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Divisions of plays

Phase 1 From the late 1580s to 1594, Shakespeare experimented with different kinds of comedy in Love's Labour's Lost, The Comedy of Errors, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Taming of the Shrew. He began to explore English history in his first tetralogy (a linked sequence of four plays) comprising Henry VI (in 3 parts) with Richard III. Titus Andronicus was his first tragedy. Phase 2 From 1594 to 1599 Shakespeare continued to concentrate on comedies and histories. The comedies of this period A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Much Ado About Nothing are mainly in his best-loved romantic vein, while his fuller command of histories appears in the second tetralogy: Richard II, Henry IV (2 parts), and Henry V. This second period also includes the historical King John and a sentimental tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Phase 3 In the third period, from 1599 to 1608, Shakespeare abandoned romantic comedy (except for Twelfth Night) and English history, working instead on tragedies and on the disturbing dark comedies or problem plays Measure for Measure, All's Well that Ends Well, and Troilus and Cressida. The tragedies usually regarded as the four greatest are King Lear, Macbeth, Hamlet, and Othello, although a second group of tragic Roman plays includes the equally powerful Antony and Cleopatra, along with Julius Caesar and Coriolanus. To this period also belongs the tragedy Timon of Athens, possibly written with Middleton. Phase 4 Shakespeares final phase, from 1608 to 1613, is dominated by a new style of comedy on themes of loss and reconciliation: Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest are known as his late romances. Shakespeare seems to have interrupted his retirement in 1613 to collaborate with John Fletcher in Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen. Most of the fictional stories in Shakespeares plays were adapted from earlier plays and romances, while his historical dramas are derived from Plutarchs biographies of Roman statesmen and from Holinsheds rather slanted account of English history, the Chronicles (1577).

Pronunciation in plays

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)

/r/ was pronounced post-vocalically (car, card) wh was pronounced [] (which, witch) // was not lowered (but, pull) /a/ before /f, s, / was still short (staff, pass, bath) /a/ after /w/ was not retracted (swan, war) mid-vowels were not diphthongised (play, boat) diphthongs /ai, au/ still centralised (time [tm], house [hs]) /:, e:/ had not yet been raised to /i:/ (eat rhymes with great) fewer instances of short /u:/ (book, cook, room)

Colloquial language in Shakespeare


Greeting formulae How now, mine host! How now, Pistol Well met, Corporal Nym Well met, Master Ford Good morrow, good cousin Shallow Blessings God save, your grace! God save you, Sir John! Bless you, sir! Bless thee, bully doctor! Formulae following greeting And how doth my good cousin Silence? And hos doth my cousin, your bedfellow? Parting fomulae Will you go, Mistress Page? Will you go, gentles? Here, boys, here, here! Shall we wag? Farewell, good wenches... Have a care of thyself Fare thee well: commend me to them both.

Summoning What ho! gossip Ford! what ho! Whos within there, ho! What! Davy, I say Telling time Whats oclock? ... since the first cock (midnight) Ant be not four by the day (in the morning)

Compounds in Shakespeares plays


These are very common and contribute considerably to the lexical flavour of Shakespeares language, both conforming to poetic usage of the time and at the same time indicating specifically his special kind of English. (note: PrP = present participle, PtP = past participle) Noun + PrP + Noun = Object + Verb + Subject heaven-kissing hill temple-haunting martlet oak-cleaving thunderbolts Noun/Adj. + PrP + Noun = Complement + Verb + Subject summer-seeming lust little-seeming substance Noun + PrP + Noun = Prepositional Phrase + Verb + Subject beauty-waning widow sky-aspiring thoughts summer-swelling flower night-tripping fairy Adv./Adj. + PrP + Noun = Adv. + Verb + Object lazy-pacing clouds highest-peering hill fearful-hanging rock Noun + PtP + Noun = Agent + Verb + Subject star-crossed lovers

cloud-capped towers tempest-tossed body Adv./Adj. + PtP + Noun = Complement + Verb + Subject high-grown field big-swoln face down-fallen birthdom Noun + PtP + Noun = Prep. Phrase + Verb + Subject fen-sucked fogs

Grammar
Multiple negation in Shakespeare thou hast spoken no word / all this while / ... Nor understood non neither (LLL, 18802) love no man in good earnest, nor no further in sport neyther (AYLI, 196-7) I am not valiant neither (O, 3541) Ist not enough, young man, / That I did never, no nor never can (MND, 780-1) Older grammar in Shakespeare Use of old nasal plural with eye' Come, thou monarch of the vine, Plumpy Bacchus, with pink eyne! (A&C, 1466-7) Use of older inflected form of do, i.e. doth' That doth invert the attest of eyes and ears (T&C, 3116) Use of old genitive as possessive pronoun, i.e. mine' But no more deep will I endart mine eye (R&J, 444) Use of be, and not have, as an auxiliary verb When we born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools (Lear, 3010)

