(no subject)

I'm officially a snob. *sighs* I'm sorry, I know it's incredibly picky and snobby, but it's one of the most misinterpreted and misquoted lines in Shakespeare and it bothers me because Jaques is one of my favourite characters.

Linsey's paper begins:

Shakespeare once said that this world is a play and we are its players. What he meant is that the appearance we create is, in fact, our costume for the role we choose to play.

What I said:

	"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
Shakespeare once said that this world is a play and we are its players. What he meant is that the appearance we create is, in fact, our costume for the role we choose to play.	This is not quite accurate. Be sure you understand a quote before using it.

Which is all I had room to say, but what I wanted to say was:

Your quote is not only inaccurate but, inasmuch as it is possible, the direct opposite of what Shakespeare means to say. Jaques is declaring that man has free will only inasmuch as it is possible within seven stages of life that pass like stock characters on the stage. Jaques declares that we are socially confined to certain roles just as actors are. He is not talking about appearance except to indicate stock appearances that men fit into within these seven ages. PLEASE DO NOT BUTCHER MY BARD as the first words out of your mouth. THANK YOU.

(no subject)

I had to footnote an in-class statement I made today because I realised not everyone reads the word "cosmopolitan" and automatically thinks "Alexander the Great". Granted, my classics prof the Imperatora probably does, but after a poll I discovered most of the people at my table think "Someone who lives in New York" and a couple at least think "magazine" and/or "refreshing alcoholic beverage."

I am becoming incomprehensible to my peers. Clearly this road can lead only one direction: Tenure.

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