shakespeare

[[D]]

What is a decent site that can help with the understanding of shakespeare's plays. something along the lines that will help with understanding standza by standza break down or even line by line translation , etc.

Thanks,
D

[[D]]

anywhere?

[stlukesguild]

...or even line by line translation

Ummm... why on earth would Shakespeare need to be "translated"? He did write in English.

[[D]]

Because some people do not understand naturally the language that they are not accustomed too. I live in the United States not Europe therefore Shakespeare's language is somewhat difficult for me to understand. Thanks for the sarcasm though.

[Silas Thorne]

Use a Concise Oxford Dictionary if you need to (if there's no glossary there is), and try not to read lines out of the context they are in. Shakespeare wrote in English, but had an amazing vocabulary.

[Zee.]

...or even line by line translation

Ummm... why on earth would Shakespeare need to be "translated"? He did write in English.

He meant a translation into modern english.

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/

Take your pick.

[JBI]

Because some people do not understand naturally the language that they are not accustomed too. I live in the United States not Europe therefore Shakespeare's language is somewhat difficult for me to understand. Thanks for the sarcasm though.

Mind if I use that as my signature? It's too beautiful.

[[D]]

haha i don't care.

[Bitterfly]

Why don't you watch some of the plays rather? There are quite a few good adaptations that are available, and it's easier when you have images to put on the words. Maybe you could read and watch at the same time.
And you should take it slowly. Maybe you just need practise. Shakespeare's language is not so different from our own - honestly, I'm not being pedantic or snobbish or sarcastic or anything - English is not my first language, but it's rare that I don't understand him when I make a few efforts to concentrate on what the sentences are supposed to mean. I have a lot of practise behind me, and I think that's why I fin him relatively easy to understand.

[stlukesguild]

Originally Posted by [D] View Post
Because some people do not understand naturally the language that they are not accustomed too. I live in the United States not Europe therefore Shakespeare's language is somewhat difficult for me to understand. Thanks for the sarcasm though.

JBI-Mind if I use that as my signature? It's too beautiful.

[xman]

Even I have to look up some things Shakespeare wrote from time to time.

X

[stlukesguild]

Even I have to look up some things Shakespeare wrote from time to time.

Certainly. Who among us never comes upon a word or reference in Shakespeare... or even in a far more contemporary author... with which we are not familiar? The logical thing to do is then to look up such a word or phrase. But is Shakespeare really so far removed from American English that he cannot be read "as is" but needs to be "translated"? Personally, I would find think that it would take a rather stunted fluency in the English language to make Shakespeare incomprehensible... so much so that not only would the person need translations of the Bard... but also of Milton, Blake, Byron, Keats, Yeats, and maybe even Poe and Dickens.

ps... We will be having a discussion of Chaucer coming up. Feel free to join in

WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.

[eyemaker]

Even I have to look up some things Shakespeare wrote from time to time.

ps... We will be having a discussion of Chaucer coming up. Feel free to join in

I'll be wating for that discussion stukes! I'll be having my report about "Middle English" period and obviously I'll be focusing on Chaucer's

--update me stukes thanks

[stlukesguild]

It will be held here:

http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=40692

[LostPrincess13]

My, my, I had fun reading the flow of this conversation. But on a more serious note, I too sometimes find difficulty in reading Shakespeare's work considering that English isn't our first language. Luckily though, I grew up in front of the TV, so somehow I had 'absorbed' the language. People did tell me I am quite fluent in it... I find it very helpful to read the synopsis first (I'm referring to the plays). In fact, we're currently taking up King Lear in Lit class... Anyways, on the modern English 'translation', I get my notes from sparknotes.com. But if you want a line-to-line translation, I recommend the Shakespeare Made Easy book series... They're books though, not websites... But they're very helpful...