Even bigger LOLs came from today's literature class.

Aw man, I just love those all-girl classes with Ms Sunbeam !!

We began the study of another of Shakespeare's dramas, King Lear (and by far, this is one of the best plays by Shakespeare I've ever read). Within four hours, with our command of the language, we could only go on with Act 1 Scene 1 and no more.

Just for starters and those who don't take Literature, I'll have to explain Act 1 Scene 1 in brief so that everyone will understand what I'm saying. (Those who take A-Level Literature or those who already know the full story of King Lear, you may skip this part)

Well it all starts when King Lear wants a public declaration of love from his three daughters - Gonerill, Regan and Cordelia (the eldest being Gonerill, and the youngest and best-loved being Cordelia). Lear had already divided Great Britain into three parts beforehand, the reason being that he was too old, he wanted to let go of the cares and worries of becoming a king - the lion's share was to go to Cordelia. So Gonerill and Regan, in their declarations of love, flatter King Lear with their use of words - Regan tries to outdo Gonerill - and Cordelia, being the daughter that truly loves King Lear, can't express herself with words. She says nothing much.

When coerced to speak, she speaks very plainly. Something which went like "I'll love you as much as a child should love his father, no more, no less" - and Lear was angry. He expected Cordelia to outdo the other two sisters. But Cordelia's words were like cold water being poured on Lear. So he gets very angry. He banishes Cordelia and disowns her. Lear's faithful servant, the Earl of Kent (simply known as Kent), tries to intervene but is also banished by Lear. Gonerill and Regan get their share of the land, and Cordelia's share is equally divided between Gonerill and Regan : Cordelia gets nothing.

At the same time, there are two suitors to Cordelia's hand in marriage - the Duke of Burgundy (simply known as Burgundy) and the King of France (simply known as... um... France !). Burgundy didn't want Cordelia because she was apparently "dowerless", as in... Burgundy wasn't eyeing her, he was eyeing what she would bring along with her (i.e. the land). France regarded Cordelia as "herself a dowry" because he knew full well that Cordelia was speaking sincerely and truthfully in her declaration of love. So France takes Cordelia's hand in marriage, and they part ways. When Lear goes away, Gonerill and Regan start scheming - they know what kind of fickle and uncontrollable mind Lear has - and they know that sooner or later he's gonna stay with either one of them, and they resolve to put Lear in his place.

But then again, come to think of it, Lear is a bloviating idiot for dividing the country into three parts and only becoming king in name. Act 1 Scene 1 says that he even gave the crown, a symbol of sovreignty, to Albany and Cornwall - the husbands of Gonerill and Regan - thus meaning that he had no power left !

Now, back to class - we were at the part where France was paying tribute to Cordelia for being truthful and sincere in her declaration, reversing all the curses and insults Lear gave to her. The first line in his tribute was "Fairest Cordelia, thou art most rich, being poor".

And since we were an all-girl class, we were moved by the very first line of his tribute. One of us actually told Ms Sunbeam "Aw man, wish my future husband will be like the King of France." And I remember Ms Sunbeam was saying "I wish !" - she and her husband have been married for 25 years and (no I should not be spilling this one). (Oh, and ironically, we call her Ms Sunbeam, not Mrs.) When it came to the part where she was expected to give some form of flowery language, she said, "I'm the last person on earth to give flowery words of appreciation. I can't !"

To which Nisha yelled, "Teacher, I saw you. Clubbing. With a (no, I'm not gonna describe the kind of outfit she was describing) !" And the whole class roared in laughter. Ms Sunbeam instantly replied, "You know full well I'm not the type of person to go clubbing. If you did see that person in a club, you must've seen my twin !"

And then we were going on hoping that our future husbands will be like the King of France until Vanaja was talking about the current apple of her eye being a policeman. And among the notable quotes of the day were....

Ms Sunbeam : (to Vanaja) Policeman is gonna police you all over the place.

Ms Sunbeam : Who's your policeman ?

Nisha : If Vanaja has a policeman, Hema's got a fireman ! (all of us were laughing after this)

troisnyx* : Wait. First policeman, then fireman, what next ? Superman ? Spider-Man ? Cicakman ?

Ms Sunbeam : (to Andreanna, after realising that her 'boyfriend' is a car, all the way in Germany) Aren't you behaving a little bit like Burgundy ?

Well. Everyone loves to have an ideal husband. I was especially enthralled by the scene where France accepted Cordelia for who she was. I, too, wish my future husband to be like the King of France. I'll leave it to the Lord to send to me my King of France. Now's not the time.