Source: Audrey Stanley,
Co-Director of the Institute, University of California Santa Cruz

The purpose of this activity is to develop students’ awareness of the importance of the last word of each line and to “physicalize” the language.

1. Using any sonnet or any verse passage from the plays, have the students stand in a circle and, speaking in unison, read the passage one line at a time, physically throwing the final word with their arms.

2. Continue this exercise, with variations: the final word is kicked into the center of the circle, then punched, then shouted as the speakers jump on the final word.

3. After the exercise, discuss the importance of the final word in a line of verse, the value of feeling the language physically, of associating it with one’s musculature.