Language change in Shakespeares plays


It is common to divide Shakespeares plays into two groups: the earlier plays 1591-1599 (20) and the later plays 1600-1613 (16); this refers to the 36 in the First Folio (1623). The following comments refer to changes in Shakespeares use of morphology between the early and the late plays. 1) Third person present singular endings: (a) Earlier plays 239 eth endings 68 es endings (b) Later plays 29 eth endings 185 es endings 2) to do and to have: (a) Earlier plays es endings with to have occur in 10 plays (30 occurrences) es endings with to do occur in 11 plays (23 occurrences) (b) Later plays: es endings with to have occur in all plays (319 occurrences) es endings with to do occur in all plays (258 occurrences) Note that in general the verb to do and to have retain the old eth ending longest, surviving into prose and verse into the 18th century.

Syntax
The most common simple sentence in modern English follows a familiar pattern: Subject (S), Verb (V), Object (O). To illustrate this, we'll devise a subject (John), a verb (caught), and an object (the ball). Thus, we have an easily understood sentence, "John caught the ball." This is as perfectly an understood sentence in modern English as it was in Shakespeare's day.

However, Shakespeare was much more at liberty to switch these three basic components and did, quite frequently. Shakespeare used a great deal of SOV inversion, which renders the sentence as "John the ball caught." This order is commonly found in Germanic languages (moreso in subordinate clauses), from which English derives much of its syntactical foundation.1 Another reason for Shakespeare's utilization of this order may be more practical. The romance languages of Italian and French introduced rhymed verse; Anglo-Saxon poetry was based on rhythm, metrical stresses, and alliteration within lines rather than rhymed couplets. With the introduction of rhymed poetic forms into English literature (and, since the Norman invasion, an injection of French to boot), there was a subsequent shift in English poetry. To quote John Porter Houston, "Verbs in Old French and Italian make handy rimes, and they make even better ones in English because so many English verbs are monosyllabic. The verse line or couplet containing a subject near the beginning and a verb at the end is a natural development."2 Of course, Shakespeare wrote a great deal of work in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter); when he wasn't rhyming, what was he thinking? Frankly, Elizabethans allowed for a lot more leeway in word order, and Shakespeare not only realized that, he took advantage of it. By utilizing inverted word orders, Shakespeare could effectively place the metrical stress wherever he needed it mostand English is heavily dependent on vocal inflection, which is not so easily translated into writing, to suggest emphasis and meaning. In his usage of order inversion, however, Shakespeare could compensate for this literary shortcoming. Shakespeare also throws in many examples of OSV construction ("The ball John caught."). Shakespeare seems to use this colloquially in many places as a transitory device, bridging two sentences, to provide continuity. Shakespeare (and many other writers) may also have used this as a device to shift end emphasis to the verb of a clause. Also, another prevalent usage of inversion was the VS order shift ("caught John" instead of "John caught"), which seems primarily a stylistic choice that further belies the Germanic root of modern English. In the end, Houston points to "the effort to make language more memorable by deviation from spoken habits."3 This is the essence of poetry: a heightening of language (even colloquial) above that of prose, a heightening that produces an idealized, imaginative conception of the subject.

There is no argument that English contains less than a fair share of French and Latinate words in its vocabulary; of course it does, which one would expect given the 1066 invasion of William the Conqueror (from Normandy, in France). But, as a linguistics professor once put it, "Think of the English language like a house: the decor is French, but the foundation and frame is Germanic." Fortunately, we decided to drop a couple of pronoun cases and the gender-specific articles by the time we get to modern English.
2

John Porter Houston, Shakespearean Sentences: A Study in Style and Syntax (LSU Press, Baton Rouge, 1988), 2
3

Ibid, 20. The fine line of dramatic poetry is that ability to deviate from spoken habits enough to make it memorable, yet still keep the language within the constraints imposed by story, plot, and character. A play, even done in verse, is a different animal from the art of poetry.

