Elizabethian Shakespearian Speech

8/13/2019 Elizabethian Shakespearian Speech

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Hail and FarewellLesson One

Elizabethans; however, would have used much more wordy greetings and wouldhave embellished with many colorful terms. Attend:

Fenton (a gentleman): How now good woman; how dost thou?

Mistress Quickly (a servant): The better that it leases your good worshito ask!

Fenton: "hat news? How does retty Mistress #nne? -Shakeseare!s "he #erry $ives of $indsor

So here we see that although %&ail% is good, %How now good woman; how dostthou?% is much better. Elizabethans loved redundancy 'more so when it came to

insults(. &ere we see that the servant has been asked the same thing twice in onesentence - %How now'how are you)( good woman; how doest thou?% 'how are you

doing)(. "his gives us two e*amles that we can either use together orindeendently of one another.

+n ast times 'i.e. the Elizabethan enaissance( death was all too common %eeing%

or %Saving% a erson!s life was all imortant. "his can be seen in greetings such as,%$od give you good morrow% which is the same as saying %#ay od give to you agood morning%. "he hrase can also be said with the word od being understood as

in %$ive you good Morrow%. /arewells were also a arting wish for safety. %$od saveyou% Fare you well&%

Some samle greetings to learn or to make macros by:'ank will be e*lained later in %"itles and ank% and again in %"hees and "hous%(

Greeting Meaning

ood morrow ood morning

ive you good morrow ood morning

od give you good morrow ood morning

od ye good morrowood morning 'addressing morethan one erson - familiar or

lower rank(

ood day 0 ood den ood day 'den 1 day(

ive you good day ood day

od you good day ood day

od give you good day ood day

od ye good day

ood day 'addressing more than

one erson - familiar or lowerrank(

od ye good den ood day 'addressing more thanone erson - familiar or lower


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rank(

ood even ood afternoon or evening

ive you good even ood afternoon or evening

od give you good even ood afternoon or evening

od ye good evenood afternoon or evening'addressing more than one erson

- familiar or lower rank(

od ye good e!en

ood afternoon or evening wheree!en 1 evening. 'addressing more

than one erson - familiar ore2ual0lesser rank(

$ell met3lad to see you 0 it is well 'good(

meeting you

&ow now) &ow are you doing)

&ow dost thou)&ow are you doing) 'Addressingfamiliar or e2ual0lesser rank(

&ail and well met3 &ello, lad to see you

Some Farewells

ood-byes or /arewells 'as mentioned above( often have to do with a wish for thecontinued safety and well being of the erson to whom the farewell is directed. Even

our modern %ood-bye% stems from the hrase %od 4e with you%. Embellish yourfarewells with a hoe for future meetings or as a sign of faith that you will meet

again. %Fare thee well% ' shall thee anon% 'anon means %shortly%, %soon% or %beforelong%(.

Here are some Macro examples:

Good bye Meaning or comment

/arewell"o /are 'ass your time( well - given tofamiliar or e2ual0lesser rank

/are thee well "o /are 'ass your time( well - given tofamiliar or e2ual0lesser rank

/are you well"o /are 'ass your time( well - given tofamiliar or e2ual0higher rank A56 to

horses 'will e*lain later(.

od kee you A wish for safety while arted


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od save you A wish for safety while arted

/are you well"o /are 'ass your time( well - given tofamiliar or e2ual0higher rank

+ shall see you anon

+ will see you soon0shortly 'anon 1 soon,

shortly etc(.

Adieu7sed if /rench, well learned orretentious.

Titles and RankLesson Two

8ets take a look at a art of the e*cert from "he #erry $ives of $indsor fromlesson one.

Fenton (a gentleman): How now good woman; how dost thou?

Mistress Quickly (a servant): The better that it leases your good worshito ask!

-Shakeseare!s "he #erry $ives of $indsor

&ere we see that /enton, a gentleman is addressing #istress 9uickly, a servant.

$hen #istress 9uickly answers /enton!s 2uestion she does so with %your goodworshi%. "his seems only aroriate and we would e*ect such behavior from a

servant addressing one of higher rank. et we also see that /enton used %goodwoman% while addressing the servant in the first lace. "his is not simly an

acknowledgment that #istress 9uickly is good, it!s a title3

Elizabethan titles included even common words such as woman or man and most

used some other descritive as a refi* such as good, kind, fair or noble. "itles alsorecognized a erson!s status

or rank, age and se* - and in many cases occuation. 8et!s look at some of thesetitles.

Addressing Men - Rank and Station

The King

our #aesty; our race; our #ost racious #aesty

Nobility. Clergy, Important Officials

#y 8ord's(; #y ood 8ord's(; our worshi; 5oble Sir's(;

ood entles 'used if seaking to more than one(

Middle Class Craftsmen, Merchants, Peasants

Sir 'as in: ood Sir - $ell met Sir - ood 6ay Sir(


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#aster; oodman; 'use both as you would use #r. as in:#aster 4rown or #aster Sirith - oodman


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#istress; 6ear #istress; ind #istress; /air #istress; Sweet#istress

'#istress is a kind title that makes 5> reference to maritalstatus or rank( %$ood Morrow% kind Mistress *aven% How dost

thou)%

oodwife; %"ell met% $oodwie +ilac%. oody; %Hail $oodyMara%.

oody is a less formal use of goodwife as in: %"ell met% $oody#ine&

,idst thou hear o $oody +avender? -he did slay ten ettinsbarehanded.% oody works well for gossi and is usually

alied to married women 'however, in 7> we might takeliberties with it!s use(.

ood $oman: #uch the same use as oodwife.

%$od you good den% $ood "oman .rown%.

Peasants Only& $ench"he easant class woman would be called by the same titles asthose for the middle class with the addition of the title %$ench%.

'e*amles: fair wench; sweet wench; kind wench(.

lderly Peasant

#other; ammar 'grandmother(

!o"ng $oman or close 'emale friend

8ass '%$ood day my lass%(; #aid; #aiden '%Hail MaidenMara%(.

Occ"pation

Although #aster is used for male occuation titles no suchdistinction is used for women. ather one uses the same titles

as for middle class or merchant then adds the name of therofession.

ou see a woman at a loom or wheel: %$ood day Mistress

"eaver% 'where weaver is not her name but her occuation asin %$ood day sweet milkmaid%(.


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Arcaic Terms and !rasesLesson Three

"here aresome modern words that can be used. "here is nothing wrong with usinges and 5o 'these two words were used in Elizabethan times( yet there are more

colorful ways of saying many of these still accetable terms. /irst we will look at that

which so many of you already know and use - %Aye% and %5ay%.

es and no are totally accetable but these are more colorful3

Tis is

acceptableTis is M"#H more color$%l

esAye 'sounds like Eye(

ea 'rhymes with day(

5o 5ay 'rhymes with day(

Aending some descritive term after ea makes a nice touch. %?erily%; an archaic

term meaning %"ruly%, was often used to affirm the %yes% statement as in %ea

verily% '%es truly%(.

8ord "ermir: %&ast thou seen the #istress 8ilac)%@easant /isherman: %ea verily, good my 8ord "ermir. + did see her at yon stable%

ou can use %ea ?erily% to start off a sentence like %ea verily, + did go to ew. . . %

but that would get old fast if yea verily is all you ever used. "here are other colorfulterms and hrases like %/orsooth% or %+n sooth% 'sooth means truth( that can be

used as e*clamations or as the beginning or end of a sentence. %+n Sooth, + did go to

ew and there did kill a 8ich3%

&ere is a list of some other colorful terms and hrases together with their meanings.

Term or !rase Meaning

/orsooth

Sooth is another word for truth.+n sooth

+n good sooth

+n "roth "roth is yet another word for truth4y my troth

?erily

#eaning %"ruthfully%Surely

+ndeed


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#arry

A kind of an oath. %#arry% refers to St.#ary and although the reformation

frowned uon this use it was still seen ineveryday conversation. +t means

basically,%4y Saint #ary%.

+ vouchsafe#eaning: %+ vouch 'assert( that this is

true%.

&ere are some archaic e*clamations to use in lace of modern ones.

