All One Mutual Cry The Myth of Standard Accents in Shakespearean Performance

Abstract

The concept of “speaking Shakespeare” is in many cases tied into a particular accent. This accent, used by less than 3% of the UK population, is known as Received Pronunciation (RP) and was first defined by Daniel Jones in the English Pronouncing Dictionary (1917). In the United States, there is a similar “neutral” accent for Shakespeare, and in many other languages the performers in plays by Shakespeare are expected to adopt such “standard” accents. Yet these accents are unrecognizably different from the way Shakespeare sounded in his own time. Even allowing for the transition from “OP,” the very idea of a “standard” accent for Shakespeare is confusing. Where has this assumption, unconnected with Shakespeare's own voice or any accent of his time, come from? Why is this replicated in other countries, languages and cultures? And what barriers, despite the adoption of new policies by national companies to foster diversity, still prevent actors using their own natural accents in performance? These are just a few of the issues addressed in this chapter written from the perspective of a professional actor and dramaturg.