Rachael Scarborough King sets the literary record straight:
Coined by Shakespeare? Think again.
New research indicates he didn’t make up all those words - he just used them better.
One effect of digital research in the humanities, it seems, could be to reframe the debate over what makes writers such as Shakespeare so original. By dissolving the myth that his great contribution was to invent English words out of thin air, we are left with a clearer focus on qualities of his work that are less reducible to numbers: namely, the beauty of his writing and the richness of his cultural milieu.
Thankfully, I was delighted by, but didn't concern myself much with, all these new English words Shakespeare was thought to have originated. I just marveled and reveled in his plays!
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