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Elizabethan English

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Lesson 002 Elizabethan English: A Latinum Institute Language Course

BE — The Copula and Verb of Existence

Course Index:

https://latinum.substack.com/p/index

FAQ: What does “be” mean in Elizabethan English?

The verb be functions in Elizabethan English much as it does in Modern English—as the primary copula linking subjects to predicates, expressing existence, and serving as an auxiliary in progressive and passive constructions. However, Elizabethan English preserves a rich system of conjugated forms now obsolete: art (second person singular familiar), wast (second person singular past familiar), wert (second person singular past subjunctive), and the bare infinitive be used in subjunctive contexts where Modern English would employ “is” or “are.” The distinction between familiar thou forms and formal you forms carries significant social weight, making mastery of be essential for understanding the interpersonal dynamics in Shakespeare’s plays.

This lesson presents 15 primary examples demonstrating the verb be across its full conjugational range, followed by 15 genre examples in dramatic dialogue showcasing how characters of different social stations employ these forms to signal intimacy, contempt, or respect.

Key Takeaways: -

Art serves as second person singular present for thou (”thou art wise”) -

Wast serves as second person singular past indicative (”thou wast here”) -

Wert serves as second person singular past subjunctive (”if thou wert honest”) -

The subjunctive be appears after “if,” “though,” “lest,” and in wishes (”if it be so”) -

You are signals formality or plurality; thou art signals intimacy, contempt, or familiarity

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SECTION A: Interlinear Construed Text

Format: Each example presents the Elizabethan text with word-by-word glosses indicating grammatical function and meaning.

1.1a Thou art more lovely than a summer’s day.

1.2a I am that merry wanderer of the night.

1.3a We are such stuff as dreams are made on.

1.4a If music be the food of love, play on.

1.5a Where wast thou when I laid the earth’s foundation?

1.6a He is a man more sinned against than sinning.

1.7a They were as fed horses in the morning.

1.8a If it were done when ‘tis done, ‘twere well.

1.9a Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love.

1.10a What is he that builds stronger than the mason?

1.11a She was a vixen when she went to school.

1.12a Be not afraid; the isle is full of noises.

1.13a This above all: to thine own self be true.

1.14a The lady doth protest too much, methinks, and yet she is constant.

1.15a Thou art thyself, though not a Montague; wert thou not Romeo, I should love thee still.

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SECTION B: Natural Sentences with Translation

1.1 Thou art more lovely than a summer’s day. “You are more beautiful than a summer’s day.”

1.2 I am that merry wanderer of the night. “I am that cheerful roamer who travels by night.”

1.3 We are such stuff as dreams are made on. “We are the same substance from which dreams are made.”

1.4 If music be the food of love, play on. “If music is what nourishes love, continue playing.”

1.5 Where wast thou when I laid the earth’s foundation? “Where were you when I established the earth’s foundation?”

1.6 He is a man more sinned against than sinning. “He is a person who has been wronged more than he has done wrong.”

1.7 They were as fed horses in the morning. “They were like well-fed horses at dawn.”

1.8 If it were done when ‘tis done, ‘twere well. “If it were completely finished once performed, it would be good.”

1.9 Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love. “Were you as young as I am, with Juliet as your beloved.”

1.10 What is he that builds stronger than the mason? “What person is it who constructs more enduringly than the stonemason?”

1.11 She was a vixen when she went to school. “She was a quarrelsome girl when she attended school.”

1.12 Be not afraid; the isle is full of noises. “Do not be fearful; the island is filled with sounds.”

1.13 This above all: to thine own self be true. “Beyond everything else: be faithful to your own nature.”

1.14 The lady doth protest too much, methinks, and yet she is constant. “The lady denies too emphatically, I think, and yet she remains faithful.”

1.15 Thou art thyself, though not a Montague; wert thou not Romeo, I should love thee still. “You are yourself, even if not a Montague; were you not Romeo, I would love you nonetheless.”

