thou speakest not the Queen's English, but the Bard's!
Shakespeare. A man praised by many an English Lit student and loathed by high schoolers everywhere. What your English teacher probably failed to tell you between deciphering Hamlet & MacBeth is that you already know his language, you speak it every day.
Most of us easily recognize quotes like “To be or not to be”, “A plague on both your houses”, “All’s well that end’s well”, “Et tu, Brute”. They’re easy to recognize. But check out the following list, I’m sure you’ll be surprised to find out you’re a regular Shakespeare nut!
- all that glitters is not gold ~ the Merchant of Venice
- wild goose chase ~ Romeo & Juliet
- a real piece of work ~ Hamlet
- band of brothers ~ Henry V
- vanish into thin air ~ Othello
- too much of a good thing ~ As You Like It
- this is the short and the long of it ~ the Merry Wives of Windsor
- there’s method in my madness ~ Hamlet
- the game is afoot ~ Henry IV
- such stuff as dreams are made on ~ the Tempest
- star crossed lovers ~ Romeo & Juliet
- send him packing ~ Henry IV
- off with his head ~ Henry VI
- mum’s the word ~ Henry VI
- make your hair stand on end ~ Hamlet
- love is blind ~ the Merchant of Venice
- in stitches ~ Twelfth Night
- I will wear my heart upon my sleeve ~ Othello
- I have not slept one wink ~ Cymbeline
- a charmed life ~ MacBeth
- high time ~ Comedy of Errors
- heart’s content ~ Henry VI
- green eyed monster ~ the Merchant of Venice
- good riddance ~ Troilus and Cressida
- fight fire with fire ~ King John
- fancy free ~ A Midsummer’s Night Dream
- fair play ~ the Tempest
- eaten out of house and home ~ Henry IV
- come what may ~ MacBeth
- it was Greek to me ~ Julius Caesar
- screw your courage to the sticking-place ~ MacBeth
- brevity is the soul of wit ~ Hamlet
- beware the ides of march ~ Julius Caesar
- beast with two backs ~ Othello
- at one fell swoop ~ MacBeth
- as luck would have it ~ the Merry Wives of Windsor
- as dead as a doornail ~ Henry VI
- a sorry sight ~ MacBeth
- the four corners of the earth ~ the Merchant of Venice
- a foregone conclusion ~ Othello
(if you’re looking for the full list go here)
