I do not think’t.

-Claudius

                                   

Hamlet                                    Act V, Scene ii, Line 293

Well, we’re at the last scene of Hamlet again. Been a while since we’ve been here. So far in this play we’ve killed off Polonius and Ophelia. Now in this scene we’re about to lose Hamlet, Laertes, Gertrude, and Claudius. Did I miss anyone? I do not think’t.

So before we leave for the day, just a few words about ‘think’t’. Old Will turned a five syllable line into a four syllable line by turning ‘think it’ into ‘think’t’. I can only assume that’s what he was doing. I don’t think that ‘think’t’ was standard usage back then. But I don’t really know. Anyway, there are multitudinous times throughout his writings that he does this with all sorts of words. And I picked up on this trick and used it in my own book (yes, this is a plug; here’s the website of the publisher of the book I wrote: www.pursuingwillbooks.com ). Did I use this particular contraction in my own book? I'm not sure, but I do not think’t. 

  

 Here's the cover of the book. What do you think?

Are not the speedy scouts return’d again,

That dogg’d the mighty army of the Dauphin?

 

-York

                                   

King Henry VI Part I                   Act IV, Scene iii, Line 1

 

 

Let’s shoot straight through to today’s pic.

This is our new dog, and she's quite speedy. And her name is Miss Jean Louise Finch, but we call her Scout. Get it? Speedy, Scout, dog(g'd). Pretty clever, eh?

                         Yet, forgive me, God,

That I do brag thus.

-Henry

                                   

King Henry V                            Act III, Scene vi, Line 157