SHAKSPER 1997: Re: Pronunciation

From: Hardy M. Cook (editor@ws.bowiestate.edu)
Date: 06/12/97 

The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 8.0658.  Thursday, 12 June 1997.

From:           Peter D. Holland" <pdh14@cus.cam.ac.uk>
Date:           Thursday, 12 Jun 1997 11:32:34 +0100 (BST)
Subject: 8.0655  Re:  Pronunciation
Comment:        Re: SHK 8.0655  Re:  Pronunciation

The current Royal Shakespeare Company production of *Cymbeline* - which
I saw in Stratford last night - makes good capital out of the
Clohten/Clotten pronunciation problem. Cloten clearly prefers to call
himself and be referred to as Clohten. Others tend, behind his back, to
call him Clotten.  The gag is set up in an opening prologue scene (added
to the production using material from the opening of 1.1), when the
prologue calls the character Clotten and the actor playing the role
stands up, outraged, to correct it to Clohten. In a play so fascinated
by names (think of the games with 'Leonatus'), this joke seems entirely
appropriate - a good example of a performance making effective use of
our doubts.


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