ACADEMIA Letters The Sounds of Shakespeare David Barrett, University of South Wales The aim of this short paper is to give a very brief and general introduction to Shakespeare’s pronunciation, without assuming knowledge of phonetics or language history. This may be an aid to actors and directors, as restoration of the pronunciation can often reveal rhymes and metrical patterns, which in many cases are lost in present day English (P.D.E.) pronunciation. There is a great deal of information on original pronunciation (O.P.) available to us in the academic writing of Shakespeare’s period, as well as in contemporary spellings and rhyming practices. The pronunciation of a language at any point in its history may be reconstructed by taking two known points of reference and tracing developments between them. In this case, we can take Old English (O.E.), the pronunciation of which was largely phonetic and in line with other European languages, and modern English, which we know well in all its variations. We also need to factor in the effects of a sound shift, the Great Vowel Shift (G.V.S.), which markedly affected the pronunciation of English, while leaving other European languages largely untouched. The works of orthoepists (academics who studied the pronunciation of words) and spelling reformers, who described the pronunciation of their day in detail, can be useful sources. There is a great deal of detail in some of the works but these can be problematic. Early orthoepists did not have a phonetic alphabet in which to demonstrate their pronunciations (the International Phonetic Alphabet was developed at the end of the 19th century). The spelling reformers were sometimes biased towards a particular ‘spelling pronunciation’ or were keen to preserve an archaic spelling (even beyond its sell-by date). To sum up, the caveat here is that one accepts that some orthoepists were influenced by their own regional accents, some recommended archaic pronunciations, spelling pronunciations or hypercorrect pronunciations, and all had their pet hates. There were many regional variants and doublets in use, sometimes arising from the Middle English (M.E.) dialects. This enabled writers such as Shakespeare to vacillate Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: David Barrett, barrett444@ntlworld.com Citation: Barrett, D. (2021). The Sounds of Shakespeare. Academia Letters, Article 4201. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4201. 1 between pronunciations to suit the context of the rhymes or metre. Variant spellings should be treated with caution as one must view all spelling variations in the light of the writer’s normal spelling and pronunciation habits. However, there is important evidence embedded in spellings. Queen Elizabeth I, for example, would use spellings such as ‘sarvant’ for ‘servant’, ‘sarve’ for ‘serve’ and ‘desart’ for ‘desert’ (vb). This spelling is evidence for a well-attested pronunciation of ‘ar’, which began in the north and was spreading south by the 15th century. The pronunciation, though not the spelling, is preserved in words like ‘sergeant’, ‘clerk’ and ‘Derby’. Queen Elizabeth would also raise short ‘e’ to ‘i’, especially after ‘y’, ‘g’ or ‘r’. This is evidenced in her spelling ‘togither’ and Shakespeare’s rhymes ‘together-thither’ and ‘yet-sit’. The raised ‘e’ in ‘devil’ occurs frequently in Shakespeare (spelled ‘divell’ or ‘divel’). The Great Vowel Shift (G.V.S.) was a chain shift which mostly affected the long vowels and diphthongs and was underway between approximately 1400 and 1600, although significant changes in pronunciation continued well after 1600. It is interesting that the G.V.S. had differing effects in different parts of Britain and this is one of the causes of regional accents (together with other historical and etymological differences). As the pronunciation moved away from the spellings, a complex and difficult system began to emerge, complicated by printers adopting their own standards. The different pronunciation of words with the long vowel spelled ‘ea’ demonstrate the effects of the GVS. We have words like ‘meat’ or ‘seat’ which contrast with steak and great. In Shakespeare’s day, ‘sea’ and ‘see’ were pronounced differently. ‘Great’ and ‘steak’ are two of only a handful of words which preserve the original vowel sound, which it shared with ‘sea’. The older pronunciation of words like ‘meat’ can still be heard in some northern English accents. Words ending ‘ear’ also show different pronunciations, such as in ‘dear’ and ‘bear’. In Shakespeare’s day both the modern and older pronunciations of many of these words were possible. Striking examples of the change are in the two modern diphthongs (two vowels joined by a glide) ‘house’, formerly pronounced ‘hoos’ (as in parts of Scotland today) and ‘time’, formerly ‘teem’. With a little knowledge of OP, many broken rhymes in Shakespeare’s plays may be restored. These are but a few examples amongst many in Shakespeare. ‘One’, ‘none’ and ‘gone’ were commonly pronounced with the same vowel as ‘alone’ (meaning ‘all one’). Hence, the rhymes: Then will two at once woo one; That must needs be sport alone; MSND, III, 2 and: Lysander, keep thy Hermia; I will none: Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: David Barrett, barrett444@ntlworld.com Citation: Barrett, D. (2021). The Sounds of Shakespeare. Academia Letters, Article 4201. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4201. 