Shakespearean Language

Shakespeare’s Language

• Shakespeare’s language IS NOT Old English!• Shakespeare’s language is close to ours; he

just pronounced them differently.• He invented thousands of words, and 2000 of

them are in his plays.

The Humors

• The Theory of the Humors• Elizabethans believed that a the way a

person acted or thought were the results of a balance of four fluids or “humors”-blood, phlegm, choler, and bile.

• Imbalances in these fluids lead to mood swings and personality traits.

The Evolution of the English Language

• The English language came from a combination of sources:– Before 1066: Britain was invaded by the Anglo

Saxons.– In 1066: William the Conqueror made himself the

king of England. Will was a Norman, and he shifted the language from Anglo-Saxon to Norman-French.

– By 1400: The two languages (Anglo-Saxon and Norman-French) mixed with Latin and created Middle English.

– In the 1500s: Shakespeare was born and people were speaking Early Modern English. Spelling and grammar changed a lot b/c there were no rules.

– Mid 17th Century: Modern English was established; grammar and spelling now followed rules and stayed the same.

Elizabethan English/Shakespeare’sStyle

• The English language was in flux• Language experts say the people of Ocracoke Island

in North Carolina speak the closest to Elizabethan language today.

• Shakespeare often used nouns as verbs or adjectives as nouns.

• He wrote in Blank Verse (there is no rhyme but there is rhythm). The kings and other royalty in his plays spoke in verse; commoners spoke prose (no rhyme or rhythm).

• If a verse did have rhyme, it was to mark the end of a scene, since there were no curtains.

• Shakespeare’s plays all had rhythm and used something called Iambic Pentameter (a style of rhythm).

Don’t Copy

Elizabethan Pronunciation• Father-say the A like you would in the word “Favor”• Want-say the A like you would in the word “Apple”• Make- sounds like mek• Head- sounds like “haid”• Down-Sounds like “doon”• Neither- sounds like “nayther”• Lord-sounds like “lured”• Cup-sounds like “coop”• Always pronounce the “ed” at the end of words

Inflection

• Shakespeare used Inflections (adding little bits to the ends of verbs)

• His verbs end in extra –est, -st, eth, -th ex: liest (lie), doth (do), heareth (hear),

didst (did), moveth (move)

Ellison

• He also used Ellison (omitting letters from words, like contractions (can’t, for ex)).

• EX: ‘Tis=It is ‘Twill= It will Oft=Often

E’en=Even O’er=OverTh’=Thee ‘Morrow=Tomorrow

Enjambment• Continuation into the next line without stopping at the end of

the line.• Unless there’s punctuation, keep reading.• Ex: So have I heard and do in part believe it. But look, the morn in russet mantle clad Walks o’er the dew of yon eastward hill. Break we our watch up, and by my advice Let us impart what we have seen to-night Unto young Hamlet, for upon my life The spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him

Some More Words You Should Know

Yay/Yea/Ay=Yes Nay=No Thee=You

Hath=Has Ye=You Thy=Your

Thine=Your Thou=You Yonder/Yon=Over There

Hark=Listen Beseech=Beg Soft=Quiet