William Shakespeare

[Fat middle]

Well, it seems I'm the only fan of Richard II here... Richard III enjoys being evil and I can enjoy it too , but sometimes it seems too unreal... Too politically influenced by the Thomas More's text in which it is based (a text that, to some extent, wanted to legitimate Henry VIII's legitimacy, and consequently Henry VII's)...

Richard II is more centered in the psicollogy of the main character, and although the dramatic movement of the play has its stops and goes, the portrait of the King is marvellous: a fairly depressing character

About movies:

Luhrman. I liked it (I also like almost every "Shakespeare movie" ). Loved Danes. Not so Leo. Some good actors, some bad. The modern adaptation was good when it didn't distract us from the text (almost always, but in the bloody scenes).

Branagh: I liked all them. Even Love's Labour Lost... well, actually, from this movie I just enjoyed all Costard and Branagh's long monologue about "women's eyes". Funny songs too

[Count Comfect]

Oh, no, Richard II is BRILLIANT! I just prefer Richard III but that doesn't mean that Richard II isn't excellllent.
My favorite bit is the part where Richard finally snaps and kills the guys coming to kill him. It's right after a long depressing soliloquoy and you can just see the guy's brain go, OK, that's enough, I am not taking this lying down anymore.

[Fat middle]

Originally Posted by Count Comfect

Oh, no, Richard II is BRILLIANT! I just prefer Richard III but that doesn't mean that Richard II isn't excellllent.
My favorite bit is the part where Richard finally snaps and kills the guys coming to kill him. It's right after a long depressing soliloquoy and you can just see the guy's brain go, OK, that's enough, I am not taking this lying down anymore.

Yeah! That's the best part

[Rían]

Originally Posted by Count Comfect

excellent! What edition?

Um, the inexpensive one ...

*is on a budget*

[Count Comfect]

Heck, my edition cost $1 at a library book sale. Nothing wrong with being on a budget

Has anyone seen a show called the Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)? That is one hilarious show. Got sent a DVD of it by my dad.

[Lenya]

I think A Midsummer Night's Dream is the wierdest play he ever wrote. It is full of wierd characters doing wierd stuff. But I liked it

[Earniel]

I think I've read them all, but since I made the mistake of reading through "the Complete Works" in one go, the stories get a bit mixed up in my memory, especially all the Richards and Henrys, why have so much of them I wonder.

I particulary liked The Tempest, Hamlet and (what was that title again?) The Wives of Windsor or something similar. As I said, the memories tend to run together.

[Count Comfect]

Merry Wives of Windsor is an odd play. It can be very well done, or it can be awful. This latter I know because I've done it The version they did up at Bard on the Beach in Vancouver BC (Canada) was really good.

Has anyone read Troilus and Cressida? That was one play I had a harrrd time getting my head around.

[Earniel]

The one in Throy? Yes, I've read it. I didn't catch all of it, Shakerspeare's English isn't always easy for me.

[Count Comfect]

Yeah, the one in Troy. Troilus and Cressida isn't easy for me either, and I've been studying the stuff for years.

That one and a couple of the late romances are hard to understand.

[Rían]

I decided to start with Richard III - I've heard such great quotes from it! I got all of 1/2 page read before the kids needed something, but I came across that opening line - I didn't realize it was from Richard III, altho I knew it was from Sh.

[sun-star]

Originally Posted by Count Comfect

Has anyone seen a show called the Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)? That is one hilarious show. Got sent a DVD of it by my dad.

That show is so funny! I especially like the part where they do Hamlet

[Count Comfect]

The Hamlet is really good, yeah.
Oob.
Denmark in state rotten is something.
Strange is this lord my.
Melt would flesh solid too too this that O!

You thank.

It's odd - a group of 3 of us did that show this summer, then I come to college and a group is doing it, plus back home a theater is doing it... crazy.

I'm still looking for someone who "got" Troilus and Cressida to explain it to me...

