Shakespeare’s characters

The Bard wrote works separated into Histories, Comedies, and Tragedies. While some of the characters were historical figures and therefore not named by Shakespeare, others were fictional with names chosen or created by Will. I doubt whether he really created as many as 1,700 words – he only used 20,000 different words in all his works, it is more likely these words are largely the first time they are recorded in writing. But why did he opt for those fictional names? Will etymology provide an answer?

Malvolio from Twelfth Night, a figure I particularly loathe as I was forced to portray this pillock when at school, he has a name from Italian and meaning ‘ill will’ – and from what I recall of the experience, a pretty accurate description.

Romeo is a title character whose name either means ‘Roman’ or ‘pilgrim to Rome’ – the latter is a better bet as the play is set in Verona.

Othello is the eponymous character whom Shakespeare named, probably from the Italian Otello or the Hebrew name Otiel meaning ‘my God is He’. (insert punctuation and see how those four words change in meaning)

Desdemona is from the Greek dysdaimon meaning either ‘misery’ or ‘ill-fated’.

Mercutio is derived from the Latin mercurialis meaning ‘of Mercury’.

Banquo is of Scottish Gaelic origin from ban and means ‘white’ or perhaps ‘fair’.

Titania is from the Titans of Greek mythology, specifically the daughters of those Titans.

Polonius is probably from the Latin word for Poland, Shakespeare may have got the idea from a Latin book on statesmanship by a Polish author.

Laertes is from Greek mythology, the father of Odysseus.

Caliban is believed to be derived from ‘cannibal’, an appropriate name for the character’s savagery.

Hermia is of Greek origin, it means ‘messenger’ as does the Greek Hermes.

Benvolio comes from the Italian benevolo meaning ‘goodwill’, which describes Romeo’s cousin the play rather well.

Capulet is derived from capuleti ‘little chief’.

Fortinbras is of Norman French derivation meaning ‘strong in the arm’.

Yorick, a variation on the Danish Jorck, is itself a variation of George.

Portia is from the Latin porcus meaning ‘pig’, not a particularly appropriate description of the character.

Petruchio is from the Italian name Pietro, itself from the Greek Peter meaning ‘stone’ or ‘rock’.

Perdita is from the Latin perditus meaning ‘lost, abandoned’ and an appropriate name for Shakespeare’s character.

Other names may be associated with Shakespeare, but they pre-date the Bard. These include Ophelia, Prospero, Iago, Shylock, Titania.

Green Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘yellow’ and now look at ‘green’.

Green thumb, that is one who has a natural talent for gardening, is first seen as recently as 1938.

Green-eyed monster is first recorded in Shakespeare’s Othello

Green with envy is thought be derived from the green-eyed monster.

Green around the gills is a maritime expression first seen around 1800.

The other man’s grass is always greener dates back even before Petula Clark, to the first century BC and to the Greek poet Ovid.

Green light is first used to describe approval in 1937, although red and green lights had been used for stop and go respectively since 1883 – such lights being used only at night when it was impossible to see the semaphore flags.

Greenhorn, used to describe someone inexperienced, dates from the 15th century when it was used to describe immature bulls whose horns had net to fully grow.

Greenback, a reference to US dollar, dates from the American Civil War when emergency paper currency was issued with a green back: Demand Notes in 1861-62 and United States Notes 1862-65.

Green collar worker was first used in the 1970s, although it has only become popular in the last two decades, and used to describe those who seek employment in jobs which will not unduly affect the environment.

Green cheese was originally, in the 14th century, used to describe something which was fresh or new – whether this has any link to the idea that the moon was made of green cheese is unclear.

Greenroom is first seen in 1701, presumably this room for actors who are not on stage would have been painted green.