{"title":"Most Absurd","description":"\u003cp\u003eShakespeare wrote many a sublime line, but our focus for the MOST ABSURD project is on the ludicrous stage directions, cheeky insults, and laugh-out-loud observations that highlight the Bard's lighter side. If you like optical illusions, visual puns, inside jokes, random bears, cats in too-small boxes, rogue pirates, and Scotland represented as an egg yolk, this is for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eT-shirt and totes are available for a limited time. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"william-shakespeare-bear","title":"Exit Pursued by a Bear","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Exit, pursued by a bear.\"\u003c\/em\u003e - William Shakespeare\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Exit, pursued by a bear\" is a stage direction from Shakespeare’s \"The Winter’s Tale\" that is infamous for its hilarity and difficulty to stage. It's one of the best literary inside jokes (welcome to the club!). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGenerally, Shakespeare limited his stage directions to the most basic instructions - [Exit Hamlet], [Enter Ophelia], [Dies] - simple enough. But in this particular direction, a lot of things happen at once without any warning or supporting dialogue. Antigonus has been tasked with abandoning the baby Perdita in a desolate place, but he's having second thoughts. Suddenly a storm wrecks his ship, and then… he \"exits, pursued by a bear.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWait WHAT? So, apparently there’s a bear in the woods, and it has entered. Hungry. Without so much as an “O help!” he is chased off stage and dispatched. How can this sudden deluge of violence and fur not be funny? How do you stage it without destroying the tone of the scene? Do you embrace the surprise and have a little fun? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWe went with “a little fun” and for this illustration, a bear materializes out of the woods without warning and \"just because.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSPECIAL OFFER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAny 3 prints for $48 (regularly $72) \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCode: 3PRINTS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eSee all prints \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/collections\/art-prints\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"meta\"\u003e• 11x14 inch art print with white border \u003cbr\u003e• Premium, fine art paper made in New York \u003cbr\u003e• Elegant eggshell finish\u003cbr\u003e• Ships in a a rigid, flat mailer. No need to unroll! \u003cbr\u003e• Fits into standard 11x14 frames (or a 16x20 frame matted to 11x14) \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3 for 2 print offer!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUse code: 3PRINTS at checkout. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCustom sizes available\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.myshopify.com\/products\/custom-print\"\u003eHERE\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"meta\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"disclaimer\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"William Shakespeare","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31439209103417,"sku":"52P-SHA","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0544\/5705\/products\/52P-SHA-pos.jpg?v=1772060174"},{"product_id":"shakespeare-pirates","title":"Enter Pirates","description":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\"Enter pirates.\" - Shakespeare\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHuh? Why, of everything the Bard wrote would we pick this absurd stage direction? \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause it was there, my friend. Because it was there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike our other favorite stage direction (\"\u003ca title=\"Exit, Pursued by a Bear\" href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/products\/william-shakespeare-bear?_pos=6\u0026amp;_sid=5729e48c7\u0026amp;_ss=r\"\u003eExit, pursued by a bear\u003c\/a\u003e\"), this line originated from one of Shakespeare's later \"Romance\" plays, in this case \u003cem\u003ePericles, Prince of Tyre\u003c\/em\u003e. Despite its challenges, we are big fans of its wild, massive scope. Part Odysseus, part Job, the play features literal deus ex machina moments when greek gods appear, and the best random pirate kidnapping of all time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiven how much of the play takes place at sea, we wanted our illustration to feature a rogue wave and a shore. Because the play builds its themes using high fantasy, we made a sand castle the object under threat. A setting sun and the wave combine to suggest a pirate flag. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is part of our \"\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/collections\/most-absurd\"\u003eMost Absurd\u003c\/a\u003e\" Shakespeare collection. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSPECIAL OFFER\u003cbr\u003eAny 3 prints for $48 (regularly $72) \u003cbr\u003eCode: 3PRINTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eSee all prints \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/collections\/art-prints\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• 11x14 inch art print with white border \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• Premium, fine art paper made in New York \u003cbr\u003e• Elegant eggshell finish\u003cbr\u003e• Ships in a a rigid, flat mailer. No need to unroll! \u003cbr\u003e• Fits into standard 11x14 frames (or a 16x20 frame matted to 11x14) \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"meta\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCustom sizes available\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.myshopify.com\/products\/custom-print\"\u003eHERE\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"William Shakespeare","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42635043275003,"sku":"22P-SHA4","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0544\/5705\/products\/22P-SHA-1.jpg?v=1772107182"},{"product_id":"shakespeare-fool","title":"Better a Wity Fool","description":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e\"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.\"\u003c\/em\u003e - William Shakespeare\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Shakespeare’s plays, the rich and powerful are sometimes clueless, and the penniless “fools” are often the smartest guys in the room. Sound familiar?\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn our illustration we used a king and jester to represent the wise and foolish respectively. We then used text as a device to represent the quality of their thinking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn contrast to his outward appearance, the fools’ thoughts are rich and dense, forming an elaborate jeweled crown. Likewise, the king’s are sparse and simplistic, forming a jester’s hat. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe idea of the \"witty fool\" reminds us of Socrates' famous quotation \"I know that I know nothing.\" Wisdom begins with knowing you're a fool, and we see this quotation as a challenge to engage the world with real curiosity, humility, and openness. As far as the arrogance and self confidence of the \"foolish wit\" - well let's just do our best to avoid that stuff, shall we? \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is part of our \"\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/collections\/most-absurd\"\u003eMost Absurd\u003c\/a\u003e\" Shakespeare collection. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSPECIAL OFFER\u003cbr\u003eAny 3 prints for $48 (regularly $72) \u003cbr\u003eCode: 3PRINTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eSee all prints \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/collections\/art-prints\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• 11x14 inch art print with white border \u003cbr\u003e• Premium, fine art paper made in New York \u003cbr\u003e• Elegant eggshell finish\u003cbr\u003e• Ships in a a rigid, flat mailer. No need to unroll! \u003cbr\u003e• Fits into standard 11x14 frames (or a 16x20 frame matted to 11x14) \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"meta\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCustom sizes available\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.myshopify.com\/products\/custom-print\"\u003eHERE\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"William Shakespeare","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42685031448827,"sku":"22P-SHA5","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0544\/5705\/products\/22P-SHA5-1.jpg?v=1772059610"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0544\/5705\/collections\/Most-Absurd-col.jpg?v=1646577780","url":"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/collections\/most-absurd.oembed","provider":"Obvious State","version":"1.0","type":"link"}