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Common Words in Shakespeare’s Works
PRONOUNS:
Mine - my
Example: Thou art mine own friend.
Thou – you (someone of equal status)
Example: Thou art my friend.
Endings to Verbs: t, st, and est
Thou art a fool; thou hast no friends.
Thou doest not impress mine own self; thou wast lying to me!
Thou hadst neither lost the battle, nor won the war.
Thee - you
Example: I love thee.
I give thee all my love.
Thy - your
Example: Here is thy sword.
Thine - yours
Example: This sword is thine. Where is thine enemy?
Thyself - yourself
Example: Wash thyself. Thou thyself art a fool.
Endings to Verbs: t, st, and est
Thou thyself art a fool.
Thou thyself doest nothing at all.
Thou thyself hadst no enemies.
Ye - you
Example: Ye are a fool. Ye are all fools. I'll strike ye down.
Ye - the
Example: Ye olde tavern (meaning the old tavern)
the gods).
Ye gods (meaning
OTHER COMMON WORDS:
Alack
Pronunciation: uh LAK
Part of speech: interjection
Definition: expression of regret, sorrow, dismay, alarm
Example from Shakespeare: Lady Macbeth, worried that her husband
has not committed the murder that will make him king and her queen,
says: "Alack, I am afraid they have awaked, and 'tis not done"
(Macbeth, Act II, Scene II).
Anon
Pronunciation: uh NON
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: now; at once; soon; shortly
Example from Shakespeare: "Up, gentlemen: you shall see sport
anon" (Ford to Sir Hugh Evans and others, The Merry Wives of
Windsor, Act III, Scene III).
Avaunt
Pronunciation: uh VAWNT
Part of speech: interjection
Definition: Go away! Withdraw! Depart!
Example from Shakespeare: "Avaunt, thou hateful villain, get thee
gone!" (Salisbury to Hubert in King John, Act IV, Scene III).
Belike
Pronunciation: be LIKE
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: probably; most likely
Example from Shakespeare: "Belike this show imports the argument
of the play" (Ophelia to Hamlet, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act III,
Scene II).
Beseech
Part of speech: verb
Definition: implore; beg; ask; importune
Example from Shakespeare: "I beseech you instantly to visit my too
much changed son" (Queen Gertrude to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act II, Scene II).
Betimes
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: immediately; at once
Example from Shakespeare: "I will to-morrow betimes, and betimes
I will, [go to see] the weird sisters" (Macbeth to Lady Macbeth, Act III,
Scene IV.)
Betwixt
Part of speech: preposition, adverb
Definition: between
Example from Shakespeare: "You shall see, as I have said, great
difference betwixt our Bohemia and your Sicilia (Archidamus to
Camillo, The Winter's Tale, Act I, Scene I).
Cuckold
Pronunciation: KUK old
Part of speech: noun
Definition: man married to an adulteress
Example from Shakespeare: "Who would not make her husband a
cuckold to make him a monarch? (Emilia to Desdemona, Othello, Act
IV, Scene III).
Durst
Pronunciation: DERST
Part of speech: verb (past tense and past participle of dare)
Definition: dared; had the courage to
Example from Shakespeare: "These five days have I hid me in these
woods and durst not peep out" (Jack Cade to Alexander Iden, Henry
VI Part II, Act IV, Scene X).
Ere
Pronunciation: AIR
Part of speech: preposition and conjunction
Definition: before; previous to; sooner than
Example from Shakespeare: "Meet me ere the first cock crow"
(Oberon to Puck, Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene I).
Fie
Part of speech: interjection
Definition: For shame! Nonsense! (Used to express disagreement,
annoyance, or mild disgust)
Example from Shakespeare: "Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis [the world is] an
unweeded garden (Hamlet, alone on stage, Act I, Scene II)
Fool
Part of speech: verb or noun
Definition: In the courts of England, a fool was a comic figure with a
quick tongue who entertained the king, queen and their guests. He
was allowed to--and even expected to--criticize anyone at court. Many
fools, or jesters, were dwarfs or cripples, their odd appearance
enhancing their appeal and, according to prevail beliefs, bringing good
luck to the court. Shakespeare wrote many fools into his plays.
Among them were the fool in King Lear and Feste in Twelfth Night.
William Kempe and Richard Armin became London celebrities for their
performances as fools in Shakespeare's plays. Armin wrote a book
about fools entitled Foole Upon Foole; or Six Sortes of Sottes.
Forsooth
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: Indeed; in truth; verily; in fact
Example from Shakespeare:"Yes, forsooth, I will hold my tongue"
(Fool to Goneril, King Lear, Act I, Scene IV).
Haply
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: perhaps; by accident or chance; by happenstance
Example from Shakespeare: "I have thrust myself into this maze,
haply to wive and thrive as best I may" (Petruchio, Act I, Scene II,
The Taming of the Shrew).
