Elliot Cohen mentions John Keegan’s concept of “the mask of command” in one of the chapters from The Hollow Crown.
I don’t have the exact quote, but it was referencing Henry V’s famous “Saint Crispin’s Day speech” and went on to discuss the way that effective leaders have to put on a bit of a show to inspire their followers.
I’ve always been fascinated with the seemingly unnatural and feigned cheerfulness and spirit of senior leaders, often in the face of adversity. Colin Powell referenced this indirectly as one of his rules: “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”
And when others ask me about it or complain that it’s weird or unnatural, I’d remind them that it would be much worse if you had leaders who sulked or complained. You might not like it, but it really is necessary.
Anyway, I’m glad that this dynamic has a real term – the mask of command.
So far I’ve only read the intro to The Complete Works, and I’ve been quickly reminded of the iambic pentameter, which I only just remembered as being “that confusing way Shakespeare wrote.”
One of the benefits of this journey is having ChatGPT as a helper, which gave me a good run down of what the iambic pentameter is:
Iambic pentameter is a type of poetic meter commonly used in English poetry, particularly by William Shakespeare. It consists of lines with ten syllables, structured into five pairs (or “feet”). Each pair, called an iamb, follows an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (da-DUM).
Key Features:
1. Structure:
• Each line has five iambs (hence “penta” meaning five).
• Each iamb contains two syllables: one unstressed and one stressed.
2. Rhythm:
• The rhythm can be thought of as a heartbeat: da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM.
3. Examples:
Here are some famous examples of iambic pentameter:
• From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:
“But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?”
• From Macbeth:
“Is this a dagger which I see before me?”
4. Variations:
• Poets often make small adjustments to the pattern for variety or emphasis.
• A line might begin with a stressed syllable (called an inversion), or have an extra syllable at the end.
Why Use It?
Iambic pentameter mimics the natural rhythm of spoken English, making it both formal and relatable. Shakespeare and other poets used it to give their works a lyrical, musical quality while maintaining a conversational tone.
I don’t think I really understood why using the iambic pentameter would make for enjoyable theater before. But I imagine it would be a whole lot more entertaining than just hearing prose on a stage – you could get that anywhere.
And the da-DUM da-DUM rhythm adds a whole other element I wasn’t tracking.
A long time ago, I was getting frustrated with a project. I was working on something that was important but it also felt like the field was saturated – everyone else seemed to be working on the same thing.
Complaining to a mentor, he reminded me that when you buy a Jeep you’ll quickly notice how many people have Jeeps.
I’m not sure where I first came across Marginal Revolution, but it has often led me to other interesting places and now has a permanent space in my feedly queue.
The podcast is question and answer style, and the Shakespeare focus starts at about the 17:00 minute mark.
It’s an interesting conversation, with lots of references to other authors and works that I’m thus far unfamiliar with. It reminds me of what it feels like to jump into a popular online game years after its launch.
Very intimidating.
One key takeaway here is that among Shakespeare people (fans?) it seems common to read and re-read Shakespeare all the time – the title of the post being one of the quotes from Tyler.
This podcast also led me to Harold Bloom who is known for his work on Shakespeare – I just ordered his book Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human.
I have a feeling that returning to this podcast in a year will be a lot more interesting to me.
[…] far I’ve only read the intro to The Complete Works, and I’ve been quickly reminded of the iambic pentameter, which I only just remembered as being […]
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