The Art of Paraphrasing Shakespeare: Modern Approaches to Timeless Language

William Shakespeare’s works represent both the pinnacle of literary achievement and a significant comprehension challenge for modern readers. The Bard’s complex syntax, archaic vocabulary, and dense metaphorical language can create barriers to understanding his profound insights into the human condition. This guide explores sophisticated techniques for paraphrasing Shakespeare’s language while preserving its depth and power.

The Unique Challenges of Paraphrasing Shakespeare

Paraphrasing Shakespeare presents distinct challenges beyond those encountered with contemporary texts:

• Linguistic evolution: English has changed dramatically since Elizabethan times, with many words shifting in meaning or falling out of use
• Poetic compression: Shakespeare often packs multiple meanings into concise expressions
• Metrical considerations: His language operates within specific rhythmic patterns that contribute to meaning
• Multilayered wordplay: Shakespeare frequently employs puns, double entendres, and allusions
• Cultural references: Many passages contain references to Elizabethan customs, beliefs, and historical events
• Metaphorical density: His works feature complex extended metaphors that require careful unpacking

Successful Shakespeare paraphrasing must navigate these challenges while retaining the essence of his genius.

Foundational Principles for Paraphrasing Shakespeare

Before exploring specific techniques, understand these guiding principles:

1. Balancing Accessibility and Authenticity

Effective Shakespeare paraphrasing finds the sweet spot between contemporary accessibility and Shakespearean authenticity. Rather than completely modernizing his language, aim to clarify while preserving the distinctive character of his expression.

2. Preserving Multiple Meaning Layers

Shakespeare’s brilliance often lies in how he creates multiple interpretive possibilities within single phrases. When possible, paraphrasing should acknowledge these layers rather than reducing passages to single interpretations.

3. Respecting Genre Conventions

Shakespeare wrote across multiple genres (comedy, tragedy, history, romance), each with distinct linguistic patterns. Effective paraphrasing considers these genre-specific elements.

4. Maintaining Character Voice

Different Shakespearean characters speak in distinctive ways that reflect their education, social standing, and psychological state. Paraphrase should preserve these meaningful variations.

Essential Contextual Analysis Before Paraphrasing

Before attempting to paraphrase any Shakespearean passage, conduct this crucial preparatory analysis:

1. Establish the dramatic context – Who is speaking? To whom? Under what circumstances?
2. Identify the character’s objective – What does the speaker want to achieve with these words?
3. Note significant literary devices – Metaphors, imagery patterns, allusions, etc.
4. Research unfamiliar terms – Consult scholarly editions to clarify archaic vocabulary
5. Consider performance implications – How might actors interpret and deliver these lines?

This foundational understanding ensures your paraphrase captures not just what the words say, but what they do in the context of the play.

10 Advanced Techniques for Paraphrasing Shakespeare

1. The Layered Metaphor Unpacking Method

Shakespeare’s metaphors often operate on multiple levels simultaneously. This technique separates and clarifies these layers:

1. Identify the basic metaphorical comparison
2. Explain the literal meaning
3. Explore subtle connotations and extensions
4. Reintegrate these elements into a clearer but still metaphorically rich expression

Example:
Original (Macbeth): “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.”

Unpacked paraphrase: “Our lives extinguish as quickly as a candle’s flame. During our short existence, we are merely insubstantial shadows moving through the world—like mediocre actors who pompously perform their brief roles in a play, only to disappear into obscurity once their performance ends, leaving no lasting impact.”

2. The Syntactic Modernization Approach

This technique maintains Shakespeare’s vocabulary while reorganizing sentence structures for contemporary comprehension:

1. Identify inverted or unusual syntactic patterns
2. Reorganize into standard contemporary word order
3. Replace obsolete grammatical forms while retaining key terms
4. Clarify pronoun references and logical connections

Example:
Original (Hamlet): “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death the memory be green, and that it us befitted to bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe…”

Syntactically modernized: “Although the memory of our dear brother Hamlet’s death remains fresh, and it was appropriate for us to carry grief in our hearts and for our entire kingdom to wear an expression of sorrow…”

3. The Cultural Translation Method

This approach clarifies references to Elizabethan cultural elements unfamiliar to modern audiences:

1. Identify cultural, historical, or mythological references
2. Research their significance in Shakespeare’s time
3. Determine their emotional or rhetorical function
4. Replace with concise explanatory phrases or contemporary equivalents

Example:
Original (Romeo and Juliet): “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.”

Culturally translated: “Juliet appears at her window, radiant as the dawn. Rise, beautiful brightness, and outshine the jealous moon goddess, who already looks sickly and pale with envy because you, once her devoted follower, now surpass her in beauty.”

