Leiden University Student Repository

Zegers, Leanne (2018)

Shakespeare's Verb Morphology: The Development from -th to -s in Shakespeare’s Plays

Bachelor thesis | Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) – as far as we know – wrote thirty-seven plays over a time period of twenty-three years (Hoenselaars 2012:xv–xxii), one could wonder if traces of the changing verb-morphology of the Early Modern English Period (1500–1700) should be found in his writing (Crystal 2004:3). One example of this changing verb morphology is that, during this period, the third-person singular present tense inflection -th fell out of general use and the -s inflection became a part of Standard English (Nevalainen 2006:89). This thesis discusses if Shakespeare’s verb morphology represents this morphological shift. To answer this question, this thesis analysed the verb morphology of third-person singular present tense verbs in three of Shakespeare’s plays, more specifically comedies, one from the beginning of his career, one from the middle and one from end, i.e. The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1589–1593) , Twelfth Night (1601–1602) and The Two Noble Kinsmen (1613–1615). This...Show moreWilliam Shakespeare (1564–1616) – as far as we know – wrote thirty-seven plays over a time period of twenty-three years (Hoenselaars 2012:xv–xxii), one could wonder if traces of the changing verb-morphology of the Early Modern English Period (1500–1700) should be found in his writing (Crystal 2004:3). One example of this changing verb morphology is that, during this period, the third-person singular present tense inflection -th fell out of general use and the -s inflection became a part of Standard English (Nevalainen 2006:89). This thesis discusses if Shakespeare’s verb morphology represents this morphological shift. To answer this question, this thesis analysed the verb morphology of third-person singular present tense verbs in three of Shakespeare’s plays, more specifically comedies, one from the beginning of his career, one from the middle and one from end, i.e. The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1589–1593) , Twelfth Night (1601–1602) and The Two Noble Kinsmen (1613–1615). This analysis has presented results that prove that the use of the -th inflection by Shakespeare in his plays decreased throughout his career.Show less

Shakespeare

Morphology

Linguistics

Verb Morphology

Plays

Early Modern English

Author

Zegers, Leanne

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Linguistics

Supervisors

Tieken-Boon van Ostade, Ingrid

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en