from hour to hour we rot and rot. And thereby hangs a tale. In Early Modern English, "hour" was pronounced , homophonous to "whore"; H-dropping was regularly observed. The change in pronunciation of both words in Modern English means that a sexual joke is missed by a modern audience. Rhyme An example of a Shakespearean rhyme that no longer works in Modern English comes from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Scene II, lines 104-106: Flower of this purple dye, Hit with Cupid's archery, Sink in apple of his eye. In Modern English pronunciation, the rhyme does not work in all lines, but in Original Pronunciation, all three lines rhyme, ending with . Reactions The audience reaction to Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation varies. Laura Lodewyck cites a New York Times review of the 2005 production of Troilus and Cressida in which the reviewer states: Alternatively, David Crystal writes that audience members often connect to the performance through the pronunciation and comments: "We speak like that where we come from." However, as Lodewyck also notes, as a leading expert in that area of study, Crystal has reasons to be biased toward such productions. Original Pronunciation can also have an effect on the actors involved. Ben Crystal, a Shakespearean actor and son of David Crystal, comments on the way Shakespeare in original pronunciation affects his body and vocal register: Although the beginning of the Globe's foray into Original Pronunciation showed that older actors had more difficulty in embracing it, successful performances eventually occurred. References External links David Crystal's website on original pronunciation Paul Meier's transcript of A Midsummer Night's Dream in original pronunciation with David Crystal's recording The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation by David Crystal Shakespeare's Original Pronunciation CD by Ben Crystal Stage productions of plays by William Shakespeare