Influence

A lot of people don’t realize just how many common, everyday expressions originated in my play Hamlet. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” for example. Or “What a piece of work is man.” Or, perhaps most famously, “Do you have these pants in a larger size?” I know what you’re thinking. “Seriously, that expression came from Hamlet?” But it’s true. Google it if you don’t believe me. Polonius says it in Act Two, Scene Three, during the big back-to-school shopping montage with Laertes. Before Hamlet, if you tried on pants and they didn’t fit, you were pretty much just screwed. That’s why when you look at old pictures, everybody’s pants are too small. If Hamlet is only remembered for one thing, I hope it’s the profound impact it’s had on pants.