How we'll approach this

There's a lot going on in this speech.

It's packed with images; there's very little fat. It's written in verse, so there are effects created by rhythm and placement of words. And it wraps up the themes of an already dense and powerful play.

So writing any kind of variation is a tall order.

Our goal in this lesson is not to write something as good as Shakespeare's original. We don't even need to come close.

These are our goals:

Develop a deep understanding of how this passage works.
Write a piece of emotional dramatic verse that has a similar density of imagery.
Get the hang of a few distinctive Shakespeareanisms—turns of phrase or grammatical tricks that you can use to create a quasi-Shakespearean voice.

That's it!

First we'll look at this passage in terms of basic components—things and actions—and distinctive language choices.

Using what we find, we'll build our own version of the speech in fragments.

And then finally we will take a pass where we translate our rough draft into blank verse to get some true Shakespearean flavour.

The key to making this work is to rewrite and revise. You'll have several opportunities in the lesson to revise your writing; you don't have to nail it on the first try.

Writelike Shakespeare: Macbeth's 'Tomorrow' soliloquy

How we'll approach this