I am not ashamed. Or should I say ABshamed! ...That was bad.

Guess what everyone!

Shirtless Shakespeare is an awesome thing that happened.  Thank you, electricalice.tumblr.com and amarguerite.tumblr.com for allowing us to live in a world where these exist.

Pretty sure my shame gland is broken, and that is why I am sharing this.  In other news, Thursday is my graduation ceremony, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to post something or not.  I certainly hope so!  But we'll see how busy it gets.   In other words, yes, there is a strong chance that this is what I am leaving you with for a whole week.

I will endeavor to be more scholarly next time maybe.

Shakespeare and Brooklyn Nine-Nine

'Sup!

So, it makes me overly happy when there's a reference to Shakespeare in a current show I like - and it's something that happens a lot more than people realize, I think.  Mostly because not everyone is going to recognize everything that is a nod to the Bard of Avon, seeing that not everyone studies his plays.

How did this weird train of thought come about?  Well, I was watching Madam Secretary the other night with my parents and Tea Leoni said, "The play's the thing," and I went, "Oh snap!" Then my mother looked at me like I was a crazy person.

But that's a line from Hamlet, guys!  "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." Hamlet wants to be sure the ghost didn't lie to him, so our favorite Dane stages a play about the exact thing his ghost dad said Claudius did to see if he can get a reaction from Claudius.  Guess what: he totally get a reaction!*

Anyway, the saying was used in the show to invoke the idea of setting a trap for someone. Thrilling, huh?

Thus inspired, I decided to take one of my favorite shows and chronicle the Shakespeare references.  I am currently very into Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Fox; it's on its second season, and already there are three whole Shakespeare references.

Let's list them!

Captain Holt: How did you get everyone to help you?
Jake Peralta: I appealed to their sense of teamwork and camaraderie with a rousing speech that would put Shakespeare to shame.
(Flashback to speech. Jake talking in a bad Scottish accent) For too long, we've been put down, ridiculed, made to wear ties! But no more! For today, we defeat him!
Captain Holt: And that worked?
Jake Peralta: No.






Jake Peralta: I guess that's your new best friend now, Santiago.  Emphasis on "iago," backstabber.
Amy Santiago: I'm surprised you've read Othello.
Jake Peralta: What the hell's Othello? I'm calling you the parrot from Aladdin.

(Charles Boyle comes in for a Halloween costume contest dressed as Hamlet to get people's opinions)
Charles Boyle: To be or not to be-
Rosa Diaz: Not to be.
Charles Boyle: Thank you (leaves and changes)





Stay tuned!  I bet there will be more at this rate!  Is there a show you love that might reference the bard?  Also, are there any in B99 that I've missed?  If you too are a Shakespeare buff and somehow also love Brooklyn Nine-Nine, then you are required by law to tell me so that we can be friends.

Fun picture from the show.  Maybe you should watch it on account of how awesome it is.

*That's up to interpretation.  Like everything else in the written world.

You have to call me 'Master' now, right?

Hey everyone!  I must apologize to my MILLIONS of followers for the lack of updates this past week.  I was on vacation!  I was in Hot-lanta and hear you me, it was a blast.

In even more awesomer news (what?) I defended my thesis today!  Yes, you heard right.  This humble blog is totes legit now as it is now officially written by a MASTER OF ARTS.  You may applaud for as long as you like.

What was my capstone about?  I'm so glad you asked! It's titled,

 The Body-Politic in Pieces:

Reflections of the English Succession Crisis through Disjointed Body Parts 

in Titus Andronicus, Othello, and King Lear

The basic idea is that Elizabeth’s death, the uncertainty around her succession, and the fears surrounding James’ ability to rule England inform Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, Othello and King Lear. Shakespeare comments on this political climate through the specific examples of body parts betraying themselves – depicting the state of chaos in his tragedies as a corporeal disquiet.

Suuper impressive, right? Yeah, maybe.  I've been awake since 6:00 am with nerves, and then I used up all of my smarts in one intense half hour.  What a rush!

Anyway, fun highlight from Hot-lanta, I found this great magazine with a big article on the front called "The Body-Politic" and got really excited.  Turns out the article is about strippers, so.... that happened.  

But on page four, there was another article about the Ferguson riots and the title was, "More than Sound and Fury," which, as we've discussed here, is a Shakespeare reference from Macbeth!  How thrilling, to find a body-politic reference AND a Shakespeare reference in the same paper.  Boom, my thesis is confirmed.

