S is for Shakespeare

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't."  -Shakespeare (Hamlet)

William Shakespeare 1564-1616

William Shakespeare, perhaps the most celebrated English poet and playwright in the world?  * Nods to self *  The 'Bard of Avon', wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and many poems, and although our dear Bard was born a few light centuries ago, his mark on todays language is indelible.  Not a day passes by where his quotes are bandied about in everyday conversation.  Here are few of my favourite gems. 

Hamlet
"This above all: to thine own self be true."
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks.''
"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions."
King Richard III
"A horse! A horse!  My kingdom for a horse!"
"Off with his head!"
Romeo and Juliet
"It is the east, and Juliet is the sun"
"What's in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
"O Romeo, Romeo!  Wherefore art thou Romeo?"
The Merchant of Venice
"But love is blind, and lovers cannot see."
Macbeth
"There's daggers in men's smiles,"
"I bear a charmed life."
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."
"Out, damned spot!  Out, I say!"
Othello
"T'is neither here nor there."
Anthony and Cleopatra
"My salad days, when I was green in judgment."

***

Do you have a favourite quote by the Bard?

A/N: Hello!  Happy Easter, if you celebrate it and Happy Holidays if you don't.  London, I suspect will be largely abandoned, which is good, really... I like the streets to myself.  However, today the plan is a drive in the country to some great pile of stones.  I'm packing a book and my netbook for the ride.  Have a fabulous Easter Break! 
Talei xox




Photo courtesty The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust via Doobybrain

Comments

trininista said…
Ahhh...Shakespeare. Been a while since I read him. But my fave quote is his sonnet 116, with the lines used in Austen's S&S which I have stuck on my wall - "Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no! it is an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken". So beautiful. Have a nice day!
catdownunder said…
"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps on this petty pace from day to day..." when waiting for something to happen!
Joyce Johnson said…
My 5th grader is doing Romeo & Juliet in school. All she is doing is walking around saying her lines. I love it!

Stopping in from the A to Z challenge
Jennifer Shirk said…
Amazing how his writings and quotes live on so strong. :)

Happy Easter!
Stina said…
I was never a big fan of Shakespear in high school. For some strange reason, kids thought because I was originally from England, I could easily understand it. Yeah, right. We spoke like that all the time when I lived there. ;)
notesfromnadir said…
You're right, Shakespeare is quoted all the time. I remember in Aldous Huxley's book, BRAVE NEW WORLD, that 1 of the main characters only needed 2 books: the complete works of Shakespeare & the Bible.
Talei said…
Trini, welcome. And what a beautiful quote! Thank you. Shakespeares sonnets are wonderful. Have a lovely weekend!

Cat, miaow. Purffect quote, my dear feline friend! ;-)

Joyce, wonderful - I hope it goes well for your 5th grader. And thank you for stopping by!

Jennifer, true and it will go on and on... like that Celine Dion song. ;-) Happy Easter!

Stina, what do you mean you lived in England and didn't eat, breath, drink Shakespeare?! wot?! (I'm kidding) ;-)

Lisa, how fantastic. I love it, must check out that book. ;-)
TS Hendrik said…
It took me awhile to come to love Shakespeare. As a kid I loved reading the different editions of Oxford's book of Quotations (I was a weird kid) and though it seems silly now, I resented him for taking up so much of each book.
Melissa Amateis said…
At one point in time, I decided to read Hamlet just for fun (I believe I was in high school). Always was mesmerized by that play.

Shakespeare certainly had a gift for language - one that has endured the ages!

Happy Easter!
Carol Kilgore said…
Nice seeing all these together.
Happy Easter!
Unknown said…
Shakespear is always good. I particularly like:

"What a piece of work is man" (hamlet)

T.x

Tessa's Blurb - Dream. Imagine. Write.
Great post, great quotes. Just saying hi from A-Z.
Nelson said…
Thank you for stopping by! I really do appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment...I read each and everyone of them. I hope your day is a good one and that you will come back again soon. Take care. Nelson Souzza :)
Trisha said…
I have to admit it... I haven't read any Shakespeare except the odd excerpt in high school!
Ophelia said…
as an melancholy teenager, my favorite
quote was "to be or not to be"

in my twenties i enjoy " a faint heart
never won a fair lady' or something akin
to that.

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