2 If e’er I loved her, all that love is gone. MSND, III, 2 The older pronunciation of the long vowel ‘ea’ in ‘sea’ (mentioned above) explains this perfect rhyme and the pun: Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak Whispers the o’er-fraught heart and bids it break. Macbeth, IV, 3 Heavens thank you for’t! And now, I pray you, sir, For still ‘tis beating in my mind, your reason For raising this sea-storm? Tempest, I, 2 Final ‘g’ in ‘ing’ was commonly omitted so ‘reason’ and ‘raisin’ sounded alike. The pronunciation of ‘er’ as ‘ar’ (favoured by Queen Elizabeth) allows the rhyme here: Most sweet voices! Better it is to die, better to starve, Than crave the hire which first we do deserve. Coriolanus, II, 3 The rounding of ‘a’ after ‘w’, as in ‘water’ had not fully taken effect in this period so ‘water’ would rhyme perfectly with ‘matter’: O vain petitioner! beg a greater matter; Thou now request’st but moonshine in the water. Loves Labour’s Lost, V, 2 The rapidly changing pronunciation allowed for variants and doublets, some regional, some modern or historical, which were very useful for poets seeking a rhyme. The usual pronunciation of ‘wind’ was with a diphthong, the modern pronunciation being adopted from a regional variant later in the 17th century. About the wood go swifter than the wind, And Helena of Athens look thou find: MSND, III, 2 Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: David Barrett, barrett444@ntlworld.com Citation: Barrett, D. (2021). The Sounds of Shakespeare. Academia Letters, Article 4201. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4201. 3 ‘Wound’ similarly had a diphthong and rhymed with words like ‘sound’: But who is here? Lysander! on the ground! Dead? or asleep? I see no blood, no wound. Restoration of metre repairs broken metrical lines and reveals lines which are more likely to be irregular (rather than those which are simply rhythmically different in P.D.E). Two common causes of apparent irregular metre in P.D.E. pronunciation may be explained by looking at two rhythmic phenomena in Shakespearean pronunciation: resolution or expansion, and syncopation. Syncopation is the omission of syllables, not always shown in the text, although the Elizabethan actor would be familiar with them and making the line scan would be second nature. We syncopate far less today, but the practice is still seen in words like ‘secretary’, given three syllables instead of four. Today, the syncopation of ‘heaven’, written ‘heav’n’, is well known. Here the syncopation may be seen in ‘driven’ and ‘seven’: So am I driven by breath of her renown Either to suffer shipwreck or arrive Where I may have fruition of her love. Henry VIth Part 1, V, 5 Edward’s seven sons, whereof thyself art one, Were as seven vials (vi-als) of his sacred blood, Or seven fair branches springing from one root: Some of those seven are dried by nature’s course, Some of those branches by the Destinies cut; Richard II, I, 2 The word ‘devil’ frequently appears in a mono-syllabic form, pronounced di’il or [di:l] (sounds like ‘deal’). Master, be wise: an if you give it her, The devil will shake her chain and fright us with it. Comedy of Errors, IV, 3 Resolution (expansion) is demonstrated in these lines, where an extra syllable is generated by the separation of the vowels: It makes us, or it mars us; think on that, And fix most firm thy res-o-lu-ti-on. (pronounced re-so-lu-si-on) Othello, V, 1 Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: David Barrett, barrett444@ntlworld.com Citation: Barrett, D. (2021). The Sounds of Shakespeare. Academia Letters, Article 4201. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4201. 4 Made up to the deed, doth push on this proceeding: Yet, for a greater confirmati-on, Winter’s Tale, II, 1 The pronunciation of the stage in Shakespeare’s day was far less formal than we might imagine, with dropped initial ‘h’ and final ‘g’ being the norm. Words beginning with ‘qu’ would be pronounced as in P.D.E. in words of Old English origin, such as ‘quick’, but could be pronounced as ‘k’ in Latin or French borrowings, such as ‘banquet’ (pronounced ‘bankit’). This enabled Shakespeare to pun in Two Gentlemen of Verona: Valentine: I quote it in your jerkin. Thurio: My jerkin is a doublet. Valentine: Well, then, I’ll double your folly. In a modern production of a Shakespeare play, O.P. might be used as a tool for differentiating different characters, such as the mechanicals in A Midsummer Night’s Dream or the forest dwellers in As You Like It. Experiments in O.P. have demonstrated that the ear of the modern audience, used to hearing a variety of accents, can very soon accommodate to the sounds of Shakespearean English. As this paper barely scratches the surface of the revelations possible through the study of O.P., I recommend further reading. Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: David Barrett, barrett444@ntlworld.com Citation: Barrett, D. (2021). The Sounds of Shakespeare. Academia Letters, Article 4201. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4201. 5 References Shakespeare’s Use of Rhyme in a Midsummer Night’s Dream with Reference to Original Pronunciation, Barrett, 2012: https://davidbarrett.academia.edu/research Shakespearean Original Pronunciation for Actors, Barrett, 2012, Yellowbrick Publications: https://davidbarrett.academia.edu/research Performing Shakespeare in the Original Pronunciation, Barrett, 2013, University of South Wales. Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: David Barrett, barrett444@ntlworld.com Citation: Barrett, D. (2021). The Sounds of Shakespeare. Academia Letters, Article 4201. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4201. 6
