It seems that with all of Shakespeare's prolific writing, he was responsible for contributing hundreds of words and phrases that we still use today. Some of these phrases have changed a little in usage today, or may have a slightly different meaning than originally, but Shakespeare did indeed know how to play with words in such a manner as to coin new expressions and axioms that we appreciate and use frequently today. He is often credited with changing a word's meaning or function (using a verb as a noun, such as "lace" becoming "laced"), adding prefixes or suffixes to make new words, or rearranging or combining words to give us new ones.
Words in our everyday language that can most likely be attributed to Shakespeare include eyeball, alligator, bedazzle, arch-villian, go-between and unearthly. Some of the phrases with which we are familiar today having been penned by Wm. Shakespeare are "eaten out of house and home", "pomp and circumstance", "strange bedfellows" and "a sorry sight". Many of the phrases attributed to Shakespeare may not have been originally coined by him but brought to the forefront by his plays. And many phrases that folks attribute to Shakespeare have been traced back to documented use before his time. Some of these "faux Shakespeare" quips include "all that glitters is not gold", "in a pickle", "out of the question" and "the naked truth".
4 comments:
I've always thought that Will had much more impact on future generations than we will ever know. He had a way of making personal mental contact that is in my opinion unsurpassed. I'm pleased to see you pointed out some of his contributions. Nice post!
I found this very interesting as we read about it. so many everyday words we use that were coined by him, or made into popular usage. I especially like how he took everyday thoughts/ideas/words and came up with new ones. I think it's good to "play" with language like that, and I think that is part of how it evolves, even today. I mean, we've got words like "blog" which can come from the same type idea. and yes, he had a great impact
One of the most well known "faux" Shakespearisms is that one about "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." It actually wasn't written until 1808 (Marmion), nearly 200 years after Shakespeare's death.
http://www.shakespearegeek.com
oh, very interesting! it is funny how things like that get mixed up. thanks for sharing that here. always appreciate the great comments!
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