12-10-2013, 07:53 PM
I was recently inspired by a conversation with another member who mentioned a love of studying the roots of our English language (and a little shamed at my own lack of study in the subject). So off I set to have a look at some documents about the development of the English language. I came across a text which related how Shakespeare would have studied in the style and practice of the exercises laid down by the late medieval/early Renaissance writer Erasmus in his widely-used rhetorical guide, De duplici copia verborum ac rerum, in which he showed the student 150 different styles one might use when phrasing the Latin sentence, "Your letter has delighted me very much" (Tuae literae me magnopere delectarunt).
This got me thinking could we do something like this today…how wide is our grasp of grammar and our index of vocabulary.
Here are some examples of Erasmus's translated into English:
Your epistle has cheered me greatly.
Your note has been the occasion of unusual pleasure for me.
When your letter came, I was seized with an extraordinary pleasure.
What you wrote to me was most delightful.
On reading your letter, I was filled with joy.
Your letter provided me with no little pleasure.
We could add some modern examples to these:
I liked your letter.
My heart was all a-throbbing after finishing your note.
Your words brought a smile to my face.
I had to grin as I read your letter.
Your letter was a refreshing spot of colour in my otherwise black-and-white existence.
The perusal of your epistle uplifted me from spiritual ennui.
Your letter pleased me.
What a joy it was to read your letter!
The original idea was to help students become aware of the flexibility of language--thus they learn to extend their own range as writers. Perhaps we could give it a try.
As my original text was about Shakespeare and he has studied under this method, I picked some text from one of his plays as a starter.
The idea is to re-write the text in as many different ways as possible, whilst retaining the message / meaning of the text. You can use any medium or style. For my example and starter I have put it into 3 Haiku (ish) which i admit are a bit weak, but any poetic or prose form is acceptable give it a go.
Act 1, Scene 1
SCENE I. A desert place.
Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches
First witch: When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
Second Witch When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.
Third Witch That will be ere the set of sun.
First Witch Where the place?
Second Witch Upon the heath.
Third Witch There to meet with Macbeth.
First Witch I come, Graymalkin!
Second Witch Paddock calls.
Third Witch Anon.
(I'm not able to fit into one Haiku
)
Sunset storm in Scotland.
Three witches mingle --
A brouhaha of trouble.
An open field
A closed battle --
Meet a could be king .
A hag’s friend
upon the ether --
Cat, toad and spirit
This got me thinking could we do something like this today…how wide is our grasp of grammar and our index of vocabulary.
Here are some examples of Erasmus's translated into English:
Your epistle has cheered me greatly.
Your note has been the occasion of unusual pleasure for me.
When your letter came, I was seized with an extraordinary pleasure.
What you wrote to me was most delightful.
On reading your letter, I was filled with joy.
Your letter provided me with no little pleasure.
We could add some modern examples to these:
I liked your letter.
My heart was all a-throbbing after finishing your note.
Your words brought a smile to my face.
I had to grin as I read your letter.
Your letter was a refreshing spot of colour in my otherwise black-and-white existence.
The perusal of your epistle uplifted me from spiritual ennui.
Your letter pleased me.
What a joy it was to read your letter!
The original idea was to help students become aware of the flexibility of language--thus they learn to extend their own range as writers. Perhaps we could give it a try.
As my original text was about Shakespeare and he has studied under this method, I picked some text from one of his plays as a starter.
The idea is to re-write the text in as many different ways as possible, whilst retaining the message / meaning of the text. You can use any medium or style. For my example and starter I have put it into 3 Haiku (ish) which i admit are a bit weak, but any poetic or prose form is acceptable give it a go.
Act 1, Scene 1
SCENE I. A desert place.
Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches
First witch: When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
Second Witch When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.
Third Witch That will be ere the set of sun.
First Witch Where the place?
Second Witch Upon the heath.
Third Witch There to meet with Macbeth.
First Witch I come, Graymalkin!
Second Witch Paddock calls.
Third Witch Anon.
(I'm not able to fit into one Haiku
)Sunset storm in Scotland.
Three witches mingle --
A brouhaha of trouble.
An open field
A closed battle --
Meet a could be king .
A hag’s friend
upon the ether --
Cat, toad and spirit