Use these terms and phrasesInstead of these terms and

phrases

ood now"o use in lace of >

ood

#ethinks "o use in lace of:

+ think+ guess

+ daresay

%Methinks the dragon is dead&%

+ trow '4elieve(

+ think me

now you "o use in lace of: 6o you know)or a! know)

%/nowest thou the *oad to0eser?%

1/now you not the way to 2ove?%

"row you

nowest thou

#ayha "o use in lace of #aybe or@erhas

%To slee% erchance to

dream ! ! %

%Mayha the kind Mistress #rwenwill accomany us uon our

3ourney!%

@erchance

4elike

@eradventure

o to3 "o use in lace of:eally) 5o kidding) a! sure)

%$o to& ' wouldst think it not

+s it even so)

E!en so)


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ossible&%/orsooth or +nsooth)

Away3 - Away with thee3"o use instead of %et out of

here3%

%Away with thee, foul beast3%

#arry3 '4y St. #ary( "o use in lace of:$ow3 "oo cool3 $ay cool3

%Marry& Tis a ine leather tunic&%

%'4aith& Four $olems didst thou

slay&%

5ow, by my faith3

+!/aith3 '+n faith3(

od - a - mercy3 'od havemercy(

"o be used in lace of:>h, no3 >hh that!s too bad3 etc.

od!s #e3 'od save me3(

!>ds #e3 'od save me3(

Alas

$ell a day

ounds3

"his is an oath or a cry ofsurrise, shock or amazement. +t

is a contraction of %2hrist4s

"ounds%. "he word wasronounced Swoonds 'never

%zounds%(. ou may decide foryourself if you wish to use the

correct selling in the game oruse the selling %Swoonds% 'in

order to hel others %hear% theword in our te*t based

environment(.

Alack3 "o use in lace of:Any %four letter% word such as

6arn3 6amn3 6amnit3 'andothers + will not mention here(.

%Fie me& ' be me in need o

regs&%

%5ut uon it& This dungeon betoo earsome and oul&%

Alackaday3

Alas3

/ie3

>ut uon it3

!lease and Tank yo%

&Pray pardon% $oodman .arleycorn! Prithee% wouldst thou be so kind as to sare


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me a ew gold that ' might by regs to recall me home?%

7on giving the gold + would like to hear:

%Gramercy, ood Sir 4arleycorn, for thy kindness%.

8et!s look at some of the new terms in the e*change above. "he beggar starts outwith %@ray @ardon%. $ell, ardon is fairly obvious - we use the word today in %+ begyour ardon%. +n affect we are begging the erson to %ardon% 'or forgive( our

intrusion into his busy day. "o ray is simly to ask or to beseech so we see that

ray ardon translates to something like %@lease forgive my intrusion% '@ray %lease%- @ardon %forgive%(. "oday we might simly say %E*cuse me%.

@rithee is a contraction of %@ray "hee% '+ beseech thee or ask thee(. "oday we might

say:%#ight + ask you if . . . %

+n his thank you statement the beggar says %ramercy% another contraction of sorts

meaning %rant #ercy% from the longer version %'#ay( od rant 'you( #ercy%. >ne

way of thanking a kind soul for a good deed was to bestow this wish uon him thatod would grant him #ercy in view of his kindness.

"ake a look at some other forms of ardon me, lease and thank you.

"se tese $or &'xc%se me& or &!ardon me&

+ cry you mercy37se for %+ beg your ardon%.

%@ray ardon, #!lord, rithee show meto the mage shoe)%

+ crave your ardon

@ray ardon

"se tese $or &!lease&

An it lease you 'orthee(

%An% is an archaic from of the word%if%

%+f it leases you . . . %

%An it lease our race + wilt gostraightway unto the city of #inoc,

there to seek the Shadow +ron ingotsyou do re2uire for your smith%.

+ ray you 'or thee(

@rithee

@ray

"se tese $or &Tank yo%&


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od grant you mercy +n 7> %Many good thanks% might

mean more to a layer than%$ramercy%. et if we use these lesser

known terms we have an oortunityto share our knowledge of the

language. +nstead of using %od grantyou mercy% try a %ramercy ind Sir

%and see if you get a %huh)% or a%ou!re welcome%.

--------------------

%$ramercy% $oodman 2alia6! Thoudidst save me rom yon host o

brigands%.

rant you mercy

ramercy

#any good thanks

#any and heartythankings

od ield you or thee

'or od !ild you orthee(

&as a warrior ust saved your fruit bearing ack horse from being made toast by a

renegade and not too friendly fire elemental) ou may try using:

%Many and hearty thankings; $ood -ir /night% or saving mine ales&%

&Here and tere& or &Hiter( Titer and )on&

Although Elizabethans used words like &ere and "here, a more colorful way of sayingthese words is to use &ither, "hither and on. &ither means the same as Hereand

"hither can be used in lace of Tere. +nstead of %come here to this side of theroad . . % say:

%2ome ye to the hitherside o the road; my $ood $entles% that we might slay these

.one /nights that do cause much anguish to travelers who do ass this way%.

