1. Phrases coined by
Shakespeare
May Lee
World Lit: Block C

2. Background Information
Shakespeare was never able to receive proper education at university, nor
get mentored under an experienced artist, nor get married to the wealthy
His career as a playwright heavily depended on royal patronage- another
reason for his success
Despite these limitations, Shakespeare went on to becoming considered as
one of the greatest playwrights
Along the way, many of his lines and sayings caught on and became very
widespread

3. Why did it become popular?
His plays were reproduced in large theaters- significantly and very
frequently
The people found a common ground for appreciating his work
Attracted people from all types of backgrounds- plays in which
everyone could enjoy and watch
His works became popularized in schools and was taught as rhetoric
His allusions and quotes were referred to in newspapers and in other
forms of text

4. To be, or not to be: that
is the question.
Play: Hamlet
http://www.thevancouvermovers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Man-With-Question-01.png
Context: “To be or not to be: that is the question.” Hamlet asks
himself whether the uncertainties of death outweighs the pain of
life.
Meaning: Is it better to be alive or dead?
Modern-Day Use: “To be, or not to be: that is the question.”

5. Strange Bedfellows
Play: The Tempest
Context: Trinculo finds shelter in the house of a mysterious
creature. He wonders if this mysterious creature is a man or a
fish.
Meaning: unlikely or unexpected alliances
Modern-Day Use: Political leaders make strange bedfellows.

6. Cruel to be kind
Play: Hamlet
Context: “I must be cruel only to be kind.” Hamlet accidentally
killed Polonius, and he is clueless of his how future is going to
turn out.
Meaning: To be helpful but viewed as being hurtful
Modern-Day Use: Being cruel to be kind is good, but telling a
girl that she looks fat in a dress is unacceptable.

7. Green-Eyed
Monster
Play: Othello
Context: Villain Iago makes Othello doubt his wife’s faithfulness. At
the same time, he is also pretending to advise Othello, “O, beware, my
lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock.”
Meaning: To be envious or jealous
Modern-Day Use: The green-eyed monster is the bane of all
relationships.

8. In a Pickle
Play: The Tempest
Context: King Alonso asks Trinculo, his jester, “How camest
thou in this pickle?" The drunk jester, who is in deep troublereplies, “"I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last..."
Meaning: To be placed in an unwanted or difficult situation
Modern-Day Use: She is in a pickle because she has none of
her homework completed.

9. Love is Blind
Play: The Merchant of Venice
Context: Jessica, who is disguised as a boy, is embarrassed to see
her beloved Lorenzo. However, she realizes that Lorenzo’s view of her
will not change and says, “But love is blind and lovers cannot see...”
Meaning: Two meanings- Though love helps the the flaws become
overlooked, it may be blinding to serious situations
Modern-Day Use: She believes love is blind; she is letting her
boyfriend steal from her!

10. Wild Goose
Chase
Play: Romeo and Juliet
Context: Mercutio compares his exchange of jokes with Romeo
to a wild goose chase. During Shakespeare’s time, wild good
chase was a famous cross-country horse race.
Meaning: A complicated search or pointless pursuit.
Modern-Day Use: She is on a wild goose chase looking for her
lost daughter.

11. Wear My Heart on
My Sleeves
My Sleeves
Play: Othello
http://danienglish.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/heart-sleeve.jpg
Context: Villain Iago, who is planning his betrayal to Othello
says, “But I will wear my heart on my sleeves.”
Meaning: To reveal feelings without hiding it
Modern-Day Use: He wore his heart on his sleeves when he
proposed to her.

12. There’s the Rub
Play: Hamlet, during his famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy
Context: “ay, there’s the rub.” The prince acknowledges that
death will not bring a halt to his hardship; the dead may still be
disturbed by dreams.
Meaning: the problem or cause
Modern-Day Use: There’s the rub- how are you going to earn
enough money in time?

13. Salad Days
Play: Antony and Cleopatra
Context: Cleopatra recalls her “salad days” when she was in a
relationship with Caesar.
Meaning: a person’s youth (pinnacle in life)
Modern-Day Use: She was named prom queen in her salad
days.

14. Works Cited