Expert: Arlene Schulman - 6/2/2003

Question
Hi, for my english class I was asked to find how a seventeenth century audience pronounced the name "Hermione". I know now that it is pronounced as... Her - my - oh - knee, but supposedly it was pronounced differently back then. I have been having a hard time finding the answer. If you could help, I would greatly appreciate that. Thank you.

Jason

Answer
Hi Jason,

I'm not sure if you are asking how "Hermione" was actually pronounced by ordinary people who lived in the seventeenth century, or how it was pronounced in Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale".  If it is the former, then I have no idea (and I'm not sure if anyone alive today really knows).  English in those days was pronouced (and actually often spelled) very differently then than it is today both in England and in other English speaking countries.

However, if you are asking how it is pronounced in Shakespeare's plays, that's another question.  Much of the pronunciation in Shakespeare's plays is determined by the way it scans into his iambic pentameter of his verse.

The excellent book, "ALL THE WORDS ON STAGE, A Complete Pronunciation Dictionary for the plays of William Shakespeare" by Louis Scheeder and Shane Ann Younts lists the name "Hermione" (normally pronounced just as you said) as scanning to... Her-MEYE-nee (or as you wrote it... Her MY-knee).  In other words, making the two last syllables into one quick syllable.  

However, I'm pretty sure that the difference is strictly a question of fitting into the verse rather than any real difference in pronunciation between the 17th century and now.

Hope this helps.  If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them for you.

Best,
Arlene (MsDirector)