Talk Like Shakespeare

A hit, a palpable hit—Thank you! To everyone who waxed Shakespearean on April 23, 2009, the credit is yours for making Talk Like Shakespeare Day a resounding, international success. With over one million hits on this page, and news outlets around the world helping to spread the word (including NBC Nightly News, NPR’s All Things Considered, and The Guardian), the occasion was truly one to remember.

Check out the worldwide media coverage of Talk Like Shakespeare Day

Read Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s official proclamation

Listen to The Q Brother’s hip-hop birthday anthem and learn to "Talk Like Shakespeare" with some help from GQ and JQ (co-creators of The Bomb-itty of Errors and Funk It Up About Nothin’)

Watch students and teachers from Chicago Public Schools act out in CPS Hamlet at Chicago Shakespeare

Create your own ruff

DIY Shakespeare

Quotes for business

Stories to read aloud

Renaissance Recipes

The Bard on film

Watch animated shorts

Bard Bell-Ringers

Spend some time with Shakespeare

Become the Bard

Write like Shakespeare

Crossword Puzzle

More ways to talk like Shakespeare

Words and phrases still used today

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

Blog like Shakespeare
What’s your first memory of Shakespeare? Your favorite quote? Take a photo! Write Shakespeare a birthday message! Speak thy mind—send an email to TalkLikeShakespeare@gmail.com with your favorite "Shakespearience" and we’ll post it below.

Twitter like Shakespeare
A live feed straight from the Bard. Keep tabs on him as he continues to stumble upon the confounding wonders of modern society.