英汉双解莎士比亚大词典︱APPENDICES 附录 III.Some Features of Shakespeare's Language 莎士比亚用语的一些特点

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APPENDICES 附录 III.Some Features of Shakespeare's Language 莎士比亚用语的一些特点

For twenty years Shakespeare devoted himself to his art,writing more than a million words of poetic drama of 　the highest quality. Countless people have been attracted by his supreme mastery of words and images,of sound, 　rhythm and metre,as well as the lyricism of his lines. But his plays are written in Early Modern English or Early 　New English.Since the days of Shakespeare.the English language has changed.“Time has placed an ever-increasing 　cloud before the mirror he held to life.”So the study of his language becomes a pre-requisite for the study of his dra- 　ma. VOCABULARY 　Shakespeare commanded a rich vocabulary. Scholars have estimated that he used over 20,000 words. Many of 　the ordinary words,such as “lonely”and “laughable”.“critic”and “pedant”，“ monumental” and “aerial”，were first in- 　troduced by Shakespeare into English language.Some idioms are his coinages:to fall to blows,to breathe one's last. 　to drink someone's health,to see something in the mind's eye,etc. But,as a whole,Shakespeare's language is separa- 　ted from us by an interval of about 400 years. It has undergone a process of so-called semantic change. Many words 　in his plays.which look familiar to us.had different meanings from what we understand them today. For example,he 　used the old word“ anon”for“right away”，whereas in our minds it has slowed down to mean “by and by”.The epithet 　“villain”，which originally signified a member of a lower class,has acquired an undertone of hostility and immorali- 　ty.On the other hand，“fellow”，which has friendly overtones for us,was insulting in Shakespeare's day. Following is 　a list of examples to show the difference in vocabulary between Shakespeare's English and the English used today. 　giddy—frivolous 　'a he 　admire—be amazed God buy you—God be with you,goodbye 　alack—(exclamation of sorrow or regret)alas haply—perhaps 　an,and,and if,an if—if hence—from this place;go away 　anon—at once,right away hie—go—quickly 　ay—yes hither—to this place 　brave—fine,splendid hold—stop,wait 　burden,burthen—refrain (of a song) honest—chaste 　close—secret honesty—chastity 　cote—cottage how now! hallo! oh! what news? 　cousin,coz—any close relative (not necessarily the humorous—moody—moody,capricious 　child of an uncle or aunt) humour—mood,temperament,whim,caprice 　difference—disagreement.dispute ill-favoured—ugly 　disdained—disdainful infer—allege 　dishonest—unchaste learn— teach 　diverse—different,various liberal—unrestrained,licentious 　ere—before lief—gladly,willingly 　erewhile—recently marry—indeed,to be sure 　erst—formerly mere—absolute,downright 　evil—disease merely—entirely 　fain—(a. )glad,willing;(ad.)gladly,willingly methinks—it seems to me 　fall—let fall mine—my 　fancy—love modern—ordinary,everyday 　favour—facial appearance nay—no,well then,indeed 　fond—foolish needs—necessarily 　nice-minute, subtle, fastidious 　of-by, from 　on-of 　out-at a loss, nonplussed 　owe-own 　painful-laborious 　passing-extremely 　peace-be quiet 　peevish-silly, perverse 　perchance-perhaps 　presently-immediately, at once 　prevent-anticipate 　prithee-I pray you, please 　proper-handsome, good-looking 　quaint-clever, skilled 　question-conversation, discussion 　quoth-said 　rage-folly 　rank-corrupt, stinking 　sad-serious, solemn 　sans-without 　saw-saying, maxim 　shrewd-mischievous, bad 　silly-simple, innocent 　sirrah-(a form of address used to servants) 　skyish-lofty 　so-provided that 　soft-stop, wait a moment, not so fast (an exclama- 　tion) 　sort-rank,class,way,manner 　still-always, continually 　stomach-inclination 　straight-immediately 　sudden-swift, violent 　suddenly-quickly, immediately 　tall-fine, valiant 　tax-accuse, criticize 　taxation-fault-finding, censoriousness 　taxing-criticism 　thence- from that place 　thither-to that place 　thou, thee, thy, thine-(the second person singular 　pronouns) you (as subject), you (as object), your, 　yours. (Most verbs used with “thou” end in “est” or 　“st”， e.g. “Know’st thou this country?” “Thou canst 　not teach me，”“Thou hast spoke for us.”The verb 　“to be” and a few auxiliary verbs are irregular,e.g. 　