Shakespeare has topped the English literature bestseller lists for 400 years for good reason. He may be as out of date as your uncle’s second favorite pair of tights, but besides being fun, learning to talk like Shakespeare teaches you about how the English language works. So put together your own perfect prose with the Shakespearean word lists, grammar tips, and game ideas shown below.
Shakespearean Words Still in Use
All’s well that ends well
- Devil incarnate
- Good riddance
- Greek to me
- Livelong day
- One fell swoop
- Pound of flesh
- Salad days
- Wild Goose Chase
- A phrase from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth
Odd Contractions and Feminine Endings
Shakespeare’s signature oddities come from trying to fit the pattern of iambic pentameter
- He cheats sometimes too, as with the sneaky unstressed syllable at the end of Hamlet.
- Feminine endings are also common; up to 10% of his lines sneak in an extra unstressed vowel
Inject Some Shakespeare into Your Games
Try working some Shakespearean spice into your favorite activities.
- A classic word search
- Consider making your own bingo cards using Shakespearean words
- Improv! Try classic improv games like And Then or One Word Story
- Make up your own games — the ideas are endless
Shakespeare’s Words
Arrant
- Total, complete, absolutely
- Beseech
- Just means “ask”
- Dost, Doth
- Both words are second-person and third-person pronouns
- Fie – “For shame!” An exclamation used to express disapproval or outrage
- Forsooth
- For sooth just means “for true”
- Knave, rogue, villain
- Each of these words has a formal definition
- Marry
- In Shakespearean times, it was used as an expression of surprise or emphasis, meaning “indeed” or “well”
Celebrate Shakespeare’s Way With Words
Talk Like Shakespeare Day is celebrated on April 23 each year
- April 23rd is his birthday
- On the official site, you’ll find tips about how to blog, tweet, and talk like William Shakespeare
- For more of Shakespeare’s verbal flourishes, see our Shakespearean Translator
Iambic Pentameter
Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter, a pattern of which syllables you emphasize and how many you write per line
- Each iamb consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, and each vowel is stressed or unstressed-STRESSED
- To BE/ or NOT to BE/ that IS/ the QUEST-ion
