Shakespeare wrote in an early form of Modern English—not Old English

Shakespeare’s use of verse and prose signifies important characteristics

Structured verse signals formality, often used by high-ranking characters; in contrast, unstructured prose is typically used in informal, more witty situations by lower-status characters.

Shakespeare was criticized in his own time

Robert Greene was a respected writer during Shakespeare’s time as an actor-playwright who famously dismissed the young upstart, accusing him of plagiarism and criticizing his ability to write blank verse.

Linguists proved Shakespeare wrote his plays

In the 1800s, linguist Wincenty Lutoslawski invented a method of linguistics analysis called stylometry to help certify literary authorship. Stylometrists concluded that Shakespeare wrote his plays, and likely collaborated with Christopher Marlowe for some.

Shakespeare’s plays were first published together in 1623 after his death

Most of his plays were written for the stage, so it took his admirers to compile the play texts posthumously in 1623. This became the famous “First Folio,” the basis of Shakespeare’s literary posterity.

Critic Harold Bloom believed Shakespeare invented the modern human

Yale critic Harold Bloom believed the Bard transformed the way humanity understood itself, a thesis laid out in his book "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human."

Shakespeare played a major role in the history of the sonnet

The Renaissance writer Petrarch first developed the 14-line poem with a two-part structure. Through English translations of his sonnets by Sir Thomas Wyatt in the 1500s, the form took on new life, particularly through Shakespeare. Variations on the form have continued to evolve since.

Dozens of common phrases are attributed to Shakespeare

His clever wordsmithery infiltrated English, from “Neither rhyme nor reason” to “In my heart of hearts.” This article lists nearly two dozen of his best-known phrases.

Bear-baiting was another form of entertainment during Shakespeare’s time

We tend to think of Shakespeare’s audiences as prim and proper, but the Bard’s shows were just another form of amusement, viewed by commoners as entertainment not unlike the animal blood sports that were similarly popular during the time period.

Why English is so difficult to learn

As a language, English is a hodgepodge—a Germanic language heavily influenced by French and Latin. These combinatorial roots have left the language full of irregularities and inconsistencies, with complexities such as varying verb forms for...

A medievalist explains how romantic love emerged as a cultural concept

Many long-form stories written in English were originally considered "romances," a term derived from the Old French word for "the speech of the people." But changes in medieval culture, triggered by a number of 12th-century church reforms, led to a new interest in what we now consider romantic love, including a new view of marriage as a pursuit of love rather than a transaction. Those new perspectives were then reflected in the period's popular stories, including stories in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales."

TikTok is transforming the English language

Linguists like Adam Aleksic have argued that the way internet slang—especially the kind that thrives on TikTok—enters the real world isn’t so different from how English evolved in its earliest days.

James Madison spoke six languages

James Madison was competent in six languages: Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, and English. This shaped his classical education and informed his political philosophy. He later also studied Hebrew at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton).

The word 'punk' originally meant 'female prostitute'

The Oxford English Dictionary records the first usage before 1575. Shakespeare used the word in his play “Measure for Measure,” with one character suggesting another “may be a Puncke.” Over time, the word acquired additional meanings. By the 20th century, it was used as an insult for a young man.

Orwell warned readers about how abuse of language can lead to dystopias

In his 1946 essay "Politics and the English Language," Orwell argues that language is the primary tool of political control and is "designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." The essay warns readers that how they use and consume language will dictate what they permit—or prohibit—in society.

Where were the Middle Ages?

Many have equated the Middle Ages to European culture and an era beyond the reach of science and art. This false equivalency minimizes, if not erases, the culture and scholarship that flourished worldwide during this time. Medieval history exists in and across many countries, including China, India, Iran, Sudan, and Ethiopia. In this article, a classical archaeologist details evidence of medieval life around the world.

'Muggle’ entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003

The Harry Potter term for a nonmagical person became an official English word when the Oxford English Dictionary added it in 2003—cementing the series’ influence on modern language and popular culture.

Early English fantasy writers built on horror and Gothic texts

After the success of 19th-century books like Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” readers were eager for more stories that deviated from realism. Early 20th-century texts like George MacDonald’s “Phantastes” and Lord Dunsany’s “The King of Elfland’s Daughter” met the moment, laying the groundwork for the fantasy genre.

Jane Austen revolutionized a form of narration in the novel

Austen's books are narrated by a third-person omniscient narrator, which was not new for her time. Austen, however, helped popularize a little-used technique called "free indirect discourse," in which the narrator took on the style and voice of the character being described without drifting into the first-person perspective. It's a technique still often used by novelists today.

ChatGPT may struggle with factual inaccuracies, despite writing accurately in English

In a classroom experiment, a journalist enrolled in an AP English Literature course submitted an essay written by ChatGPT, which confused characters and setting when comparing two texts. The tool was also unfamiliar with texts outside of its training data.

Hear what ancient Greek music sounded like

Greek poetry was usually created with the intention that the words would be sung along with music. Evidence and reconstructions of ancient melodies and instruments mean researchers and musicians of today can play music in which the final notes have long since faded.

Scholars debate the meaning behind the first word of 'Beowulf'

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem composed somewhere between the 8th and 11th centuries CE. Its first word, hwæt, is often translated to "what," though scholars debate its specific use in the poem, discussing whether it serves as an exclamation, interjection, or something else entirely.

Robert Burns published ‘Auld Lang Syne’ while trying to preserve the Scots language

The 18th-century poet collected folk songs from the language, which he worried was disappearing, when he heard an old man sing ‘Auld Lang Syne.’ Burns then revised some of the verses before publishing it in 1796 in an anthology called “Scots Musical Museum.” By the 1880s, it was being sung on the holiday in Scotland.

Opera seria and opera buffa differ in their tones and themes

Opera began in the late 1590s with "Dafne" and evolved into two styles by the 18th century. Opera seria catered to elites with heroic, mythological themes, while opera buffa brought humor and relatable stories to wider audiences. Today, modern opera often tackles contemporary social issues.

Postmodernism is a cultural movement that valued pluralism

Postmodernism is an artistic movement (in architecture, fashion, music, literature, and more) that embraced fragmentation, eclecticism, pastiche, and pluralism. The movement's practitioners reacted against modernism, which valued Enlightenment ideals, high culture, and clean aesthetics.

Toasting with ‘cheers!’ comes from Anglo-French

Etymologists trace the word back to about 1200 CE, when Anglo-French became the vernacular after the Norman Conquest of 1066. “Chere” meant “the face,” or an expression, often of joy. After that, it was used in the 18th century as a form of encouragement before becoming a common toast in the 20th century.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Venture capital is a form of funding provided to early-stage companies with high growth potential, typically in exchange for an equity (or ownership) stake

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution