Editor's Corner

Good day, good friends!

Tomorrow is William Shakespeare’s birthday. He was born on April 23, 1564. Did you know that he died on his birthday in 1616?

He wrote his first play (Henry VI, Part 1) sometime between 1589 and 1591 and he wrote his last complete play (The Tempest) sometime between 1610 and 1611. In his 52 short years of life, he wrote at least 37 plays and collaborated on several more. While writing those plays, his sonnets, and his other poetry, he invented many new words. So, it seems fitting that today we pay tribute to the man and look at some of the words he coined. The following short list comes from the Grammarly blog:

• bandit
  Henry VI, Part 2 (1594)

• critic
  Love’s Labour Lost (1598)

• dauntless
  Henry VI, Part 3 (1616)

• dwindle
  Henry IV, Part 1 (1598)

• elbow (as a verb)
  King Lear (1608)

• green-eyed (to describe jealousy)
  The Merchant of Venice (1600)

• lackluster
  As You Like It (1616)

• lonely
  Coriolanus (1616)

• skim-milk
  Henry IV, Part 1 (1598)

• swagger
  Midsummer Night’s Dream (1600)

These are great words, but they are only the tip of a literary iceberg. Shakespeare has been credited with inventing more than 1700 words (if you’re interested, you can see more words here.) He usually worked with existing words and changed them to fit his needs. He is well-known for joining two words into one. He also changed many verbs into adjectives, and he changed many nouns into verbs. There is also a long list of words to which he added prefixes and suffixes to make new words. In fact, we still use many of Shakespeare’s invented words today.

So, happy birthday, William Shakespeare. Thank you for the gift of so many words, so many lovely sonnets, and so many thrilling plays. Thank you for the stories we all know and love.

Visit Shakespeare Online to learn more about his life and his works.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432

Pronouns she/her/hers

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to subscribe.

Don’t want to get Editor’s Corner anymore? Click here to unsubscribe.

Do you have a question or an idea for Editor’s Corner? Send your suggestions or feedback to Kara and <a href="mailto:DBurcher.

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.