Politeness in Shakespeare: Applying Brown and Levinson´s politeness theory to Shakespeare's comedies (PDF)

although a lord, is being more polite than Isabella, who is only a nun.

In Pompey, now a deputy executioner, is sent to fetch Barnardine, a `dissolute prisoner, for execution so that his head can be disguised as Claudio s and sent to Angelo. The scoring system allocates +1 for each deferential sir and another point for the use of the `in-group identity term your friends (positive politeness), which gives a total score of +3. Barnardine s response, although it scores +1 for giving reasons I am sleepy, is a threat to Pompey s positive face because it contains an insult you rogue and the `verbless imperative away, which is used twice (-2). It is almost dawn and Barnardine is still a little under the effect of alcohol, which may account for his impoliteness. According to Brown and Gilman, drunkenness is overlooked in the scoring. However, Barnardine cannot be compared to the drunken Cassio s incivility in Othello.

The interesting aspect about the contrast in is, however, Pompey s ironic language. To score his sirs as deferential and your friend as an instance of positive politeness would therefore be a mistake. The following quotation taken from Kendall can clarify this point:

There are major analytic advantages to viewing humans as actors who create and interpret meanings rather than `subjects who respond to features. One of the most notable is that the former position renders intelligible all the highly creative plays on order and regularity that the latter position cannot touch. It allows one to account for ironic forms of address, whether they be humorous or sarcastic [...]. To understand that an instance of address is humorous, a person has to understand the conventional meaning of the form to be sure, but the person must also understand that the speaker intends to use the form non-seriously.

Accordingly, Pompey knows that Barnardine can recognise sarcastic intonation, i.e. the falseness of Pompey s polite statement is made clear by a `contradictory tone of the utterance . Barnardine can understand that the use of your friends does not imply `solidarity . Likewise, he knows that the deferential sirs carry a more heavily ironic message because a deputy executioner does not address people who are sentenced to death with such terms. He also knows that a powerful person accords himself or herself the right to impose his or her power prerogative on persons with less power, i.e. to address them baldly on-record. In fact, is only an apparently contradictory contrast because Pompey is not really more polite than Barnardine. However, it is an interesting dyad because of its important implications for politeness theory, i.e. Pompey s use of irony.

In The Taming of the Shrew Katharina is in the course of being tamed by Petruchio s behaviour, which is more outrageous and extravagant than her shrewdness. For instance, she is even denied food by Petruchio s servant, Grumio. As a result she contents herself with whatever she is offered to eat, thereby implicitly abasing herself (negative politeness: +1), this is clearly observed in her exaggeration (passing good: +2) (positive politeness). In addition, there is an indirect request I prithee, which adds another point for giving deference (negative politeness), making a total score of +3. Grumio s response proves that he is acting in collaboration with Petruchio as Katharina receives no food. On the contrary, Grumio decides to go on mocking her and suggests another sort of food. His ridicule of Katharina shows that he has no positive evaluation of her positive face. Katharina is more polite than Grumio.

In Twelfth Night Olivia, thinking that Viola is a man, falls in love with her. Her change of attitude towards Cesario/Viola is reflected in her linguistic behaviour. In she is extremely polite, which is not the case in Olivia s earlier speeches to her, cf. dyad. Her speech reveals a marked preference for negative politeness: the three indirect requests (Give me leave: +2, beseech you: +2, what might you think?: +1) score +5 for deference. Further deference is expressed by her self-abasement (so did I abuse myself, shameful cunning, and a cypress, not a bosom, hideth my heart: +3). In addition to giving deference, she begs forgiveness (I fear me: +1). Nominalisation is also at work (hard construction, shameful cunning, your receiving: +3). Moreover, the `hypothetical hedge might in the indirect request, cited above, indicates scepticism (+1), which brings the speech to a total score of +13 for negative politeness alone. Cesario/Olivia s response, on the other hand, scores only +1 for positive politeness `I pity you . The speech from the higher to the lower is the more polite.

In Sir Toby, who permanently mocks Malvolio in the play, addresses Malvolio with man, a familiar form of address. Malvolio knows that Sir Toby, his social superior, is being unpleasant to him, and that the use of positive politeness man is insincere and ironic. However, this insincerity does not give Malvolio sufficient grounds for being impolite. First, he imposes on Sir Toby by asking him twice to go off, second, he treats Sir Toby as if he were a worthless person: I discard you. Third, Malvolio claims the right to non-imposition let me enjoy my private. All these prerogatives belong to a duke, not to a steward like Malvolio. His powerful speech does not fit his social rank. Malvolio is less polite than Sir Toby.