If you have ever been in a pickle, tongue-tied, had too much of a good thing, refused to budge an inch, or heard your folks say, “You’ve eaten me out of house and home,” then you’ve been living with the words of William Shakespeare. He was able to put words together so beautifully that today, about 450 years after his birth, we are still quoting Shakespeare. His amazing gift for words changed the English language forever. To learn more about Shakespeare’s genius for words, The Mini Page talked with Michael Witmore, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library.‘All the world’s a stage’ William Shakespeare invented hundreds of words, used them in brand-new ways and wrote lines that opened up new ways of seeing. Words from his plays and poems still ring true today. His works have been translated into hundreds of languages. Shakespeare plays include “Romeo and Juliet,” “Hamlet” and “Julius Caesar.” He is also famous for a special kind of poetry called a sonnet (SAHN-ut).
‘The play’s the thing’ People in Shakespeare’s time loved to play with words. They also loved proverbs, or sayings. Shakespeare shared these loves. He invented hundreds of sayings. Some of the proverbs in his plays may not have been invented by him; they may have been common in his time. But his works are the only record we have of some sayings. Experts believe he invented most of the phrases in his work.
‘Be that as it may’ Although Shakespeare’s words are familiar to us today, we don’t have any manuscripts of his work in his own handwriting. In 1623, two of his actor friends published the “First Folio.” A folio (FO-lee-o) is a special kind of book. There are only 232 known copies of the First Folio still in existence. Unfortunately, no two are exactly alike. Printers of the time put the folios together in different orders. Sometimes they decided to correct what they thought were errors; punctuation was put in differently, and the spelling of some words changed. Actors and directors may have changed things in the plays too. By looking at all the versions, scholars have put together what they believe are the most accurate scripts.
‘Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On’
William Shakespeare
Shakespeare was born about 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. He wrote his most famous plays from about 1589 to 1613.
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The First Folio contains 36 of Shakespeare’s plays. If we didn’t have this book, we would have lost about half of his plays, including “Macbeth” and “Twelfth Night.”
Title Page. William Shakespeare. Plays. 1623. London. Courtesy Folger Shakespeare Library
‘What’s in a name?’ Michael Witmore, Folger Shakespeare Library director, says: “Reading Shakespeare is like being a bird watcher. Every once in a while, you see this very beautiful bird fly by that you’ve never seen before. Part of the fun of Shakespeare is reading a rare word, or a beautiful word that you’ve never seen before.” Shakespeare used words in ways they’d never been used before. The most famous rare word he re-invented is “incarnadine,” Michael said. Incarnadine (in-KAR-nuh-dine) means a bright red color. Shakespeare took this noun and turned it into a verb. It would be like turning “red” into “redden,” only much more poetic. In Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth,” Macbeth starts murdering people to gain power.
‘Foul play’ Macbeth’s speech sounds complicated and hard to understand at first. But even if you are a beginner, you can figure out what he’s saying because Shakespeare uses poetic words, then repeats the message in regular words — “making the green one red.” Macbeth is saying that all the oceans in the world are not enough to wash the blood from his hands. Instead, his bloody hands will change the green ocean to red. By turning the noun “incarnadine” into a verb, Shakespeare makes the meaning pop out. We can just see Macbeth’s bloody hands turning the green seas to red.
Incarnadine Macbeth looks at his hand, saying:“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.”
Words that remind us of Shakespeare are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: ACT, ACTOR, CAESAR, DREAMS, FOLIO, HAMLET, INVENT, LANGUAGE, LINES, LOVE, MEANING, PLAY, PROVERBS, QUOTE, RED, SHAKESPEARE, SONNET, STAGE, WILLIAM, WORDS, WORKS, WRITE.
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The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics.On the Web: • bit.ly/18tkRP5 • bit.ly/14Jgaka • to.pbs.org/16hGZymAt the library: • “The Wednesday Wars” by Gary D. Schmidt • “The Tempest: The Graphic Novel” by William Shakespeare, adapted by John McDonald
Macbeth worries about his bloody hands as Lady Macbeth encourages him to keep gaining power, in this production at the Folger Theatre.
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‘Rhyme or Reason’
®
Rookie Cookie’s RecipeTrio Bean Salad
You’ll need:• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained• 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained• 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke quarters• 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped• 1 cup cucumber, chopped• 1/3 cup red onion, chopped• 1/4 cup olive oilWhat to do:1. Place all beans and vegetables in a large bowl.2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegars and spices.3. Pour dressing over bean mixture and toss to coat.4. Cover and chill in refrigerator to blend flavors. Makes 10 servings.You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.
