HISTORY AND LITERATURE

Did you know: Shakespeare COULD HAVE invented the name 'Jessica'.

You most likely have heard the name Jessica and you probably love it because it's quite beautiful. Another reason why you may love it is because one out of the many celebrity Jessicas out there (such as Alba [actress], Chastain [actress], Gomez [model], Andrews [country music singer] e.t.c.) is your favourite celebrity.

But do you know the origin of the name?

Well, there's an iconic historic personality that surrounds the origin of that name and the person is no other than the legendary English playwright and poet William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616).

Now, while William Shakespeare MAY NOT have invented the name, the earliest or oldest written record of the name with its current spelling is found as the name of the character 'Jessica' in the 16th-century Shakespearean play 'The Merchant of Venice'. The play is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599. Jessica (in the play) was the daughter of Shylock, a miserly Jew and moneylender.

It is also said that the name may have been an Anglicization of the biblical Hebrew name 'Iscah', the name of a daughter of Haran briefly mentioned in the Book of Genesis 11:29.

So there you have it. What do you think? Do you think he actually invented it or it is not necessarily the case even if the first written record of the name is credited to him?

[1st picture below: William Shakespeare]

[2nd picture below: Title page of the first quarto of The Merchant of Venice.]

Photo Credits: Wikipedia.

............................
Do you like this post? Kindly like and share it. Also, please, like and follow our page for more updates.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=113172970942511&id=108147908111684

Lalasticlala Seun dominique Divepen1 Obinnau