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5. Shakespeare and the language
eading Shakespeare in the original is no easy matter. Although
the language of his time already belongs to New English period, it is
known as the Early New English. When reading Shakespeare, we must
remember, that pronouns in the 2nd
person singular and plural had different forms:
thou, thee, thine, thy
– for the singular, and you,
your, yours –
for the plural. Verbs in the Present forms took the ending -(e)st
in the 2nd
person singular: thou
speakest, thou hast.
Auxiliary verbs ended in –t
in the 2nd
person singular: thou
art, thou shalt, thou wilt.
There were 2 inflexions for the 3rd
person singular, -s
and -(e)th:
he speaks
and he speaketh;
he has
and he hath.
The use of auxiliary verbs in questions was not absolutely necessary:
Spake you with
him? What say you?
In Shakespeare's day, English grammar and spelling were less standardised than they are now, and his use of language helped to shape modern English. Samuel Johnson quoted him more often than any other author in his Dictionary of the English Language, the first serious work of its type. Shakespeare enriched the English language to such a great extent that today it has the biggest vocabulary of all the European languages. Lines from his works have become idioms: ‘all’s well that ends well’, ‘a sea of troubles’, ‘all that glistens is not gold’, ‘to be or not to be?’ and many others.
The language in Shakespeare’s plays depends on the kind of play. In his early comedies, the verse is light and the lines are often rhymed. The jesters use the language of the common people spoken in the street and in taverns. But the language of the noblemen in the first plays is rather heavy. In the plays of the second period, Shakespeare often uses blank verse. The language is full of metaphors. He freely uses conversion (transition of words from one part of speech into another): sister – to sister, father – to father, etc. and forms new words in accordance with the existing rules: to smile – smilet, that is ‘a faint smile’.
Shakespeare’s contribution to literature, and culture in general, is enormous. Charles Dickens drew 25 of his titles from Shakespeare’s works. There are about 20,000 pieces of music linked to Shakespeare’s works. Shakespeare has also inspired many painters, including the Romantics and the Pre-Raphaelites. The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud drew on Shakespearean psychology, in particular that of Hamlet, for his theories of human nature.
Shakespeare created a new epoch in world literature. His work greatly influenced later poetry and prose. In particular, he expanded the dramatic potential of characterisation, plot, language, and genre. Until Romeo and Juliet, romance had not been viewed as a worthy topic for tragedy. Soliloquies had been used mainly to convey information about characters or events; but Shakespeare used them to explore characters’ minds.
Shakespeare was the greatest dramatist of the Renaissance. The time called for a giant to give an upsurge to English literature, and there came Shakespeare. Literary critics now say that the role of literature in Europe was so high only twice – in the 16th century England and in the 19th century Russia.
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