A hit, a palpable hit!—thank you for making William Shakespeare’s 446th birthday a grand success. Birthday wishes came flooding in from around the globe, Chicagoans waxed poetic with the Bard on the streets of their fair city, and the thespian in all of us came out as we joined together to talk like Shakespeare. Check out the photos and media coverage from this year’s celebration, and despair not—we’ll see you next year!


Read Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s official proclamation for 2010

Everyone’s abuzz about Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Read (and watch) some highlights of the news coverage below.

Check out photos of Chicagoans willing to screw their courage to the sticking place and talk to Shakespeare

“The Office” and Shakespeare

Channel your workplace aggression

Create your own ruff

DIY Shakespeare

Quotes for business

Stories to read aloud

Renaissance Recipes

The Bard on film

Watch animated shorts

Crossword Puzzle

Throw a Shakespeare-themed party

Bard Bell-Ringers

Spend some time with Shakespeare

Become the Bard

Write like
Shakespeare

Hip Hop Shakespeare

More ways to talk like Shakespeare

Words and phrases still used today

  1. Instead of you, say thou or thee(and instead of y’all,
    say ye).
  2. Rhymed couplets are all the rage.
  3. Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin.
  4. Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back’d toads.
  5. Don’t waste time saying "it," just use the letter "t" (’tis, t’will, I’ll do’t).
  6. Verse for lovers, prose for ruffians, songs for clowns.
  7. When in doubt, add the letters "eth" to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).
  8. To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore.
  9. When wooing ladies: try comparing her to a summer’s day. If that fails, say "Get thee to a nunnery!"
  10. When wooing lads: try dressing up like a man. If that fails, throw him in the Tower, banish his friends and claim the throne.

Download the printable poster

Watch the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams feature on celebrating Talk Like Shakespeare Day

Listen to The Q Brother’s hip-hop birthday anthem and "Talk Like Shakespeare" with some help from the hip hop duo GQ and JQ.

Blog like Shakespeare

What’s your first memory of Shakespeare? Your favorite quote? Speak thy mind—share your favorite "Shakespearience" by emailing TalkLikeShakespeare@gmail.com and we’ll post it here.

Twitter like Shakespeare

A live feed straight from the Bard. Keep tabs on him as he stumbles upon the confounding wonders of modern society.

Shakespeare is alive—on stages, in books, in the news and on the web. Become a Shakespeare expert with these online resources:

Would Life Be Better If We All Spoke Shakespeare? Talk of the Nation, NPR

It’s good business to brush up your Shakespeare The Guardian

How to Speak Shakespeare The Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC

Supreme Court on Shakespeare Legal Bisnow

How to Enjoy Reading Shakespeare

Hollywood stars do Shakespeare

Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington D.C.

The Bard takes center stage at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in The Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare’s Globe, London

Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon, U.K.

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