Don’t worry if you don’t think you’ve read much Shakespeare— a lot of the language you use today is said to have originated from his work. Phrases such as “cruel to be kind,” and “the be-all and end-all” are thanks to him, as well as words like “uncomfortable” and “fashionable.” There’s a comprehensive list here of the well-known phrases found in his plays.
To me, he is probably the greatest observer of the human condition. If you haven’t noticed already, I’m a bit into Shakespeare. My debut novel Oceanus is heavily inspired by one of his shorter plays— The Tempest.
This week, I wanted to share with you 5 of my favourite Shakespeare quotes to live by.
“All that glitters is not gold.”
True then, true now. What’s shiny and glittering isn’t necessarily of any value. Everywhere we look, there’s something new, something polished, something that everybody else seems to have. Ever heard the phrase “you can’t polish a turd,”? You can cover it in glitter though, so be careful.
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
A reminder that greatness is not always assigned at birth. I like this one because it is a reminder that success is down to luck, or hard work, or both! We’re not in control as much as we think we are. We roll with it, whatever happens. When something challenging comes along, we often rise to meet it, sometimes without even realising.
“All the world’s a stage/ And the men and women are merely players,”
A great line from As You Like It. It goes on further to explain how we (players/actors) all have our entrances and exits from the stage. A philosophical one.
“If Music be The Food Of Love, Play On.”
Music is, and always will be the soundtrack to life. We need music. It’s part of who we are. It’s not just the food of love but also life in this respect.
“We such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”
I couldn’t write a post about Shakespeare and not mention The Tempest. Prospero, at the end reflects on how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. “We are such stuff as dreams are made on,” suggests to me that we are what we make of ourselves. Our little lives rounded by a sleep is a timely reminder that life is not forever, and we could do with making the most of it. Think about that the next time you’re unwittingly sucked in to a pointless argument with a know-it-all on social media. You don’t have to be right. You don’t have to have the final word. It doesn’t matter.
Do you have any Shakespeare quotes you’d like to share?
General news and updates:
Book sales of Oceanus have now surpassed the number of people I know in real life, so that’s good. Thank you so much for grabbing a copy and sharing on substack. If you have the time, please consider leaving a review on goodreads and/or Amazon.
My supernatural horror The Devil At The Door has concluded with part 1 and will return on the 6th October. I know you’re all really busy reading my book, you see 😜 so I thought I’d give some time between sections. Also, I’m really trying to recover from post-book-depression, and part of that requires a break. It’s going to be back with all of the action, the mystery and the unravelling of something that goes further than a mere bump in the night. Stay tuned!
"Out! Out! Damn Spot!" - said angrily to a messy dog.
"So let it be with Caesar..." - to a waiter bearing salad.
"Get thee to a nunnery!" - not going anywhere near that one, being something of a feminist. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." - that's definitely me that one.
"This above all/to thine own self be true..." ("Hamlet").