投稿類別 : 英文寫作. 篇名 : In William Shakespeare s Words 作者 : 江綸芳 國立武陵高中 307 班孫琪瑛 國立武陵高中 307 班

Transcription

1 投稿類別 : 英文寫作 篇名 : 作者 : 江綸芳 國立武陵高中 307 班孫琪瑛 國立武陵高中 307 班 指導老師 : 黎志貞老師

2 I. Introduction A. Background of the Study Nowadays, it is popular for people in non-english speaking countries to recite the English vocabulary. As we know the vocabulary of English is about millions of words. Have you ever wonder where these words come from? A group of Americans have begun searching for new vocabulary and adding the words to their databases for six years. Let s follow the footprints of the language. We can find that George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd President of the United States, has created some new words, such as misunderestimate, owing to a slip of the tongue. Furthermore, with the advance of science and technology, social websites and online games also add more vocabulary to our literal pool. For instance, we will translate google as to search for something on the Internet. About three hundred years ago, focus on the name. Widely known as a literary genius, William Shakespeare s talent really shows when it comes to his vocabulary. Whether you re a fan or not, you probably use many of his phrases on a regular basis maybe even without knowing. B. Purposes and Methods of the Study The thesis wishes to understand how Shakespeare, who is among the most recognized and revered in the literary history, impacted the English language, and also the words and phrases he invented when he couldn t come up with an appropriate word in his writing. Hopefully through reading the masterpieces of Shakespeare and the related history, the thesis can have a clearer view of the issue and compare the differences before and after Shakespeare. II. Thesis A. Background of the Early Modern English Dating back to the 16th century, which is also the age of Elizabeth I, the grammar and rules of English were not standardized. However, English had become widely used with the explanation of theology, philosophy, and physical sciences, and in fact, many writers lacked the vocabulary to express such ideas. To make proper accommodation, writers such as Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sidney, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare expressed new ideas and distinctions by inventing, borrowing or adopting a word or a phrase from another language, known as neology. Scholars estimate that, during the time of Elizabethan literature, nouns, verbs and modifiers of Latin, Greek and modern Romance languages added 30,000 new words to the English language. 1

3 B. Influence on the English Language 1. Words and Phrases from Shakespeare Some experts claim that he knew over 29,000 words, thus making him a vocabulary genius. Shakespeare coined over 1,700 words commonly used in the English language today and popularized others that were already in use. (1) It's all Greek to me. In "Julius Caesar," when Cassius asks Casca what Cicero said, Casca responds, "But, for mine own part, it was Greek to me" (Act 1, Scene 2).Cassius didn't understand because he doesn't speak Greek. The phrase has obviously become not so literal. (2) Love is blind. In the "The Merchant of Venice," Jessica disguises herself as a boy just to see her beloved, Lorenzo. Needless to say, she feels a little silly but simply has to see him."but love is blind, and lovers cannot see. The pretty follies that themselves commit... "(Act 2, Scene 6) (3) Break the ice " And if you break the ice, and do this feat, Achieve the elder, set the younger free... " (Act 1, Scene 2). In the "The Taming of The Shrew," Baptista Minola has two daughters: a sassy one and a modest, beautiful one the younger daughter. He refuses to let any suitors even speak to his younger daughter until his older daughter marries. Tranio (as Lucentio) suggests that another man marry the older daughter, so he can try to win the younger one's affection. But first, he must "break the ice" maybe a reference to heart. (4) In a pickle In "The Tempest," King Alonso asks his jester, Trinculo, "How camest thou in this pickle?" (In other words, "How did you get so drunk?") The inebriated Trinculo responds, "I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last... " (Act 5, Scene 1). Trinculo's drinking does cause trouble for him, which gives the modern use its meaning. Shakespeare's original intent makes sense, though, as many pickling processes require alcohol. 2. Blank Verse Blank verse is a verse that isn t rhymed in the end of the sentences, but 2

4 follows the rules of iambic pentameter. Additionally, the accent of every foot is on the second syllable, making it sounds stress and weak in turn. Due to these two reasons, this kind of verse still sounds regularly. By using run-on lines and caesura, the verse can be pleasing to the ear and be a popular poetry form. Under such a premise, Shakespeare didn t limit his verse in only ten syllables. It lets his verse correspond with speakers mind more. For example, one verse he wrote in Hamlet: To be or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die--to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd ( William Shakespeare, 1603 ) Furthermore, the main idea in Shakespeare s blank verse is to capture the interaction of normal people, which is different from the one described dialogues between God and humans before the Renaissance. 3. Sonnet 4. Play Sonnets came from Italian folk, and were very prevailing over the whole Europe. The original sonnets were already well-regulated, but the ones Shakespeare composed were much stricter, which were also called Shakespearean or English Sonnets. Generally speaking, the more rigorous the structure is, the more difficult it is to express emotions. However, Shakespeare overcame this difficulty by adapting some techniques such as simile, rhetorical question, metaphor, personification, pun, paradox, hyperbole, inversion, and so on. With so much different rhetoric, Shakespeare addressed the problem perfectly, and it even caused his works more distinct from others. When it comes to Shakespeare, aside from his verse and sonnet, the most well-known of his masterpieces are his plays. In his whole life, he had created thirty-seven plays, and there are many quotable quotes and good sentences in them. Listed below are just some examples: (1) Four Greatest Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (2) Four Greatest Love Comedies: A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Taming of The Shrew, Twelfth Night, As You Like it 3

