This one of the many
worksheets to be found in the text:
SUPPORT THE
FINAL WORD OF EACH LINE ("KICK THE BOX")
A. Here are the
two examples used in the chapter:
Portia: The quality of
mercy is not strained; (MV, IV, i)
Romeo: Thou canst not
speak of that thou dost not feel. (Rom, III, iii)
B. Here are
other speeches with which to practice. The first three examples are from
Julius Caesar.
I. Portia speaks to Brutus after the
conspirators have left. Kick the box on the last syllable of each line.
However, one line has a feminine ending, so kick on the tenth syllable of that
line.
Portia: You have some
sick offense within your mind,
Which by the right and
virtue of my place
I ought to know of, and
upon my knees
I charm you, by my
once-commended beauty,
By all your vows of
love, and that great vow
Which did incorporate
and make us one, (JC,
II, i)
2. Calphurnia speaks to Caesar. Kick on the
final syllable of each line. However, one line has a feminine ending, so kick
on the tenth syllable of that line. Also, in one line, a one-syllable word must
be spoken as two syllables to keep the rhythm.
Calphumia: Caesar,
I never stood on ceremonies,
Yet now they fright me.
There is one within,
Besides the things that
we have heard and seen,
Recounts most horrid
sights seen by the watch.
A lioness hath whelped
in the streets,
And graves have yawned
and yielded up their dead. (JC,
II, ii)
3. Here is Mark Antony alone with Caesar's body.
Again, kick on the final syllable of each line. However, once again, one line
has a feminine ending, so kick on the tenth syllable of the line. Also, in two
different lines, a one-syllable word must be spoken as two syllables to keep
the rhythm.
Antony: O, pardon me,
thou bleeding piece of earth,
That
I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the
ruin of the noblest man
That
ever lived in the tide of times. (JC,
III, i)
4. Here is an example from Romeo and
Juliet. The Nurse is speaking to Lady Capulet about Juliet's age.
Nurse: Even or odd, of
all days in the year,
Come
Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen.
Susan
and she (God rest all Christian souls!)
Were of an age, Well,
Susan is with God:
She was too good for me,
But, as I said,
On Lammas Eve at night
shall she be fourteen:
That shall she, marry; I
remember it well.
In this speech, kick on the tenth and final
syllable of each line. However, two of
the lines have feminine endings, so in these lines, kick on the tenth syllable.
Also, in one line, you must practice elision (combining two words into
one—e.g., “I will” into “I’ll,”—or removing a vowel from a word to shorten it,
as "int'rest" for "interest"). This is done so that you can
read the line with fewer syllables and make the rhythm work. There are more
examples of elision in Skill Worksheet #6.
Practice
the kick box exercise with any verse lines of Shakespeare. Be sure to check for feminine endings and
elision to keep the rhythm, then kick on the tenth syllable.
Continues with answers to the above exercises then to 5 more worksheets