Liege
Part of speech: noun
Definition: lord; king; sovereign
Example from Shakespeare: "I assure my good liege, I hold my duty,
as I hold my soul, both to my God and to my gracious king" (Polonius
to King Claudius, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act II, Scene II).
Marry (As Introductory Word)
Part of speech: adverb used to introduce a sentence or to provide
transition
Definition: by the Virgin Mary (I swear by the Virgin Mary); the
meaning and force are similar to those of the word well. Example
from Shakespeare: "Marry, what do you think, John?" Also used as
an exclamation of surprise or emphasis.
Methinks
Part of speech: verb
Definition: I think; it seems to me; it appears as if
Example from Shakespeare: "Methinks I hear hither your husband's
drum" (Volumnia to Virgilia, Coriolanus, Act I, Scene III).
Morrow
Pronunciation: MAR oh
Part of speech: noun
Definition: morning
Example from Shakespeare: "Good morrow, to thee; welcome" (Mark
Antony greeting a soldier in Act IV, Scene IV, of Antony and
Cleopatra).
Prithee
Part of speech: interjection
Definition: please; I pray thee
Example from Shakespeare: "I prithee, take thy fingers from my
throat, for though I am not splenitive and rash, yet have I in me
something dangerous, which let thy wisdom fear" (Hamlet to Laertes
at Ophelia's burial ceremony, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act V, Scene
I).
Shrive
Part of speech: verb
Definition: absolve from sins; obtain forgiveness by confessing sins
Example from Shakespeare: "I had rather he should shrive me than
wive me" (Portia to Nerissa, The Mechant of Venice, Act I, Scene
II).
Sirrah
Pronunciation: SIR uh
Part of speech: noun
Definition: fellow; mister. The word is used contemptuously.
Example from Shakespeare: "Hold, sirrah, bear you these letters
tightly" (Falstaff to Robin, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act I, Scene
IV).
Soft
Part of speech: interject
Definition: stop, be quiet; hold up
Example from Shakespeare: "But soft, behold! lo, where it comes
again!" (Horatio, Hamlet, noticing the ghost approach, Act I, Scene
I)
Sooth
Part of speech: noun
Definition: truth; fact
Example from Shakespeare: "In sooth, you are to blame"
(Desdemona to Othello, Othello, Act III, Scene IV).
Thee, Thou, Thine, Thy, Thyself
Part of speech: pronoun
Definition: thee (you), thou (you), thine (yours), thy (your), thyself
(yourself)
Usage: Thou is subjective; thee is objective; thine and thy are
possessive; thyself is reflexive and intensive.
Examples from Shakespeare: (1) "Thou [you, subject of the sentence]
swear'st in vain" (Kent, King Lear). (2) "Thy [your] youngest daughter
does not love thee [you, direct object of the sentence] least." (Kent,
King Lear). (3) "To thine [yours] and Albany's issue be this perpetual"
(Lear, King Lear). (4) "Prithee, go in thyself [yourself]" (Lear, King
Lear). Click here for a full explanation of the use of these pronouns.
Verily
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: truly; in truth; indeed; really
Example from Shakespeare: "Verily, I swear, 'tis better to be lowly
born" (Anne to Old Lady, Henry VIII, Act II, Scene III).
Vouchsafe
Part of speech: verb
Definition: grant, bestow
Example from Shakespeare: "Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word
with you" (Guildenstern to Hamlet, Act III, Scene II, Hamlet, Prince of
Denmark).
Whence
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: from where; from what source; from what place
Example from Shakespeare: "O Cassio, whence came this?" (Bianca,
King Lear, Act III, Scene IV)
Wherefore
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: why
Example from Shakespeare: "I have of late--but wherefore I know
not--lost all my mirth" (Hamlet addressing Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern in Act II, Scene II, of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark).
Withal
Part of speech: adverb
Definition: in addition; notwithstanding; besides
Example from Shakespeare: "I am doubtless I can purge myself of
many [offenses} I am charged withal" (Prince Hal to King Henry,
Henry IV Part I, Act III, Scene II).
Wonted
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: accustomed; usual; ordinary
Example from Shakespeare:
And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish
That your good beauties be the happy cause
Of Hamlet's wildness: so shall I hope your virtues
Will bring him to his wonted way again (Queen Gertrude to
Ophelia, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act III, Scene I).
Zounds
Pronunciation: zoons (oons as in swoons)
Part of speech: interjection
Definition: expression of surprise, anger, amazement, disappointment.
The word is a corruption of "by His wounds" (meaning the wounds of
Christ). The word came about after people began pronouncing "by His
wounds" quickly so that it sounded like a single word--zounds. If a
person used this word today, he might say, "Zounds! The U.S. just
landed three astronauts on Mars!" Or he might say, "Zounds! The
Yankees lost today by 24 runs."
Example from Shakespeare: "Zounds, ye fat paunch, an ye call me
coward, by the Lord, I'll stab thee." (Poins speaking to Falstaff in
Henry IV, Part I, Act II, Scene IV).