Stichomythia
Encyclopedia
Stichomythia is a technique in verse drama in which single alternating lines, or half-lines, are given to alternating characters
. It typically features repetition and antithesis
. The term originated in the theatre of Ancient Greece
, though many dramatists since have used the technique. Etymologically
it derives from the Greek stikhos ("row, line of verse") + muthos ("speech, talk").
Stichomythia is particularly well suited to sections of dramatic dialogue
where two characters are in violent dispute. The rhythmic intensity of the alternating lines combined with quick, biting ripostes in the dialogue can be quite powerful.
's translation of Antigone
: the scene is an argument between Ismene
and her sister Antigone
.
For further examples from Antigone, consult the text at the Internet Classics Archive http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html.
, Act I, scene ii. Richard Plantagenet
, Earl of Gloucester
(later Richard III of England
) threatens to kill himself unless Lady Anne, widow of Prince Edward (of Lancaster), agrees to marry him.
In Hamlet
, Act III, Scene iv (the Closet scene), Hamlet is confronted by his mother, the queen, about the play (III, ii) which Hamlet rigged to expose his murderous step-uncle.
A further intensification is often achieved by antilabe
, in which a single verse line is distributed on alternating speakers.
In "The Merchant of Venice", Shylock and Bassanio enter into an argument using stichomythia at 4.1.65-9, which "catches the dramatic tension of a quasi-forensic interrogation":
's opera
The Marriage of Figaro
, libretto
by Lorenzo Da Ponte
, where Susanna learns that Marcellina is Figaro's mother, she repeats her disbelief (Sua madre?, that is, "his mother?") to each character and is reassured in the same words. A critic has called that "the merriest and most congenial form imaginable" of stichomythia. For another example from opera, the following passage from the libretto by Andrea Maffei
for Giuseppe Verdi
's I masnadieri
has been called "musical stichomythia", though it does not contain repetition or antithesis:
Examples from musical
s are "I Remember it Well" (lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
, first version in the Broadway musical Love Life, second in the film Gigi
) and "Anything You Can Do" (by Irving Berlin
, from Annie Get Your Gun
). Another is from "The Last Supper" in Jesus Christ Superstar
. When Judas says Jesus knows who will betray him, a passage of stichomythia (with a two-line interruption) follows:
characters Jeff Bailey in Out of the Past
, Sam Spade
, and Philip Marlowe
. Another film-noir example is in Double Indemnity (dialog by Billy Wilder
and Raymond Chandler
). Walter Neff flirts with Phyllis Dietrichson; she resists him.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
. It typically features repetition and antithesis
Antithesis
Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
. The term originated in the theatre of Ancient Greece
Theatre of Ancient Greece
The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...
, though many dramatists since have used the technique. Etymologically
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
it derives from the Greek stikhos ("row, line of verse") + muthos ("speech, talk").
Stichomythia is particularly well suited to sections of dramatic dialogue
Dialogue (fiction)
Dialogue in fiction is a verbal exchange between two or more characters. If there is only one character, who is talking to himself in his mind, it is known as interior monologue.-Identifiers:...
where two characters are in violent dispute. The rhythmic intensity of the alternating lines combined with quick, biting ripostes in the dialogue can be quite powerful.
Sophocles
A short example from R. C. JebbRichard Claverhouse Jebb
Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb, OM, FBA was a British classical scholar and politician.He was born in Dundee, Scotland. His father was a well-known barrister, and his grandfather a judge...
's translation of Antigone
Antigone (Sophocles)
Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written in or before 442 BC. Chronologically, it is the third of the three Theban plays but was written first...
: the scene is an argument between Ismene
Ismene
Ismene is the name of two women of Greek mythology. The more famous is a daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone, Eteocles, and Polynices. She appears in several plays of Sophocles: at the end of Oedipus the King, in Oedipus at Colonus and...
and her sister Antigone
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...
.
For further examples from Antigone, consult the text at the Internet Classics Archive http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html.
ISMENE: And what life is dear to me, bereft of thee?
ANTIGONE: Ask Creon; all thy care is for him.
ISMENE: Why vex me thus, when it avails thee nought?
ANTIGONE: Indeed, if I mock, 'tis with pain that I mock thee.
ISMENE: Tell me,—how can I serve thee, even now?
ANTIGONE: Save thyself: I grudge not thy escape.
ISMENE: Ah, woe is me! And shall I have no share in thy fate?
ANTIGONE: Thy choice was to live; mine, to die.
ISMENE: At least thy choice was not made without my protest.
ANTIGONE: One world approved thy wisdom; another, mine.
Shakespeare
Richard IIIRichard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, Act I, scene ii. Richard Plantagenet
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...
(later Richard III of England
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
) threatens to kill himself unless Lady Anne, widow of Prince Edward (of Lancaster), agrees to marry him.
LADY ANNE: I would I knew thy heart.
GLOUCESTER: 'Tis figured in my tongue.
LADY ANNE: I fear me both are false.
GLOUCESTER: Then never man was true.
