Shakespearian Language: 101 English 12

Shakespearian language Shakespearian language can often be difficult to comprehend because of: Archaic language/obsolete vocabulary terms Allusions Metaphors Wordplay Sentence structure Plotlines Stage Directions Gender roles Switching between verse and prose

Archaic and obsolete words THEE you THY yours THOU you THINE yours BETWIXT between Most of these words are easily recognizable, however, the marginal notes in the book can help you identify unfamiliar terms.

allusions Allusions are references to an event, person, place, or artistic work not directly explained or discussed by the author. Shakespeare was writing for his audience at the time, so he assumes the reader is familiar with his reference. If you are unfamiliar with an allusion, you can easily Google the term. Example: Romeo: Well, in that hit you miss: she’ll not be hit with Cupid’s arrow, she hath Dian’s wit; and in strong proof of chastity well armed (Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene 1.)

metaphors Shakespeare commonly uses metaphors to make comparisons to two dissimilar objects. Example: Duncan: I have begun to plant thee, and will labour To make thee full of growing. (Macbeth, Act I, Scene 1). The king is comparing Macbeth to a tree that he can plant and watch grow.

wordplay A pun is a literary device that is used for humor or emphasis with ambiguous words. A pun is used when one word has two distinct meaning. Example- Mercutio: Tomorrow you shall fine me a grave man. A double entendre is a kind of pun in which a word or phrase has a second, usually dirty meaning. A malapropism is when a character mistakenly uses a word that he/she has confused with another word.

Sentence structure When reading a verse, do not pause at the end of a line. Read from one punctuation mark to the next punctuation mark to get the correct meaning. An inverted sentence is when the verb comes before the subject. Sometimes it can be easier to read a line if you re-word it and put the subject first. Example: “Never was seen so black a day as this.” (Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene v.) An ellipsis is when a word of or phrase is left out. Try to fill in the gaps to make sense of the sentence. Example: “I neither know it nor can learn of him.

plotlines Shakespeare’s works often have a main plot and a subordinate plot (subplot). Hamlet is consumed by the need for revenge, yet he seems to be incapable of taking any action to obtain it. The subplot involves the romance between Hamlet and Ophelia, and the looming war with Norway. When reading Shakespeare, you should try and trace the connection between the main plot and the subplot.

Stage directions Shakespeare imagined his plays to be SEEN not to be READ. Stage directions do not need to be read out loud, but assist the reader in understanding the narration.

Gender roles Queen Elizabeth was one of Shakespeare’s greatest patrons, as a lover of art and drama. Much of his work was written specifically with Queen Elizabeth in mind as the audience. In 1601, Shakespeare's father dies and his patron Earl Southampton is sentenced to death (later reprieved) for his role in the Essex rebellion. It is believed that his father's death motivates Shakespeare to write Hamlet around this time. Shakespeare's plays over the next few years take a dark, brooding tone. In 1603, Queen Elizabeth dies and King James ascends the throne. It is important to note that Hamlet was written while Queen Elizabeth was still ruling, but was first performed while King James was in power. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia and Gertrude are not the archetypal woman that lived in Elizabethan society. The feminine influences in his life resulted in a subconscious awareness of the strength of women as depicted by these two characters. He illustrates each of the women in their individual constraints of dependency. As Hamlet progresses, Gertrude and Ophelia’s autonomy develops in coping with the rotten state of Denmark. When reading his work and analyzing the roles of male and female characters, it is important to consider who Shakespeare’s intended audience was, and who was in power at the time.

Prose and verse Although the plays are dominated by verse, prose plays a significant role. Shakespeare’s prose has its own rhythms, but it lacks the formal patterning of verse, whereas verse typically follows a ten-syllable pattern. In earlier works of Shakespeare, upper-class characters typically spoke in verse, while lower-class characters spoke in prose. The change in speech was used as an indicator of a character’s role in society. As Shakespeare grew in experience, he became more flexible about the shifts from verse to prose, letting it, among other things, mark genre rather than class. Prose became the main medium of comedy, while verse trademarked tragedy. While Romeo and Juliet was written predominately in iambic pentameter, Hamlet is mainly unrhymed iambic pentameter. Characters who aren't so high-class—like the gravediggers—don't get to speak in verse; they just talk. Hamlet himself, however, sometimes speaks in prose, even when he's being awfully poetic.

