Shakespearian Grammar & Puns

Shakespeare’s writing can be difficult to read and understand because of -archaic words and verbs -allusions we are unfamiliar with -unusual sentence structure/word order

Archaic words and verbs tenses Using thou, thee, and thine -Means you, ye, and yours Look at the archaic words handoutarchaic words handout

Present and past tense verbs To be -thou art -thou wert To have -thou hast -thou hadst To do -thou dost -thou didst To allow –Thou may’st ***notice the endings -est and ‘st

Sentence Structure and Word Order Current word order often follows the pattern SubjectVerb Object Dogs do smell fear. Shakespearian word order can be any order. Fear dost dogs smell. Smell fear dost dogs. Dogs dost smell fear.

Translating Shakespeare Read from punctuation piece to punctuation so you can translate manageable parts Look at the context of the sentence Complete the Translating Shakespeare Worksheet

Puns Humorous use of a word that suggests 2 or more meanings sometimes used to create deliberate confusion or for rhetorical effect Usually used as a homonym (when 2 words sound the same but are spelled differently like soul and sole) OR if a word has more than one meaning like grave (serious or a burial place) Walter Redfern (in Puns, Blackwell, London, 1984) succinctly said: "To pun is to treat homonyms as synonyms."

Sum Puns I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. There was a sign on the lawn at a drug re- hab center that said 'Keep off the Grass'. He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends. See Handout on PUNS

Shakespeare Puns

Romeo and Juliet (Act I scene IV) Mercutio: “Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.” Romeo: “Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead So stakes me to the ground I cannot move.” Context: Romeo is reluctant to attend a party because he is suffering from a broken heart.