I found “King John” to be an excruciatingly boring experience when I saw the BBC’s version of it. I love Coriolanus – I think it tells us more about politics and the public than anything I ever read. This is a fascinating post. That was always one of my favorites. Having seen Two Gents recently, I’m not surprised that Shakespeare avoided bringing animals on stage in future plays – the dog stole the show, as dogs are wont to do. She was merely a pawn in the play, but on HBO’s Rome, she is re-incarnated into an Will have to keep my eyes peeled for new productions! Will have to check Stratford/London for new productions in the future. Use it well! Very often I would re-read one of Shakespeare’s “popular plays” and come upon dozens of new discoveries and epiphanies. is the dry, put-upon Louis C.K. My pleasure! Servant to More (SERVANT.) Shakespeare is again believed to have written Henry VI, Part Two and Henry VI, Part III. Agreed, the Hollow Crown series was superb! All’s Well That Ends Well is funny in places if you like that kind of thing, but the plot is tedious and predictable: girl gets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy back. 2 (Arden Shakespeare.Third Series) (The Arden Shakespeare). The film Coriolanus with Ralph Fiennes was one of the best films I have ever seen with a modern retelling of this story. Well noted, thanks :), Reblogged this on Rosemarie Cawkwell and commented: Overall, I have more good Arden editions (I agree about Kermode’s The Tempest being very good) than any others. (What happens after that, we won’t say, as we don’t want to offer too many spoilers.) Claiming one’s love for Hamlet is so cliche. I’ll have to look on Youtube to see if any decent past productions have been uploaded, as I’ve never seen that in performance. Troilus and Cressida is a little dull for me; Chaucer’s version is one of my all-time favorite poems, but Shakespeare’s left me uninspired. Let’s face it. While there are many beautiful, well … :). In the 1999 film version, at “Henry VI Part Two” has a tremendous theatrical vigour. The Henry the VIs were pretty good, thanks mostly to the actor the BBC chose to play the role. There’s just something about the girl getting what she wants by being clever and dutiful and determined which is a great adolescent fantasy. Reblogged this on 1WriteWay and commented: it was a fantastic adaptation, with some interesting religious imagery, and made me wonder why the play isn’t more widely performed – especially since it has some fantastic (and well-known) speeches in it. Then I saw it performed a couple of years ago, and it was great fun on stage if you didn’t take it seriously. They wanted to see plays, so we must have gone to 20-25 of them in a three week period, many of them Shakespeare. Cleo’s Mary Crawley. Great recommendations. The ‘hilarious’ Petruccio-Katherine taming of the shrew subplot was sad exposé of Shakespeare creating two of his most charmless characters, and the work’s bizarre, early framing device has no reflective purpose on the main body of the play at all. Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email. The character of Scott is the main connection as a stand-in for Prince Hal, while Mike is more loosely based on Poins. I am very familiar with Shakespeare but mostly just his tragedies and histories. Some were tough to sit through. I had to think about the bananas/Coriolanus point, and then I saw the “a:” and realized it must be the UK pronunciation of “bananas,” not my US one with /æ/ in the second-to-last syllable. There’s another good reason to read it: even if it doesn’t turn out to be among your favourite plays of the Bard, at least it won’t take long to find out…. The actual line in King John reads, ‘To gild refined gold, to paint the lily’; over time, this has been abridged to ‘gild the lily’, hence the phrase. I find it amazing how much effort he put into the writing and crafting of text itself. William Shakespeare's Hamlet has been a staple for theatre for centuries, and it's often considered the Bard's magnum opus thanks to the dialogue, compelling characters and tragic ending. As I read through your list, I’m sure I must have seen some of those, but it’s been so long I don’t remember. In college, I watched Love’s Labour’s Lost and found parts of it very funny. I am doing Master’s thesis on Hamlet (ahh how original!… )…. In the introduction to On Shakespeare, a then-75-year-old Tolstoy admitted to rereading Shakespeare’s complete works to see whether his … Congratulations to good ol’ Calpy for not joining It’s a play that doesn’t offer the audience any hope at all: the characters aren’t even offered the stature of tragic protagonists. He still manages to steal a few scenes here and there and doesn’t to marry her out of loyalty, thus making her the Lavinia Swire to And there are always new insights to be had into Hamlet! Shakespeare monologues are a requirement for many undergrad, grad school, and theater company auditions around the globe. Much appreciated. I feel as though a revival is in order! melodramatic heroes and heroines. Shakespeare Day is celebrated every April 23 to recognize the birth and death of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. I always love to hear Shakespeare scholars’ opinion on this: Do you think Henry VI Part II was written before Part I or after? Solo Survival: How to Survive Alone in the Wilderness for 1 week --Eastern Woodlands - Duration: 34:07. Years ago I went to England with a group of writing teachers. Shakespearean clowns are usually insufferable I didn’t put Measure for Measure on the list since, despite my own fondness for it, I felt it wasn’t neglected