Month: April 2016

April 23rd, 2016, marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death and what better way to honor the bard than with a national day! Talk Like Shakespeare Day was created by the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2009 to pay homage to one of the world’s best known storytellers and inspire new generations to fall in love with his poems and plays.

Here are some tips to speak like the Bard:

Replace your it’s with ‘tis, your he with ‘a, your and you with thou and ye
You will use thou if you are angry with the person or want to insult them. It is also used in intimate relationships (i.e. Romeo and Juliet). There may be switches within a single conversation, depending on the topic, the situation, the mood and the moment.
- Thou art a boil, a plague sore, an embossed carbuncle in my corrupted blood. ~King Lear
Do not use “do” in negatives and questions.
- I know not//I do not know
  Know you?//Do you know?
  I love thee not//l do not love you
Shakespeare often reversed the order of pronoun and adjective to modify nouns. It was the standard order in Old English.
- Good my lord//My good lord
  Sweet my coz//My sweet cousin
  ‘Tis he that…//It is the man who…
Elizabethans, like Shakespeare, contracted a lot more words than we do today. However, not is never contracted in Shakespeare. It became a practice only after 1640s. The many elided forms evidence the pace of Elizabethan speech. In fact, when Romeo & Juliet was being performed in original pronunciation in parallel with modern English at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2004, the one in original pronunciatio ended 10 minutes earlier!
- Arrive’d//Arrived
  Fix’d//Fixed
  Bless’d//Blessed
  ‘gin//Begin
  ‘scape//Escape
  ‘a//He
  ‘mongst//Amongst
  and’s//And his
  to’t//To it
  after’s//After his
  In’s//In his
  H’as//He has
  ‘Tis//It is, it’s
  ‘twas//It was

Frequent Words found throughout Shakespeare’s Works

GREETINGS

Fair befall you!//Best Wishes!
How do you?//How are you?
Grammercy//Thank you

ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS

Hither//Towards here
Come hither//Come here
Thither//Towards there
Even but now//Just now
Wherefore//Why
Therefore//That is why
Wherein//Where, in which
Therein//In that, there
Whereof//Of what
I pray thee/you//Please
Anon//Soon
Nought//Nothing
Aught//Anything

FREQUENT VERBS
Repair//Go (usually in a hurry)
Repair home//Go home
Hie//Hasten, hurry up
Hie thee hither!//Come here, quickly!
Become (Tears do not become a man)//Suit (Tears do not suit a man)
Dally//Linger; move, act slowly
Tarry//Wait, stay, linger
Wot//Know
I wot not//I do not know

RECURRENT WORDS
Fie!//Shame! For shame!
How fare you?//How are you?
Commend me to my lady//Pass on my greetings to the lady
Quoth//Said
Quoth I//I said
An//If
Verily//In truth
Methinks//I think
Methought//I thought
Bethink oneself//Think over

ENDINGS USED WITH THOU

Thou beest/ be’st//You are
Thou wast/ were//You were
Thou wilt/shalt//You will/shall
Thou knowest//You know
Thou thinkest//You think
Thou canst//You can
Thou mayst//You may
Thou shouldst//You should
Thou wouldst//You would
Thou hast//You have
Thou hadst//You had
Thou dost//You do
Thou didst//You did

Although my list of tips is nowhere near exhaustive, use them as oft as thou canst and they will become part of thy daily English with haste. Then canst thou make thy speech sound Shakespearean “trippingly upon thy tongue!”

What is your favorite line from one of Shakespeare’s works?

What’s Napoleon Hiding in There?

By romancinghistory

On April 8, 2016

In 19th Century America, Colonial, European History, U.S. Civil War, U.S. History, Why Did They Do That?

Napoleon in His Study, by Jacques Louis David, 1812

Have you ever wondered what men are hiding inside their waist coats in all those classical portraits?

You know what I’m talking about, right? All those stately portraits from the 18th and 19th century where men are posed with their right hand tucked inside their clothing. It seems rather odd to me. Who really stands that way? What could they be hiding? Perhaps a snack in case the portrait session lasted too long? Maybe a weapon in case the artist didn’t portray them in a favorable manner? Some have suggested that the portrait’s subject had an ulcer or other stomach ailment, or perhaps he is winding his watch or scratching an itch.

It seems the real reason is quite simple.

Early in the 18th century, English portrait artists began looking to classical orators and the postures used in ancient Greek and Roman statuary for their inspiration. The hidden-hand pose, according to the Greeks, conveyed calm assurance and became popular among the nation’s statesmen. In fact, many Greeks considered it rude to speak with your hands outside of your clothing especially when discussing matters of state.

Statue of Aeschines, Greek Orator

By the time of Aeschines, a famous Greek statesman and orator, the tradition had gone out of vogue. But in his speech, Against Timarchus (346 B.C.), Aeschines challenges Timarchus and all Greek statesmen to reinstate the custom:

“And so decorous were those public men of old, Pericles [495-429 B.C.], Themistocles [524-459 B.C.], and Aristeides [530-468 B.C.] (who was called by a name most unlike that by which Timarchus here is called), that to speak with the arm outside the cloak, as we all do nowadays as a matter of course, was regarded then as an ill-mannered thing, and they carefully refrained from doing it. And I can point to a piece of evidence which seems to me very weighty and tangible. I am sure you have all sailed over to Salamis, and have seen the statue of Solon [638-558 B.C.] there. You can therefore yourselves bear witness that in the statue that is set up in the Salaminian market-place Solon stands with his arm inside his cloak. Now this is a reminiscence, fellow citizens, and an imitation of the posture of Solon, showing his customary bearing as he used to address the people of Athens.”

