Shakespeare used iambic pentameter for the dialogue of noble characters to convey a sense of order, rhythm, and elevated status. This meter mimics the natural flow of spoken English while providing a formal structure that reflects the dignity and complexity of their thoughts and emotions. By employing this poetic form, Shakespeare distinguished noble characters from common ones, who often spoke in prose, thus enhancing the dramatic contrast and emphasizing their social rank.
Why did Shakespeare use iambic pentameter for the dialogue of noble characters
To show the difference between an educated, refined noble class and coarse, crude commoners
This was because, generally speaking, the noble characters had noble things to say. The plebes were given jokes or other silliness. Blank verse, unrhymed iambic pentameter, makes things said in it sound more noble; it emphasizes the nobility of the statement. These statements are not only poetic because of their rhythm, but because of the imagery and figures of speech they employ. However, if a noble character went insane or stopped saying noble things, Shakespeare would start to write their dialogue in prose.
by having noble characters speak in iambic pentameter, while the lower classes spoke in plain blank verse or prose.
Shakespeare uses blank verse, which is unrhymed iambic pentameter, often for noble characters and serious themes, lending a rhythmic quality to their dialogue. In contrast, prose appears in more casual, everyday speech and is typically used by lower-status characters, during comic scenes, or when characters are expressing madness or confusion. You can identify blank verse by its structured meter and rhythmic flow, while prose lacks this formal structure and has varied line lengths. Observing the style and context of the dialogue helps distinguish between the two.
Why did Shakespeare use iambic pentameter for the dialogue of noble characters
To show the difference between an educated, refined noble class and coarse, crude commoners
To show the difference between an educated, refined noble class and coarse, crude commoners -Apex-
This was because, generally speaking, the noble characters had noble things to say. The plebes were given jokes or other silliness. Blank verse, unrhymed iambic pentameter, makes things said in it sound more noble; it emphasizes the nobility of the statement. These statements are not only poetic because of their rhythm, but because of the imagery and figures of speech they employ. However, if a noble character went insane or stopped saying noble things, Shakespeare would start to write their dialogue in prose.
by having noble characters speak in iambic pentameter, while the lower classes spoke in plain blank verse or prose.
Most noble characters (ie kings, queens, esteemed members of society) speak in iambic pentameter, a metered form of poetry. However, less esteemed members of society (workers, grave diggers, etc) spoke in unmetered prose.
Blank verse is iambic pentameter that doesn't rhyme. If commoners speak in blank verse (and they do), they necessarily speak in iambic pentameter. Occasionally they speak in rhyming iambic pentameter too. It is not the nature of the speaker, but the nature of what they are saying that determines what form the lines will take. Blank verse gives the impression of measured, well-thought-out speech. It conveys seriousness and wisdom (or the appearance of it). Prose is more appropriate for utterances which are funny, stupid or insane. When characters like King Lear and Othello go insane, they start talking in prose when they spoke in blank verse before. The characters who are written as funny or stupid in Shakespeare's plays are often workmen or servants, as a result of social snobbery. Middle-class people who show signs of nobility, like Romeo and Juliet, speak in iambic pentameter, heck, even in sonnets!
about 1614
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays (38 if you count The Two Noble Kinsmen).
He was a gentleman--not a noble, but superior to the hoi polloi.
John Fletcher
Blank verse is iambic pentameter that doesn't rhyme. If commoners speak in blank verse (and they do), they necessarily speak in iambic pentameter. Occasionally they speak in rhyming iambic pentameter too. It is not the nature of the speaker, but the nature of what they are saying that determines what form the lines will take. Blank verse gives the impression of measured, well-thought-out speech. It conveys seriousness and wisdom (or the appearance of it). Prose is more appropriate for utterances which are funny, stupid or insane. When characters like King Lear and Othello go insane, they start talking in prose when they spoke in blank verse before. The characters who are written as funny or stupid in Shakespeare's plays are often workmen or servants, as a result of social snobbery. Middle-class people who show signs of nobility, like Romeo and Juliet, speak in iambic pentameter, heck, even in sonnets!