24. Was Shakespeare actually to thank for lovers ‘wearing their hearts on their sleeves’?
However, some Shakespeare scholars credit the Bard with giving us the expression ‘to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve’. And why not? The playwright made numerous contributions to the English language, including several notable romantic terms. In his 1603 play Othello, Shakespeare has Iago confess to being a traitor. The play’s villain says that by “wearing my heart upon my sleeve“, he is showing his true intentions, and inviting black birds to peck away at him. Over the years, supporters of this argument maintain, the phrase has gained a more romantic meaning.
