Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson have proposed that power (P) distance (D) and the ranked
extremity (R) of a face-threatening act are the universal determinants of politeness levels in
dyadic discourse. This claim is tested here for Shakespeare's use of Early Modern English in
Much Ado about Nothing Measure for Measure The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night. The
comedies are used because: (1) dramatic texts provide the best information on colloquial speech
of the period (2) the psychological soliloquies in the comedies provide the access to inner
life that is necessary for a proper test of politeness theory and (3) the comedies represent
the full range of society in a period of high relevance to politeness theory. The four plays
are systematically searched for pairs of minimally contrasting dyads where the dimensions of
contrast are power (P) distance (D) and intrinsic extremity (R). Whenever such a pair is
found there are two speeches to be scored for politeness and a prediction from theory as to
which should be more polite. The results for P and for R are those predicted by theory but the
results for D are not. The two components of D interactive closeness and affect are not
closely associated in the plays. Affect strongly influences politeness (increased liking
increases politeness and decreased liking decreases politeness) interactive closeness has
little or no effect on politeness. The uses of politeness for the delineation of character in
the comedies are illustrated.
