Pam Webb

Shakespeare Celeb: By Any Other Name

I’m known as The Shakespeare Lady at school. Well, I do prod along that image by introducing myself as such at Shakesperience and other opps. I also get VERY excited when I teach Shakespeare. I wear a range of t-shirts sporting the likeness of Shakespeare and attach my “To Be or Not To Be” button on my lapel when we delve in to Hamlet.

I go beyond appreciating Shakespeare. I am past being a fan. How do I put it?

People who adore Shakespeare, who are involved, are those who go beyond the occasional dabbling, watching, and appreciating. News feed alerts sport Bard bits of interest, outrage at hints of him not being the true author of his works, random drops of trivia pop out–these are all symptoms of going beyond simply being a fan. I have a term for such a person:

Bardinator /n./ a person who goes beyond face value knowledge of Shakespearean works and dives in to study, appreciate, and revel in the works of William Shakespeare to the point of total commitment. Simply put–a dedication to the Bard’s works beyond what is considered sufficiently normal. 

I am a Bardinator. Sounds like the Terminator, I know. Maybe there is some similarity. Committed purpose (focus on his works), time traveler (going back 400 years to understand his word and then jumping to present time to insert relevance), and perhaps being intimidating (I would like to think so, at least).

There are probably an assortment of fan tags out there for Bard aficionados. For now, I will continue my quest to learn more about his works. I have yet to fully understand all his plays and sonnets. I’m in no real rush. I need something to look forward to in retirement.