Understanding Shakespearean English

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[ashwinnmyburgh]

I guess those two Shakespeare plays I've read in school and the language classes I've done have somehow made me able to perfectly understand Shakespeare, at least here. I knew pretty much exactly ehat they were saying. Pretty happy about that!

[jcsalerno]

I have read almost every play written by the Bard, I find reading is more captivating than watching his plays in the theater.

[islam]

You're right. While you study Shakespeare's text, first you have to translate it.

[gustavoodysseytranceever]

Now I know I'm not alone in this world in terms of not fully understanding Shakespearean English.😂

[captainnolan]

I love Shakespeare! I majored in English and History in college, and Shakespeare was my focus. Try watching, say, Roman Polanski's film of Macbeth or perhaps better yet, Franco Zeffirelli's film of Romeo and Juliet. Rather then straining to "understand" every word, as you do in this video, just watch the action and let the words sort of wash over you (almost as if you are watching a foreign film). You will understand far more than you would think, and you will likely enjoy it much more (and be much less stressed out watching them the way you are now doing so).

[officialsquadrilogystudio]

A common misconception is that people talked like that back then. People from medieval england often didn't understand him either.

[teriyaki_chicken]

I love reading it in book form, actors acting it out moves too fast for my brain to process

[designerjehovah]

Personally, I like Shakespearean english because I find that era's english much more poignant and not filtered as the case may be for modern english. What I mean here is it's much more "truthful" to the raw meaning of words and expressiom I guess. I'm no expert by all means; just a fan!

[TimMcNamara-shcg]

I love Shakespeare! I love watching, reading, and studing it! I have visited Stratford, Canada, and seen several plays. Planning on going again.

[MarmaladeINFP]

I'm an American and understood it fine. But maybe it helped that my English-born English teacher in high school had us read Shakespeare.

[emmanash]

Me having a crush on young leonardo decaprio wanting to understand the Romeo and Juliet movie 😭

[GhostOfJulesVerne]

Unpopular opinion: Shakespeare's plays retain their artistic merit when translated into contemporary English.

[adriang]

Nice video. Thanks. I love the language. Would love to master it.
"Beast with two backs." Best quote

[SauceyRedHN]

How I interpret each part:
1. Good my lord, put your discourse into some frame and start not so wildly from my affair.
- My god/goodness, give me some context for what you’re talking about and don’t start with something that has nothing to do with my situation.

2. I am tame, sir. Pronounce.
- I’m calm, sir. [???]

3. The queen your mother, in most great affliction of spirit, hath sent me to you.
- The queen, your mother, worried, has sent me to you.

4. You are welcome.
- [???]

5. Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is not of the right breed. If it shall please you to make me a wholesome answer, I will do your mother’s commandment. If not, your pardon and my return shall be the end of my business.
- No, my good lord, this visit is not a good one(?). If you could give me a satisfactory answer, I will do what your mother has commanded. If not, your pardon and my return will be the end of my business.
— *Note:* _For the first sentence, I initially thought it was about his attitude, but then I overthought the word “courtesy” to mean her being sent as a courtesy by his mother. Also, not knowing the context of Hamlet, I thought “pardon” was about a literal pardon, as in from a crime._

Well, that was difficult.

[yourfriendlyneighborhoodsaiyan]

I absolutely love how in that play, there is that random person in a fancy suit, inside of a play that is supposed to take place roughly around the 13-16 century.

[Hygrav]

Currently learning the KJV bible this kind of old English is certainly challenging, but poetically beautiful.

[DiemetaMarfire-nmxl]

I binged watched the hollow crown and found it enjoyable tho... But has to rack my brain some times to understanding what was said. A fun exercise 😅

[irir]

It is British accent that’s why I couldn’t understand

[CerxFouquet]

Oh... I was hoping to understand something like "I thence invoke thy aid to my advent'rous song, that with no middle flight intends to soar above th' Aonian mount, while it pursues things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme"

Which is from John Milton's Paradise Lost, but similar to Shakespearian English.

[STEIN]

Ngl, I'm watching this cos I'm in grade 11 and understanding shakespherean English will definitely be vital for me to understand the plays and scripts I'm about to watch..

The first clip was very easy to understand, but I think that it comes from my upbringing with British media and vocab/slang, I'm Canadian, grew up in Canada, but my dad is British, he put on all sorts of British shows, movies, tv shows, music, any media and I think that definitely helps out. I honestly still have no hope for the stuff I'll actually get into though, feels like I'm learning a whole new language