Stumped by Shakespeare? Crack the Mystery of ‘You’ in Our Crossword!

Certainly! In the context of Shakespearean language, the crossword clue “You, to Shakespeare” is referring to the second-person singular pronoun ‘THEE’. Here’s a comprehensive explanation of ‘THEE’:

‘THEE‘ is an archaic pronoun used in Early Modern English, particularly during the time when William Shakespeare was writing. It is the objective case of the second-person singular pronoun ‘THOU‘, which is the subject case.

‘THEE‘ is used when addressing a single person directly. It is equivalent to the modern English pronoun ‘you’, but it is important to note that ‘THEE‘ is specifically for addressing one person, not a group. If you were referring to multiple people in Early Modern English, you would use the plural form ‘YE‘ or ‘YOU‘.

In Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, you will often find characters using ‘THEE‘ when speaking directly to another person. For example, in the famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says, “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” Here, she is lamenting that Romeo, the person she loves, belongs to the rival family. In this instance, ‘THEE‘ would be the appropriate pronoun if Juliet were addressing Romeo directly.

‘THEE‘ is also commonly used in religious texts, such as the King James Bible, which was translated during the same period as Shakespeare’s works. So, you might come across ‘THEE‘ when reading religious texts from that era.

In summary, ‘THEE‘ is an archaic second-person singular pronoun used by Shakespeare and other writers of his time. It is used when directly addressing one person and is equivalent to the modern English pronoun ‘you’.