Shakespeare's word |
Meaning (in the sample usage) |
# |
Reference(s) |
Sample usage |
addition |
title; epithet; Anything added; increase; augmentation; an improvement |
28 |
Lear 2.2; Oth 3.4 |
if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition And think it no addition, nor my wish, To have him see me woman'd. |
advocation |
plea; advocacy |
1 |
Oth 3.4 |
My advocation is not now in tune |
affect |
choose, show fondness for |
23 |
Oth 3.3 Two 3.1 |
Not to affect many proposed matches There is a lady in Verona here / Whom I affect; but she is nice and coy |
affined |
joined in affinity or by any tie |
3 |
Oth 1.1 |
Whether I in any just term am affined / To love the Moor. |
affy |
betroth |
1 |
2 HVI 4.1 |
daring to affy a mighty lord unto the dau |
aglet-baby |
small figure forming the tag of a lace, frequently a death's head |
Shrew |
||
alarum |
call to arms with trumpets etc. |
16 |
Rich III 1.1 2 HVI 2.3 |
... stern alarums changed to merry meetings Sound, trumpets, alarum to the combatants |
anatomize |
dissect |
6 |
Lear 3.6 |
Then let them anatomize Regan |
appeal |
accuse, charge with a crime, (also in the modern sense) |
20 |
Rich II 1.1 |
make good the boisterous late appeal |
approve |
prove, confirm |
52 |
Lear 2.4; Lear 3.5; Oth 2.3 |
this approves her letter which approves him an intelligent party . . . If consequence do but approve my dream |
aroint |
stand off, or begone |
3 |
Lear 3.4 |
And, aroint thee, witch, aroint thee! |
attempt |
attack, military venture |
47 |
Lear 2.2
2 HIV 4.2
MWW 4.2 |
For him attempting who was self-subdued We have supplies to second our attempt Mrs Page: [Falstaff] will never, I think, in the way of waste, attempt us again. |
attend |
await, wait upon |
181 |
Lear 2.1 |
messengers from hence attend dispatch |
When I was in college, struggling through my Signet volume of Shakespeare, I didn't have the time, money, or inclination to buy audio tapes of the plays. I've done so recently, and what a difference.
In part, because Shakespeare was meant to be heard (and seen), and in part, because the English language has changed, listening to King Lear, or any of the plays, while reading the text, adds a whole new dimension.
The humor becomes clearer; anger is better conveyed; the reader/listener at once can absorb so much more of the play. For King Lear this version with Sir Laurence Olivier, is excellent.