Shakespeare has been on my mind this week. My students in Survey of French Literature had a test Monday on the 17th century over such literary greats as Blaise Pascal, Descartes, and the playwright Molière. Shakespeare was still alive and writing in England at the beginning of the 17th century. This week we are having Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors on campus. I'm eager to see it!
I thought I'd see what I had in my files about the Bard and ran across something that I sent as an e-mail iv back in 2003 — what The Hokey Pokey would be like if Shakespeare had written it. As I researched that piece, I found several pages with common expressions and words that were either coined by Shakespeare or at least popularized by his using them in his writing. I'm posting some of my favorites. Now on to The Hokey Pokey....
The following is from the Washington Post Style Invitational contest that asked readers to submit "instructions" for something (anything), but written in the style of a famous person. The winning entry was "The Hokey Pokey" (as written by William Shakespeare), but actually written by a man named Jeff Brechlin.
The Hokey Pokey, in Shakespearean Style
Here are the original lyrics, just in case you've forgotten them. This is the verse with the left foot, since that's the one done in Shakespearean style.
You put your left foot in,
You put your left foot out,
You put your left foot in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the hokey pokey
And you turn yourself around
That's what it's all about.
Now, à la Shakespeare...
O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heaven's yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke — banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.
Here's a list of well-known expressions from the works of William Shakespeare. Many of these were probably coined by the Bard himself, but it's been said that he wasn't averse to stealing a good line occasionally and putting them in his plays, thereby popularizing them. Some of these will be familiar to you and part of your active vocabulary. Some of them you might use, not knowing where they originated.
A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.
abstemious
addiction
All's well that ends well.
All that glitters is not gold.
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
alligator
arch-villain
as dead as a doornail
as pure as the driven snow
at one fell swoop
be all, end all
Beware the ides of March.
brave new world
break the ice
breathed his last
Brevity is the soul of wit.
But, for my own part, it was Greek to me.
cold-blooded
come what may
dash to pieces
Discretion is the better part of valour.
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
downstairs / upstairs
eaten out of house and home
Et tu, Brute?
eventful
Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog
an eyesore
faint-hearted
fair play / foul play
fancy free
Fie, foh, and fum, I smell the blood of a British man.
fight fire with fire
flowery
foregone conclusion
for ever and a day
for goodness' sake
fortune-teller
foul-mouthed
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.
Good riddance.
green eyed monster
heart of gold
I have not slept one wink.
in a pickle
in the twinkling of an eye
Knock, knock! Who's there?
lackluster
laughing stock
lie low
Love is blind.
milk of human kindness
money's worth
moonbeam
Much Ado about Nothing
multitudinous
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
new-fangled
Off with his head!
out of the jaws of death
puking
retirement
rhyme nor reason
seen better days
Send him packing.
Set your teeth on edge
So so
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
a sorry sight
star crossed lovers
the Queen's English
the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
This is the short and the long of it.
Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.
To be or not to be, that is the question.
too much of a good thing
up in arms
vanish into thin air
wear your heart on your sleeve
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
What a piece of work is man!
whirligig
wild goose chase
Woe is me!
zany
If you can't get enough of those, here's a website with many more — http://www.pathguy.com/shakeswo.htm — standard disclaimers apply, as always, caveat lector. When my wife proofread this post, she was surprised that she had just read another blog post the other day about how a homeschool mom teaches Shakespeare. If you want to check it out, it's on Jimmie's Collage.
To have some fun with words used by Shakespeare, check out a blog post of mine from 4 years ago called Shakespearean Insult Kit.
One final thought on the Hokey Pokey....
It's always difficult to be the bearer of sad news, but I feel that you should know there has been a great loss in the entertainment world. The man who wrote the original Hokey Pokey song has died. What's really horrible is that they have had trouble keeping his body in the casket. They'd put his right foot in and... well, you know the rest.
quotation...
"If I'm God-centered in my thinking, I get along better with others." — Drew Conley
=^..^= =^..^=
Rob
What if the Hokey Pokey really were what it's all about?! (Glad it's not!)
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on Nov 16th, 2011 at 9:39 am
Based on your list, my favorite line is the one from Hamlet that has been adapted into modern English to say something like “there’s a method to his madness”. I find that I apply it to me occasionally.
on Nov 16th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
I believe “in the twinkling of an eye” would go back to the Bible in 1 Corinthians 15:52 as the original source.
on Nov 17th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
I love the Hokey-Pokey à la Bard. And I had to groan at the story about the original’s author.