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Shakespeare’s influence on the present English

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  • Introduction

Everyone knows William Shakespeare (1564-1616). He has been called "the Zeus of human literature", and his contributions to English literature and world literature are well known. As the greatest dramatist of the Renaissance, Shakespeare made the English language a poetic language. This linguistic gift has given English a rich vocabulary and flexible ways of expression. Shakespearian English is a perfect example of the perfect combination of loanwords in early Middle English. It was his linguistic talent that pushed English to new heights, and his influence continues to this day.

 

     

William Shakespeare (1564 -- 1616)

was the most important English and European writer of the Renaissance. In his youth, he received a basic education at the local grammar school, where he studied Latin, philosophy, and history, and was exposed to the works of ancient Roman playwrights. Later because of the family in decline, drop out of school to make a living. He left his hometown for London, where he worked first in the theater and then as an actor, adapting and writing plays. Shakespeare in addition to participating in the performance and playwright, but also a wide range of social contact, often with the troupe in the palace or to the countryside. These experiences broadened his horizons and laid the foundation for his writing. At the same time, the invention of printing also laid a foundation for the development of Shakespeare's literature and expanded the spread of literary works. Without printing, Shakespeare's books would not have been widely circulated, so it can be said that the printing press created the legend of Shakespeare.

From 1590 to 1600：

It was the early stage of Shakespeare's creation, also known as the period of historical drama and comedy. Shakespeare's humanistic ideas and artistic style gradually formed. During this period, Britain was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The country is prosperous, strong, and stable, and people's lives are naturally happy and stable, which provides sufficient conditions for Shakespeare to create with peace of mind. Encouraged by a rich life and an enlightened monarch, Shakespeare was naturally full of hope for the prospects of the Renaissance. He is optimistic about life and believes that humanistic ideas can be realized. This optimism and hope are fully reflected in his works. He wrote nine historical dramas, including "Richard III", "Henry IV" and "Henry V". There are also ten comedies, such as "The Merchant of Venice", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Anything Makes Nothing", "As You Like It" and so on. In addition, there are three tragedies, the most famous of which is "Romeo and Juliet". Although the work has a tragic side, it can be called an optimistic tragedy.

At the beginning of the 17th century:

This is the second stage of Shakespeare's creation, also known as the tragedy period. Shakespeare's ideas and art have matured day by day, and humanistic ideas have collided with social reality. At this time, the "enclosure movement" in the English countryside was accelerating, the temporary alliance between the royal power and the bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy was disintegrating, the social contradictions deepened and reconciliation, the political and economic situation continued to deteriorate, and the profligacy after James I succeeded. The reversal has exacerbated the people's suffering and repeated resistance. In such an environment, Shakespeare deeply touched the conflict between humanist ideals and reality, and his creative style has changed from a clear concept of happiness to gloomy sadness. He created the famous tragedies "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear", "Macbeth" and so on. At the same time, there are three tragicomedies such as "Finally Married".

After 1608:

Shakespeare entered the final stage of creation. At this time, the wave of the Renaissance had completely subsided. At that time, society was completely in the hands of James I and fell into chaos. Shakespeare also saw that the ideals of humanism cannot be realized in real society, so he switched from writing tragedies to writing legends, and from exposing and criticizing the darkness of real society to writing dream worlds. During this period, his works often used mythical fantasy and supernatural power to resolve the contradiction between ideal and reality. "The Tempest" best represents the style of this period and is called "the will was written in the poem". He also wrote long poems and sonnets, and a historical drama "Henry VIII."

 

Shakespeare's language is known for its poetic imagery and the word pictures he makes. His reputation is well-deserved because Latin was the dominant language at the time he was writing. Shakespeare finished what Chaucer started: establishing English as a respectable language for communicating complex, intimate, and creative ideas.

Only Shakespeare's mastery of simple, strong visual language explains why his plays are still alive and well 400 years after they were written. As we've seen, the majority of his plots aren't original, but it's his ability to resurrect old stories and histories, form them into compelling dramas with syncopated plots, and resurrect them with resonant, forceful language that continues to captivate us today.

Some outstanding features of Shakespeare’s Language are:

1.His vivid imagery, which enables us to picture his scenes without the use of props or concrete backdrops. 

2.The power of suggestion, implied interpretations, and the use of nuances 

3.His diverse vocabulary, which includes the fact that he coined hundreds of new terms and sayings that have become part of our lingo. 

4.His verse, and often even his prose, has a lightness, echo, or lasting impact on us because of its lyricism.

