Shakespearean play Taming of the Shrew?

Question

I saw that play this weekend in Shakespeare in the Park, and I have to write about the performance. I'm stuck on the Language. The language is formal, but I have no idea what to call it. Olden language? Heh, they say, "Thee, thy, thou..." Is that called diatonic?

Answer 1

Lemme at least try to translate Will in to Modern English:

1: It is NOT Old English. That was Chaucer.
2: It is a Play, not everyday spoken English at the time.
3: Being a Play, it has Heightened Reality (flowery language,
exaggerated emotions, etc.).

Now, the toughie: Thou.

In Elizabethan English, "thou" was used to your buddies, your workmates, those familiar to you, and most importantly, your social inferiors. It is a subtle usage, but bears taking note of.
One would never address the Queen as "thou", but one does address God as "Thou", presumably because He is privy to your closest-held thoughts.

A wonderful case in point is when Gertrude says "Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended" meaning the present King, his Stepfather. Hamlet's biting retort is in the Formal: "Mother, you have my Father much offended". meaning the dead King, his actual father.

Ooooh, snap!

Hamlet is PO'd! Thou/You. Gertrude is being a Mom (and a Queen). Hamlet is seething. He insults her, in open court, by using You instead of the more intimate Thou.

This is yet another key that can help you unlock the Bard.

In "Shrew", Petruchio deliberately and systematically uses "thou" to Katarina to assert his dominance(social inferior). She, in turn, does likewise.

He wins. Hence the title.

Call the language used Archaic, Rollicking, and Bawdy. Or simply Shakesperean.

Diatonic is a musical term.

Answer 2

It is NOT 'Old English'--Old English is actually Anglo-Saxon, and is QUITE a different language from modern English. Old English was originally written in a runic alphabet, and while some of the words resemble their modern counterparts, the pronunciation was worlds away. 'Beowulf' was originally written in Old English.

The language of Shakespeare's day was Early Modern (or Renaissance) English, and it bridged the transformation from Middle English ('Canterbury Tales') to our modern-day form of the language.

Oddly enough, "thou" was not a formal pronoun, but rather for familiar or intimate use (like "tu" vs. "usted" in Spanish). One would use "thou" when speaking to a lover, child, or close friend, and "you" when speaking to a business associate, stranger, or one's social superior. Shakespeare wasn't always consistent, but if you listen to where the language changes, you can get a good sense of the relationships between characters.

(I've seen it sometimes used correctly in modern fiction; Harry Turtledove's 'Ruled Britannia'--in which Shakespeare is a main character--and parts of Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' series.)

I believe 'diatonic' refers to a musical scale.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Old English is the accepted name. It can also be referred to as Elizabethan English as Shakespeare wrote his plays during the Elizabethan Era

Answer 4

Old English

Answer 5

Old English is correct. Diatonic refers to music.

Answer 6

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