+nstead of saying %go there to the blacksmith . . % say

%$o ye thitherunto yon blacksmith that you might mend your shields%.

'5ote that in both e*amles we are talking to more than one erson as can be seenby the use of the word %e%. #ore about thee, thou and ye will be covered later in

%"hees B "hous%(.

onder was a word much in use and meant %farther away than there% or in some

cases the same as our modern hrase %over there%. +t could also mean a vague% outthere somewhere%.

%"hilst shoing or regs this day ' didst go here% there and yonderin my search%.

onder can also be shortened to on 'over there(.

%$et thee unto yontailor and buy there cloth or bandages whilst ' tarry here orthee%.


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7se these words in lace of their more modern counterarts.

(se this sometimes Instead of "sing this all of the time

onder >ff in that direction, >ver that way.

on Away off over there.

Elizabethans 'esecially the easant and middle class( 8>?E6 to gossi. An archaicname for a erson who was a chronic gossi was %flibbertigibbet% 'ronounced flib -

ber - ti - gibbet(. Say that three times real fast3 $omen in the market laces or thewashing wells loved to do the old %he said, she said% routine and the men in the

taverns were ust as bad. An archaic way of saying %said% was to use the word%*%ot%. 7se +%ot ,or +%ot e or se as in this e*amle:

%' goes me to the smith in ,elucia to the ellow who does sell the deeds o reair%

1Master -mith1% quoth I1hast thou deeds to sell?%

%#ye% Marry do '%1 quoth he% 1they be seven hundred gold a iece&%

%5ut uon it&1% quoth I% 1Tis si6 times more than they be worth&%

%Then hie thee hence to the city o Minoc1% quoth he% 1where there be smiths alenty&%

'&ie thee hence means %go you to% or %get you out% at once - immediately(

Even if you can!t sound like the 4ard of Avon himself '$illiam Shakeseare( you can

throw some of these terms into your everyday 7> seech and you will sound closer

to it. As always, have fun with it, try some mi*ing and matching and come u withsome of your own contrivances.

+n many cases seaking roer Elizabethan 'or 4ritannian( means to seak+#@>@E modern English3 Suerlatives and 6ouble 5egatives are not accetable in

our modern tongue and will more than likely get you a oor grade on your ne*t bookreort. 5e*t time we shall see how some of these unaccetable uses were

comletely accetable in Elizabethan English. $e will also take a look at somecommon contractions of the time 'such as Tisfor %it is%( and learn which modern

contractions 'such as &its% for it %it is%( to throw out3 =onfused) "hen read on . . .>r as the Elizabethans might say, %$o ye then thereore that ye might know o it%.


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Grammar( Syntax and #ontractionsLesson 'o"r

+f you take naught else from this lesson at the very least try to use some of thefollowing tis concerning the use of 4e, 6o and $ere3

.o-/e-Were5o, it!s not some new kind of bog creature fresh out of the swams of ew - it!s anold way of using three common words. "oday we are taught this usage is retty

much imroer but in Elizabethan times such usages were commonlace. "o beginwith, lace %,o% and %,id% 4E/>E your verbs3

+n other words, rather than ust saying:

%' you go to "ind alone% ' ear you may die there3%

7se the word %do% before the verbs:

%' you dogo to "ind alone% ' doear you may die there3%

=onsider the ne*t line:

%"e used to visit the -alty ,og! #ye% we ate and drank well there&%

=hange the tense of ateand drankfrom ast to resent and use the word %did%

before the verbs of the sentence, as in the following e*amle:

%"e diduse to visit the -alty ,og! #ye% we dideat and drink well there&%

"his forces the whole sentence into ast tense yet still uses resent tense verbsmaking the statement more authentically Elizabethan 'or in our case 4ritannian(.

Also, you may use %.e% and %"ere% to relace %'s%, %#m% and %#re% as in thefollowing three e*amles. "ake note of tense in each line for future reference.

%#ye% they beishmongers and ' beone as well&%

%' weregatherin4 the wheat with $oodman .arleycorn.%%' werere77in4 2alia6 when the 5gre +ords did all uon us3%

5otice how much more colorful this sounds than saying %' was1or 1they are1. 5otice

also how it aears that + changed tense near the end of the last e*amle, a bit of a

%no-no% today, but "&+S is Elizabethan and +S ast tense even with the resent tense%fall% used in the sentence.