“thou art”，“thou wilt”，“thou shalt”. ) 　timeless-untimely, premature 　troth-truth (“by my troth”-indeed) 　unavoided-inevitable 　unexpressive-inexpressible 　unmeritable-undeserving 　very-true 　welkin-sky,heavens 　whence-from which place 　wherefore-for what,for which 　whither-to which place 　withal-with,with it,besides 　ye-you (plural) 　yea-yes, indeed 　yon, yond-that or those (over there) 　yonder-over there 　There are also shortened forms which Shakespeare 　used for some special effect, e. g. so as to fit in with 　the metrical pattern of the lines: 　e’en-even 　e’er-ever 　’em-them 　i’-in (“i’faith”-in faith, indeed) 　ne’er-never 　o’-of,on 　’ods-God’s (in oaths) 　o’er-over 　’s-is 　’t-it 　ta’en-taken 　th’-the GRAMMAR 　During Shakespeare’s lifetime, there were no English dictionaries to restrict word-formation. The English usage 　had not quite yet been stabilized and standardized. For example, Shakespeare used “afeard” for “afraid”，“angerly” 　for “angrily”， “enou” for “enough”， “perfectest”for “most perfect”，and “stableness”for “stability”. There were 　then no English grammars to lay down rules. E. A. Abbot explains Shakespeare’s freedom in making experiment 　with the English language in the light of the Elizabethan freedom in the use of words and constructions, thus:“E- 　lizabethan English... appears to present this great point of difference from the English of modern times,that in 　the former any irregularities whatever, whether in the formation of words or in the combination of words into 　sentences, are allowable. In the first place, almost any part of speech can be used as any other part of speech. An 　adverb can be used as a verb,'They askance their eyes' (R. of L.);as a noun，‘the backward and abysm of time’ 　(Sonn.);or as an adjective,'a seldom pleasure' (Sonn.).Any noun,adjective,or neuter (i.e. intransitive) verb 　can be used as an active verb. You can 'happy' your friend,'malice'or 'foot'your enemy,or'fall'an axe on his 　neck.An adjective can be used as an adverb;and you can speak and act 'easy','free','excellent' ;or as a noun, 　and you talk of 'fair'instead of 'beauty',and 'a pale'instead of 'a paleness'.Even the pronouns are not exempt 　from these metamorphoses. A 'he'is used for a man,and a lady is described by a gentleman as 'the fairest she he 　has yet beheld'. In the second place,every variety of apparent grammatical inaccuracy meets us. He for him, 　him for he; spoke and took , for spoken and taken ; plural nominatives with singular verbs; relatives omitted 　where they are now considered necessary; unnecessary antecedents inserted; shall for will, should for would , 　would for wish; to omitted after 'I ought ', inserted after ' I durst' ; double negatives; double comparatives 　('more better', etc.) and superlatives; such followed by which, that by as, as used for as if; that for so 　that....To this long list of irregularities it may be added that many words,and particularly prepositions and the 　infinitives of verbs,are used in a different sense from the modern.'Received of the most pious Edward'does not 　mean 'from Edward'but 'by Edward' ;and when Shakespeare says that 'the rich'will not every hour survey his 　treasure,'for blunting the fine point of seldom pleasure, 'he does not mean 'for the sake of,'but 'for fear of' 　blunting pleasure. "(Introduction to “A Shakespearian Grammar”) The Elizabethan period was a transitional pe- 　riod in the history of the English language. The new discoveries and the new ideas of the time,the influence of 　Latin and Greek languages brought about by the revival of classical studies,the survival of the elements of Old 　English,and the influence of Middle English,all combined to affect the making of Modern English. Hence the ir- 　regularities in Shakespeare's English.We may give some hints on its characteristics. I.Interchangeability of Parts of Speech 　1. Nouns: 　a. Used for adjectives. 　