Pronouns - How to teach shakespeare

How to teach: English - Chris Curtis 2019

Pronouns
How to teach shakespeare

Pronouns are incredibly important in any text, yet they are profoundly unsexy and are not things that students pick out of Shakespeare, or indeed any writing. The use of a pronoun can indicate the relationship between characters and whether one likes or dislikes another.

✵ Does the character refer to them by name or with a pronoun?

✵ Does the character dehumanise them by using the pronoun ’it’ instead of ’he’ or ’she’?

✵ Do they use ’I’ to distance themselves from characters or situations or ’we’ to be inclusive?

✵ Do they use the plural ’you’ or the singular, more personal ’thou’?

✵ Do they use the inclusive pronoun ’our’ or the individualistic and possessive pronoun ’my’?

The great thing about pronouns is that they tell us about the relationships between, and the thoughts of, characters. And they are easy to identify. A student might not have a good understanding of the Irish Rebellion, but they know a pronoun when they see it — even if they struggle to name it.

Another great concept to teach alongside this is convergence and divergence. We mirror another person’s language when we want to be friendly, and we contrast our speech when we want to be distant and polite. How often have we copied a friend’s speech pattern in a conversation? And how many parents adopt a telephone voice? Oh, and does that ’posh’ telephone voice suddenly evaporate when your mum realises it’s her mate Trish from book club on the line?

Getting students to see how characters use pronouns is an important aspect of language analysis in Shakespeare. Here’s a small extract from Act 1, Scene 2 of Julius Caesar:

CASSIUS Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world

Like a Colossus, and we petty men

Walk under his huge legs and peep about

To find ourselves dishonourable graves.

Men, at some time, are masters of their fates.

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves, that we are underlings.

Brutus’ and ’Caesar’: what should be in that ’Caesar’?

Why should that name be sounded more than yours?

Write them together: yours is as fair a name;

Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;

Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with ’em,

’Brutus’ will start a spirit as soon as ’Caesar’.

Now, in the names of all the gods at once,

Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,

That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!

Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!

When went there by an age since the Great Flood,

But it was famed with more than with one man?

When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome,

That her wide walks encompassed but one man?

Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough,

When there is in it but one only man.

O, you and I have heard our fathers say

There was a Brutus once that would have brooked

Th’eternal devil to keep his state in Rome

As easily as a king.

BRUTUS That you do love me, I am nothing jealous;

What you would work me to, I have some aim.

How I have thought of this and of these times,

I shall recount hereafter. For this present,

I would not so (with love I might entreat you)

Be any further moved. What you have said,

I will consider; what you have to say,

I will with patience hear, and find a time

Both meet to hear and answer such high things.

Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this:

Brutus had rather be a villager

Than to repute himself a son of Rome

Under these hard conditions as this time

Is like to lay upon us.1

Brutus’ use of pronouns compared with Cassius’ is interesting. Cassius is trying to persuade Brutus to go against Caesar. Brutus is simply giving his thoughts some words. The use of pronouns shows the relationship between Cassius’ and Brutus’ feelings, but there is an alternating use of pronouns. We see an emotionally torn Brutus trapped between his thoughts and Cassius’ ideas. In the final lines the pronouns are dropped as if Brutus is fed up with this internalised battle; he steps outside himself by referring to himself in the third person instead. Finally, the speech ends with the inclusive ’us’, which suggests that he feels a connection with Cassius and isn’t distancing himself completely. It could also suggest that Brutus might be coming around to the idea that Caesar needs to be stopped.

Also, Brutus is using the formal version of ’you’ as opposed to the more informal ’thou’, which indicates that these two are not truly friends or on the same side … yet. There’s a level of formality to the relationship. The fact that Brutus mirrors Cassius with formal pronouns shows that they hold the same status. It might also show Cassius’ caution. He may be testing the water. He doesn’t want to be too close at this stage; he is, after all, suggesting treason to someone close to Caesar. Risky territory.

With pronouns, you can explore how texts are structured and how the characters’ thoughts, feelings and motivations change. I’d highly recommend Ben Crystal’s work and his Springboard Shakespeare series for a more detailed and precise look at the language choices in Shakespeare’s texts. Ben gives teachers and actors a very insightful way into the meaning of some of the subtle choices in the plays.2