ABSTRACT
In Shakespeare’s time training in uses of language was not linguistics (a modern enterprise which got under way, after a few bumpy starts, in the early twentieth century), but rhetoric.1 Schoolboys at the time learned the various figures of sound, grammar and meaning. Particularly in Shakespeare’s earlier plays, these occur in abundance. Therefore it may be that a (necessarily sketchy) introduction to some of them may be helpful to our pupils and students. A few notes are offered here together with some suggested activities.
