|
Shakespeare's word |
Meaning (in the sample usage) |
# |
Reference(s) |
Sample usage |
|
wain |
wagon 'Charles' wain' is the Big Dipper |
2 |
1 HIV 2.1 |
Charles' wain is over the new chimney |
|
want |
lack |
Rich III 1.1 |
want love's majesty |
|
|
watched |
stood watches, stayed awake; closely observed |
Lear 2.2; Oth 3.3 |
my lord shall never rest; / I'll watch him tame |
|
|
web and pin |
cataract of the eye |
Lear 3.4 |
he gives the web and the pin, squints the eye | |
|
welkin |
sky |
Shrew Ind. |
Thy hounds shall make the welkin answer them | |
|
willow |
symbol of rejected love |
25 |
TN 1.5 |
Make me a willow cabin at your gate |
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