Talk Like Shakespeare

Take Time for Shakespeare

It's always a propitious time to break out a Shakespearean quote. You should have a favorite.

A lot of people like to say:

"It's all Greek to me" (Julius Caesar)
"Pound of flesh" (Merchant of Venice)
"Salad days" (Antony and Cleopatra)
"All's well that ends well" (All's Well that Ends Well)

Looking for some great Shakespearean words? Try these on for size:

Intpinse – Impossible to untangle
Egal – Equal
Shrift – To admit
Quake – To shake, tremble

Find a quote or words you like, and use it often.

Talk Shakespeare at Your Next Party

Looking for an unusual party game? Consider substitution some Shakespearean words into your favorite games.

Consider making your own Bingo cards using Shakespearean words.
List Shakespearean words in one column and jumble their modern day translations in a second column. The winner is the first person to correctly match all sets of words from both columns.
Try using Shakespearean words in Charades or Pictionary.

Make up your own games -- the ideas are endless.

Talk Shakespeare with a Group

The official, annual Talk Like Shakespeare Day is April 23rd. April 23rd is Shakespeare's supposed and accepted birthday.

Don't miss the official site of Talk Like Shakespeare Day. There are tips about how to blog, tweet, and talk like Bill Shakespeare.

Fun of Shakespeare Talking

Talking about the greatest writer the world has ever known is always a positive for several reasons including:

Talking like Shakespeare is fun.
Talking like Shakespeare is easy.
It's a great way to keep Shakespeare's language accessible to people in the 21st century.
Talking like Shakespeare is a good way to get people talking about Shakespeare.

Whether or not anyone likes it, Shakespeare is an inextricable component of global culture. Students have been studying Shakespeare for roughly 400 years, and they will likely continue to study his work for 400 more. Making light of the way his characters speak is an enjoyable way to start the ball rolling with students and the uninitiated.

Make It a Teachable Moment

For teachers of Shakespeare, talking like Shakespearean characters is a fun way to get students in the mode of thinking how simple it is to understand Shakespeare's English.

Encouraging students to talk like Shakespeare lets them have fun with the work before they begin studying it, lessening the amount of fear that nefarious teachers have piled around the playwright. Shakespeare is not as hard as some teachers would like you to believe. Shakespeare wrote the plays to be enjoyed. He wrote them for people to have fun. Talking like Shakespeare helps people of all ages remember that.

Have Fun with Shakespeare

Nothing is sacred when it comes to Shakespeare:

Directors have always happily cut whole speeches and scenes to cater to audiences and stage parameters.
Shakespeare has been censored.
His characters have been put in silly costumes.
His plots have been politicized, all to suit the tastes of the trend-blown masses.

And despite what some academics might tell you, nobody really cares. If you're having fun with Shakespeare, you're doing it right. His name is at the very top of the canon; he can take anything you throw at him, so have some fun at his expense.

Voice of Dissent

Some say that talking like Shakespeare is counterproductive. Many theatres live and die by the mantra that Shakespeare's work is as relative today as it was 400 years ago. They claim that having a day on which the language is laughed at as irrelevant and antiquated undermines their efforts.

The claim is valid. Shakespeare wrote for the masses. If he were alive today, he would be writing television. Poking fun at his language might further the notion that it's lofty and academic and deserving of genuine ridicule rather than accessible, entertaining, and worth the price of a ticket.

However real the danger, Shakespeare has faced far worse. Generations of Americans forced to learn Shakespeare the same way they learn algebra, has done far more damage than any single annual event can ever accomplish.

That said, there is a fine line between having fun and making fun. As long as your students and friends are having fun with Shakespeare, all will be well.