Allusions to Shakespeare in Modern Movies, Books...

I can't add any new ones, but in the event that it comes up in discussion, "Ran" is based on "King Lear" rather than "Macbeth", with three sons fighting over the division of the realm.

THANK you Flyboy!!! You are, of course, perfectly correct!!! Yikes...

In The Mikado, Nanki Poo sings a song that begins, "A wandering minstrel I, a thing of shreds and patches". That line is obviously a play on Hamlet's description of Claudius as "a king of shreds and patches" (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4). I know Gilbert and Sullivan aren't exactly modern, but the song is sung in Topsy Turvy (Mike Leigh's 1999 movie about G&S), so maybe you could bring it in that way.

Hemingway picked on the Bard from time to time. For example, the title of his short story "In Another Country" is pulled from a line in King Lear. There are probably others, but that's forcing me to think!

When Lash first posed this question it was hard to think of anything left uninfluenced by the Bard's writing. We even use his phrases in our every day language without out hesitation.

Joanne:

Does the adjective "Puckish" have anything to do with the character from "Midsummer Nights Dream"?

The Sound and the Fury is the most exsquisite example, i think, in that the story literally is "a tale told by an idiot," and that Faulkner was saying that it was a tale "signifying nothing."

The movies have liberally borrowed from the Bard as well, and, as usual, Hamlet gets the lion's share of references, as in Outrageous Fortune and What Dreams May Come . . . that old Bard (or, Francis Bacon, if you subscribe to that theory) has proven to be a very useful fellow . . .

Neoguin - yes

"All the world's a stage (As You Like It); Bated breath (The Merchant of Venice); The better part of valor is discretion. (Henry I Part One); Breathe one's last (Henry VT, Part One); Brevity is the soul of wit (Hamlet); Budge an inch (The Taming of the Shrew); Caviar to the general (Hamlet); He hath eaten me out of house and home (Henry IV Part Two); Fair play (King John); Flaming youth (Hamlet); For goodness' sake (Henry VIII); Foregone conclusion (Othello); Full circle (King Lear); Good riddance (Troilus and Cressida); The green‑eyed monster (Othello); In my heart of hearts (Hamlet); Household words (Henry V); An itching palm (Julius Caesar); Knock, knock: Who's there? (Macbeth); Master of their fates (Julius Caesar); The milk of human kindness (Macbeth);

In my mind's eye (Hamlet); The play's the thing (Hamlet); A sorry sight (Macbeth); A spotless reputation (Richard II); Strange bedfellows (The Tempest); Sweets to the Sweet (Hamlet); Too much of a good thing (As You Like It); A tower of strength (Richard III); Vale of tears (Othello); What the Dickens (The Merry Wives of Windsor); Wild‑goose chase (Romeo and Juliet)."

by Henry I. Christ (Writer's Showcase, 2002)

(This column first appeared in the November 7, 2002 issue of ArtVoice of Buffalo.)

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~insrisg/bookmarks/bk02/1107shakespeare.htm

And who can forget the Keystone Cops - based on Much Ado About Nothing.

The movie Withnail and I closes with a very good out-of-but-sort-of-in-context recitation of the "What a piece of work is man" speech. Hysterical movie, by the way, or boring as all hell, depending on your sense of humor.

The Screenplay
Buy the DVD!

I have just catalogued a movie '10 things I hate about you'. Nothing more than a re-telling of 'The taming of the shrew'.

Love your new avatar, Mr. Stillwater!

Many thanks MA! However, I must note the distressing habit of another guide to now refer to me as 'Snaggletooth'! I find this demeaning (if not defanging) - revenge WILL be mine!

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I have more or less the same assignment--to look for Shakesperian allusions in books, movies, comic strips, etc.--but my teacher wants us to have either direct quotes or extremely close variations (so that they resemble the original). Also, I'm not terribly well-versed in Shakespeare, so some allusions or quotes that may be obvious to others probably aren't to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

you could go the smartass route and say you found one in a river. there was a whirlpool there that was clearly referential to the standing whirlpool underneath the footbridge in avon that some believe proves shakespeare's authenticity, as there is (they claim) abundant whirlpool imagery in his sonnets and plays.

but such a teacher as would make such patent busy-work a compulsory assignment probably wouldn't appreciate that answer...

those wacky rivers and their literary allusions...

Patiodog--I loved "Withnail and I"! Saw it again not too many years ago and loved it as much. I thought Withnail's recitation of Shakespeare at the end was rather touching, as the rain dripped down on him and he knew an era of some happiness had just ended...

heroine: check out some of the posts above. There are quite a few allusions mentioned, especially in book titles and in movies. And welcome to Able2know!