The influence of Shakespeare on everyday English
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2015
- Why do we have a lesson on a writer who died hundreds of years ago? Don't worry. There's method to my madness! The poet and playwright William Shakespeare has had a big influence on the English language. Many of he words and expressions that he invented are still in use today, and we often don't realize it. In this lesson, I will introduce you to some of the most common expressions which first appeared in print hundreds of years ago and are still used today. So come on. Break the ice, and watch the lesson! www.engvid.com/shakespeare-ev...
TRANSCRIPT
Hi. This is Gill at www.engvid.com, and today, we're going to be looking at the way William Shakespeare, the English playwright and poet, has influenced everyday English today. He wrote a lot of plays and quite a lot of poems, and some of the lines from those poems and plays have been used in the English language because they were very influential. So... And the way he said things was just very good at expressing something. It may have been that people around him were saying all these things, and that it was just... He was the one to put them down in print, but looking back through all the old books, Shakespeare was the first person to mention all of these. These are just a few examples. He was the first person to put these actual phrases and words into print. So maybe he heard other people saying them, but he was the one who wrote them down. Okay? So, let's have a look through the list.
So... Oh, and there are his dates just to show you how long ago he lived. He was born in 1564, died in 1616, so a long, long time ago. So it's quite amazing, really, that some of what he wrote is actually used in the English language today. So let's have a look.
So, first of all: "a sorry sight". Okay? So, if you see somebody walking along and they... Maybe they've been caught in the rain or something, or they've fallen over into the mud and they've got all their clothes dirty, the look terrible, they haven't eaten for two days and they look absolutely awful, you could say: "That poor man, he is a sorry sight." "Sorry" meaning sort of sad. You feel sorry for him, looking at him. He looks really dishevelled, very dirty, tired, hungry. "A sorry sight". Okay.
Next one: "wearing your heart on your sleeve". Okay? Now, this is your sleeve and here is your heart. Your heart is inside here. But if you wear your heart on your sleeve, this is a kind of a metaphor, or an idiom, an expression for showing how you're feeling. Not hiding your feelings, but making it clear how you feel. So maybe if you've fallen in love with somebody and instead of sort of keeping it to yourself and keeping it a secret, you sort of make it quite obvious to them, probably in a very embarrassing way. But if you make it very obvious to them that you... That you love them, you're wearing your heart on your sleeve. Okay? Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, so worth a try if you think so, but I don't know. Okay, so that's what that means. Right?
"In a pickle", if you're in a pickle, you're in trouble. And "pickle" is a kind of preservative in a jar. So it's like vinegar or something, which preserves food. So, "vinegar". Sometimes you get little onions in vinegar, and they're called pickled onions. Okay? You can buy them in the supermarket. So, if you're in a... If you, personally, are in a pickle, it means you're in a lot of vinegar, which isn't a very nice place to be. So that's real trouble. You don't want to be in a lot of vinegar. So: "in a pickle", that's what that means. So you have to get out of it as quickly as possible. So it means in trouble.
Okay, next one: "there's method in my madness", and if you've heard of Hamlet, this comes from that play. Hamlet pretends to be mad. He's not really mad, but he's pretending to be mad for a certain reason, which I won't explain now; it would take too long. You'll notice a lot of m's because Shakespeare is very poetic, and you get a lot of sound patterns, the same letter repeated, which makes it a stronger phrase because of that. "There's method in my madness" means you may be behaving in a very strange way, but there's a good reason for it. You have a method. There is a reason for behaving like that, which hopefully, it will all work out in the end. But for Hamlet, it didn't really work out. But I'll leave you to find out about that if you don't already know. So he pretends to be mad for his own reasons, but he's not really mad. Okay. Right?
Thanks everyone for your kind comments :-) To answer the questions about my accent, it is British, but not entirely from the London area. I come from the East Midlands originally (about 120 miles north of London), and although I've lived in London for a long time now, I still have a little of my East Midlands accent.