Okay, okay, they are completely uncorrelated, of course, but how about shut up I am a MASTER so let's not talk about that.

Let Shakespeare Write Your Greeting Card

Greeting and good morrow!

So I have been thinking about the holidays, because IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN, and I have come to the conclusion that if we, as a culture, have agreed that there is no better way to show your affections to your loved ones in cards than with words written by other people, then those words should be Shakespeare's, by golly!

Jokes aside, in case you don't know this about me, I just love receiving and sending greeting cards - especially long-distance ones.  I think that in a time of increased casual communication, the extra effort goes a long way.

So I've picked out a few of my favorite cards that feature the Bard.  You can buy them, be inspired by them, or just smile and move along.  The choice is yours!

Personal fav: Holiday Hooch!

Anniversary or Valentine's

Friend's Birthday

Thank You Card

Hope you liked these.  There will probably be more in the future.  And yes, today's post was short.  But I am hella sick, and all I wanna do is dance sleep.

I'm Bardcore

Hello y'all, and happy Thursday,

Remember how I showed you a bunch of Shakespeare t-shirts that were awesome?  Of course you do, they were the best shirts you've ever seen.

Well now I've gone and found another one.  And between you and me, it won't be long before I buy this one too.  I need it.  Hella badly.

Is that the best or is that the best?  You too can get one here!

That's my only plug for today.  I promise there is no money to be had in pushing these things.  Like, none at all.  Negative moneys, even.  I am just trying to fill the streets with more people in Shakespeare swag, for my own purposes.  

Just buy it, okay! It's good for you.

Sidebar: Ever since my last t-shirt post, my boyfriend has been saying "come hither my nither" to me constantly.  So there's that.

Star Wars and Shakespeare

Tidings unto you dudes,

Late post is late.  But still Monday, so woo!  I am here to tell you that there is this thing out there called William Shakespeare's Star Wars.

Oh yes.

Ever wonder what it would have been like if William Shakespeare wrote the original Star Wars trilogy? Do you find yourself drifting off during the original, imagining a better way?  Is your life a bit like this:

"Hey baby, whatcha thinkin' about?"
"Just what it would be like if Willie Shakespeare had written 'A New Hope.'"
"...Again? Do you ever have any other thoughts, or...?"

Well wonder no more! Ian Doescher has written the entire original trilogy as if it were written 400 years ago by William Shakespeare himself.   Experience the glory below:

I marvel at the way people chose to spend their time.  Here is an excerpt:

I know what you're thinking: "shut up and take my money already."  Okay, well you can buy it here.  This is the book you're looking for.

So long for now, dear readers.  With thou mayeth the force be!

Shakespeare and Pop Culture

Okay so,

I am a day late (!!!!), which is not really like me.  But in my defense, I audibly gasped and nearly dropped my plate of dinner last night when I realized I hadn't actually posted this yet.  Thank GOODNESS there was no one there to rush over and say, "OH MY HEAVENS, WHAT'S WRONG?!" Because "I forgot to post in my Shakespeare blog today" would have been met with... sarcasm. Yeah, let's go with sarcasm.

So my profoundest of apologies, dearest readers, as I know you await these posts with avid anticipation.

Let's continue, shall we?

This is another tumblr post, where I share gems of funny Shakespeare conversations I've found on tumblr.  I  get so excited when I see Shakespeare referenced in pop culture today, especially with regard to new memes or sayings that are popular.

And as a pretext, I want to say that I know that humor is much like a frog: you can dissect it, but it will die in the process.  With that in mind, I don't want to belabor where these references come from, but I do want to provide some context for two hella important reasons:

1. Maybe not everyone spends as much time on the internet as me and doesn't get them.
2. In 3 years, there's a strong chance that I won't even remember what these jokes were referrencing.
3. In scholarly work (such as this blog), it's important to provide context and clarity.
4. For your very own pop culture edification?

That looks like four reasons.  Turns out I can't count.

Anyway, if you get them, cool.  Ignore the little explanation link.  If not, then you're welcome maybe?

Okay, I'm going to stop pre-apologizing/excusing what I do on this blog and just get on with it.

Yeah.

From Pitbull and Ke$ha's song, "It's going down"

"I came out to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now" meme.

"You had one job" meme.

TV show "30 Rock" episode and ongoing joke.

"Bitch I might be" meme.

Hope you enjoyed!  I just love it when the youths talk about Shakespeare!