Shakespeare's Non-Standard English: A Dictionary of his Informal Language

by Norman Blake

Overview

Most scholarly attention on Shakespeare's vocabulary has been directed towards his enrichment of the language through borrowing words from other languages and has thus concentrated on the more learned aspects of his vocabulary. However, the bulk of Shakespeare's output consists of plays and to make these appear lifelike he needed to employ a colloquial and informal style. This aspect of his work has been largely disregarded apart from his bawdy language. This dictionary includes all types of non-standard and informal language and lists all examples found in Shakespeare's works. These include dialect forms, colloquial forms, non-standard and variant forms, fashionable words and puns.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826491237
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/22/2006
Series:	Student Shakespeare Library
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.84(d)

About the Author

Norman Blake is Emeritus Professor of English at Sheffield University, UK.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction Abbreviations Dictionary Select Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

Blake’s dictionary—with concise definitions, judiciously selected citations, and abbreviations marking forms 'found only in Shakespeare' and those 'first found in Shakespeare'—could not have been entrusted to a keener eye … the Arden Dictionaries have made an enormous contribution. While each volume impresses the reader with Shakespeare’s grasp of a particular topic—wide, deep, and, as experts in various fields have noted, accurate—it is impossible to view all of the dictionaries together and not come away with renewed awe at his commodious erudition.” —Deborah T. Curren-Aquino, Shakespeare Quarterly

From the Publisher

Blake's dictionary--with concise definitions, judiciously selected citations, and abbreviations marking forms 'found only in Shakespeare' and those 'first found in Shakespeare'--could not have been entrusted to a keener eye … the Arden Dictionaries have made an enormous contribution. While each volume impresses the reader with Shakespeare's grasp of a particular topic--wide, deep, and, as experts in various fields have noted, accurate--it is impossible to view all of the dictionaries together and not come away with renewed awe at his commodious erudition.

Shakespeare Quarterly - Deborah T. Curren-Aquino

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