“Maiden presence”(Ham. 1.3.121. ) 　“The neighbour room”(Ham . 3.4.212. ) 　“ Mountain snow” (Ham. 4.5.34.) 　“With his lion gait”(H. V. 2.2.122. ) 　“Where got'st thou that goose look?”(Mac. 5.3.12. ) 　b. Used for verbs. 　“Whose hours the peasant best advantages (=most benefits). ”(H.V.4.1.301. ) 　“Disorder,that hath spoil'd us,friend us now”(H.V.4.5.17.) 　“Literatured ( = learned) in the wars”(H.V.4.7.155.) 　“We do sugar o'er the devil himself”(Ham. 3.1.48. ) 　“They have here propertied (= made a property or tool of) me;keep me in darkness.” ( Tw. 4.2.94. ) 　c. Used for adverbs. 　“We doubt it nothing (=not at all)” (Ham. 1.2.41.) 　“This something ( =somewhat) settled matter” (Ham.3.1.171.) 　“Discomfit you,my lord,it nothing (=in no wise) must”(Ham.3.2.153.) 　d. Abstract nouns used in a concrete sense. 　“Between you and your love ( = lover)” (Ham. 3.2.233. ) 　“To relief of lazars and weak age ( = aged persons)” (H. V. 1.1.15. ) 　“I'll give treason (= the traitor) his payment” (H. V. 4.8.13. ) 　2. Adjectives: 　a. Used for nouns. 　“In the dead vast and middle of the night” (Ham. 1.2.198.) 　“In few (= short),Ophelia” (Ham. 1.3.126. ) 　“'Twas caviare to the general (=the majority)” (Ham. 2.2.437. ) 　“Go off,I discard you:let me enjoy my private ( = privacy).”(Tw. 3.4.90.) 　“A many of bodies” (H. V. 4.3.95. ) 　“Speak, my fair (= woman beloved)” (H. V. 5.2. 176. ) 　b. Used for adverbs. 　“Come safe ( = safely) home” (H. V. 4.3.41. ) 　“’Tis bitter ( = bitterly) cold” (Ham . 1.1.8. ) 　“This is wondrous ( = wonderfully) strange” ( Ham. 1.5. 158. ) 　“You say right ( = rightly)” (Ham. 2.2.388. ) 　“I speak too loud ( =loudly)” (Tw. 3.4.4. ) 　c. Used for verbs. 　“This day shall gentle (=ennoble) his condition” (H. V. 4.3.63.) 　“We fat ( = fatten) all creatures else to fat ; and we fat ourselves for maggots. ” (Ham . 4.3.22-23. ) 　“And since he’s bettered ( = has improved)”(Ham . 5.2.263. ) 　d. Adjectives now capable of a passive sense used with active force. 　“More tuneable ( = tuneful, musical) than lark to shepherd’s ear” (Mid. 1.1.184. ) 　“We, Hermia,like two artificial (=creative, constructive) gods,/ Have with our needles created both one 　flower，” (Mid. 3.2.203-204.) 　e. Adjectives now capable of active force used with passive sense. 　“As ’twere a careless (= uncared-for) trifle. ”(Mac. 1.4.11. ) 　“Repair thy wit,good youth,or it will fall/To cureless (=incurable) ruin.”(Mer. 4.1.142. ) 　3. Verbs: 　a. Used for nouns. 　“May make a peaceful and a sweet retire (= retreat)”(H. V. 4.3.86. ) 　“You are amazed... at her exclaim ( = exclamation)，”(R.II.1.2.2. ) 　“Make no compare (= comparison)/Between that love a woman can bear me,/And that I owe Olivia” ( Tw. 　2.4.102-104.) 　“For this‘would’changes” (Ham. 4.7. 118. ) 　b. Used for adjectives. 　“As hush (=silent) as death” (Ham. 2.2.486. ) 　c. Transitive verbs used intransitively. 　“It is the bloody business which informs/Thus to mine eyes. ”(Mac. 2.1.48. ) 　“But lay down our proportions to defend/Against the Scot” (H. V. 1.2.139. ) 　d. Intransitive verbs used transitively. 　“So nightly toils ( = makes... to toil) the subject of the land”(Ham. 1.1.72. ) 　“Linger your patience on” (H. V. 2. Prol.31. ) 　“I repent my fault” (H. V. 2.2.152. ) 　“If with too credent ear you list ( = listen to) his songs” (Ham . 1.3.30. ) 　e. Verb “to be”used for “to have”in forming the perfect tense. 　“Are ( = Have) not those in commission yet returned?” (Mac. 1.4.2.) 　“He is but even now gone (= has gone) hence” ( As. 2. 7.3. ) 　f. “May”used for “can”. 　“Within this three mile (= these three miles) may (= can) you see it coming.”( Mac 5.5.37. ) 　g.“Shall” used in all three persons to denote futurity. 　“My poor country/Shall have more vices than it had before. ” ( Mac. 4.3.46. ) 　h. Past tense forms of verbs used for past participles. 　“Wherefore are these things hid ( = hidden)?” ( Tw. 1.3. 