Difficulties in Understanding Shakespeare's Works
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, actor, and poet who lived in the 15th century. He wrote some 38 plays and several poems, and while his works did not get much attention at the time, scholars are now delving into them in detail 500 years later. Nonetheless, the vocabulary used is vastly different from modern English variants. This makes it impossible for this generation to grasp the knowledge or meaning being conveyed. As a result, it necessitates a lengthy method of acquainting oneself with the vocabulary for any viewer unfamiliar with Shakespeare's works. The English language has gone through numerous changes regarding structure word use, pronunciation and so on. Although he wrote during the Elizabethan period, some words in the plays were of his making to communicate the message in the most efficient manner. This poses the biggest challenge for the current-day consumers of the plays since they are not well conversant with the language in use. This paper points out in what ways the modern audience face difficulties understanding Shakespeare's work.
Changes in Word Meanings
The meaning of some English words has changed over the years, and this is evident in the play. Act III of "Hamlet" Ophelia says to Hamlet "you are naught." In this context, the word naught means wicked unlike in modern American English where the same word may mean 'of bad behavior. These changes in the meaning of words are a characteristic of the time, and even in current times, the use of some words is different from that ten years ago (Doran 52). Once the reader understands the exact meaning of such a word in the play, then various issues addressed in the play become clearer and interpretable effortlessly. The major challenge is that these interpretations may not be readily available to any reader who needs them and therefore the plays remain a difficult piece for them. Many times the readers have to dig into literature stores looking for essays or books written to explain these plays, which may be unavailable in some places (Winston 5).
Language Changes over Time
In the same way, some words just disappear, and new ones replace them. Throughout Shakespeare's plays, 'ye,' 'thee' and 'thou' are common words, but today they have been replaced by one word; you (Doran 23). He wrote, 'Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!!!'. 'Thee' was an object for verbs whereas 'ye' was simply the plural of 'you.' 'I will give thee this plague….' Many current day readers are not familiar with these ancient words and therefore understanding these works poses a challenge to them. Similar to the preceding case, the present-day has seen some new English words appear such as y'all and you-uns as plurals of you (Winston 11). The difficulty associated with the language Shakespeare uses aggravates with the everyday changes to the language that renders some words obsolete and at the same time introducing others. Words from French, German, and other languages have found their way into the English language, therefore, making the old forms more alien and challenging as a result.
Inverted Syntax and Grammar Variations
Shakespeare regularly uses inverted syntax, which is unlike the modern English sentence structure, that is, subject-verb-complement. 'That can I,' says Horatio when responding to Marcellus' demand for information. This serves the purpose of achieving stylistic objectives such as meter, creating rhyme as well as varying the structure to make the play as captivating as possible (Shakespeare 10). This may pose a challenge to the present-day readers or audience because of these grammar alterations. It, therefore, requires the reader to have adequate background information on the development and changes in the English grammar so that they can visualize the occurrences in their exact context. Again, to achieve, the audience/reader has to dig into literary material and written articles to obtain this knowledge.
References to the Bible and Christian Faith
Reference to the Christian faith and specifically the Bible is a major tool used by Shakespeare in his plays. Prior knowledge of the Bible is a crucial additional advantage while reading almost all the plays and mostly the King James Version because even the language used is closely related. In the play Macbeth, Ross says, 'God save the King,' which has its origin from the first book of Samuel 10.24 "And the people shouted, and said, God save the King." This complicates the plays for those without Bible knowledge since they cannot be able to place the occurrences into their exact context for better understanding (Shakespeare 20). Even though there exists scholarly material written to shed light on this challenge, it only serves to make it a bit harder to draw meaning quickly and easily from the plays.
Language Variations and Metaphors
Not all the language features in the plays were part of the prevailing Elizabethan English form, but rather he included his creative format. Due to this, not even the documented material from the time can help explain some language variations (Winston 14). The romance languages of other cultures such as Italian and French brought rhyme into his plays but at the same time negating the grammar guidelines of the time. Shakespeare wanted to bring the experience of other languages into his plays and at some point having to incorporate their language structure to the effect that (Shakespeare 60). He used the subject-object-verb format, a characteristic of the German language. The verbs in French and Italian made perfect rhymes because most of them are not monosyllabic unlike English verbs (Shakespeare 70). This complicates the plays for even those who have studied changes in the English language over the various periods in history.
Vast Grammar Variations and the Use of Metaphors
There are vast grammar variations in the plays regarding subject, object, and verb arrangements. Either of the three could come first depending on the intention of doing so. In the play, Antony and Cleopatra, II, ii, 193, "The barge she sat in," is an object-subject-verb arrangement so designed to put emphasis on the barge. Similarly, in the play, As You Like It I, iii, 139, "Now we go in content" is a verb-subject-object format to shift the emphasis in the sentence to the content (Shakespeare 40). In common language, these grammatical alterations are uncommon, and therefore modern readers may tend to concentrate on the incorrectness of the sentence rather than capturing the intended message. Difficulty may also be because of the combination of these modifications with ancient words that are no longer in use.
All through his works, Shakespeare used metaphors extensively to fulfill the stylistic motive he had. The audience/reader has to think somehow deeper so that they can understand what a certain line means (Wu-jin 37). For those readers whose main objective of going through the plays is simply for leisure and therefore not willing to go into the depth of artistic language, it becomes difficult for them to even get the fun part of the play. In the play, Cymbeline, Belarus says, "Holla your name to the reverberate hills, and make the babbling gossip of the air, cry out, Olivia!" This expresses Olivia's beauty metaphorically so that its magnitude can be felt (Shakespeare 31). This is achieved by relating its magnitude to the vastness of the hills as well as the un-imaginable extent of air. This technique made the plays a major point of interest to scholars over the years, who sought to piece through the coded message conveyed by the plays (Wu-jin 37). Expressing most of the lines of the play, in the same way, makes an audience that is not conversant with stylistic methods such as metaphors have a tough time understanding these plays.
Conclusion
Despite the significance of Shakespeare's plays as the greatest works of art, there are difficulties associated with the interpretation of their message. The variability of the English language over time, the use and structure specifically, the disappearance of some words and phrases, different sentence structure, and the appearance of new words make the language of the plays alien to the modern audience. As a result, it requires the reader to go looking for background information so that they can understand the message and the context as well. The robust use of stylistic devices, among them metaphors, is a challenge to modern readers. The style is based on the context during that period after which numerous changes have occurred in almost every aspect of life. The audience should seek background knowledge about the language use and style so that the message can sink smoothly into their hearts as Shakespeare's magic lights up their souls.
Works cited:
- Winston, Joe. "" Play is the thing!": Shakespeare, language play and drama pedagogy in the early years." The Journal of Aesthetic Education 47.2 (2013): 1-15.
- Wu-jin, D. U. A. N. "Close Reading and Appreciation of the Cognitive Metaphors in Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 [J]." Journal of Hebei United University (Social Science Edition) 6 (2012): 037.
- Doran, Susan, and Norman Jones. The Elizabethan World. Routledge, 2014.
- Shakespeare, William. The complete works of William Shakespeare. Race Point Publishing, 2014.
