PR #
Deciphering
Shakespeare
Fear not! This
resource of
permanence
shall help thee.
Shakespeare in the Everyday
Modern English
“Shakespearean” English
(Early Modern)
Hello!
“Good morrow!”
“Good day!”
“God save you!”
“How now?”
What’s up?
Goodbye!
yes
no
Come here!
Where to?
Listen!
you
yours
Mr./Mrs.
please
Why?
I think
OMG!
Ya, right!
“Anon”
“Fare thee well”
“God save thee!”
“aye”
“yay/yea”
“nay”
“indeed not”
“Come hither!”
“Whither?”
“Hark!”
thou/thee (singular )
ye (plural)
thy/thine
My lord/My lady
“I pray to thee”
“prithee”
“Wherefore?”
“Methinks”
“Zounds!”
“Alack!”
“Fie!”
A note about verbs: Shakespeare often added t/st/est OR th/eth to verbs. Just
take off that extra part at the end and you’ll be left with a verb you know well.
Here’s a handy list of some of the more common
words Shakespeare used:
































ABHOR – To reject, disdain
ABSOLUTE – Without flaw,
perfect
ADDICTION – Tendency,
proneness
BALK – To hesitate, chop; to
dispute
BRAVE – Handsome
CHARACTER – Letter, word
COIL – Distress, trouble
COUCH – To go to sleep
CUNNING – Clever, sharp
DELATION – Accusation
DESERVING – Merit, reward
DRAW – To bring near, call to
EGAL – Equal
EMBOSS – To track with the
intent to kill
EXPEDIENCE – Quickness
FANCY – To desire
FEAR – To scare, frighten
FRONT – To oppose, affront,
object
GAST – Scared, aghast
GRAVE – To inter, bury
HEAVY – Sad, painful, mournful
HONEST – Pure
INHERIT – Given; to accept or
believe
INTPINSE – Impossible to
untangle
JUDICIOUS – Fair, equitable
KNAP – To hit, strike
KNAVE – A young boy, a servant
LAND – Yard
LAPSED – Shocked, overcome
MAD – Crazy, wild
MATE – To confuse; to match
NOTE – Bill, list; to take note of






























O’ER-RAUHOT, O’ER
WROGHT – Overcome
OUGHT – Privy to, promised
PAINFUL – Difficult, hard to do
PALL – To wrap up
PARTICOAT – To cover in
colorful fabric
PERPEND – To think of,
consider
QUAINT – Beautiful, ornate
QUAKE – To shake, tremble
QUICKEN – To bring to life,
bring to one’s senses
RAPTURE – A fit, ecstasy
RETIRE - To go to bed, to retreat
RAVIN – Likely to destroy;
hunger
RESPECT – Forethought,
consideration
SHRIFT – To admit
SIMULAR – Counterfeit
STILL – Always, forever
SUBSCRIPTION –
Acquiescence, obedience
TAKE – To overtake; to enthrall
TAX – Blame, censure
TESTY – Worrisome
TRIGON – A triangle
UNDERGO – To take on
UNPREGNANT – Idiotic, inane
VILE – Disgusting, hateful
VINDICATIVE – Vengeful
WALL-EYED – Wide-eyed, angry,
surprised
WANT – To lack
YARE – Prepared, ready
YOUNG – Recent
ZANY – Idiotic, clownish
Steps to Deciphering
Shakespeare’s Poetry
“If you take it one step at a time, though, you’ll find
Shakespeare’s language almost as easy to understand
as your everyday English—and easier to understand
than the lyrics of many popular songs.”
—Shakespeare for Dummies
1. Read Through Aloud– Read through the poem or passage once to get
a feel for how it sounds and to see if you can pick up a general sense
of the tone (the author’s “attitude”).
2. Identify the Parts – Number the lines and then label the quatrains,
the couplet, and the rhyme scheme. Mark the stressed syllables of the
iambic pentameter with an accent.
3. Read Again for Rhythm – Now read the poem again, this time really
emphasizing or exaggerating those stressed syllables to get a feel for
the rhythm. (Try tapping it out!)
4. Read Once More – Read it once more aloud normally but still putting
the stress on the right syllables. The iambic meter should start to
sound like the heartbeat of the poem.
5. Define – Look up and write down the definitions of any words that
you don’t know. Try looking in a Shakespeare glossary first, as many
of the words he used that may seem familiar to us actually had
different meanings in his time.
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/glossary/a.htm
http://www.shakespearehigh.com/classroom/guide/page3.shtml
6. Literary Techniques –Decipher and translate the suggested meaning
of figurative language, such as metaphors, personification, etc.
7. Rearrange Words – If you notice that the verb comes at the end of a
sentence or the object comes at the beginning, try reordering the
words so they follow the S-V-O pattern we are used to.
8. Paraphrase – Translate each line into your own words using
language that makes sense to you but doesn’t change the original
meaning. (Try using as few of the original words in your translation
as possible.)
Poetry Resource:
Literary Techniques
Sound: These techniques help determine what the poem sounds like
(rhythm, beat).
Alliteration – the repeating of beginning consonant sounds (ex.
She sells sea shells.....)
Onomatopoeia –the use of a word whose sound makes you think of
its meaning (ex: crunch, buzz)
Rhyme scheme –the pattern of rhyming words within a poem
Repetition –the repeating of a word or phrase to add rhythm or
emphasize an idea
Figurative Language: These techniques contribute to the picture that the
words “paint” in the reader’s mind (also known as imagery).
Personification –when an idea, object, or animal is given human
characteristics (ex: “The ocean murmured.”)
Metaphor –a comparison between two different things
(ex: “Life is one tangled ball of yarn.”)
Simile –a comparison between two different things using like or as
(ex: “The apple tasted like innocence.”)
Hyperbole –an exaggeration used for emphasis (ex: “I practically
died of embarrassment.”)
Structure: These techniques shape what the poem looks like and
determine how it flows.
Line break
End-stop is when a sentence or clause in a poem ends at the
end of a line.
Enjambment is a when the poet allows a sentence or clause
to leak over into the next line.
Stanza (couplet & quatrain) –a division in a poem named for the
number of lines it has
quatrain = four lines
couplet = two lines