Shakespeare and Language [Paperback]

This book features a selection of the best essays from the last forty years on Shakespeare's use of language.This collection of essays considers the characteristics, excitement and unique qualities of Shakespeare's language, the relationship between language and event, and the social, theatrical and literary function of language. A new introduction, by Jonathan Hope, explicates the differences between Shakespeare's language and our own, provides a theoretical and contextual framework for the pieces that follow, and makes transparent an aspect of Shakespeare's craft (and the critical response to it)that has frequently been opaque.This collection of essays considers the characteristics, excitement and unique qualities of Shakespeare's language, the relationship between language and event, and the social, theatrical and literary function of language. A new introduction, by Jonathan Hope, explicates the differences between Shakespeare's language and our own, provides a theoretical and contextual framework for the pieces that follow, and makes transparent an aspect of Shakespeare's craft (and the critical response to it)that has frequently been opaque.This collection of essays considers the characteristics and unique qualities of Shakespeare's language, as well as the relationship between language and event, and the social, theatrical and literary function of language. A new introduction by Jonathan Hope explicates the differences between Shakespeare's language and our own, providing an appropriate theoretical and contextual framework.1. Shakespeare and language: an introduction Jonathan Hope; 2. Shakespeare's language and the language of Shakespeare's time Stephen Booth; 3. The foundations of Elizabethan language Muriel St. Clare Byrne; 4. Shakespeare's talking animals Terence Hawkes; 5. Some functions of Shakespearian word-formation Vivian Salmon; 6. Shakespeare and the tune of the time Bridget Cusack; 7. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: the places of invention Jill L. lÃ^