The Poem/Text/Discourse/whatever you like.

Some thoughts on the impact of Shakespeare on our language

If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me",
you are quoting Shakespeare;

if you claim to be more sinned against than
sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare;

if you recall your salad days, you are
quoting Shakespeare;

if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish
is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air,
you are quoting Shakespeare;

if you have ever refused to budge an inch or
suffered from green-eyed jealousy, of you have played fast and loose, if you
have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if
you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair
play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord
and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort
or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a
fool's paradise - why, be that as it may, the more fool you for it is a
foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting
Shakespeare;

if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage,
if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it,
if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it
involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom
because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one
fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if
the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are
quoting Shakespeare;

even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing,
if you wish I were dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a
laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded
or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord!
Tut, tut!
for goodness' sake!
what the dickens!
but me no buts - it is all one to me, for you are
quoting Shakespeare.

- Bernard Levin