It’s (allegedly, possibly, vaguely) Shakespeare’s birthday!
I hate living through times that would make a good history play.
Shakespearean Six-Sevens
Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night! 6-7 the meme, too famous to live long.
Today’s comic is dedicated to all theatre and classroom educators who have weathered the last year of unrelenting 6-7s with grace, patience, and probably just a little bit of murder in their hearts. You are the true heroes.
Giddy Minds
It’s no secret that I love Shakespeare’s history plays. When I was a kid I loved them for their numerous sword fights and battle scenes. Now I love them for everything else. And also the sword fights.
This scene is from Henry IV, part 2, which is admittedly my least favorite part of Henry IV. This deathbed scene between Henry IV and his son, Prince Hal, however, is pure gold. Henry IV’s reign has been overshadowed by the fact that he usurped the throne from his predecessor, Richard II, and was directly or indirectly responsible for his death. As a result, Henry IV’s reign has been plagued by political discontent and outright rebellion. Fortunately he has a really solid plan to fix everything:
Anyways, Prince Hal becomes Henry V and invades France and distracts everybody from his domestic troubles and everything is fine forever.
Just don’t look at what happens in the three parts of Henry VI… 😬
Mountainish Inhumanity
Golden (as sung by Hamlet)
Exorcising all my earworms for this year by turning them into Shakespeare songs…
In case you don’t have any kids in your life, here is the original song:
And in case you want MORE Shakespeare-themed song parodies, check out my holiday songbook, full of Shakespearean twists on seasonal classics complete with ukulele chords and murder.
The Shakespearean Holiday Songbook, vol. 1
$8.00
IN STOCK NOW! Chestnuts and open fires. Hot chocolate and marshmallows. Holiday songs and… Shakespeare?
That’s right! This 28-page volume contains 10 of my best Shakespeare-themed holiday song parodies, most of them with expanded verses, plus two brand new compositions, each accompanied by hopefully-charming stick-figure illustrations. Spice up your caroling with the dulcet tones of Titus Andronicus, or the cheerful and upbeat rampage of Richard III!
While it is absolutely NOT necessary to play the ukulele in order to enjoy this songbook, all songs come with easy ukulele chord suggestions and, to be perfectly honestly, they all sound hilarious when accompanied by the plinky-plink cheerfulness of a uke. You should give it a try.
Song List:
Hamlet the Danish Princeling (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) *expanded*
O Birnam Wood (O Christmas Tree) *expanded*
Dip Our Hands in Blood of Caesar (Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly) *expanded*
We Three Kings of Lancaster Are (We Three Kings of Orient Are) *expanded*
Baby I Love You So (Baby It's Cold Outside)
O Romeo and Juliet (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen) *expanded*
Old King Lear's Dividing His Crown (Santa Claus is Coming to Town)
Have Yourself a Merry Wife of Windsor (Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas)
Richard Third (Jingle Bells) *expanded*
Violent Night (Silent Night) *new*
All I Want for Crispin's Is France (All I Want for Christmas is You) *new*
I'm Dreaming of a Midsummer (I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas)
Popular (as sung by Lady Macbeth)
With all the talk of Wicked: For Good going around I thought it would be a good time to revisit the classic Shakespearean tale of witches. And so today I’m presenting a song from Wicked: For Bad.
(Original song here, if by some miracle you’re not aggressively familiar with it already.)
“Once I’m with King Duncan
My whole life will shine,
’Cause when I kill King Duncan
His crown will be mine!”
Fun & Polyps: A Beginner's Guide to Colonoscopies
I know this is primarily a Shakespeare webcomic, but I thought I would take a moment today to share something that’s been at the forefront of my mind lately… colonoscopies!
If you really need a Shakespearean hook to pull you in, think that I am simply showing you how, as Hamlet says, “a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar.”
Please feel free to share this comic with everyone you know and spread the good word about colonoscopies. You can also download a PDF of it, print it, and fold it into a little booklet, like so:
Print it portrait, double-sided, flip on long side. All I ask is that you don’t resell it or use it for commercial purposes. Now, go out there and be good to your guts!
Santa or Falstaff?
As the holidays approach, we here at Good Tickle Brain would like to issue a Public Service Announcement: please make sure you are allowing the correct white-bearded individual into your house this Christmas.
Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt
One of them is the anthropomorphic representation of the Christmas holiday season amalgamated from numerous Christian and pagan folk traditions, and the other is a felon.
Sign up for Shakespeare News!
If you want more Shakespeare nerdery and joy in your life right now, I highly recommend signing up for Shakespeare News, a weekly e-mail newsletter round-up of all the Shakespeare stuff that is happening right now. It is brilliantly compiled and written by my consulting pocket dramaturg Kate Pitt, who infuses her trademark blend of dry humor and impeccable research (complete with footnotes) into every issue. It is very possibly the only thing I am ever pleased to see arrive in my Inbox. If you enjoy Good Tickle Brain I am confident you will find a lot to enjoy here too. Sign up now!
Thanks for still reading Good Tickle Brain
If you’re reading this, thanks for still being here! This has been the hardest year of my life so far but I survived. As ever, I’m hoping to get Good Tickle Brain up and running again, but I appreciate your patience and understanding as I continue to wrestle my way through the mental and practical hurdles life has handed to me. I’m sure that 2025 will be a worse year for humanity in general, but I’m hoping that I can figure out how to at least make it a better year for me so I can get back to creating fun Shakespeare comics, because I think we could all use more laughs in our lives right now.