Dost thou even hoist, bro? Shakespeare’s birthday in memes

23 Apr 2014

If famous writer and playwright William Shakespeare were alive today he would be the ripe old age of 398. On the anniversary of his birth, what better way to celebrate the bard than through memes that butcher his works?

Besides being known for making the study of English literature a nightmare for students up and down the country, the great ‘Bard of Avon’ is one of the world’s most well-known writers.

Even to this day, more than 400 of his works have received big-screen adaptations either through schmaltzy reworkings that resemble nothing of the original play – such as Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio – or modern adaptations spoken in Shakespeare’s English, such as 2012’s Coriolanus.

Shakespeare is so well known to people of all ages that he has inspired a huge collection of memes. Behold a few:

Swag

Swag

Sonnets

Words

Others, meanwhile, tap into the frustration of students who struggle to learn lines off rote, such as “Nothing can come of nothing.”

Y u no?

Everybody dies

Sorrow

Even animals re-enact some of the most dramatic parts in Shakespeare’s plays (bonus points to whoever knows which play this is from).

Sloth

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com