Me( Me( Me0 ,ts all abo%t Me1

Another way of getting simle sentence to sound more %eriod% is by adding theword %me% after first erson verbs. + do this 2uite fre2uently in 7> and eole seem

to enoy it!s usage uon hearing it for the first time. +t adds a great deal of flavor to


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narratives too3

+nstead of saying simly:

%' will sit down uon this log and think here a while.%

"ry utting %me% after the first erson verbs 'in this case the words sitand think(.

%' will sit medown uon this log and think mehere a while.%

5otice the usage in some of these e*amles:

%' go meunto the village o 2ove there to ind a isher%.%' did recall mehome and there did meet me$argoyles awaitin4 at my door%.

%' go meto yon mage sho and seek methere reagents%.

+t is even ermissible to go totally overboard and use %me% after terms like%#ethinks%.

&ow is "&A" for redundancy)

%Methinks methis wench be cushot&%'methinks; + think. cushot; into*icated, drunk.(

7sing these terms 'as in the e*amles shown above( in your everyday conversations

will imrove your 7>0Elizabethan seech a great deal and give your conversationsthat secial %eriod% flavor. @eole may even call you silver tongued3

Mine( Mine( Mine1 ,ts all Mine1

Elizabethans e*ressed ossessive forms ust as we do today, saying things like

%$illiam!s hat% or %#artha!s shoes% yet they might also have said %$illiam and his

hat% or %#artha and her shoes%. "his usage was more common in the written agebut can be used to add a little more flare to your seech in the game.

!ast Tense

As shown above lacing the word %,id% before resent tense verbs would ut them

into ast tense '%' dideat well in the -alty ,og Tavern% as oosed to %' eat well%which is resent tense(. Elizabethans also used the modern day method of adding an

%ed1 ending to some of their words to force them into ast tense '%He talked1( andby altering the selling of other words '%He soke%( much as we do today. et some

words were altered in their selling in more than one way as in %He -ake%. =heckout some of the e*amles below.

A few e*amles:

!resent Tense !ast Tense

Seak did seak soke sake

=row did crow crowed crew


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Show did show showed shew

/or other e*amles of ast tense verbs take time to look through writings from the

eriod. "he writings of $illiam Shakeseare, 4en @E and should never be used. et Elizabethans

found many of them accetable and did emloy them at times3

$e all remember that negatives are words of negation like noor not and that

suerlatives are words of comarison

like moreand most, betterand best, worseand worst. 4elow are some accetableuses of .o%ble5egatives and .o%bleSuerlatives that you can use in the game tohel you sound more %archaic%. Study this chart of double negative and suerlatives

that you can use to make your seech sound more %Elizabethan% and as you do sothink about others you can come u with on your own for use in the game.

5egati2es

Single 6ouble

$e have no fish steaks to eat.$e do nothave nofish

steaks to eat.

&e did not carry a sword. &e did notcarry nosword.

>rcs do not seak any4ritannian.

>rcs donotseak no4ritannian.

S%perlati2es

Single 6ouble

better; best more better; most best

worse; worst more worse; most worst

greater; greatest more greater; most greatest

smaller; smallest more smaller; most smallest

"he unkindestinsult of

all, or"he most %nkindinsultof all.

"he mostunkindestinsult of

all.


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"ry using some of these e*amles in your everyday 7> seech such as in:1-he did nothave noreagents which made matters more worse&1

+t can add a nice flare to your narrative about your last dungeon e*cursion.

Tis( Twas( Twere1 #ontractions1

$e all know that contractions can combine two words by droing a letter and

adding an aostrohe. .o notbecomes .ontby droing the second oandrelacing it with . Some modern contractions were known to the Elizabethans yet

even the ones that were known were rarely used in everyday seech. >ver timethese did become more accetable but in general you will sound more archaic if you

avoid certain modern contractions. See the e*amles below of contractions youshould avoid.

+nstead of saying this: Say this:

don!t do not

can!t can not

its it is

ain!t am not; is not; are not

"here are however #A5 good contractions of Elizabethan origin that you S&>786use and these you should use A 8>"3 "ake a look at some e*amles of these below.

+nstead of always saying this: Sometimes say this:

it is !tis

it was !twas

it were !twere

it will !twill

it would !twould

is it) is!t)

"ake a look at a coule of these e*amles - try to come u with some of your own.

