Understanding Shakespearean English

[@gustavoodysseytrance4ever706]

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

[@designerjehovah4453]

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!

[@CloudEnglish]

Shakespeare is lit. No cap.

[@islam22328]

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

[@TimMcNamara-sh2cg]

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

[@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.

[@renegademannequin3808]

Honestly, the clip wasn’t really hard to understand, especially after hearing your exaggerated introduction about how different and difficult to understand it was supposed to be.

[@sheargillsparkie9588]

“To thine own self, always be true”. Spot on in your observations.

[@teriyaki_chicken]

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

[@CloudEnglish]

I agree with that!

[@B2BKwestion]

This was simple to understand

[@ashwinnmyburgh9364]

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!

[@DiemetaMarfire-nm7xl]

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 😅

[@CerxFouquet9]

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.

[@irir1810]

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

[@Alec72HD]

Exactly, and English 400 years ago sounded NOTHING like British. From what I know, American English (phonetically) is closer to what Shakespeare's English sounded like.

[@minecraftian542]

@@Alec72HD Specifically, the Appalachians(near me!!!) have the closest to the "original" british accent as they've had the least amount of influence for their dialect in the US

[@STEIN470]

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

[@CloudEnglish]

When I was in 10th or 11th grade, we had to read a bunch of the plays out loud in class. I found it useful to read sections slowly the night before. It allowed me to get an understanding of the material without the pressure of the classroom setting. If I'd had chatGPT back then, I also would have used it to make sure I was understanding things correctly. You can take a picture of a page or section and essentially say: "Give me a version of this simplified into modern English."

[@STEIN470]

@@CloudEnglish thanks for sharing, I'll try that too!

[@Hygrav]

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

[@joylincreations7829]

Great video

[@Anime10Music]

It’s too hard to understand it, especially for foreign speaker like me.

[@robertlauncher]

I never saw Hamlet as one of the harder ones to understand. Huh.

[@GhostOfJulesVerne]

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

[@CloudEnglish]

🤯

[@Ineano]

if i learn shakesphear english i will fail my exam so by ❤ but it sound good😂 kinda superior

[@RichardCranium.]

I also call it King James English, from the King James Bible

[@ronenr1405]

Great lesson! But you look a bit different

[@Jack-cp3ir]

im too high for this

[@CloudEnglish]

hahaha

[@creativekloud9223]

Same here watched the whole video 😂

[@proudamerican7662]

Mr., you are on target. Reading Shakespeare is like joining a snobby group of people who get together to partake in something most people say they have better things to do. You have to learn the early modern English, the history, the context, the figurative language, customs, and beliefs... of the time to get a deep understanding of the plays. Otherwise, you are just listening to Latin mass when you have limited schooling in the vulgar tongue. This is why we have modern versions of the Bible.

[@Paul-te8mz]

I think you must have been to poor productions. Seriously, please review this clip and tell me, what are you having to focus on, and what you cannot understand? Certainly there are a few archaic phrases, but the sentiment and intent Shakespear imbued his characters with, is readly understandable today, even if the joke about the joints may not come across too well. The genius interpreting is Branagh, and his film Henry V (in complete contrast to the previous stilted starring Gielgud) from which this clip is taken, is a good reminder of what Shakespear was about. Entertainment. That is why the people at the time thronged to see his plays. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d17ci4GDjKukrK8

[@emmanash760]

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

[@officialsquadrilogystudio]

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

[@bloom9075]

how did they talk then, like us?

[@vii6429]

​@bloom9075 no!! But shakespeare wrote of the upper class, all in verse (prose for the lower class) so he had to be careful around metre, and also the dude made up a lot of words. Such as downstairs. Regular people would have talked in archaic english, but in a more "simple" manner with abbreviations and less poetic fancy stuff. Eg abbreviating thee to 'ee

[@snailevangelist]

england was well past its medieval era when shakespeare was alive

[@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.

[@jcsalerno8263]

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

[@sirnayyarhussain2326]

You are right sir

[@_tanzil_]

Why is your video FPS is too low!?

[@bunnyrabbit1699]

maybe they just spoke more like French do than we do today.

[@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.

[@foxo4992]

When he says 'you are welcome', I interpret that to be a case of his being cheeky/sarcastic. Guildenstern is saying he's been sent to Hamlet for an important reason, and Hamlet is responding by deliberately not responding to Guildenstern's stated reason for being there, but is just saying that it's not a problem that Guildenstern has dropped by. So, it's courtesy, but not exactly the sort of courtesy becoming of such a situation.

[@SauceyRedHN]

@@foxo4992 Oh yeah that makes sense, I like that!

[@foxo4992]

@@SauceyRedHN so I guess it's something like 'your mother sent me here, she's having a breakdown' 'Oh, ok. Well, it's lovely of you to visit' 😆

[@lindaruff-s2m]

Top tip. If you are going to watch a play get a guide which explains the story and introduces you to the character. Dont go to the play and sit there and try to decipher what they are saying or you will miss the play. If you are studying Shakespeare in English Lit , sit and break down scenes like this - it will take you years to learn every place. im english i use a lot of shakespeares idioms day to day

[@CloudEnglish]

Great tip!

[@kirandaredevil815]

Wao very interesting topic.

[@ronenr1405]

Great