Should I use thou instead of you in a 1692 historical fiction?
I am writing a historical fiction based in 1692 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Should I use thou instead of you?
- Christa
Tags: Fiction Writing, Historical Fiction, Ipswich Massachusetts, Writing Fiction
April 10th, 2009 at 3:11 am
Definitely. They didn’t necessarily use “you” like we do; look back at Shakephere classics, it’s all thou, and art, and thee, and thy.
April 13th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
You can use it, that is what people would have said at that time, but you’d be wise to use it sparingly. It can get distracting when authors try to depict too faithfully how people speak and it can end up really taking away from the story.
Cheers.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:04 am
You shouldn’t feel compelled as it is not a necessity. It would make it better, but then you must be very thoroughly acquainted with the full style and grammar of that time. If your not it will come out sounding fake.
April 18th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
If you do, make sure to use it correctly. People didn’t say Thee and thou to everyone