%#ethinks twasa foul time of it we had us in yon dungeon of 6esise.#ayha two%ldbehoove us to be we better reared !ere we go us there again%

%>h, twerea long walk we had from "rinsic unto 4ritain and twillbe many a day

!ere we take us that walk again. Tisa long ourney indeed3%

%@ray ardon kind sir, istfar from here to ?eser)%


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5otice that in the second e*amle + used the contraction for it wererather than it

waswhich would seem more roer but in Elizabethan both usages would have beenaccetable.

Another form of contraction that the Elizabethans emloyed involved removing theinternal ? from certain words and substituting an aostrohe. $e have seen

e*amles of this in revious lessons, for instance in %od ye good een% meaning%od grant you a good e2ening%.

4elow are three commonly used e*amles.


even or evening e!en

never ne!er

over o!er

%"hat man be a neerdo well, trust him not3%

Such usage is good if you are role laying a rustic tye of character, or a characterwho might not have a well rounded education such as a rouge or a easant for

instance.

Some contractions used by Elizabethans droed not only one letter but entirewords3 $hile it may sound somewhat archaic to say %+et usget awayrom this

lace% it is also ust as 'if not more so( archaic to dro the %get% and say %+et

us awayrom this lace%. 4elow are some e*amles, again read these and then tryto come u with some of your own.


$e will goaway. $e will away.

+!ll a2enone of that3 +!ll none of that

8et us goto bed. 8et us to bed

+f + were ing 0 + wish + were

ing.$ould + were ing.

%. . . we must awayere break of day. . .% -


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&e was born o!/riday.

&e died o! the Sabbath.

$hat is o! the clock)

$hat is!t o!clock)

+t is twelve o! the clock.

>ne last little trick + shall mention here is the droing of certain letters from the

ends of verbs as in the %g% from %ing% endings or the %e% from %ed% endings.

Although this is noticeable more in the soken language it still comes out very nicelyin te*t and it can give a very convincing illusion of an accent when tying your lines

in 7>. "his form of contraction 'if indeed it can be called that( is more revalent inoetry rather than rose. &owever + use it a great deal in 7> and + always get a nice

resonse from other layers. &ere are some e*amles.

%Aye #!lord, we be goinunto ew where we be $igtinmany foul beasts3%%+ were walkinunto 4rit for the sellino! my wares.%

%She were talkinto those goodwives which were gaterdat the wasinwell.%%"hou wilt be a! breatinthy last if thou do be a! goin into yonder dark dungeon3%

+n the word %gatered% 'in the second e*amle( + droed the %e% from the %ed%

ending and added an . >ther e*amles of this might include wordslike talkd; walkd; danced; etc.

5otice some of the other laces in the above e*amles where + substituted an

aostrohe for a letter. /or instance in Mlord'dro the y( and the use of abeforethe verbs in the last e*amle.

@lay around with your own %contractions% to see what kinds you can come u with. +t

can really hel other layers %hear% what you tye and is a great way to flesh out abawdy character.

Horses( #arts and 6stards - wic comes $irst7 - Word 6rder

#ake sure to vary your word order 'synta*(. +n modern English we almost always

lace our subect before the verb. Elizabethans would have varied the way in whichthey strung their words together to form sentence. 8ook at the following e*amle.

$here a modern word order might be:

5ur horse'subect( was hitched 'verb( to yon cart'obect(.

Elizabethans might have moved the obect and said it thus:

To yon cartwas our horse hitched!

5ote these e*amles of other variations in word order:


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%I shall gonow to seek my ortune.%#ove the verb:

%Shall I gonow to seek my ortune.%'"his might seem to turn the statement into a 2uestion by our

modern standards - but to Elizabethans its still a statement3(

%He were an ancientand ill-tempered"yvern.%Searate the adectives:

%He were ancient"yvern and ill-tempered.%

,ntercange yo%r parts o$ speec

As mentioned earlier the Elizabethans used language that would have curled yourEnglish teacher!s hair3 +ndeed they seemed to defy A88 of the rules3 Almost any word

can be used as any art of seech as in the following e*amles.

7se nouns as verbs:

%Malicenot thine enemies nor gl%ttonthyself on revenge.%

7se nouns as adectives:%=ease thy plag%etalk and thy co$$infears.%

7se adectives as verbs:

%"his will greenhis eyes with envy and appyme most well.%

7se adectives as adverbs:%So$tdid she walk and +%ietseak.%

Application

As the final art of this lesson + will show you some ways to aly some of what wehave learned so far. "his section is taken from a booklet entitled %"he Elizabethan

8anguage 4ook% by erald /. eeda. "his booklet is used by actors of theenaissance @leasure /aire which for many years was held in #arin =ounty =alifornia

'ust north of San /rancisco and south of Sonoma =ounty(.

