Don't worry. I'm not going to be quoting Shakespeare. At least, not much. It strikes me as odd that those three words are so well known and yet, not one of them is currently in vogue within the English language proper (or improper for that matter.) They are archaic colloquialisms. They were proper and even common in the days old Will put them on the stage. But now they've fallen out of favor, adrift for a while, then settled between the grates of the drains of language along with tons of other passe parts of speech.

 Shakespeare was a writer of his day. It is believed that the odd use of language preserved in his plays and poems were very approachable by the common man (and woman- though not on stage) of the day. He was a man of the streets, so to speak. So he was well understood by the street urchins and penniless (at least after paying the penny for the penny seats on the ground floor.) I'm sure the snooty theater reviewers of the day looked down upon Will's base use of gutter language and turns of phrase. It was not the upper crust of things as proper theater should be.

And of course the Globe Theater was a popular place specifically because of the approachability of the language spoken on that stage. It is only through the passage of time and distance from the changes in the language that has put Shakespearian dialog on a pedestal, only to be understood by the learned and astute. Ironic, that. William would not be please, I would think.

But that is the rub of language. It is to change the very nature of our understanding of the world. Given time we will no longer be able to comprehend what is common to even the babes in the bassinets of today. Except for lingering vestiges of tongue stuck upon a accidental life boat, the common terms and phrases today will soon be lost to the speakers of our descendants' tongues. I doubt very much if "I googled their MySpace, but, didn't find squat," will mean much to anyone in the distant future. It will be as archain to them as "Wherefore art thou?" is to us today. And unless Tom Stoppard puts it in a play that survives the ages, I doubt googling will be one of those preserved words.

Wherefore art thou? I'm over here. But you can't understand me anymore. More's the pity. 

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