Shakespeare’s Plays: Structure, Style, and Evolution
General Structure of Shakespearean Plays
The following five-act structure was imposed by Nicholas Rowe, one century after Shakespeare’s time:
- Act One (Exposition): The conflict and characters are established, and the audience takes sides. It provides the rationale and emotional background of the coming action.
- Act Two (Rising Action): Suspense builds as the “good guys” and the “bad guys” make preliminary moves against one another.
- Act Three (Climax): Things begin to look as if the bad guys are going to win, keeping the audience interested to see if they actually do.
- Act Four (Falling Action): The good guys rise. The act ends where the audience anticipates the final victory, but the play has not quite arrived there.
- Act Five (Denouement or Recognition): The good guys win. Although there could be an unexpected twist, the win is inevitable.
Shakespeare’s Early Plays and Influences
In Shakespeare’s early plays, he represents the rise and fall of Elizabeth I. She is represented in both Edward II and Henry V, and from his early work until Henry V, he represents events under this monarchy. Shakespeare copied and plagiarized the style of the two most famous playwrights before him, Marlowe and Kyd. Likely due to the success of Edward II, Shakespeare wrote history plays. However, this genre was still the least popular of the three (comedy, tragedy, history). He balanced his plays depending on audience requests.
He enriched his dramatic style by adding references and allusions to Marlowe’s and Kyd’s styles. The content of his plays evolved from mere entertainment comedies to moral and philosophical reflections of the time, spanning from The Two Gentlemen of Verona to The Tempest. Shakespeare chose themes related to the geography of the soul. His plays had to be revised and approved by the Lord Chamberlain before being represented.
Evolution of Shakespeare’s Style and Tone
Shakespeare achieved what we may call his ‘tenor’ in stages:
- I. Early plays (some collaborations) (The Two Gentlemen of Verona to Henry V)
- II. Middle plays (From Henry V to Coriolanus):
- I.I Exploring comedy and perfecting history (good balance) (The Comedy of Errors to Much Ado About Nothing)
- I.II Central dramas (more magic and serious themes) (Henry V to Coriolanus)
- III. Late plays (From Pericles to The Two Noble Kinsmen)
His early and late plays share two main characteristics: they were collaborative (at first because he was learning, and at the end because he was teaching), and they had a less serious and less tragic tone and theme. Shakespeare’s main references are to Mediterranean countries and the Bible.
Shakespeare’s Language and Vocabulary
Shakespeare’s language evolved with the English language. He was fortunate to be writing when the language was changing. He used new words, some unfamiliar to both the original and modern audiences (younger than fifteen), due to the ambiguity caused by the language’s evolution. Many of these strange words came from the Spanish Empire. Long Latin and Spanish words represented Catholicism, order, and bureaucracy. These exotic words would distract the audience.
This metaphysical achievement was unique to Shakespeare. The result was a dramatic language that was almost certainly difficult to understand in its full meaning. Shakespeare wrote for different social classes, with multiple meanings embedded in his work. One of the stylistic traits of the young Shakespeare is his use of repetition.
Forms of Repetition Used by Shakespeare
- Alliteration (repetition of letters)
- Anaphora (repetition of a word at the beginning of a sequence of sentences or phrases)
- Epistrophe (repetition of a word at the end of a sequence of sentences or phrases)