Shakespeare's Language

Shakespeare was using the everyday language of his time. Our Shakespeare language guide helps you get to grips with his use of language and explains the techniques and conventions he used. Discover the Bard with our Shakespeare language guide.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's voice coach, Lyn Darnley, shares her love of Shakespeare's language and reveals why Shakespeare's writing has been so enduring.

Shakespeare nearly always used a meter called iambic pentameter when writing in verse. This guide tells you everything you need to know about iambic pentameter. Read on.

Shakespeare moved between verse and prose in his writing to give his characters more depth and vary the overall rhythmic structure of his plays. His treatment of prose is as skillful as his verse.

The soliloquy is a convention that Shakespeare often used. This article gives you a good overview and provides a definition of the technique.

This introduction is a great place to start exploring Shakespeare's language. The site includes some great links to good quality resources.

Introducing the Shakespeare sonnets – what makes this collection of 154 Shakespeare sonnets the most important poetry ever written? Find out with our Shakespeare sonnets guide.

This collection of iambic pentameter examples from Shakespeare’s plays reveals how much the Bard used Iambic Pentameter. Examples are drawn from a range of plays.