%&ere are some sentence resented in modern form, each followed bya goodElizabethan version and a betterElizabethan version thanks to some

vocabulary and grammar changes.

, went to te wasing well and spoke to my good $riend(Rowena0

good:


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' did go me to the washin4 well and did seak to my goodgossi% *owena!

better:

To the washin4 well ' did go me% aye% and sake there unto mygood gossi% *ownena% bless her!

5o way1 Wy wo%ld te 8ing come ere7 )o% gotta be

kidding0

good:$o to& "hy would the /ing come here? -urely thou dost 3est!

better:

$o to& "hereore does His ma3esty come hitherto? Marry% sir%thou dost but 3est!

, am really tired o$ Ripper and Foote and all teir p%ritan

preacing0

good:Most weary am ' o *ier and Foote and their uritan babble!

better:

'n sooth% doth Master *ier rate and Master Foote rattle onwith such windy smites8and8begattings as to cause both lords

and ishwives to ear the -abbath! .e there no recourse $odlyor otherways against this ceaseless reachment? #n it rove

atal% ' die here a martyr! .rine mine ears and relic me as -t!atience the long suering!

et the idea)%


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"Thees" and "Thous)Lesson 'i%eUsing Thee and Thou is more than just placing the one of the words before or after a

sentence. There is a specific usage for each word depending one of two forms of address.

At one time English employed these two forms which consisted of a formal address andan informal address. Formal address was usually directed at people of a higher station inlife than that of the speaker. A good UO example might be that of a member of a guild

when speaking to his guildmaster. The guild member is of lower rank than his master and

would use a more formal mode of speech. et there also other considerations to take intoaccount when using these terms. !et"s take a look at the proper usage of Thee and Thou

then we shall see how to properly conjugate the #erbs that are associated with them.

Formal and Informal - it's not just how you dress!

$ontrary to popular belief the words Youand Your%E&E used in Eli'abethanlanguage.

The formal mode - You( was used to address social superiors and strangers to whom onewanted to be polite. )ay Youto the *ing+ the ,ueen+ your parents+ your employer+ your

guildmaster or any person abo#e you in &ank -check out his or her paperdoll to see if it

says lorious !ord or not ( that should gi#e some indication as to their rank and station inUO life/. Also say Youto persons you are flattering and to -belie#e it or not/ horses0

1orses were considered to be noble beasts in Eli'abethan times and were addressed

accordingly. 2n Ultima Online this could also extend to Ostards and other riding beasts.3You3 can also be used sarcastically to imply that someone beneath you is beha#ing

abo#e their station+ for instance+ to the rude and clueless newbie who just in#ited you toFellucia for a little 4layer #s. 4layer.

The informal mode ( Thou( was used to address one"s intimates -friends/ or socialinferiors. )ay Thouto your spouse+ your close friends+ guildmates -of e5ual or lower

rank/+ children+ ser#ants+ employees+ players you are insulting+ non(horse+ or non(riding

beasts+ inanimate objects and -in Eli'abethan times this was widely used/ e#en to od.Additionally+ if you don"t mind that other players 5uestion your sanity+ you can also

say Thouto 6on(4layer $haracters or to the 7alron who is about to tear you into tiny

bits.

Te !roper "se o$ Tee and To%

@arts of this lesson are going to be a bit more difficult to learn and to ut intoeveryday use, esecially the verbs with archaic endings, but for the most art using

"hee and "hou is retty easy.


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As the subect of sentences, to%@E/>#S the action.

To%art a fine mage withal. $hat thinkest to%of that)

$hat sayest to%) To%knowest not thine own mind3

o to%unto the village of =ove. oest to%2uickly3

As the obect of sentences, teeE=E+?ES or #>6+/+ES theaction.

&ere shall + sit with teeand seak kind words to tee.

$e do have fine ales for tee. + do thank teefair lass.

+n the village of =ove will + wait for tee.

As a last e*amle of this take a look at the following:

%$o thouunto the city o 0eser that ' might meet theethere.%

&ere we see that the layer being soken to has been addressed as both to%and

as teein the same sentence. 8et!s break this sentence down and see why.

