How did Shakespeare’s plays really sound when they were performed in his lifetime? Language changes through time and the accent used to speak Shakespeare when he was alive (1564-1616) was different from what we might hear today. There have been theatrical attempts to revive what The Globe call Shakespeare’s “original pronunciation” on stage, but until now samples of Shakespeare’s original pronunciation were not available on CD.
The British Library has just released a new CD featuring speeches and scenes which claim to be performed as Shakespeare would have heard them. Shakespeare’s original pronunciation sounds closer to an American accent than we might expect! The new CD contains 75 minutes of Shakespeare in a dialect that was previously thought long dead, now resurrected for Shakespearean purists. This is a must for all actors and Shakespeare lovers to listen to.
Click on the link here to be taken to an article in “The Telegraph” to hear three samples of Shakespeare’s original pronunciation.