Learn English with Gill (engVid) thanks so much for your helping me to learn English ,,, your accent is looks like Australian is it right? :)
+Learn English with Gill (engVid) Love your accent. Reminds me of that of Vanessa Redgrave's when she played Briony Tallis in the amazing movie 'Atonement'.
I loved your accent who learned many things of you so thank you so much I am sending my kisses :))
+Learn English with Gill (engVid) Your accent and your appearance are great, Gill! ) While watching any of your lessons I feel myself sitting in a London pub drinking ale or having breakfast in an old Birtish castle. )) Thank you for these unforgettable virtual trips! )
Noor H7
Lovely accent. Music to my ears.
Hi everyone -- as you may already know, 23 April 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. A lot of events are taking place to commemorate this. If you would like to access a short daily reading from Shakespeare's plays and poems, please go to the following page on Facebook and click Like: Shakespeare 400 Daily Reading. The page will run for one year, from 23 April 2016 to 23 April 2017. Thank you :-)
Dear amazing Lady thanks.👰👰😻😻😻
Learn English with Gill (engVid) do you know Cervantes, Gil?
'There's a method in my madness'
love it!
You have a heart of gold. You’re such a great teacher and good laugh. Thanks for the lessons provided so far. God speed
It seems that you are an experienced, mature English teacher, so your explanations about the English language is really awesome! I like listening to you; please add more videos for the benefit of majority. Good Luck!
actually, I'm speechless, because I cant find a good word to show you who much I grateful. simply you are like an angle. many thanks. xxxx
I love it how she blushes at 3:40 all of a sudden just because she had to talk about emotions...
Ahhahahah Indeed! She's awesome =)
She's English. She is not used to that.
We have equivalent expressions in portuguese, maybe also from Shakespeare:
Quebrar o gelo - To break the ice
Pegar um resfriado - To catch a cold
Andar em círculos - To walk in circles (similar but not equal)
Coração de ouro - Heart of gold
Sangue quente - Hot-blooded
Cuidar da casa/Dona de casa - Housekeeping/Housekeeper
É grego pra mim - It's Greek to me
Viu dias melhores - Seen better days
The teacher is soooooo cute. Ur lesson is very helpful. Thanks a lot
Hahaha, 3:40 the teacher got blushed! :D
Very nice lesson, thank you Gill!
Thank you Gill! You are bringing a great contribution to those who want to learn a bit more of the English culture, beyond the language itself. Looking forward for some Jane Austen related video!
Greetings from Brazil!
This is honestly such a nice video, I'm currently writing my prescientific paper on Shakespeare's influence on the development of the English language and while I do understand most of these anyway it's so lovely to have them explained to me so clearly!
You are an excellent teacher. While watching the video you forget that you study, it's simple (easy to understand), interesting & engaging. You really have a gift for teaching, Gill! LIKE :)
It's absolutely amazing how much Shakespeare has contributed to everyday English!
I really like your lessons, simple and natural. Thanks a lot
Also in italian we say "break the ice"----> "rompere il ghiaccio" with the same meaning! Cool!
Same with Spanish "romper el hielo".
same in french "Briser la glace''
Same in Portuguese “quebrar o gelo”
In Russian "растопить лёд" - "to melt the ice".
This one and some other (hot-blooded, seen better days; too much of good) are the same in Hungarian, but instead of "it's Greek to me" we say "it's Chinese to me" :)
I liked very much your lesson and I found it very interesting! Next Week I'm going to talk about Shakespeare to my students and I'll certainly use your lesson. They 've already known you and your interesting lessons! Thank you!
It's never too late, but how come I just came across with these videos just now.
You are the best Gill,
I'm so glad to follow you and learning a lot from you.
May God bless you always.
Thank you so much.
Hi! Jill,it's always been nice to see you as a teacher of engvid because you make any topic of the english language beautiful and knowledgeable that anyone could be attracted to your style of teaching,on top of that ,your amazing communication skill-Prashant Mishra from India.
Dear Gill, I have never had so much fun learning English as I did with you. I wish you all the best, especially health ❤ FW
I love your classes I have met many teachers who strive to do something different like be funny, witty but not get what you do I mean to do as if we knew of a lifetime and I feel relaxed in your classes thank you very much Gill
I'm mad about your accent Gill keep going your classes are so great .I'm quite sure that you've got a heart of gold. thanks a million Gill.
