In the Minority

I have noticed that in our lovely little Shakespeare class that one of my classmates has a friend who is a Snow Science Major (and yes, it is a major not a minor). She had very little interest in Shakespeare and other literary topics. While talking about her I got the impression that the English majors I was surrounded by  thought all science majors felt this way. Here I am to say "NAY!" I am a Paleontology major (and before anyone asks NO IT IS NOT THE SAME THING AS INDIANA JONES. He's an archaeologist who works with boring people. I work with dinosaurs which are far more awesome.) I also like to read...a lot. In fact, I have read quite a bit of Shakespeare and not once did I ever complain to a teacher about how it was boring and I couldn't understand it. I loved every minute of it. I mean, he wrote some of the best insults in the English language!

Our teacher has mentioned time and again that this class will work to "redeem the past from insignificance." What a fantastic concept for someone like me. My whole career is about digging up the past, putting it together and sharing it with the world. It's the same idea with Shakespeare. In my field, it starts with discovering a bone. This is equivalent to picking up a play by Shakespeare either for fun or by taking a class. After the bone is discovered, it needs to be cataloged, mapped and dug out. With Shakespeare, one might try reading up on a bit of his background, what society and culture were like at the time, etc, etc. After the bone is removed it is taken to a museum and cleaned and prepped for the show room. This would be where you read the play. Last, the bone is put on display with the rest of it's skeleton. By this point, you should be able to read and understand most of what the play is about.

I am currently reading King Lear in my LIT 201 class (so that puts me ahead in this one) and I couldn't help but enjoy this passage:
               "A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking, whoreson, glass-gazing, superserciveable, finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of knave, beggar, coward, pander, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch; one whom I will beat into clamorous whining if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition."
             This is spoken by the Duke of Kent to a servant named Oswald. How would you like to have that thrown in your face?
             There will eventually be thoughts on Hughes and Turner soon! In the meantime, please enjoy this episode of Doctor Who where Shakespeare takes on some witches:
The Shakespeare Code