30 Days of Shakespeare, Day 17: Oh Gods! I Left Out One Thing

A slightly obscure 30 Days of Shakespeare pick today, because for some reason Cymbeline is not performed particularly frequently. If you haven’t seen it, you’ll just have to take my word that this is one of the funniest lines in all of Shakespeare.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen Cymbeline live twice, and both times this line brought down the house. I can’t get enough of it.

GTB Play Page Updates: Comedy, Cymbeline... Edward III??

Some more play page updates for you today! I was surprised by relatively how many comics I’ve actually drawn about Cymbeline, and was also surprised by how few comics I’ve drawn about Comedy. The number of Edward III comics, meanwhile was exactly what I expected.

Spot the Rogue Plot Element (Cymbeline Edition)

I occasionally get asked what is my favorite play. This is, of course, an almost impossible question for me to answer, but I must declare primary allegiance to the history plays, which first ignited my passion for Shakespeare and thus will always occupy the first chapter of my heart (with the exception of Henry VIII, which is, in all honesty, kind of boring.)

However, one play that I am inordinately fond of that often gets overlooked is Cymbeline. If you've never heard of Cymbeline, don't worry. You're not alone. It is one of the most obscure Shakespeare plays and is very rarely performed. This is a pity, as it is, essentially, a "Best Of" compilation of all of Shakespeare's greatest cliches and dramatic tropes. Here, take this quick quiz and see how you do:

There are more ludicrous plot elements that I had to leave out for time's sake, but you get the general idea. Cymbeline is not really a comedy, but is definitely not a tragedy. It's more of a riotous melodrama, and its final scene is probably my favorite single scene in all of Shakespeare. 

No, there aren't any dinosaurs in Cymbeline. However, I am sure that if Shakespeare had known about dinosaurs, he would have figured out how to squeeze in one or two of them.

There also aren't any drug-dealing biker gangs in Cymbeline, but don't tell Ethan Hawke that. 

Premature Burial

So, this is a recurring issue in the Shakespearean canon:

I know Elizabethan medicine wasn't exactly state-of-the-art, but I'm constantly appalled at how readily people jump to conclusion of "Oh no, she's dead, let's dump the body somewhere" after someone falls over. Then again, these are the same people who say "You know, it's remarkable how you, a boy, look exactly like a girl, but are, in fact, totally a boy".

What I'm saying is that Shakespeare's characters are criminally unobservant. That's what I'm saying. 

Ira Glass and the History of Shakespearean Criticism

So, as everyone knows, earlier this week NPR radio star Ira Glass ignited a firestorm by daring to voice his opinion about Shakespeare, writing the following tweets:

Unsurprisingly, the pro-Shakespeare crowd has been having a field day with this. As the world's leading (i.e. probably the world's the only) Shakesperean webcomic blogger, I feel obliged to address the matter. So here...

It's like chocolate. Some people don't like chocolate - I think they're crazy, and they don't know what they're missing, but I'm certainly not going to argue with them about it. It's a personal thing. People have been busy disliking Shakespeare for centuries, but Shakespeare is still here. And so is chocolate. I happen to think the world is a better place because both of those things exist, but people are free to disagree with me. 

Basically, my only quarrel with Mr. Glass is the utterly pedestrian terms he uses to attack Shakespeare. "Shakespeare sucks" is such a bland and banal statement when compared to George Bernard Shaw's devastating "it would positively be a relief to me to dig [Shakespeare] up and throw stones at him." If you're going to criticize Shakespeare, do it emphatically and with some flair.