His influence is everywhere. If youâve ever been âin a pickleâ, waited âwith bated breathâ or gone on âa wild goose chaseâ, then youâve been quoting from The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet respectively.
If you âgossipâ, the word comes from A Midsummer Nightâs Dream. âThe be-all and end-allâ is uttered by Macbeth, and âfair playâ comes from Miranda in The Tempest. âA heart of goldâ? No, not Neil Young, youâll find it in Henry V, while âthe worldâs mine oysterâ is in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Elvis Presley in Are you Lonesome Tonight says âsomeone said the worldâs a stageâ. Yes, that was him too, from As You Like It.
In honour of the Bard and his influence on popular culture, here are some popular works that owe a debt to the Bard.
The Lion King
The Lion King has marked similarities with Shakespeareâs Hamlet. Simbaâs uncle Scar kills Mufasa to become King, then a grown-up Simba seeks vengeance on Scar, after seeing a vision of his fatherâs ghost, of course. And donât forget the comical Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-esque Timon and Pumbaa.
10 things I hate about you
Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) canât date Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) until her shrewish older sister Katherina (Julia Stiles) dates, so they set her up with bad boy Patrick (Heath Ledger). Bianca is Bianca, Katherina is Katherina, Patrick is Petruchio, and Cameron is Lucentio â Cameron even disguises himself as a language tutor, just as Lucentio does in Taming of the Shrew. I donât recall Shakespeare writing âthe s*** hath hitteth the fanâ thoughâŚ
Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury
Only a single witch in Ray Bradburyâs 1962 dark fantasy novel, but the quote is from Macbeth.
Wise children by Angela Carter
Dora and Nora Chance are a famous song-and-dance team of the British music halls. Billed as The Lucky Chances, the sisters are the illegitimate and unacknowledged daughters of Sir Melchoir Hazard, the greatest Shakespearean actor of his day. The book is written in five chapters just as a Shakespearian play often had five acts.
Me and Orson Welles by Robert Kaplow
Coming of age story set in 1930s Manhattan. 17 year old Richard Samuels gets himself a walk on part in Orson Wellesâs Broadway version of Julius Caesar by wildly exaggerating his abilities to sing and play ukulele amongst other things. How will he combine it with his school commitments and what will his mother say?
The fault in our stars by John Green
The tragic novel about two teenage cancer patients takes its title from a quote in Julius Caesar.
Exposure by Mal Peet
Othello was used as a template for Mal Peetâs novel of racial politics and celebrity.
The gap of time by Jeanette Winterson
King Leontes â whose accusations of adultery against his wife, Hermione, and Polixenes, his childhood friend, galvanise the action in The Winterâs Tale â becomes Leo, a hedge fund manager who uses money and status to bludgeon his way through the world. This is the first commission in a series of top writers â Margaret Atwood, Anne Tyler and Howard Jacobson, reimagining Shakespeareâs plays for the 21st Century. Look out for more in the series in 2016.
The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig
Matt Haigâs pastiche of Hamlet. 11-year-old Phillip is visited by his father Brianâs ghost. His father confesses that he was murdered by his brother Alan and that Phillip must avenge his murder and prevent Alan from taking over the family pub and marrying his widow.
Brave new world by Aldous Huxley
The title comes from The Tempest and the quote is used in the book when John looks at a society consumed by technology and the pursuit of pleasure.
Sigh no more by Mumford and Sons
Sigh No More is the first song on the album; the line is from Much Ado About Nothing. There are also quotes from Macbeth, such as âStars hide your firesâ.
Gnomeo and Juliet
Perhaps not one for the purists. Shakespeareâs story of doomed love is transposed to the world of the suburban front lawn as lovestruck garden gnomes Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) find themselves caught up in a feud between the next-door neighbours to whom they belong. Can they find a way to be together despite the many everyday garden obstacles that stand in their way?
Exit Music (For A Film) from OK Computer by Radiohead
This song was originally written to play over the end credits of Baz Luhrmannâs 1996 Romeo and Juliet (although it didnât make it onto the soundtrack), but Thom Yorke says it was also inspired by Shakespeareâs play itself and Zeffirelliâs 1960s Romeo And Juliet film.
A thousand acres by Jane Smiley
When Larry Cook, the ageing patriarch of a rich, thriving farm in Iowa, decides to retire, he offers his land to his three daughters. For Ginny and Rose, who live on the farm with their husbands, the gift makes sense â a reward for years of hard work, a challenge to make the farm even more successful. But the youngest, Caroline, a Des Moines lawyer, flatly rejects the idea, and in anger her father cuts her out, setting off an explosive series of events that will leave none of them unchanged. King Lear, anyone?