122. ) 　“As it is spoke ( = spoken)”( Tw. 1.4.20. ) 　“He might have took ( = taken) his answer long ago” ( Tw. 1.5. 267. ) 　“Hast thou forgot ( = forgotten) thyself?” (Tw. 5.1. 139.) 　“He has broke ( = broken) my head across” ( Tw. 5.1.173. ) 　“But that I am forbid (=forbidden)/To tell the secrets of my prison-house，”(Ham. 1.3.13-14.) 　4.Pronouns: 　a. “Which”used for “who”. 　“I am married to a wife/ Which (= who) is as dear to me as life itself”(Mer. 4.1.283-284. ) 　“It was he in the time past which (= who) held you/So under fortune，” (Mac. 3.1.76-77. ) 　b. “Who”used for “which”. 　“as the flint bears fire,/Who(=which),much enforced,shows and angry spark” (Cae. 4.3.110-111.) 　c. “Who”used for “whom”. 　“Who ( = Whom) I myself struck down”(Mac. 3.1. 123. ) 　d. “Him”used for “he”. 　“And damned be him (=he) that first cries.'Hold,enough!'” (Mac. 5.8.34.) 　e. “His”used for “its”. 　“Bid the tree unfix his (=its) earth-bound root”. (Mac. 4.1.96. ) 　“That,as the star moves not but in his ( = its) sphere”(Ham . 4.7.15. ) 　“There's a willow—that shows his (= its) hoar leaves”(Ham. 4.7.165-166. ) 　f.“It”could be used to refer a person. 　“' tis a fair young man,and well attended”(Tw. 1.5.102. ) 　“What kind of woman is 't?”(Tw. 2.4.26. ) 　g.“it”is sometimes used for “its”. 　“it had it head bit off by it young.” (Lr. 1.3.238.) 　h. Personal pronouns in the objective case used reflectively. 　“Get thee ( = yourself) to bed. ”(Mac. 2.1.32. ) 　i.Relative pronoun “as”used for “that”or “which”. 　“Under these hard conditions as ( = that) this time/Is like to lay upon us.” (Cae. 1.2.174. ) 　“That gentleness as (=which) I was wont to have.” (Cae. 1.2.33.) 　5. Adverbs: 　a. Used as nouns. 　“The very stones prate of my whereabout (= what one is about.intention).” (Mac. 2.1.58. ) 　b. Used as adjectives. 　“The soonest winner” (H. V. 3.4.130. ) 　6. Conjunctions: 　a. “That”used for “because”. 　“Unsafe the while, that ( = because) we must lave (= wash clean) our honours. ” (Mac . 3.2.32. ) 　b. “Nor... nor”used for “neither... nor”. 　“Nor time nor place did then adhere (= was then suitable).”(Mac. 1.7.51. ) 　7. Prepositions: 　“Of”used for “by”. 　“Was pitied of(=by) Macbeth.” (Mac. 3.4.4. ) II. Other Peculiarities 　1. Nouns: 　a.The singular possessive ending “'s”may be replaced by “his”：“the count his galleys”，“Mars his armour”. 　b.The possessive ending “'s”may be dropped before “sake”and proper names:“for justice sake”，“for heaven 　sake”；“Venice gold”，“Rome gates，”“Tiber banks”. 　2. Verbs: 　a.Questions and negatives could be formed without using auxiliary “do”or “did”. 　“Died thy sister ( =Did your sister die) of her love?” (Tw. 2.4.120. ) 　“I know not (=do not know).” (Tw. 2.3.4.) 　b. The auxiliary “do”used in affirmative statements without meaning any sentence-emphasis. 　”As I do live (= live) by food,I met a fool.”(As. 2.7.14.) 　c.Verbs for the third person singular often had the ending“—eth”or“—th”，as “he walketh”，“he hath”，etc. 　d. The third person plural in the present tense occasionally ends with“—s”. 　“Or as the Destinies decrees” (As. 1.2.98. ) 　“Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.”(Mac. 2.1.61.) 　e.Many past tense forms are used for the past participle:forsook for “forsaken”， rode for “ridden”， shook for 　“shaken”， writ for “written”. 　f. Non-agreement of the verb with the subject in number. 　“For on his choice depends/The safety and health of the whole state”(Ham . 1 .3.20-21. ) 　“There’s daggers in men’s smiles” (Mac. 2.3. 149. ) 　“They have acquainted me with their determinations, which is, indeed, to return to their home and to trouble 　you with no more suit“ (Mer. 1.2. 109-111.) 　“The posture of your blows are yet unknown”(Cae. 5.1.33. ) 　“Rosalind lacks then the love/Which teacheth thee that thou and I am one”(As. 1.3.99-100.) 　“Are there balance here?”(Mer. 4.1.225.) 　g.The sign “to” omitted in the infinitive. 　“’ Twere best not (to) know myself.”(Mac. 2.1. 137.) 　h.“Of+ gerund“= ”to+infinitive”. 　