11 Great Things You Only Notice Rewatching Deadwood

8. Shakespearian Writing

Garret Dillahunt Deadwood
HBO

The show is known for using 'iambic pentameter', the syllabic metre featured in Shakespeare's plays that stresses every second syllable. The show is also known for its harsh depiction of The Wild West with a degree of realism not often seen in the genre. What sets Deadwood apart from the likes of The Wire or Game of Thrones is that it combines this realism with a dramatic flair more often seen in plays.

Once you notice the iambic pentameter, you start hearing the character's monologues as modern-day soliloquies and see how the actors apply the perfect amount of melodrama to hammer home the show's Shakespearian style.

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Conor Spielberg is a freelance writer who has worked for various publications including CBR, Multiversity Comics, and of course WhatCulture. Armed with nothing more than a laptop and strong opinions about things of little consequence; he has managed to write about comics, film, television, tabletop games, and video games. He has even managed to trick people into paying him to do it.