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SECTION C: Elizabethan Text Only

1.1 Thou art more lovely than a summer’s day.

1.2 I am that merry wanderer of the night.

1.3 We are such stuff as dreams are made on.

1.4 If music be the food of love, play on.

1.5 Where wast thou when I laid the earth’s foundation?

1.6 He is a man more sinned against than sinning.

1.7 They were as fed horses in the morning.

1.8 If it were done when ‘tis done, ‘twere well.

1.9 Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love.

1.10 What is he that builds stronger than the mason?

1.11 She was a vixen when she went to school.

1.12 Be not afraid; the isle is full of noises.

1.13 This above all: to thine own self be true.

1.14 The lady doth protest too much, methinks, and yet she is constant.

1.15 Thou art thyself, though not a Montague; wert thou not Romeo, I should love thee still.

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SECTION D: Grammar Explanation

The Conjugation of BE in Elizabethan English

The verb be in Early Modern English maintains forms inherited from two distinct Old English verbs: bēon (whence be) and wesan (whence was, were). This dual ancestry produces a suppletive paradigm—different stems for different forms—that Elizabethan writers employ with precision.

Present Tense Indicative:

The first person singular remains am (”I am”). The second person singular familiar takes art when the subject is thou (”thou art”), while the formal or plural second person takes are (”you are”). The third person singular is is (”he is,” “she is,” “it is”), and all plural forms take are (”we are,” “they are”).

Past Tense Indicative:

The first and third person singular share was (”I was,” “he was”). The second person singular familiar takes wast (”thou wast”), a form now entirely obsolete. The plural forms all take were (”we were,” “you were,” “they were”).

Subjunctive Mood:

The present subjunctive uses be throughout all persons and numbers, appearing after conditional if, concessive though, and in clauses expressing wishes, commands, or uncertainty. Thus “if it be true” rather than “if it is true” signals doubt or hypothesis. The past subjunctive uses were for all persons except the second person familiar, which takes the distinctive wert (”if thou wert honest”).

Imperative Mood:

The imperative takes the bare form be (”Be silent,” “Be gone”). Negative imperatives follow the pattern Be not rather than the modern “Don’t be” (”Be not afraid”).

Contractions:

Elizabethan usage favors contractions with be: ‘tis (it is), ‘twas (it was), ‘twere (it were), ‘twill (it will). These contractions appear freely in verse to maintain meter and in prose to represent rapid speech.

The Thou/You Distinction:

The choice between thou art and you are carries social meaning. Thou signals intimacy (between lovers, close family), condescension (superior to inferior, adult to child), or contempt (deliberate insult through excessive familiarity). You signals respect, formality, or social distance. A character switching from you to thou mid-scene signals a dramatic shift in relationship—whether growing intimacy or sudden anger.

Common Errors to Avoid:

Do not use art with you (”you art”)—this combination never occurs. Do not use wast in subjunctive contexts (”if thou wast”)—the subjunctive requires wert. Do not place not before be in imperatives (”Not be afraid”)—the correct order is be not.

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SECTION E: Cultural Context

The Verb of Existence in Shakespeare’s World

The verb be carries philosophical weight in Elizabethan discourse that extends beyond its grammatical function. When Hamlet asks “To be, or not to be,” he employs the infinitive to pose the fundamental question of existence itself—whether to continue living or to choose death. This philosophical sense of be as “to exist” permeates Renaissance literature, influenced by humanist engagement with classical texts where Latin esse and Greek einai received extensive philosophical treatment.

The thou art / you are distinction operated as a living social code. In Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch instructs Sir Andrew Aguecheek to insult Cesario by using thou: “If thou thou’st him some thrice, it shall not be amiss.” The deliberate shift to familiar forms when speaking to a social equal or superior constituted a calculated offense. Conversely, addressing a social inferior with you could signal unusual respect or ironic distance.

Regional and Class Variation:

While London theatrical usage standardized around the forms presented here, regional dialects preserved alternative conjugations. The form be as a present indicative (”I be,” “we be”) survived in rural western dialects, occasionally appearing in stage representations of rustic speech. Similarly, been as a past participle sometimes appeared as bin in less formal registers.

