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English 210A Brief Guide to Shakespeare’s LanguageA few pointers as you adjust to Shakespeare’s language:#1.) The footnotes (glossary, etc.) are your friend. Virtually all modern editions of Shakespeare have extensive notes—sometimes full-page glossaries—indicating what difficult words and phrases mean. You should expect to refer to the notes frequently as you read.#2.) Google is your friend, as is The Oxford English Dictionary—or any dictionary, for that matter. Most difficult words or passages can simply be looked up! It may help to read with a computer on hand, or to keep a list of words you want to look up later.#3.) Read slowly. Since you’ll be looking up a lot of words, you shouldn’t expect to read a Shakespeare play as quickly as you would, say, a novel. A Shakespeare play takes about 4 hours to read once you get the hang of it, though it may take longer in the beginning.#4.) Try reading the hard parts out loud. Many archaic English forms sound more familiar than they look.#5.) Thee and thou. If you’ve studied Spanish, French, German, Italian, or almost any other European language, then you know that these languages use one pronoun for the familiar second person singular (Spanish Tú, French Tu, Italian Tu, German Du) and another pronoun for the formal second person singular or the second person plural (Spanish Vos, French Vous, Italian Tu/Lei, German Sie). English used to be this way. “Thou” was the familiar second person singular subject pronoun; “thee” was the corresponding object pronoun; “thy” and “thine” were the corresponding possessive pronouns. “You” was used in the formal singular. “Ye” was the second person plural pronoun. Thus:InformalFormalPluralMy friend, thou givest me a gift.Sir, you give me a gift.Gentlemen, ye give me a gift.My friend, I give thee a gift.Sir, I give you a gift.Gentlemen, I give ye a gift.My friend, take thy gift.Sir, take your gift.Gentlemen, take your gift.My friend, this gift is thine.Sir, this gift is yours.Gentlemen, this gift is yours.In short, “thou,” “ye,” and variants always mean “you,” but with different nuances.#6.) Verbs ending in “-st” and “-th.” If you’ve studied almost any foreign language, you know that verbs conjugate, that is, take different forms depending on the number and person of their subject. In Shakespeare’s English, the second person singular verb ending was –est, and the third person singular verb ending was –eth. Thus:I speakWe speakThou speakestYe speakHe/she/it speakethThey speakNote: Shakespeare does not always use thou, ye, and their verb endings consistently; sometimes, he uses more modern forms. This is because English was in the process of changing at the time when he wrote.#7.) Unusual forms of address:-Monarchs will often use the so-called “Royal we”: instead of referring to himself as “I,” a king will refer to himself as “we.” This is because the king supposedly represents the whole nation he rules.-For the same reason, monarchs will sometimes be referred to by the name of the nation they rule. Thus, in Hamlet, the king of Norway is called “Norway,” while Claudius is sometimes called “Denmark.”-The familial term “cousin” is used very broadly—not just of first cousins, but of distant relatives and even close friends. Nephew/niece and Aunt/uncle are also used broadly. Relatives by marriage are spoken of as though they were relatives by blood: “___-in law” is never used.-Noble characters often have multiple titles, plus a family name, plus a first name. These names may be used interchangeably, so be sure to keep track of them carefully.#8.) Abbreviations. Shakespeare frequently abbreviates words in order to preserve the rhythm of a poetic line. Here are some common abbreviations:e’en = even‘a or i’ = he‘t = ite’er = everwi’ = with‘tis = it isne’er = nevero’ = of‘twas = it wasi’ = int’ = to#9.) Verse vs. prose. Prose is just ordinary writing, without rhyme or meter. Verse is ordered language with some combination of rhyme and meter. Usually, in Shakespeare plays, the less elevated characters (i.e. those of low class, clowns, or disillusioned characters such as Mercutio) speak in prose, while more elevated characters (nobility, the heroes, etc.) speak in verse. Richard II is the only Shakespeare play written entirely in verse.#10.) Rhyme. The verse in Shakespeare’s plays usually doesn’t rhyme. We call that “blank verse.” Sometimes verse in the plays does rhyme.There is always rhyme in Shakespeare’s Sonnets. The rhyme scheme is: abab, cdcd, efef, gg. Each grouping of four lines is called a “quatrain.” The final two lines are called a “couplet” (or “rhymed couplet,” since they rhyme).#11.) Iambic pentameter. This is the meter that Shakespeare usually uses in his plays. A line of iambic pentameter has five “feet,” or iambs, each consisting of two syllables, such that unstressed syllables alternate with stressed syllables. For example:O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! (Hamlet II.ii.487)Sometimes you will see an accent over an unexpected vowel. That means you should pronounce that vowel as a separate syllable. Thus:Rest, rest, perturbèd spirit! (Hamlet I.v.185)has seven syllables, with “perturbèd” pronounced pur-TUR-bed (instead of the usual pur-TURBD).#12.) Never forget: everything will get much, much easier with practice!!! ................
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