Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion

Authors: David Crystal and Ben Crystal
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN 0140291172
Paperback

Shakespeare’s Words has much to offer the scholar, the actor and the reader new to Shakespeare’s language. The first full glossary since Onions’ Shakespeare Glossary (last revised in 1986), the Crystals' work is a triumph of 21st century research techniques, print production and current critical thinking. As a glossary, it boasts almost 14,000 words and over 22,000 entries in total, using line-referenced quotations at every opportunity to convey the meaning of each word in context. As a language companion, it is an innovative and invaluable resource. There is a list of the most frequently encountered words and a fascinating series of panels throughout the book in which words specific to a particular field are listed (such as plants and swear words) and issues of grammar and language are discussed and explained. There are also numerous appendices, including a synopsis for each play and a series of informative diagrams to represent how the characters of each play interact.