Tip #11: Learn Some Key Words

Over time, you will get familiar with all kinds of words that are common in Shakespearean English, but aren’t still around today. Learning the few examples below will help because they are fairly common.

‘A (he)

An (if)

Anon (soon)

Alas (unfortunately)

Brave (handsome, excellent)

Coz/Cousin (family member generally)

Cozen (to cheat)

‘Ere (before)

Give me leave (allow me)

Hie (to hurry)

Hither (towards here)

Mark (pay attention or notice)

Or (before)

Sans (without)

Soft (shh, listen)

Sirrah (mister—less formal than sir)

Thee & Thy (you)

Thy & Thine (your and yours)

Thither (towards there)

Want (lack)

Whence (from where)

Wherefore (why)

Whither (where)

Poetic contractions. Sometimes, Shakespeare replaces letters with apostrophes to eliminate syllables for purposes of meter:  ‘tis (it is),  e’er (ever), if’t (if it), ‘twere (it were).

Archaic suffixes. Some words end in -st, or -th. These suffixes usually indicate present tense: hath (has), cometh (comes), weep’st (weeps), rememberest (remembers).

If you don’t know a word (there will be many), you have several options. You can just ignore it and move on. You can figure it out yourself using context clues. Or you can take a minute to Google the definition. Often, your text will provide footnotes with definitions too. Don’t be afraid to ignore words and move along. Usually, you’ll understand a passage or scene well enough without getting every word or phrase.

Learning the few examples above will help you avoid interrupting your reading.