INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE
English 9
Ms. Donnelly
SHAKESPEARIAN LANGUAGE
Shakespearian language can often be difficult to comprehend
because of:
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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
THOU
you
THY
THINE
you
BETWIXT
yours
yours
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.
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.
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.
MONOLOGUES VS SOLILOQUIES
Soliloquies and monologues have one thing in common: they
each involve a solitary speaker. The difference between the
two doesn't have to do with who's talking but with who's
listening.
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.