We’ve all heard of William Shakespeare – the great poet and playwright. While we may not all have read any of his literary output, we have all surely words coined by him unbeknownst to us. We may even have quoted him without knowing we are paraphrasing him, such as Shakespeare’s contribution to the English language. It is almost impossible to speak English and not acknowledge Shakespeare for his gifts to the language.
Shakespeare introduced some 1700 new words into the English language, besides phrases, which are still commonly used. Apart from the words and phrases that Shakespeare brought into English, he also inducted new grammatical structures and poetic styles.
Shakespeare is also recognized as the person who familiarized people with the blank verse. After Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare can be attributed to revolutionizing the English language and modernizing it to become the language we use today. If not for Shakespeare, English literature would be terribly lacking. Shakespeare’s contributions to English literature are unparalleled to this day.
It is because of Shakespeare that we can express feelings of “gloom,” “disheartenment,” and so on. If he hadn’t coined these words, we wouldn’t have any way to paint for others how we feel. William Shakespeare isn’t fondly called The Bard for nothing!