Shakespeare's Original Pronunciation
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Some people say 'sconn' while others say 'schown'. He says 'bath' while she says 'bahth'. You say 'potayto'. I say 'potahto'. And - wait a second, no one says 'potahto'. No one's ever said 'potahto'. Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of received pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father, David, travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English.
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Publisher's Summary
How did Shakespeare sound to the audiences of his day? For the first time, this audio offers listeners the chance to hear England's greatest playwright performed by a company of actors using the pronunciation of his time.
Under the guidance of Ben Crystal, actor, author of Shakespeare on Toast, and an expert in original Shakespearian pronunciation, the company performs some of Shakespeare's best-known poems, solo speeches, and scenes from the plays. Hear new meanings uncovered, new jokes revealed, poetic effects enhanced. An essential purchase for every student and lover of Shakespeare.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lizatish
- 08-12-14
Shakespeare Done Right
If you could sum up Shakespeare's Original Pronunciation in three words, what would they be?
Enjoyable, Well Done
What about the narrators’s performance did you like?
The various narrators did a good job of acting as they recited the lines. You can almost picture them on stage.
Any additional comments?
Even if you are not interested in the original pronunciation, these are particularly well done and enjoyable to listen to.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M-Squad
- 03-25-18
I want more of this!
I've spent many hours reading material printed around 1600 and those works have come to mean a lot to me. The spellings make more sense now.
I would LOVE to have more of this. Whole plays, all the sonnets. Hell, there was a ton of literature printed at the time. They could read recipe books or a treatise on farming and I'd listen to the whole thing.
I hope to eventually hear OP in my head when I read Elizabethan and early Jacobean literature.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Nicola
- 04-04-13
A Great Listen
I love this. I had the pleasure of being taught by Ben Crystal's Dad at university so perhaps I have a bit more insight into OP than some but this should not exclude anybody! The extracts are well selected and beautifully read. A must-listen for anyone studying Shakespeare, the linguistics of OP or who just likes a bit of the Bard at Bedtime!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- bhavna
- 02-29-12
Good book
This is really a good book and i recommend this book to everyone and good to listen to it .