Nay,
‘tis no matter, sir, what he ‘leges in Latin. if this be not a lawful case for
me to leave his service, look you , sir, he bid me knock him and rap him soundly,
sir: well, was it fit for a servant to use his master so, being perhaps, for
aught I see, two and thirty, a pip out? Whom would to God I had well knock’d at
first, Then had not Grumio come by the worst.
-Grumio
The Taming Of The Shrew Act I scene ii line 30
Admittedly, this is a little bit tough to read. But if you
read the whole scene, and it’s not very long, it’s pretty easy to see what’s
going on. And if you do read it, perhaps you’ll be like me and the first thing
that will come to mind after reading it is the Abbott and Costello Who’s On
First gag.
Petruchio tells Grumio, the servant, to knock at the gate of
Hortensio’s house to see if he’s home. Grumio misunderstands and thinks that Petruchio
is telling him, Grumio, to hit him, Petruchio, not the gate. Grumio, being the
servant, is quite reluctant to hit Petruchio, and so they go back and forth
with this for several lines, adding a little slapstick in for good measure. Who’s
on first?
I think it’s pretty interesting that the guy who brought us
the tragedy and brilliance of Lear and Hamlet is also responsible for bringing
us the low brow humour of The Taming Of The Shrew, and, albeit very indirectly, being the progenitor of an Abbott and Costello routine.
And so, today’s pic is not a pic but rather a link to a
short video. Here
you go.
No comments:
Post a Comment