ABSTRACT
Modern grammarians have approached negation with a view to establishing rules for its use, usually from a transformational standpoint. The concentration so far on declarative sentences has been deliberate since a distinction between various types of clause has not been made by previous investigators in Shakespeare’s language. A characteristic feature of Shakespeare’s style is his fondness for ellipsis which allows him to compress more meaning in fewer words. When there is a negative in the elliptical expression, this will naturally not be omitted since the sentence would otherwise change its meaning. Verbs or nouns may be left out as easily as the more grammatical parts of speech. The result is that the negation is thrown into greater prominence, though it is hardly provable that this was Shakespeare's intention. The focus of negation has been carried forward to the nominal groups which do not need it, presumably to emphasise the negative expression of the clause as a whole.
