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'It's all Greek to me'...
The expression 'Shakespearean language' often strikes
fear into the hearts of many, and has come to signify more
than just passages or phrases from the works of William Shakespeare.
One would think that the plays were written in some higher,
mystical form of language that has no bearing on how we talk
today. Many people are a little intimidated by Shakespeare
and forget that nearly every word we use today IS Shakespearean
language.
Shakespearean Figures of Speech
Aside from modern figures of speech and language developed
through the ages, Shakespeare wrote in the same language that
you are reading now. It may be equally surprising to hear
that most of our well used expressions and figures of speech
were originally coined by Shakespeare - 'Vanished into thin
air', 'laughing stock' and of course 'it's all Greek to me'.
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Shakespeare is simple...
It is possible to treat the works of Shakespeare too much
like a sacred text and overcomplicate things that are really
very simple - the words are poetic and beautiful, but in the
end are just 'words, words, words' as Hamlet so rightly says.
Shakespeare was an intuitive genius, but don't look for his
genius by counting the commas, the real magic of his work
lies in his ability to see the truth of human existence.
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