Ye residents of Lorton Town; 'Tis the day of remembrance of that great Bard, William Shakespeare. Wherefore t’will speaketh as Elizabethans. Prithee, don’t be day brained. By my troth, ye can do’t! Looketh hither!
To recognize the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater has named April 23, 2011, Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn even issued a state proclamation for the Tony Award-winning theater company.
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, the official website, includes all variety of features -- podcasts, videos, downloads, and articles – with suggestions for participating in the birthday fun.
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To get ye started, the website offers these guidelines:
- Instead of you, say thou or thee; and instead of y’all, say ye.
- Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin.
- Don’t waste time saying "it," just use the letter "t" (’tis, t’will, I’ll do’t).
- Instead of cursing, call your tormenters canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back’d toads.
- When in doubt, add the letters "eth" to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).
- To add weight to your opinions, start them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore.
- When wooing a lady, compare her to a summer’s day.
Locally, the Folger Shakespeare Theater in Washington, DC presents its annual Shakespeare birthday lecture on Monday, April 25, at 8 p.m. Northwestern University Professor of English Wendy Wall will speak on Recipes for Thought: Shakespeare and the Art of the Kitchen. The lecture is free and open to the public.