enough, though now I reflect I suppose the plot isn’t that well known, and it is an oddity among Shakespeare’s plays in all sorts of ways (only one set in Vienna, another ‘problem play’, etc.). You might like my audio books of Conrad’s work. Girls named Imogen have been thankful ever since (or should be!). It found it to be a quite strange and unique play that does not seem to fit precisely into any one genre. It’s certainly a potential ‘problem’ play (is it a comedy, or a romance, much like The Tempest which you mention? It is pretty amazing to me that the only one of these plays you have read is perhaps the most problematic of all Shakespeare and to me it is wonderful that you penetrated so deeply into it. ~ Rebecca. First Gravedigger ( Hamlet) – Often dismissed as merely a comic character, the Gravedigger gives Hamlet a chance to... 3. Thanks for your comment, Rebecca! I wonder how many people were sent to Shakespeare’s play as a result of it…. Please do – the world needs more stage productions of Coriolanus! Nevertheless, the play has been adapted for the big and small screen on several occasions, with King John – he who sealed the Magna Carta in 1215 – being played by Leonard Rossiter in a 1984 BBC adaptation, the opening scene of which can be viewed here. Along with these, there have been several direct adaptations. I’m not even sure if tragicomedy describes it properly. Shakespeare broadened the characters in the stories he found but rarely invented any. His characters are at their most human, his language is at its wittiest and most inventive. “Troilus and Cressida” however gets my vote as Shakespeare’s most underrated play. Check out the blog to know some less-known Shakespeare works. Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, and Mustardseed // A Midsummer’s Night Dream. It was filmed by Ralph Fiennes in 2011, with Fiennes playing the title role. "Aroint thee, witch, aroint thee." I must admit, I am more interested in reading Shakespeare than watching his plays being performed. The second part of the Bard’s trilogy of plays about Henry the Sixth – part of his larger tetralogy of plays about the latter stages of the Wars of the Roses (the culmination of which was Richard III) – is the most accomplished of the trilogy. :) Marsha :), Thanks very much for the comment, Marsha! Thank you for such a great post! Thanks a lot for following my blog. I agree, LLL is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Henry VIII. I will definitely make it a point to read a few of the others! Who knows. We may never know for sure…. King John, I think, was a collaboration, not entirely written by Shakespeare? :) I look forward to becoming better acquainted and informed through the years. The violence in Scene Four where nearly all the characters are left dead illuminates the violence pervading the whole play, as each action is merely a reaction to a previous event. But I have to say that even the most popular of Shakespeare’s plays need close reading and re-reading. Raise your hand if you’ve ever actually LOL-ed You’re right, I should have put in Two Gentlemen, I think – I actually quite like it. come, come, come, come, give me your hand. The leader returns home to Rome but ends up being condemned as a traitor (for railing against the common people) and exiled from the city. Most people that attend public school in an English speaking country face the works of William Shakespeare in high school. (Romeo and Juliet) or, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" On the whole, though, I think Arden are superb. It is fascinating to see his ambition expand through this series of plays. Oxford did a Hamlet (said to be “the most complete” or some such) shortly after Jenkins’ was out and called it “magisterial”.. To me it was as hard to put down as a good detective novel. This is unusual among Shakespeare’s plays, being one of the ‘problem plays’ – named partly because the central character must face some sort of social problem (in this case, Cunobelinus, the British king – or ‘Cymbeline’ – has to deal with the Romans who have occupied Britain) and partly because the play doesn’t fit comfortably into either genre, comedy or tragedy. Dogberry was the sixteenth century Tobias Fünke. Lady More (LADY MORE.) Richard II is a little more widely performed I think (though not as much as, say, Richard III); King John definitely deserves more revivals! He said nothing. What interesting about TITUS ANDRONICUS is that, for all its problems (and it has a lot of them), it makes for quite a lively staged production. I thought it was a great line. The story is retold through garden gnomes living in the backyards of … I know Jo March, Lucy Pevansie, and Anne of Green Gables and had an impact on who I was and who I am. beauty.” Thus, having your eyes gouged out by the Duke of Cornwall not only Your comment about the dog in the play put me in mind of Shakespeare in Love – I think that scene in the film reflects how the play has been overshadowed by the dog for the last 400 years! ... hit amongst critics or audiences, with both wondering why Mater, usually the comic relief and sidekick, became the main character. Of course, it is great to see those plays performed, but the text itself is so literary, complex and quotable. :), Pingback: Tip Number 1 | Another Wannabe Actor Blog. Bertram tells Helena that she may not call him husband until she receives a ring from him and can bear him a child. I’ve heard of most of them and I’m going to see Coriolanus in London next February. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. I memorized them all when I was studying for Jeopardy. to the every wish of a half-man, half-donkey. We'll be seeing you next Thursday. I notice that you have images of the Arden volumes in your post; would that be your recommended version? For anyone interested, his edition is wonderful. And Tom Hiddleston in the lead role probably won’t hurt its popularity either! Meanwhile, the note about Troilus and Cressida doesn’t seem quite right to me, The First Folio printed the play between the tragedies and histories according to David Bevington’s Arden edition you have pictured (I have a digital edition of the Folio from Project Gutenberg that doesn’t have it at all). Coriolanus is one of my favorite things ever written by anyone ever. 3. Here are some of the ones I found in some of Shakespeare's most famous plays: 15. As his actor-trained voice boomed across our small room, I suddenly realized that Shakespeare really wasn’t meant to be read like a book. Then again, hoighty-toighty Malvolio, who is practically Superb! 6)", The Biggest Little-Known Influence on H. P. Lovecraft. I’ve added your blog to my library ‘Café’ at the top of this blog by the way. Servingman (MAN.) Wider reading of his “other” plays gives newer insights into our own “favourite” Shakespeare plays. Another fact about “Comedy of Errors”; it is an adaptation of “The Menechmus Twins” by the Roman playwright Plautus. am very fond of reading Shakespeare have read bunch of his plays and stories. the better end of the mortality stick. Everyone knows Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Richard III (or knows of them at least). But, speaking of The Hollow Crown makes me think of Tom Hiddleston… I’m very excited about the production of Coriolanus that he’s in this winter. He was merely trying to grab attention. Pingback: Ten Underrated Shakespeare Plays | My BlogThe Philosopher's blog. but it’s worth a look. Its standout scenes undoubtedly involve the rebels, led by Jack Cade, marching on London (echoing real-life events in the capital in 1450 where the conflict centred on London Bridge). I’ve long had a soft spot for “Love’s Labour’s Lost”. Let the Shakespeare onslaught begin! I saw a production of The Winter’s Tale last year. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! When we finally settled down, he still didn’t speak. Great post. I’m glad I did, or I wouldn’t have become familiar with “Timon of Athens,” which is one of my favorite Shakespeare’s plays. Recommended edition: Timon of Athens (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series). 5. Oops! And if you aren't a leading lady, start practising your deferential maid. The Comedy of Errors. Getting the more well-known scenes out of the way, this is one of the greatest examples of a female having a breakdown in Shakespeare’s work. Interestingly, Henry VI part 2 was written before parts 1 & 3. The ability to turn a mistake into the subject for interesting intellectual discussion is indeed a gift. ), though. Given the perennial popularity of the Tudors, as witnessed by the glut of television dramas and documentaries, it’s perhaps odd that this – the one Shakespeare play to deal with that dynasty – is among his least-known. But yes, I LOVE Hamlet. King John. It has also been described as one of Shakespeare’s problem plays. For all you Shakespeare fans out there (and we are legion). It too is one of the problem plays and defies genre-classification. This was another early comedy – thought to have been written by Shakespeare in around 1594 – and so lacks the sophistication of the later comedies (though not in terms of its convoluted and contrived plot structure!). I have some Plautus somewhere, and have only ever read The Pot of Gold, so will have to see if I have that one…. I can see why it isn’t so celebrated as other comedies, but you certainly get something a little different from the other, better-known plays. least he got a love interest, but he gets no such luck in the play. Excellent, factual essay. Shakespeare wasn’t a novelist like Charles Dickens or Stephen King. I remember seeing it at the Globe a few years ago and being blown away by it. By the way, what is your preferred edition of Shakespeare’s plays? Everyone will have his or her own favorite Shakespeare that one would like to re-watch, re-read and revisit time and again. I’m still waiting for a production of Two Noble Kinsmen…. For many literature geeks, this doesn’t go unnoticed. But what about the others? No he is not overrated. But I still consider myself lucky to be able to pursue Hamlet as a thesis topic. Despite the use of Shakespearian language it was very easy for the modern person to follow the plot line … I can’t recommend it highly enough. Justice: served. corpses. It’s their loss but it’s a tragedy in its own right. I was surprised to see Coriolanus in the list. That’s great, thanks Steve! He was a playwright. business in Norway and all of a sudden had to take over a castle filled with I’d add The Winter’s Tale and Pericles (Shakespeare most likely wrote roughly half of the play) to this list. The play is widely viewed as something of an experiment; many scholars believe the play to have been the work of two hands, namely Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton. Yes, I’d be keen to hear more about this. I fear you’re right – its title is well known but in terms of content, character, and themes it’s not as well known as it should be! Him the sidekick to a sidekick out there ( and we are legion ) it. Around the Globe audience almost as confused as the others play ” of! And this play and this play and this play that the Globe theatre burned down in 1613 sidekick, the! 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