Rhetorical Devices

Intertwined with syntax, rhetoric exerts another powerful influence on Elizabethan writing. Rhetoric in its original sense means "the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively." While I won't be getting into some of the more obscure terms (is there anyone who isn't frightened by a mouthful of syllables like "paraprosdokian"?), a healthy understanding of poetry's debt to rhetoric is in order. Below is a table of some of the more common devices employed for emphasis in Shakespeare:

repetition of the same initial consonant sound throughout a line of verse alliteration "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought...." (Sonnet XXX) anadiplosis the repetition of a word that ends one clause at the beginning of the next "My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale, And every tale condemns me for a villain."1 (Richard III, V, iii) repetition of a word or phrase as the beginning of successive clauses anaphora "Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!" (King John, II, i) substitution of one part of speech for another anthimeria "I'll unhair thy head." (Antony and Cleoptra, II, v) antithesis juxtaposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (Julius Caesar, III, ii) assonance repetition or similarity of the same internal vowel sound in words of close proximity "Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks." (Romeo and Juliet, V, iii) asyndeton omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words "Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?" (Julius Caesar, III, i) two corresponding pairs arranged in a parallel inverse order chiasmus

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (Macbeth, I, i) repetition broken up by one or more intervening words diacope "Put out the light, and then put out the light." (Othello, V, ii) ellipsis omission of one or more words, which are assumed by the listener or reader "And he to England shall along with you." (Hamlet, III, iii) epanalepsis repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause "Blood hath bought blood, and blows have answer'd blows." (King John, II, i) frequent repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on a point epimone "Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him I have offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any speak; for him have I offended." (Julius Caesar, III,ii) repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses2 epistrophe "I'll have my bond! Speak not against my bond! I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond." (Merchant of Venice, III, iii) hyperbaton altering word order, or separation of words that belong together, for emphasis "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." (Measure for Measure, II, i) malapropism a confused use of words in which an appropriate word is replaced by one with similar sound but (often ludicrously) inappropriate meaning "I do lean upon justice, sir, and do bring in here before your good honor two notorious benefactors." "Are they not malefactors?" (Measure for Measure, II, i)

metaphor

implied comparison between two unlike things achieved through the figurative use of words "Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this son of York." (Richard III, I, i)

metonymy

substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant (e.g., "crown" for royalty) "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." (Julius Caesar, III, ii) use of words to imitate natural sounds

onomatopoei a paralepsis

"There be moe wasps that buzz about his nose." (Henry VIII, III, ii) emphasizing a point by seeming to pass over it "Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it. It is not meet you know how Caesar lov'd you." (Julius Caesar, III, ii)

parallelism

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses3 "And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determind to prove a villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days." (Richard III, I, i)

parenthesis

insertion of some word or clause in a position that interrupts the normal syntactic flow of the sentence (asides are rather emphatic examples of this) "...Then shall our names, Familiar in his mouth as household words Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered." (Henry V, IV, iii)

polysyndeton

the repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases, or clauses4 "If there be cords, or knives, Poison, or fire, or suffocating streams, I'll not endure it." (Othello, III, iii)

an explicit comparison between two things using "like" or "as" simile "My love is as a fever, longing still For that which longer nurseth the disease" (Sonnet CXLVII) the use of a part for the whole, or the whole for the part5 synecdoche "Take thy face hence." (Macbeth, V, iii)
1

According to literal interpretation, this example is itself a form of anadiplosis termed "gradatio," in which the anadiplosis is extended in a series of three or more clauses that repeat upon one another.
2

Also termed "antistrophe" or "epiphora," evidently depending upon one's source. The three forms seem to be utterly interchangeable.
3

When the parallelism involves the same length within the structure (same number of words and/or syllables), this is a device known as "isocolon".
4

The opposite of asyndeton. This makes it a specific form of metonymy

Usage Shifts
Editor's Note: The following points are liberally paraphrased from A Shakespeare Handbook, edited by Raymond Alden (New York: F. S. Crofts & Co., 1925). This is a work now in the public domain, but I like to give credit where due. The minor problem with doing a straight reprint of this material is that Alden's book is A) British, and B) 75 years old, and the grammarians of the times used terms such as "pluperfect," "subjunctive," and "ethical dative." In an effort to bring this material more into layman's terms, I've attempted a more friendly paraphrasing of the material.

