ENGL1007 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Early Modern English, Renaissance Humanism, Epicenter
18 Oct 2018
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We should almost treat the language of shakespeare as a foreign language. We need to be aware of the differences that exist in order to appreciate exactly what is being said. e. g. "thus conscience does make cowards of vs all" (hamlet iii. 1. 83) In contemporary english the construction of this verb phrase asserts itself as though it was a reply to denial. The emphatic use of the word "do" is no longer used as it was back then. The word "conscience" is also different now, because in. Shakespeare"s period is simple meant reflection, not a self-awareness of right and wrong. So, to assume that early mdn english is the same as mdn english in an analysis would be extremely misleading. These kinds of speech communities are characterised by a dynamic social organisation that encourages interclass nobility so that speakers are continually amending their speech habits in order to approximate the class which they aspire to join.
