#shakespere

[its-not-a-pen]

--Written Chinese vs English--

[ID: A comic titled "Evolution of Written Chinese vs English". On the left, emperor Qin Shi Huang holds up a scroll and angrily points an ink brush at the viewer and shouts, "There should not be seven different ways to write 'horse'. Starting today everyone will use the same characters-- or else!" On the right, William Shakespeare laughs gleefully while holding a skull and quill and exclaims, "The first rule of English is to have fun and to thine own self be true!" Every word uses a non-standard spelling. Below the cut are full versions of the the panels and a blank version of the Chinese one. End ID]

I'm fascinated by the evolution of chinese and english "spelling." I grew up on hard-to-read Ye Olde English, and assumed all languages were like that. Imagine my shock when I discovered the chinese language had been standardised since 221BC, and I can read words written in the Han Dynasty.

full versions:

notes under the cut

For much of it's history, the English language played it fast and loose with spelling. (No one can spell things wrong if no one can spell things right!) Standardisation only began in the late 15th century as the use of the printing press spread across Europe.

I thought the best person to show this carefree attitude was the Bard himself; Willy Shakes. We have six surviving examples of Shakespeare's signature, and none of them are spelled the same way twice.

In comparison, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, standardised the writing system as early as 221 BC. He had conquered the six warring states and decided to do away with their writing systems. This made the administration of a centralised government easier, and it served as a demonstration of his absolute authority. The writing on the book* is "horse", and "torn apart by carriage".

**That scroll he's holding is actually called a book in Chinese, it is made up of bamboo slips, like a big sushi mat!

All designs are available on redbubble: I thought it would be fun to include a blank version of qin shi huang, so you can write stuff on him.

[yaoibattlepass]

Shakesperes (very) brief fixation on pirates and the very strange mentioning of them in hamlet is so fucking funny to me because i picture his ass writing and being like "ohh hoho this is crazy and fun" and now theres full on debates held as to wether hamlet just made that the shit about pirates up (very probable, its hamlet were talking about here, but also hes talking to horatio who he never lies too) or if it actually happened (kinda unlikely sadly)

[slurping-up-grass]

Not your Iago

Not my Iago

Our Iago, the People's Iago.

[spencereidwannabe]

forever thinking about the parallels between hamlet and ophelia

[caterpillarinacave]

*on my knees clutching your shirt hem screaming hoarsely* LET ME DIRECT A PRODUCTION OF JULIUS CAESAR GIVE ME CREATIVE FREEDOM OF MARCUS BRUTUS’S CHARACTER LET ME TELL SOMEONE HOW TO LAY THE WREATH ON CASSIUS HEAD WITH AGONY AND LONGING LET ME POUR CALPURNIAS HELPLESNESS ALL OVER A STAGE LET ME FORCE THE AUDIENCE TO ALL BUT TASTE PORCHES COALS LET ME SHOW YOU BRUTUS LET ME SHOW YOU ALL THE DESPERATION AND THE APATHY LET ME SHOW YOU CAESAR ON HIS LAST BREATH BRUTUS KNIFE IN HIS CHEST STUMBLING ARMS OUT LET ME PORTRAY- *gunshot*

[morbidtelevisionbodies]

shoutout to the local performance of twelfth night that featured a very serious and genuinely sweet romance arc for Malvolio and Feste throughout the play. in conclusion I think all performances of twelfth night are lacking this.

[shakespearesociety63]

shakespeare is coming to say ✨yes to the dress ✨ 😻🥹🥰❤️👰🏻‍♂️

[scarletv0id]

Sometimes I’ll remember Jack Crawford is played by Laurence Fishburne and have this moment of “Oh fuck! Othello!”

[morbee]

My headcanon is that The Library of Babel, from Borges, was built by the infinite apes on typewriters who were trying to write Shakespeare

[blossoms-and-petrichor]

always joked that hamlet would have loved MCR, but you know what he'd really love

pierce the veil

[the-z-part]

pride is almost over but I made another gay book list

[writing-something-in-mind]

"If I were to kiss you than go to hell I would. So than I can brag with the devil I saw heaven without even entering it".

-William shakespare

[yaoibattlepass]

One day i will watch every hamlet movie and be able to characterize people based on their favorites.

(Also, can people please tell me their favorite bec mine is the 2000 ethan hawke hamlet because i think its soooo interesting to think about)

[makitstop]

so, i was watching reefer madness with a freind of mine yesterday, and it made me realize something, why is it that back in like the 60s, knowing shakespere was seen as something only smart, morally upstanding people do, but now, it’s only done by like...the crazy character who’s way too into the evil thing they’re doing

[thebestworstidea]

show me one without

[thedowntown500]

Fair is foul, and foul is fair:

Hover through the fog and filthy air.

Round about the couldron go: In the poisones entrails throw. Toad,that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Sweated venom sleeping got, Boil thou first in the charmed pot. Double,double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blindworm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing. For charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Double,double toil and trouble; Fire burn and couldron bubble.

Scale of dragon,tooth of wolf, Witch's mummy, maw and gulf Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digg'd in the dark, Liver of blaspheming Jew; Gall of goat; andslips of yew silver'd in the moon's eclipse; Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips; Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-deliver'd by the drab,- Make the gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, For ingrediants of our cauldron. Double,double toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble.