h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: William Shakespeare: Wordsmith Extraordinaire - A75377596
Author: Elentari - U202814

Been planning this one for a while.

I do like Shakespeare, though he can be a little heavy reading, but the wonderful phrases he invented and utilised just always make me smile - one of my personal favourites from Hamlet is spoken by Gertrude (and I can't remember to whom)

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much".

Well I'll be darned, that's one aspect of Shakespeare I didn't know about. A nice piece, well done Elentari.


BMT Scout

Elentari, I loved Shakespeare, though I have not really got beyond the plays I did at school. I found them quite easy to understand once I got in to them. I love words so perhaps that this why.

Your article is fascinating and how very interesting that so may of the words and phrases are very much in current use - no fuddy duddy ones at all.

Well done and thank you for such an unusual entry.

Websailor

Thanks for reviewing.

There are a number of phrases I didn't mention because they are widely known to have Shakespearean origins - I wanted to focus on those which most people don't realise are first recorded in his works.

Very surprising Entry, the words you mention are so normal!

Could you still mention a couple of the phrases which are well-known to be of Shakespearean origin? I'm not sure a non-native speaker would necessarily know (even knowing the expression). Just one or two would suffice, as they are not the point of the Entry.

I really want to read this when I am wide awake! Looking forward to it

I agree with Toybox, and not everyone has your level of education anyway Elentari. As I said my experience of Shakespeare is that which I did at school and seeing a couple of plays at Stratford.

By the by, what do you think of the new theatre?

Websailor

Would it make sense to put a link to this somewhere A49011419 , or perhaps you think it would be irrelevant?

Websailor

A49011419 is a great entry and I'd like to include it in a way but it doesn't really fit.

I haven't really seen the new theatre up close and I haven't seen inside, so I can't really say - is it open now?

Toybox, good idea, I've added two. If anyone can think of better examples please let me know!

(And I didn't know the phrases But 'Dear friends'? I've been quoting Shakespeare for years like M. Jourdain was doing prosa, namely without knowing it )

Elentari, it opens in November I believe.

Websailor

This is excellent stuff! I can't make any suggestions, nor do I have any queries.

I suppose I could bring out the old chestnut and say that, like the Bible, Shakespeare is just so full of clichés.

Just a couple of comments:

"A neologism is a newly invented word" But you don't tell us what it means, am I to understand from the following bit that it means 'inventor of new words'?

"Not all, of course, caught the popular imagination and entered usage. The fact that any did, however, is a testament to his popularity and genius as a writer."

Is this really true? Lots of new words in the dictionary these days seem to come from teenagers, or new types of goods (rollerblades for example). Are teenagers popular and genius?

"That said, the sheer number of words which are first recorded in Shakespeare means that he must have created a great many of them."

Or just wrote them down, in the way new words are added to a dictionary (or more likely internet forums these days)? Is this an assumption, or is there some proof?

From the title of the entry I was expecting a bit more than just a list of words that appeared first in his work.

Mina, I think words are added now which would never have been considered for inclusion in the past (too much like slang), when there was no such thing as a teenager, and children were expected to be seen but not heard! In addition, the pace of life is so much faster than it was then. Way back then those who could write and read would have had the last say on what was recorded and what wasn't.

Websailor

Mina

"A neologism is a newly invented word" But you don't tell us what it means, am I to understand from the following bit that it means 'inventor of new words'?

Added a definition of 'neologist'.

"Not all, of course, caught the popular imagination and entered usage. The fact that any did, however, is a testament to his popularity and genius as a writer."

Is this really true? Lots of new words in the dictionary these days seem to come from teenagers, or new types of goods (rollerblades for example). Are teenagers popular and genius?

As I understand it, the key point here is 'these days'. There have been huge numbers of new words in the last century or so, most of which are due to technological and scientific advances. There were nowhere near as many new words in the past (again, as I understand it).


"That said, the sheer number of words which are first recorded in Shakespeare means that he must have created a great many of them."

Or just wrote them down, in the way new words are added to a dictionary (or more likely internet forums these days)? Is this an assumption, or is there some proof?

I did explain that it cannot be said conclusively that just because they are first recorded in Shakespeare does not mean that he invented them. However, there are 2000 words in his writings which do not appear in any earlier surviving text - the odds are that he invented a good number of them. If you think this is not addressed sufficiently in the entry, please let me know.

"From the title of the entry I was expecting a bit more than just a list of words that appeared first in his work."

I think the entry does cover more than that, but if you have any ideas for improvements, let's hear them! Thanks for reading.

I think you need to:
check your numbers - they are rather high. Shakespeare's neologisms are usually considered to be fewer than this. Around 1700 is the usually accepted figure, only have of which we still use.

In fact there are few true neologisms - 'incarnadine' is certainly one, but hasn't lasted. (Lovely word, though.) Most are either compound words - farmhouse, for instance - or new uses for known words: 'puke' was a colour.

For more information see 'Think On My Words' - David Crystal

Thanks, all addressed to my satisfaction! Except this one:

""That said, the sheer number of words which are first recorded in Shakespeare means that he must have created a great many of them.""

Perhaps to tweak this to show it is not fact, but opinon, can't think of the word I want - ie you've been led to believe a certain thing based on fact but can't prove your belief.

Not so important in the greater scheme of things I s'pose.

>

Perhaps you could say 'may well have created a great many of them' this being a suggestion only and not a statement of (unconfirmed) fact or even an opinion as such.

Websailor