The Language of Shakespeare

 

We are starting our Romio and Juliet unit in english class. I am sort of excited to read the story considering I have heard alot about it and know the general plot line. However I have yet to read the text itself. I am also I little nervous to read the book since I know the language can be difficult to decifer. However, there is a beauty to the old Elizibethan language. The way Shakespeare wrote dialogue was so poetic. The words are gentle to the ears and smoothly roll off the tongue. The dialect suits a romantic tragedy like Romio and Juliet very well.

 

We did an activity today in class where we had to read Shakespearean compliments to one another. The way he spoke must have made the girl he was talking to melt. Guys don't woo girls today the way the did back then. So many metaphors and similes were used to describe Shakespeare's love. Here are a few lines we read;

 

"You are a flame of beauty. Sweet and delicious as the feast of love" (The Arts of Wooing and Complementing, 185).

 

"The unblown rose, the crystal, nor the diamond, are not more pure than she" (The Arts of Wooing and Complimenting, 186).

 

"You are the star I reach at" (The Arts of Wooing and Complimenting, 187).

 

Wow. This is such fine language. I think we all need to appreciate the art these men used to speak with. For all those girls out there, who couldn't resist a guy who complimented them in such a way?

 

In my opinion romance is an ok genre. There are certain books with romance that I really enjoy. Then there's other books that are just to mushy gushy for my taste. Luckily there is comedy mixed in with Shakespeare's work. Now I really enjoy a good comedy story. I am not exactly sure how funny I am going to consider his work since humor is way different now than it was then. We also reviewed some Elizabethan insults in class too. I think the class mainly found them funny because they're so strange. Here's a few;

 

"Thou  infectuous, rump-fed, moldwarp!"

"Thou beslubbering, crook-patted, bugbear!"

"Thou warped, full-gorged, measle!"

 

If someone called me one of these nowadays I would probably be really confused, but if they said this to me way back when, I don't think I would be too happy. You can definately see a difference between language today and language back in Elizabethan times. The difference shows in both romance and comedy. My the times have changed!