How do you write like Shakespeare?

Answer 1

Every writer there is wishes he or she could write like Shakespeare. Alas, he was one of a kind.

But you can imitate his style if you like. Start by writing in iambic pentameter. Trying to fit the words into the metric pattern automatically makes you reorganize your word order, use contractions (but only the kinds of contractions Shakespeare would use, like 'tis instead of it's), and sometimes pronounce the "ed" at the ends of words as a separate syllable. You're half way there.

You need to master the "thou-thee" series of pronouns and their verb forms and know when to use them. A lot of people trying to imitate Shakespeare's style use them wrongly or in situations where "you" would be more appropriate. Avoid the progressive tense ("I am going") and use the present ("I go") instead. Do not use the helping verb "do" in negatives; follow the example of Yoda: "Do or do not. There is no try". Pronounce "has" and "does" with a lisp, making them "hath" and "doth"

Vocabulary is a difficult issue. Scholars believe they can tell Shakepeare's writing from the writing of other people writing at the same time just by his choice of words. The best way to know which words Shakespeare would use and what he would mean by them is to read, listen to and watch lots of Shakespeare plays or read over the sonnets. However, the basic words Shakespeare used are the same as the basic words we use today, so start with those.

Do not be afraid of long sentences or short ones either. Shakespeare varied his sentence length considerably. He often wrote sentences much longer than we are used to. He would sometimes incorporate lists into the sentences, like "for who would bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressor's wrong, the law's delay, the pangs of despised love, the insolence of office and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes". If you can slip in a metaphor, a simile, a personification or Classical reference without disturbing the flow, do so, but don't overload your sentence. Many of Shakespeare's best lines are direct and unencrusted with such poetic devices.

Whew! What a lot of stuff to think about. But fear not. There is a melody, a sound, a cadence to the words of the Bard that, when oft heard, infects the hearer, and as it were gives richness to those who would imitate him. Be not afraid of failure; try often; read what you have writ aloud, for Shakespeare's words are meant to be heard, as are yours.

Answer 2

Yes, but at the time he was writing (17th century), many words had different spellings from today. They had more multiple forms, spellings having not yet been codified. Much of Europe was still dependent on spoken language.

Answer 3

Depends on whether you are reading his poetry or his plays.

If it's poetry, you look at it, read the words, and try to make out what they mean. Just like reading anything else.

But if it's a play, it's a little bit different, because you have to know something about how plays are written. Plays are instructions for actors who are planning to act them. Some of them are instructions telling them what to do, and some of them are instructions what to say.

If you see something like "Enter Viola and Malvolio at several doors" you know that is telling the actress who plays Viola that she is to come on the stage at this point, and also telling the actor who plays the part of Malvolio that he is to come on the stage at the same time, but from another direction.

However if you see something like this:

Barnardo: Who's there?

you know that it is telling the actor playing the part of Barnardo to say the words "Who's there?"

What makes plays (all plays, not just Shakespeare's) hard to read is that in order to understand them you have to imagine the actor on the stage coming in when it says "Enter" and saying his lines when it tells him to, and at the same time remember who else is on stage, who the actor might be talking to, who hears him, how they react, and so on. You need to guess what the person saying the lines is thinking--are they lying or telling the truth, being straight or sarcastic, serious or funny. And your only clue to all this is a few scanty stage directions and the words the actors are saying.

Shakespeare can also be tricky because he uses words that nobody every heard of (even in his day) and also occasionally uses familiar words in unfamiliar ways. If you are getting bogged down in the verbiage (as we all can do sometimes), have a look to see if the edition of the play you are using has notes or a glossary which can really help straighten out unusual passages.

Answer 4

Taking only contiguous letters in the order they are given, you can find shake, hake, shakes, spear, pea, pear, ear and are.

Answer 5

The author's name is spelled William Shakespeare.