Understanding Shakespearean English, Part Two: Keys to Elizabethan Speech
I... goes me to the fellow that whips the dogs, 'Friend,' quoth I, 'you mean to whip the dog?'"Ay, marry do I,' quoth he.'You do him the more wrong,' quoth I, 'twas I did the thing you wot of."-Lauane, Two Gentlemen of Verona
Aye-yes
Nay-no
Forsooth, In sooth, In good sooth, By my troth, In troth-sooth and troth both mean "truth," the phrases mean honestly or really or seriously
Verily, Surely, Indeed-truthfully
I vouch safe-I assert this to be true
Good now, Good-okay
I trow, I think me, Methinks-I think or guess
Trow you, Know you, Knowest thou-Do you know?
Mayhap, Belike, Perchance, Peradventure-Maybe, Perhaps
I cry you mercy, I crave your pardon, Pray pardon- excuse me, pardon me
An it please you or thee, I pray you or thee, Prithee, Pray-An is an old expression of 'it', prithee is shorten from pray thee. They all me "please."
God grant you mercy, Grant you mercy, Gramercy, Many good thanks, many and heaty thankings, God yield, God 'ild you or thee-Thank you
Go to!, Is it even so? E'en so? For sooth or In sooth?- No kidding? Really?
Marry! Now, by my faith! I'faith (short for in faith)- Wow!
God-a-mercy! God's me! 'Ods me! Alas! Well a day!-Oh, no! Too bad!
Alack! Alackaday! Alas! Fie! Fie me! Out upon it!-Darn it!
yonder-something farther away than there
yon-something farther away than that
hither-to or toward or near this place
thither-to toward or in the direction of that place
quoth-said when quoting something
wot-know
For assignments you can have your students search for such phrases and then read a few sentences around them. Do they understand what is being said?
Have them write a quick scene that includes some of these phrases -perhaps adding on to the scene from last week or a whole new one.