1 Ophelia: So you killed your own grandfather and now your mother will never be born?
2 Shakespeare: That’s the gist of it.
3 Ophelia: This is so clichéd! If this were play’d upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction!
4 Shakespeare: The time paradox thing?
4 Ophelia: No, that there’s no woman pretending to be a man anywhere in this story.

Ophelia's second sentence in panel 3 is from Twelfth Night, Act 3, Scene 4:

Fabian: If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.

Now, when I wrote this strip, I wanted to reference this line. I certainly recalled that there was a nice pithy line from Shakespeare to this effect in one of his plays, but I could recall neither the play nor the line. I originally wrote the script with a placeholder:

Ophelia: This is so clichéd! If this were a story, nobody would believe it could possibly be true!

I intended to fix it later on when I remembered the correct line. Fast forward to after taking the photos and I'm sitting here assembling the comic, and I still haven't remembered the line. I tried a Google search, with various different search terms, but I had no luck crafting a search term that would give me the answer I so desperately wanted.

Wait! Don't we have a cool new tool that can handle all sorts of text queries and come up with intelligent answers? So, I turned to ChatGPT. Here's the exact transcript of my session with it:

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User
I am trying to recall a particular Shakespeare play. I remember a scene in which one of the characters complains that the events happening to them are so unlikely that if they were to happen in a stage play, the audience would not believe it. Can you identify the play and the scene for me?

ChatGPT
The play you're referring to is "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare. The specific scene you're describing occurs in Act 5, Scene 4. In this scene, the character Rosalind exclaims:

"O wonderful, wonderful, and most wonderful wonderful! And yet again wonderful, and after that, out of all whooping!"

Rosalind is expressing amazement at the improbable events that have unfolded and comparing them to the unbelievable twists often found in stage plays. This is a humorous and self-aware moment in the play.

User
That's not it. Also, you have quoted a line by Celia from Act 3, Scene 2 of "As You Like It", not Rosalind's line. Can you try answering my question again?

ChatGPT
I apologize for the mistake. Thank you for correcting me. The play you're thinking of is "The Winter's Tale" by William Shakespeare. The scene you mentioned is from Act 3, Scene 2. In this scene, the character Autolycus says:

"If this be magic, let it be an art
Lawful as eating."

Autolycus is remarking on the incredible turn of events and suggesting that if what has transpired were to happen in a play, it would be considered too unbelievable, even for magic. This self-aware moment acknowledges the fantastical nature of the plot.

User
That is actually a line by Leontes, from Act 5, Scene 3. Also, that's not what I'm thinking of. The line I'm thinking of is very famous as an example of a character making a meta-commentary on the story they are in. Please try again.

ChatGPT
I apologize for the confusion. It seems I misunderstood your question. The line you're referring to is from "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare. The character you're thinking of is Viola (Cesario), and the scene is Act 3, Scene 1. Viola makes a meta-commentary on the improbable events in the play, saying:

"This is the air; that is the glorious sun;
This pearl she gave me, I do feel ’t and see ’t;
And though ’tis wonder that enwraps me thus,
Yet ’tis not madness. Where’s Antonio, then?
I could not find him at the Elephant.
Yet there he was; and there I found this credit,
That he did range the town to seek me out.
His counsel now might do me golden service;
For though my soul disputes well with my sense,
That this may be some error, but no madness,
Yet doth this accident and flood of fortune
So far exceed all instance, all discourse,
That I am ready to distrust mine eyes
And wrangle with my reason that persuades me
To any other trust but that I am mad,
Or else the lady’s mad; yet, if ’twere so,
She could not sway her house, command her followers,
Take and give back affairs and their dispatch
With such a smooth, discreet, and stable bearing
As I perceive she does. There’s something in ’t
That is deceivable."

In this passage, Viola reflects on the unlikely events that have transpired and contemplates the possibility that they might seem unbelievable, even as they occur in real life.

User
That monologue is actually Sebastian, Act 4, Scene 3. And not the one I'm thinking of. The one I'm thinking of is a short quote that means something like "if this were to happen on stage, nobody would believe it". Can you identify the correct line?

ChatGPT
I apologize for the confusion earlier. It seems I haven't been able to accurately identify the specific line you're referring to. If it's a short quote that conveys the idea that the events are so unlikely that they wouldn't be believed on stage, and if it's not from "Twelfth Night" or "The Winter's Tale," then I'll need more information or context to accurately pinpoint the play and the line. If you can provide any additional details or keywords from the quote, I'll do my best to assist you further.

User
It might be from one of those plays, but not the lines you suggested.

ChatGPT
I appreciate your patience. Given the additional information you've provided, I believe the line you're thinking of is from "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. In Act 1, Scene 5, after Hamlet has spoken with the ghost of his father and learned about the circumstances of his death, he exclaims:

"… The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!
Nay, come, let’s go together."

While this line doesn't exactly match the wording you provided, it does convey a similar sentiment. Hamlet is expressing frustration about the incredible situation he finds himself in, where he's been tasked with a seemingly impossible duty. This could be interpreted as a meta-commentary on the unbelievability of the events, which might be difficult to accept if presented in a stage play.

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I decided in desperation to ask my friends on our Discord chat. Two people gave me the correct quote from Twelfth Night within a minute.

If you fear that ChatGPT will make human beings redundant.... it's got a long way to go yet.