6. Theory- Overcome Shakespeare phobia – Language in Shakespeare

How to Approach a Shakespeare Text?

Overcome Shakespeare phobia – 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.

Word Play:

Shakespeare is very fond of using witty word play in his dialogue. He often uses words and then will play around with the meaning to make an intelligent and witty dialogue that bounces between two characters. This can be done in an attempt to show flirting and developing romantic interest, for comedic relief, or to show the intelligence of a character.

Puns:

Puns are a type of word play that play off of the double meanings of words. In the extract above (Taming of the Shrew II, i) there are a few examples of this, see if you can highlight them and show your tutor

Allusions:

Allusions are a kind of reference that imply similarities in character or plot to other pieces of literature. Shakespeare also uses allusions within his plays, particularly from Greek and Roman mythology as a way of personifying the characters to archetype them in ways the audience will recognise. E.g. “Hear Minerva speak” (Taming of the Shrew I, i)- the audience would recognise Minerva as the goddess of wisdom, therefore knowing that this character is perceived as wise by the others in the play and should also be by the audience. Allusion is also used as a way of giving something more supernatural qualities. Romeo and Juliet often describe their love and feelings in terms of the Greek and Roman gods, suggesting that they feel so strongly that their love is not a normal one.

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: Are often missing from large portions of text. This is because Shakespeare is trying to discuss an idea and doesn’t want to break off his character’s thoughts. When characters are angry in particular, the sentences seem to go on forever as Shakespeare is trying to capture how the character isn’t putting thought into forming their sentences as they are instead overcome with emotion.


• Commas: Commas, on the other hand, are used all the time, sometimes 3 or 4 times in a single line. The commas were used to dictate to the actor when he should take a break when reciting his lines. This would be done to add emphasis or heighten tension. They can also be used to bounce between ideas, with each new idea being more important than the one before it. An infrequent comma can also be used to signify a change in a character’s thought process.


• Colon: A colon is used to highlight that an important part of the sentence is coming up. What immediately follows a colon should be treated as breaking news! It can also be used as a sort of response to the line before it. E.g. “To be, or not to be: that is the question” (Hamlet III,i.)


• Semicolon: A semicolon is to be treated the same as a colon. The only difference between the two is that colon is used when the sentence is more emotional, whereas a semicolon highlights an intellectual thought.


• Capitalised Words: In modern English, we only capitalise the start of a sentence or a proper noun. In Shakespeare, however, captilalised words should be treated as words that should be said with emphasis.


• Ellipsis: These are used as a pause within a scene between major plots points or thoughts by a character. This is done as well to add emphasis or heighten tension between lines of dialogue.