LAMDA Performing Shakespearean Text 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Shakespearean performance, what does the term 'playing the antithesis' refer to?
- Opposing characters arguing on stage
- Contrasting two ideas within a line to heighten dramatic tension (Correct answer)
- Speaking alternate lines with another actor
- Switching between verse and prose mid-scene
Correct answer: Contrasting two ideas within a line to heighten dramatic tension
Playing the antithesis means actively contrasting paired opposing ideas (e.g., 'To be or not to be') to create dynamic tension in delivery.
Question 2: Which grammatical feature of Elizabethan English requires an actor to understand that 'thou' is typically more intimate or condescending than 'you'?
- The subjunctive mood
- The second-person singular pronoun register (Correct answer)
- The vocative case
- The genitive absolute
Correct answer: The second-person singular pronoun register
In Elizabethan English, 'thou' addressed intimates, social inferiors, or conveys contempt, while 'you' was more formal — a shift actors must track for relationship dynamics.
Question 3: When a Shakespearean speech contains a series of questions without waiting for answers, this rhetorical device is called:
- Anadiplosis
- Erotesis (Correct answer)
- Chiasmus
- Epistrophe
Correct answer: Erotesis
Erotesis is a rhetorical question or rapid series of questions used for emotional emphasis, common in Shakespeare's passionate soliloquies.
Question 4: In LAMDA Shakespearean performance assessments, why is it important for candidates to demonstrate 'heightened language awareness'?
- To prove they have memorized the text verbatim
- To show they understand how word choice and rhythm create meaning and character (Correct answer)
- To demonstrate speed of delivery
- To show they can paraphrase Shakespeare into modern English
Correct answer: To show they understand how word choice and rhythm create meaning and character
LAMDA assessors look for evidence that performers understand how Shakespeare's specific vocabulary and poetic structure actively shape character and meaning.
Question 5: The 'shared line' (or 'split line') in Shakespeare most commonly signals:
- A mistake in the original manuscript
- A cue for the second speaker to pick up immediately without pause (Correct answer)
- A moment for the audience to applaud
- A scene change
Correct answer: A cue for the second speaker to pick up immediately without pause
A shared line — where two characters split a single pentameter line between them — typically indicates urgency or quick cue pickup to maintain the verse rhythm.
Question 6: In performing Shakespearean comedy, how does a soliloquy function differently from its use in tragedy?
- Soliloquies do not appear in Shakespeare's comedies
- In comedy, soliloquies often involve the audience in a scheme or deception, creating dramatic irony (Correct answer)
- In comedy, soliloquies are always sung
- In comedy, soliloquies are delivered only by female characters
Correct answer: In comedy, soliloquies often involve the audience in a scheme or deception, creating dramatic irony
Comic soliloquies frequently let the audience in on a plot or disguise, generating irony and laughter as other characters remain unaware.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes 'sprezzatura' as it applies to performing Shakespearean verse?
- Showing maximum visible effort to honor the language
- Making technically demanding verse craft appear effortless and natural (Correct answer)
- Deliberately breaking meter for comedic effect
- Emphasizing every stressed syllable with equal weight
Correct answer: Making technically demanding verse craft appear effortless and natural
Sprezzatura, a Renaissance ideal, means making difficult skill appear unstudied — in Shakespeare performance, this means the verse technique should feel alive, not mechanical.
LAMDA Performing Shakespearean Text 2
In Shakespearean performance, what does the term 'playing the antithesis' refer to?