As an avid theatre lover, I admit that William Shakespeare can sometimes be hard to swallow. With all the flowery language and words in seemingly mixed up orders, it’s no wonder most people run for the hills when they hear his name. Despite this, however, his work has been revered and performed more than any other playwright in history. This year, on the 400th anniversary of his death, my college performed a production of Macbeth to sold out audiences after countless hours of preparation. As anyone would when spending every waking hour in the theatre, I have come to know the play nearly as well as I know my own name. With that comes a better mastery of the Bard’s language and a knowledge that his words can still be used today. So, here are some phrases from the great cursed play, in no particular order, that can TOTALLY be used in normal conversation to make you seem both super intelligent and super cryptic.
- "When shall we meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain?” translates roughly to "Yo, when are we hanging out? I am free literally whenever."
- “Out damned spot.” This is perfect for when you get spaghetti sauce on yourself at lunch and Tide-To-Go just isn’t doing it for you.
- “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” When something seems bad, it could also be good, and vice versa.
- “Where hast thou been?” When your friend is late and you are not having it.
- Follow up response: “Killing swine.” When you want to give a “Wouldn’t you like to know?” response.
- “Great happiness!” Self-explanatory.
- “I’ll give thee a wind.“ When you're about to pass gas.
- "But who did bid thee join with us?" When you don't want to be rude but you need to tell someone they were not invited.
- “We will speak further.” When you want them to know that you can't talk now, but this ain't over.
- “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.” The procrastinator's anthem.
- “Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?” When your friend is a mess. “Get a hold of yourself. You’re wearing yesterday’s clothes and you need sleep.”
- “What’s done cannot be undone.” That awful haircut. A poor test grade. Last night’s bad date.
- “Sleep no more.” When you get your syllabi for the semester.
- “Twas a rough night.” Every night of finals week.
- “O full of scorpions is my mind” When your brain is so full of useless exam information that you know you won’t need after you turn them in.
- "Unsex me here." Feminism.
- "Is this a dagger I see before me?" When you're so tired/stressed/anxious/hungry that you actually have no idea what you're looking at.
- “So, prithee, go with me.” Basically, “Come to the party with me. Please.”
- “The table’s full.” When you don’t want to let someone sit with you in the cafeteria.
- “A deed without a name.” When you’re trying to be vague about what you and your friends were up to the other day.
- “Seek to know no more.” When you accidentally spill part of a secret and realize you have to shut up.
- “Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles.” When you're trying to give advice to a friend that if you do bad things, bad things will happen.
- “I have almost forgot the taste of tears.” When you haven’t cried in a while but you know you need to.
- “Hail king of Scotland.” When someone is being arrogant and you want to successfully shut them down with sarcasm.
- "By the pricking of my thumb, something wicked this way comes." When you see your enemy.
- “Macbeth.” When you want to annoy a superstitious theatre person in his or her natural habitat.
And some people say Shakespeare isn’t relevant anymore….
