Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Sentence Structure & Language

• What makes Shakespeare’s language difficult to understand?

• Shakespeare often uses different syntactical order than we do today.

• We Use– Subject-Verb-Object: Miss Corbett ran around the room. John

caught the ball.• Shakespeare Uses:

– Subject-Object-Verb: Miss Corbett around the room ran. John the ball caught.

– Object-Subject-Verb: Around the room Miss Corbett ran. The ball John caught.

Shakespeare’s Sentence Structure & Language

• Shakespeare’s unfamiliar sentence structure combined with Elizabethan English can make understanding his work rather daunting.

• Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter (five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables), which is often why he changed the syntax depending on what word he wanted the emphasis to fall on.– “So fair /and foul /a day/ I have /not seen.”

Shakespeare’s Sentence Structure & Language

• He also often omitted certain words or created contractions for the same reason.

• 'tis = it isope = openo'er = overgi’ = givene'er = never

i’ = in e'er = ever oft = often a’ = he e'en = even

Using the note cards on your desk, unscramble these sentences the way you think Shakespeare would write them. Remember, he didn’t use the

same sentence structure we use today.

• it a glooming peace with brings morning this

• give Egyptian mother my to an handkerchief that did

• shape thy thou still retain invisible

Answers

• “A glooming peace this morning with it brings.” (Romeo and Juliet)

• “That handkerchief did an Egyptian to my mother give.” (Othello)

• “Thy shape invisible retain thou still.” (The Tempest)

Strategies for Romeo & Juliet

• Be prepared to re-read and remember that no one understands everything about Shakespeare (or any good text) on the first, second, or even tenth reading.

• Don’t get too frustrated with the difficulty of the language—the language is the point!

• Remember that it’s a play, so try to visualize it.• If you get stuck, re-read it outside of class. • Look-up words you don’t understand. • Ask questions.

Masks!• Materials: Use any materials you already have on hand at home. Be creative and have fun with it. We will hang these up on the wall, so do your best work! Due Monday after break.• Awards:

– Most original design– Most colorful– Most unique materials– Most carefully done– Wildest– Funniest– Design that best reflects the personality of a character from

Romeo and Juliet– Any other awards you can think of?

Guiding Questions for Today:• Review: Find a line that explains how Friar Lawrence feels

about Rosaline and Romeo. Also, find a line that explains how Friar Lawrence feels about Romeo and Juliet. Explain.

• In scene 5, look for all the ways the Nurse finds to delay telling Juliet the news. What is the news she needs to tell Juliet?

• Think about Romeo and Juliet’s behavior. Does it seem realistic? Does it resemble modern love? Why are they in such a hurry to get married?

• If Romeo, Mercutio, Juliet, Tybalt, Nurse, and Benvolio were in High School, how would you describe them? Explain.

• Read Act 3 Scene 1 and make a comic strip of the action. Include a summary of what happens in each box and cite the lines the summary includes.

• What could Romeo be foreshadowing in line 126 on pg. 1048?