I missed it!!!!!!

April 23 is the official day to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday. His actual birthday isn't certain, but he was baptized on April 26, 1564 and Died on April 23, 1616. At some point it was decided to celebrate his birthday on his death anniversary which may be a little morbid, but I didn't get a vote. This year is the 446th anniversary of his birth.
In any case, I have always loved Shakespeare. The words seem to flow like poetry to me no matter the subject and I have often found myself so carried away by the rhythm of the words that I will read many pages without really processing what has happened.
My favorite play by far is Hamlet. Being a girl, I should probably like Romeo and Juliet best but it is a little too much for me. Julius Caesar runs a close second in my list. I will watch almost anything that seems to have a Hamlet undertone to it and you might be surprised how many things there are. Have you ever seen The Lion King? One of the newest Hamlet inspired shows I love is Sons of Anarchy on FX. Hamlet set in a present day motorcycle gang.
I love the Mel Gibson version of the movie and I wish I had it on DVD. I used to have a well worn VHS tape of it, but it finally wore out. The 4 hour Kenneth Branagh version is stunning and the few times I have watched it I sat mesmerized for the full length of the film. Needless to say, I haven't watched it in many years since I am never alone for 4 hours, much less able to watch whatever I want with no interruptions!
I use one of my favorite quotes from Hamlet as a header for my food blog:
"A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm." act IV, scene iii
I could easily ramble on and put so many quotes here that it would end up being the whole play, but instead I will encourage you to go find a copy of the play, or the one of the movies and enjoy it for yourself.