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MARCH 3 (A) AND
MARCH 4 (B)
Switch your homework poems.
Mark each other’s iambic pentameter.
SHAKESPEARE
An Introduction to Shakespearean Language
Quick-Write
Write a short scene of a play about any topic of your choosing.
The short scene should contain 4 lines (or more) of dialogue
between two characters.
SKIP LINES (We will be revising.)
The content is less important than the words and sentences
themselves! Be sure your sentences are grammatically correct.
The following activity will be easiest if you keep to short, simple
sentences!
Shakespearean Langua ge
Differences from Modern English we use today
• Meter, esp. iambic pentameter
• Inverted Sentence Structure
• Interrupting Phrases
• Word Omission
• Pronouns
• Verb Inflection
• Coined Words
 All examples in this presentation are taken from Romeo and Juliet.
Inver ted
S entence S tr uctur e
Modern English:
Subject – Verb – Object
I ate the sandwich.
Shakespearean Language: Object – Subject – Verb
The sandwich I ate.
Note: This inverted
structure can also
occur with predicate
adjectives and nouns.
Or:
Subject – Object – Verb
I the sandwich ate.
Inver ted Sentence Str ucture
People in Shakespeare’s time did not really speak this way.
Why, then, did Shakespeare write this way?
• Create a specific poetic rhythm
• Emphasize a certain word
• Give different characters different speech patterns
(method of characterization)
• Create rhyme scheme
Inver ted Sentence Str ucture
 Label the sentence structure of the following lines from Romeo and Juliet.
Then, rewrite the sentences to fix the inverted word order.
A glooming peace this morning with it brings.
In the instant came the fiery Tybalt.
Black and portentous must this humor prove.
Of honorable reckoning are you both.
 Look back to your short scene. Label the subject (S), verb (V), and
object (O) for each sentence that has a transitive verb. You will
invert the structure later.
Inter r upting Phrases
Separated Sentence Elements and Long Interrupters
 Sometimes subjects will be separated from their verbs or verbs will
be separated from their objects by long, delaying interruptions
Again, Elizabethans did not speak like this. So, why do it?
 Interruptions often provide important background details
 Separation of basic sentence elements requires the reader to attend
to those supporting details
Inter r upting Phrases
What is the true subject and verb of the following lines?
Underline all that interrupts it.
Three civil brawls bred of an airy word
By thee, old Capulet, and Montague,
Have thrice disturbed the quiet of our streets.
 Look back to your short scene. Pick one line to add more
details to by adding an interrupting phrase between a
subject and verb or between a transitive verb and its direct
object.
Word Omissions
For the sake of the rhythm and rhyme, Shakespeare often left
out letters, syllables, and whole words.
We do the same thing in our informal speech every day.
Formal English: Have you been to class yet? Formal English: What is up with that?
Informal English: Been to class yet?
Informal English: Wha’sup wi’that?
A few examples of Shakespearean omissions/ contractions…
‘tis = it is
i’ = in
e’en = even
ope = open
e’er = ever
ne’er = never
o’er = over
oft = often
a’ = he
Word Omissions
What words do you think are being omitted from the following lines?
Were you ‘by?
And gladly shunned who gladly fled from me.
 Look back to your short scene. Make the following
omissions:
• At least one word
• At least one letter (add an apostrophe as Shakespeare would
have
Pronouns
Pronouns
Subject
Modern English
You
“You are my friend”
Shakespearean Language
Thou
“Thou art my friend.”
Object
You
“I give you my love.”
Your
“Here is your sword.”
Yours
“This medal is yours.”
You (you all)
“You are all mighty
lords.”
Thee
“I give thee my love.”
Thy
“Here is thy sword.”
Thine
“This medal is thine.”
Ye
“Ye are mighty lords.”
Possessive
Adjective
Possessive Noun
Plural Subject
Pronouns
Replace the pronouns in the following lines with its Modern
English counterpart.
…Upon thy life I charge thee,
Whate’er thou hearest or seest, stand all aloof
And do not interrupt me in my course.
 Look back at your short scene. Replace all pronouns
accordingly.
Verb Inf lection
Shakespeare conjugated verbs by adding an “-est” or “-st” suffix with 2nd
person pronouns (you). Occasionally, a “-th” ending would replace an “s”.
Modern English: You lie.
Shakespearean Language: Thou liest.
Modern English: What did you see?
Shakespearean Language: What didst thou see?
Modern English: Why can’t you see the difference?
Shakespearean Language: Why canst thou not see the difference?
Verb Inf lection
Underline the verbs in the following lines:
And yet no man like he doth grieve my heart.
If though art moved, thou runnest away.
Look back at your own skit. Inflect any action
verbs that come after “you.”
Shakespeare’s Words
Shakespeare is credited with inventing over 1700 new words. He
used several strategies to make this happen:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Adding a prefix of suffix on to a pre-existing word
Combining two pre-existing words into one, new compound word
Changing the part of speech of pre-existing words
Creating it from scratch!
Invented Words: Words Shakespeare Coined-Folger Shakespeare Library
Coined Words
Guess which two words in the following lines from Romeo and Juliet were coined
for the first time here:
 Look back at your
And yet, I warrant, it had upon its brow
short scene. Add at
A bump as big as a young cockerel’s stone
least three new words
you created.
 Add a footnote. For
And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,
each word’s footnote,
An alligator stuff'd, and other skins
state the definition and
the strategy used to
create your words.
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars.
Sure wit, follow me this jest now till thou hast worn out thy pump
Revise Your Script
Re-write your scene completely applying all relevant
elements of Shakespearean Language, including:
• Iambic pentameter
• Inverted Sentence Structure
• Interrupting Phrases
• Word Omission
• Pronouns
• Verb Inflection
• Coined Words
Just for Fun: Idioms!
Many of our common idioms come from Shakespearean plays.
Here are some examples from Romeo and Juliet.
How many do you recognize?
What do they mean?
 Star-crossed lovers
 Parting is such sweet sorrow
 A plague on both your houses
 Violent delights have violent ends
 What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
 Wild-goose chase
Romeo and Juliet:
The Prologue
 Read the prologue aloud
together.
 Complete the worksheet
individually. Use everything you
have learned up to this point to
help you complete the questions
on the worksheet.
 From Shakespeare in Love:
 From Romeo and Juliet (1968):
 From Romeo + Juliet (1996):
Romeo and Juliet:
Synopsis and Character Chart