%$o thou'thou - the subect is doing the going or erforming the action( unto thecity o 0eser that ' might meet thee'thee - the obect is receiving the action of

being met( there!%$ith ust a little bit of ractice you can greatly imrove your archaic seech by

simly emloying the roer use of these two tiny words - thee and thou.


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Mineis the ossessive form used before a vowel:

mine armor 8 mine a6e 8 mine arrogance.%+ seek me a smith to mend minearmor.%

----------------------"he ossessive form of yo%remains yo%r.

6on!t forget to change form when needed as in these e*amles:%Mineeyes have roved greater than mystomach.%

%"hou didst come, riding on tyhorse and followed by tineostard.%

, Walket( , 'atet( , 9o2et - Arcaic erb 'ndings

$hen using To%and Teeverbs should end in either ostor estas in the e*amles

below.

%"hou goestto 6oom alone3% 'you go(

%"hou eatestthese fine ies% 'you eat(%"hou walkestinto yon moongate% 'you walk(

$hen using e, se, itor teythe verbs could end in etas in: %&e goet'he

goes( - %She lovet% 'she loves( - they eatet% 'they eat( - it walket'it walks(.

nowing when to use a roer ending can be confusing at first. Study the following

charts and take note of the conugation of the verbs. @ractice by reading the ronounfirst then the ne*t verb in the row 'e*amle: Thou art% Thou dost% Thou hastetc(.

4egin with To%and try to learn the endings associated with it. "he other endingsare all otional and you might want to learn their usage at a later time.

E*amles:

is do a2e go

, am do have go

We are do0doth have0hath go0goeth

)o% are do have go

To% art dost hast goest

He;Se;,t is does0doth has0hath goes0goeth

Tey are do0doth have0hath go0goeth


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#ore E*amles:

say walk eat lo2e

, say walk eat love

We say0sayeth walk0walketh eat0eateth love0loveth

)o% say walk eat love

To% sayest walkest eatest lovest

He;Se;,t says0sayeth walks0walketh eats0eateth loves0loveth

Tey say0sayeth walk0walketh eat0eateth love0loveth

@ractice this with other verbs like sit, sing, stand, lay etc. Also remember that theseare ?E4 forms and are never used with nouns such as in: #aneth, $omaneth or&orseth 'however saying %+ laggeth% would be accetable in 7> since the word lag is

used as a verb A56 a noun(.

emember that these forms are almost never otional when using To%.

ee in mind that when using to%verbs generally change by t, stor estto the

end. Study these e*amles and come u with some of your own.

are art Thou arta knave and a toss-ot3

do dost$hat dost thouthink)

'what thinkestthou)(

drink drinkest ,rinkest thouhere a fine dark ale

eat eatest Thou eatestmore than any three men3

go goest $here goest thou, ood #istress)

have ast $hat hast thou) Thou hasta comely face.

make makest Thou makesta good keg of ale.

say sayest -ayestthat thoudost love me.

shall salt Thou shalteat, drink and merry be3

walk walkest"hou walkest like a man in his cus. 'i.e.

tisy(

will wiltThou wiltstay a while. "ilt thouwalk with

me)


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%+ laggeth me in this busy dungeon, let us away from this foul lace3$hat thinkest thou, withal, of that)%

Hear )e1 Hear )e1 Te !roper "se o$ )e1

7sing )eis easy3 7se it then talking to two or more eole or large grous in aformal setting.

e is essentially the lural form of you in formal situations. Some of the morecommonly known e*amles might be %Hear )e1 Hear )e1% or %5h come

all yeaithul%.

Some 7> secific e*amles:%eent, all yefoul necromancers3%

%/ly ye, all of you, into yon moongate !ere we die us all3%

+t can also be used as a shortened form 'a collo2uial contraction( of )o%as in

%od yegood den% '$od grant you a good day( or as in %$hat d!yelack)% 'what doyou lack?or what do you need?). - %$o yeorth into all the lands and seek ye thereyour fortunes%.

5ote:=ontrary to oular belief )e5E?E 'and + mean5E?E, E?E( means TH'as in %Ye5lde ublic #le House%,

%Yeolde Mage -hoe% or as in %Yeolde sinning wheel%. "hisis a modern />8 contrivance and)ewas 5E?E used by

Elizabethans for the word Tein any way, shae or form3 + can5>" stress this enough, avoid it like the lague 'or like a

lague beast(.

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Elizabethian Shakespearian Speech

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