从莎士比亚的笔到我们的嘴

From Shakespeare’s Pen to Our Mouths 从莎士比亚的笔到我们的嘴

Now, time for Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning¹ English.

William Shakespeare is probably the most famous English-language writer ever.

Historians² think Shakespeare was born on April 23 in 1564. They believe he died exactly 52 years later, on the same day!

But historians and the rest of us actually know very little about the personal life of Shakespeare. Some researchers even suggest that he did not write all the plays that are credited³ to him.

But, let us put all the mystery aside.

What we do know is this: the language of Shakespeare is alive and well in modern, everyday English.

Even if an English-speaker knows nothing about Shakespeare, they will surely know some of his expressions. And I am not talking about sayings like “to be or not to be” or “wherefore art thou Romeo.” Most people know those lines come from Shakespeare.

The playwright⁴ invented many more words and expressions that we continue to use every day.

Perhaps this is best explained as a theatrical⁵ production.

As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.”

Let's pretend two friends are in a crowded theater. They are waiting for a performance of Shakespeare to begin. One is a Shakespeare buff who knows a lot about the playwright. The other person thinks he knows very little about Shakespeare. But he may know more than he thinks.

Before the curtain rises,  let's listen to their conversation.

A: What took you so long? The play is starting soon.

B: I wanted to buy something to eat, but that turned out to be a wild-goose chase⁶. This theater does not have any food!

A: I thought you went home.

B: Why would I leave?

A: Because you do not like Shakespeare.

B: It’s not that I don’t like Shakespeare. I just don’t know Shakespeare.

A: I suspect you know more than you think.

B: What do you mean?

A: Well, the term “wild goose chase” comes from Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet.” Years ago, it meant a kind of horse race. But now, it means a hopeless search for something you cannot find.

B: Well, I wish you would have told me that this theater doesn’t serve food before my wild-goose chase. I’m so hungry! A friend has been staying with me for the past month and he’s eating me out of house and home! There's nothing left in my house to eat.

A: That is another expression from Shakespeare! It comes from the play “Henry IV.”

B: What expression, “I’m hungry!”?

A: No! To eat someone out of house and home. It means that someone eats all the food in your house, like you’re friend. In Shakespeare’s play, Mistress⁷ Quickly says to the king, “He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly⁸ of his … !”

B: That is exactly what is happening … just like in Henry IV!

A: So, why has your friend been staying with you for so long?

B: He says he got into a little trouble with the law and needs to lie low for a while.

A: Staying out of sight until trouble passes is great advice! In fact, Shakespeare wrote that advice for Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing. The exact words were, “If he could right himself with quarreling, some of us would lie low.”

B: When you start talking Shakespeare I really get lost. It’s all Greek to me. I just cannot understand any of it.

A: Well, you must understand a little because you use his expressions all the time. “It’s Greek to me” is from the play Julius Caesar! And it’s a one way to tell someone you don’t have a clue what’s going on. 

B: I have to say I am a little jealous⁹ that you know so much about Shakespeare. And I’m not one to fall victim to the green-eyed monster.

A: Guess what?

B: Don’t tell me? That expression is also from Shakespeare? I thought it came from the fact that feeling bitter kind of makes you feel sick. And sick people often look green.

A: You are right. Before Shakespeare’s time, the color green was most commonly linked with bad health. In his play Othello, Shakespeare turned the idea of being sick with a disease¹⁰ into a condition -- being sick with jealousy¹¹.

B: You know there are many other playwrights¹² out there. Shakespeare is not the be-all and end-all of English writers.

A: No one ever said he was the most important person in the English-speaking world. But now that you said it -- be-all and end-all is my favorite Shakespeare expression. And it comes from my favorite play, “Macbeth.” As Macbeth is preparing to kill the King, he says, “That but this blow / Might be the be-all and the end-all.”

B: I really didn’t know that Shakespeare was such an influence on the way we speak today. I just thought he was for old college professors and people who do nothing but go to the theater.

A: Hey!

B: Seriously, it is fun to find out that so many of his words and expressions are still used today.

A: Did you know, he even invented the knock-knock joke.

B: Really?!

A: Knock, knock!

B: Who’s there?

A: Orange.

B: Orange who?

A: Orange (Aren’t) glad I didn’t quote Shakespeare again?

B: Yes. Yes, I am. Now be quiet. The play is about to start and I don’t want to miss a word.

We hope you enjoyed this special Words and Their Stories celebrating the writer William Shakespeare. Have fun using the Shakespearean expressions that you heard today.

Words in This Story

buff – n. a person who is very interested in something and who knows a lot about it

wild-goose chase – n. a foolish and hopeless pursuit¹³ of something unattainable.

eat out of house and home – idiomatic¹⁴ expression : to eat everything that someone has in the house

lie low – phrase keep out of sight; avoid detection¹⁵ or attention

It’s all Greek to me. – idiom : used to mean that you do not understand something

jealousy – n. an unhappy or angry feeling of wanting to have what someone else has

green-eyed monster – n. jealousy thought of as a monster that bites or attacks people

be-all and end-all  – n. the most important part of something or the reason for something

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

3 credited   

v.记入贷方；信用

参考例句：

• Cook is credited with discovering Hawaii. 人们把发现夏威夷的功劳归于库克。
• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal. 猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

5 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

6 chase   

vt.追逐，追赶，追求；n.追赶

参考例句：

• The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
• Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了，你会来追吗？

7 mistress   

n.（文学用语）使男子为之倾倒的女人，女主人

参考例句：

• Does his wife know he has a mistress?他的妻子知道他有一个情妇吗？
• Is your mistress at home?你家女主人在家吗？

8 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

9 jealous   

adj.妒忌的，猜忌的；精心守护的

参考例句：

• He was jealous when he discovered that she loved someone else.当他发现她爱别人的时候，他吃醋了。
• An honorable Chinese citizen should be jealous of his own rights.一名光荣的中国公民应当珍惜自己的公民权利。

10 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

11 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

12 playwrights   

n.剧作家( playwright的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We're studying dramatic texts by sixteenth century playwrights. 我们正在研究16 世纪戏剧作家的戏剧文本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hung-chien asked who the playwrights were. 鸿渐问谁写的剧本。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

13 pursuit   

n.追赶，追求，职业，工作

参考例句：

• They set off at once along the lane in pursuit.他们立即出发沿着小巷追赶。
• Life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness have been called the inalienable rights of man.生命、自由和追求幸福被称为人类不可剥夺的权利。

14 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。

15 detection   

n.察觉，发觉；侦查，探测

参考例句：

• He tried to escape detection by disguising himself as an old man.他企图乔装一老人逃过侦察者的耳目。
• The nose is a remarkable sensitive detection device.嗅觉是一种非常灵敏的控测器官。