If you know someone who can find a Shakespeare quote for every situation, enjoys throwing around Shakespeare insults or thinks themselves the next Shakespearean playwright then this gift guide is for you. The following are my top ten Shakespeare inspired gifts found online that are fun to give to any Shakespeare lover.
I love a website I found called the Unemployed Philosophers Guild because of all the unique gifts they offer. The super witty Shakespearean quoter needs to keep his material fresh and what can be better than an After Shakespeare Mint to do that! The Unemployed Philosophers Guild sells my top ten gift, metal tins of After Shakespeare wintergreen mints, the tins have Shakespeare’s portrait on the lid and only cost three dollars each.
Anyone who loves Shakespeare’s work is familiar with his witty and clever insults sometimes being more familiar to the public than any of his other poetic lines. Many of my favorite Shakespeare quotes include his clever out of the side of your mouth insults. My top nine Shakespeare gift is a set of Shakespeare Insult Magnets from the Globe Shop. A friend brought me back a set from her trip and it includes 33 cut magnets in bright colors each with its own Shakespearean insult.
If you have a friend who still believes himself to be the next Shakespeare playwright why not humor him and supply him with the right tools for the job. My top eight Shakespeare gift can be found on the Shakespeare Den website where they sell a wide collection of Quill Pens. My favorite is the Ostrich Plume set but the Pheasant and Peacock quills are also great writing tools to pen any script with.
If your Shakespeare lover likes to pen more humble works such as his or her own life story then they will love my top seven Shakespeare gift. I found the neatest Shakespeare journal online at the Library Shop that is illustrated and includes quotes. The 128 page journal comes with 10 full color reproductions from the collection of the Library of Congress and 28 quotations from plays and sonnets are scripted on the pages of the journal. Best part the journal is under $20.
My number six Shakespeare gift is not only functional but also very clever. The cool Shakespeare watch that the Unemployed Philosophers Guild sells has Shakespeare’s portrait on the face of the timepiece and the words “O time, thou must untangle this, not I, it is too hard a knot for me t’ untie” spinning around the outside edge of the watch.
What is better than introducing new readers to the wonderful words of Shakespeare. If your Shakespeare lover has children why not give them a gift they can use to share their love for Shakespeare with their children. My number five gift is a set of books that is made up of two volumes of extremely well done Shakespearean plays for children called Bravo! M. William Shakespeare. Each volume is illustrated and includes seven of the best known of Shakespeare’s works. They are available from The Globe.
For those who have a love for Shakespeare and also a love of art Thomas Keene makes a great collection of Shakespeare Prints. The prints can be found at the Shakespeare Den and at only $15 each you can purchase a couple of my number four gift so the recipient can decorate an entire wall.
I’m sure the person you are shopping for has an entire set of all Shakespeare’s plays or at least his favorites in their collection. The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare Recordings of 38 plays is the perfect gift to bring the plays in their favorite books to life. The number three gift on my list has all 38 plays on 90 Audio CDs and is available from the Library Shop at the New York Public Library.
The last two gifts are at the top of my list because I think every Shakespeare lover should own each of these. The number two gift on my list is a Shakespeare Songbook from Shakespeare’s Den that includes 160 songs. The songs are scripted using the words of Shakespeare and include ballads, love songs, drinking songs, and rounds. Included with the songbook is a CD with 81 tracks. The number one gift for Shakespeare lovers is a CD titled Shall I Compare Thee? from Chicago a cappella. I attended the concert Chicago a cappella had in Pay of 2006 in which they sang the songs in this album and it was an amazing concert. The diversity and range of music the group performs is one of the best I’ve heard and their talent is unmatched. This CD has 7 premier works written especially for the group. A must for everyone to hear.
