On
Wednesday, it was Shakespeare’s 450th birthday. In celebration, I
began reading The Tempest, which is required
reading for one of my classes. In addition, I also decided to do a little bit
of research on the Bard.
Through
my light research, I realized that there’s a lot we owe to Shakespeare. I came
across an article from NPR’s Ask Me
Another about some common words and phrases that Shakespeare likely coined.
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| Photo I took of the books I use in my Shakespeare class. |
I
never really thought about some of the words Shakespeare uses in his plays, I
just read them and deciphered meaning. But after looking at the list provided
from NPR, I recognized how many of the words I actually use in my daily life.
For
example, Shakespeare coined the word “gloomy” in his play Titus Andronicus. A little more out there, Shakespeare also created
the word “bedazzled” in The Taming of the
Shrew.
When
I read The Taming of the Shrew
earlier this semester, I’m surprised this word did not stand out to me more, as
I’ve always thought it was coined more recently. However, that being said, the
meaning has definitely shifted over the years.
As
for phrases that Shakespeare coined, in Othello,
he used the phrase “heart on my sleeve,” which is a phrase many people use in
their daily lives.
In
Macbeth, Shakespeare coined the
phrase “Knock, knock! Who’s there?” However, it’s unclear whether or not
Shakespeare can be credited with the creation of the classic Knock-Knock joke
as a result of this play.
Another
phrase we can credit to Shakespeare is, “method in the madness,” which he used
in Hamlet. This is another common
phrase we still use today.
There
are other words and phrases we owe to Shakespeare such as:
“skim milk” (Henry IV)
“swagger” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
“one fell swoop” (Macbeth)
“laughable” (The Merchant of Venice)
“jaded” (Henry VI)
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