350. Top 11 Shakespearean badasses: number 7

NUMBER 7: Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet

The “Queen Mab” speech would be enough to qualify this guy for badassery, but then he goes above and beyond later in the play. His incredible sense of humor and way of turning all of his lines into poetry make his death truly tragic, but it is the way that he dies that really makes him a badass. He is cracking jokes. That’s right. The guy is turned into a kabob by Tybalt and keeps joking around, even when he is basically saying “Dying is pretty painful, and all of you are terrible people”, he makes it truly beautiful. “A plague o’both your houses” is one of Shakespeare’s more famous lines, and for good reason – Mercutio is one of the more poetic badasses on this list.

339. Top 10 Shakespeare-inspired songs: Number 1

Here it is, the number 1 song in my Top 10 favorite Shakespeare-inspired songs! The position goes to Tchaikovsky with his hauntingly beautiful “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture”. Just take a listen…it so perfectly suits the play that it has become impossible for me to imagine one without the other.

335. Top 10 Shakespeare-inspired songs: Number 5

How could I not include this song? Number 5 goes to “Tonight” from the Broadway classic West Side Story.

333. Top 10 Shakespeare-inspired songs: Number 7

Lou Reed takes the number 7 spot with his fantastic “Romeo had Juliette”.

330. Top 10 Shakespeare-inspired songs: Number 10

With Shakespeare inspiring so much music throughout the years, I have decided to do a countdown of the top 10 Shakespeare-inspired songs. With a huge personal bias. Enjoy!

Number 10: “Romeo and Juliet” by the Indigo Girls

326. I’m…not so sure about this.

3D really is not as cool as Hollywood seems to think it is.

325. Ouch.

I’ve read some bad reviews before, and they usually involve pointing out bad acting or poor designs or awkward directing. But this one takes the cake – it basically accuses the production of ripping the heart out of Romeo and Juliet. Yeeeouch.

313. Romeo + Juliet: Blu-Ray

Huzzah! Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet is getting a Blu-Ray release! Now we can get dizzy watching those technicolor special effects in even higher definition! Seriously, though, that’s pretty exciting. It’s a fun, interesting interpretation of the play and will probably look amazing. Moulin Rouge is getting the same treatment, so it seems that an ice cream-fueled film festival may soon be in order.

310. Wedding tea

While planning the wedding, Adam and I have come up with several ideas for favors and little touches to add that will pull together the Shakespeare theme without it being overboard. I stumbled across Romeo and Juliet Tea Hearts online and am sorely tempted. Just check out the description:

“The ancient tea makers of Yunnan, who developed the method of pressing tea into miraculous shapes back in medieval China, knew that when things were done well, amazing results could be achieved. To start, they knew that you couldn’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. Which is to say that the world’s greatest tea techniques were useless if they didn’t start with the best ingredients. Subsequently, to create their works of art, only the finest teas from gardens high in the clear air of the Yunnan mountains were used. When processed into their tiny forms, whether a bird’s nest, crown, flower or in this case a heart, the teas they created took on a life of their own, transcending the time and place of their creation. Nowadays, a visit to Yunnan will show that the same level of care goes into the production of the province’s famous pressed teas. The finest leaf available makes its way to the factory where it is steamed and pressed into forms before drying. Like the famous love story, this tea has the power to take you away to another time and place.

Thankfully unlike the tragic story, this is a happy place where the tea is fresh with a cup that’s light on the nose, grassy and full-bodied hinting at honey with subtle astringent notes. Shakespeare would have loved this one. “

294. Tattoo designs inspired by “Romeo and Juliet”

With the popularity of tattoos on the rise – as well as the popularity of being a total nerd for Shakespeare – it makes sense that those seeking ink are also seeking to be inspired by the Bard. He was a master of writing beautiful words and verses, as well as painting beautiful images in his speeches that have lived on for centuries. Many admirers would like to make an everlasting mark upon their skin to represent their love for his incredible writing.

One of his most romantic and popular plays, “Romeo and Juliet”, has several wonderful passages that would work well for a literary tattoo. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

QUOTE TATTOO IDEAS:

“One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun ne’er saw her match since first the world begun.”

“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”

“Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

“I defy you, stars!”

“Be but sworn my love.”

IMAGE TATTOO IDEAS:

-Anything to do with crossed stars (stars in general make up a lot of the play’s action and verse, since it has to do with fate and “star-crossed lovers”).

-An idea from the hilarious book “My Name is Will” by Jess Winfield, a founding member of the Reduced Shakespeare Company: Two roses, one white and one red (which, incidentally, mirrors the roses from the War of the Roses), with “By any other name” written below.

-Of course, roses in general work, as well. Though roses are a very popular and oftentimes cliche tattoo choice, adding something a little more Shakespearean will set yours apart from the rest!

-For a couple’s tattoo (not that I recommend doing this…ever), there is the idea of one getting “Montague” and the other “Capulet”. Go all out with a coat of arms, if you feel inspired!

-A mask is always a good option, since Romeo and Juliet first meet and fall in love at a masked ball.

-This one is my own personal idea…but if you want to steal it, go right ahead, since I haven’t made up my mind about it yet: A quill pen, with a line or two from “Romeo and Juliet” being scripted.