SHAKESPEARES WORKS

Shakespeare's works are written in Early Modern English.

As William Shakespeare is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language, it
come as no surprise that his works - plays, sonnets and narrative poems - are popular reading
material across the globe. Much of his work is studied in schools as part of the curriculum, and
as such there are hundreds of textbooks explaining the finer points and details of his works in
simple English. Many Shakespearian plays have been made into famous films - even children's
movies, like Disney's The Lion King, draw upon Shakespeare's work: The Lion King is based
upon his play Hamlet - while Shakespearian sonnets appear in music and books across the
world.
There is a term, which may come across as being slightly mocking, which refers to the great
popularity of Shakespeare and his works: bardolatry. The meaning of this term is defined as
the worship or idolism - often thought to be excessive - of William Shakespeare. It was coined
by George Bernard Shaw, who disliked Shakespeare - thinking his works were not relevant to
this time-period as they did not engage with social issues - and refers to the fact that
Shakespeare is often known as 'the Bard'.
Shakespeare's plays can be divided into three main categories: the comedies, the histories,
and the tragedies. His tragedies are widely thought to be some of the greatest writing ever
published, and as such are hugely popular among scholars and lay-readers alike.
Some of the more popular pieces of Shakespearian writing, which may be studied in school or
university, include the likes of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear.
King Lear is thought by many to be one of Shakespeare's greatest triumphs, a play layered
with complexities of the human condition: it is a study in human suffering and the kinship of
man. It follows the story of Lear, the King of England, as he descends slowly into madness and
his three daughters. Lear splits the kingdom between two of his daughters on the basis of
which daughter flattered him most, while the third daughter, good Cordelia, leaves to live with
the King of France. The consequences of Lear's actions have an effect felt throughout the
kingdom.
Macbeth may be the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, but not only is it one of his most
famous, but is often considered one of the darkest of the Shakespearian plays. It investigates
the corrupting effects of ambition and power, following the disastrous career of the Scottish lord
Macbeth, who uses murder to gain and retain the crown. Macbeth not only destroys his country

by plunging it into civil war, but eventually loses hold of all that makes his life worth living,
before eventually losing his life also.
In comparison, Hamlet is the longest of any of Shakespeare's plays, and is not only hugely
popular today, but was during the playwright's lifetime as well. It has remained at the top of the
Royal Shakespeare Company's performance list since 1879. It is considered to be one of the
most influential pieces of tragedy written in the English language, exploring themes such as
revenge, moral corruption and treachery. Like most of Shakespeare's tragedies, there is
madness in the characters portrayed within Hamlet: terrible grief battles with unbridled rage,
some characters feigning madness while others are truly gripped by it. The plot of Hamlet is
one of revenge and murder: it follows Prince Hamlet, who learns from the ghost of his dead
father that it was his uncle who slayed the old king, in order to gain his crown and his wife
(Hamlet's mother).
Romeo and Juliet was another of Shakespeare's plays which attained great popularity and
praise during the playwright's lifetime. It portrays the often-told tale of star-crossed lovers from
feuding families, who kill themselves for love, resulting in the reconciliation of their families. It is
a tale which has been told throughout the ages: based originally on an Italian tale but modified
skillfully by Shakespeare. Shakespeare's use of combining comedy with tragedy keeps
tensions high throughout the play. It is a play which has been adapted innumerable times, for
stage, opera, musical and film and one which is studied in literature courses across the globe.
Shakespeare wrote most of his work between 1589 and 1613. As such, the language can be
very different from what is spoken and written today. To help Shakespeare scholars to get the
most out of reading his work, many editions will have readers' notes which explain, in simpler
terms, what specific words mean in today's English. There are also hundreds of textbooks
available, explaining and examining the various themes and underlying meanings to
Shakespeare's works.

