Was Shakespeare's "language" common English in his time?

Question

Also, if he introduced new words to the English language, how did his audience understand his plays?

Any bit of information you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

There are three periods of the English language- Old English (think Beowulf); Middle English (think Chaucer); and Modern English (think Shakespeare). Shakespeare's language reflected the language of what was the beginning of Modern English. The King James Version of the Bible dates to the same time period. There are instances where the first known use of a word was in one of Shakespeare's works, but that doesn't mean he was the first to actually use the word, it's just that his words were written and they survived. Language isn't static, it is always undergoing changes, so that some words current in Shakespeare's day are no longer used (this is called archaic) or the meaning or even the pronunciation has changed. Keep in mind, it has been over 400 years since Shakespeare wrote his plays and poems and the language has continued to evolve.

Answer 2

His language was common English but in a poetic style. In some of the earlier plays, the poetic style stopped the action (Two Gentlemen of Verona, for example).

Acting in Shakespeare's time was less "natural" than it is now. A person appearing on stage had to make grand gestures and speak loudly. There were certain stylized movements that Elizabethan audiences knew and these revealed quite a bit about the characters and story.

Shakespeare is credited with introducing about 3,000 new English words. I would imagine people seeing the plays would interpret the words by watching the action on the stage and also by context.

Answer 3

Well, in a way, yes, and in a way no.
Most of Shakespeare's language was common english OF HIS TIME. But he did introduce some new words. His audience would gleam what the word mean, by what was happening on the stage, and the context it was used it.

Answer 4

The plays were intended for, and attended by, everyday folk, so the language was accessible to all - common English of the period.
However, people were much more interested in language at that time. They didn't have TV, movies, radios, magazines - so they talked. They were very interested in and quite clever with puns, riddles, and other word play. They would have been comfortable with, and appreciative of, a playwright using words in new ways, or making up new words.

This was also a time of new ideas, new inventions, new discoveries - and consequently new words.

Answer 5

All writers use the language of their times, but the great ones use it in ways that are fresh, innovative, and unexpected. Shakespeare's word coinages weren't invented out of thin air, but were built from existing words and roots. No doubt many in the audience both understood what he meant and were amused by the inventiveness of it.

Answer 6

Some of it was - the dialogue that the 'rude mechanicals' speak. But the rest of it, especially the verse, contains very elevated passages and such a richness of reference that nobody even in those days could possibly have understood all of it.