The action to the verse: Shakespeare, Stanislavski, and the motion in poetry metaphor

Abstract

This article examines perceived difficulties in applying Stanislavskian notions of action-playing to Shakespeare’s dramatic verse, and introduces a new interpretative tool: the “Motion in Poetry Metaphor.” The use of this tool creates a coherent framework in which verse rhythm and action-playing may be understood as exhibiting a mutually-reinforcing relationship. This is achieved through the conflation of two Conceptual Metaphors. The first, “verse rhythm is physical movement,” is a conventional metaphor commonly employed to explain the embodied experiences of speaking and listening to metrical verse, and is here explored with reference to Reuven Tsur’s theories of cognitive poetics. The second, “psychological action is physical action,” is at the heart of the Laban-Malmgren System of actor training and fuses Stanislavskian notions of action-playing with Laban’s “movement psychology.” By conflating these metaphors, actors can understand verse rhythm as being, not just active, but “hyperactive;” as embodying the psychophysical sensations of action-playing in a manner that is beyond the capacity of naturalistic prose.