Influence on the English language [edit]

Shakespeare's writings greatly influenced the entire English language. Prior to and during
Shakespeare's time, the grammar and rules of English were not standardized. [26] But once
Shakespeare's plays became popular in the late seventeenth and eighteenth century, they
helped contribute to the standardization of the English language, with many Shakespearean
words and phrases becoming embedded in the English language, particularly through projects
such as Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language which quoted Shakespeare
more than any other writer.[27] He expanded the scope of English literature by introducing new
words and phrases,[28] experimenting with blank verse, and also introducing new poetic and

grammatical structures. He also inspired modern terms commonly used in the twenty-first
century: the term "swag" was in fact used in "Othello" during act VII line 12, "I will wear my
heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at; for thy beauty swags the heavens for I am not what I
am".

Vocabulary[edit]
For a list of words
relating to
Shakespeare's
vocabulary, see
the Words from
Shakespeare category
of words in Wiktionary,
the free dictionary.

Among Shakespeare's greatest contributions to the English language must be the introduction
of new vocabulary and phrases which have enriched the language making it more colorful and
expressive. Some estimates at the number of words coined by Shakespeare number in the
several thousands. Warren King clarifies by saying that, "In all of his work the plays, the
sonnets and the narrative poems Shakespeare uses 17,677 words: Of those, 1,700 were first
used by Shakespeare."[29] He is also well known for borrowing from the classical literature and
foreign languages.[19] He created these 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."[30] Many of Shakespeare's original phrases are still used in
conversation and language today. These include, but are not limited to; "seen better days,
strange bedfellows, a sorry sight,"[31] and "full circle".[32] Shakespeare added a considerable
amount of words to the English language when compared to additions to English vocabulary
made in other times. Shakespeare helped to further develop style and structure to an
otherwise loose, spontaneous language. Written Elizabethan English stylistically closely
followed the spoken language. The naturalness gave force and freedom since there was no
formalized prescriptive grammar binding the expression. While lack of prescribed grammatical
rules introduced vagueness in literature, it also expressed feelings with profound vividness and
emotion which created, "freedom of expression" and "vividness of presentment". [33] It was a
language which expressed feelings explicitly. Shakespeare's gift involved using the
exuberance of the language and decasyllabic structure in prose and poetry of his plays to
reach the masses and the result was "a constant two way exchange between learned and the
popular, together producing the unique combination of racy tang and the majestic stateliness
that informs the language of Shakespeare".[19]

While it is true that Shakespeare created many new words (the Oxford English Dictionary
records over 2,000[34]), an article in National Geographic points out the findings of historian
Jonathan Hope who wrote in "Shakespeare's 'Native English'" that "the Victorian scholars who
read texts for the first edition of the OED paid special attention to Shakespeare: his texts were
read more thoroughly, and cited more often, so he is often credited with the first use of words,
or senses of words, which can, in fact, be found in other writers." [35] Shakespeare created many
words that are commonly used in British lexicon today

Hamlet

Cuenta cmo el principe Hamlet se venga de su tio Claudio, quien asesin al rey, tomo el trono
y se cas con la madre de Hamlet. La obra explora temas como la venganza, la traicin, el
incesto y la corrupcin moral. Hamlet es la obra de teatro ms larga de Shakespeare y una de
las ms poderosas e influentes tragedias de la literatura. Mientras vivia sta fue una de las
obras ms populares de Shakespeare y aun hoy es una de las que ms se interpretan del
autor. ha inspirado a escritores como Goethe y Dickens y ha sido descrita como "la historia
ms filmada de la historia despus de "Cenicienta". Sin duda es uno de los ms grandes
dramas alguna vez escritos y en sus siglos de vida ha sido interpretada por los ms grandes
actores y actrices de sus generaciones.

Otelo: el moro de Venecia

Se cree que esta tagedia fue escrita aproximadamente en 1603, la obra gira alrededor de 4
personajes principales: Otelo, su esposa Desdmona, su alfrez Yago y Ludovico. Probando
su popularidad la obra apareci en siete ediciones diferente entre 1622 y 1705, por sus
variados temas -racismo, amor, celos y traicin- permanece relevante hasta el da de hoy y es
interpretada a menudo por profesionales y la gente comun. La obra tambin ha servido de
inspiracin para numerosas operas, pelculas y adaptaciones literarias.