The Subjunctive in Decline:

Even during Shakespeare’s lifetime, the subjunctive be was yielding to indicative is in conditional clauses. Shakespeare himself varies between “if it be” and “if it is” according to metrical need, register, and degree of uncertainty being expressed. By the late seventeenth century, the subjunctive be would sound archaic in most contexts.

Idiomatic Expressions:

Elizabethan English employs be in constructions now obsolete: be it so (let it be thus), so be it (amen, agreed), as it were (so to speak), how be it or howbeit (however, nevertheless). The phrase let be means “leave alone” or “cease” (”Let be, let be”).

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SECTION F: Literary Citation

Source: William Shakespeare, Hamlet (c. 1600), Act III, Scene 1

F-A: Interlinear Analysis

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.

F-B: Natural Text with Translation

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.

“To exist, or not to exist: that is the question. Whether it is more noble mentally to endure the attacks of violent fate, or to take up weapons against an overwhelming mass of difficulties, and by resisting them, bring them to an end.”

F-C: Original Text Only

F-D: Vocabulary and Grammar Notes

The infinitive to be here means “to exist, to continue living.” The contraction ‘tis exemplifies the common Elizabethan reduction of “it is.” The adjective outrageous carries its original sense of “violent, excessive” rather than the modern “shocking, offensive.” The phrase a sea of troubles employs metaphor—troubles imagined as an overwhelming ocean. The gerund opposing functions as object of the preposition by, indicating means.

F-E: Literary and Contextual Commentary

Hamlet’s soliloquy opens with the most famous use of the infinitive be in English literature. By stripping the verb to its bare infinitive form, Shakespeare achieves maximum philosophical abstraction—not “should I live?” but the universal question of existence itself. The speech demonstrates the contemplative subjunctive mood throughout: life is framed as a series of hypotheticals, choices not yet made. The passage also shows Shakespeare’s characteristic mixed metaphor (military “slings and arrows” combined with nautical “sea of troubles”), which Ben Jonson criticized but which creates psychological verisimilitude—a mind under pressure does not maintain consistent imagery.

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GENRE SECTION: Dramatic Dialogue

Scene: A garden at twilight. EDWARD, a young gentleman, encounters MARGARET, a noblewoman he has admired from afar. They have never spoken privately before.

2.1a EDWARD: Lady, I am bold to speak, though I be but a stranger to your ear.

2.2a MARGARET: You are too forward, sir. What is your purpose?

2.3a EDWARD: My purpose is honest, though my manner be rough.

2.4a MARGARET: If thou wert a lord, I should hear thee; but thou art merely a gentleman’s son.

2.5a EDWARD: Thou art cruel to use such words, yet I am not deterred.

2.6a MARGARET: Wast thou not taught that silence is golden?

2.7a EDWARD: I was, but there are truths that must be spoken.

2.8a MARGARET: Be not so certain of thy welcome here.

2.9a EDWARD: ‘Tis true I am unwelcome, yet my heart is unchanged.

2.10a MARGARET: Were I to believe thee, I should be a fool.

2.11a EDWARD: Thou art no fool; thy wisdom is apparent to all.

2.12a MARGARET: If it be flattery, ‘twill not serve thy cause.

2.13a EDWARD: My words are sincere, though they be clumsy.

2.14a MARGARET: ‘Twas ever thus with men; they are full of pretty speeches.

2.15a EDWARD: Then let time be the judge; I am patient, and thou art worth the waiting.

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About This Course

This course employs the Latinum Institute methodology, combining frequency-based vocabulary instruction with interlinear construed text to make Elizabethan English accessible to modern readers. Each lesson focuses on a single high-frequency word, presenting it across multiple contexts and grammatical functions.

The interlinear format—showing grammatical analysis beneath each word—enables autodidactic learners to decode unfamiliar constructions independently. By beginning with the most common words and progressing systematically through the frequency list, students build comprehension efficiently while encountering authentic literary language from the earliest lessons.

Elizabethan English represents a critical stage in the development of Modern English, preserving grammatical distinctions and vocabulary that illuminate both Shakespeare’s works and the historical evolution of our language.

Course Index:

https://latinum.substack.com/p/index

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