Common Phrases we use today from Shakespeare Plays

In the arts, they say good writers borrow, but geniuses steal! Can you I name a single person in yiur life that has never quoted Shakespeare at some point? Very few of us quote Hamlet regularly. I regualry quote Richard III to demonstrate stage whispers, projection without screaming, etc.

However, we all almost daily say phrases that were found hundreds of years ago on the stages of London. Shakes is far too often put on a pedastal, just out if reach. But read this list and realize, like any movie, TV show, or play today, Shakespeare is a story teller, full of realist characters put in wonderful and horrible situations, in love, afraid, full of themselves or hiding in terror. Shakespeare may seem “wordy” but know, his words are like the Improv player’s pantomime. They are the sets, the context, the back story, the inner truths, and more.

• General Concepts/Life:
  • “All the world’s a stage” (As You Like It)
  • “The world’s mine oyster” (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
  • “Such stuff as dreams are made on” (The Tempest)
  • “Full circle” (King Lear)
• Love & Relationships:
  • “What’s in a name?” (Romeo and Juliet)
  • “Love is blind” (The Merchant of Venice)
  • “I will wear my heart upon my sleeve” (Othello)
  • “In my heart of hearts” (Hamlet)
  • “Own flesh and blood” (Hamlet)
• Wisdom & Foolishness:
  • “The wise man knows himself to be a fool” (As You Like It)
  • “To thine own self be true” (Hamlet)
  • “Brevity is the soul of wit” (Hamlet)
  • “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” (Hamlet)
  • “Neither rhyme nor reason” – The Comedy of Errors
• Cautionary Sayings:
  • “All that glitters is not gold” (The Merchant of Venice)
  • “Too much of a good thing” (As You Like It)
  • “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” (Hamlet)
  • “Give the devil his due” (Henry IV, Part I)
• Emotions & Personality:
  • “Jealousy is the green-eyed monster” (Othello)
  • “A heart of gold” (Henry V)
  • “Made of sterner stuff” – Julius Caesar
  • “Faint-hearted” - Henry VI, Part I
• Actions & Situations:
  • “Break the ice” (The Taming of the Shrew)
  • “Wild goose chase” (Romeo and Juliet)
  • “In a pickle” (The Tempest)
  • “It’s Greek to me” (Julius Caesar)
  • “One fell swoop” – Macbeth
  • “The be-all and the end-all” - Macbeth
  • “Eaten out of house and home” - Henry IV, Part II
  • “Knock knock! Who’s there?” - Macbeth
  • “With bated breath” - The Merchant of Venice
  • “Lie low” - Much Ado About Nothing
  • “Dead as a doornail” - Henry VI, Part II
  • “Not slept one wink” – Cymbeline
  • “Foregone conclusion” - Othello
  • “Melted into thin air” – The Tempest
  • “Spotless reputation” - Richard II
  • “All of a sudden” - The Taming of the Shrew
  • “Send him packing” - Henry IV
• More Common Phrases:
  • “For goodness’ sake” - Henry VIII
  • “Neither here nor there” – Othello
  • “Mum’s the word” - Henry VI, Part II
  • “Naked truth” - Love’s Labour’s Lost

Go see a Shakespeare play, or better yet, get some friends together and stage a play. Don’t worry much about sets, costumes and props. Let the words do the work. And always remember our #1 rule…. HAVE FUN!!!