Random Post

I was randomly "googling" Shakespeare and I came across several interesting, thought-provoking articles, comments, and blog posts.  According to these texts, Shakespeare might have created some of the most popular phrases that we use today. I'm surprised, but when I think about it, I guess that it's not so surprising given that he was a "language chemist." I don't know how valid all this is, but it's just something to think about.

"Common Phrases Invented By Shakespeare" by Lee Jamieson
http://shakespeare.about.com/od/shakespeareslegacy/a/Common_Phrases.htm

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2527-shakespeares-word-inventions

Let me know what you think. This entire search has reminded me about the discussion we had concerning misquotes; that is, inaccurate documentation of what a person has said or written. Even the article's author, Lee Jamieson, states, "I'm many cases, it is not known if Shakespeare actually invented these phrases, or if they were already in use during Shakespeare's lifetime. In fact, it is almost impossible to identify when a word or phrase was first used, but Shakespeare's plays often provide the earliest citation" (1). This makes me think that even if Shakespeare is the originator of all these phrases, are they all 100% his, or have they been altered and manipulated (by other writers) over the years? And how much have his words and the meaning to them been changed? Simply, all this revisits the notion that texts are constantly "evolving." The example that the article gives is that of the phrase "sweets to the sweet" from Hamlet. Reiterating  this idea that language transforms with time, the article states that, "many of the original meanings behind Shakespeare's words has evolved. For example, the phrase 'sweets to the sweet' from Hamlet has since become a commonly used romantic phrase. In the original play, the line is uttered by Hamlet's mother as she scatters funeral flowers across Ophelia's grave in Act 5, Scene 1...[the] passage hardly shares the romantic sentiment in today's use of the phrase!" (1). Are there any more changed-meaning scenes, speeches, or phrases that one can identify?