I was born April 23rd....same day as William different year...I think. he is my favourite...by a mile, brilliant lesson, thankyou,
Gill, I LOVED your video. Thanks. It was very useful. By the way, it was the first time I saw you on Engvid. Now I am watching all your lessons. Your British accent is beautiful.
Lovely Gill!! I love the way you explain things.
What a brilliant lesson! You explain Shakespeare’s idioms so clear! Thank you very much, dear Jill!
it's amazing to know that not only english language had been influenced by Shakespeare. my mother language, Indonesia also use the term "hot blooded" and "cold-blooded" with same meaning and exact same translated words.
This is brilliant, Gill. Please more Shakespeare and Wilde.
I just got to know this channel and I already loved her, wonderful teacher!
Thank you Gill, I missed english class, I’m really glad I found your channel!
Absolutely in love with this brilliant vid ! So well explained, so clever, so useful. I'm smilling each time Gill is getting redness when she speaks of something intimate or about love or feelings, it's so authentic and cute.
Thank you for this lesson . I love your teaching !
My dear Gill, I love your way of teaching, the way you share your knowledge. Thanks!
Congratulations Gill, you´re a great teacher. The explanation was fantastic. I really enjoyed watching U.
Thank you Gill, you have a heart of gold💛
Thank u gill, right now m studying about Shakespeare's bio & works. Thanks to u, i could get to know more 🥰
Thank you for giving us the nice understandings and concepts on these common but tricky language rules and many other things.
Watching your video has become my favourite pastime. I come to your video as if I came to meet my best friends. Thank you for giving us such a happy time.
I was surprised to know the well known phrases like "housekeeping" and "catch cold" are from Shakespeare!
Love your videos so much Gill!
Gill ,you are really ,the Heart of Excellency
What a lovely lady! Thank you so much ma’am! It’s a pleasure to watch and listen to you
Such an elegant English teacher!
Thanks for such a great lesson. If I am not mistaken, this is the first video on EngVid about a writer and his influence on English. Could you continue doing videos of this kind? Maybe tell us about other writer's influence on English? Or some other literary context...Thanks!
"Wear your heart on your sleeve." Sounds to me like a broken hearted soul who chooses his sorrow rather then letting go. This choice is manifest by the use of the sleeve to wipe away the tears. Brilliant phrase.
Dear teacher,
I really love watching your English video lessons on RUclips because of the way you explain issues related to the language. It seems that you have got wide-ranging experiences on how to teach English for nonnative English speakers like me. Your accent is really practical, so it makes me happy all the time when I watch your video programs here. Thanks a lot! Have a good, long journey on RUclips!
I remember this Shakespeare expression from the "Julius Caesar" book: "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!"
That was lit, I loved it!
"A heart of gold" is the best one
Love your classes Gill!!!
You are so kind. Thanks for share your acquirements whith us.
That was really informative, and I could tell that you liked presenting it, and included some humour in there too. 👏🏻 With the full circle, I have heard this used in other places too, like for problem-solving. Interesting comment on the Greek language, I’ve heard Chinese more often used for this too. Thanks! 🎓
The phrase,"has come full circle" is not used in the literal sense, but only metaphorically or figuratively. It implies that something or someone has completed a cycle. Examples: "His life has come full circle",conveying that he has seen or experienced everything in life.
"She has come full circle in her profession".
Shakespeare uses it in King Lear.
Excellent video Gill. Very clear and interesting. You're a natural teacher and you've got a very good way of making students of English understand what can be a very difficult topic.
Love this lesson. It increased my vocabulary, thank you.
So nice! Thanks a lot, teacher Gil.
thanks Gill, I love watching your videos and it helps a lot to me as a bigginer. I hope you will make more videos. thank you so much!
Great lesson on Shakspeare! This poet and playwrighter's expressions not only influenced the way English is spoken, but also some other languages such as Spanish.
