Have you complained that someone refuses to budge an inch, or promised to fight till the last gasp for something important to you? Have you tried to break the ice in an awkward situation, or complained that your children have eaten you out of house and home?<\/p>\n
If so, you’ve been unconsciously quoting possibly the greatest writer who’s ever lived – William Shakespeare.<\/p>\n
Although we celebrate Shakespeare\u2019s birthday on the 23rd April, the exact date isn\u2019t known. As was usual at the time, only his baptism on 26th April was recorded, but three days was the average age for baptism. In any case, it\u2019s always seemed appropriate for England\u2019s greatest writer to have been born on St George\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
Shakespeare is celebrated for his vivid, unforgettable characters, but also for his command of language. The phrases mentioned above are just a few in an extremely long list of common words and phrases first found in Shakespeare\u2019s works, including \u201cfaint hearted\u201d, \u201cthe game is up\u201d, \u201cheart of gold\u201d and even \u201cgood riddance\u201d,<\/p>\n
So why does it matter? It\u2019s only, as Shakespeare would say, \u201cWords, words, words.\u201d<\/p>\n
The thing is that words and phrases don\u2019t just convey meaning neutrally. They also convey emotions, values and shared culture, and influencing the way language is used can also influence the way people think and feel.<\/p>\n
The negative side of this was chillingly illustrated by Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four<\/em>, but manipulating language doesn\u2019t have to be the preserve of Big Brother. The right words can make people laugh or cry, according to your choice. Or, of course, buy your products or services.<\/p>\n That\u2019s true of the spoken word, but even more of the written word, which doesn\u2019t come and go before we notice. Some people assume that new technology is making the written word obsolete, but in reality we\u2019re just as reliant on it as ever, if not more so. After all, today the written word can be seen all around the world within minutes of being created. In business, the way you phrase your writing can make the difference between success or failure.<\/p>\n Along with the other great literary work of his day, the King James Bible, Shakespeare\u2019s language has created a template by which we still understand and feel the language we use. Writing the right words at the right time can give us some of the same influence \u2014 in one fell swoop, as Shakespeare put it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you complained that someone refuses to budge an inch, or promised to fight till the last gasp for something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nShakespeare\u2019s Legacy<\/h2>\n