In recognition of Shakespeare's 445th Birthday, this Thursday, April 23, 2009, will be Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Shakespeare is a part of our everyday lives. He coined more than 1,700 words still in use in modern English and his plays influence the way we think about the world we live in.
How to Talk like Shakespeare:
1. Instead of you, say thou. Instead of y’all, say thee.
2. Rhymed couplets are all the rage.
3. Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin.
4. Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back'd toads.
5. Don't waste time saying 'it,' just use the letter 't' ('tis, t'will, I'll do't).
6. Verse for lovers, prose for ruffians, songs for clowns.
7. When in doubt, add the letters 'eth' to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).
8. To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore.
9. When wooing ladies: try comparing her to a summer's day. If that fails, say 'Get thee to a nunnery!'
10. When wooing lads: try dressing up like a man. If that fails, throw him in the Tower, banish his friends and claim the throne.
1 comment(s):
Thou hath made an errore in thy accountings of archaic speech! Thou doth claimeth that "you" equals "thou," but 'tis not so, foul braggard! In modern English, thy native tongue (I do assumeth), "you" doth meaneth both singular and plurale, but "thou" doth meaneth but only singular! And "y'all" caneth be both objective or subjective! But "thee" doth ever meaneth the second-person objective singular! "Y'all" doth not represent the singular!
Thou hath disgraced shakespearean speech! A pox on your house, scurvy picaroon, smarmy knave, jackanapse, and rogue, varlet and trickster! Thou hast not fooled me!
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