Differences between YOU and THOU in the 16th and 17th Centuries

Differences between YOU and THOU in the Second Person in the 16th and 17th Centuries
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Differences between YOU and THOU in the Second Person in the 16th and 17th CenturiesThe structure of English underwent several significant alterations during the Middle English era. Among these, the elimination of inflectional differences in nouns was the most important. Second, the addition of adjectives, verbs, and the shift from a primarily SOV to an SVO word order. Lastly, there is a tendency to use analytical resources rather than synthetic ones. Speakers and authors of Early Modern English frequently had more forms and constructions at their disposal than we do now. During the seventeenth Century, the number of alternative expressions progressively decreased. By the eighteenth Century, the language's structure began closely approximating Modern Standard English (Barber, 1981). The following discussion will be centered on the differences between the pronouns thou and you, sometimes known as the "pronouns of address," in the second person.
Example One: Hamlet III. i. 97
In the analysis of this example, we look at the use of you on social equals, respect, and admiration. The mentioned brings a talk about power, emotions, solidarity, and politeness. The characters in the same social class tend to be polite and can show solidarity. In the example, Ophelia and Hamlet address each other using the pronoun you. Emotionally, both Ophelia and Hamlet have attracted to one another hence the use of you. Ophelia speaks with a lot of respect and appreciation, and her choice of pronouns reflects this.
According to theorists Brown and Gilman, the use of you and thou pronouns as indications of social class differentiation aided in the evolution of these pronouns. The two, Ophelia and Hamlet, are of the same social class, and there is no imbalance of power. On the other hand, Wales argued that the shifts in social hierarchy and power were independent of linguistic changes in the norm. The aristocracy preferred to use the pronoun you in public contexts rather than the informal or unfriendly form thou. As a result, you and politeness were linked, but thou was the private sphere's expressive form that could express a wide range of emotions. In the example, the scene is public, hence the pronoun you. Additionally, the character wanted to appear friendly to one another.
Example Two: Richard III, III, ii, 1 18-24
According to most experts, shifts between thou and you can occur when a character exhibits hypocrisy before revealing his genuine sentiments in a soliloquy or an aside (Barber 1981). However, it is alluring to interpret these transitions as dramatic hints, signifying to the audience that the pronouns are intended as asides or information shared exclusively with them and no one else. To use Calvo's language from 1992, the change in pronoun would indicate the boundary between two separate parts of a dramatic discourse. Establishing the discourse's structural organization would be beneficial. In the example, the shift from the use of you to the use of thou shows the change in dramatic discourse. Glouchester initially addressed Clarence, but once the scene changed and Claren...