Most scholars agree the Bard of Avon was born on April 23, 1564, making today his 445th birthday. Several websites and a few cities have declared this day, Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Forsooth, these rants could becometh a zany addiction!
Rants, zany, addiction - are all words coined by Shakespeare. The Oxford English Dictionary claims 1,700 words and phrases in use today were created, or at least made popular, by him. This fact has not been lost on later writers. A sample of the works whose titles come from Shakespeare include: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World from The Tempest; William Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury from Macbeth; John Steinbeck's The Winter of Our Discontent from Richard III.
Theories abound that Shakespeare's works were ghost written by Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, Christopher Marlowe and others. No matter who held the pen, the artistry is undeniable. "Wear my heart upon my sleeve" - Othello; "Be-all and end-all" - Macbeth; "All that glitters is not gold" - Merchant of Venice
So, today, work some pearls of Elizabethan literature into your daily conversation. If someone cuts you off on the highway, don't brandish the middle finger and yell a four-letter profanity. Cry out "A pox upon your house, you rank, white-livered, canker-blossom."
And remember, when born we cry that we are thrust unto this stage of fools - as ever BB
"Brush up your Shakespeare, start quoting him now.
Brush up your Shakespeare, and the women you will wow!" - Cole Porter from Kiss Me Kate based on The Taming of the Shrew
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