Macbeth
Esta es una de las obras de teatro ms conocidas de Shakespeare y es su tragedia ms corta,
posiblemente escrita entre 1603 y 1606 se representa frecuentemente a nivel profesional y
amateur por todo el mundo. Ha sido adaptada en pelcula y obras literarias, operas as como
tambin ha inspirado msica. La obra habla sobre los peligros del ansia por el poder y la traici
n entre amigos.
Hay muchas supersticiones alrededor de la obra que dicen que sta est maldita y muchos
actores no mencionan el nombre de la obra en voz alta, en vez de eso se refieren a ella como
"la obra escocesa"

El sueo de una noche de verano

Esta comedia romantica retrara las aventuras de 4 jovenes amantes, un grupo de actores
novatos, sus interacciones con Teseo y Hiplita (principe y princesa de Atenas) y con las
hadas que habitan un bosque. Esta obra es una de las ms populares de Shakespeare.

Romeo y Julieta
Esta obra es la tragedia de dos jovenes adolescentes enamorados cuyas familias estn en
duelo, lo que hace su amor inaceptable. El guion ha sido aclamado por su lenguaje y efecto

dramatico. Es una de las obras ms conocidas e interpretadas de Shakespeare. La influencia

de la obra aun se ve hoy en da en todos los medios de arte.

Words that Shakespeare Invented

Here are some common words that first appeared in Shakespeares plays and their
meanings:
Auspicious favorable; promising success; a good omen. A wedding is an example of
an auspicious occasion.
Baseless without a foundation; not based on fact. If you accuse someone of
wrongdoing, make sure that you have support to back up your claim and it is not a
baseless accusation.
Barefaced shameless; without concealment or disguise. When someone tells a
'barefaced lie' it is not a very good one and you immediately know it is not true.
Castigate to punish harshly. Sometimes celebrities and politicians are castigated in
the press more harshly than ordinary citizens.
Clangor a loud (clanging) sound. Ghosts are sometimes said to be followed by the
loud clangor of chains.
Dexterously skillful, especially in the use of ones hands (or also ones mind). A good
carpenter can dexterously build a bookshelf very easily.
Dwindle to get smaller; diminish. Often used to describe money. Many peoples
savings dwindle after losing a job.
Multitudinous a lot; a great number. You are in luck if you can say that you have a
multitudinous amount of friends.
Sanctimonious pretending to be very religious or righteous. Sometimes people who
judge others harshly are sanctimonious.

Watchdog a person or group that keeps close watch to discover wrong or illegal
activity. A popular watchdog group is PETA, which exposes wrongful actions against
animals.

Phrases Shakespeare Invented

Here are some phrases that Shakespeare is said to have invented, many of which are
commonly used today.

"Its Greek to me" (Julius Caesar) - When you say, "it's Greek to me" you are
admitting that you do not know or understand something.
"Fair play" (The Tempest) - Follow the rules, especially in competitions or
sports.
"All that glitters isnt gold" (Merchant of Venice) - We usually use this phrase
after we discover the fact that something that looks good turns out not to be that great.
"Wear ones heart on ones sleeve" (Othello) - To be a hopeless romantic (or be
open and honest about how you feel) is to wear one's heart on one's sleeve.
"Break the ice" (The Taming of the Shrew) - Often when you meet someone for
the first time, you "break the ice" by asking them polite questions about themselves.
"The lady doth protest too much" (Hamlet) - If someone denies something more
than once, you can say "the lady doth protest too much," meaning you think that they
feel the opposite to what they are saying.
"Clothes make the man" (Hamlet) - Although not always true, this phrase
implies that how a person dresses tells you something about who they are as a person.
"A laughing stock" (The Merry Wives of Windsor) - To be a laughing stock is to
be considered a joke by many people.
"Too much of a good thing" (As You Like It) - It is said that "too much of a good
thing" (i.e. money, love, food) is not necessarily good for you.
"In a pickle" (The Tempest) - To be "in a pickle" is to be in trouble or a situation
that you cannot easily get out of.