In the Elizabethan era, did people really speak like the characters in Shakespeare's plays or is that language simply dramatic?
by 
Kristen W
ANSWERS: 5
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Shakespeare wrote a lot in iambic pentameter (a type of poetic meter) even in works we do not normally consider "poetry". While it makes for an interesting rhythmic effect, people did not go around talking in iambic pentameter. And while Shakespeare's verse flows remarkably well, the naturalness of language generally diminishes a bit when forced into a set metrical pattern. On another note, it is important to remember that the characters are meant to sound dramatic, since they were part of theatrical productions. Shakespeare (and therefore his characters) was extremely witty. In real life, not everyone can come up that sort of wit out of the blue. Afterall, do you and your friends sound like people on sitcoms?
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There are many short conversations in Shakespeare's plays, which are not in iambic pentameter, and yes, that's how people spoke then. It sounds strange to us because it's another dialect of English, the one from which modern British developed. American took another turn from British, but the two are still close enough together that you can't call them dialects. (A dialect can be loosely defined as "Any language that you can learn in one semester." Portugues would be a dialect for a Spaniard, but it would be a foreign language for a Russian and a fairly difficult one for a Tahitian.
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Technically, the modern American dialect is closer to the Elizabethan dialect of Shakespeare's time than the modern British dialect. The choice of words was appropriate to the vernacular of the time and place.
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who started the elizabethan language and why was it started and when was it started?
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Yes, that is how they spoke (except for when poetry is used). Shakespeare's language was very much the everyday language of the people. That is why he was so popular. If he had been writing in a dramatic language that few people could follow, he would not have been so popular.
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