5 (3) Historical Drama: Henry V, Richard III (4) Melodrama: The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Cymbeline (5) Others: Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice The works mentioned above are all famous in all ages, and those have been adapted to French musicals, comic books, movies, TV shows, and even Japanese animations. People just can t ignore the worth of Shakespeare s plays. Another important thing he had done is to let people look more into the melodrama and put much emphasis on it. It s not until he finished Romeo and Juliet that people realized the capability of seeing a melodrama as a tragedy. C. Appraisal of Shakespeare As one of the three greatest poets in Europe, (One is Shakespeare, another is Goethe, and the other is Dante.) Shakespeare has received a lot of praise so far. Karl Marx thought he is one of the greatest dramatists in the world. On the other hand, Ben Jonson called him Spirit of the Era and said: Triumph, my Britain, thou hast one to show. To whom all scenes of Europe homage owe. He was not of an age, but for all time! ( Ben Jonson ) Although there is also some negative criticism about Shakespeare, and some objectors even disbelieve his real existence, he is still labeled as a nationalism poet. William Shakespeare died on April 23 rd, 1616, which is just the exact same date he was born. It was such a coincidence that people chose this particular date to celebrate and memorize him. With time passing by, it has become a festival called Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and draws a lot of tourists. III. Conclusion A. Comparison Before After Language Latin, French, Provençal Language Italian Language, English, native languages Subject God, nature People, realism, humanism 4

6 Celebrities Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Homer William Shakespeare, Dante, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci Old English = Anglo-Saxon Modern English = New English Origin West Germanic languages, Dutch, Greek England ( in Elizabeth I ) Similar To Latin, German Language, Iceland Mixture Features Grammar complicate United, common Time Before 1500s Around 1500s~Now B. Personal Opinion 1. Access to Shakespeare At first, the motivation was really simple. We gained the idea merely from an article about William Shakespeare in the magazine used for weekly test in the school. As soon as we were interested in the works of Shakespeare, we decided to work on the essay around this theme. We had had a rough understanding about Shakespeare by learning in classes or textbooks, but after finishing the research, it dawned upon us that the knowledge we had known was just a little portion in his large amount of achievement. Once in the music class, we appreciated the French musical, which was adapted from Rome and Juliet, and we have been addicted to it since then. Another experience is pretty special, too. Via one animation, we understood the plot and the philosophy in The Tempest. The producer of this animation also quoted some famous scripts into it, which put a lot of impact on us. There is much information about Shakespeare in the world, and it varies from time to time. With so many perspectives, experts have enjoyed his masterpieces and never gotten tired of them. 2. Insight into Neology The point of neology has played a crucial role in Shakespeare s works. We use not only his beautiful sentences and poems, but also some words that are common nowadays. Creating a new word seems impossible for us and is such a difficult thing, but in fact, we can notice such a skill from our daily lives. For instance, since 2012, Jeremy Lin has become a household name and watching his performance on the field has been a trend among basketball fans. So popular was this trend that a 5

7 new word, Linsanity, which means a person who becomes famous in a short time, popped up and was officially included in dictionaries. Several years ago, we read a children s book called Frindle, written by Andrew Clements. The book is about the creative thought and how important words power is. The story is around a boy who thinks original words are boring and wants to substitute the word frindle for the word pen. It thus began a fight between teachers and students. The author interpreted the meaning of neology well, and the book is a wonderful reference. As far as we are concerned, neology should be a significant milestone because it shows the world s change. 3. Worth of Shakespeare The collections of Shakespeare s works are printed in a considerable number, which is only inferior to the number Bible has published. It s obvious that more and more people are digging into the life of Shakespeare. He devoted himself to literature, and his writing skills were ahead of his time. No matter how proficient people are in the things about Shakespeare, they can always find wonders in William s words. IV. References 1. 李淑貞 ( 1999 ) 莎士比亞故事 臺北市 : 九儀出版社 2. 吳湘湄 ( 譯 ) ( 2008 ) 莎士比亞四大愛情喜劇 臺中市 : 晨星 3. 陳書凱 ( 2005 ) 莎士比亞給人生的 101 啟示 臺北市 : 德威文化 4. Andrew Clements. (1998). Frindle. The United State: Simon & Schuster 5. Iambic Pentameter in Shakespeare. From: September 15, 2015, 取自網路 6. William Shakespeare Famous Quotes. From: September 15, 2015, 取自網路 7. 大紀元文化網 From: September 15, 2015, 取自網路 8. 莎士比亞對英文影響深遠! From: September 15, 2015, 取自網路 9. 我們叫它粉靈豆 Frindle! From: 6

8 September 15, 2015, 取自網路 10. 詩歌選莎士比亞十四行詩選 From: September 15, 2015, 取自網路 7