“Her speech is nothing,” Horatio says of Ophelia in the fourth act of Hamlet, “Yet the unshaped use of doth move / The hearers to collection. They aim at it, / And botch the words up to fit their own thoughts.” (4.5, 7-10) To the discerning reader, Horatio’s observation can be interpreted dualistically; although the character means to describe the ravings of the prince’s lover, he is, additionally and unintentionally, identifying one of Shakespeare’s most …showed first 75 words of 2688 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2688 total…Hamlet, a descent through poetry to prose if only to indicate setting and tone. Although frequently discarded as merely a contributing element to the complexity of the playwright’s works, language and syntax, vernacular and courtly verse, and their inherent variations, form the skeleton on which Shakespeare created his masterpieces. They suggest the complexity of class and social distinctions, offer a window into the emotional constitution of each character, and facilitate tragic and comedic effect.