Janice picked up a novelty highway sign recently, which tickled our funny bones enough to put it on our wall. Its meaning might not be immediately obvious, though it helps if you know your Shakespeare.
The sign is a “translation” of Shakespeare’s oddest and most famous stage direction, “Exit, pursued by a bear.”
This got me thinking if there were any other literary titles or quotes that lent themselves to this kind of treatment. I came up with a few I’d like to see so rendered:
No Exit (Jean-Paul Sartre)
These woods are lovely, dark and deep, / but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, / and miles to go before I sleep. (Robert Frost)
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, / I took the one less traveled by, / and that has made all the difference. (Robert Frost)
My way or the highway. (Anonymous)
The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. (Oscar Wilde)
Never yield to force. (Winston Churchill)
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. (Anonymous)
Too swift arrives too tardy as too slow. (Shakespeare)
The proverbial chicken, crossing the road
I can visualize signs for all of these…can you?
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS
CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN YOU GET TO IT