How to Read Shakespeare
Unusual Word Arrangements
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:
I ate the sandwich.
I the sandwich ate.
Ate the sandwich I.
Ate I the sandwich.
The sandwich I ate.
The sandwich ate I.
That these four words can create six unique sentences which carry the same meaning. When you are reading Shakespeare's plays, look for this type of unusual word arrangement. 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). 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.
Poetry
We speak in prose (language without metrical structure). Shakespeare wrote both prose and verse (poetry). Much of the language discussion we will have in this guide revolves around Shakespeare's poetry. So, it is important that you understand the following terms:
Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Iambic Pentameter: five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line.
'So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seen'
'The course / of true / love nev/er did / run smooth'
Language
Omissions
Again, for the sake of his poetry, Shakespeare often left out letters, syllables, and whole words. These omissions really aren't that much different from the way we speak today. We say:
"Been to class yet?"
"No. Heard Ulen's givin' a test."
"Wha'sup wi'that?"
We leave out words and parts of words to speed up our speech. If we were speaking in complete sentences, we would say:
"Have you been to class yet?"
"No, I have not been to class. I heard that Mrs. Ulen is giving a test today."
"What is up with that?"
A few examples of Shakespearean omissions/contractions follow:
'tis ~ it is
ope ~ open
o'er ~ over
gi' ~ give
ne'er ~ never
i' ~ in
e'er ~ ever
oft ~ often
a' ~ he
e'en ~ even
Unusual Words
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.
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.
Here is a great glossary of Elizabethan English words:
http://www.shakespearehigh.com/classroom/guide/page3.shtml
Source
Ullen, Amy. SHAKESPEARE 101: A Student Guide. ShakespeareHigh.com: Your Shakespeare Classroom on the Internet. Web. 3
January, 2012. <http://www.shakespearehigh.com/classroom/guide/index.shtml>.
Unusual Word Arrangements
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:
I ate the sandwich.
I the sandwich ate.
Ate the sandwich I.
Ate I the sandwich.
The sandwich I ate.
The sandwich ate I.
That these four words can create six unique sentences which carry the same meaning. When you are reading Shakespeare's plays, look for this type of unusual word arrangement. 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). 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.
Poetry
We speak in prose (language without metrical structure). Shakespeare wrote both prose and verse (poetry). Much of the language discussion we will have in this guide revolves around Shakespeare's poetry. So, it is important that you understand the following terms:
Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Iambic Pentameter: five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line.
'So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seen'
'The course / of true / love nev/er did / run smooth'
Language
Omissions
Again, for the sake of his poetry, Shakespeare often left out letters, syllables, and whole words. These omissions really aren't that much different from the way we speak today. We say:
"Been to class yet?"
"No. Heard Ulen's givin' a test."
"Wha'sup wi'that?"
We leave out words and parts of words to speed up our speech. If we were speaking in complete sentences, we would say:
"Have you been to class yet?"
"No, I have not been to class. I heard that Mrs. Ulen is giving a test today."
"What is up with that?"
A few examples of Shakespearean omissions/contractions follow:
'tis ~ it is
ope ~ open
o'er ~ over
gi' ~ give
ne'er ~ never
i' ~ in
e'er ~ ever
oft ~ often
a' ~ he
e'en ~ even
Unusual Words
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.
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.
Here is a great glossary of Elizabethan English words:
http://www.shakespearehigh.com/classroom/guide/page3.shtml
Source
Ullen, Amy. SHAKESPEARE 101: A Student Guide. ShakespeareHigh.com: Your Shakespeare Classroom on the Internet. Web. 3
January, 2012. <http://www.shakespearehigh.com/classroom/guide/index.shtml>.