(New York, NY: Riverhead Books, 1998)Chernaik, Warren, The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeares History Plays. R., and Michael Hattaway, eds., The Cambridge Companion to English Renaissance Drama (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003)Briggs, Julia, This Stage-Play World: Texts and Contexts, 1580-1625 (Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks, 1997)Bloom, Harold, Shakespeare. At the same time, of course, the more we study Shakespeare from a linguistic point of view, the more we will increase our understanding and enjoyment of the plays as literature and theatre.ġ564-1616Some authors indeed are dead, but not William Shakespeare.īibliographyBraunmuller, A. (Robert Graves)Ģ2A study of linguistic techniques, in such areas as functional shift, affixation, idiomatic allusiveness and collocation, can add to our awareness of the languages expressive potential and increase our confidence as users.
Have a good size vocabulary Be aware of the grammar rules to understand how writers break themWrite in a concise and precise wayBe able to use different written genres and stylesBe able to understand and express complex ideasĪ poet must master the rules of English grammar before he attempts to bend or break them. What does it mean for us?An EAP language student must Thanks me no thankingsVow me no vowsDiamond me no diamondsPoem me no poemsBut Me No Buts The Taming of the ShrewTwelfth NightHamletThe TempestA Midsummer Nights DreamEverywhere!To be or not to beTo clone or not to cloneTo diet or not to dietTo fight or not to fightB2 or not B2?2B or not 2B? OthelloWill in HollywoodPercy Stow's The Tempest (1908) Over 750 film adaptations 16 films in 2005 alone HamletThere is nothing either good or bad, but only thinking makes it so.16 Simple language can sometimes express a complex though.a lily-livered, action-taking, whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable, finical rogueĬomplex language can sometimes express a simple thought.The answer?ImaginationCreative use of languageConcisionUse of metaphors Lend him your earsTo be or not to be, that is the question. The big questionIf quantity, unusual words and style are not the major problems, why do so many people find it difficult to understand Shakespeare?Ī distinction has to be drawn, first of all between difficulty of language, and difficulty of thought. The style mythVocabulary, sentence length, structure, word-order, sounds, interaction between speakersCharacters' styles: groups or individualsGenres: tragedies, comedies, history playsEarly and later playsLanguage choices between alternatives in particular lines (p.3)ħThe invention mythFirst recorded user in the OED2,200 words first recorded in Shakespeare1,700 plausible Shakespearean inventionsAbout half of them stayed in the languageĪnthropophagy, assassination, insultment, outswear ear, eye, lip, mouth, scandal, worduncomfortable, uncompassionate, uneducated, unaware, undo (314)ĨThe translation myth10% of Shakespeare's grammar is likely to cause a comprehension problem95% of Shakespeares vocabulary are words we know and use every day only 5% of all different words in all Shakespeares plays will give you a hard time The quantity mythEnd of 16th century: 150,000 21st century: 600,00 Fluent speaker: 50,000 Shakespeares vocabulary: 20,000It is not as much the number of words we have as what we do with those words that makes the difference between an ordinary and a brilliant use of language. The MythsThe quantity mythThe invention mythThe translation mythThe style myth How difficult is Shakespeares language?Very difficultQuite difficultQuite easyVery easy Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song (The Beatles, 1967) Please listen to me.įriends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears is the first line of a famous and often-quoted speech by Mark Antony in the play Julius Caesar. I want to know what my friends are saying about me. What does it mean?Lend me your ears.I cant hear very well. OverviewMyths about Shakespeares language Everyday ShakespeareImplications of language teaching and learningQuestions Lend me your earsShakespeare & the English language