In this episode, we turn our attention to the wordcraft of William Shakespeare. Today, many people have mixed opinions about his plays and poems. They know that he is widely regarded as the greatest English writer of all time, but they struggle with his language. This time, we explore what makes Shakespeare’s use of the English language so unique and why it is so challenging for modern speakers. Ben Crystal joins the discussion to provide insight into the Elizabethan theater, Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation, and the way modern audiences respond to that original form of speech.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Loved the episode with Ben Crystal. I was wondering if in addition to the book, he plans on making any desk flip cards with Shakespeare quotes on them? I think that would be so fun.
If you haven’t yet, please look up information on the Newfoundland accent. There are many people who say that the Newfoundland accent is very similar to what Shakespearean English may have sounded like. I definitely noticed it during examples in the podcast. In particular, the stronger r’s, dropping the “h” (VERY common in rural Newfoundland) and rushing the word “the”. Unfortunately, my own natural accent is not very strong so I can’t really give a good example, but there are many on youtube, and this site gives good examples https://www.davideriknelson.com/sbsb/index.php/2015/06/shakespeare-talked-like-a-newfie-fact/
I love the OP facet of Shakespeare’s world. It’s a way to travel through time by bringing the language to life again. I had no idea about the Newfoundland accent – thanks for the connection!
This was my least favorite episode. I LOVE this podcast and have listened to every single episode. And I don’t want to be annoying or critical. But much of what the guest said seemed to be beyond the typical scope of the podcast. I liked hearing his and his dad’s guesses about what Shakespeare’s English sounded like. But when he started talking about his own experience and what he thinks Shakespeare productions and actors should do and how vowels contain meaning (the examples he gave have nothing to do with historical vowel shifts), it got beyond what this podcast does so well–objective information (as opposed to selling books). Again, I learned a couple of things here, and I’ll always be a huge fan of Kevin and this podcast. But this episode seemed to veer of course for me.
I think Lincoln had a comment that was apropos. Something about not pleasing all of the people all of the time. 🙂 This episode was certainly different in structure, but there was a reason for that. I originally intended to release the interview as a bonus episode, but given the overall subject matter, I thought it fit better as part of the regular episode about Shakespeare’s language. I also thought listeners might enjoy hearing an expert’s perspective on Shakespeare. (I am definitely not an expert.) This episode will also lay the foundation for many future discussions about Shakespeare’s plays and the development of Early Modern English.
Looking forward to upcoming episodes (as always)!
I also just recommended your short series on the history of the alphabet to my students. Love those lessons!
I started listening to this podcast late in 2021 while up at night with my baby. I enjoy the scope of topics you cover, and episodes like this that are a little different are always a fun treat. Eagerly waiting for the next episode to come out- I may have to start back at the beginning in the meantime! Thanks for the many, many hours of research and production work that go into this podcast.
Great programme again. The irony of course is that OP makes it even more difficult for people to understand, even if perhaps a more enjoyable experience.
Looking forward to the episode on Shakespeare’s R&J. I’d recommend listening to the In Our Time (Melvyn Bragg) BBC episode on R&J dated 17Feb2022 (rebroadcast of an episode recorded earlier).
Note the sentence “This, by his voice, should be a Montague.
Fetch me my rapier, boy.” So… It’s not explicitly stated why the feud exists, but Tybalt could tell Romeo was a Montague based on his “voice” [accent]. That’s interesting and important IMHO.
Let me add a couple more points about R&J FWIW. It arguably was written while the theaters were closed because of the plague. Covid isn’t the plague but it was pretty deadly in its early stages–viruses are smart, they often become less deadly but more contagious over time. So, there’s that.
The specific reasons why the message Friar Lawrence expected would get to Romeo in time arrived late had to do with slower than expected postal service and a key deliveryman getting delayed because of a pandemic and a quarantine requirement. So, that’s roughly analogous to US experience during the covid era. The other thing I would mention is West Side Story. R&J would be great without WSS, but WSS does add something to the mix by specifically specifying that the WSS feud had to do with “turf,” race, immigration to the US and so on. It’s part of the reasons why there are possibly as many as 60 or even 120 film adaptations of R&J depending upon who’s counting.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this podcast. I started last November and I completed 171 late last month. And I am eagerly awaiting 172. Thanks so much for your expertise on the History of the English Language. I feel enriched by your podcast. Thanks Kevin❗️
Your discussion about the flexibility of Elizabethan English, and the way Shakespeare played with language really makes me think of the way language is used in Rap today. Many people look at today’s rap “music” and the slang it uses derisively, considering it as low-brow and improper, as English 60 miles north of London in Putnam’s days. I used to think so myself, until I met my husband, who composes rap “music”. I use quotations, because it is more poetry than it is music. The flexibility and uninhibited nature of hip hop vernacular gives English that same flexibility, and allows the poet to play freely with rhythm and meter. My husband prefers to write his lyrics rather than freestyle, and he often uses alternative (“wrong”) spelling which allows to uncover multiple levels of meaning to be referenced to, appealing to historical and phonetic associations each word has. It is truly beautiful to see our language living and developing before our eyes in this new poetic form of Rap.