Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Any tips for memorizing a speech from Romeo and Juliet? Also, tips on doing it theatrically?
Ok, so in English class, we're doing Romeo and Juliet.
Now, our English teacher let us choose the speech ourselves, as long as it was 20 lines or more. My speech is 24 lines long, from Act 3 Scene 1 (I'm pretty sure) where Mercutio has just been killed by Tybalt, and Tybalt has been killed by Romeo, who has just run away, and Benvolio is explaining to the Prince what happened. I'm doing the part where Benvolio explains to the prince what happened.
I need some help in memorizing it. I have que-cards, but they aren't that reliable, and I need some tricks to remember the whole thing.
Also, I'd like to do it "theatrically" because I promised a friends I would, and also I'd get extra marks. Any actors here with tips on how to do that?
Thanks guys.
Extra note:
I've memorized some of it, and I was ready to present (albeit badly) but my name was last out of the hat, so I get the weekend to perfect it.
But for the purpose of this, let's assume I'm only passingly familiar with it.
3 Answers
- 9 years agoFavorite Answer
Well, for me, it's just a matter of practice makes perfect. Keep on practicing your speech bit by bit, and eventually you'll get the hang of it. Line by line, sentence by sentence, even word by word.
For the part about doing it dramatically, I suggest you go with the flow. Think about how the words go up and go down, and vary intonation and stress as necessary. Also, think about the overall feeling of the speech and of the character. What image dos Shakespeare want to portray in this character?
- 9 years ago
Try writing the lines out repeatedly on paper until you can do it with no effort. Or record yourself saying it and listen to it repeatedly until it's lodged in your head.
Try doing what I do and give yourself a trigger word - something you can associate a whole scentence with. In my french class, I used a trigger word every few scentences or less if it was a complicated one.
If you want to do it theatrically, then try listening to the actors in the movies interpretations. Also, are the lines supposed to be angry, sad, happy, confused, resigned etc.? If so, think of a time when you experienced that emotion and try to project it with the words.
Resigned - sigh and sound tired
Angry - loud, annoyed, just be angry really
Sad - sound a bit shocked
Source(s): All the revising I've had to do for my french 3 minute long conversation with the teacher. - 9 years ago
For acting it out, i'd study the lines and know what he is feeling and what is going on because if you know what is going on you can project the feel of it better.
For memorization, it comes with practice, I had to memorize a monologue from the play like.... i dont remember but it had lots of comparing opposites like lambs and wolves and etc. but i sat down and repeately read the monologue, then i unconsiously did movements that portrayed the feeling. (read it with feeling so you're used to it."