2012-12-02
Explanation
This comic imagines the origin story of Shakespeare'''s "Romeo and Juliet" as a petty act of parental revenge. Shakespeare is traveling with his family toward London when his young son says, "Daddy! I have to pee!" Shakespeare tells him they are almost there and to hold it for 30 minutes. The boy insists he cannot wait, and Shakespeare snaps: "Fine! Then I'''m gonna write a whole play about how people who can'''t wait for a freakin''' half hour ruin everything for everyone!"
The punchline reframes "Romeo and Juliet" -- one of the greatest love tragedies ever written -- as having been inspired by nothing more than a frustrated parent'''s road-trip annoyance. The play'''s theme of impatience leading to tragedy (Romeo and Juliet'''s rushed love affair, Romeo'''s hasty suicide before learning Juliet is alive) is recast as Shakespeare'''s passive-aggressive response to his son'''s inability to hold his bladder. The final panel shows the son looking at the completed manuscript of "Romeo & Juliet," confirming that Shakespeare followed through on his threat.
The votey adds: "Also, Othello was written after his wife lost a handkerchief," extending the joke that Shakespeare'''s greatest tragedies were all inspired by trivial domestic annoyances. In Othello, a lost handkerchief is indeed the catalyst for the tragic plot, so this bonus joke works on both a comedic and a literary level.