Shakespearean Language

Elision

Skipping Syllables to shorten words, where the letters left out are indicated by an apostrophe: Example: Ne’er = Never

Pronouns of you

Thou, Thee, Thy, Thine, Thyself (Thou is only used to address someone of the same rank- otherwise it is offensive)

Verse

Writing that has a metrical rhythm (poetry)

Prose

Speech not in lines of verse; Everyday Language

Iambic Pentameter

Each line has 10 syllables with 5 pairs- one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable (baBOOM)

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Rhyming Couplets

Two successive lines that are the same meter and make one complete thought- often end a scene

End-stopped

A line of poetry that has a complete thought at the end of the line and has a punctutation mark (period, comma,etc)

Soliloquy

when a speaker says his/her thoughts aloud on the stage alone

Monologue

A longer speech delivered by one character that can be directed towards another character or the audience- not necessarily revealing private thoughts

Motif

Recurrent images and words or pairs of opposites that produce patterns unifying a work and expressing its themes