The Language of William Shakespeare Prereading Notes Shakespeares Grammar We know what we are but know not what we may be Shakespeare 1 Syntax ID: 577552
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Slide1
AP English Literature and Language
The Language of William Shakespeare
Pre-reading Notes Slide2
Shakespeare’s Grammar
We
know what we are, but know not what we may be. - Shakespeare
1
Syntax
2
Rhetorical Devices
3
Usage Shift.
Slide3
Syntax
T
he
arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
1Slide4
The most common simple sentence in modern English follows a familiar pattern: Subject (S), Verb (V), Object (O). To illustrate this, we'll devise a subject (John), a verb (caught), and an object (the ball). Thus, we have an easily understood sentence, "John caught the ball." This is as perfectly an understood sentence in modern English as it was in Shakespeare's day. However, Shakespeare was much more at liberty to switch these three basic components—and did, quite frequently. Shakespeare used a great deal of SOV inversion, which renders the sentence as "John the ball caught." This order is commonly found in Germanic languages (
moreso
in subordinate clauses), from which English derives much of its syntactical foundation.1
Syntax Part 1 Slide5
Syntax: Part 2
Another reason for Shakespeare's utilization of this order may be more practical. The romance languages of Italian and French introduced rhymed verse; Anglo-Saxon poetry was based on rhythm, metrical stresses, and alliteration within lines rather than rhymed couplets. With the introduction of rhymed poetic forms into English literature (and, since the Norman invasion, an injection of French to boot), there was a subsequent shift in English poetry. To quote John Porter Houston, "Verbs in Old French and Italian make handy rimes, and they make even better ones in English because so many English verbs are monosyllabic. The verse line or couplet containing a subject near the beginning and a verb at the end is a natural development."
2
Of
course, Shakespeare wrote a great deal of work in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter); when he wasn't rhyming, what was he thinking? Frankly, Elizabethans allowed for a lot more leeway in word order, and Shakespeare not only realized that, he took advantage of it. By utilizing inverted word orders, Shakespeare could effectively place the metrical stress wherever he needed it most—and English is heavily dependent on vocal inflection, which is not so easily translated into writing, to suggest emphasis and meaning. In his usage of order inversion, however, Shakespeare could compensate for this literary shortcoming.Slide6
Shakespeare also throws in many examples of OSV construction ("The ball John caught."). Shakespeare seems to use this colloquially in many places as a transitory device, bridging two sentences, to provide continuity. Shakespeare (and many other writers) may also have used this as a device to shift end emphasis to the verb of a clause. Also, another prevalent usage of inversion was the VS order shift ("caught John" instead of "John caught"), which seems primarily a stylistic choice that further belies the Germanic root of modern English.
In the end, Houston points to "the effort to make language more memorable by deviation from spoken habits."
3
This is the essence of poetry: a heightening of language (even colloquial) above that of prose, a heightening that produces an idealized, imaginative conception of the subject.
Syntax Part 3 Slide7
2
Rhetorical Devices
“I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed!”
―
William
ShakespeareSlide8
Rhetorical Device Expectations:
Flashcards you make.Slide9
Rhetorical Devices Page 1
alliteration
repetition of the same initial consonant sound throughout a line of verse
"When to the sessions of sweet silent thought...." (Sonnet XXX)
anadiplosis
the repetition of a word that ends one clause at the beginning of the next"My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain."1 (Richard III, V, iii)
anaphorarepetition of a word or phrase as the beginning of successive clauses"
Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!" (King John, II, i)anthimeria
substitution of one part of speech for another
"I'll unhair thy head." (Antony and Cleoptra, II, v)Slide10
Rhetorical Devices Page 2
antithesis
juxtaposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction
"
Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (
Julius Caesar
, III, ii)
assonancerepetition or similarity of the same internal vowel sound in words of close proximity"Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks." (
Romeo and Juliet, V, iii)asyndeton
omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words"Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,
Shrunk to this little measure?" (Julius Caesar, III, i)chiasmus
two corresponding pairs arranged in a parallel inverse order
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (Macbeth, I, i)Slide11
Rhetorical Devices Page 3
diacope
repetition broken up by one or more intervening words
"
Put out the light, and then put out the light." (
Othello, V, ii)ellipsis
omission of one or more words, which are assumed by the listener or reader
"And he to England shall along with you." (Hamlet, III, iii)epanalepsis
repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause"Blood hath bought blood, and blows have
answer'd blows." (King John, II, i)epimone
frequent repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on a point“Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him I have offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any speak; for him have I offended." (Julius Caesar
, III,ii
)Slide12
metaphor
implied comparison between two unlike things achieved through the figurative use of words
"Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York." (
Richard III
, I, i)metonymy
substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant (e.g., "crown" for royalty)
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." (Julius Caesar, III, ii)
onomatopoeiause of words to imitate natural sounds
"There be moe wasps that buzz about his nose." (Henry VIII, III, ii)
paralepsisemphasizing a point by seeming to pass over it
"Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it.
