April 23rd is Talk Like Shakespeare Day!
Categories: In the News , Poetry
Today is “Talk Like Shakespeare Day” in Chicago, in honor of William Shakespeare’s 445th birthday. Methinks there’s no reason why we, too, can’t talk like the Bard! After all, Shakespeare used 25,000 words in his writing, coining more than 1,700 of the words and phrases we use today.
To help us out, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater offers 10 quick pointers on their new website, talklikeshakespeare.org. Here is a sampling:
- Instead of you, say thou. Instead of y’all, say thee.
- Don’t waste time saying "it," just use the letter "t" (’tis, 'twill, I’ll do’t).
- When in doubt, add the letters "eth" to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).
- To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore.
- Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back’d toads.
And of course, if you’re still struggling, the Library has a great Shakespeare collection! Plays, criticisms, biographies, and books like Brush Up Your Shakespeare by Michael Macrone and Coined by Shakespeare by Jeff McQuain can get you started. And be sure to listen to (or read) the hilarious chapter “The Drama Bug” in David Sedaris’ Naked, in which he is introduced to Shakespeare by an actor’s classroom visit, and attempts to use the language in regular conversation:
"The dinner hour became either unbearable, or excruciating, depending on my mood. ‘Methinks, kind sir, most gentle lady, fellow siblings all, that this barnyard fowl be most tasty and succulent...'"
