Happy Birthday, Bill
Suggestions to celebrate Shakespeare's big day
"Be not afraid of greatness," the good William Shakespeare once wrote.
In honor of the Bard's big 445th, Mayor Daley has declared today ''Talk Like Shakespeare Day'' in Chicago. It's similar to Talk Like a Pirate Day, just use less "argh" and more "hark."
"Shakespeare still speaks to the people of Chicago through timeless words and works. I encourage citizens to celebrate Shakespeare by vocal acclamation, through his words," Daley said in his proclamation.
Now that we're all about keeping our ''tweets'' 140 characters long with abbreviations like OMG and TTYL, it might be difficult to think of creative ways to actually talk like the man who shaped much of the literary world as we know it.
You can check out TalklikeShakespeare.org for ideas of how to twist your everyday slang into something a little more flowery, or use our cheat sheet for quick and dirty Shakespearean quotes for today that are sure to impress:
At the office: ''I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you.'' ('The Merchant of Venice')
At home: ''To sleep, perchance to dream.'' ('Hamlet')
Out at the bars: ''The world's mine oyster.'' ('The Merry Wives of Windsor')
Emerging from the underground el: ''What light through yonder window breaks?'' ('Romeo and Juliet')
During your annual review: "O that I had been writ down an ass" ('Much Ado About Nothing')
Updating your E-Harmony page (or not): "Alas, I am a woman friendless, hopeless!" ('Henry VIII')
About your boss (careful now): A fool thinks himself to be wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. ('Measure for Measure')
When taking out the garbage: ''Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.'' ('Hamlet')
Shoe shopping: "Desire of having is the sin of covetousness." ('Twelfth Night')
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