Shakespeare even quoted on eating

In my last column I delved into the some commonly used phrases that had their origins in the Bible. And as promised, today I?m going to talk about phrases that came into the language through that giant of letters, William Shakespeare, sometimes referred to as ?The Bard of Avon,? or simply ?the Bard.?

Some people may be surprised to learn just how great Shakespeare?s influence on common phrases has been. So great, in fact, that there is no way to include anywhere near all of them in one column, so I?m going to pick a few personal favorites.

Considering my lifelong propensity for culinary excess, and the corpulence that has resulted from same, there is a phrase my dad used to utter with some regularity, but I?m relatively sure he had no idea he was quoting Shakespeare:

?I tell you that kid has eaten me out of house and home.?

This one comes from ?Henry IV Part II,? 1597, and is really closer to home than I like to admit.

MISTRESS QUICKLY:

?It is more than for some, my lord; it is for all, all I have. He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his…?

Actually I think my dad would have been amused no end to find out how apt his choice of phrase actually was.

Here?s one that always fascinated me:

?There is method in my madness.?

At first this one confused me mightily. How could there be any method in madness? But I soon found it meant that people sometimes do some strange things for good reasons, and the outcome can actually be beneficial.

This phrase comes from ?Hamlet,? 1603. The line actually goes:

?Though this be madness yet there is method in it.?

One of the interesting things about the sayings that come from Shakespeare is the extent to which they end up being paraphrased, but are still easily identified as coming from his works. One of those phrases I?ve heard all my life is this one:

?A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.?

The meaning here is that what matters is what something truly is, not what it is called. This was inspired by this passage from one of the Bard?s most popular plays, ?Romeo and Juliet,? specifically the balcony scene.

JULIET: ??Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though, not a Montague. What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…?

And then there are the sayings commonly attributed to Shakespeare that had actually been around for some time, but came to prominence after appearing in his plays. One such saying is ?dead as a doornail,? which appeared in print as early as 1350 in old English: “For but ich haue bote of mi bale I am ded as dorenail.” Shakespeare used the phrase in ?King Henry VI.?

CADE: ?…and if I do not leave you all as dead as a doornail, I pray God I may never eat grass more.?

And I have one more for you, that should make perfect sense at this point.

?All?s well that ends well.?

Charlie Johnson is news editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].