William Shakespeare had a major impact on the English language. He created or introduced many new words in his plays, with some estimates saying he added thousands of words. According to Warren King, Shakespeare used 17,677 different words in his works, and about 1,700 of those words were first used by him. He also borrowed words from other languages and classical literature. Shakespeare formed new words by changing nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, combining words that were not used together before, adding parts to the beginning or end of words, and making up entirely new words. Many of his phrases are still used in everyday language today.

Although Shakespeare is often credited with creating many new words, an article in National Geographic explains that historian Jonathan Hope found evidence suggesting otherwise. Hope wrote in "Shakespeare's 'Native English'" that Victorian scholars who worked on the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) focused heavily on Shakespeare's texts. These scholars examined his works more carefully and cited them more frequently, which led to Shakespeare being given credit for using certain words or meanings first, even though other writers may have used them earlier.

A

• A blinking idiot. The Merchant of Venice. Act 2. Scene 9.
• A dish fit for the Gods. Julius Caesar. Act 2. Scene 1.
• A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse! Richard III. Act 5. Scene 4.
• A plague on both your houses. Romeo and Juliet. Act 3. Scene 1.
• All that glitters isn’t gold. The Merchant of Venice. Act 2. Scene 7.
• All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players. As You Like It. Act 2. Scene 7.
• All’s well that ends well. All’s Well That Ends Well.
• At one fell swoop. Macbeth. Act 4. Scene 3.

B

• Sometimes being harsh can be a way to show kindness. Hamlet. Act 3. Scene 4.
• Do not fear greatness. Some are born with greatness, some earn it through effort, and some are given it by others. Twelfth Night. Act 2. Scene 5.
• It is better to arrive three hours early than to be even a minute late. The Merry Wives of Windsor. Act 2. Scene 2.
• Be cautious on the ides of March. Julius Caesar. Act 1. Scene 2.
• A brave new world. The Tempest. Act 5. Scene 2.
• To break the ice. The Taming of the Shrew. Act I. Scene 2.
• Shortness is the key to being clever. Hamlet. Act 2. Scene 2.

C-D-E

• No matter what happens. Macbeth. Act 1, Scene 3.
• Cowards experience death many times before their actual death; the brave only feel death once. Julius Caesar. Act 2, Scene 2.
• As lifeless as a doornail. Henry VI, Part 2.
• Twice as much toil and trouble. Macbeth. Act 4, Scene 1.
• You too, Brutus! Then fall, Caesar. Julius Caesar. Act 3, Scene 1.

F

• Fair is foul and foul is fair. Macbeth. Act 1, Scene 1.
• Fair play. The Tempest. Act 5, Scene 1.
• Foregone conclusion. Othello. Act 3, Scene 3.
• Frailty, thy name is woman. Hamlet. Act 1, Scene 2.
• Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. Julius Caesar. Act 3, Scene 2.
• Full fathom five thy father lies. The Tempest. Act 1, Scene 2.

G

• Go to a nunnery. Hamlet. Act 3. Scene 1.
• Give every man your ear, but few your voice. Hamlet. Act 1. Scene 3.
• Good night, sweet prince. Hamlet. Act 5. Scene 2.
• Good riddance. Troilus and Cressida. Act 2. Scene 1.

H

• He has taken everything from me, even my home. Henry VI Part 2. Act 2. Scene 1.
• Hell is empty, and all the devils are here. The Tempest. Act 1. Scene 2.
• How now? Even so quickly can one catch the plague? Twelfth Night. Act 1. Scene 5.
• Heart of gold. Henry V. Act IV. Scene I.
• Hoist with his own petard. Hamlet. Act 3. Scene 4.
• How much more painful than a serpent’s tooth is it to have a thankless child. King Lear. Act 1. Scene 4.

I

• I am a man, more wronged than guilty. King Lear. Act 3. Scene 2.
• I wasted time and now time is wasting me. Richard II. Act 5. Scene 5.
• If music is the food of love, keep playing. Twelfth Night. Act 1. Scene 1.
• If you prick us, do we not bleed? The Merchant of Venice. Act 3. Scene 1.
• Deep down in my heart. Hamlet. Act 3. Scene 2.
• Laughing until I can’t breathe. Twelfth Night. Act 3. Scene 2.
• It is a story told by someone who doesn’t understand, full of noise and excitement, meaning nothing. Macbeth. Act 5. Scene 5.
• It is Greek to me. Julius Caesar. Act 1. Scene 2.
• I see, lady, the gentleman is not listed in your records. Much Ado About Nothing. Act 1. Scene 1.

J

• "Jaws of death" from Twelfth Night, Act 3, Scene 4.
• "Jealousy is the green-eyed monster" from Othello, Act 3, Scene 3.

K

• Use kindness to stop someone from being angry. The Taming of the Shrew. Act 4, Scene 1.
• Say "Kiss me, Kate." The Taming of the Shrew. Act 5, Scene 1.
• Say "Knock, knock. Who is there?" Macbeth. Act 2, Scene 3.

