Last month, I published an introductory article in this series about the late 16th and early 17th century dramatist Shakespeare and his impact on the English language. As you can read in the first introductory article in this series, Shakespeare is thought to have invented between 1700 and 3000 words. And many of those words are still used today.
In this article, I will share some of the words that Shakespeare gifted the English language. I have also added a part of the play where those words appeared. This will hopefully allow you to slowly but surely get used to the dramatists’ writing and prepare you for reading one of his texts.
Shakespearian words and text in which they first appeared
Bandit
‘A Robber or outlaw belonging to a gang and typically opening in an isolated area’
‘Come, soldiers, show what cruelty ye can,
That this my death may never be forgot!
Great men oft die by vile bezonians:
A Roman sworder and banditto slave
Murder’d sweet Tully; Brutus’ bastard hand
Stabb’d Julius Caesar; savage islanders
Pompey the Great; and Suffolk dies by pirates’.
Suffolk, Henry VI part 2
Note: the old spelling is uses in the original text
Dauntless
‘Showing fearlessness and determination’
‘Whate’er it be, be thou still like thyself,
And sit thee by our side:
Seats her by him
Yield not thy neck
To fortune’s yoke, but let thy dauntless mind
Still ride in triumph over all mischance.
Be plain, Queen Margaret, and tell thy grief;
It shall be eased, if France can yield relief’.
King Lewis X, Henry Vi part 3
Dwindle
‘To diminish gradually in size, amount, or strength’
‘sBardolph, am I not fallen away vilely since this last
Action? Do I not bate? Do I not dwindle? Why my
Skin hangs about me like an old lady’s loose
Gown; I am withered like an old apple-john...’
Fallstaff, Henry IV part 1
Elbow (as a verb)
‘To shove aside or for (one’s way) by pushing with or as if with the elbow’
‘A sovereign shame so elbows him: his own unkindness,
That tripp’d her from his benediction, turn’d her
To foreign casualties, gave her dear rights
To his dog-hearted daughters, these things sting
His mind so venomously, that burning shame
Details him from Cordelia’.
Kent, King Lear
Lackluster
‘Without energy and effort’
‘… Good morrow, fool,’ quoth I. ‘No, sir,’ quoth he,
‘Call me not fool till heaven hath sent me fortune.’
And then he drew a dial from his poke,
And, looking on it with lack-lustre eye,
Says very wisely, ‘It is ten o-clock:
Thus we may see,’ with he, ‘how the world wags:
‘Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more ‘twill be eleven;
And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,
And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot;
And thereby hangs a tale…’
Jacques, As You Like It
Pious
‘Having, showing or expressing reverence for a deity’
‘Who cannot want the thought how monstrous
It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain
To kill their gracious father? Damned fat!
How it did grieve Macbeth! Did he not straight
In pious rage the two delinquents tear,
That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep?’
Lennox, Macbeth
Lonely
‘Sad because you are physically or emotionally alone’
‘Thy tears are salter than a younger man’s,
And venomous to thine eyes. My sometime general,
I have seen thee stem, and thou hast oft beheld
Heart-hardening spectacles; tell these sad women
‘Tis fond to wail inevitable strokes,
As ‘tis to laugh at ‘em. My mother, you wot well
My hazards still have been your solace: and
Believe’t not lightly – though I go alone,
Like to a lonely dragon…’
Coriolanus, Coriolanus
Swagger
‘Walk or behave in a very confident and arrogant or self-important manner’
‘What hempen home-spuns have we swaggering here,
So near the cradle of the fairy queen?
What, a play toward! I’ll be an auditor;
An actor, perhaps, if I see cause.’
Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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Are you enjoying this series? If so, stay tuned! In this series, we’ll cover more Shakespearian phrases, sentence structures, more of the creative language he used in plays and poems, how to read Shakespeare’s work like a pro, and delve deeper into some of his works! Keen to share your thoughts? I warmly invite you to join our ongoing conversation on Shakespeare here on the forums.
Until next time!
Warmly,
Marieke, OLS Community Manager