Although it is almost 400 years since he ‘shuffled off this mortal coil’, Shakespeare's observations are as fresh today as ever. Here are some of his thoughts applied to today’s America
Shakespeare on:
Republican Politicians
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” — As You Like It
“Who knows himself a braggart, let him fear this, for it will come to pass that every braggart shall be found an ass.” — All’s Well That Ends Well
“God hath given you one face, and you make yourself another.” — Hamlet
“Some rise by sin, and some by virtues fall.” — Measure for Measure
“In thy foul throat thou liest.” — Richard III
“There's no trust, No faith, no honesty in men; all perjured, All forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers.” — Romeo & Juliet
“One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.” — Hamlet
“The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.” — Hamlet
”I understand a fury in your words. But not the words.” — Othello
Republican politics
“Tis the times' plague, when madmen lead the blind.” — King Lear
“What a terrible era in which idiots govern the blind.” — Julius Caesar
“Nothing can come of nothing.” — King Lear
Republican healthcare plan
“The miserable have no other medicine, But only hope:
I have hope to live, and am prepared to die.” — Measure for Measure
An affordable, substantive, universal Republican healthcare plan
“Now I will believe that there are unicorns...” — The Tempest
Republican primaries
“There's small choice in rotten apples.” — The Taming of the Shrew
Contributing to a Republican
“Do not spread the compost on the weeds.” — Hamlet
The conservative mind
“In time we hate that which we often fear.” — Antony and Cleopatra
Listening to a conservative
“More of your conversation would infect my brain.” — Coriolanus
Draft-dodgers who mock the military
“He jests at scars that never felt a wound.” — Romeo & Juliet
Whiny draft-dodgers
“I am a man more sinned against than sinning” — King Lear
Trump properties
”All that glisters is not gold” — The Merchant of Venice
Lindsey Graham
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” — Hamlet
Marjorie Taylor Greene
“Dispute not with her: she is lunatic.” — Richard III
Mrs. Jerry Falwell Jr.
“I am one that lov'd not wisely but too well.” — Othello
Dinner at a Pompeo State Dept soirée
“I have supped full with horrors.” — Macbeth
Religious charlatans
“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” — Merchant of Venice
The Bible Belt
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” — The Tempest
A preacher who has been busted
“Give me my sin again.” — Romeo & Juliet
Chuck Grassley
“Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.” — King Lear
Rush Limbaugh
“Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it.” — Macbeth
Liberal women
“I see a woman may be made a fool,
If she had not a spirit to resist.” — The Taming of the Shrew
Greta Thunberg
“Though she be but little, she is fierce!” — A Midsummer Night's Dream
Betty White
“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety” — Antony & Cleopatra
Seattle
“The rain, it raineth every day.” — King Lear
Parenting
“How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is To have a thankless child!” — King Lear
General good advice
“Have more than you show,
Speak less than you know.” — King Lear