One day off, last Sunday. So I grabbed my chance to go to the Cinema and see the much anticipated, on my part, Coriolanus. I enjoyed the film immensely, but this is not a film review, at least I'm not intending to make it one, but it might be later on. I had been reading the play for some time, see previous post, and it was a struggle. The reason it was a struggle was because I was reading it in small installments. That doesn't really work for me. Reading Shakespeare is so different from watching it being performed. I cant read it as I would read a novel, no one can. The writing is so rich and complex, you have to give it your full concentration. I will have to be disciplined and set aside time, so I am able to read large swathes of a play at a sitting. Hopefully finish, say Macbeth in one or two goes. The longer ones, like Hamlet, a few more.
So Coriolanus. Or, The Tragedy of Coriolanus. It is set in ancient Rome in the early days of the Republic, hundreds of years before Julius Caesar. It starts of with the citizens of Rome, hungry and short of grain, complaining about the rich, with their grain stores crammed full. Caius Martius, appears to treat the people with contempt. When Rome goes to war with the Volcaisians, Caius Martius attacks and defeats the city of Corioles. In the battle he fights hand to hand with Aufidius. They are both cut up pretty badly and are helped away by their men. When he goes back to Rome, victorious. He is given, in his honour, the name Coriolanus. He is then appointed consul by the Senate but he refuses to show the people his wounds, as is custom and will not humble himself, still treating the citizens with contempt. So the Tribunes encourage the citizens, to turn against him and accuse him of treason. They have him banished. Coriolanus, in a rage, seeks out the Volscian army, finds Aufidius and offers to lead them against Rome. Back in Rome they hear of the impending attack, they send out, first Cominius, who comes back without even having a chance to speak with Coriolanus. They then persuaded Menenius Agrippa, his friend to try and talk him out of the attack. Coriolanus barely acknowledges him. Finally his mother Volumnia, with his wife Virgilia and son have their chance. His mother, in a great speech pleads with him. Coriolanus finally agrees not to attack Rome. Meanwhile close advisers of Aufidius have been telling their General that Coriolanus has become too powerful and popular with their own army. They kill him and Aufidius tramples on his body. It is not easy explaining the whole play to you. All I will say is it had a wonderful effect on me, I loved it. Reading the play was difficult but so rewarding. A few of the great speeches, as when his mother, Volumnia, is pleading with Coriolanus not to attack Rome, had me hooked. When, Menenius speaking to Sicinius, about the chances of Volumnia, persuading her Son not to attack Rome.
Sicinius says "Is't possible that so short a time can alter a man".
Menenius replies, "There is differency between a grub and a butterfly; yet your butterfly was a grub. This Martius has grown from man to dragon: he has wings: he's more than a creeping thing.
Sicinius "He loved his mother dearly"
Menenius "So did he me: and he
no more remembers his mother
now than an eight year-old horse. The
tartness
of his face sours ripe grapes: when he
walks, he
moves like an engine, and the ground
shrinks before
his treading: he is able to pierce a corslet
with
his eye; talks like a knell, and his hum is a
battery. He sits in a state, as a thing
made for
Alexander, What he bids be done is finished
with
his bidding. He wants nothing of a god but
eternity
and a heaven to throne in.
I love that scene. I think I could spend a large part off my life on Coriolanus, alone. That's the thing with Shakespeare, I'll be dead, before I get to the end of my journey. The thing is, I love the plays and writing of Shakespeare and it will be a life long joy to read his plays and once in a blue moon, see them performed live on stage. I hope they make more and more of the plays into movies. I know its not the same as live theater, but I love watching them on DVD.
I'd like to say some things about the movie, Coriolanus. I thought it was fantastic. Ralph Fiennes as Caius Martius and afterwards Coriolanus, was brilliant. Lets hope he dose more Shakespeare. Gerard Butler as Aufidius, was no surprise, I knew he would be great. He looked like that mad Spartan from 300 but played the part brilliantly. I thought Jessica Chastain as Virgilia was really good. I noticed while reading the play, she doesn't have a lot to say. So in the film, she didn't say much, her presence and her acting were superb. Lubna Azabal, playing one of the citizens, was excellent. James Nesbitt as Sicinius, well I knew, like Butler, he'd be great and he was. Jon Snow reading the news, was a surprise, he was excellent, read his lines like a keen school teacher. I thought Vanessa Redgrave was good but, and I think I will have to see it again, she didn't bring her big speeches alive, for me. That leaves the mighty, Brian Cox. As Menenius, I just thought he was fantastic. I might be biased, he is one of my favourite actors, but I think his part held the whole film together. Going from Citizens to Tribunes, from Volumnia to his friend Coriolanus. Acting the fool with his son. He just seemed to have more complexity than most. I'm not saying the other characters lacked complexity, far from it. As I've said, The Tragedy of Coriolanus, will keep me busy and entertained for ever.