LADY ANNE: Well, well, put up your sword.
GLOUCESTER: Say, then, my peace is made.
LADY ANNE: That shall you know hereafter.
GLOUCESTER: But shall I live in hope?
LADY ANNE: All men, I hope, live so.
GLOUCESTER: Vouchsafe to wear this ring.
LADY ANNE: To take is not to give.
GLOUCESTER: Sweet saint, for charity, be not so curst.
LADY ANNE: Foul devil, for God's sake, hence, and trouble us not,
In Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Act III, Scene iv (the Closet scene), Hamlet is confronted by his mother, the queen, about the play (III, ii) which Hamlet rigged to expose his murderous step-uncle.
QUEEN: Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
HAMLET: Mother, you have my father much offended.
QUEEN: Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue.
HAMLET: Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue.
A further intensification is often achieved by antilabe
Antilabe
Antilabe is a technique in drama or poetry, in which a single verse line is distributed on two or more characters, voices, or entities. The verse usually maintains its metric integrity, while the line fragments spoken by the characters may or may not be complete sentences...
, in which a single verse line is distributed on alternating speakers.
In "The Merchant of Venice", Shylock and Bassanio enter into an argument using stichomythia at 4.1.65-9, which "catches the dramatic tension of a quasi-forensic interrogation":
SHYLOCK: I am not bound to please thee with my answers.
BASSANIO: Do all men kill the things they do not love?
SHYLOCK: Hates any man the thing he would not kill?
BASSANIO: Every offence is not a hate at first.
SHYLOCK: What, wouldst thou have a serpent sting thee twice?
Musical drama
In the scene in Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Lorenzo Da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte was a Venetian opera librettist and poet. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte....
, where Susanna learns that Marcellina is Figaro's mother, she repeats her disbelief (Sua madre?, that is, "his mother?") to each character and is reassured in the same words. A critic has called that "the merriest and most congenial form imaginable" of stichomythia. For another example from opera, the following passage from the libretto by Andrea Maffei
Andrea Maffei
Andrea Maffei was an Italian poet, translator and librettist.-Life:Maffei was born in Molina di Ledro, Trentino.A follower of Vincenzo Monti, he formed part of the 19th century Italian classicist literary culture. Gaining laurea in jurisprudence, he moved for some years to Verona, then to Venice...
for Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's I masnadieri
I masnadieri
I masnadieri is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, based on Die Räuber by Friedrich von Schiller....
has been called "musical stichomythia", though it does not contain repetition or antithesis:
AMALIA: Qual mare, qual terra da me t'ha diviso?
CARLO: Deh! cessa, infelice, l'inchiesta crudel!
AMALIA: Mendaci novelle ti dissero ucciso.
CARLO: Beato se chiuso m'avesse l'avel!
AMALIA: Tu pure, o mio Carlo, provasti gli affanni?
CARLO: Li possa il tuo core per sempre ignorar!
AMALIA: Anch'io, derelitta, ti piansi lung'anni.
CARLO: E un angelo osava per me lagrimar?
Examples from musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s are "I Remember it Well" (lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
, first version in the Broadway musical Love Life, second in the film Gigi
Gigi
Gigi is a 1944 novella by French writer Colette. The plot focuses on a young Parisian girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan and her relationship with the wealthy cultured man named Gaston who falls in love with her and eventually marries her....
) and "Anything You Can Do" (by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, from Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun may refer to:*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1946 musical play*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1950 film version of the 1946 musical*Annie Get Your Gun , 1946, with Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton...
). Another is from "The Last Supper" in Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
. When Judas says Jesus knows who will betray him, a passage of stichomythia (with a two-line interruption) follows:
Jesus: Why don't you go do it?
Judas: You want me to do it!
Jesus: Hurry, they're waiting
Judas: If you knew why I do it...
Jesus: I don't care why you do it
Judas: To think I admired you,
for now I despise you
Jesus: You liar—you Judas
Film
In the prose context of most film, stichomythia has been defined as a "witty exchange of one-liners" and associated with the film noirFilm noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
characters Jeff Bailey in Out of the Past
Out of the Past
Out of the Past is a 1947 film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Daniel Mainwaring , with uncredited revisions by Frank Fenton and James M...
, Sam Spade
Sam Spade
Sam Spade is a fictional character who is the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon and the various films and adaptations based on it, as well as in three lesser known short stories by Hammett....
, and Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
. Another film-noir example is in Double Indemnity (dialog by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
and Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
). Walter Neff flirts with Phyllis Dietrichson; she resists him.
Dietrichson: You were anxious to talk to [my husband] weren't you?
Neff: Yeah, I was, but I'm sort of getting over the idea,
if you know what I mean.
Dietrichson: There's a speed limit in this state, Mr. Neff, 45 miles an hour.
Neff: How fast was I going officer?
Dietrichson: I'd say around 90.
Neff: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket?
Dietrichson: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time?
Neff: Suppose it doesn't take?
Dietrichson: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles?
Neff: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder?
Dietrichson: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder?
Neff: That tears it!