A recent study by Match.com found that when people mention Shakespeare in their dating profiles, it boosts their chances of success, with men having a 27% greater chance of getting a reply from women! Is William such a great online wingman? It probably has more to do with what we tend to associate with him rather than his poetic verses (although those are hot, too).
- Fact: being literary is sexy. In the same study as above, almost one-third of women surveyed on Match.com called themselves ‘literary’. So, when we see a quote by Shakespeare on a guy’s profile, it immediately makes him attractive. FYI, books are sexy AF. Just the idea that this guy might have the grand master’s works on his bedside table is the ultimate turn-on.
- Shakespeare is Mr Romance himself. By taking a leaf out of the Bard’s romantic works, men come off as romantic, too. How could they not? Shakespeare’s works are the Bible of romance. Who could resist a quote like, “Hear my soul speak: the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service”? Just the fact that the guy mentions a Shakespearean quote makes us assume the he likes Shakespeare and is probably into long walks in the moonlight. Which he actually might not, of course. (Ah well, as Shakespeare himself said, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”)
- Quote Shakespeare and you’ll seem more intelligent. We tend to associate highly-literary quotes with intelligence, so if a guy has a quote by Shakespeare on his profile or mentions that his favorite book is The Tempest, we’ll probably assume he’s pretty smart. According to a study of Britons that was done to mark the sixth-season DVD release of The Big Bang Theory, the most popular method of faking intelligence is to talk about classic books even though you haven’t read them, with 62 percent of people surveyed having done that. Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that anyone can nick a Shakespeare quote online without ever opening one of his books.
- Throwing Shakespeare onto a dating profile hints at extra effort. Yeah, the guy probably did just pull a Shakespeare quote off Sparknotes, but we don’t really think that when we see it on his dating profile. Rather we think, “Ah, he made some effort to be appealing!” It instantly makes him more likeable and interesting, even though we know it might all be for show. At least he put more thought into his profile than most guys out there. (Guy with the profile bio that states “ask me and I’ll tell you,” we mean you.)
- It makes men stand out. When men quote from Shakespeare it immediately grabs our attention because it’s unique and different. And we’re desperate for something that isn’t the norm or boring. Creativity is probably the main appeal, then, not so much what’s being quoted. Sorry, Will.
- What’s in a name? Shakespeare asked. (A lot.) A study by researchers from the Queen Mary University of London found that men like it when women’s usernames on dating sites draw attention to their physical hotness. Women, on the other hand, are more into seeing words like “cultured” in men’s usernames. The search for cultured men isn’t just limited to usernames, though. If a guy mentions Shakespeare in his profile, we’re going to assume he’s all about high-brow activities. Are we that wrong to assume that such a guy is more likely to take us to the ballet than “PartyGuy69”? No.
- You quote Shakespeare? You must be sensitive. (Swoon!)Â We’ve been trying to get guys to be more in tune with their feelings for ages, so if a man on a dating site quotes Shakespeare, this immediately gives us the impression that he’s sensitive. You’d be hard-pressed to find a man quoting The Bard in the locker room with other guys (unless he’d like to be beaten up) but when he does it in front of a woman he’s trying to impress, it’s sweet and attractive. Referring to Shakespeare on a dating profile is therefore a clever way to head to the front of the Tinder queue. As women we’ll be chuffed that we’re in the company of a sensitive guy, perhaps even entertaining fantasies that he’ll write us poetry of his own, or at least compare us to a summer’s day and all that good stuff.
