History Main / FloweryElizabethanEnglish

* The King James Bible is an odd case. The period following the Elizabethan period (i.e. when the eponymous James was on the throne) is formally the ''Jacobean'' period (because Latin is weird). However, it's still an example, because it was deliberately written in so-called "flowery" language to make it sound pleasing to the ear when read aloud. This form of English was already slightly out of date and very formal sounding to an average English speaker of the time- which to the translators, made it sound more "biblical" and authoritative.

* Appears several times in ''Literature/TheElenium''. All the speaking dead, whether they died centuries before or a few days before. A man playing a ressurected dead hero speaks this way, plagiarizing an old play. Also [[spoiler: Bhelliom speaks this way]].

** This is deliberate as part of his TranslationConvention. The Rohirrim, in chapters centred on them, are deliberately styled on Anglo-Saxons and their speech follows the cadence and vocabulary content of Old English. Even the narrative of these chapters uses a minimum of Latinate English vocabulary - this came later with the Norman invasions - and attempts to use only "pure" English words descended from Anglo-Saxon. This is to convey the impression of a proud warrior race who are distinct from, and less advanced than, the Gondorians. Who do use the full-blown more Middle English to denote their greater cultural depth and history.
** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' also features similar language to an even larger degree, which makes sense, considering it's a chronicle of Elvish legend and history covering tens of thousands of years prior to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', making it biblical in breadth. The ''Ainulindalie'' features overt use of Biblical pronouns (''thee'' and ''thou'') befitting its status as a creation narrative, and particularly dramatic spoken lines (Fëanor's threat to Fingolfin, Beren's response to Thingol's accusations, and Gurthang speaking to Turin) are commonly written in an overtly archaic style.

* ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorneyChronicles'': As a Shakespearean actor, [[MeaningfulName William Shamspeare]] constantly speaks this way; he only falters and speaks normally when he's startled or angered during his testimony, and he eventually drops the act completely once [[spoiler: he's revealed as Duncan Ross's killer.]]

* When Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa) decided to have the Japanese empire surrender, he took the unprecedented step of delivering the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirohito_surrender_broadcast announcement]] that Japan was surrendering personally over the radio to his subjects. For many Japanese at the time this was the first time they had ever heard the voice of their Emperor, and many didn't fully understand the type of Classical Japanese the Emperor was speaking.

* In the original UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh version of ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}'', the GameOver scene (with TheGrimReaper staring you in the face) was titled "Thou Art Dead!"

* ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorneyChronicles'': As a Shakespearean actor, [[MeaningfulName William Shamspeare]] constantly speaks this way; he only [[AccentSlipUp falters and speaks normally]] when he's startled or angered during his testimony, and he eventually drops the act completely once [[spoiler: he's revealed as Duncan Ross's killer.]]

* Brother Andrew (1928 - ) spoke like this when he was attending a missionary school in Great Britain some time after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, because he learned English by using a Dutch-English Dictionary and the King James Bible (first printed in ''1611''). In his autobiography ''God's Smuggler'', he showed the effect this had on his English by recalling an incident where he once asked for butter saying "Thus saith the neighbour of Andrew, that thou wouldst be pleased to pass the butter." Oh, and he had a very thick Dutch accent that made it hard for him to pronounce the "th" digraph.

** The Dracolord from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' is the sole DQ character to retain the YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe from his source game when he appears in ''VideoGame/FortuneStreet'', though vastly improved.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'', the Hero and his allies use Early Modern English.

* ''[[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]'', and all of the other Asgardians of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, spoke until recently in Ren Faire-esque English. There have been several nods to Shakespeare over the years, including many quotes, mis-quotes, and even the character Volstagg the Voluminous, a pastiche of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's Falstaff (from ''Theatre/HenryIV parts 1 and 2''). (The most recent relaunch of the character has him and his fellow Asgardians speaking formally but not archaically, and they keep their own font.) ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'', a reimagination of the Avengers in the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe, averts this in the first two arcs, written by Creator/MarkMillar, as Thor speaks like a normal person. He started talking this way since ''The Ultimates 3''. Later on, they go back to the initial style: Tony says that he's tired of it, ''know'' Thor can talk normally, and will donate money to a charity on the condition that Thor give up ye olde Englishe.

* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': Arendish folks talk like this, particularly the Mimbrates...though the Asturians deliberately change accents out of their contempt for the Mimbrates. One (non-Arendish) character trying to [[TVGenius sound intelligent]] speaks like this for a few pages, before being explicitly told that she sounds ridiculous. Thoroughly and hilariously [[{{LampshadeHanging}} lampshaded]] in ''The Malloreon'' when Poledra remarks that if they stick around the Arends long enough, everyone will be doing it. In Mallorea, the Dals also speak this way, especially the Seers. Once the group make it to Dal Perivor, where the natives are descendents of ''both'' Dals and Mimbrates, everyone does indeed start using it, resulting in The Woman Who Watches complaining that it's time to leave before everyone begins composing bad poetry. For his part, Eddings not only does the style grammatically, but (in ''The Rivan Codex'') is highly critical of those who try but get it wrong.

* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': Arendish folks talk like this, particularly the Mimbrates...though the Asturians deliberately change accents out of their contempt for the Mimbrates. One (non-Arendish) character trying to [[TVGenius sound intelligent]] speaks like this for a few pages, before being explicitly told that she sounds ridiculous. Thoroughly and hilariously [[{{LampshadeHanging}} lampshaded]] in ''The Malloreon'' when Poledra remarks that if they stick around the Arends long enough, everyone will be doing it. For his part, Eddings not only does the style grammatically, but (in ''The Rivan Codex'') is highly critical of those who try but get it wrong.

* ''Literature/TheGoblinEmperor'' uses "thee" and "you" to indicate differing levels of formality, as well as reflecting the novel's pre-mordern steampunk setting. Accurately, "thee" and "thou" are used to indicate an intimate relationship, whereas "you" is the pronoun that indicates formality and respect.