The Need for Words: Voice and the Text

Description

Patsy Rodenburg explores how we speak, what we speak and the impact of the spoken word. As one of the world's leading voice coaches, she describes practical ways to approach language, and uses Shakespeare, Romantic poetry, modern prose and a range of other texts to help each of us discover our own unique need for words. In Part One the author attacks the myth that there is only one correct way to speak by clearing away the blocks that can make language inaccessible. Part Two, a series of language and text exercises, connects the voice to the shape and quality of individual words and phrases. Drawing on the author’s time spent coaching in the worlds of business and politics, this new edition reflects on how the way we use words has changed since the book was first published. It brings a renewed focus on the language of power – spoken in the worlds of politicians and company directors – which will give readers an insight into the potency of clear, direct communication. Finally, new language exercises provide readers with unmediated access to this new research, allowing them to practice and master the language and words that drive the modern world. Cover Contents About the Author Acknowledgements Foreword Anthony Sher Introduction Let’s Consider Shakespeare! PART One The Need for Words 1 Connecting with Words The Speaking Act Distrust of Words Returning to Words In the Beginning was the Word The Power of Words The Importance of Oracy The Deeper Need for Words Lost Voices Not Empty Rhetoric Native Eloquence Words are Physical 2 The Breakdown of Words Family Education Conservation The Written Word vs the Spoken Word Speaking Your Way into Writing and Reading Discussion and Debate Training Young Actors Guarding Against Quick Fixes 3 Cultural and Physical Barriers The Age of Cacophony and Image Saturation Embodiment Role Models Speaking in Public The Inability to Listen Tensions and Physical Habits as Barriers Poetry Profanity Language of Gestures Wit and Wordplay Irony and Satire The Tyranny of the Intellectual Codes and Code Breaking The Media and Tabloid Thinking Solipsism Advertising Power Talk or Don’t Talk Back The Passion-Mongers Sentimentality Fillers and Clichés Sexual Politics Political Correctness RP or Not RP RP is a Choice Overcoming the Speech Barrier PART Two Voice and the Text 4 Finding a Voice Releasing Physical Barriers Getting ‘In Voice’ Focal Points Simple Voice Workout 5 Voice into Words and Text Connecting to a Text Experimenting with Language Sounding Real Language Exercises 6 Working Further with Texts The Marriage between Voice and Text Clues from the Great Writers The Poetry Barrier The Structure of Verse The Way Words Work Starting with Shakespeare Speaking Shakespeare’s Text Sonnets Shakespeare’s Speeches Shakespearean Prose The Verse Duet Medieval Verse Christopher Marlowe John Milton Jacobean Drama A Modern Jacobean Equivalent The Age of Pope and the Age of Reason Restoration Dialogue Oscar Wilde George Bernard Shaw Styles in Speaking Texts Greek Tragedy Edward Bond William Blake Samuel Beckett Harold Pinter Working with Song Lyrics Bad Texts Prologues and Epilogues Copyright and Permissions Acknowledgements Index