Shakespeare and the English
Language
Pat Pingeton
Martin Baker
Spelling
• Still varied during Shakespeare’s time
• Very few words didn’t exist in the past as they
do now, however there were many variations
that have since fallen out of use
• Some ME conventions still used, especially
early on in Shakespeare’s career
• Final -e often used arbitrarily, I.E bone vs. OE
ban
• Modern practice of using u for vowel and v for
consonant came into use during first half of
seventieth century
Spelling Continued
• I used to represent both vowel I and
consonant J, modern distinction developed
sometime after 1639
• I and Y are interchangeable
• E is dropped many times and replaced with
an apostrophe I.E despriz’d instead of disprized
• Doubled consonants used in order to indicate
preceding vowel was short, I.E coppy, pollicy
• French loan words ending in -ic often add a k
to show that consonant was pronounced [k]
and not [s], I.E magick, rusticke
• Spelling vv occasionally used for w
Punctuation
• Modern punctuation logical and uniform,
Shakespearean rhetorical and varied
• Fewer stops, commas then now
• If my Uncle thy banished father had banished
thy Uncle the Duke my father (As You Like It
I.II.9)
• Commas used to indicate emphasis
• I have heard that Julius Caesar, grew fat with
feasting there (Anthony and Cleopatra
II.VI.64)
• Question mark used as an exclamation mark
Punctuation continued
• Commas used instead of colon or semicolon
to indicate long pause
• A calender, a calender, looke in the
Almanack, finde out Moone-shine, finde out
Moone-shine (Midsummer Night’s Dream
III.I.54)
• Semicolons used to emphasize preceding
word
• Thus, what with the war; what with the sweat,
what with the fallowes, and what with poverty,
I am Custom-shrunke (Measure for Measure
I.II.84
• Capitals are used not only for proper
names but also for words that have a
special significance
• Italics used for proper names and
quotes, not emphasis
Shakespeare’s Foul Papers
• Messy handwritten versions of
Shakespeare’s plays.
• These papers went to a scribe and were
then made into a ‘print copy’
• Mistakes and miswrites were made
during the conversion process.
• What we have now in folio are usually
versions of the ‘print copy’.
The Foul
Papers were
often difficult to
decipher
Hamlet says, “I know a hawk
from a handsaw.”
There is an ongoing debate whither the
actual text said this or “I know a hawk
from a heronshaw.” Which are both
birds.
To be, or not to be
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
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To be, or not to be, that is the question,
Whether tis nobler in the minde to suffer
The slings and arrowes of outragious
fortune,
Or to take Armes against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing, end them, to die to sleepe
No more, and by a sleepe, to say we end
The hart-ake, and the thousand naturall
shocks
That flesh is heire to; tis a consummation
Deuoutly to be wisht to die to sleepe,
To sleepe, perchance to dreame, I there’s
the rub,
For in that sleepe of death what dreames
may come
When we haue shuffled off this mortall
coyle
Must giue vs pause, there’s the respect
That makes calamitie of so long life:
For who would beare the whips and
scornes of time,
Th’ opressors wrong, the proude mans
contumely,
The pangs of despriz’d loue, the lawes
delay,
To be, or not to be; that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them. To die, to
sleepNo more, and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural
shocks
That flesh is heir to –‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep.
To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s
the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may
come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
Must give us pause. There’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life,
For who would bear the whips and scorns of
time,
Th’opressor’s wrong, the proud man’s
contumely,
The pangs of disprized love, the law’s delay
The insolence of office, and the spurnes
That patient merit of th’vnworthy takes,
When he himselfe might his quietas make
With a bare bodkin; who would these
fardels beare,
To grunt and sweat vnder a wearie life,
But that the dread of something after death
The vndiscouer’d country, from whose
borne
No trauiler returnes, puzzles the will,
And makes vs rather beare those ills we
haue,
Then flie to others that we know not of.
Thus conscience dooes make cowards of vs
all,
And thus the natiue hiew of resolution
Is sicklied ore with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment,
With this regard theyr currents turne awry,
And loose the name of action. Soft you
now,
The faire Ophelia, Nimph in thy orizons
Be all my sinnes remembred.
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th’unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would these
fardels bear,
To grunt an sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose
bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us
all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. Soft you, now,
The fair Ophelia! – Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
Taming of the Shrew
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Wordz thaht r spell’d difruntlie
• Thretaning, eies, Gouernour, beautie, doe,
whirlewinds, faire, meete, mou’d, fountaine, thicke,
berest, budds, thirftie, daigne, soueraigne, painfull,
Whil’st, ly’st, warme, lookes, froward, peeuish, sowre,
foule, Rebell, gracelesse, asham’d, warre,
supremacie, obay, weake, toyle, harts, minde, bigge,
haplie, bandie, frowne, Launces, strawes,
weaknesse, stomakes, boote, foote, dutie, readie,
Fie, Fie, vnknit that threatening vnkinde
brow,
And dart not scornefull glances from those
eies,
To wound thy Lord, thy King, thy
Gouernour.
