The following piece of English literary is taken from one of Shakespeare’s plays Hamlet and is one of his most famous soliloquies. The first half of the speech, in bold, is the original text taken from the first folio in 1623 and the second half is The Arden Shakespeare complete works revised edition published in 2001. The contrasts in the two not only help to magnify the differences between the language and how it has evolved …showed first 75 words of 1721 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1721 total…cruel to be kind’- taken from Hamlet act III scene iv. In conclusion there are many problems in translation for the modern reader not only because of the age of the piece but also because of the authors own personal style as their stamp can often confuse the reader. It is because of these that it will always prove useful for the student of English Literature to study the history of the english language.