Power and Passion in Shakespeare's Pronouns ― Interrogating 'you' and 'thou'

In revealing patterns of you/thou use in Shakespeare's plays, this study highlights striking and significant shifts from one to the other. Penelope Freedman demonstrates that understanding of the implications of you/thou use in early modern English has been bedevilled by overconcern with issues of power and status, and her careful research, analysing all the plays, reveals how a fuller understanding of Shakespeare's usage can provide a key to unlock puzzles of motive and character, and a glass to clarify relationships and emotions. The work focuses particularly on dialogue between men and women, and sheds new light on male and female language use. The scholarship presented in this volume is augmented with tables and a glossary of linguistic terms.

Penelope Freedman taught Literary Linguistics and Stylistics at the University of Kent until 1992, combining her academic work with acting and directing at the Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury. She now lives and works in Stratford-upon-Avon.