5.His numerous references to classical, religious, and historical figures, tales, and people. 

6.Puns, oxymorons, s-sexual innuendo, assonance, alliteration, uncertainty, and other wordplay are among his favorite ways to engage and entertain his audience.

 

1.Invented word

One of the poets noted for enriching and expanding his English vocabulary is William Shakespeare. Since he was skilled at coinage, he was able to do this. The Oxford Dictionary defines coinage as the creation of a new word or expression. Shakespeare excels at borrowing Latin words and translating them to English. He accomplishes this by retaining stems from one language and prefixes or suffixes from another. On his excuse, he is said to have added about 600 English words. The aim of language expansion is to give certain old words new meanings while leaving others unchanged. In addition, some new words will be retained and others will be lost. It is really easy for this to happen. Many Shakespearean words, such as no crime, persistence, primitive, unrestrained, and so on, have simply vanished as English has progressed.

2.Standardization of English

William Shakespeare's works are one of the reasons that contributed to the standardization of English because, as soon as they were common, his words and phrases were put into full use, and the grammar and rules of English were gradually developed as a result. Furthermore, his writings reflect the laws that are actually in use in the English language, such as the use of suffixes in grammar, which he reintroduced. Despite the fact that he has been dead for a long time and English has progressed since then, Shakespeare's grammar has remained unchanged.

 

Shakespeare lived during the Renaissance, At that time, English was in an important stage of development and enrichment, and it just stepped out of the Middle Ages. Not long after Early Modern English. At that time Europe, Latin, French, Greek, and Italian is still the main languages for writing. English as the language of the British Isles has also been affected and impacted by them. Most of the literature was written in Latin because the English writers and thinkers of the Renaissance believed that Latin was the authoritative language to express ideas accurately. But Shakespeare didn't write in Latin, he wrote in English. And it has had two main effects on English

Vocabulary：

Shakespeare himself invented many new words, and he greatly enriched the English vocabulary in many ways.

1.Use foreign words wisely: Shakespeare borrowed words from other languages, from French and Latin, and so on. For example, "articulate" is based on the Latin word “articulus”

2.Nouns are converted to other parts of speech: most commonly Shakespeare used a noun as a verb. Thou dost stone my heart, for example, used the word 'stone' as a verb

3.In modern English, a definite article can be used as a noun before some adjectives to refer to a class people: such as “the poor” “the rich” Much of this usage begins with Shakespeare. This will make it much simpler and clearer when we want to express a group of people.

Grammar：

1.-ed, -able, and -ible forms with the endings often have passive meanings in Modern English

Should the word, in Shakespeare's plays, however, it often has an active meaning.

2.Shakespeare's rhetoric has also exerted a great influence on later generations. Among them, pun, substitution, and hyperbole have been widely concerned and deeply studied by many scholars.

3.Double negation was widely used in Shakespeare's plays and later in writing

 

 

William Shakespeare used over 20,000 words in his plays and poems, and his works contain the first recorded use of over 1,700 English words

1.According to the Oxford English Dictionary, there are still many that are recognized as Shakespeare's :

Critic

Dauntless

Dwindle

Elbow (as a verb)

Green-Eyed (to describe jealousy)

Lackluster

Lonely

Skim-milk

Swagger

2.Shakespeare must have adored the prefix un-, as he coined or reinterpreted over 300 words that begin with it. 

Unaware

Uncomfortable

Undress

Unearthly

Unreal

3.Examples of Shakespeare's Commonly Used Words.

Amazement

Assassination

Auspicious

Bloody

Bump

Control

Countless

Critical

Dishearten

 

To conclude, there is no doubt that William Shakespeare had a significant impact not only on theatre, films, and other poets and novelists but also on the English language, with words we use every day. Shakespeare introduced approximately 1700 new words into the language, many of which are still in use today. William Shakespeare was fluent in seven languages and frequently used direct quotes from other languages in his plays. Shakespeare has had a profound impact on poetry and literature that has lasted for centuries. It's incredible that he had a vocabulary of 24,000 words, the most for any writer, then or now.

William Shakespeare's influence can be found in modern films, dramas, Eastern and Western philosophies, the English language, and literature. The linguistic legacy of Shakespeare is not in the number of words he used, but in how he was using them. Shakespeare demonstrates how to use a language's resources in creative ways. For instance, ‘Green-Eyed’,  is to describe jealousy. William Shakespeare is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the history of language and literature among the world's most famous playwrights.

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来源： https://blog.csdn.net/Theresehan/article/details/117163439