How Much Of A (Shakespeare) Geek Are You?

We’ve done the “You know you’re a Shakespeare geek when” schtick from time to time, but after last night I thought I’d spin it around.  Confession time, you tell us when you’re feeling your most geeky.

Last night I’m reading a “Magic Treehouse” book with my 7yr old daughter. It is no Lord of the Rings.  It’s a silly little book with short sentences and simple dialogue, about two kids who travel through time to the great areas of history and have adventures.  In this particular case they travel to 1600 England and meet William Shakespeare (turns out they actually get up on stage as fairies).  (To the book’s credit part of the plot involves the children rescuing a bear from the “bear gardens”, though it does not go into great detail about what bear-baiting was.)

While progressing through this simple little book (we are half way through) all I could think was stuff like, “Well, which fairies are they going to play?” and “What do you mean Puck is being played by a big fat guy?” and, mostly, “Do the lines, do some lines, please dear god I hope they get to do some lines….”  Because I swear if I get to hear “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows” come out of my kid I may fall down in an ecstatic fit on the spot.

…

This morning before getting dressed for school the kids were all watching an old “Pink Panther” cartoon on the Boomerang channel.  What their fascination is with 30+yr old cartoons is beyond me.  But the Inspector was running away from a monster, and the chief yelled “Cowards face a thousand deaths, the valiant taste of death but once!” at his fleeing back.

“Shakespeare,” I said.

“What?” they said.

“William Shakespeare said that first.  Julius Caesar.”

I know they have no idea what I’m talking about, but I can’t help myself.  I don’t post nearly half the times I spot such references. 

In Charlie Brown’s Valentine’s Day special there’s a segment where Snoopy sits atop his doghouse, typewriter at the ready, banging out love notes while Lucy criticizes.  At one point he writes something, tears off and hands it to her, and she reads, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”  Sitting in the dark family room on movie night I am the only one to throw my hands up in the air and yell “Woo!  Shakespeare!”

…

This morning at breakfast the 5 yr old said, out of the blue, “Daddy, I think you’re teaching us about Shakespeare.”

“Ya think?” I asked.

;)