Shakespeare's Language

Shakespeare’s Writing

When reading a verse, do not stop at the end of each line unless there is a full stop. It won’t make any sense if you stop at the end of every line.

The characters give speeches and long talks when they are simply talking about a simple thing. Like…

Alsono: You can cram these words into mine ears against The stomach of my sense. Would I had never Married my daughter there, for, coming thence, My son is lost, and, in my rate, she too, Who is so far from Italy removed I ne’er again shall see her. O thou mine heir Of Naples and of Milan, what strange fish Hath made his meal on thee?

What he want to describe it that he is upset because he thinks his son has drowned.

When writing a good answer, you have to talk about how Shakespeare uses this fancy language to show what characters are feeling and thinking.

Languages

Posh characters talk in poetry like verse. More common people talk in prose. Sometimes, posh characters talk prose because they are talking in a more casual way. And sometimes, common people talk verse when they are describing something big or important.

When Shakespeare is writing in poetry, sometimes, it doesn’t rhyme. Instead, it goes in a rhythm.

Some of Shakespeare’s words have lots of confusing meanings, like ‘thee’, ‘thou’, ‘thy’, ‘hath’. The first 2 both means ‘you’, but ‘thou’ is more of an insult. ‘Thy' means ‘your’, and ‘hath’ means ‘has’. There is also ‘hast’ = ‘have’.