Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more whimsical and more protagonist

Shakespeare’s language has transformed the mundane into spectacle for centuries. I believe that viewing life through such a cinematic lens is beneficial to becoming relentlessly optimistic and disgustingly confident. Main character energy doesn’t just have to be a relic of 2020 TikTok; it can become a core philosophy to help you to maximise all opportunities, speak up for yourself, and live your life to the fullest.

By becoming the main character, you’re putting yourself at the centre of your universe. Now this could be viewed as selfish, but rest assured I am here to deliver the good news that you are simply practicing a form of self-care. Due to social media and the emerging cultural norm that everyone always deserves an insider scoop on your personal life, protecting your peace is seen as problematic or worse – performative. I cannot ignore the slightly performative nature of the main character mindset, but it was Shakespeare who said that “all the world’s a stage”, so embrace it. Anyway, at least you’re not still pretending to like matcha – that’s performativity.

By taking a playful and fanciful interest in your environment you can rebel against the monotony of long summer days

Being the protagonist is actionable in several ways. As long as you’re glamorising your day-to-day life, you can’t go wrong. For example, you aren’t waiting for over an hour at your hometown bus stop, yearning for the consistent timetable of the Warwick Interchange; you’re the main character in a Netflix romcom rated 66% on Rotten Tomatoes who is about to embark on the best first date of their life. Turn up your music and make it the soundtrack to your soon-to-be pivotal plot point. When you’re sat in your local pub garden missing your summer-term situationship that lives 150 miles away, you could channel that potential waste of energy into writing a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that perfectly encapsulates the north-south divide.

Having a protagonist mindset can require some degree of imagination and creativity and if this is not your shmoo, I’m pleased to offer an alternative: the art of whimsy. By artificially installing moments of whimsy into your routines and activities, you will begin to subconsciously acknowledge all the goodness around you before you spiral because of the bad. This can be easier said than done in today’s dog-eat-dog world, but by taking a playful and fanciful interest in your environment you can rebel against the monotony of long summer days.

Attaining high whimsy doesn’t translate to leading a perfect life

Attaining high whimsy doesn’t translate to leading a perfect life. Real main characters all have their moments, be it burning their toast in the communal kitchen or ‘replying all’ on an email sent to their entire module cohort. In fact, I enjoy using my whimsy to validate my more slothful customs, such as letting the dishes pile up in an artistic fashion. No Mum, I cannot wash up this pot of penicillin because it perfectly encapsulates the cubist style of Picasso’s Guernica.

Shakespeare in Sonnet 18 is acknowledging that his muse cannot even be compared to the loveliness of a summer’s day. Her whimsiness and protagonist attitude is omitted in this poem, but I choose to believe he was restricted by the sonnet form and, given a few more lines, this would most definitely be addressed. Therefore, with this column, I propose that this summer we look inward and become our own summers’ days and everything in between – without the need to compare ourselves to others. After all, thou art more whimsical and more protagonist than a background extra could ever hope to be.