It is not meet you know how Caesar lov'd you." (Julius Caesar, III, ii)
parallelism
similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses3
"And therefore, since I cannot prove a loverTo entertain these fair well-spoken days,I am determinèd to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days." (
Richard III, I, i)Slide13
Rhetorical Devices Page 5
parenthesis
insertion of some word or clause in a position that interrupts the normal syntactic flow of the sentence (asides are rather emphatic examples of this)
"...Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words—
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester—Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered." (
Henry V, IV, iii)
polysyndetonthe repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases, or clauses4
"If there be cords, or knives,Poison, or fire, or suffocating streams,I'll not endure it." (Othello
, III, iii)similean explicit comparison between two things using "like" or "as"
"My love is as a fever, longing stillFor that which longer nurseth the disease" (Sonnet CXLVII)synecdoche
the use of a part for the whole, or the whole for the part
5"Take thy face hence." (Macbeth, V, iii)Slide14
3
Usage Shift
“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”
―
William Shakespeare, Romeo and JulietSlide15
Usage Shifts
In the dark
backward
and abysm of time.
Temp
., I, ii, 50
That may repeat and
history his loss.2 H 4, IV, i, 203This day shall
gentle his condition.H 5, IV, iii, 63
Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle.R 2, II, iii, 87
My death's sad tale may yet undeaf his ear.R 2, II, i, 16
§
One part of speech is often substituted for another; this is most frequent with nouns and verbs. (See also "
anthimeria
" in the Rhetoric section.)Slide16
Wherever in your
sightless
(= invisible) substances.
Macb.
, I, v, 50There's something in 'tThat is
deceivable (= deceptive).T.N., IV, iii, 21
Oppressed with two weak
(= weakening) evils,A.Y.L., II, vii, 132
§
Adjectives don't always mean what they seem to say; active and passive forms are sometimes interchangeable, as are those that signify cause or effect
.
And
he
(= him) my husband best of all affects.
M.W.W.
, IV, iv, 87Yes, you may have seen Cassio and she
together.
Oth., IV, ii, 3Making night hideous, and we fools of natureSo horridly to shake our disposition.
Haml., I, iv, 54Pray you, who
does the wolf love?Cor., II, i, 8
§
Pronouns have irregular inflections; often the nominative case (he, she, who) is used instead of the objective case (him, her, whom).Slide17
More Usage
S
hifts
These high wild hills and rough uneven ways
Draws
out our miles, and makes them wearisome.
R 2
, II, iii, 4-5Their encounters, though not personal, hath been royally attorneyed.
W.T., I, i, 28 Three parts of him
Is ours already.J.C., I, iii, 154-55
§
Verbs don't always agree with their subjects; most frequently a singular verb is used with a plural subject.
I have a
brother is
condemn'd to die.
M. for M.
, II, ii, 34
Besides, our nearness to the King in love
Is near the hate of
those love
not the King.
R 2
, II, ii, 129
§
Omission of the relative pronoun (e.g., "the woman
that
I love" becomes "the woman I love") is much more frequent than in modern English, being applied to the nominative case as well as the objective.Slide18
But wait…
There Are
More!
Nor never
could the noble MortimerReceive so many, and all willingly.
1 H 4
, I, iii, 110You may deny that you were not the meanOf my Lord Hastings' late imprisonment
[i.e., deny that you were the mean].R 3, I, iii, 90
§
Double-negatives are often used for emphasis of a point.Slide19
Usage Shift
The hum of either army stilly sounds,
That
(= so that) the
fix'd sentinels almost receiveThe secret whispers of each other's watch.
H 5, IV, Chorus, 6Albeit I will confess thy father's wealth
Was the first motive that
(= why) I woo'd thee, Anne.M.W.W., III, iv, 14 Is not this the dayThat (= when) Hermia should give answer of her choice?
M.N.D., IV, i, 140
§
"That" often takes the place of "so that," "in that," "why," or "when" in certain clauses.Slide20
What’s Your Message?
Thou art done.