting, imitating, rearranging, and learning the true secret of rhetoric, which is if you can control the shape of a sentence, you can control the shape of a thought. Well that must be the center of rhetoric. Language as persuasion, language as performance. Now we don't have Shakespeare's school books, we don't have a neat little list of his assignments, but we do know what an Elizabethan grammar school typically taught. And we can hear loud and clear that Shakespeare certainly absorbed it. Because the plays don't usually use rhetorical devices, they play them like instruments. But instruments is more polite. Alright, listeners. Welcome to my favorite part. If you've ever thought, why does Shakespeare sound so powerful? One answer is rhetorical devices, repeatable techniques that move the mind. And I hope this will become a little bit clearer as we go on. I'm going to start by doing this in a well somewhat friendly way. Each device gets a plain English definition, a quick demo you can hear, a hint of where it shows up later. Ah, a syllabus. You can pretend that you are a scholar. Yes, uh Master Shakespeare. Now let's take anapora. Anaphora, repetition at the start. Anaphora, repetition at the start, is repeating the beginning of phrases. It's the verbal equivalent of footsteps. You feel the approach. We must be brave, we must be steady. We must be true. Yes, uh we must be brave where fear is fashionable. We must be steady when chaos is convenient. We must be true when lies are profitable. Now, Mr. Bartley, the audience should be leaning forward. Exactly. You hear this later in big public speeches. Julius Caesar is basically a master class. Now let me take device number two. Antithesis, balanced opposites. Antithesis pairs opposites in a balanced structure. It's a courtroom trick. It feels fair, even when it isn't. Not this, not that, not fear, but courage. Opposites snap like a trap. And you do it constantly, especially when characters are trying to sound wise. Now device number three, tricolon, the power of three. Tricolon is a list of three items, three beats. For example, sleep now. It's satisfying. It sounds inevitable. Or I came, I saw, I conquered. You'll hear Shakespeare build to three all the time. Thought, thought, thought. Then the punch. Now let's moving right along to device number four. Chiasmus, C H I A S M U S. A mirror structure such as A B B A. Let's uh break it down. Here you have chiasmus as a crisscross, like a mirror. A structure A B slash B A. In other words, I'll give this as a demo. We shape our words, and our words shape us. That is clean, Mr. Bartley. That is somewhat dangerous. It's memorable. It sticks. Characters who want to sound proud and profound love it. Now device number five, ascendaton. Dropping conjunctions for speed. Ascendaton is when you remove and to make language rush. I saw it, heard it, felt it, knew it. Now you're running downhill. That's the point. It's urgency and grammar. Now let's take device number six. Polysyndaton. Let me say that word again. Polysyndaton. Too many ands for weight. And polysendaton is the opposite. Too many ands. It slows the listener down. It makes things feel heavy and accumulating. Here's a little demo. And the night was long and the road was cruel and the heart was tired. Now you're dragging a chain. Exactly, it's gravity in language. Now device number seven, aporea or performed doubt. A pora or performed doubt. A poria, as I have said, is feigned doubt. A speaker acts uncertain to look honest or to lure you in. Ah yes, Mr. Bartley. A poria is delicious. It makes the audience do the work. And you use it with characters who manipulate gently or pretend to. Now moving right along to device A paralipsis, meaning by pretending not to mention. Paralipsis is I won't even bring up the scandal while avidly bringing it up. I will not remind you of his many failures. I will not mention the rumors. I will not stop mentioning them. Right, it's a sly grin disguised as virtue. Remember that a rhetorical question is a question that really isn't a question. The rhetorical question is a question designed to steer the listener. Are we going to accept this? Are we going to stay silent? Yes, Mr. Bartley, a question that gives only one respectable answer. Exactly. And Shakespeare stacks them like steps. Now device number ten. The volta V-O-L-T-A, the turn. I persuaded persuaded audiences to sit still for two hours without scrolling. A miracle. A craft. And this craft explains something modern listeners often miss. Shakespeare's language is not ornate for its own sake. It's functional. It pushes, it pulls, it accelerates, it slows. It makes you agree before you realize you've agreed. So when I later interview Mark Antony, hope hopefully I'll be able to get him, I'm not just hearing grief or anger, I'm hearing deliberate structure. Yes, Mr. Bartley, a staircase built in the dark. Or when I interview Richard III, and that's assuming that I do interview Richard III, ah, a most clever character, you must have him. I hear charm built out of devices. Richard is a man who can make a lie sound like a compliment. And that's rhetoric. When you hear a Shakespeare character speaking, ask, are they repeating to build momentum? An apora or anaphora? Are they using opposites to sound wise? Antithesis? Are they speeding the sentence to create urgency? Ascendaton? Are they slowing it to make weight? Polysindon? Polysyndon? Are they pretending to doubt to look honest? A poria? Are they pretending not to mention something while mentioning it? Paralepsis. And suddenly the speech becomes visible, like seeing the beams behind a wall. Mr. Bartley, beams are certainly useful. They keep the roof from falling on the actors. So, listeners, keep your ears open. You've just been given the Dakota ring. That's rhetoric. And Shakespeare, you just admitted you built the ring on purpose. Now, listeners, let's briefly go over a list of rhetorical devices that Shakespeare would have learned and what they mean. When you hear a Shakespeare character speaking, ask, are they repeating to build momentum? Anaphora? Are they using opposites to sound wise? Antithesis? Are they speeding the sentence to create urgency? Ascendeton? Are they slowing to make weight? Polysyndaton? Are they pretending to doubt, to look honest? Aporea? Are they pretending not to mention something while mentioning it? Paralepsis? Well, I think I'm going to conclude this episode now, but I'm going to review by going over some of the rhetorical devices that we've had before. See how many you can get right. And when it comes right down to it, repetition is about the only way you can really learn rhetorical devices. But let's get to device number one. Anaphora. Repetition at the start. Anaphora is repeating the beginning of phrases. It's the verbal equivalent of footsteps. You feel the approach. We must be brave, we must be steady, we must be true. That's anapora. We must be brave when fear is fashionable. We must be steady when chaos is convenient. We must be true when lies are profitable. Now the audience, Mr. Bartley, is leaning forward. Exactly. You hear this later in big public speeches. Julius Caesar, as I've said before, is basically a master class. Now device number two, antithesis or balanced opposites. Antithesis pairs opposites in a balanced structure. It's a courtroom trick. It feels fair even when it isn't. Not this, but that, not fear, but courage. Mr. Bartley, opposites snap like a trap. And you do it constantly, especially when characters are trying to sound wise. Now device number three, tricolon, the power of three. Tricolon, the power of three. Tricolon is a list of three items, three beats. Sleep now, it's satisfying, it sounds inevitable. Or I came, I saw, I conquered. You'll hear Shakespeare build to three all the time, thought, thought, thought, then the punch. And device number four, chiasmus, C H I A S M U S, a mirror structure, A B B A. Chiasmus is a crisscross, like a mirror, with a structure of A dash B slash B dash A. We shape our words and our words shape us. Mr. Bartley, that is clean. That is most dangerous. It's memorable. It sticks. Characters who want to sound profound love it. And to conclude, let's end with device number five. Ascendaton A-S-Y-N-D-E-T-O-N, dropping conjunctions for speed. Ascendaton is when you remove AND to make language rush. I saw it, heard it, felt it, knew it. Well, thank you for listening to The Hall of Imagination. Now let's open the doors of the theater. Sources include the complete works of William Shakespeare, Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt, Shakespeare Biography by Peter Ackroyd, and ChatGPT IV.