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Bard Libs: Silly Shakespearean Word Games for OU's Wordsmiths

Bard Libs: Silly Shakespearean Word Games for OU's Wordsmiths

Shakespeare's First Folio is on its way to OU. Ring in its arrival by filling out your own mad lib-style "Bard Lib."

Who doesn't love being a little silly sometimes? 

William Shakespeare certainly didn't shy away from humor, what with that whole "Mine eyes smell onions" line ("All's Well that Ends Well") or when he unleashed this vivid insult: "You, minion, are too saucy" ("The Two Gentlemen of Verona"). 

It's almost as if his works were made for mad libs. (Keyword: almost.)

Let loose and plug your favorite words into these Shakespearean-inspired word games below. Or, if you're a Shakespearean scholar, test your knowledge and see how close to the actual sonnets you can get. 

Either way, have some fun.

When you're done LOL-ing over your cleverness, mark your calendars for the arrival of Shakespeare's First Folio to OU. The First Folio is the first complete collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, published in 1623, seven years after his death. Compiled by two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors, it preserves 36 of Shakespeare’s plays.

Without it, we would not have 18 of those plays, including "Macbeth," "Julius Caesar," "Twelfth Night," "The Tempest" and "Antony and Cleopatra." (In case you didn't pick up on it: It's a pretty big deal.)

It all kicks off in mid-January. Check out the University of Oklahoma's College of Arts & Sciences First Folio page to learn more about the specific events happening that month.

And if you're looking for more content to feed your Shakespeare fix (hey, we all have our vices), check out these First Folio-inspired Q&As, stories and more:


Bard Libs - Sonnet 18 (PDF).

When you're done, see what Sonnet 18 really looked like when Shakespeare penned it.