Do you ever see clear references to shakespeare or quotes from his plays in everyday life?

Question

where?

Answer 1

Here are five movies are based on Shakespeare's plays (but never acknowledge him in the credits). None of these actually use the language in the play.

-O (2001) (play "Othello")

-Scotland, Pa. (2001) (play "The Tragedy of Macbeth")

-10 Things I Hate About You (1999) (play "The Taming of the Shrew")

-West Side Story (1961) (play "Romeo and Juliet")

-Forbidden Planet (1956) (play "The Tempest")

There are hundreds of famous phrases taken from Shakespeare's plays that were used by other writers.

(1) "the game is afoot" is also a line from Henry IV that is re-used by Arthur Conan Doyle for his fictional character, "Sherlock Holmes"

(2) "the sound and the fury" is a line from Macbeth that is re-used by Faulkner as a title for his book

(3) "not a mouse stirring" is a line from Hamlet that is re-used in "The Night Before Christmas" (as a paraphrase)

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse'

(4) "Time Out of Joint" is a line from Hamlet and the title of a 1959 novel by Philip K. d**k. This novel was the basis for the "Truman Show", starring Jim Carrey

(5) "Murder Most Foul" is a line from Hamlet, that became the name of an Agatha Christie movie

(6) "Brave New World" is a line from the Tempest. Aldous Huxley used as the title of his famous book

Some of the best known phrases in the English language come from Shakespeare. There are hundreds of phrases, but I'm not sure if this is what you want.

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". (Henry VI)

"What's in a name?" (Romeo and Juliet)

"Discretion is the better part of valour" (Henry V)

"To thine own self be true" (Hamlet)

"The play's the thing" (Hamlet)

"Brevity is the soul of wit" (Hamlet)

"I must be cruel only to be kind." (Hamlet)

This last phrase was used by Nick Lowe in a popular song

Cruel to be Kind [by Nick Lowe ; 1979]

You gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure

Cruel to be kind, it's a very good sign

Cruel to be kind, means that I love you

Ba-by, you gotta be cruel to be kind

And the last four Shakespearean quotes that are often believed to come from the bible.

(1) The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose

(2) The prince of darkness is a gentleman

(3) Neither a borrower nor a lender be

(4) Angels and ministers of grace defend us!

One exception is the phrase "It's Greek to me". Although it was popularized in Julius Caesar it is believed that it was not an original phrase. It was meant to be funny.

Answer 2

As Bernard Levin has written:

If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I were dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut, tut! for goodness' sake! what the dickens! but me no buts - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.

Answer 3

Yeah I agree with Sarah. I'm currently in "West Side Story" and it is excactly like Romeo and Juliet. So is "Kiss Me Kate". There is also a book called Julio and Romate, which is like a weird modern version of Romeo and Juliet. Some pieces of literature that refer to him include

Out, Out, a Robert Frost poem

The Way to Dusty Death Alistair McLean novel

The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner novel

Also a lot of people bring the phrase, "To be, or not to be" into their conversations....

I know that I have also heard phrases from his Sonnets in conversation.

Answer 4

There's a somewhat recent film version of Romeo and Juliet.

West Side Story, the movie, is based on Romeo and Juliet.

Romeo and Juliet is quoted all over the place.

The phrase "It's all Greek to me!" came from Julius Caesar.

There are plenty more, just can't really think of them right off the top of my head.