4. The Theatrical Function Preservation

This technique focuses on maintaining the dramatic purpose of Shakespeare’s language:

1. Analyze how the passage functions theatrically (builds tension, reveals character, etc.)
2. Identify rhythmic and sound patterns that support this function
3. Preserve these elements while clarifying meaning
4. Maintain performability in the paraphrase

Example:
Original (Macbeth): “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time…”

Theatrically preserved: “Each tomorrow, and tomorrow, and yet tomorrow, inches forward so tediously, day after meaningless day, until the final moment of all human history…”

5. The Subtext Illumination Technique

This approach brings implied meanings to the surface without overexplaining:

1. Identify what the character is literally saying
2. Determine what they actually mean (subtext)
3. Clarify the surface meaning
4. Include subtle indicators of the underlying message

Example:
Original (Othello, Iago speaking): “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”

Subtext illuminated: “Be careful, my lord, about jealousy—that consuming emotion that tricks its victims while destroying them from within. [While actually attempting to encourage Othello’s jealousy]”

6. The Wordplay Compensation Approach

This sophisticated method addresses Shakespeare’s complex wordplay:

1. Identify puns, double meanings, and word games
2. Determine their function (comic relief, characterization, thematic development)
3. When direct translation is impossible, create analogous wordplay
4. Preserve the spirit of linguistic playfulness

Example:
Original (Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio): “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.”

Wordplay compensated: “Look for me tomorrow, and you’ll find I’ve become deadly serious.” (Preserving the pun on “grave” meaning both “serious” and “in a tomb”)

7. The Rhetorical Structure Preservation

This technique maintains Shakespeare’s powerful rhetorical patterns:

1. Identify rhetorical devices (antithesis, parallelism, repetition, etc.)
2. Analyze their effect on meaning and emotional impact
3. Modernize language while preserving these structures
4. Maintain the argumentative or persuasive flow

Example:
Original (Julius Caesar): “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”

Rhetorically preserved: “It wasn’t that my affection for Caesar was lacking, but rather that my devotion to Rome was greater.”

8. The Character-Voice Consistent Method

This approach maintains distinctions between different characters’ speaking styles:

1. Analyze the character’s typical vocabulary, syntax, and rhetorical patterns
2. Note educational level, social status, and personality traits reflected in their speech
3. Paraphrase while maintaining these distinctive elements
4. Ensure consistency with the character’s other speeches

Example:
Original (King Lear, Edmund): “Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law my services are bound.”

Character-voice consistent: “I pledge allegiance not to social convention but to natural impulse; I follow Nature’s dictates alone.” (Preserving Edmund’s educated, philosophical tone and rebellious attitude)

9. The Imagery Network Preservation

This technique maintains connections between related images throughout a play:

1. Identify recurring imagery patterns in the larger work
2. Note how the specific passage connects to this network
3. Paraphrase while maintaining these thematic connections
4. Use consistent terminology for key metaphorical elements

Example:
Original (Macbeth): “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.”

Imagery-network preserved: “Could all the water in the sea cleanse this blood from my hands? No—instead, my bloodstained hands would stain the countless ocean waters, turning the entire green sea crimson.” (Maintaining the blood imagery that runs throughout the play)

10. The Poetic Essence Distillation

This approach captures the poetic power of Shakespeare while clarifying meaning:

1. Identify the emotional and aesthetic impact of the original
2. Note significant sound patterns, rhythms, and memorable phrases
3. Preserve particularly powerful expressions
4. Clarify around these “poetic anchors”

Example:
Original (Hamlet): “To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them.”

Poetic essence distilled: “To exist or to cease existing—that’s what I must decide: Is it more honorable to passively endure life’s painful injustices, or to actively fight against overwhelming difficulties, possibly ending them through confrontation?”

Specialized Approaches for Different Shakespearean Forms

Paraphrasing Shakespearean Sonnets

Shakespeare’s sonnets present unique challenges due to their compressed form and complex argumentation. Consider these specialized techniques:

• Maintain the logical development through the three quatrains and final couplet
• Preserve central conceit (extended metaphor) while clarifying its components
• Note the volta (turn in argument) and ensure it remains clear
• Consider paraphrasing prose first, then adapting to poetic form

Paraphrasing Soliloquies

Shakespeare’s soliloquies reveal characters’ internal thoughts and struggles. Effective paraphrasing should:

• Preserve the psychological progression of ideas
• Maintain emotional intensity while clarifying reasoning
• Indicate shifts in thought direction and emotional state
• Consider the character’s level of self-awareness and self-deception

Paraphrasing Comic Dialogue

Shakespearean comedy often relies on wordplay that resists direct modernization. Consider:

• Focus on preserving humorous intent rather than exact jokes
• Create equivalent contemporary puns when necessary
• Maintain the rhythmic back-and-forth of comic exchanges
• Preserve class distinctions reflected in comic language

Conclusion: The Ethical Dimension of Paraphrasing Shakespeare

Paraphrasing Shakespeare carries a significant responsibility. His works have shaped English literature and language for centuries, and thoughtful paraphrasing should honor this legacy while making it accessible to contemporary audiences. The most effective Shakespeare paraphrases achieve a delicate balance: they clarify without oversimplifying, modernize without trivializing, and explain without overexplaining.

Whether you’re a student grappling with Shakespeare for the first time, an educator helping others access his works, or a performer seeking to connect these timeless plays with modern audiences, these advanced paraphrasing techniques can help bridge the 400-year gap between Shakespeare’s world and our own—revealing why his profound insights into human nature continue to resonate today.