Shakespeare’s Language

Familiar Sentence Pattern:

Subject ----->Verb ------>ObjectExample:John caught the ball.

Shakespeare’s Pattern:

Object ----> Subject -----> VerbExample:The ball John caught

Notice the following six sentences:

-I ate the sandwich. (Our familiar sentence pattern)- I the sandwich ate. -Ate the sandwich I. -Ate I the sandwich. -The sandwich I ate. -The sandwich ate I.

Rewrite the following sentence:

I lost my homework.

Create your own original sentence.

Now, your classmates will create revisions of your sentences while still maintaining the meaning of the sentence.

Grammatical Forms of Pronouns

Subject Object Possessive

Singular thou thee thine/thyself

Plural you yeyours/yourself

Examples:

Thou are not behaving well.You will go to the store.I want to go to the store with thee.I want thine attention right now.Treat thyself with respect.We will go to the movies with ye.

You vs. Thou/Thee in Shakespeare’s time

You: was used by people of lower rank or status to those above them; also the standard way for the upper classes to talk to each other; expressed formality, politeness, and

distance.

Thou/Thee: used by people of higher rank to those beneath them and by lower classes to each other; expressed special intimacy or affection; could count as an insult if said to a person of equal rank

Verb changes: Our Modern English

He does….She has….He sees…She grows...

Shakespeare’s Modern EnglishHe doth…She hast…He seeth…She groweth...

Verb changes:Our Modern English-He does his homework. -She has no money!-He sees the house.-She grows a lot.

Shakespeare’s Modern English-He doth his homework. -She hast no money!-He seeth the house-She groweth a lot.

Dramatic Terms to Know:

Benchmark character: a mark that you measure to; a character who always provides the truth; is calm; is conservative; is reasonable

Star-crossed lovers: fate has determined their destiny; they cannot change the course of their destiny; their astrological stars do not align; they are doomed

Chorus: a group of actors separate from the action of the play; informs the audience of what action will occur. There is no suspense in the play; the Elizabethan audience was well aware of what would occur in the play they were viewing.

Foil Character: a character who, by contrast with the main character (protagonist), serves to accentuate that character’s distinctive qualities or characteristics.