SHAKESPEARE’s LANGUAGE

HE TALKS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY than we do today!

Sayings We have Willie to thank for!!

O KNOCK KNOCK! Who’s There?O Heart of GoldO So-soO Fight Fire with FireO Love is BlindO Makes your hair stand on endO A Piece of Work O Sent him packing

2nd Person Familiar and Verb Inflections

O Modern in English has dropped a set of pronouns and verbs called “familiar” or thee and thou forms. We used to use these among close friends and family and to children, inferiors, animals, and inanimate objects.

O They were still around in Shakespeare’s day.

Familiar PronounsSingular Pronouns Plural Pronouns

1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd

SUBJECT

I Thou He/she/it We Ye They

Object Me Thee Him/her/it Us You Them

Possessive adjective

My*mine

Thy*thine

His/her/its Our Your Their

PossessiveNoun

Mine Thine his/her/its Ours Yours theirs

Verb InflectionsO 2nd Person familiar-

-Adds the end –est, -’st, or stEXAMPLE: thou givest, thou sing’st

O Some irregular verbsPRESENT: you are have will can shall do PRESENT: thou art hast wilt canst shalt dostPAST: thou wast hadst wouldst couldst shouldst didstO Third Person SingularOften substitutes –th for –sExample: she giveth (for she gives)

Decode the following with your group

1. Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword And won thy love doing thee injuries…2. Stand forth, Demetrius – My noble lord, This man hath my consent to marry her. 3. If thou lovest me, then steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night..4. How now spirit? Whither wander you? 5. The King doth keep his revels here tonight, Take heed the Queen come not within his sight…

Answers1. Hippolyta, I courted you with my sword in

battle, and won your love doing you harm…

2. Come forward, Demetrius – My good lord, this man has my permission to marry her.

3. If you love me, then sneak out of your father’s house tomorrow night…

4. How are you spirit? Where are you going? 5. The king does have his party here tonight,

make sure the Queen stay away and out of his sight…

There are some other strange words and

phrases in Shakespeare, where do I look them up?

O Shakspeare Lexicon – Alexander Schmidt’s

O English Dictionary

Steps to Decoding Shakespeare Scenes and Monologues

O Read scene synopsis from Spark Notes

O Read Scene O Decode Words and Phrases using the

Shakespeare Lexicon or DictionaryO If you STILL cannot decode

everything, look at No Fear Shakespeare

JULIET: Ay me! ROMEO: She speaks, O speak again bright angel, for thou artAs glorious to this night being o’er my head, As is a winged messenger of heavenUnto the white-upturned wond’ring eyesOf mortals that fall back to gaze on him, When he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds, And sails upon the bosom of the air.  JULIET: O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?Deny thy father, and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.  ROMEO: Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?  JULIET: ‘Tis but thy name that is mine enemy. Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? It is nor hand nor foot, Nor arm nor face, nor any other partBelonging to a man. O be some other name. What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owesWithout that title. Romeo doff thy name which is no part of thee, Take all myself.

O Watch Scene RSC Shaksepeare Company

Balcony Scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHoaPLO6Zd8

*Did you understand what’s going on? And the emotions?

Decode the followinghttp://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/twelfthnight/section7.rhtml

Give me leave, beseech you. I did send,After the last enchantment you did here,A ring in chase of you. So did I abuseMyself, my servant, and, I fear me, you:Under your hard construction must I sit,To force that on you, in a shameful cunningWhich you knew none of yours. What might you think?Have you not set mine honor at the stake,And baited it with all the unmuzzled thoughtsThat tyrannous heart can think? To one of your receivingEnough is shown. A cypress, not a bosom,Hides my heart. So, let me hear you speak.

Combine one word from each of the three columns below, prefaced with "Thou":Column 1 Column 2 Column 3artless base-court apple-johnbawdy bat-fowling baggagebeslubbering beef-witted barnaclebootless beetle-headed bladdercockered clapper-clawed bugbearclouted clay-brained bum-baileycraven common-kissing canker-blossomcurrish crook-pated clack-dishdroning doghearted codpiecefawning earth-vexing dewberryfobbing elf-skinned flap-dragongleeking flap-mouthed foot-lickergorbellied folly-fallen giglet

Write a Scene with a partner

O Each person must say an insultO Create a scene where each person

says an insultO Make sure there is a clear beginning,

middle, and endO No violenceO Use your 2nd person familiar and verb

inflectionsO 5-8 lines