A Shakespearean Beating
Of course The Bard was a kinky bastard, but I’ll confess I’d forgotten about this tender moment from A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
“I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you:
Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am, to follow you.
What worser place can I beg in your love—
And yet a place of high respect with me—
Than to be usèd as you use your dog?”
I taught this play several years ago and found myself getting flustered while trying to explain it to my students because I was so turned on.
Ha. I was in a production of that play in the sixth grade and that sentence was ever so curiously omitted…