One part of speech is often substituted for another; this is most frequent with nouns and verbs. (See also "anthimeria" in the Rhetoric section.)
In the dark backward and abysm of time. That may repeat and history his loss. This day shall gentle his condition. Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle. My death's sad tale may yet undeaf his ear. Temp., I, ii, 50 2 H 4, IV, i, 203 H 5, IV, iii, 63 R 2, II, iii, 87 R 2, II, i, 16

Adjectives don't always mean what they seem to say; active and passive forms are sometimes interchangeable, as are those that signify cause or effect.
Wherever in your sightless (= invisible) substances. There's something in 't That is deceivable (= deceptive). Macb., I, v, 50 T.N., IV, iii, 21

Oppressed with two weak (= weakening) evils,

A.Y.L., II, vii, 132

Pronouns have irregular inflections; often the nominative case (he, she, who) is used instead of the objective case (him, her, whom).
And he (= him) my husband best of all affects. Yes, you may have seen Cassio and she together. Making night hideous, and we fools of nature So horridly to shake our disposition. Pray you, who does the wolf love? M.W.W., IV, iv, 87 Oth., IV, ii, 3 Haml., I, iv, 54 Cor., II, i, 8

Verbs don't always agree with their subjects; most frequently a singular verb is used with a plural subject.
These high wild hills and rough uneven ways Draws out our miles, and makes them wearisome. Their encounters, though not personal, hath been royally attorneyed. Three parts of him Is ours already. R 2, II, iii, 4-5 W.T., I, i, 28 J.C., I, iii, 154-55

Omission of the relative pronoun (e.g., "the woman that I love" becomes "the woman I love") is much more frequent than in modern English, being applied to the nominative case as well as the objective.
I have a brother is condemn'd to die. Besides, our nearness to the King in love Is near the hate of those love not the King. M. for M., II, ii, 34 R 2, II, ii, 129

Note that the use of the subjunctive mood of verbs (e.g., "If I were you") is still strong; we barely use it in contemporary modern English, and the subjunctive mood has all but disappeared. Also in Shakespeare's time, the subjunctive mood could be used in independent as well as subordinate clauses. The infinitive (to + verb, e.g., "to have" or "to eat") is used as a noun more frequently than in modern English; it is also frequently substituted for a gerund (verb + -ing).
Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed [i.e., leave off feeding]. Too proud to be so valiant [i.e., of being so valiant]. Haml., III, iv, 66 Cor., I, i, 262

Double-negatives are often used for emphasis of a point.


Nor never could the noble Mortimer Receive so many, and all willingly. You may deny that you were not the mean Of my Lord Hastings' late imprisonment [i.e., deny that you were the mean]. 1 H 4, I, iii, 110 R 3, I, iii, 90

There is a high frequency of using "more" and "most" before words ending in -er or -est. Also, there are times when the -ly or -est ending is only used once when there are two modifiers that should take it.
And his more braver daughter could control thee. With the most boldest and best hearts of Rome. And she will speak most bitterly and strange. The generous and gravest citizens. Temp., I, ii, 439 J.C., II, i, 121 M. for M., V, i, 36 M. for M., IV, vi, 13

There is often the omission of "to" or "for" preceding a personal pronoun. Although this usage is largely disappeared in contemporary speech, renmants still do exist (e.g., "Do me a favor").
Let me remember thee what thou has promis'd Which is not yet perform'd me. Who calls me villain... Tweaks me by the nose, gives me the lie i' the throat, As deep as to the lungs, who does me this? Temp., I, ii, 244 Haml., II, ii, 601

The possessive of the neuter pronoun it ("its") is regularly written as his, and sometimes as simply it.
How far that little candle throws his beams! Since nature cannot choose his origin. The innocent milk in it most innocent mouth. It hath it original from much grief. M.V., V, i, 90 Haml., I, iv, 26 W.T., III, ii, 101 2 H 4, I, ii, 131

"That" often takes the place of "so that," "in that," "why," or "when" in certain clauses.
The hum of either army stilly sounds, That (= so that) the fix'd sentinels almost receive The secret whispers of each other's watch. Albeit I will confess thy father's wealth Was the first motive that (= why) I woo'd thee, Anne. Is not this the day That (= when) Hermia should give answer of her choice?

H 5, IV, Chorus, 6 M.W.W., III, iv, 14 M.N.D., IV, i, 140

The pronoun "other" is used as both singular and plural.


For the other, Sir John, let me see. And therefore is the glorious planet Sol In noble eminence enthron'd and spher'd Amidst the other. 2 H 4, III, ii, 131 T. & C., I, iii, 91

Occasionally "near" substitutes for "nearer"; likewise, sometimes verbs ending in an "s" sound take no change of form for the plural.
Nor near (= nearer) no farther off, my gracious lord. R 2, III, ii, 64

My lord your son had only but the corpse (= corpses), The shadows and the shows of men to fight.

2 H 4, I, i, 192

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