I love your lessons Gill! I'm from Portugal and we also use some Shakespeare's expressions like "break the ice" (quebrar o gelo), "heart of gold" (coração de ouro) and "seen better days" (já teve melhores dias). We don't say "it's Greek to me" but "it's Chinese to me" (é chinês para mim) ahhahaha
thank you a lot,Gill!
I like to learn from experienced people like you. Thanks!
It was really wonderful this video, Gill, specially because it was on Shakespeare! I’d love to see much more explanations about lines or words derived from his poetic creation. Here’s some suggestions: “the course of true love never did rum smooth”, “the quality of mercy is not strain’d”, the post famous sonnet, number 18 (“Shall I compare thee...”).
wow! I do loved it. I did not know I could learn English with Shakespeare. And you are a lovely teacher. Thanks.
GREAT LESSON!!!
The reason I learned English ! My former teacher was just like you, she will be in me forever,thank very very much!!
I really like English poems, especially Shakespeare. Thanks a lot for this interesting video. If we can see more videos about English poems, I will feel so wonderful. Thank you, the best English teacher I have ever seen.
Fascinating Gill! To think all these phases are part of our daily speech and we take it literally for granted. Ophelia's picking upon flower petals in Hamlet, 'He loves me, he loves me not', is another phrase we used so often, in our times too. Wearing our heart on our sleeves, quite obviously!
Also from Hamlet, be cruel to be kind. I happen to be studying this one at the moment.
Oh and of course "Frailty, they name is woman" - no offense 😂
I adore your way of teaching and explaining things! Moreover, you are such a kind woman and your accent is just perfect to me. You are the best teacher I have ever followed😊 Thank you so so much !!
This video is really interesting, I'm a spanish speaker and there are tree metaphors that currently in spanish we use, for example: Break the ice (romper el hielo), hot- blooded (de sangre caliente) and seen better days (ha visto mejores días).
Thanks for teach us english :)
. Absolutely marvellous!
Thank you very much indeed, Gill!
Love this! 👍💖 thank you! 🙋♀️🙏
Thank you ma'am and I'm really glad to watch and use these old(gold ) expressions in our life.so he is called man of the world world's stage in all ages by me.
Beautiful idioms from Shakespeare!👍
Loved them...
Thank you Gill for the English words by Shakespeare
(A Poet and Playright of yesteryear)
You are so enlightened and sweet my dear thank you.
Hi Gill!! Thanks a lot for this beautiful lesson!!😍
Thanks for a very useful lesson, Gill! :)
Thank you Gill ❤
Thank you so much 🥀💞 I live in Turkey and I always wondered English literature. Your heart made of gold :)
Thank you for best lessons
Thanks for those Shakespearian metaphor
Thank you Gill. "The Bard of Avon" Undoubtedly he is the greatest. Love and Good wishes from Kolkata.
Gill....u r simply outstanding....I follow all your lessons avidly....cudnt thank u enough.
I liked your way of teaching, articulation, accent, attitude & everything everything.
Appreciated effort.
Keep it up, please.
Thanks!! I really appreciate it!
You are the best!! teacher Gill!
What a great teacher you are! Regards from Spain!
You are warm and kind teacher enjoyed your video!
Break the ice there is also in Italian ( rompere il ghiaccio ) and also heart of gold ( cuore d'oro ). Also It's Greek to me but the word Greek is changed in Chinese ( E' cinese per me ).
Shakespeare GREAT playwriter and poet.
Thank you for posting it.
Dear Gill, good morning.You've been working hard.We love your lessen.Great job.That's nice of you.Cheers.🇷🇺
Thankful, Gill.
I Love listening to you!
I've studied English in the university but it was not enough. All the videos are so helpful. Thank you.
I enjoy your class very much.
Everytime I listen I learn something new and interesting to use new word.
My regards
Thank you so much.
Excellent Teacher!!
Simply amazing!
It is such an interesting topic! Thank you for sharing it with us.
you have a heart of gold
What an interesting lesson! Thank you very much. Besides being a great teacher you are a wonderful human being. God bless you.