It blots thy beautie, as frosts doe bite the
Meads,
Confounds thy fame, as whirlewinds shake
faire budds,
And in no sence is meete or amiable.
A woman mou’d, is like a fountaine
troubled,
Muddie, ill seeming, thicke, bereft of
beautie,
And while it is so, none so dry or thirstie
Will daigne to sip, or touch one drop of it.
Thy husband is thy Lord, thy life, thy
keeper,
Thy head, thy soueraigne: One that cares
for thee,
And for thy maintenance, commits his body
To painfull labour, both by sea and land:
To watch the night in stormes, the day in
cold,
Whil’st thou ly’st warme at home, secure
and safe,
Fie, fie, unknit that threat’ning, unkind
brow,
And dart not scornful glances from those
eyes
To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor.
It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the
meads,
Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake
fair buds,
And in no sense is meet or amiable.
A woman moved is like a fountain troubled,
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty,
And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.
Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for
thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in
colds,
Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and
safe,
And craues no other tribute at thy hands,
But loue, faire lookes, and true obedience;
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such dutie as the subiect owes the Prince,
Euen such a woman oweth to her husband:
And when she is froward, peeuish, sullen,
sowre,
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foule contending Rebell,
And gracelesse Traitor to her louing Lord?
I am asham’d that women are so simple,
To offer warre, where they should kneele
for peace:
Or seeke for rule, supremacie, and sway,
When they are bound to serue, loue, and
obay.
Why are our bodies soft, and weake, and
smooth,
Vnapt to toyle and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions, and our harts,
Should well agree with our externall parts?
Come, come, you froward and vnable
wormes,
My minde hath bin as bigge as one of
yours,
My heart as great, my reason haplie more,
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks, and true obedience,
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such duty as the subject owes the prince,
Even such a woman oweth to her husband,
And when she is froward, peevish, sullen,
sour,
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel,
And graceless traitor to her loving lord?
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for
peace,
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway
When they are bound to serve, love and
obey.
Why are our bodies soft, and weak, and
smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions and our hearts
Should well agree with our external parts?
Come, come, you froward and unable
worms,
My mind hath been as big as one of yours,
My heart as great, my reason haply more,
To bandie word for word, and frowne
for frowne;
But now I see our Launces are but
strawes:
Our strength as weake, our
weakenesse past compare,
That seeming to be most, which we
indeed least are.
Then vale your stomackes, for it is no
boote,
And place your hands below your
husbands foote:
In token of which dutie, if he please,
My hand is readie, may it do him ease.
To bandy word for word and frown for
frown;
But now I see our lances are but
straws,
Our strength as weak, our weakness
past compare,
That seeming to be most which we
indeed least are.
Then vail your stomachs, for it is no
boot,
And place your hands below your
husband’s foot,
In token of which duty, if he please,
My hand is ready, may it do him ease.
Vocabulary in Taming of the
Shrew
• Many of the words Shakespeare used have since fallen out
of use
• Daigne- To think worthy of oneself
• Adapted word ‘daign’
• Last used in 1879
• Froward – Disposed to go counter to what is demanded or
what is reasonable.
• Fell out of use in late 19th Century
• Peevish- Irritable, querulous, and childishly fretful
• Still in use
• Bandie – Bandy – To contend strive fight.
• Bandie – The Stickleback- Small spiny fish
Vocabulary
• Mixture of old and new words
• Shakespearean characters sometimes coin new
words, someone use familiar words in unfamiliar
senses
• Uses some poetic expressions that don’t make
sense to a modern reader
• “More and less” meaning people of all ranks
used in Macbeth V.IV.9
• Comparison “white as a whalebone”
Some Shakespearian Idioms
• In my mind’s eye
• A foregone conclusion
• The very pink of courtesy
• “weird” as an adjective
“Shakespeare can not be closely associated with any of
the plans for enriching the language put fourth by the
Elizabethan rhetoricians, such as the use of inkhorn
terms, archaisms, and dialect words, though it is
possible to find examples in each category.”
Introducing new words
• Elizabethan spelling has some rules,
but was highly variable.
• Shakespeare’s introduction of new
words happened through the medium of
theater (not print), so in a way he added
fuel to the fire introducing sometimes
difficult words (Provulgate) into the
slowly stabilizing system of spelling.
So what is the difference?
• Many of the differences that appear stark on
paper might not have been as easy to pick up
on orally
• Main differences that could be picked up by
listening seem to be in punctuation and flow
• Some words and expressions that an
Elizabethan would have no trouble picking up
on appear strange to modern readers
Sources
• For the original spelling and form of
Shakespeare’s plays, check out William
Shakespeare: The Complete Works on
course reserve
• For information of Shakespeare’s language,
check out Andre , Deutsch. The Language of
Shakespeare. London: G.L Brook, 1976.