Politeness in Shakespeare

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Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson propose that power (P), distance (D), and the ranked extremity (R) of a face-threatening act are universal determinants of politeness in dyadic discourse. This theory is examined through Shakespeare's Early Modern English in four comedies: Much Ado about Nothing, Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night. The choice of comedies is justified as they provide rich insights into colloquial speech, reveal characters' inner lives through psychological soliloquies, and reflect a broad societal spectrum relevant to politeness theory. The analysis involves systematically identifying pairs of minimally contrasting dyads based on the dimensions of power, distance, and intrinsic extremity. For each pair, two speeches are analyzed for politeness, with predictions made according to the theory. The findings confirm the predicted results for power and ranked extremity, but not for distance. The two components of distance—interactive closeness and affect—show differing influences on politeness. While affect significantly impacts politeness (greater liking leads to increased politeness), interactive closeness appears to have little effect. The study illustrates how politeness is utilized to develop character in these comedies.