"Now no way can I stray" : interpreting syntactic and semantic role ambiguity in Shakespeare's dramatic verse with nonnative performers and readers

THE FOCUS OF THIS STUDY is on the comprehension and production of Shakespearean language by performers and audiences, specifically with reference to the interpretation of propositional meaning. Shakespeare's dramatic work remains of central importance to the teaching of literature worldwide, notably in the Anglophone domain, in which, at tertiary level at least, his work continues to be intensively studied. The passage of four centuries, however, has opened up quite a large space between the wording of Shakespeare's texts and more usual forms of expression in modern English. No performer or teacher of Shakespeare would deny that her/his work is often linguistically challenging for contemporary performers and audiences. This being the case for native speakers of English, particularly for non-specialists, his language can be all the more challenging for non-native students at both secondary and tertiary levels in overseas contexts, where his works have remained extremely popular in curricula.