One would think going to visit the Shakespeare home in Stratford-upon-Avon would bring out some sort of seriousness or respect for fine literature in me. My only purchase from that trip was a set of magnetic insult quotations taken from his many works.
When I showed off my purchase to my husband, he said, “You go to visit Shakespeare’s home, his grave, the farm where his wife grew up and this foolishness is all you bring back?”
Yep. My feeble mind can’t remember long and meaningful quotes – but I am motivated to memorize a good insult. You never know when you might need it.
For example, when touring William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s home, I happened to comment on the size of one of the rooms to the tour guide. She snapped back like I had insulted her personally. What I wouldn’t have given to be able to rattle off, “Thou crusty batch of nature” just then. But alas, I hadn’t gotten to the gift shop yet.
Each week I will be hosting one of these these literary gems on my fridge in hopes that I will finally be able to quote some Shakespeare.
My son has already incorporated “Bolting-hutch of beastliness” into his vernacular, just in time for back to school where he will surely impress his English teacher.
(Secretly, I hope they will inspire him and his sisters to read more Shakespeare and enjoy his works as much as I do by highlighting some of his humorous little snippets. I am playing with them all – it’s just a plot.)
“Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed…” ~ Mark Twain
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6 responses so far ↓
1 nsdesperatehousewife // Aug 13, 2007 at 3:47 am
Ha! That’s great. “Thou smell of mountain goat” – I’m sure that one was used a lot back in the day. Other eras have a romantic appeal about them but the lack of attention to personal hygiene I can live without.
2 KarenVogel // Aug 13, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I would have bought the same thing. It is irresistible, thou cream-faced loon…
3 Mary // Aug 13, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Ha! Glad to hear others find them “interesting.” I predict it will be not too long (a fortnight) before my hubby uses one of these beauties himself. The other thing I bought on my trip was a coaster that has a Mark Twain quote that has ALWAYS been one of my favorites, “Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” (If only I would heed it.)
4 maternalmirth // Aug 16, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I want that … where can I get it without heading over to Bill’s old digs???
Love it!
M&M
5 Mary // Aug 17, 2007 at 4:55 pm
My Dearest M&M – I have some good news and some bad news. You can get the magnets if you order from this link:
http://www.customworks.co.uk/attachments/Shakespear%20sales%20sheet.pdf
But, the bad news is you will be ordering from Bill’s homeland and paying for it. If parting with your money is such sweet sorrow, you can use this nifty Shakespeare quotes insult maker:
http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/shake_rule.html
Enjoy!
6 htruck // Aug 22, 2007 at 3:22 pm
LOL! I love them!
Thanks for sharing the insult maker – I may use it to print my own fridge magnets.
Heather
http://hickoryspringsfarm.blogspot.com/
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