“I have no mind of feasting ( = to feast) forth to-night” (Mer. 2.4.37. ) 　3. Uses of the second-person pronouns “thou” and “you”： 　a. In the plural, only “you” could be used. 　“My masters, are you mad?” ( Tw. 2.3.87. ) 　b. “You”， in the singular, was the polite form, used to a social superior, or by a child to its parent, or among the 　upper classes as a show of mutual respect. 　“Will you go hunt, my lord?” (Tw. 1.1.16.) 　“If you will not murder me for my love, let me be your servant.”(Tw. 2.1.34.) 　c. “Thou”was used to a social inferior. 　“Thou know’st no less but all”(Tw. 1.4.13.) 　d. “Thou” could be used as a show of intimacy or between the equals. 　“Then hadst thou had an excellent head of hair” (Tw. 1.3.94.) 　e. “Thou”， when used to a stranger, could imply an insult. 　“If thou thou’st him some thrice, it shall not be amiss.”(Tw. 3.2.42.) 　f. Three cases of “Thou”. 　Thou ( nominative)-Thee(accusative)-Thy or Thine (possessive) 　g. When “thou”was the subject, the verb of motion had the ending“-est”or “-st” as in “thou knowest” or “thou 　know’st”； other special verb forms were “thou wilt (=you will)”， “thou shalt (= you shall)”， “thou art 　(= you are)”， “thou hast (=you have)”and “thou hadst (=you had)”. 　4. Omission of a syntactical element: 　a. Omission of the verb of motion. 　“(Go) away,I do beseech you, both (go) away.”(Ham. 2.2.170. ) 　“He shall (go) with speed to England，” (Ham. 3.1.167. ) 　“I must (go) to England；”(Ham. 3.4.200.) 　“Let’s (go) after him.” (Mac. 1.4.56.) 　“Shall we (set) about it” (H. V. 3.7.164.) 　“Desire them all (to come) to my pavilion”(H. V. 4.1.27.) 　b. Omission of the subject. 　“None wed the second, but (he) who killed the first.” (Ham. 3.2. 167.) 　“(He) Whips out his rapier, cries, ‘A rat, a rat!’”(Ham. 4.1.10.) 　“I am more serious than my custom: you /Must be so too. if(you) heed me.”(Tp. 2.1.227-228.) 　c. Omission of the relative. 　“And they (that are) in France” (Ham. 1.3.73. ) 　“he is the man (who) should fight with him.” ( Wiv. 3.1.68. ) 　“And (whom) all we mourn for” (Ham. 2.2.152.) 　“Those ills (which) we have” (Ham. 3.1.78.) 　“There is a willow (which) grow aslant a brook，” (Ham. 4.7.165.) 　d. Omission of the antecedent of the relative pronoun. 　“(He) Who was the thane (=lord) lives yet.” (Mac. 1.3.109.) 　5. Ways of Emphasis: 　a. Double negative. 　“Nor leave not one behind” (H. V. 2.2.23. ) 　“No, nor it is not meet he should” (H. V. 4.1.97.) 　“It is not, nor it cannot come to, good.” (Ham. 1.2.156.) 　“Nor 'tis not strange，” (Ham . 3.2.187. ) 　“Nor did you nothing hear?” (Ham. 3.4.134. ) 　b. Double comparatives and superlatives. 　“When there is more better opportunity” (H. V. 3.2.146. ) 　“More sharper than your swords” (H. V. 3.5.39. ) 　“Come you more nearer” (Ham. 2.1.11. ) 　“The worser part of it” (Ham. 3.4.157. ) 　“O most best believe it. ”(Ham. 2.2. 122. ) 　6. The fluctuation of the word-order: 　“Only in the world I fill up a place (= I only fill up a place in the world)，” (As. 1.2.206.) PRONUNCIATION 　1. Many words could have one more stressed syllable than they have today. For example.“pilgrimage” could 　have a stress on the third syllable as well as the first, and in that case it rhymes with “age”. 　2. Some words could not only have one more stress than today, but also one more syllable. For example. words 　ending in “-tion” could have an additional stress on the last syllable, and in that case the ending consisted of two syllables, not one, being pronounced -si -on. So. “promotion”could have four syllables ( pro-mo -si -on). Other words 　which could have this type of pronunciation are “condition”， “function”， “intermission”， “reputation”， etc. But all 　such words could equally well have the present-day style of pronunciation, so that the poet could choose whichever 　suited his meter. 　3. The verb-ending “-ed” was sometimes pronounced as a syllable in positions where it is not today. In the line. 　“And they that are most galled with my folly” (As.2.7.50.), the “-ed” of “galled” must be pronounced, giving 　the word two syllables.