jai said...
In Grad school, my main claim to fame was surviving endless Shakespeare classes. Not only that, I impressed the over-enthusiastic proffessors by attending numerous Shakespeare plays, festivals,and discussions without being physically ejected.
I survived Shakespeare by exercising my own personal superpower. You see, I have the unique ability to sleep with eyes wide open while faking great enthusiasm. While soundly sleeping, I can nod in agreement with some professor who whispers incomprehensible observations about the vagaries of the unintelligible dialogue. And upon arising from a delightful nap, I can endlessly discuss a totally indecipherable sixteenth century monologue while faking infinite understanding.
Ya' gotta' admire old Will though. He certainly exploited his every life experience.
First off, he apparently took advantage of a bunch of drunk lawyers to develop stories for his plays. That alone brings tears to the eyes of anyone who has ever encountered the intricacies of the American legal system.
Secondly, he ridiculed Royalty onstage in front of an admiring audience without losing his head (literally) or his funding. Royalty apparently not only attended, they helped fund his theater -- (disclaimer) Do not try this at home. Your local Arts agency will not appreciate your wit and if they do not remove your head, they may sever a more important appendage. ... Your funding.
He even exploited being charged with poaching a deer in a city park by using the deer image in a play or two. I tried to use the image of a fly I swatted once, but... Well, let's just say it didn't work onstage.
And not only that, Will reared twins. Now that's an accomplishment in itself. But Will was smart enough to take advantage of the calamity by creating comedic moments and whole comedies about mixed identities. And I'm here to tell ya' writing a comedy or even imagining anything comedic while changing double diapers on TWO screaming babies ain't easy.
That and the fact that he left his wife his second best bed is the entirety of everything I learned while sleeping through Shakespeare.
I think I might enjoy his plays a lot more if the actors would only speak ENGLISH!
