I enjoy reading Shakespeare despite the arcane language. It is the language that attracts me to his work. Even if there are so-called “plain language” versions, I would refuse to read them. If I don’t understand a word in the original late 1500s, early 1600s English, I’ll look up their meaning. - ThreadSky

friendofdrbob.bsky.social • 1 day ago

I enjoy reading Shakespeare despite the arcane language. It is the language that attracts me to his work. Even if there are so-called “plain language” versions, I would refuse to read them. If I don’t understand a word in the original late 1500s, early 1600s English, I’ll look up their meaning.

Comments

jeanthejust.bsky.social•1 day ago

This is also true of Chaucer. It's helpful to have access to a good glossary, or a version with the "plain language" on the other page, but it doesn't take much training at all to be able to read the original and it is much more fun.

friendofdrbob.bsky.social•1 day ago

I would think the beauty found on the pages of older books would be lost in a “plain language” version. It would be like removing the beauty, the art.

jeanthejust.bsky.social•1 day ago

Precisely. The same about Chaucer, but it takes a little more research to decipher the middle english. For example "His horse were good but he was not gay" is confusing to modern ears. But horse was a plural noun, (like "deer"), so he's saying the Knight had good horses but wasn't well dressed.

friendofdrbob.bsky.social•1 day ago

For me, one of the joys of reading older works is the research into the historical context. If I saw “horse were good,” I would question if “were” meant past tense or an older version of a plural noun. I learned that whole “gay” thing when I questioned “Don we now our gay apparel” in Deck The Halls.

jeanthejust.bsky.social•1 day ago

I am old enough to remember the creation of "gay" as a word for homosexuality. It was intended as a joyful word that would not turn into a slur. Unfortunately, the hate, not the word, creates a slur. 19th century literature is full of the use of "gay" meaning joyful, spirited, happy.

friendofdrbob.bsky.social•1 day ago

Words are powerful. Most start off as innocent & get abducted by the haters. It’s sad that ppl turn words into messages of hate & derision. Hate speech lately is more acceptable than being nice to one another.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply