Diagramming Shakespeare 22

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Frank Antonson

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My tongue will tell the anger of my heart: or else my heart, concealing it, will break:... (The Taming of the Shrew)
 

Frank Antonson

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Before the day is out I will post the diagram into which those words fit. In the meantime, even if you are not able to post a diagram online, you might want to try to Reed-Kellogg it yourselves, just to see how close you can get.
 

Frank Antonson

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What a good question!
I cannot relate to other forms of sentence diagramming; but with Reed-Kellogg, you get to know a sentence very well if you can diagram it successfully.
That is not to say that you do not understand the sentence without diagramming it, but rather to say that you take the time to really make sure you realize what is being said.
This is one of the reasons that I choose to diagram sentences from Shakespeare. These are sentences that I love. I enjoy the time that I spend with them.
If someone doesn't really realize what Juliet is meaning when she speaks the words: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?", I think it is a shame. That someone's life is a little less for that confusion of a noun of direct address with a noun used as a predicate nominative.
I'm glad you asked.
 

Frank Antonson

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tonguewilltell.gif
 

Anglika

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What a good question!
I cannot relate to other forms of sentence diagramming; but with Reed-Kellogg, you get to know a sentence very well if you can diagram it successfully.
That is not to say that you do not understand the sentence without diagramming it, but rather to say that you take the time to really make sure you realize what is being said.
This is one of the reasons that I choose to diagram sentences from Shakespeare. These are sentences that I love. I enjoy the time that I spend with them.
If someone doesn't really realize what Juliet is meaning when she speaks the words: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?", I think it is a shame. That someone's life is a little less for that confusion of a noun of direct address with a noun used as a predicate nominative.
I'm glad you asked.


Where does context come in your assessment? Listening to the play being spoken and having knowledge of the underlying themes should enable comprehension. Breaking sentences down into little sections has always seemed to me a sterile game.
 

Frank Antonson

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Hearing and seeing the plays spoken is, of course, the best -- at least when the actors and actresses understand what they are saying and can get it across.
But people often quote Shakespeare out of context because the thoughts are so masterfully and beautifully put into the memorable form of verse.
At the school where I teach, for about ten years I had a club called The Shakespearean Troupe. During that time my students presented 25 productions of Shakespearean plays -- not adapted, but the real thing. I remember one of my students saying that she loved to memorize those words because she felt so smart when she said them.
People who can quote a little Shakespeare can get some of that same feeling.
 
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