SHAKESPEAREAn introduction to his language, his life, and his lines

SILENT CONVERSATION• Work in pairs and write a silent conversation. The

process is that one student writes the first line of dialogue and passes the paper to the partner who continues the conversation. So it might be something like this:

• “What do you want to do after school?”“I don't know. Do you want to come to my house?”“OK. Can we play with your PS3?”“Sure, What game do you want to play”

• Continue this without speaking until each has at least five exchanges.

SHAKESPEARE’S LANGUAGE

• Many of my students have asked me if people really spoke the way they do in Shakespeare's plays.  The answer is no. 

• Shakespeare wrote the way he did for poetic and dramatic purposes.  There are many reasons why he did this:– to create a specific poetic rhythm– to emphasize a certain word – to give a character a specific speech pattern,

etc.  Let's take a look at a great example from Robinson's Unlocking Shakespeare's Text

SHAKESPEARE’S LANGUAGE• Shakespeare’s Language is difficult for is due to 4

critical factors:1. Unusual Word Arrangement2. Poetic Structure3. Omissions4. Vocabulary

UNUSUAL WORD ARRANGEMENT• I ate the sandwich.

I the sandwich ate.Ate the sandwich I.Ate I the sandwich.The sandwich I ate.The sandwich ate I.

These four words can create six unique sentences which carry the same meaning. 

•Locate the subject, verb, and the object of the sentence.  •Notice that the object of the sentence is often placed at the beginning (the sandwich) in front of the verb (ate) and subject (I).•When you are reading Shakespeare's plays, look for this type of unusual word arrangement.   •Rearrange the words in the order that makes the most sense to you (I ate the sandwich).  •This will be one of your first steps in making sense of Shakespeare's language.

UNUSUAL WORD ARRANGEMENT• Exercise: Now, try to arrange the following

sentence as many different ways as you can without changing its meaning…– He murdered his friend

POETIC STRUCTURE• Another reason why Shakespeare can be difficult

to read is because he uses Verse (poetry) along with Prose (normal speech).

• Prose is the form of speech used by common, or comic, people in Shakespearean drama. There is no rhythm or meter in the line. It is everyday language. Shakespeare’s audiences would recognize the speech as their language. When a character in a play speaks in prose, you know that he is a lower class member of society. These are characters such as criminals, servants, and pages.

POETIC STRUCTURE• Shakespeare uses Blank Verse throughout his plays,

especially so in Julius Caesar. Usually, important characters, or any character of the ruling class, or any character behaving nobly will speak in Blank Verse.

• However, some times important characters can speak in prose if Shakespeare is trying to show that they are being “common” (low class).

POETIC STRUCTURE• Again, we speak in prose (language without metrical

structure).  Shakespeare used some prose in his plays, but used a lot more verse.  So, it is important that you understand the following terms related to verse:

• Iambic Pentameter:  five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line.

• Blank Verse:  unrhymed iambic pentameter.

POETIC STRUCTURE• Example of Blank Verse:

So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seenThe course / of true / love nev/er did / run smooth•Notice that the syllables create a natural rhythm of beats (unstressed-stressed). These are called Iambic Feet. They are separated by the /•Also notice that there are 5 Iambic Feet in each line, equaling 10 syllables in each line.•Finally, notice that these lines do not rhyme.•So, Blank Verse is unrhymed (the ends of the lines do not rhyme) iambic (the syllables follow an unstressed-stressed pattern) pentameter (5 Feet in each line).

POETIC STRUCTURE• Exercises: Stand up and be Iambic Pirates!

– I AM a PI rate WITH a WOOD en LEG

• Now, try it with the following examples– But soft: what light through yonder window

breaks?– So foul and fair a day I have not seen.– I’m hungry. Is it almost time for lunch?– Not yet – the soup is heating on the stove.

• Finally…write your own line of Iambic Pentameter!

OMISSIONS• Shakespeare often left out letters, syllables, and whole

words, especially when he needed to make it fit into the pattern of Iambic Pentameter.

• These omissions really aren't that much different from the way we speak today.  We say:

"Been to class yet?""No.  Heard Kirkley's givin' a test.""Wha'sup wi'that?"

• We leave out words or parts of words to speed up our speech.  If we were speaking in complete sentences, we’d say:

"Have you been to class yet?""No, I have not been to class.  I heard that Mr.

