Poor, poor Spaw -- nobody bidding on him in the auction and all he has left of his life is to sit in his rocking chair, gumming his pablum and collecting century marks on Mudcat threads.

Oh, Vtam -- I had a bachelor's education in English, lit -- come to think of it I still do. I had TWO semesters of Shakespeare (one from the drama perspective); classic, medieval, Shakespeare-contemporary, 18th Century, modern and contemporary (at the time) drama; and all sorts of other things that were intended to Make Me A Well-Read Gentleman Of Leisure And/Or A PHD In English Literature.

It didn't take. I ended up with said BA, and minors in Drama, Philosophy, and (of all things) Theology.

Then I went off and got a Master's Degree -- in SCIENCE!! (Well, Library and Information Science, but still....)

None of this means I can fence well with a case of rapiers, although I could hold my own with cloak and rapier or rapier and dagger.