Shakespearean Language

http://youtu.be/BMkuUADWW2A

HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Vocabulary

• Alack: Alas! – This is an expression of sorrow or

sympathy• “Alack alack! Help, help! My lady’s

dead!” (Act IV Scene 5)

• Anon: Soon• “Anon, good nurse! Sweet

Montague be true!” (Act II Scene 2)

Vocabulary (continued)

• Art: are– “Thou art thyself though not a

Montague.” (Act II Scene 2)• Aye: yes• E’en: even• E’er: ever• Fair: beautiful

Vocabulary (continued)

• Fie: expression of anger– “Fie, fie, thou shamest thy shape, thy

love, thy wit.” (Act III Scene 3)• Haply: by chance• Hath: has• Hence: away from here

– “Go, get thee hence, for I will not away.” (Act V Scene 2)

– “Therefore hence be gone!” (Act V Scene 2)

Vocabulary (continued)

• Hie: hurry– “Then hie you hence to Friar

Laurence’ cell.” (Act II Scene 5)• Hither: here

– “Meantime I writ to Romeo that he should hither come as this dire night.” (Act V Scene 2)

• Marry: yes, indeed• Prithee: please

Vocabulary (continued)

• Thee/Thou: you– “Thou art consortest with Romeo.”

(Act III Scene 1)• Thy: your• Tis: it is

– “Tis but thy name that is thy enemy.” (Act II Scene 2)

• Whence: where• Wilt: will, will you

Try It Yourself!• Try writing sentences to accomplish the

following things: – Ask someone to dance with you.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

– Order your friend to hurry, as you are late to a meeting or a game.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

– Beg your parents to let you stay out an extra hour past curfew.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How did you do?

• Haply, wilt thou dance with me?

• Hie! We must hence to the meeting/game!

• Prithee, Mom and Dad! I beg thee to let me stay out late tonight!

– See! That wasn’t so hard!

And now…

• Now that you have converted modern language to Shakespearean language, try converting the following passages from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets into modern language of today.

Try It!• “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown!”

(Henry IV Part I)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…” (Romeo and Juliet)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• “Shall I compare you to a summer’s day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” (Sonnet 18)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How Did You Do?

• The head (the person) who wears a crown (a ruler, king, queen, etc.) will never be at rest.

• What does a name mean? If we renamed a rose and called it something else, it would still smell just as nice.

• Let me compare you to a summer day. You are more beautiful and more gentle.

Other Info You Need To Know

• Shakespeare used mostly Iambic Pentameter in the composition of his plays.– One line contains approximately

ten syllables (give or take a few).

– Every other syllable is stressed in an iamb.

– There are close to five sets of iambs in a line of Iambic Pentameter (giving it the ten syllables).

Other Info (continued)

• Blank verse is used throughout the plays as well.– Blank indicates that there is no

rhyme and no specific pattern.• Shakespeare tried to make his

plays sound the way people talk.

The Prologue from Romeo and Juliet.

• Listen to it.• Read it out loud to your

partner.• Paraphrase it (put each line

into your own words).• We will talk about the prologue

and then see it performed in the movie.

Let’s Practice Some More

The Prologue from Romeo and Juliet

Act I

PROLOGUE

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whole misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

The Prologue from Romeo and Juliet

in Modern Text In the beautiful city of Verona, where our story takes place, a long-standing hatred between two families erupts into new violence, and citizens stain their hands with the blood of their fellow citizens. Two unlucky children of these enemy families become lovers and commit suicide. Their unfortunate deaths put an end to their parents' feud. For the next two hours, we will watch the story of their doomed love and their parents' anger, which nothing but the children’s deaths could stop. If you listen to us patiently, we’ll make up for everything we’ve left out in this prologue onstage.

Your Journal…

• In your journal, pick two of the statements and then answer them with your own opinions.

• BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS!!!

• My parents know more about love and relationships than I do.

• I would be willing to die for a friend.

• Sometimes it is necessary to disobey my parents.

• You shouldn’t fight your friends’ fights.

• Most teenagers know what true love is.

• Couples should know each other for a long time before getting married.

• Children always learn from the wrongs of their parents.

Journal out of the class• Something old

– Something you heard today that you already knew

• Something new– Something you learned today

• Something blue– A question that you have or something that you do

not quite understand