Shakespeare Language Vocabulary Words and Phrases

Why is he so famous? Let see. His full name is William Shakespeare. He was born on 26 April 1564 and died on 23 April 1616. He started his career in London and worked as an actor, writer and a poet. His most popular plays includes Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear and many other. Hamlet is a tragedy written by Shakespeare. 

Few of it lines are as follow:  

Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting

That would not let me sleep. Methought I lay

Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly—

And prais’d be rashness for it—let us know

Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well …—?Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2, 4–8

‘To be or not to be’ – that’s the one line from Shakespeare that everybody knows. But the question is, do you know just how many other words, phrases and idioms he gave to the English language, either by coining them himself or by popularising them through his poetry and plays?

Famous Words of Shakespeare and their Meanings: 

• thou = you (subject, singular, informal) e.g. “Thou wast in the next room.”
• ye = you (subject, plural) e.g. “Ye all came forth from the room.”
• thee = you (object… “to you” ) e.g. “I saw thee in the other room.”
• thine or thy = your (possessive, singular) e.g. “That is thy room.”
• encave: hide. [Othello]
• enchafed: angry. [Othello]
• endues: brings. [Othello]
• engluts: devours. [Othello]
• ensteeped: submerged. [Othello]
• much ado: much trouble, fuss. [King Lear]
• proper stuff: A fine thing this! [Macbeth]
• occulted: hidden. [Hamlet]

Famous Phrases Written by Shakespeare 

• Too much of a good thing (Even good things can hurt in excess)
• I have not slept one wink (I did not sleep at all)
• The clothes make the man (People are judged by the way they dress)
• Own flesh and blood (Part of my family)
• All that glitters isn’t gold (Things are not as good as they appear to be)
• A blinking idiot (A fool)
• The world is my oyster (I can achieve whatever I want to in life)
• Short shrift (Little and unsympathetic attention)
• A tower of strength (A person you can rely on for support)
• Star-crossed lovers (Lovers doomed by outside forces)
• Wild-goose chase (A hopeless search for something unattainable)
• Break the ice (To reduce the awkward, initial social tension)
• Brave new world (Used ironically to refer to a new, hopeful period)
• Melted into thin air (To disappear suddenly, leaving no traces)

Following are some of the most popular phrases from Shakespeare plays, acts and comedy.

• “All our yesterdays”— (Macbeth)
• “As good luck would have it” — (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
• “As merry as the day is long” — (Much Ado About Nothing / King John)
• “Bated breath” — (The Merchant of Venice)
• “Be-all and the end-all” — (Macbeth)
• “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” — (Hamlet)
• “Brave new world” — (The Tempest)
• “Break the ice” — (The Taming of the Shrew)
• “Brevity is the soul of wit” — (Hamlet)
• “Refuse to budge an inch” — (Measure for Measure / The Taming of the Shrew)
• “Cold comfort” — (The Taming of the Shrew / King John)
• “Conscience does make cowards of us all” — (Hamlet)
• “Crack of doom” — (Macbeth)
• “Dead as a doornail” — (Henry VI Part II)
• “A dish fit for the gods” — (Julius Caesar)
• “Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war” — (Julius Caesar)

Shakespeare Vocabulary Words List for Kids

Following is a list of words used by Shakespeare in his plays and poems:

Keep exploring EnglishBix to learn new words and phrases famous writers and poets have introduced in English Language.

Quick Links

1. English Literature Vocabulary Words
2. Acrostic Poems for Summer and Winter