L

• Release the dogs of war. Julius Caesar. Act 3. Scene 1.
• Let us kill all the lawyers. Henry VI, Part 2. Act 4. Scene 2.
• Lie low. Much Ado about Nothing. Act 5. Scene 1.
• Lord, we know what we are, but do not know what we may be. Hamlet. Act 4. Scene 5.
• Lord, what fools these mortals be. Midsummer Night’s Dream. Act 1. Scene 1.
• Love all, trust a few, harm no one. All’s Well that Ends Well. Act 1. Scene 1.
• Love is blind. The Merchant of Venice. Act 2. Scene 6.

M

• People who speak little are often the best. Henry V. Act 3. Scene 2.
• Disappeared completely. The Tempest. Act 4. Scene 1.
• A plan hidden within confusion. Hamlet. Act 2. Scene 2.
• My generosity is endless, just like the sea, and my love is very deep. Romeo and Juliet. Act 2. Scene 2.
• My younger, more carefree years. Anthony and Cleopatra. Act 1. Scene 5.

N

• Do not borrow or lend money. Hamlet. Act 1. Scene 3.
• Without rhyme or reason. The Comedy of Errors. Act 2. Scene 2.
• A person who stays up late at night. The Rape of Lucrece.
• No inheritance is more valuable than honesty. All’s Well That Ends Well. Act 3. Scene 5.
• Nothing can be created from nothing. King Lear. Act 1. Scene 1.
• I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more. Julius Caesar. Act 3. Scene 2.
• The time of our unhappiness has become a happy time because of the ruler from York. Richard III. Act 1. Scene 1.

O

• Why are you Romeo? Romeo and Juliet. Act 2. Scene 1.
• Remove his head! Richard III. Act 3. Scene 4.
• Once again, let's attack the breach. Henry V. Act 3. Scene 1.
• One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. Troilus and Cressida. Act 3. Scene 3.
• Our celebration is now over. The Tempest. Act 4. Scene 1.
• Away, cursed stain! Macbeth. Act 5. Scene 1.
• Away, brief candle! Macbeth. Act 5. Scene 5.
• True family. Hamlet. Act 1. Scene 5.

P

• Parting is a sweet sorrow. Romeo and Juliet. Act 2, Scene 1.
• A pound of flesh. Merchant of Venice. Act 4, Scene 1.

S

• Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Sonnet 18.
• Short shrift. Richard III: Act 3, Scene 4.
• Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Hamlet: Act 1, Scene 4.
• Something wicked this way comes. Macbeth: Act 4, Scene 1.
• Sound and fury. Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 5.
• Star-crossed lovers. Romeo and Juliet: Prologue.
• Sterner stuff. Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 2.
• Suit the action to the word, the word to the action. Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 2.
• Sweet are the uses of adversity. As You Like It: Act 2, Scene 1.

T

• That way leads to madness. King Lear. Act 3, Scene 4.
• The most important thing and the final goal. Macbeth. Act 1, Scene 7.
• The better part of courage is being careful. Henry IV, Part 1. Act V, Scene 4.
• What one wears defines them. Hamlet. Act 1, Scene 3.
• The course of true love is never easy. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Act 1, Scene 1.
• The harm people do lives on after them; the good they do is often forgotten. Julius Caesar. Act 3, Scene 2.
• The lady seems to say too much, I think. Hamlet. Act 3, Scene 2.
• Being ready is everything. Hamlet. Act 5, Scene 2.
• The world is full of opportunities. Merry Wives of Windsor. Act 2, Scene 2.
• There is a time in people’s lives when action is important. Julius Caesar. Act 4, Scene 3.
• There is a story behind this. As You Like It. Act 2, Scene 7.
• Though she is small, she is strong. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Act 3, Scene 2.
• It is time to be afraid when rulers seem kind. Pericles. Act 1, Scene 2.
• To live or not to live—that is the question. Hamlet. Act 3, Scene 1.
• Be true to yourself. Hamlet. Act 1, Scene 3.
• Too much of something good can be bad. As You Like It. Act 4, Scene 1.
• A strong support. Richard III. Act 5, Scene 3.

U-V

• It is difficult to rest easy when one is a king. Henry IV, Part 2. Act 3. Scene 1.
• Villain, I have hurt your mother. Titus Andronicus. Act 4. Scene 2.

W

• We are made of the same things as dreams, and our short lives end with sleep. The Tempest. Act 4. Scene 1.
• We have had better times in the past. As You Like It. Act 2. Scene 7.
• We understand who we are, but we do not know what we might become. Hamlet. Act 5. Scene 1.
• Show your feelings openly. Othello. Act 1. Scene 1.
• How amazing is human life. Hamlet. Act 1. Scene 1.
• What has been done cannot be changed. Macbeth. Act 3. Scene 2.
• What is the importance of a name? A rose would still smell sweet if it had a different name. Romeo and Juliet. Act 2. Scene 1.
• What has already happened is just the beginning. The Tempest. Act 2. Scene 1.
• What on earth. Merry Wives of Windsor. Act 2. Scene 2.
• What, you foolish person? Macbeth. Act 4. Scene 2.
• Why, there is a woman! The Taming of the Shrew. Act 5. Scene 1.
• A useless search. Romeo and Juliet. Act 2. Scene 4.
• Love is blind. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Act 1. Scene 1.

Y

That Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much. Men like him can be dangerous. Julius Caesar. Act 1, Scene 2.