Marquis de Layfayette, portrait by Charles Wilson Peale

Marquis de Lafayette, portrait by Charles Wilson Peale

While Napoleon’s portrait by Jacques Louis David may be the most iconic depiction of a “hidden hand” portrait, the fad had been revived nearly a hundred years earlier. Francois Nivelon’s A Book Of Genteel Behavior of 1738 states the hand-inside-vest pose denoted “manly boldness tempered with modesty.” It seems the English elite liked this portrayal of themselves and began commissioning artists to paint them in the revived Greek pose. In her essay,”Re-Dressing Classical Statuary: The Eighteenth-Century ‘Hand-in-Waistcoat’ Portrait,” Arline Meyer notes the pose being used in eighteenth century British portraiture as a sign of the sitter’s breeding. The gesture became used so frequently that people questioned whether or not the artists were even capable of painting hands.

Photograph by Mathew Brady

Even with the advent of photography, the stance continued to remain popular. Although usually photographed in a seated position, “hand-in-pocket” images can be found of American weapons inventor Samuel Colt, author of The Communist Manifesto Karl Marx, and many civil war general including Major Generals George B. McClellan, Ambrose Burnside and William Tecumseh Sherman. The practice fell out of favor by the end of the 19th century, although it was still occasionally used in the 20th century, most famously by Joseph Stalin.

With the introduction of smart phones and their ability to take photos anywhere at anytime, do you think we’ve lost an ere of respectability in the way we represent ourselves in photos today?

What do April 1, a sundial and Benjamin Franklin all have in common?

By romancinghistory

On April 1, 2016

In 19th Century America, Colonial, U.S. History

What do April 1, a sundial and Benjamin Franklin all have in common?

Answer: The Penny

April first is not just April Fools day, its also National One Cent Day and the penny can trace its lineage to one of America’s favorite founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin designed the first United States one cent coin minted in 1787.

Fugio One Cent Coin

Franklin’s coin was much larger than today’s penny, nearly the size of a half-dollar. At that time, people expected coins to contain close to their face value in metal. The first official one cent coin has become known as the Fugio Cent to coin collector’s in reference to the Latin phrase “Fugio” (Latin: I flee/fly) engraved on the reverse side of the coin along with the images of a sun shining down on a sun dial. Beneath the sundial appeared the phrase, “Mind Your Business.” The image and the words form a rebus meaning that “time flies, do your work.”

The reverse side of the coin featured a chain of 13 links, each representing one of the original thirteen colonies. Inside the circle chain was engraved the motto “We Are One”. Gold and silver coins transitioned to the motto “E pluribus unum” (Latin: Out of Many, One) from the Great Seal of the United States.

Flying Eagle Penny

By the 1850s, the United States Treasury was looking to reduce the size and composition of the one-cent coin to make it easier to handle and more economical to mint. In 1857 the United States Government introduced the Flying Eagle cent. This was the first one cent coin minted in the exact diameter of the modern penny you have in your pocket. Although somewhat thicker and heavier, the Flying Eagle was also the first penny composed of copper and nickel.

Indian Head Penny

The design changed again in 1859 portraying the Goddess of Liberty wearing an Indian headdress. The Indian head penny remained in circulation until 1909 when it was replaced by the image of President Lincoln issued for the 100th anniversary of the assassinated president’s birth and still graces the face of the one cent coin. Today’s penny is made of copper and zinc and the Union Shield is engraved on the reverse side replacing the Lincoln Memorial which had been there since 1959.

Although pennies may be the smallest denomination of United States currency, they’ve had a huge impact on American expressions concerning both saving and spending money. Some of the oldest sayings use the word “penny” as a way of identifying a minimal amount, low-cost or limited value.

The proverb “a penny spar’d is twice got” encourages frugality. By declining to spend a penny and to save one’s money instead, you are a penny up rather than a penny down, hence ‘twice got’. “A penny saved is a penny earned” is another thrifty axiom often falsely attributed to Benjamin Franklin. First published in Pall Mall magazine in 1899, the maxim implies that even small bits of money are important though many people don’t think a penny is really worth saving.

If you’re experiencing a bad turn of events, then you might find yourself “without two pennies to rub together.” This expression is often muttered by those who tend to spend their money as soon as they get it. Thus, they never seem to have any cash in their pocket.

Here are some other common English phrases using the word penny:

Penny Pincher: a bargain hunter or someone who is always trying to get a good deal

Pretty Penny: an expression used to describe an expensive or extravagant item

Penny wise and pound foolish: someone who watches small expenditures while making unwise investments or squanders money on frivolous expensive purchases

In for a penny, in for a pound: when a good opportunity finally comes your way you’re willing to risk whatever you have in the venture

Penny Dreadfuls: serial stories printed on cheap pulp paper selling for one cent per issue

Penny ante poker: a poker game between players not willing to risk much cash

Although I can’t afford to give each of you “a penny for your thoughts,” I hope you have a little more respect for the smallest coin in your wallet.

Romancing History

Month: April 2016

Come Hither and Speaketh Like Shakespeare!

What’s Napoleon Hiding in There?

What do April 1, a sundial and Benjamin Franklin all have in common?