Monologues vs. soliloquies

monologues A monologue is a speech given by a single person to the other characters within the play. It involves a single character talking for an extended period of time.

soliloquy A soliloquy is a speech that one gives to oneself. In a play, a character delivering a soliloquy talks to herself — thinking out loud, as it were — so that the audience better understands what is happening to the character internally. In Shakespeare’s works, Characters will often reveal his thoughts and true intentions in his soliloquies, while his monologues are often used to fool the other characters in the play.

Historical context 1600ish?

Shakespeare’s England Shakespeare was writing for the theatre during the reigns of two monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. The plays he wrote during the reign of Queen Elizabeth are often seen to embody the generally happy and optimistic mood of the Elizabethans. However, those he wrote during James's reign, such as Macbeth and Hamlet(Kind of), are darker and more cynical, reflecting the insecurities of the Jacobean period.

When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, she had left behind no heir When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, she had left behind no heir. The throne was offered to James Stuart of Scotland, son of the Catholic queen, Mary Queen of Scots. James led a Protestant regime in Scotland, like Elizabeth in England, and thus became a suitable heir to the English throne. His reign unified Scotland and England. His rise to power was not popular with much of the nation, as he was not a direct descendant of Elizabeth, and many others believed they had a claim to the throne. In addition, England was still divided by religion, and many had hoped that James would allow leniency to the practicing Catholics.

Divine right Divine right is the belief that the power of monarchs are given directly by God. James, being less charismatic than his predecessor, he attempted to promote the concept of divine right to solidify his authority.

Historical Hamlet Written at the outset of the seventeenth century and based on accounts of several centuries earlier, Hamlet is often regarded as remarkably modern in its treatment of themes concerning mental health, political health, and spiritual health. Hamlet describes himself as afflicted with a melancholy, which he does not completely understand. English Renaissance audiences of Hamlet based their ideas about psychological disturbances such as melancholy and madness on medieval theories of body humours, or fluids. The humours correlated with the four basic elements of earth, air, fire, and water. The humours consisted of black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm. A predominance of one of these humours resulted in a personality type. The person with an excess of blood was called sanguine, or cheerful. The excess of phlegm resulted in a phlegmatic, or passive, inert sort of person. An excess of black bile resulted in melancholy, or sadness.

Polonius is convinced that Hamlet suffers from love melancholy Polonius is convinced that Hamlet suffers from love melancholy. Although Hamlet says he has lost his ability to enjoy his usual activities, several observers, including the king, express the opinion that Hamlet is not mad but brooding over something and thereby is dangerous. Ophelia, by contrast, is assumed by all of her observers—the queen, the king, Horatio, her brother—to be truly mad. In medieval times, the mad person was thought to be inhabited by an evil spirit. The treatment was identification of the spirit and exorcism by a cleric. Exorcisms of evil spirits were still conducted in Shakespeare’s day. The indigent mad person was allowed to live in an almshouse and go about freely unless dangerous. General medical practice in Shakespeare’s day emphasized hygiene, herbal remedies, and dietary recommendations. Even in medieval times, teaching hospitals kept botanical gardens and made herbal medicines, and the discovery of the Americas and also voyages to India led to the introduction of many more plants and herbs to Elizabethan England. Ophelia’s songs contain herbal lore linking properties and symbolism of various plants, including rosemary, pansies, fennel, columbines, rue, daisies, and violets.

In Elizabethan England, suspicion and intrigue played a role in the defense of the realm against dangers from within. Court spying in England and abroad reached an accomplished level under Queen Elizabeth. Her employee Francis Walsingham has the distinction of being the first master of developing the modern spy state. In Hamlet, the intelligence-gathering done or attempted by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was considered, at least by King Claudius, to be a necessary part of maintaining order. Disorder in a state could also be mirrored by disorder in a family. Hamlet is forced to live in a family scarred by murder and what was considered a form of incest by Elizabethan standards.

THE TRAGIC HERO Shakespeare was greatly influenced by ancient Greek tragedies, particularly the concept of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must have the following characteristics: The tragic hero must have great power or opportunities. The hero must have a goal that is very important to him, and it requires him to make difficult choices. The hero’s downfall must be a result of these choices, due to an error in judgment or a fatal flaw. The fall of the hero provides him with an increase in awareness and understanding. Once the hero realizes what has happened to him, it is too late. His mistakes result in his death. The tragic hero is neither entirely villainous, nor absolutely good.