Shakespearean letters

Ward quotes Rosalind’s line, “Say a day, without the ever,” and asks, “Did Shakespeare know he had used all five vowels, and with such symmetrical elegance that the first two, appearing three times each, neatly surround the remaining three in correct order within: a-a-a-i-o-u-e-e-e?”

He suspects not, but then observes that “Shakespeare’s suppleness of language arises from practised sensitivity to letter-placement on all levels and deft use of the results . . . . By letter placement ‘at all levels’ I am suggesting that it is more than the commonly used alliteration and pun, unusually easy and reposeful as they are. Rather, it is perpetual sensitivity to singles, pairs and trios of letters, how they hint at other words’ meanings, or further half-heard meanings in themselves.” He notes the shared o, l, and r in “Orlando” and “Oliver,” and one might also point to Malvolio, Olivia, and Viola – three names sharing three vowels and, apart from the M of Malvolio, using only two consonants.