[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Music)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.00,0:00:16.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why do we cringe when we hear "Shakespeare?"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.88,0:00:19.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you ask me, it's usually because of his words.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.94,0:00:23.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All those thines and thous and therefores
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.03,0:00:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and wherefore-art-thous can be more than a little annoying.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.00,0:00:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But you have to wonder, why is he so popular?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.32,0:00:34.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why have his plays been made and remade more than any other playwright?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.91,0:00:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's because of his words.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.00,0:00:40.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Back in the late 1500s and early 1600s,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.77,0:00:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was the best tool that a person had,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.00,0:00:45.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there was a lot to talk about.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.55,0:00:48.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, most of it was pretty depressing.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.58,0:00:50.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, with the Black Plague and all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.51,0:00:54.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Shakespeare does use a lot of words.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.65,0:00:58.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of his most impressive accomplishments is his use of insults.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.89,0:01:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They would unify the entire audience;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.00,0:01:05.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and no matter where you sat, you could laugh at what was going on onstage.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.68,0:01:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Words, specifically dialogue in a drama setting,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.00,0:01:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are used for many different reasons:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.00,0:01:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to set the mood of the scene,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.00,0:01:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to give some more atmosphere to the setting,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.00,0:01:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to develop relationships between characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.00,0:01:25.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Insults do this in a very short and sharp way.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.02,0:01:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's first go to "Hamlet."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.80,0:01:29.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right before this dialogue,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.49,0:01:34.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Polonius is the father of Ophelia, who is in love with Prince Hamlet.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.17,0:01:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,King Claudius is trying to figure out why Prince Hamlet is acting so crazy
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.00,0:01:42.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,since the king married Prince Hamlet's mother.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.06,0:01:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Polonius offers to use his daughter
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.00,0:01:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get information from Prince Hamlet.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.00,0:01:50.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then we go into Act II Scene 2.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.75,0:01:54.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Polonius: "Do you know me, my lord?"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.05,0:01:58.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hamlet: "Excellent well. You're a fishmonger."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.20,0:02:01.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Polonius: "Not I, my lord."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.05,0:02:04.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hamlet: "Then I would you were so honest a man."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.86,0:02:08.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, even if you did not know what "fishmonger" meant,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.06,0:02:11.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can use some contextual clues.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.05,0:02:15.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One: Polonius reacted in a negative way, so it must be bad.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.60,0:02:19.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Two: Fish smell bad, so it must be bad.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.49,0:02:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And three: "Monger" just doesn't sound like a good word.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.94,0:02:26.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So from not even knowing the meaning,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.18,0:02:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you're beginning to construct some characterization
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.00,0:02:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the relationship between Hamlet and Polonius,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.00,0:02:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was not good.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.00,0:02:38.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you dig some more, "fishmonger" means a broker of some type,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.52,0:02:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in this setting, would mean like a pimp,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.00,0:02:45.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Polonius is brokering out his daughter for money,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.78,0:02:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which he is doing for the king's favor.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.00,0:02:52.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This allows you to see that Hamlet is not as crazy as he's claiming to be,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.58,0:02:56.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and intensifies the animosity between these two characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.85,0:02:58.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Want another example?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.77,0:03:03.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Romeo and Juliet" has some of the best insults of any of Shakespeare's plays.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.69,0:03:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a play about two gangs,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.00,0:03:08.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the star-crossed lovers that take their own lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.83,0:03:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, with any fisticuffs you know that there is some serious smack talk going on.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.80,0:03:15.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you are not disappointed.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.60,0:03:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Act I Scene 1, right from the get-go
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.00,0:03:20.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are shown the level of distrust and hatred
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.65,0:03:24.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the members of the two families, the Capulets and Montagues, meet.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.83,0:03:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Gregory: "I will frown as I pass by,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.00,0:03:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and let them take it as they list."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.00,0:03:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sampson: "Nay, as they dare, I will bite my thumb at them,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.00,0:03:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.00,0:03:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Enter Abraham and Balthazar.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.00,0:03:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Abraham: "Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.00,0:03:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sampson: "I do bite my thumb, sir."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.00,0:03:50.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Abraham: "Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.95,0:03:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, so how does this development help us understand mood or character?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.00,0:03:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, let's break it down to the insult.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.00,0:04:01.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Biting your thumb today may not seem like a big deal,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.57,0:04:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but Sampson says it is an insult to them.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.00,0:04:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If they take it so, it must have been one.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.00,0:04:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This begins to show us the level of animosity
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.00,0:04:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between even the men who work for the two Houses.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.00,0:04:18.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you normally would not do anything to someone unless you wanted to provoke them into a fight,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.72,0:04:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is exactly what's about to happen.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.00,0:04:25.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Looking deeper, biting your thumb in the time in which the play was written
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.88,0:04:28.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is like giving someone the finger today.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.17,0:04:30.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A pretty strong feeling comes with that,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.78,0:04:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we now are beginning to feel the tension in the scene.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.00,0:04:37.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Later on in the scene, Tybalt, from the House of the Capulets,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.42,0:04:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lays a good one on Benvolio from the House of the Montagues.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.00,0:04:45.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tybalt: "What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.82,0:04:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Turn thee, Benvolio, and look upon thy death."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.00,0:04:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Benvolio: "I do but keep the peace; put up thy sword,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.00,0:04:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or manage it to part these men with me."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.00,0:05:00.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tybalt: "What, drawn and talk of peace!
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.12,0:05:04.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.62,0:05:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Have at thee, coward!"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.00,0:05:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, heartless hinds.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.00,0:05:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know that once again, it's not a good thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.00,0:05:17.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Both families hate each other, and this is just adding fuel to the fire.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.91,0:05:20.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But just how bad is this stinger?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.74,0:05:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A heartless hind is a coward,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.00,0:05:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and calling someone that in front of his own men, and the rival family,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.00,0:05:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,means there's going to be a fight.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.00,0:05:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tybalt basically calls out Benvolio,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.00,0:05:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in order to keep his honor, Benvolio has to fight.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.00,0:05:39.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This dialogue gives us a good look at the characterization between these two characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.92,0:05:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tybalt thinks that the Montagues are nothing but cowardly dogs,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.00,0:05:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and has no respect for them.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.00,0:05:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once again, adding dramatic tension to the scene.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.00,0:05:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, now here's a spoiler alert.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.00,0:05:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tybalt's hotheadedness and severe hatred of the Montagues
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.00,0:05:57.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is what we literature people call his hamartia,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.68,0:05:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or what causes his downfall.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.00,0:06:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, yes. He goes down at the hands of Romeo.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.00,0:06:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when you're looking at Shakespeare,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.00,0:06:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stop and look at the words,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.00,0:06:12.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they really are trying to tell you something.