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Using myths and realities to frame the investigation, it guides readers through sources, printing and manuscripts, punctuation and spelling practices, phonology and prosody, and the workings of vocabulary including false friends and coinages. It culminates in Shakespearean creativity and includes an A-to-Z of false friends plus reference materials.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/think-on-my-words-exploring-shakespeares-language/320255/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/think-on-my-words-exploring-shakespeares-language/320255.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Genevieve","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-21",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",12,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What five dimensions of language structure does the book cover?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"It covers writing style, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and conversational style, using these dimensions to explain Shakespeare’s linguistic creativity.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How does the book approach Shakespeare’s language in terms of myths and realities?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"It opens by contrasting ‘myths and realities’ and then examines specific myths, such as the quantity myth, invention myth, translation myth, and style myth.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"Which topics are included under pronunciation and phonology?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"It includes Shakespearean phonology and pronunciation, covering the way they said it, prosody, evidence, and insights, including discussions of pentameters.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},320255,1790398007,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":145,"read_time":146},1374391974585,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","This page intentionally left blank  \n‘Think on my words’  \n‘You speak a language that I understand not.’ Hermione’s words to Leontes in The Winter’s Tale are likely to ring true with many people reading or watching Shakespeare’s plays today. For decades, people have been studying Shakespeare’s life and times, and in recent years there has been a renewed surge of interest into aspects of his language. So how can we better understand Shakespeare? How did he manipulate language to produce such an unrivalled body of work, which has enthralled generations both as theatre and as literature? David Crystal addresses these and many other questions in this lively and original introduction to Shakespeare’s language. Covering in turn the five main dimensions of language structure – writing style, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and conversational style – the book shows how examining these linguistic ‘nuts and bolts’ can help us achieve a greater appreciation of Shakespeare’s linguistic creativity.  \nD A V I D C R Y S T A L is one of the world’s foremost authorities on language. He is author of the hugely successful Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (1987; second edition 1997), Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (1995; second edition 2003), and English as a Global Language (1997; second edition 2003) . An internationally renowned writer, journal editor, lecturer and broadcaster, he received an OBE in 1995 for his services to the study and teaching of the English language. His previous work on Shakespeare includes two books written with his actor son, Ben, Shakespeare’s Words (2002) and The Shakespeare Miscellany (2005), essay contributions to Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide and The Oxford Shakespeare, Pronouncing Shakespeare (2005), and regular essays for The Times Educational Supplement and the theatre magazine, Around the Globe.  \n‘Think on my words’Exploring Shakespeare’s Language  \nDavid Crystal  \nCAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS  \nCambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo  \nCambridge University Press  \nThe Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK  \nPublished in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York  \n[www.cambridge.org](www.cambridge.org)  \nInformation on this [title: www.cambridge.org/9780521876940](title: www.cambridge.org/9780521876940)  \n© David Crystal 2008  \nThis publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.  \nFirst published in print format 2008  \nISBN-13 978-0-511-38887-3 eBook (NetLibrary)  \nISBN-13 978-0-521-87694-0 hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-70035-1 paperback  \nCambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.  \nContents  \nList of figures and tables page vii  \nPreface ix  \nAbbreviations xi  \n1 ‘You speak a language that I understand not’: myths and realities 1  \nThe quantity myth 2  \nThe invention myth 8  \nThe translation myth 10  \nThe style myth 15  \n2 ‘Now, sir, what is your text?’ Knowing the sources 22  \nTexts 22  \nPrinting 27  \nManuscripts? 31  \nShakespeare’s language? 40  \n3 ‘In print I found it’: Shakespearean graphology 42  \nThe alphabet 43  \nCapitalization 48  \nSpace-savers 53  \nSpelling 58  \n4 ‘Know my stops’: Shakespearean punctuation 64  \nExclamation marks 72  \nParentheses 78  \nApostrophes 83  \nItalics 88  \nInverted commas 94  \nHyphens 96  \n5 ‘Speak the speech’: Shakespearean phonology 100  \nThe way they said it 101  \nProsody 105  \nWhy pentameters? 112  \nvi Contents  \n6 ‘Trippingly upon the tongue’: Shakespearean pronunciation 125  \nThe evidence 130  \nInsights 143  \n7 ‘Think on my words’: Shakespearean vocabulary 146  \nEasy words 147  \nMetrical c","cbCailxcX2JaKtdi","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailxcX2JaKtdi","pdf",1204845,268,"English","# Preface\n## Abbreviations\n# You speak a language that I understand not’: myths and realities\n## The quantity myth\n## The invention myth\n## The translation myth\n## The style myth\n# Now, sir, what is your text?’ Knowing the sources\n## Texts\n## Printing\n## Manuscripts?\n## Shakespeare’s language?\n# In print I found it’: Shakespearean graphology\n## The alphabet\n## Capitalization\n## Space-savers\n## Spelling\n# Know my stops’: Shakespearean punctuation\n## Exclamation marks\n## Parentheses\n## Apostrophes\n## Italics\n## Inverted commas\n## Hyphens\n# Speak the speech’: Shakespearean phonology\n## The way they said it\n## Prosody\n## Why pentameters?\n# Trippingly upon the tongue’: Shakespearean pronunciation\n## The evidence\n## Insights\n# Think on my words’: Shakespearean vocabulary\n## Easy words\n## Metrical constraints\n## Difficult words\n## False friends\n## Old and new words\n## Coinages\n## Clusters\n## Repetitions\n## Signposts\n## Collocations\n## Perspective\n# Talk of a noun and a verb’: Shakespearean grammar\n## Similarities and differences\n## Nouns\n## Adjectives\n## Verbs\n## Pronouns\n## Word order\n# Hear sweet discourse’: Shakespearean conversation\n## Verse and prose\n## Metre in discourse\n## Varieties of language\n## A legal example\n# Epilogue – ‘Your daring tongue’: Shakespearean creativity\n## Appendix: An A-to-Z of Shakespeare’s false friends\n## Notes\n## References and further reading\n## Index","[{\"question\":\"What five dimensions of language structure does the book cover?\",\"answer\":\"It covers writing style, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and conversational style, using these dimensions to explain Shakespeare’s linguistic creativity.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book approach Shakespeare’s language in terms of myths and realities?\",\"answer\":\"It opens by contrasting ‘myths and realities’ and then examines specific myths, such as the quantity myth, invention myth, translation myth, and style myth.\"},{\"question\":\"Which topics are included under pronunciation and phonology?\",\"answer\":\"It includes Shakespearean phonology and pronunciation, covering the way they said it, prosody, evidence, and insights, including discussions of pentameters.\"}]","Think on my Words - Exploring Shakespeare’s Language | PDF",1789949500,413]