Words Shakespeare Invented Words Shakespeare Invented The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original. Below is a list of a few of the words Shakespeare coined or adapted, hyperlinked to the play and scene from which it comes. ** Please note that the table below gives both a sample of words Shakespeare coined and words he adapted. For more words that Shakespeare coined please see the Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Dr. How to cite this article: Mabillard, Amanda. More Resources Shakespeare's Reputation in Elizabethan England Quotations About William Shakespeare Portraits of Shakespeare Shakespeare's Sexuality Shakespeare's Boss: The Master of Revels Hamlet Essays and Study Guide Macbeth Essays and Study Guide Othello Essays and Study Guide Top 10 Shakespeare Plays
Shakespeare Insults: Top 50 Shakespearean Insults & Put Downs So you think you know a foul word or two? Shakespeare’s insults, put downs and cussing were second to none, and with his insults Shakespeare was most certainly a master of his trade! Read our selection of the top 50 Shakespeare insults below, ordered alphabetically by quote, with play and act/scene listed too. From ” a most notable coward” to “Villian, I have done thy mother” Shakespeare had an insult for any occassion. Top 50 Shakespeare Insults: Shakespeare insult 1: All’s Well That Ends Well (Act 3, Scene 6) “A most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality.” Shakespeare insult 2: Henry IV Part I (Act 2, Scene 4) “Away, you starvelling, you elf-skin, you dried neat’s-tongue, bull’s-pizzle, you stock-fish!” Shakespeare insult 3: The Taming of the Shrew (Act 3, Scene 3) “Away, you three-inch fool! Shakespeare insult 4: The Taming Of The Shrew (Act 5, Scene 2) “Come, come, you froward and unable worms!” “My wife’s a hobby horse!”
Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? by William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date; Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. Discover this poem’s context and related poetry, articles, and media. Poet William Shakespeare 1564–1616 POET’S REGION England SCHOOL / PERIOD Renaissance Subjects Nature, Relationships, Summer, Love, Romantic Love, Classic Love Occasions Engagement, Anniversary, Weddings Holidays Valentine's Day Poetic Terms Sonnet
Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales : Prologue [Parallel Texts] Back to Medieval Source Book | ORB Main Page | Links to Other Medieval Sites | The Canterbury Tales : Prologue Source: Middle English: Virginia Etext Project Modern English: This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. (c)Paul Halsall August 1996 halsall@murray.fordham.edu Old English / Anglo-Saxon Old English was the West Germanic language spoken in the area now known as England between the 5th and 11th centuries. Speakers of Old English called their language Englisc, themselves Angle, Angelcynn or Angelfolc and their home Angelcynn or Englaland. Old English began to appear in writing during the early 8th century. Most texts were written in West Saxon, one of the four main dialects. The Anglo-Saxons adopted the styles of script used by Irish missionaries, such as Insular half-uncial, which was used for books in Latin. Anglo-Saxon runes (futhorc/fuþorc) Old English / Anglo-Saxon was first written with a version of the Runic alphabet known as Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Frisian runes, or futhorc/fuþorc. Runic inscriptions are mostly found on jewellery, weapons, stones and other objects, and only about 200 such inscriptions have survived. Old English alphabet Notes Long vowels were marked with macrons. Old English pronunciation Sample text in Old English (Prologue from Beowulf) Links