Shakespeare never fails to amaze me. And I love collecting bookends which honor this greatest of writers. For no other human has influenced English writing more than he has: on theatre, on character, on the language we use today. Lonely. Generous. Addiction. These are words, invented by Shakespeare, which we use every day—if not every few hours. You'll find a longer list of his words and phrases below.
We are not certain of Shakespeare's precise date of birth. We know that he was baptized on 26 April 1564. Traditionally, 23 April has been celebrated as his birthday. We do know that he died on the same day—23 April—in 1616. The Bard wrote 39 plays and many dozens of sonnets and poems. Even more impressive is the way Shakespeare has forever transformed the art of plot development, characterization, scenic progression, and a piercing insight into the heart of humankind. 400 years on, Shakespeare is still influencing wordsmiths—in the English language and beyond.
Before Romeo & Juliet, romance was not considered suitable territory for tragedy. And, while Shakespeare did not invent the soliloquy, he was the first to use it to reveal (to audiences) the inner workings of a character's mind. He has influenced many of the "big names" we revere: Jane Austin, Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens, Herman Melville and Toni Morrison (to name only a few). Musical composers like Mendelssohn, Prokofiev and Verdi were inspired by his work.
Here is a sampling—a woefully incomplete listing—of some of the words and phrases which William Shakespeare invented for us (and which we use every day, today):
Lonely, Generous, Addiction. Bandit, Manager, Critic. Dauntless, Eventful, Dwindle. Bedroom, Gossip, Lackluster. Bedazzle, Swagger, Elbow (as a verb).
Break the ice, In a pickle, Good riddance. Brave new world, Wild goose chase, Love is blind. Star-crossed lovers, Green-eyed monster, It's Greek to me. All the World's a stage, The World is my oyster, All that glitters is not gold.
And let's not forget the 300 (or so) words which he compounded with the prefix "Un-": Unaware, Uncomfortable, Undress, Unreal.
These heavy cast iron bookends, made by Bradley & Hubbard (Meriden, CT) in the Twenties, feature a "floating bust" of William Shakespeare. The bas relief sculpting is finished in a golden bronze patina. The background is a chocolate bronze finish. Click on the photo above to learn more about them.
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We also can be found in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248