The influence of Shakespeare on everyday English

TRANSCRIPT

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?

[FlorElena-bo]

Shakespeare is difficult to understand but you made it easy😊 rest in peace dear Jill.

[engvidGill]

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.

[engvidGill]

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 :-)

[cityvoyage]

'There's a method in my madness'
love it!

[joaodibosco]

You have a heart of gold. You’re such a great teacher and good laugh. Thanks for the lessons provided so far. God speed

[athulabar]

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!

[ES-]

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

[barbaralores]

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!

[s.i.cool.]

I really like your lessons, simple and natural. Thanks a lot

[庄若瑾]

The teacher is cute. Ur lesson is very helpful. Thanks a lot

[SamuelLiebermann]

I love it how she blushes at 3:40 all of a sudden just because she had to talk about emotions...

[rrumcajsz]

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 :)

[crazyfreakfun]

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!

[TheSwordofTheGentiles]

I was born April 23rd....same day as William different year...I think. he is my favourite...by a mile, brilliant lesson, thankyou,

[rabindranathchakraborty]

I enjoy your class very much.
Everytime I listen I learn something new and interesting to use new word.
My regards

[giovannascotti]

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!

[musictrance]

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.

[MrFernandox]

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

[Lemur]

What a lovely lady! Thank you so much ma’am! It’s a pleasure to watch and listen to you

[GrażynaNenko]

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 !!