Making Sense of Shakespeare Why is Shakespeare so hard to understand? Making Sense of Shakespeare

*Main Reasons? Most of Shakespeare's vocabulary is still in use, but some is not (like “certes” for “certainly”). Worse, some words have a different meaning now than they did then (like “peculiar” for “personal” and “propose” for “converse”). Finally, some words are culturally significant only in historical context, like “signiory” for a Venetian noble and “gondoliers” for canal boats.

Vocabulary It’s true that Shakespeare wrote in “Modern English,” but it’s also true that our vocabulary has changed a lot (and is still changing). Here’s what’s essential to understand.

Vocab, Part I Thou = you (subject): Thou art a very nice person, methinks. Who art thou? Thee = you (object): I saw thee at the mall. I give thee my word. Thy = your (before a consonant sound): Is this thy Pepsi? Thine = your (before a vowel sound): Please give me thine answer. Thine = yours (standing alone): Is this thine?

Vocab, Part II Naught = nothing: I knowest naught about that. Ere = before: The year wilt be over ere thou knowest. Wherefore = why: Wherefore didst thou eat my Big Mac? Whither = where: Whither hast thou been hiding? Thither = there: I wast hiding thither, behind yon tree. An =if: An you be mine enemy, I wilt knock thee in thy head. Anon = soon, right away: Anon I goeth to the mall. Soft = wait a minute: But soft! I will go with thee.

Vocab, Part II Some words simply have a different ending, such as “th” or “st” Wast = was: Who wast that knocking at thy door? Hast = has: What hast thou done with my Game Boy? Didst = did: Didst thou pass the proficiency test? Art = are: Art thou mine enemy? Wilt = will: Wilt thou be mine, Valentine? Doth = does: He doth play basketball with much skill. Hath = has: She hath a fair complexion.

Omitted Words In order to keep the flow, sometimes Shakespeare simply left out a word, meaning that we have to fill in the blank to figure out the meaning.

For Example: “Let’s to bed, knight.”  “You’ll nothing, madam, to my lord, by me?”  “My father had a daughter loved a man.”  “Let’s GO to bed, knight.” “You’ll _____ nothing, madam, to my lord, by me?” “My father had a daughter ______ loved a man.”

Omitted Syllables In order to keep the number of syllables in a line correct, sometimes Shakespeare simply left out a syllable, replacing it with an apostrophe.

For Example: “I am a fellow o’ th’ strangest mind i’ th’ world.”  “That I, dear brother, be ta’en for you!” “I am a fellow of the strangest mind in the world.” “That I, dear brother, be __________ for you!”

More examples: ‘tis  ____________ ‘twixt  ____________ Ne’er  ____________ ‘mongst  _________ ‘fore  ____________ ‘twere  ___________ Murd’rous  _________

Metaphors and similes Shakespeare used comparisons to liven up speeches and to set a tone.

For Example: “What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the Sun.” _________ is being compared to _________ “Beware my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”

Stage Directions Because Shakespeare was very involved in play production, there are not many stage directions, but it’s important to understand what they mean when there are.

For Example: Dramatis Personae  cast Exit  One actor exits the stage Exeunt  All actors leave the stage Aside  A character speaks aloud, but it is understood that the other characters on stage cannot hear what he says. This is very important in Othello!

Blank verse Unrhymed iambic pentameter (10-syllable lines with every other syllable stressed). Remember that? It’s the meter that’s closest to natural spoken English.

*Flowery Prose Instead of simply stating something, Shakespeare might interrupt a speech with lots of description, making it hard to find the subject and verb.

Word Order In order to keep the rhythm of the text (iambic pentameter), sometimes Shakespeare messed with his syntax, which is just a fancy way of saying that he rearranged words.

*“Normal” Word Order “The dog bit the boy” and “The boy bit the dog” mean very different things. This is why when Shakespeare messes with syntax, we get so confused.

*Keys to understanding Look for the subject and verb (i.e. who’s doing what?). Shakespeare liked to put the verb before the subject (“goes he” instead of “he goes”) Look for the object (who does what to whom?). Shakespeare often starts the sentence with the object (“him I hit” instead of “I hit him”)

Examples: “Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide”  “Even when they to perfection grow”  “Belong you to the lady Olivia, friends?”  “My passion cannot hide wit or reason.”

Six ways to a sentence: Ate the sandwich I. I the sandwich ate. I ate the sandwich. Ate I the sandwich. The sandwich I ate. The sandwich ate I. NOW, for some practice!