5. Discussion- Overcome Shakespeare phobia – Language in Shakespeare

Why are Shakespeare’s texts fun to read?

• Shakespeare himself was having fun playing with words
• Language is rearranged that reflects excitement about language
• Remember it was written to be entertainment. His words were made to be performed, laughed at, cried at and enjoyed!
• Immerse yourself in the poetry. Shakespeare uses interesting language and beautiful imagery once you get past the different grammar and vocabulary.

How to Approach a Shakespeare Text

First of all, Shakespeare is NOT scary! Don’t be intimidated by the use of words you’ve never seen before or the weird ways that sentences are constructed. When you get to know him, his words are beautiful. It’s perfectly okay to take some time to fully understand it. You don’t need to understand it fully the first time you read it. Here are some helpful tips to understanding Shakespeare and his language.
When you’re presented with a text

1. Find a modern abridged version- it means you understand the plot and who the characters are before diving straight into the original version. Knowing the context of the play will really help you to understand what is happening in the original version.
2. Research the character development and key themes- having this understanding will help you to approach the original text when you’re asked to analyse it and answer questions
3. Research the context of when the play was written- this will help you also analyse the themes of the play further (E.g. colonialism in ‘The Tempest’)
4. Try to become familiar with common Shakespearean terms- for example knowing ‘thou’ means ‘you’ and ‘thy’ means ‘your’ will make your reading of the original text a lot faster, giving you a better flow and helping you understand the overall meaning better.
5. Fill out the table below of common basic Shakespearean vocabulary to help you
6. Find a copy of the play that has both the original text and a modern translation- that way if there are certain words that are no longer used or weird sentence structure is used you will still be able to understand the meaning.
7. Read the footnotes- they may provide some insight into vocabulary used, context, themes and other useful information or interesting facts

Overcome Shakespearephobia – Language in Shakespeare

Although Shakespeare’s language might appear daunting at first, you have nothing to worry about. His vocabulary and some of his sentence structure may be unfamiliar to you at first, but we will help you through. A lot of the techniques he uses will be ones you have seen before such as metaphors, similes, personification, imagery etc. All that will be new to you are techniques involving rhythm and rhyme, as well as a couple listed below.
N.B. A quick word of warning is to be careful. You may encounter some words that you recognise, however, they don’t make sense in the sentence. This could be because it is a familiar that used to have a different meaning. Make sure to look at the vocabulary and footnotes in your Shakespeare text as they will often mark them out.

Do you know what the following is?
Word Play:
Puns:
Allusions:

Dictionary of common words

Grammar in Shakespeare

• Nouns or adjectives can be used as verbs
• Verbs and subjects don’t always have to agree
• Omitted and implied words – Ellipsis
• Inverted sentences
• Word arrangement

Sentence Structure and word arrangement:

In modern English, our sentences are constructed with: Subject + verb + object in that order
e.g. Joshua went to the shops.
Shakespearean language also uses subject, verb and object in a sentence, but may be rearranged in a different order for poetic rhythm and meter
E.g. Subject object verb OR object subject verb
The key to tackling Shakespeare’s sentences and understanding their meaning is to first:

• Identify subject, verb, object. Who did what to who? This will allow you to follow what is happening and understand the plot.

Punctuation in Shakespeare

Shakespeare uses many different types of punctuation throughout his plays. Each has a purpose and is often used to help the actor understand the phrasing of a sentence, telling them how the play should be performed.

1. Read aloud – shakespeare’s plays were designed for the stage.
2. They define units of thought or phrases.

What can you tell us about these punctuation marks used in Shakespeare?

• Full Stops:
• Commas:
• Colon:
• Semicolon:
• Capitalised Words:
• Ellipsis: