WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

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97504056 Shirley

I. CHANGES IN ENGLISH AT SHAKESPEARE’S TIME

I. CHANGES IN ENGLISH AT SHAKESPEARE’S TIME

William Shakespeare 1564 -1616 (16th - 17th )

Early Modern English The latter half of the 15th century( the end of the

Middle English period )to 1650

I. CHANGES IN ENGLISH AT SHAKESPEARE’S TIME

The primary influence of printing press (invented in the 1476, 15th )

Oral communication ---in English Written communication ---in Latin

A practical means of reaching the public

I. CHANGES IN ENGLISH AT SHAKESPEARE’S TIME

Words from other languages due to wars, exploration, diplomacy and colonization

Neologism(N.) Neologize(V.) To invent, borrow, or adopt a word or phrase

from another language

Between 1500-1659, 30,000 new words were added to the English language

II. INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

-Vocabulary-Blank verse-Poetry

A. WORDS USED BY SHAKESPEARE

1. Invention:

Misconception: Shakespeare "invented" many English words.

Truth: Shakespeare's works are often the earliest cited written record of many words.

A. WORDS USED BY SHAKESPEARE

1. Invention:• Reason: Words are generally used in speech before a

ppearing in writing, and oral uses are not recorded, therefore most words cannot be confirmed of their origins.

• Dictionary: Oxford English Dictionary (OED) lists a quotation from Shakespeare as its earliest example for many words or senses of a word.

2. EXAMPLES OF THE WORDS USED BY SHAKESPEARE

Amazement (Noun)

Definition: Overwhelming wonder, whether due to mere surprise or to admiration.

Quotation: 1602 SHAKESPEARE Ham. III. ii. 339 Your behauior hath stroke her into amazement, and admiration.

2. EXAMPLES OF THE WORDS USED BY SHAKESPEAREControl (Noun) Definition: The fact of controlling, or of checking and d

irecting action; the function or power of directing and regulating; domination, command, sway.

Quotation: 1590 SHAKESPEARE Com. Err. II. i. 19 The winged fowles Are their males subiects, and at their controules.

2. EXAMPLES OF THE WORDS USED BY SHAKESPEAREExposure (Noun) Definition: The action of exposing; the fact or sta

te of being exposed. a. The action of uncovering or leaving without shelter or defence; unsheltered or undefended condition. Also, the action of subjecting, the state or fact of being subjected, to any external influence.

Quotation: 1606 SHAKESPEARE Tr. & Cr. I. iii. 195 To weaken and discredit our exposure, How ranke soeuer rounded in with danger.

2. EXAMPLES OF THE WORDS USED BY SHAKESPEARE

Lonely (Adjective)

Definition: Of persons, etc., their actions, condition, etc.: Having no companionship or society; unaccompanied, solitary, lone.

Quotation: 1607 SHAKESPEARE Cor. IV. i. 30, I go alone Like to a lonely Dragon, that his Fenne Makes fear'd, and talk'd of more then seene.

2. EXAMPLES OF THE WORDS USED BY SHAKESPEARE

Submerge(Verb)

Definition: pass. To be covered with water; to be sunk under water.

Quotation: 1606 SHAKESPEARE Ant. & Cl. II. v. 94 So halfe my Egypt were submerg'd and made A Cesterne for scal'd Snakes.

B. BLANK VERSE

Blank verse is a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme.

Shakespeare's blank verse is one of the most important of all his influences on the way the English language was written

Adaptation of free speech rhythm to the fixed blank-verse framework is an outstanding feature of Shakespeare's poetry

Shakespeare developed the potential of blank verse for abrupt and irregular speech.

One blank verse line is broken between two characters:

My lord? A grave. He shall not live.

Enough.

(King John, 3.3)

B. BLANK VERSE

C. POETRY

Two main factors to the movement of living emotion

verbal immediacy the molding of stress

"When my love swears that she is made of truth,I do believe her, though I know she lies-"

—(Sonnet CXXXVIII)

Complex and even contradictory attitudes to a single emotion

III. INFLUENCE ON LITERATURE

III. INFLUENCE ON LITERATURE

Charles Dickens: quotations, titles

Herman Melville: stage directions, soliloquy

Samuel Taylor Coleridge: theme (self-consciousness)

IV. REFERENCE

1. Wikipedia: Shakespeare’s Influence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare's_influence#cite_ref-11

2. NoSweatShakespeare: Words Shakespeare Invented

http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-words.htm

 3. Oxford English Dictionary

http://dictionary.oed.com