Kirkley is giving a test today.""What is up with that?"

OMISSIONS• A few examples of Shakespearean

omissions/contractions follow:'tis ~ it is gi' ~ give ope ~ open e'er ~ ever o'er ~ over oft ~ often a' ~ he e'en ~ even

VOCABULARY• Most of us run into problems when we come across

archaic words that are no longer used in Modern English.  Or worse, when we run across words that are still used today but have much different meanings than when Shakespeare used (or invented!) the words.   This is particularly troublesome, because we think we know what the word means, but the line still doesn't make sense.

• Just as today we use words such as “cool” and “hot” in ways that were never considered just fifty years ago, so too are the meanings of words from Shakespeare’s time unfamiliar to us.

VOCABULARY• During the Elizabethan Period, the pronouns for

“You” were a little more complicated than they are today.

• For instance, if you were speaking to someone of lower social rank or in a casual way, you would use “Thou” instead of “You.” If you were speaking to someone of higher social rank or if you were speaking formally, you would use “You.”

VOCABULARY• If speaking in the “Thou” form, the conjugation

would look like this:

2nd Person Subject Object Possessive

Singular Thou Thee Thy

Plural Ye You Your (or Yours)

VOCABULARY

Early Modern English Modern EnglishThou hast You have

She hath She has

What hast thou? What do you have?

What hath she? What does she have?

Thou goest You go

Thou dost You do

Thou be'st(variant thou art)

You are

•Use of “Thou” with Irregular Verbs

VOCABULARY• Although it is frustrating when we come across

these unknown words, it is not surprising.  Shakespeare's vocabulary included 30,000 words.  Today our vocabularies only run between 6,000 and 15,000 words!  Because Shakespeare loved to play with words, he also created new words that we still use today.

• Perhaps several Shakespearean words would have been strange even to Shakespeare's audience because they were the products of his invention or unique usage. Some words that probably originated with him include: 'auspicious,' 'assassination,' 'disgraceful,' 'dwindle,' 'savagery.' Certainly a brave soul, he was a most audacious inventor of words.

VOCABULARY• Finally, in Shakespeare’s time, English grammar

was not as strict as it is now. Words’ spellings and meanings were changed, invented, and tweaked at will by many.

• For instance, Shakespeare himself spelled his own name 5 different ways throughout his life (Shakspere, Shakspeare, Shakespe, Shakspe, Shaksp) and never spelled it the way we do now!

• So, you can imagine, he had no problem making up words as he needed them!

EXAMPLESHere are some examples of how we might phrase some of

Shakespeare’s words today:

• “These growing feathers pluck’d from Caesar’s wing / will make him fly an ordinary pitch.” — Flavius (1.1.71–73)– “This ought to bring him down a notch or two.”

• “But, for my single self, I had as lief not be as live to be / In awe of such a thing as I myself.” — Cassius (1.2.96–97)– “But, for my part, I’d rather be dead than have to live

worshiping a man no better than I am."• “Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose ‘em. / I have made strong

proof of my constancy.” — Portia (2.1.307–308)– “I would never tell anyone your secrets. I can prove it to you.”

• “Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine / How to cut off some charge in legacies.” — Antony (4.1.9–10)– “Bring Caesar’s will here, and we will decide how to carry it out.”

BACK TO THE CONVERSATION…• Troublesome Words• Using Handout 1, "80 Troublesome Words,“

rework your silent conversations, adding as many of these words as possible. You may have to rewrite the conversation, but that's ok. Each pair must include at least 10 of the Troublesome Words.

• When you are done, you will be asked to perform your dialogue for the class.

BACK TO THE CONVERSATION…• Odd Words• Using Handout 2, “125 Odd Words,” rework your

conversation yet again. Once again, add at least 10 words from the list (that makes a minimum of 10 from the first list and 10 from the second list).

• When you are done, you will be asked to perform your dialogue for the class.

MAKING THE CONVERSATION OFFENSIVE…• Now it’s time to insult someone, Shakespearean

style!• Add a few Shakespearean insults to your

conversation.• For instance:

– “Why, thou clay-brained guts, thou knotty-pated fool, thou whoreson obscene greasy tallow-catch.”

– “Vile worm, thou wast o'erlook'd even in thy birth.”

– “Thou sodden-witted lord! Thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows.”