Tagged Questions
6
votes
1answer
729 views
Word contractions in Shakespeare's plays
In Shakespeare's plays it is common to find contracted words, such as "o'er", "e'en", "sulph'uous", "ta'en". Is it just a literary device or those words were actually pronounced (in day-to-day speech) ...
2
votes
5answers
755 views
Pronunciation of “zounds?”
I came across the sentence "Fortunately their are a variety of different offerings out there with zounds of features." Disregarding the misuse of "zounds," how would Elizabeth I have pronounced the ...
8
votes
1answer
570 views
Rhyming conventions of Early Modern English
I was reading the poem "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell when something struck me as odd. Let me quote two passages:
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find: I by the tide
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