Another result of Shakespeare's poetic thinking is that there was a revision necessary, purely on a rhythmic level, for every line written. The metrical considerations therefore put the words through another level of thought, which can lead to improvements not only on a sonic level but also in terms of content. In an earlier post (August 26), I discussed anastrophe, which refers to the unusual syntactical structures (or wording, if you prefer) - and the reasons for them - that are found in poetry. While anastrophe can make the initial reading more difficult, what it creates in terms of beauty, insight and original thought makes the extra effort more than worth it. The following passage occurs when Horatio is revealing the existence of the ghost to Hamlet. Its content is quite simple, or at least it could be phrased that way: Horatio tells Hamlet that the two guards, Marcellus and Bernardo, had seen the ghost the previous two nights, and had described what the ghost was wearing and how it moved. It scared them. They then decided to tell Horatio about it, and when he joined their watch, he saw it as well - just as they had described it. Horatio then closes by saying that the resemblance between the ghost and Hamlet's father is just as strong as the one between his two hands. All well and good, but when the restrictions imposed by writing in verse were applied, we got this:

Two nights together had these gentlemen

(Marcellus and Bernardo) on their watch

In the dead vast and middle of the night

Been thus encount'red. A figure like your father,

Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe,

Appears before them and with solemn march

Goes slow and stately by them. Thrice he walk'd

By their oppress'd and fear-surprised eyes,

Within his truncheon's length; whilst they distill'd

Almost to jelly with the act of fear,

Stand dumb and speak not to him. This to me

In dreadful secrecy impart they did,

And I with them the third night kept the watch;

Where, as they had deliver'd, both in time,

Form of the thing, each word made true and good,

The apparition comes. I knew your father.

These hands are not more like.

Another concept that must be kept in mind in order to read Shakespeare is anastrophe. The best definition of this word is simply, "changing the normal word order for poetic effect". When we come across examples of this, we may at first find them annoying. Why would someone write, "Came the snow..."? Why not simply, "It was snowing..."? Well, the answer is that it makes us think. One of the reasons Shakespeare has retained so much popularity 400 years on is that his work requires participation and effort. He's not only an example of creativity - he's a cause of it. And it begins at the most minute levels - word choice and word order. Here's an example from Antony and Cleopatra. In this scene, a messenger from Antony is arriving at Caesar's camp - a schoolmaster though, rather than a high-ranking member of the military, as would normally be the case. This could be interpreted as a reference to Octavius' age - and therefore, a subtle but calculated insult, or as Dolabella does, a sign of decline in the number of Antony's followers. Either way, notice the unusual word order, which once understood, gives the lines lasting beauty and interest.

OCTAVIUS CAESAR

Let him appear that's come from Antony.

Know you him?

DOLABELLA

Caesar, 'tis his schoolmaster:

An argument that he is pluck'd, when hither

He sends so poor a pinion off his wing,

Which had superfluous kings for messengers

Not many moons gone by.

(3.12)

One of my students once put it very simply: "Once you get it, you wouldn't change a word."