Write Like A Pro

Writing like Shakespeare

William Shakespeare has covered almost every variant of stories from power struggles with the battle for hierarchy status to the love interests that end in tragedy. Below I have created a list on how to write like Shakespeare. 

• Elizabethan literature can be divided into three genres: Poetry, prose and drama. 

• Use of euphemism: Making something bad sound good. For instance 'they are in heaven' instead of 'they are dead'. 

•Write about real historical events. This can be by borrowing plots from your favourite novels to looking at historical events and real people. You can use the historical person or event as the basis. You don't have to keep to the facts. Add new characters to create dynamics. 

 • Weave some magic into you tale. Add some of the supernatural. For instance in Macbeth the witches state a terrible prophecy for Macbeth. 

 • Have fun with language; invent new words. A load of words that we know today we owe to the thanks of Shakespeare. 

 •  Most of Shakespeare plots follow a simple formula. There is normally a downfall of the main character, a love interest, death, loss which usually ends with a sad or tragic ending, sometimes happy. 

 •  To write a love story like Shakespeare you should use common themes and add twists to them. For instance Shakespeare usually focuses on forbidden love, jealous love, or unrequited love. This usually ends with a tragic ending or is fully resolved by the end. 

 •  Don't be afraid to kill off your characters. You don't have to limit it to your secondary characters. You could kill off your main characters by the end. Shakespeare's plays are known for having many deaths as seen in King Lear. 

 •  Use lots of plot twists and subtly foreshadow your characters downfall. 

•Instead of writing you say 'thou'. 'Thou' is the subject form. 

•Instead of saying you all say 'thee'. 'Thee' is the object form. 

•Instead of writing your write 'thy' or 'thine'. Use 'thy' before a word that starts with a consonant (a speech sound that is not a vowel).Use 'thine' before a word that starts with a vowel. A vowel is (a, e. i, o, u). 

•Friends are called 'cousins'. Men are called 'sirrah' and ladies are called mistress. 

•Don't use 'it' just use an apostrophe and a't' for instance 't or 'tis or do't or t'will. 

Using rhyming couplets:Two successive words in which the final words rhyme with each other.

Using verse: Verse is a line of poetry or stanza or a piece written in metre. Verse is usually written in rhyming couplets. For instance:

 'love look with the mind

otherwise we would be going blind'. 

Using prose: Prose is ordinary writing. Sentences and paragraphs with no rhyming structure. Lines of text written in prose don't have the same number of syllables. For instance 'I walked over the hillside' is prose. 

Common themes used in Shakespearean texts are: 

History, religion, love, tragedy, restoration comedy, battles, the supernatural, class structure, politics, heroes, madness and nature. 

Characters in Shakespeare's plays:

The Fool: A fool used in Shakespeare's plays can range from a silly person that acts unwisely to a clown or jester that is kept in a noble household to entertain the noble family and guests. The Fool has wit. Even though the Fool is silly and will dance and sing most of his lines, the fool is wise and often foreshadows what is to come later on in the play. The Fool observes the mood of whom he jests. They often spout outlandish puns with their masters and point out their master's errors through rhymes and riddles. Fools were usually male and would wear motley (a parti-coloured cloth) and a coxcomb (a removable cap. The caps with the bells didn't come till much later) and would carry a bauble (a baton like a carved stick used as an emblem). 

The hero: The hero in Shakespeare's plays are usually superhuman, brave and more intelligent than the ordinary man. The hero usually fights for a noble cause. Epic heroes usually have a mix of divine or mortal blood, which means even with super powers they can still face human weaknesses. Heroes go on an epic journey and usually face some sort of obstacle or downfall to prove the hero's worthiness. The hero at the end of the story finally regains his rightful place in society as the father, the king, the leader, the god etc. 

The villain: The villains in Shakespeare's plays are usually masterminds that often let the audience in on their plans to show their talent. They are cunning, manipulative, fundamentally lack compassion and are often driven by a lifelong lack of love. There is usually a bit of villainy in every character, for instance through enjoyment or pleasure in saying things that one knows will offend others.   The part of the villain is usually done through stand-up comedy and academic analysis to portray the pleasure of evil and the cunning nature of the villain. 

Shakespearean words and phrases:

All our yesterdays.

Fair play. Foul play. 

All's well that ends well.

As merry as the day is long.

I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. 

Baited breath.

Out of the jaws of death. 

Break the ice. 

Better foot before.

Have more than you know, speak less than you show.

Blow winds and crack your cheeks. 

Eaten me out of house and home.

Elbow room. 

A dish fit for the gods.

The game is afoot.

Full circle.

Good riddance.

Jealousy is the green-eyed monster. 

Give the devil his due.

Heart of gold. 

'Tis high time.

Fight fire with fire.

Wear your heart on your sleeve. 

The game is up.

What's done is done. 

Laughing stock. 

Dead as a door nail. 

Forever and a day.

Oak-cleaving thunderbolts, singe my white head. 

You stock-fish.

You elf-skin.

Away, you three-inch fool.

You froward and unable worms. 

Scurvy companion. 

The world is my oyster. 

Thou art a boil, a plague sore. 

Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon.