by profreelancer

Created on: April 25, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, and as the world's preeminent dramatist. He wrote approximately 38 plays and 154 sonnets, as well as a variety of other poems. Already popular in his own lifetime, Shakespeare became more famous after his death and his work was adulated by many prominent cultural figures through the centuries. He is often considered to be England's national poet and is sometimes referred to as the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard") or the "Swan of Avon".

William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. His plays are traditionally divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy. His plays have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being continually performed all around the world.
Among the most famous and critically acclaimed of Shakespeare's plays are Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Othello, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and Macbeth.
The language used in the works of the Bard is rich and colorful, but many of his odd words are no longer in current use or in the modern dictionary and the origins meanings of the Elizabethan vocabulary are totally unfamiliar. William Shakespeare's works sometimes appears to have a language of its own. Understanding the real meanings behind some of the language in the great plays and sonnets can be difficult. And this is hardly surprising when the expressions and their meanings have been obsolete since the Elizabethan era!

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
This play has some of the hilarious insults used by Shakespeare. Everything has turned out satisfactorily, even though the outcome has been uncertain. For example, His lawyer persuaded Jack to plead guilty, but the court merely put him on probation-all's well that ends well. This proverb, dating from about 1250, gained even more currency as the title of a Shakespeare comedy. You are not worth another word; else I will call you knave.' The word knave is still used and it means an unprincipled, untrustworthy or dishonest person. Though art like a toad, ugly and venomous.' The comparison of a person to a toad is very interesting. This phrase is not currently used. A most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality.'

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