William Shakespeare, D. Vecchio
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
eBook
(Dover Publications July 27, 2015)
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) had most likely written MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by 1599. The play was first published in 1600. This publication was the basis for the publication in the 1623 First Folio.
Shakespeare used complex sentence structures, contractions (especially to maintain iambic pentameter) and words not familiar to contemporary readers. The language used by Shakespeare was Early Modern English, which is almost identical to contemporary English. Because of two bodies of literature – Shakespeare’s works and the King James Bible (newly translated in 1611) – this moment in the development of English was captured in time and is also known as Elizabethan English after Queen Elizabeth I.
1. The following Early Modern English words are selected examples of emendations of Shakespeare’s texts:
a. “Methinks” to “I think.”
b.“Thou” (subject) & “thee” (object) to “you.”
c.“Thy” (used with a noun beginning with a consonant) & “thine” (used with a noun beginning with a vowel ) to “your.”
d.“Ye” to “you” (“Ye” was an archaic pronoun that referred to more than one person, also the person addressed, but not the speaker. By 1600, “you” for the most part had replaced “ye” in general usage; yet, it was used in the Bible’s King James Version published in 1611—“Judge not, that ye be not judged,” Matthew 7:1.).
e.“Thou art” to “you are;” “thou hast” (second person singular) to “you have;” “he hath” (third person singular) to “he has;” “thou wilt” to “ you will;” “a wooer doth” (third person singular) to “a wooer does.”
2. Syntax revisions (selected examples):
a.“Wherefore did they not that hour destroy us?” to “Why didn’t they destroy us at that hour?”
b.“When every grief is entertained that’s offered, comes to the entertainer.” to “Grief entertained as offered, comes to the entertainer.”
The sequence of each character’s dialogue was preserved without any exclusions, and no story changes were made. Eighty endnotes and plot summaries are included. This version of Shakespeare’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is meant for casual readers as well as serious students.
Shakespeare used complex sentence structures, contractions (especially to maintain iambic pentameter) and words not familiar to contemporary readers. The language used by Shakespeare was Early Modern English, which is almost identical to contemporary English. Because of two bodies of literature – Shakespeare’s works and the King James Bible (newly translated in 1611) – this moment in the development of English was captured in time and is also known as Elizabethan English after Queen Elizabeth I.
1. The following Early Modern English words are selected examples of emendations of Shakespeare’s texts:
a. “Methinks” to “I think.”
b.“Thou” (subject) & “thee” (object) to “you.”
c.“Thy” (used with a noun beginning with a consonant) & “thine” (used with a noun beginning with a vowel ) to “your.”
d.“Ye” to “you” (“Ye” was an archaic pronoun that referred to more than one person, also the person addressed, but not the speaker. By 1600, “you” for the most part had replaced “ye” in general usage; yet, it was used in the Bible’s King James Version published in 1611—“Judge not, that ye be not judged,” Matthew 7:1.).
e.“Thou art” to “you are;” “thou hast” (second person singular) to “you have;” “he hath” (third person singular) to “he has;” “thou wilt” to “ you will;” “a wooer doth” (third person singular) to “a wooer does.”
2. Syntax revisions (selected examples):
a.“Wherefore did they not that hour destroy us?” to “Why didn’t they destroy us at that hour?”
b.“When every grief is entertained that’s offered, comes to the entertainer.” to “Grief entertained as offered, comes to the entertainer.”
The sequence of each character’s dialogue was preserved without any exclusions, and no story changes were made. Eighty endnotes and plot summaries are included. This version of Shakespeare’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is meant for casual readers as well as serious students.
- Pages
- 80