We all know who William Shakespeare was. Many of you have read some of his plays but very few are likely to be familiar with all 38. But how many people are aware of his incredible contribution to the English language? I doubt if we’ve really thought about this. But it’s almost incalculable. By one count, he’s contributed 1,700 words. You’ll find that figure repeated in most studies of his impact on English.
For example, consider this and I bet you didn’t know Shakespeare was responsible for these everyday words. Alligator (Romeo and Juliet); bedroom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream); critic (Love’s Labour’s Lost); downstairs (Henry IV Part 1); fashionable (Troilus and Cressida); gossip (The Comedy of Errors); lonely(Coriolanus); manager (Love’s Labour’s Lost); obscene(Love’s Labour’s Lost); puppy dogKing John); traditional (richard iii); Jaded (Henry VI Part 2); eyeball(Henry VI Part 1). Inaudible(All’s Well That Ends Well); questioning (As You Like It); skim milkHenry IV Part 1); kissing (Love’s Labour’s Lost); hurry(The Comedy of Errors); premeditated (Henry IV Part 1); nerve (Coriolanus); rant(Hamlet).
But Shakespeare’s genius wasn’t limited to creating new words. He also artfully played around with many of the words that existed in his time. Nouns were turned into verbs, verbs into adjectives, and prefixes and suffixes were added to alter the meaning of others. So, for example, to elbow (King Lear), to champion (King Lear), to cow (Henry V), to stomach (Henry V) and to brain (Cymbeline) were coined by him. Uncomfortable, from Romeo and Julietis an example of a word he crafted by adding un to an older word. Its meaning is at once obvious. Today, we use these words all the time. Now you’ll know their literary antecedents.
However, what’s particularly striking are the phrases he’s contributed to the English language and which we use in our everyday speech. For instance, did you know that the following were the Bard’s gift to the way we speak? I certainly didn’t.
We have seen better days (As You Like It); too much of a good thing (As You Like It); neither rhyme nor reasonThe Comedy of Errors); I have not slept one wink (Cymbeline); cruel to be kind (Hamlet); own flesh and blood (Hamlet); A dish fit for the Gods (Julius Caesar); what’s done is done (Macbeth); the be-all and the end-all (Macbeth); green eyed monsterOthello); all that glitters isn’t goldMerchant of Venice); the world is my oyster (The Merry Wives of Windsor); break the iceTaming the Shrew); wild goose chaseRomeo and Juliet); a tower of strengthrichard iii); short shrift (richard iii). Catch a cold (Cymbeline); laughing stockThe Merry Wives of Windsor); for goodness’ sake (Henry VIII); in my heart of hearts (Hamlet); wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello); foregone conclusion (Othello).
If you think I have given you a lot of examples, the truth is I could have given you many, many more. Here are some that sound positively contemporaneous but they are, in fact, Shakespearean. Heart of gold; in a pickle; one fell swoop; melted into thin air; kill with kindness; eat me out of house and home; all the world’s a stage; fool’s paradise; not budge an inch; the game is up; lie low; naked truth, a sorry sight; method in the madness; seen better days; good riddance; love is blind; too much of a good thing; the clothes make the man; brave new world.
There is one inescapable conclusion and I doubt if you’ll disagree with it. Shakespeare’s impact on English is so vast and wide that all of us end up quoting him, probably several times a day, without realizing it. This also means that the simplest of things we say could actually have a rich and vaunted past.
Thank you, Shakespeare! Many of us are intimidated by your language, but when we realize that the words and phrases we daily use are derived from your plays perhaps that might change. That’s why seeing them on stage is so different to studying them in school.
Karan Thapar is the author of Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story. The views expressed are personal