Well that was, Coriolanus. I may not mention him in my blog again. But that doesn't mean I'm finished with him. I think I will go onto, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, next. So it may be a while before my next post.
I would like to thank Trish Nicholson, who was kind enough to look over an early draft of this post. I was really struggling and Trish gave me so much tips and advice. I cant thank her enough. Follow her on twitter @TrishaNicholson she is ace. Thanks to Andy Maginley, he helped with the quotes, follow him on twitter too @AndrewMaginley A real renaissance man. And as always, DB for her great encouragement.
I'M going to post this, as it is. If I'm lucky enough to have a few readers, please let me know if I have written a load of tosh, It's only my humble attempt to write down my thoughts.
So long for now
George
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Monday, 16 January 2012
Friendly Blogs II
After writing my last post, I got some feedback on twitter. One of the tweets was from someone who's opinion I value very much @EHChalis If you are on twitter, you should follow her. Anyway, Elaine suggested that I read Shakespeare out loud. I have actually tried it, albeit whispering. Well today I gave it the full treatment. I had the house to myself and I went up to my bedroom picked up Julius Caesar, not Coriolanus. And like a true Shakespearean (ham) actor I read half a dozen pages out loud. I think it helped but if it did or didn't, I really enjoyed doing it. I didn't try it with Coriolanus as I've nearly finished it, so I thought I'd try it on a "new play". I'll tell you something, I'm going to love Julius Caesar. And I think I will invest in the old DVD with Brando. Ive got a funny feeling he doesn't actually play Caesar. I'm pretty sure in fact, that Caesar isn't the main character in the play. is it not Brutus? and is that not the part Brando plays? I shall find out. Anyway, whether it's because I have a little knowledge of the story or it was the reading out loud, what ever. I can't wait to get into The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.
This is not the original path I was going to take on my Shakespeare journey. I intended to start, well not start as Ive been reading random plays up until now. Macbeth, Othello and Romeo and Juliet. My thinking was to read Henry IV part 1 and 2 then Henry V. I was dying to read all about Falstaff. That's another thing. I was watching University Challenge a while back, one of the questions was. In which play does Falstaff first appear? well I made a right arse of myself, shouting out Henry IV Part 1. That's wrong, to my family's joy and my red face. I'm sure they said it was The Merry Wives of Windsor. I think I was right all along, because I consulted my copy of Jane Armstrong's brilliant, The Arden Shakespeare Miscellany and she says that The Merry Wives of Windsor was supposedly written as a request from Queen Elizabeth, who according to tradition wished to see Falstaff in love. So to my thinking, unless the Queen made up the character of Sir John Falstaff and I don't believe that for a second, how else would she have known about him? She must have saw him in Henry IV Part 1. This may all be totally wrong and you may think I'm barking up the wrong tree, but don't worry about me, I'll work it out in the end, It's all part of the journey. My original path. My original path was sidelined by Coriolanus. The reason being, the new movie coming out and because I didn't have a clue of how the story went, I wanted to be familiar with the play. As Ive said in my last post I found Coriolanus a challenge and it was when his mother Volumnia came into the play that opened the door for me. I have a strange copy of Coriolanus, well its more awkward than strange. All the names of the characters are abbreviated, and with my stupid bad memory I struggle to remember who is talking. I'll persevere with it, then maybe when I come to re read it I'll choose a better copy. So that's my reading lined up for the next few months. Coriolanus, Julius Caesar then Antony and Cleopatra. Henry and Sir John F will still be there when I get round to them. All a part of my Shakespeare Journey.
I'd like to say a few words on a couple of books I bought recently. Shakespeare and Co by Stanley Wells and William Shakespeare A Documentary Life by Samuel Schoenbaum. I haven't had time to get into them yet, but I am very exited about them. They both came highly recommended and I think they may loom large over my future posts.
Thanks for reading and many thanks for you kind encouragement on twitter!
