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Many people think that Shakespeare wrote in a language which is not comprehensible to English speakers. That is not true. Shakespeare wrote in English, and in an English which is only different from the English spoken today in small ways which can be easily learned, such as the more frequent use of the pronoun "thou". The real reasons why some people struggle with Shakespeare's language are that Shakespeare used a vocabulary over three times the size of that used by the average person, and that he used heightened poetic language enhanced by rhymes, blank verse rhythm and literary devices. This can make what he wrote hard to understand. It's the sort of thing that makes any writer hard to understand.
For those who struggle, it is possible to paraphrase the text using a much smaller vocabulary and eliminating the poetry. These versions will help you understand the play, but the more they change, the more they lose the beauty of what Shakespeare wrote.
Enjoy Shakespeare aims to recreate the rhythm and complexity of the original while using more modern-day sounding English. No Fear Shakespeare provide a copy of the original play with a much simplified prose paraphrase on the opposite page. There are also even more simplified versions for children available. These can be in comic book or storybook form.
All of these involve line-by-line paraphrases of the plays, which do not change the dramatic structure at all. They can be a help to understanding the play as Shakespeare wrote it. However, once you start substituting your own words for Shakespeare's, gradually the meaning changes, and the characters change accordingly. It is always necessary to go back to the original texts.
In describing these efforts, it may be a disadvantage to use the word "translation". Shakespeare's plays have been translated into and performed in all the major languages of the world and even in at least one fictional language (Klingon). In 2012, during the Summer Olympics, several dozen Shakespeare plays will be performed in foreign languages as part of the celebration. All great literature has been translated many times over, because even people who speak nothing but English want to read Dante and Goethe. However we do not talk about translating Dante into Italian or Goethe into German because they were originally in those languages and can be understood by those who understand those languages. Similarly Shakespeare does not need to be translated into English because it is already in English and can be understood by ordinary English speakers if they work at it.
What else can I help you with?
What languages did Shakespeare write in?
Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English.
What is Shakespeare's English called?
Shakespeare wrote in modern English, in the dialect called Early Modern English.
What is the language of Shakespeare called?
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH is what it is really called.
What do you call the English that Shakespeare used?
It is a form of Modern English called Early Modern English or Elizabethan English.
Is A Midsummers Night Dream a poem?
No. Shakespeare wrote in Modern English, in a dialect called Early Modern English.
What does Shakespeare write in?
Modern English
What languages did Shakespeare write in?
Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English.
What is Shakespeare's English old or modern explain?
Shakespeare was the father of modern English.
What is Shakespeare's English called?
Shakespeare wrote in modern English, in the dialect called Early Modern English.
What did William Shakespeare write in?
Shakespeare wrote in ink. Shakespeare wrote in the Elizabethan Era. Shakespeare wrote in London, England. Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English Shakespeare wrote in blank verse
What is the language of Shakespeare called?
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH is what it is really called.
Is the book Ophelia in Shakesperian?
Shakespearean is not a language. Shakespeare wrote in modern English. If this book was written in English since, it was written in modern English, just possibly more modern than Shakespeare's modern English.
What do you call the English that Shakespeare used?
It is a form of Modern English called Early Modern English or Elizabethan English.
Is there a modern translation of Shakespeare where the translation is underneath the old English rather than side-by-side?
Beowulf is in "Old English". Shakespeare's works are in Early Modern English.
Who is the father of modern english?
sir William Shakespeare
Is A Midsummers Night Dream a poem?
No. Shakespeare wrote in Modern English, in a dialect called Early Modern English.
How many old English words did shakespeare use?
None. Shakespeare did not speak Old English. He spoke and wrote in Modern English, and although some Modern English words come from Old English roots, he probably would not recognize them in that form.
