King Lear Never Had a Chance

Some things...we just never quite...outgrow.

Something I thought I had put to rest in my college days reared its ugly head today in the middle of my English IV Dual Credit lecture.

We just started King Lear today, potentially the most desperate and sad of all Shakespeare's plays.

It was absolutely serious.

We had already divvied up character parts, and the King Lear character, one very witty National Merit Scholar, spoke these two words of his line: "Here now!"

These are two very ordinary words, but my student did it in the Valerie voice from The Princess Bride. You know, the very old, shaky voiced British woman?

This was something I had absolutely not anticipated, and I lost it.

Only I had just taken a very large gulp of coffee.

And it all came spewing out of my mouth and nose.

King Lear didn't have a chance.

My classroom burst into laughter for a full five minutes. When things had just started to settle down, one of my front row students yelled, "Mrs. Blain! You've broken out in hives!"

Yes. I sure had.

We'll just call them humiliation hives.

Guess we'll give King Lear another shot tomorrow, and I'll leave the coffee for the professionals.

Sweet Jesus, thank you for humor. Some days I take myself way too seriously.