Start of the journey

The life and works of William Shakespeare are a vast subject, and for me, it is difficult to know how and where, to fight my way in. I have so many questions, opinions and ideas going round in my head. Its hard. The first thing, is probably the most obvious. The language. When I watch, usually a DVD or read one of the plays, I think, right now, I'm struggling to understand, not the words but the way they are put together. A friend has told me when reading the plays, to say the words out loud, its like learning french, god help me, though I do think, that will help. Watching the plays, I have no problem following the story, just feel I'm missing out a bit, I don't really have any worries it will come to me, eventually. After all that is what it is all about, the language of Shakespeare. I love it, when I hear one of the famous and well known lines or speeches. If music be the food of love, then play on. If that is not the correct quotation, feel free to set me strait. From Twelfth Night. I watched the DVD, with Imogen Stubs, Nigel Hawthorne, Ben Kingsly and Helena Bonham Carter. I thought it was absolutely outstanding. That is another thing I love. The actors. They line up to be in one Shakespeare's plays. When I was growing up, it was Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, terrific players. Wish I had saw them on stage, chewing up the scenery, as Maggy Smith once said about Olivier, it was something like that. The actors of this generation are also fantastic. I really thought Imogen Stubbs was wonderful in Twelfth Night, as was Nigel Hawthorne.
I am coming to a lot of these plays for the first time, So I feel really privileged, excited and lucky. Some of them, I seem to know the story. as if through osmosis or something. But take Twelfth Night for instance, I did not know what it was about. I had heard of it, of course. You have no idea how delighted I was with it. Made me laugh and when I was laughing, I thought this is magic, it gave me such a buzz and I felt as if I had joined some kind of exclusive club of Shakespeare lovers. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't think it will be to long before I watch it again. That is why I feel lucky. There are a lot of the plays like that, I will be seeing them for the first time and I'm sure a lot of them will have the same impact on me.
I seem to have been talking a lot about Twelfth Night. That might be the way I shall write this blog, picking on one play, each time. I don't know though, I would not like to put any restrictions or boundaries, on how I go on with my Shakespeare Journey.