Shakespeare’s Meter and Emotion • Workshop • Second Session

Saturday • February 14 • use link from last week

Most of us are taught what Shakespeare says. This workshop explores how the playwright says it—and why that matters.

Shakespeare’s language is not just poetry; it’s a finely tuned emotional instrument. Meter, rhythm, pauses, and disruptions in the line are doing constant psychological work. They signal urgency, hesitation, confidence, panic, sincerity, control, loss of control. Long before modern psychology, Shakespeare encoded emotional states directly into the movement of the verse.

In this workshop, we’ll listen closely to Shakespeare’s iambic pulse—where it flows, where it strains, where it breaks. We’ll look at what regular meter feels like in the body, what happens when extra syllables appear, when stresses shift, when lines fracture or overflow. These are not decorative choices. They are meaning.

Whether you are a reader, teacher, actor, or simply someone who loves Shakespeare, this approach changes everything. Meter becomes a guide: to character, to thought, to emotional truth, to magic. The verse tells you how the line wants to be spoken—and often, what the character doesn’t yet know they’re feeling.

No acting required—just close reading, shared discovery, and the pleasure of hearing Shakespeare come fully alive.

Once you hear the rhythm, you can’t unhear it—and Shakespeare will never sound the same again.

FEE: $30 for all THREE sessions and handouts galore
Workshop led by Robin Williams, Ph.D.

Once you pay the fee, the link will appear on the right side of the page; use the same link for all three sessions.
Handouts will be emailed to the email address associated with your PayPal/card account with which you signed up.
Check the link at any time to make sure you can get in. If you have any trouble or questions, email Robin at least an hour before the session!