The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 14.1382  Monday, 7 July 2003

From:           Jan Jonk <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date:           Saturday, 5 Jul 2003 14:38:01 +0200
Subject: Comment:        SHK 14.1351

I would like to make the following remarks in reply to Michael Egan's
question on 'The Mousetrap' (SHK 14.1351):

If Hamlet had rhymed, he would have used the last two sounds of was:
'as"; the 'a', like in 'was', being pronounced with a very low [a] in
Early Modern English. For most scholars this might easily lead to the
word 'ass', which is bad enough for Claudius, but if I  apply Early
Modern English pronunciation properly, I come to the 'r-word', which, in
Shakespeare, is never written out in full (like the modern 'f-word'). I
mean the word 'arse'. (Shakespeare uses a similar reference with the
growling of dogs).  The word Shakespeare does use in Hamlet, 'paiock',
is the same word I think as 'padjak', a word in Dutch of unknown origin,
meaning 'a despicable fellow'.

Jan Jonk

_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook, 
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
The S H A K S P E R Web Site <http://www.shaksper.net>

DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the
opinions expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the
editor assumes no responsibility for them.