The Words episode of Radiolab (iTunes link) features an interesting segment on how Shakespeare behaved like a language chemist, combining words like elements. The relevant story starts at 22:00 in of the episode.
According to James Shapiro, a Shakespeare scholar at Columbia, the un- prefix is something Shakespeare created (at least he was the first to use it in print or on stage). That means he invented the words unaware, uncomfortable, undress, uneducated, unwillingness, unsolicited, and unreal. Also, words like madcap and eyeball. That’s right, the word eyeball didn’t actually exist until Shakespeare came up with it.
Plenty of Shakespeare phrases have stuck with us too. Some examples mentioned by Shapiro:
Truth will out.
What’s done is done.
Dead as a doornail.
Every dog will have its day.
Fool’s paradise.
The game is afoot.
It’s Greek to me.
Kill with kindness.
Love is blind.
All’s well that end’s well.
See more of Shakespeare’s coinages (via EL). It’s neat to think about one person sitting down and actually creating so many of these words and phrases which now seem ubiquitous.
Nick
on 07 Sep 10He also took familiar words and used them in ways that force you to stop and think about what he meant. (e.g. “Nay, godded me, indeed.”)
We were just talking about this yesterday.
Seems like everyone has started reducing their vocabulary and messages into something that will fit in 140 characters.
Adam
on 07 Sep 10It’s important to be careful about these. There are many lists of “words Shakespeare invented,” but what they actually boil down to is, “words where Shakespeare is the oldest surviving written source.” For literature scholars, this is valuable, but in the evolution of the English language it is unlikely these are really inventions.
It is wrong to have the picture of the Bard sitting at a desk and pondering what new words he should make up today. More likely, he had in common with modern novelists the desire to use fresh and gritty new words he heard from his life outside of the British upper class.
In this light, the moral isn’t “sit around and think of something really smart and new” but instead: “find inspiration in the world around you and take advantage of opportunities others are missing.”
Joe
on 07 Sep 10Great post. The entire episode is well worth the time, very interesting and well put-together.
Bear
on 07 Sep 10I recently read book The Professor and the Madman (http://amzn.to/dzRXIB) about the making of the first Oxford English Dictionary. The book mentions the fact that Shakespeare didn’t have a dictionary (See Adam’s point about being the oldest surviving written source) during his time and, in fact, most people did not have a clear sense of meaning of even some of the simplest words in the English vocabulary.
It makes one wonder, did this lack of formal rules of what words even existed free Shakespeare up to create some of the greatest works of all time and, in turn, does the uber-formal rules of proper grammar hurt the creativity of the modern writer?
My guess is the gains of clear communication trump the fact you have to follow so many rules, but it’s an interesting idea to ponder.
Michael
on 07 Sep 10Bear, what communication gains exactly? People say more nonsense than ever. Plays like Shakespeare’s were understood by everyone.
Kirk Franklin
on 07 Sep 10According to The Story of English:
Anthony
on 09 Sep 10I think it’s a testament to the genius of Shakespeare’s creativity that his use of the English language is still the origin of many words and phrases used today in modern communication. I am a christian music fan and even notice his influence within the lyrics of many of my favorite artists.
UGG pas cher
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clay
on 10 Sep 10Couple more of my favorite phrases: - “method to my/his/her madness” – from Hamlet (“He’s mad, but there’s method to it” or something to that effect) - “one fell swoop” from MacBeth
This discussion is closed.