--- description: Many phrases the English playwright coined have stood the test of time—some 400 years after his death. title: How Shakespeare Changed the Way We Speak English image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd74ea1ebaf266df/69888dee428a9e3e8fcd2188/william-shakespeare-portrait.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Shakespeare Changed the Way We Speak English ## Video: Prince Charles Recites Shakespeare to Honor Queen's 90th Birthday [Watch (HLS stream): Prince Charles Recites Shakespeare to Honor Queen's 90th Birthday](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GcmgFmMe.m3u8) (0:43)  _Published 2016-04-21. A tribute to William Shakespeare and the Queen_ by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 22, 2016 1:10 PM CUT  English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. English playwright and poet William Shakespeare.Stock Montage/Getty Images by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 22, 2016 1:10 PM CUT William Shakespeare had a way with words that helped shape the way we now speak English. The 400th anniversary of his death, on April 23, 2016 is approaching Saturday and the English playwright’s impact on common speech can still be heard today. Many of the phrases he coined are used by those who haven’t even read his works. The line “all that glitters is not gold,” for instance, is Shakespearean, coming from the 1596 play _The Merchant of Venice_. Some phrases are clearly attributable to Shakespearean drama, like the famous “all the world’s a stage…” or the infamous line from _Julias Caesar_ “friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” Others, however, can slip in and out of daily conversation without much thought, like “good riddance,” “a sorry sight,” or “in a pickle.” English was still being standardized when Shakespeare wrote his plays, so many of his phrases became a part of the lexicon, standing the test of time. Other phrases include: “As pure as the driven snow” from The Winter’s Tale “Fight fire with fire” from King John “There’s method in my madness” from Hamlet [Read more here](http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/phrases-sayings-shakespeare.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4304578/shakespeare-english-langugae-400th-anniversary-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4304578/shakespeare-english-langugae-400th-anniversary-death/"},"headline":"How Shakespeare Changed the Way We Speak English","datePublished":"2016-04-22T13:10:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:57:46.802Z","description":"Many phrases the English playwright coined have stood the test of time—some 400 years after his death","url":"https://time.com/4304578/shakespeare-english-langugae-400th-anniversary-death/","keywords":["Speech","English","Shakespeare"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd74ea1ebaf266df/69888dee428a9e3e8fcd2188/william-shakespeare-portrait.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd74ea1ebaf266df/69888dee428a9e3e8fcd2188/william-shakespeare-portrait.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"William Shakespeare","caption":"English playwright and poet William Shakespeare.","creditText":"Stock Montage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4304578/shakespeare-english-langugae-400th-anniversary-death/","name":"How Shakespeare Changed the Way We Speak English"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Prince Charles Recites Shakespeare to Honor Queen's 90th Birthday","description":"A tribute to William Shakespeare and the Queen","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/GcmgFmMe/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-04-21T16:40:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GcmgFmMe.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4304578/shakespeare-english-langugae-400th-anniversary-death/","duration":"PT43S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4304578/shakespeare-english-langugae-400th-anniversary-death/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```