Meet Dannah Phirman Dannah (DON-uh) Phirman is the voice of WordGirl and Becky Botsford in the PBS Kids TV series “WordGirl.” Dannah has been a voice actor in other shows as well, including Penny in Nickelodeon’s “The Mighty B!” and Nickelodeon’s Zaria on “Tak and the Power of Juju.” She also is the voice of characters in several video games. She has acted in several TV shows and movies and also has written scripts for “WordGirl” and “The Mighty B!”
Dannah, 38, was born in Israel. She majored in theater in college. After college she acted with an improv group. Improv is a type of theater where actors make up dramas or comedy on the spot, while performing before a live audience. She teaches comedy writing and improv to college students. She now lives in Los Angeles.
Sylvia: Why was Shakespeare rejected for military service?
Sandy: His spear was too shaky!
Sylvester: What did the bald man ponder?Stanley: “Toupee or not to toupee,
that is the question”!
TM
All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category?
Simon: If Shakespeare had been a reptile, what would be a better name for him?
Seamus: Snakespeare!
Mini Spy . . .Mini Spy is playing the part of a fairy in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” See if you can find: • question mark• fishhook • doughnut • goat • butterfly• dolphin • bird • heart • word MINI• teacup • number 3 • fish • frog• number 2 • teapot • candy cane
Supersport: Joe FlaccoHeight: 6-6 Birthdate: 1-16-85Weight: 245 Hometown: Audubon, N.J. Baltimore Ravens fans aren’t the only people raving about Joe Flacco. After Joe led his team to the Super Bowl title and won the game’s MVP award last season, his fame has spread across football’s massive landscape. It’s not that he wasn’t well-known and good before then.
In each of the last four seasons, the talented and tough quarterback passed for more than 3,600 yards. In 2012, he threw for 3,817 yards and 22 TDs. Flacco, once a college All-American at the University of Delaware, also does heroic work off the field. He supports several charities, including the Special Olympics. The Ravens know they have a Super Joe, one of the NFL’s best players. That’s why they added six more years to his contract.
‘A rose by any other name’ Shakespeare’s words are so rich and layered that people often use the phrases differently than how Shakespeare meant them on stage. For example, in his play “Hamlet,” the queen says, “Sweets to the sweet” as she tosses flowers onto a woman’s grave. But today, we use that phrase to mean something fun — for example, giving candy or flowers to a friend.‘Some achieve greatness’ When Nelson Mandela was in prison for fighting for human rights in South Africa, the prisoners passed around a book of Shakespeare. Each prisoner chose a passage that meant something special to him. Mandela chose a phrase from “Julius Caesar”:“Cowards die many times before their deaths.The valiant* never taste of death but once.”*“Valiant” means “brave.” In the play, these words are spoken by Caesar, who was a bullying ruler. But it didn’t matter to Mandela that the words were spoken by a bully like those he was fighting against. The words had special meaning all on their own. Mandela later became president of South Africa.
‘The be-all and end-all’ Shakespeare’s words enrich other media too. For example:Songs: • “Nothing Like the Sun” sung by Sting (sonnet) • “Pomp and Circumstance” by Edward Elgar (“Othello”). You may have heard this music played at graduations. • “Dogs of War” (“Julius Caesar”) is the name of a song sung by Pink Floyd, the name of a comic book series and a computer game.
‘A Spotless Reputation’
‘Full circle’ Shakespeare’s words still ring true with today’s audiences. Video games, songs, movies and TV shows rely on his words. Here are some examples of Shakespeare’s words in modern entertainment:Movies: • “Something Wicked This Way Comes” (From “Macbeth”) • “North by Northwest” (“Hamlet”) • “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” (“Hamlet”) • “Where Eagles Dare” (“Richard III”)TV shows: • “Thine Own Self,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode (“Hamlet”) • “Sea Change,” “Transformers” episode (“The Tempest”)
The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist
This is a scene from “Julius Caesar” by a famous Shakespeare company of 1892.
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Shakespeare was one of the first people to put “un” in front of words to create opposite meanings from the original word. For example, he invented “untitled” and “untutored.”
Sculpture by Louis François Roubiliac. Shakespeare. Terracotta, 1757. Courtesy Folger Shakespeare Library.
The Mini Page thanks Michael Witmore, director, Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C., for help with this issue.
Next week, The Mini Page is about magnetism.
Look through your newspaper for phrases that came from Shakespeare.
