# cliche: random shakespeare/bible quotation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558 "2006-06-28T22:37:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/1 "2006-06-28T22:37:22Z")
I’ve seen this a lot in different tv shows and movies and it always strikes me as odd: a character in dialogue with the protagonists chooses to randomly quote a Shakespeare play or a verse from the bible, a quote that is often followed by the protagonist not only recognizing the quote but also continuing it with painstaking accuracy. Now, I may just not be the kind of person to memorize passages like this, but I wouldn’t learn a quote by heart unless it was really something I was obsessively interested in. I might read Macbeth, but I certainly wouldn’t learn to recognize every single piece of text from it like it was the back of my hand. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/2 "2006-06-28T22:43:51Z")
Keep in mind that there are a lot of people who **are** obsessively interested in Shakespeare and the Bible. When I was a teenager, I was so Shakespeare-crazy that I knew every word of my two favorite plays, _Hamlet_ and _Richard III_. I didn’t sit down intending to memorize them; it just happened. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/3 "2006-06-28T22:46:49Z")
_He who so remembereth is forever thought to be most amongst conceit._ -Complacence 1:11 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/4 "2006-06-28T22:49:38Z")
On top of that, they rarely quote _King John_, for instance. The quote is usually from a well-known play, or a reasonably well-known line from an obscure play. Nobody, but nobody reads, watches, or memorizes _Henry VI, Part 2_, but most can complete the following quote: **Cade:** _There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny; the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it a felony to drink small beer. All the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to pass. And when I am king – as king I will be – there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord._ **Dick:** ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/5 "2006-06-28T22:57:02Z")
I remember some sitcom where some self-satisfied girl was going on about the “Let’s kill all the lawyers quote,” whereupon an adult pointed out that she had taken the quote completely out of context and, in fact, ran opposite to the point she wanted to make. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/6 "2006-06-28T22:58:37Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nobody, but nobody reads, watches, or memorizes _Henry VI, Part 2…_ I wouldn’t be so sure of that. As I mentioned above, I was a huge Shakespeare buff when I was young. In the early 1960s, a television series called _An Age of Kings_, which consisted of several the English history plays, caught my interest, and even the _Henry VI_ plays stuck in my mind. This was several years before _Star Trek_ entered my life, and a new obsession arose. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/7 "2006-06-28T23:08:02Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > On top of that, they rarely quote _King John_, for instance. The quote is usually from a well-known play, or a reasonably well-known line from an obscure play. Nobody, but nobody reads, watches, or memorizes _Henry VI, Part 2_, but most can complete the following quote: > > **Cade:** _There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny; the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it a felony to drink small beer. All the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to pass. And when I am king – as king I will be – there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord._ > > **Dick:** The first thing we do is killl all the lawyers. As to the OP, my favorite of this came from The West Wing. An obnoxis but popular radio hostess who frequently quotes the bible to taunt gays gets her ass handed to her by President Bartlet. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/8 "2006-06-28T23:43:35Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > On top of that, they rarely quote _King John_, for instance. Well: > [@William Shakespeare](#): > > To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, > To throw a perfume on the violet, > To smooth the ice, or add another hue > Unto the rainbow, or with taper light > To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish, > Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. (Act 4, Sc. 2) > [@William Shakespeare](#): > > This England never did, nor never shall, > Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, > But when it first did help to wound itself. > Now these her princes are come home again, > Come the three corners of the world in arms, > And we shall shock them: nought shall make us rue, > If England to itself do rest but true. (Act 5 Sc. 7) ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/9 "2006-06-28T23:46:59Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > As to the OP, my favorite of this came from The West Wing. An obnoxis but popular radio hostess who frequently quotes the bible to taunt gays gets her ass handed to her by President Bartlet. Using something he clearly got from an e-mail forward. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/10 "2006-06-29T00:34:08Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nobody, but nobody reads, watches, or memorizes _Henry VI, Part 2_ I beg your pardon! 🙂 The _Henry VI_s are my favorite of Shakespeare’s histories – I wish they were produced more often! Margaret of Anjou is one of the all-time greats, and there’s fantastic monologues from nearly everyone in the cast. Murder! Intrigue! Adultery! The French! Mini-Richard III! What’s not to love? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/11 "2006-06-29T00:42:14Z")
Figures. Say that anywhere else, and you’ll get complete agreement or blank looks. Here, every third posters not only knows swaths of _Henry VI_ and _King John_ by heart, but they can discuss it critically. :smack: How about _Love’s Labours Won_? Anybody read **that** one? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/12 "2006-06-29T00:56:06Z")
I have a supervisor who goes all damp around the edges when I declaim the “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/13 "2006-06-29T01:16:10Z")
No, some people really do this. I do it, my friends do it. Not that I expect it’s the norm, or anything, but we know Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/14 "2006-06-29T01:23:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > How about _Love’s Labours Won_? Anybody read **that** one? 😛 Not as good as _Cardenio_, IMO. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/15 "2006-06-29T01:24:25Z")
…although I do have a pet theory that “Love’s Labour’s Won” is actually a popular title for “Much Ado About Nothing,” based on chronology and that damned bookseller’s inventory list. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/16 "2006-06-29T02:53:11Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > This England never did, nor never shall, > Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror Guess he forgot about 1066. When Star Wars came out I was 12. I memorized the entire soundtrack and would recite it to myself every night as I was falling asleep. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/17 "2006-06-29T03:28:57Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > How about _Love’s Labours Won_? Anybody read **that** one? 😛 That’s the George Lucas remake, isn’t it? With all the unpleasant parts digitially altered? ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/18 "2006-06-29T08:32:12Z")
> [@ErinPuff](#): > > Using something he clearly got from an e-mail forward. 😉 Or maybe… he sent the email. President Bartlett totally roxxors. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/19 "2006-06-29T10:52:39Z")
I had to learn the “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” soliloquy from macbeth by heart for school- other than that, I tend not to know things by heart. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558/20 "2006-06-29T14:11:56Z")
Rather scary admission from a doctor, that. See, my dad’s a family doctor, and he’s noted that a lot of med school (at least when he attended back in the early '70s) is a lot of rote memorization. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-random-shakespeare-bible-quotation/362558.md?page=2)