Final Project Source Summary 3:  Shakespeare

The Necessary Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington.  3^rd ed.  New York:  Pearson/Longman, 2009.

In the Introduction under “Shakespeare’s Language”, Bevington states that when 

Shakespeare wrote his plays and poems the language of English was transitioning from Middle English to modern English and that is why Shakespeare’s English is referred to Early Modern English since it is closer to modern English.  Shakespeare used words that we have lost like:  “he hath” was replaced with “he has”, “thou art” with “you are”, “I would thou wert” with “I wish you would”, “How camest thou” with “How did you come”, they are still familiar to us but no longer used.  There are also linguistic signals he used to express respect, for example parents addressed their children as “thee” and “thou” while children showed respect by using the more formal “you”.  Shakespeare also used colloquial expressions that have changed over time.  The phrase “Marry, come up, I trow” in Romeo and Juliet means something like “Goodness gracious, what’s all this fuss about?”.  “Marry” is also a mild oath, originally meaning “By the Virgin Mary”.  He also used “by the rood” which meant “by Christ’s cross”, “by my halidom” which meant “by all things holy”, “now by my maidenhead at twelve year old” meant “now by the virginity I still had when I was twelve years old”.  It’s important to be familiar with these colloquial expressions and linguistic signals when reading Shakespeare’s plays so that we can understand them better.

Final Project Source Summary 1 and 2:  Shakespeare

 

Savino, Jennifer Ann. "The Shakespeare In All Of Us: A Monumental, Multitudinous, Premeditated Approach To Vocabulary Instruction." Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 54.6 (2011): 445-453. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

 

In her article Savino tells us that words empower and enable us to speak, read, and write effectively.  She states that like Shakespeare we can all take apart and reunite words to invent our own words.  We can all become wordsmiths!  Shakespeare coined together words like: monumental, multitudinous, and premediated.  Savino’s article is excellent for teachers since she gives us different activities for teacher of K-12 to put together for their students in order to enhance their vocabulary and their passion for words.  Students acquire about 3,000 words per year and by 8^th grade they have learned about 25,000 words.  Activities like:  Word Log, to keep a journal of all words that have some kind of impact on them; Vocabulary Theater, a game like charades using words; Picture It!, where students represent words with pictures; Word Inventions, where students combine words to invent their own word and many other games/activities to help students.  Savino states that the “[d]evelopment of thinking skills through appropriate vocabulary instruction can make students scrupulous word analysts, wordsmiths, and language aficionado.” (446)

 

Interesting Facts:  17 Words Shakespeare Invented

https://youtu.be/tcZp30snb5A

 

This YouTube video gives us 17 words Shakespeare invented and it also gives us the name of the comedy, tragedy, etc., it comes from along with the Part, Act, and Scene number.  The words circumstantial, puke, and bedazzled come from As You Like It.  The words champion and assassination come from Macbeth.  The words swagger and eyeball come from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The word laughable comes from The Merchant of Venice.  The word accused comes from The Tragedy of King Richard the Second.  The word bloodstain comes from Titus Andronicus.  The word cold-blooded comes from King John.  The words torture, Olympian, and worthless come from Henry VI.  The word fashionable comes from Troilus and Cressida.  The word arch-villain comes from Timon of Athens.  And the word frugal comes from The Merry Wives of Windsor.

                                    Project Proposal: Shakespearean Language
    

For the final project, Brianna Harris and I are going to explore the words and phrases invented by Shakespeare. Shakespeare invented nearly 2,000 words that we still use regularly today such as eyeball, assassination, bedroom, etc. Brianna and I hope to explore the evolution of these words and how Shakespeare used them throughout his plays. Moreover, we plan to discuss some interesting facts about Shakespearean language, such as why exactly we give him credibility for these words.

We plan to present this material through either a Power Point or Prezi presentation with the use of images and videos to reinforce our ideas. 

 

                                                 William Shakespeare

Yolanda Pena

Linguistics
Dr. Walts
24 April 2015

Episode 55:  To Be or Not To Be

Old Eng. grammar has survived into modern Eng., can be found in Shakespeare & King James Bible.  Eg.:  THOU ART & HE DOTH

Old Eng. Verbs (died out) still familiar to modern Eng. Speakers.  TO BE & NOT (negative)

 Shakespeare (verb forms):  lady doth (does)  /  He hath (has) / that doth (does)

King James Bible (verb forms):  charity suffereth (suffers)  / charity envieth (envies) not

Verb forms have changed due to Viking influence.

THOU= Old Eng. pronoun inherited from Anglo-Saxons. The 2^nd person YOU & 3^rd person HE, SHE, IT forms of Old Eng. survived all the way to Modern Eng.

THOU = singular form / YOU = Plural form. Shakespeare used THOU/YOU Both Ways.

3^rd person ending of (TH) was replaced with (S) ending:  he leadeth = he leads / hath = has.

The (S) ending may have come from Vikings around 900.   (TH) ending & THOU ended after Shakespeare.  YOU (replaced THOU) it was socially neutral & easy to use.

Modern verb (TO BE) = Viking influence.  TO BE when conjugated is AM, IS, ARE, WAS, WERE, BEEN, & BEING.

Singular = WAS / Plural = WERE same as Old Eng., but (YOU WAS) was common usage for (one person) until 1800’s then it became nonstandard speech.

I BE / HE BE / SHE BE / WE BE /THEY BE was used by Anglo-Saxons & is still used in African-American Vernacular Eng. in U.S.

I BE = (I AM), YOU BE = (YOU ARE), etc.  (AM/IS) have Endo European Roots.

(AM/IS/ARE) are now used same as in Old & Middle Eng.

ARE = Viking  /  ART = Anglo-Saxon.  THOU ART = disappeared / YOU ARE took over.

THEY ARE = Viking influence which has survived in our modern Eng.

Very Irregular Verb:  TO BE & TO GO since they change forms too much.

NOT turns verbs Negative.  Old Eng. (NAY).  NAY EVER = NEVER / NAY ONE = NONE / NOT ONE THING = NOTHING.

AIN’T = AM NOT was common in 1700’s & in 1800’s AIN’T was gone & not coming back.

Double Negatives = Improper Sentences (2 Negatives cancel each other out)

Eg.:  I did not get nothing.  Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare used double/triple/quadruple negatives in a sentence BUT in the Renaissance w/rise of logic & mathematical equations, double negatives were to be avoided.

Double Negatives are still used for (emphasis) since language is not always logical but a form of emotion & emotional speakers keep bringing it back.    

http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2014/12/30/episode-55-to-be-or-not-to-be/