Miss
Romeo & Juliet
English Faculty
Activity one: Shakespeare Translation
Have you ever wondered what the world might sound like if we still spoke Shakespearean English? Imagine switching the television on to hear a commentator calling a game of football:
“Marry, in the very air he doth leap and like the eagle he soars to grab the flying pig-skin. What, ho – the umpire doth cry ‘play on’ – but Franklin hath not heard and is strewn to the ground. Marry, he doth protest, calling the umpire a saucy villain and wretch.”
Your job is to write a two-minute scene in Modern English and then a Shakespearean translation of the same scene. A basic Shakespearean dictionary has been provided for you to use, but you will need to consult the play script for more ideas.
Your contemporary scene does not have to be overly clever or funny. In fact, the more realistic it is, the more entertaining it will seem when replayed in Shakespearean English. These scenes will then be delivered to the class. You may choose one of the following scenes or come up with your own:
Figurative and Poetic Language
Try to incorporate figurative and poetic language in your Shakespearean version where possible.
Figurative language is language that is not meant to be taken literally, but has a poetic quality. An example of this can be found when Romeo speaks to Juliet’s seemingly dead body: “Here, here I will remain/ With worms that are thy chambermaids.” Romeo does not literally mean that the worms that one finds in tombs are employed to change beds. In what way, however, do worms serve the dead? What, do you think is the intended impact of these words on an audience watching the play?
Poetic Language
Shakespeare’s plays are full of poetic language: “Death lies on her like an untimely frost/Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.” This simile compares the apparently dead Juliet to a flower covered in frost? How is this effective?
Shakespearean Translation
English Faculty
Activity one: Shakespeare Translation
Have you ever wondered what the world might sound like if we still spoke Shakespearean English? Imagine switching the television on to hear a commentator calling a game of football:
“Marry, in the very air he doth leap and like the eagle he soars to grab the flying pig-skin. What, ho – the umpire doth cry ‘play on’ – but Franklin hath not heard and is strewn to the ground. Marry, he doth protest, calling the umpire a saucy villain and wretch.”
Your job is to write a two-minute scene in Modern English and then a Shakespearean translation of the same scene. A basic Shakespearean dictionary has been provided for you to use, but you will need to consult the play script for more ideas.
Your contemporary scene does not have to be overly clever or funny. In fact, the more realistic it is, the more entertaining it will seem when replayed in Shakespearean English. These scenes will then be delivered to the class. You may choose one of the following scenes or come up with your own:
Figurative and Poetic Language
Try to incorporate figurative and poetic language in your Shakespearean version where possible.
Figurative language is language that is not meant to be taken literally, but has a poetic quality. An example of this can be found when Romeo speaks to Juliet’s seemingly dead body: “Here, here I will remain/ With worms that are thy chambermaids.” Romeo does not literally mean that the worms that one finds in tombs are employed to change beds. In what way, however, do worms serve the dead? What, do you think is the intended impact of these words on an audience watching the play?
Poetic Language
Shakespeare’s plays are full of poetic language: “Death lies on her like an untimely frost/Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.” This simile compares the apparently dead Juliet to a flower covered in frost? How is this effective?
Shakespearean Translation