Study Of The Classics-Boring You Say?

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

I don't know how many of my readers took Latin and English Literature in school but for many people, it's really boring. I took two years of Latin and loved it. I found it one of the easiest languages to study. I can't say the same for English Literature, especially Old English Literature. I didn't understand what the writers were trying to say. I thought - why don't they speak English??? - Duh! it is English.

The original subject that I was going to post was about the Ides Of March. Of course, my mind started going in a million different directions - as it usually does. So, I ended up looking at Shakespeare more than Julius Caesar. But first I will present a brief discussion about the Ides of March - March 15th.

The word ides was used in the Roman calendar for the 15th day of the months March, May, July and October. Ides was used for the 13th day of all of the other months. William Shakespeare wrote a play about Julius Caesar and made the phrase "Beware the ides of March" famous. This refers to the warning given by the soothsayer to Caesar about the tragedy that would befall him on the Ides of March when he went to senate house. Sure enough- when Caesar approached the senate house on the 15th, he was stabbed to death by a group of senators who called themselves the Liberators. Caesar was also surprised to see his friend Brutus among the murderers. Caesar exclaimed, "Et tu, Brute!" If I remember my Latin correctly - et means and; tu means you and of course Brute is Brutus. By the way, this assassination took place in 44 BC. OK - enough with the history lesson.

But I'm haven't finished. Do you know how many phrases from William Shakespeare's writings are commonly used by us today? Many! Here are a few:

1. "I'll not budge an inch" - Taming of the Shrew

2. "It was Greek to me" - Julius Caesar

3. "What's done is done" - Macbeth

4. "Tis neither here nor there" - Othello

5. "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" - Hamlet

6. "Though this be madness, yet there is a method in it" - Hamlet

(I've always heard it as - there is a method to my madness)

7. "For ever and a day" - As You Like It

8. "Can one desire too much of a good thing" - As You Like It

9. "He hath eaten me out of house and home" - King Henry IV, Part II

10. "What's in a name" - Romeo and Juliet

11. "The game is up" - Cymbeline

12. "I have not slept one wink" - Cymbeline

I feel sure that you have used some of Shakespeare's phrases/quotes some time in your life or at least heard them before. I have used many of them.