[Rían]

Finished Richard III - oy, why did I start with a political one? But the writing is great! I just can't keep the characters, relationships, etc. straight - too much inbreeding! Of all subjects, history is my worst, and English history - well, I guess I need a chart or something.

Why didn't you kill the bugger when you had the chance, Anne?!?! What a creep

[Count Comfect]

A creep, a malformed creep in fact, but a strangely attractive creep...

A chart might help: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1906/shakhist.html

The best ones to start with are often the comedies like Twelfth Night that are famous enough, but not too deep or complex.

[Fat middle]

Originally Posted by Count Comfect

I'm still looking for someone who "got" Troilus and Cressida to explain it to me...

I read it, but too much time ago...

I remember I was sort of shocked too, because I couldn't catch if it was a comedy or a tragedy.

You know, on the one hand there are funny characters and ridiculations of Homer's story, and also all that light stuff about the levity of women...

But on the other hand you have that impressive last scene of Hector's death. That was stuff of a very different kind. I wonder if it had some intention related to real life...

[Valandil]

Don't know what it was, but in high school, I had to FORCE myself to drag through any of his plays (maybe because it was 'assigned'). But the other day, after seeing and posting to this thread, I saw my paperback on the shelf, with three of his tragedies: Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear. I started reading Macbeth (which I don't think I'd read before) and I just finished Act IV this morning.

Great stuff! I'm really enjoying it now. From historical references, it seems to be set in the 11th century (references to England's King, 'pious Edward' must refer to Edward the Confessor - who ruled up to his death at an advanced age, in 1065). Interesting study of an attempt to do evil, in order to advance oneself - and how it triggers consequences which draw more evil to the doer. Ultimately, the advancement is both unenjoyable and short-lived.

[Valandil]

Finished Macbeth on my lunch hour yesterday. Found two interesting parallels with LOTR!

It has to do with two 'signs' given to Macbeth by the supernatural 'apparitions' which made him feel safe from all harm. He was told that he would be kind until such-and-such forest (Birnham Wood?) came up to his castle... and there was a good deal of distance between them. The other was that he could not be slain by any man born of woman.

Those who know the story know what happens:

His hopes were first crushed when the advancing armies cut branches from the forest to screen themselves from view and hide their numbers. So 'the forest' advanced on the castle in this way. Of course... I thought of Ents!

Then - when Macduff finally confronts Macbeth... Macbeth tries to dissuade him from pressing the encounter because of his enchantment, to which Macduff replies that he must not know that Macduff had been ripped from his mother's womb, before he could be born of her... and then goes on to slay Macbeth. Of course, that made me think of Eowyn's encounter with the Witch-King, although details had been changed, of course.

Lots of great quotes throughout - I'll try to post a few later.

Found a site on historical sources - the actual Macbeth actually slew Duncan in battle, not in bed - and the ancillary characters were all quite different. Perhaps modifying history (or a novel) for a play (or screenplay) dates back to him!

[Count Comfect]

Hey, I never noticed those before. Those are cool parallels between two of my favorite authors!

I don't think Shakespeare really Invented rewriting history, but he certainly raised it to an art form which is more than most people who do it today.

[sun-star]

Originally Posted by Valandil

Finished Macbeth on my lunch hour yesterday. Found two interesting parallels with LOTR!

It has to do with two 'signs' given to Macbeth by the supernatural 'apparitions' which made him feel safe from all harm. He was told that he would be kind until such-and-such forest (Birnham Wood?) came up to his castle... and there was a good deal of distance between them. The other was that he could not be slain by any man born of woman.

Those who know the story know what happens:

His hopes were first crushed when the advancing armies cut branches from the forest to screen themselves from view and hide their numbers. So 'the forest' advanced on the castle in this way. Of course... I thought of Ents!

I remember reading somewhere that Tolkien, when he read Macbeth as a child, was very disappointed that the woods didn't really move on Dunsinane - and that was why he made the Ents do it in LOTR

BTW, I think both stories are based on a real historical event (or real legend anyway) about resistance to William the Conqueror in Kent. A guerilla movement attacked him disguised as trees. Or something like that...