This Is A Song I Wrote For You

I'm taking a break from Breaking Down the Bard to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

My Wednesday posts full of tips and tricks for understanding and performing Shakespeare will resume next week!

This Shakespeare quote is from Henry IV Part 2!

Four years ago, I wanted to make something special for my family for the holidays. I live in New York City, and most of my family is in Seattle, so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like. I had a little tune stuck in my head, so I got to work right after Thanksgiving and created this song to share with my loved ones. That's the wonderful thing about creating art for yourself and others: I got to put my creative energies to work, be a little silly, and work outside of my comfort zone by filming myself singing and playing the only three chords I know on the ukulele; but my family got to have something that was made especially for them, that they could watch as many times as they wanted. Bonus: it cost me nothing to make, and it's still something my loved ones enjoy!

I may have written this song for my family, but I'd like to extend this to my readers as well. Have a Merry Christmas, everyone, and do something with your talents that lets people in your life know that they're special and loved by you!

This Song's All About Christmas

Written and Performed by Emily Philio

 We celebrate each year on December 25th

By gathering up our loved ones and exchanging some gifts

So I'm sending my love from Atlantic to Pacif'

With this song I wrote for you

This is a song I wrote for you (3x)

And this song's all about Christmas

I hope that you like Christmas

It's all about the birth of a special kid

Who changed the world with the things that he did

He fought evil when others would've run and hid

I'm not talking about Harry Potter

(Harry Potter was born in July)

A fat man in red commits some B & E

There'll be coal for you and presents for me

It's the special time of year we get to murder a tree

In the name of holiday cheer

A word of caution for you all, my dears,

The fruitcake's been re-gifted for the last six years

Dancing under mistletoe won't make you Britney Spears

You probably just had too much eggnog

(Kids, eggnog gets better when you're older)

This time of year, the world is filled with joy

As we wish for peace for future girls and boys

It's not figgy pudding, tinsel, or new toys

It's about the gift of love

Have a Merry Christmas!

 Wanna step up your Shakespeare game in time for Audition Season? 

Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first lesson!
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Shakespeare Quotes

If you've been on Instagram, Pinterest, or the Internet in general, you've probably seen those lovely images with a quote on them being shared for inspiration or for laughs. I see these all the time (heck, I MAKE at least one every day), and I am FLOORED by how frequently people will share a quote attributed to Shakespeare that is, in fact, not his work at all! The following three examples are some of the top offenders that I see on Instagram on a daily basis.

Example #1

This is one that I almost can't believe people could mistake for Shakespeare. The list of "advice" doesn't have a logical progression, and if any character in Shakespeare's plays would have said something like this, it would probably be for comic effect. It's something that sounds like solid advice on the surface, but is cliche and/or nonsensical when you start to consider the meaning. If you truly didn't expect anything from anyone, you wouldn't expect to get paid by your boss, or for your waiter to bring you the item you ordered. It's nonsense, and Shakespeare didn't write it! He DID, however, write a speech of only-marginally-helpful advice in Hamlet, when Polonius is talking to Laertes:

This speech is also quoted often, but Shakespeare actually wrote it! The language is so much richer than the "You know why?" that we see in the imposter. And we can imagine how a young man like Laertes might be rolling his eyes while his father drones on and on about not taking out loans, wearing the right clothes, not starting fights but finishing them, and nurturing true friendships. SO much better than "before you hurt, feel"!

Example #2

While it seems fairly obvious that umbrellas have been around for thousands of years (and well before Shakespeare's time), the word "umbrella" doesn't appear in any of his writing. The phrase "you find a shadow spot" seems odd to me; why not a "shady spot" or even a "shadowed spot"? The phrase is awkward. Instead, how about quoting Sonnet 93?

This sonnet captures the idea that this person will always look sweet and loving, but it's impossible to tell whether their love is true or not! Their appearance doesn't show what they're thinking or feeling, and it worries the writer that they won't ever be entirely sure what's going on. It would suck to be in love with someone who leads you on all the time, and Shakespeare nails it in Sonnet 93.

Example #3

I'll admit that this is a sweet sentiment. I'm a sucker for "love at first sight" stories, too. But Shakespeare simply did not write this. He did, however, write this:

Rosalind says that in As You Like It. There's also this:

Ferdinand says that in The Tempest. Why bother making up fake Shakespeare quotes (or sharing them) when there are so many fantastic real Shakespeare quotes to choose from? I post a Shakespeare quote image every day on my Facebook page - follow me to be sure to start your day with the best of the Bard!

Bonus:

Did you think that was Shakespeare? It is, and it isn't. Marlowe wrote this line in Hero and Leander, and Shakespeare was actually quoting Marlowe when Phebe says the line in As You Like It! Hero and Leander came out a year before As You Like It.

 

Wanna step up your Shakespeare game?

Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first lesson!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!