Celebrate Poe

Welcome to Celebrate Poe – celebrating the life, works, and influence of America’s Shakespeare – Edgar Allan Poe. Like the last episode, this addition begins with another sound clip by John Barrymore from Hamlet, as well as Poe’s favorite song – Come Rest in This Bosom – and then I would like to talk more about a production of Hamlet at West Virginia University.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of this production is the attention paid to detail – a consideration that Poe also respected in his works – that even the smallest elements should contribute to the effect of the whole.  For example, throughout literature, the number seven is said to be a magical, profound, and even creative number - from the seven days of Creation to the Seven Wonders of the World to the seven nations of Israel to the seven deadly sins.  In the Harry Potter series, the number seven is viewed as the most magical of all numbers. The set for the current production of Hamlet at West Virginia University is basically seven layers or platforms - areas that the actors run up and down representing concrete areas of the castle, as well as an abstract descent into madness and degradation.  Hamlet has seven soliloquies - all centered on the most important existential themes: the emptiness of existence, suicide, death, suffering, action, the fear of the beyond, the degradation of the flesh, the triumph of vice over virtue, the pride and hypocrisy of human beings, and the difficulty of acting under the weight of a thought ‘which makes cowards of us all’.  This use of the number seven is subtle – it is not something that jumps right out at you, but it is especially evident in the seven soliloquies that:

The density of Hamlet’s thought is extraordinary. Not a word is wasted; every syllable and each sound expresses the depth of his reflection and the intensity of his emotion.  Again, in his The Philosophy of Composition, Poe similarly writes that every word in a story should be there for a reason - to establish an effect.

The language is extremely beautiful. Shakespeare was in love with words. His soliloquies are pieces of pure poetry, written in blank verse, sustained by a rhythm that is sometimes smooth, sometimes rugged, and varies with a fast or a slow pace. Shakespeare lived at a time when there were no dictionaries, and he had a tremendous influence on the language we speak.  We believe that one of the reasons that audiences went to his plays was to LEARN new words.  While Poe wrote approximately 250 years later when the English language was more established, he also shared a love of language and coined his share of new words.

Those seven soliloquies can be classified as:

1. ‘O that this too sullied flesh would melt’ (Act One, Scene Two)

7. ‘How all occasions do inform against me’ (Act Four, Scene Four)

In The Masque of the Red Death, Poe also utilizes the number seven with the seven rooms in the castle of Prince Prospero:

There were seven — an imperial suite. In many palaces, however, such suites form a long and straight vista, while the folding doors slide back nearly to the walls on either hand, so that the view of the whole extent is scarcely impeded. Here the case was very different; as might have been expected from the duke’s love of the bizarre. The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time. There was a sharp turn at every twenty or thirty yards, and at each turn a novel effect. To the right and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon a closed corridor which pursued the windings of the suite. These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber  into which it opened. That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example in blue — and vividly blue were its windows. The second chamber was purple in its ornaments and tapestries, and here the panes were purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the casements. The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange — the fifth with white — the sixth with violet. The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet — a deep blood color.

And in Shakespeare’s As You LIke It, Jacques speaks of the seven ages of man in this clip from Classic Poetry Aloud:

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Now I am   very blessed to work with some of the interpreters at West Virginia University for this production, as well as an incredible director, Jerry McGonigle.  I first thought that the interpreters would use shadow interpreting - where the interpreter basically follows the actor – Shadow interpreting is often seen as the most “deaf friendly” form of interpreting because the deaf person does not need to play ping pong with his eyes - looking back and forth at the interpreter and stage.

But that was impossible in this production - largely because of the steps and levels in the acting area - and it would be very dangerous for both the actors and interpreters – running around during the fight scenes and sword fights, as well as up and down the steps.

Instead we used an interpreting strategy I call “character interpreting” for this performance - where each interpreter appears to almost be a part of the design of the set.  The West Virginia School for the Deaf is supposed to be at the interpreted performance on March 8, and each interpreter is associated with a major character in the play.  For example, we have an excellent interpreter, Dolly Ford, signing Queen Gertrude and Laertes, and another excellent interpreter, Teresa McGonigle, signing King Claudius and Ophelia, while I sign Hamlet’s lines.  Another top notch interpreter, Janelle St. Martin’ signs Polonius, as well as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - all of the characters that Janelle interprets are laugh out loud funny in this production.  And, in the tradition of Shakespeare’s original company, the signers double the other roles. By facilitating communication, the action of signing becomes an integral part of the action.

And the placement of the interpreters speaks volumes about the characters - for example, the interpreter signing Hamlet is in front of the interpreter signing Ophelia.  She is BEHIND Hamlet, not beside him - not a “normal” relationship - whatever that is - but one where Hamlet often talks AT her - an abusive relationship that Ophelia does not understand, and eventually results in her becoming mad. The interpreter signing Hamlet is closer in position to his mother, Queen Gertrude, thus implying the Freudian relationship between them.

The character of Horatio, is a close friend of Hamlet, and is seated behind him - always supporting Hamlet, and movingly uttering the lines when Hamlet is killed:

Good night, sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

And the interpreter signing Polonius is on the side of the stage behind the interpreter signing his son Laertes - so when Polonius delivers his famous monologue of advice - neither a borrower nor a lender be - he is talking in the background.

It sounds more complicated than it is – the intention is to have the communication as flowing as the acting.

By having the stage in darkness during various scenes, but also having a light on the 4 interpreters, the silent movements of the interpreters are always visible - hopefully adding an extra dimension to an already profound production.  The role of Hamlet is a talky one - he is very articulate - but just before he dies in the play, Hamlet says, The rest is silence. He basically has said everything.

Compare this to these two writings by Poe about Silence:

THERE are some qualities — some incorporate things, That have a double life, which thus is made A type of that twin entity which springs From matter and light, evinced in solid and shade. There is a two-fold Silence — sea and shore — Body and soul. One dwells in lonely places, Newly with grass o’ergrown; some solemn graces, Some human memories and tearful lore, Render him terrorless: his name’s “No More.” And

Then I grew angry and cursed with a silent curse the river, and the lilies, and the wind, and the forest, and the Heaven, and the thunder, and the sighs of the water-lilies. And they became accursed — and were still. And the moon ceased to totter in its [back of page:] pathway up the Heaven — and the thunder died away — and the lightning did not flash — and the clouds hung motionless — and the waters sunk to their level and remained — and the trees ceased to rock — and the water-lilies sighed no more — and the murmur was heard no longer from among them — nor any shadow of sound throughout the vast illimitable desert. And I looked upon the characters of the rock, and they were changed — and the characters were SILENCE.

While the actions of the interpreters in this production of Hamlet communicate silence, we are hoping to facilitate communication and conveying an incredible amount of information - such is the nature of interpreting Shakespeare for the Deaf.  After signing Shakespeare, it was a natural to want to interpret America’s Shakespeare. Poe’s use of the language is a bit simplier - roughly 1850 as compared to 1600 - but still different enough from today’s speech in many respects to require a careful analysis of the text and method of communication.  I am have done a one-man show about Poe’s life, works, and influence for hearing audiences (called not surprisingly Celebrate Poe), but ultimately I would like to translate Poe’s works into American Sign Language for Deaf individuals– and perform the play in schools for the Deaf, and eventually at Gallaudet University.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Celebrate Poe.

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