In William's Words

你知道哪些英文字是莎士比亞發明的嗎？The life and works of England’s most famous poet, William Shakespeare 英國最有名的詩翁莎士比亞的生平和作品William Shakespeare's plays continue to educate and entertain. by Chelsea Ewald

What’s in a name?
Genius – if your name happens to be William Shakespeare. The name “William Shakespeare” is among the most recognized and revered in history. Widely known as a literary genius, the famed playwright and poet has earned such nicknames as the Bard and England’s national poet. His plays have been translated into every major language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Even today his creative achievements have yet to be surpassed. Still, in spite of his fame, very little is known about the man himself.

It is believed that William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon. As a boy, he likely attended grammar school and studied subjects like Greek and Latin literature.
However, for reasons unknown, Shakespeare left school when he was 15 and never again pursued formal education. Just three years later, in 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years his senior. Soon after, they started a family.

All the world's a stage
Theater was the primary source of entertainment during the Elizabethan Era, and Queen Elizabeth herself was likely one of its biggest patrons. A superb talent like Shakespeare no doubt flourished in it. Aside from being a playwright. Shakespeare was also a well-known actor during his lifetime. And since actors of the day were jacks-of-all-trades, it can be assumed that Shakespeare was skilled in dancing, singing, acrobatics and playing musical instruments. He rose to fame when he joined The Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company protected by the Queen herself.

No one really knows how or when Shakespeare first began writing and acting, but by the 1590s his interest in these area had gained momentum. As a result, he left Stratford-on-Avon and moved to London to pursue his dreams. And it wasn't just his acting that impressed the Queen. As a prolific writer, Shakespeare made quite a name for himself, even during his day. His plays were often purchased and performed for large audiences in locations such as the famous Globe Theatre, of which Shakespeare was part owner. Records show that The Lord Chamberlain's Men performed at least two of Shakespeare's plays before the Queen and her court, further affirming Shakespeare's fame and talent. Even as the plague shut down theaters all over London in the 1590's, Shakespeare continued to pen plays and poetry that would eventually make history.

To be or not to be
Shakespeare is credited with authoring an impressive 37 plays and 154 sonnets and is widely remembered for his creative achievements. However, his works are not without controversy. Some people doubt that Shakespeare wrote the works credited to him and propose other people as the true authors. Theories abound supporting more educated individuals as the likely writers. Most people disagree with these claims, however, instead giving Shakespeare credit where credit is due.

Words, words, words
Shakespeare's genius really shows when it comes to his vocabulary. Some experts claim that he knew over 29,000 words, thus making him a vocabulary genius! And when he couldn't come up with an appropriate word in his writing, he invented a new one. In fact, Shakespeare coined over 1,700 words commonly used in the English language today and popularized others that were already in use. Among words credited to him are amazement, assassination, downstairs, employer, fashionable, silliness and useful. Phrases and idioms include break the ice, come what may, and love is blind. For Shakespeare, it seems all's well that ends well. As each play comes to the stage or screen again, his genius continues to live on through his words.


More Information
Shakespeare's plays were written in poetic style known as blank verse. Basically, it's poetry that doesn't rhyme, but it's still pleasing to the ear because it imitates the mythms of natural speech. Blank verse is very flexible, allowing poets and playwrights to express themselves freely. Some of Shakespeare's more famous blank verse narratives include Romeo and Juliet, Hamiet, Midsummer Night's Dream and Antony and Cleopatra.

Grammar
He married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years his senior.
his senior=older than him
his senior/ her senior
*The actress is dating a man fifteen years her senior.
*Timothy's sister is twelve years his senior.

Vocabulary
revere-尊敬，崇敬，为甚么而尊敬用"for"
*People revere the great artist not just for his talent but also for his character.
*The professor was revered for his achievements in his field.
surpass-超越，优于 sur-在。。。之上。to exceed, to go beyond both in quality and quantities.
*The movie's success surpassed everyone's expectations.
*It's not easy to surpass the well-trained baseball team.
momentum-冲劲，气势 is a force keep something forward.
*The movie lost its momentum half-way through when the hero went missing.
*The tennis player maintained his momentum throughout the game.
patron (n)-赞助者
*The first lady is the patron of several charities.
*The main patron of this dance company is a successful businessman from Texas.
prolific-多产的，创作力丰富的，也指动植物的多产，繁殖力强的。
*He's probably the most prolific novelist of his generation.
*The 80's were the director's most prolific period.最丰富多产的阶段。
*Rats are extremely prolific.繁殖力极强。
affirm-证明，确认。也指声明，坚称。 firm-坚定的
*The success of this project further affirms Victor's leadership in this company.
*The suspect affirmed his innocence throughout the interrogation.
plague - 灾，灾难，此指发生在1590 年的黑死病。
jack-of-all-trade- a person can do many different things and do skillfully well.
controversy-争议,争论.
*The trial caused a controversy over the issue of women's rights.
controversial--sial 争论性高的
controversial movie-
credit where credit is due-指任何某人的贡献,能力.实至名归的. credit功劳, due 应该还的.
*Even though Mandy might be a little too aggressive, credit where credit is due-she is very efficient.有效力的
popularize-使普及,使受欢迎的.使流行,被推广.popular 受欢迎的,
*The Internet has helped to popularize eco-friendly ideas and products. 环保观念
coins- create, invented.
"all's well that ends well" -Title of Shakespeare's play. it refer to difficulties or something had happened in the beginning or it doesn't work well in the middle, but it has a well ending.
Shakespeare's famous plays : Harmiet 哈姆雷特, King lear 里耳王, Macbeth马克白. 是沙翁的悲剧经典之作.

Chat Room
senior-资深的，高级的，资格老的，前辈。
senior citizen-资深公民，对老年人的委婉称呼。
senior/junior-年长，年幼
时间 + 所有格 + senior/junior -比某人大多少岁或小几岁。
Steven is five years my senior.
I am five years Steven's junior.
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pen (n)-原子笔
to pen something-用笔写下来。
I.D. card （n)-身份证
to card someone- to make sure of legal age 出示（证件）。。法定年龄
Google (n)- 搜寻网路公司
to google- 上Google网搜寻。
effort (n), office (n) are noun, you can't verbalize them. verbalizing them for advertisement only.
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to be or not to be- 要做与不做什么，不确定，进退维谷 " To Be or Not to Be" is a famous phrase in Shakespeare's Harmiet. 哈姆雷特.
to be or not to be, that is the question-生存或是毁灭这是值得考虑的问题。
to work or not to work
to buy or not to buy
to eat or not to eat