So long for now
George
This is not the original path I was going to take on my Shakespeare journey. I intended to start, well not start as Ive been reading random plays up until now. Macbeth, Othello and Romeo and Juliet. My thinking was to read Henry IV part 1 and 2 then Henry V. I was dying to read all about Falstaff. That's another thing. I was watching University Challenge a while back, one of the questions was. In which play does Falstaff first appear? well I made a right arse of myself, shouting out Henry IV Part 1. That's wrong, to my family's joy and my red face. I'm sure they said it was The Merry Wives of Windsor. I think I was right all along, because I consulted my copy of Jane Armstrong's brilliant, The Arden Shakespeare Miscellany and she says that The Merry Wives of Windsor was supposedly written as a request from Queen Elizabeth, who according to tradition wished to see Falstaff in love. So to my thinking, unless the Queen made up the character of Sir John Falstaff and I don't believe that for a second, how else would she have known about him? She must have saw him in Henry IV Part 1. This may all be totally wrong and you may think I'm barking up the wrong tree, but don't worry about me, I'll work it out in the end, It's all part of the journey. My original path. My original path was sidelined by Coriolanus. The reason being, the new movie coming out and because I didn't have a clue of how the story went, I wanted to be familiar with the play. As Ive said in my last post I found Coriolanus a challenge and it was when his mother Volumnia came into the play that opened the door for me. I have a strange copy of Coriolanus, well its more awkward than strange. All the names of the characters are abbreviated, and with my stupid bad memory I struggle to remember who is talking. I'll persevere with it, then maybe when I come to re read it I'll choose a better copy. So that's my reading lined up for the next few months. Coriolanus, Julius Caesar then Antony and Cleopatra. Henry and Sir John F will still be there when I get round to them. All a part of my Shakespeare Journey.
I'd like to say a few words on a couple of books I bought recently. Shakespeare and Co by Stanley Wells and William Shakespeare A Documentary Life by Samuel Schoenbaum. I haven't had time to get into them yet, but I am very exited about them. They both came highly recommended and I think they may loom large over my future posts.
Thanks for reading and many thanks for you kind encouragement on twitter!
So long for now
George
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Friendly Blogs
In the last few weeks I have been reading a lot of blog posts. Everyone of them have been so helpful. From Shakespeare BT to Shakespeareana. I also enrolled in Getting to know Shakespeare with Paul Edmondson, a free online course from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. I am so greatful to them for making the course available.
I have been reading Coriolanus since before Christmas and to be honest, it's been a bit of a struggle. I think I know what the problem is. It's so obvious I feel foolish writing it down. It's the first play I've read where I didn't know the story already. So for the first time, I found it a real challenge. All of Shakespeare's writing is challenging. But for me there is always a key that lets me in. This happened in Coriolanus in Act IV With his mother Volumnia, that is when it takes off for me. I would love to see it on stage, to make sure I've understood what is actually going on. The movie of Coriolanus is out at the end of the month, really looking forward to seeing it.
I read a really great blog post frome Shakespeareana. It was all about a technique for reading, well actualy performing Shakespeare, called Hall's Pause. It's in a book by Ron Rosenbaum called The Shakespeare Wars: Clashing Scholars, Publiic Fiascoes, Palace Coups. I am going to try and read the plays this way. Basically it means taking a tiny pause after every line. I've tried it and I think, it works for me. The only thing is it takes ages to read the play. But, because it takes longer, it enhances the love of the writing. If you are reading this, like me, you must love the writing. Shakespeare's writing. We all love it!
Before I finish I would like to urge you to enrol in "Getting to Know Shakespeare" it really is an excellent course. I owe a great deal of gratitude to The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and I would love to visit them in the near future. Hopefully this summer. To walk in Shakespeare's footsteps and be part of it all would be amazing.
So long for now
George.
I have been reading Coriolanus since before Christmas and to be honest, it's been a bit of a struggle. I think I know what the problem is. It's so obvious I feel foolish writing it down. It's the first play I've read where I didn't know the story already. So for the first time, I found it a real challenge. All of Shakespeare's writing is challenging. But for me there is always a key that lets me in. This happened in Coriolanus in Act IV With his mother Volumnia, that is when it takes off for me. I would love to see it on stage, to make sure I've understood what is actually going on. The movie of Coriolanus is out at the end of the month, really looking forward to seeing it.
I read a really great blog post frome Shakespeareana. It was all about a technique for reading, well actualy performing Shakespeare, called Hall's Pause. It's in a book by Ron Rosenbaum called The Shakespeare Wars: Clashing Scholars, Publiic Fiascoes, Palace Coups. I am going to try and read the plays this way. Basically it means taking a tiny pause after every line. I've tried it and I think, it works for me. The only thing is it takes ages to read the play. But, because it takes longer, it enhances the love of the writing. If you are reading this, like me, you must love the writing. Shakespeare's writing. We all love it!
Before I finish I would like to urge you to enrol in "Getting to Know Shakespeare" it really is an excellent course. I owe a great deal of gratitude to The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and I would love to visit them in the near future. Hopefully this summer. To walk in Shakespeare's footsteps and be part of it all would be amazing.
So long for now
George.
Sunday, 11 December 2011
The Gist of Shakespeare
From the title of this post you can probably guess what it's going to be about. I am building up a small library of Shakespeare's plays. I recently changed from Penguin to Arden. The Penguin copies are fine but I just thought the Arden series has everything, great introductions and notes etc and DB recommended them. It feels I'm some how closer to Shakespeare reading Arden. Christmas is coming and everyone knows what to get me, as long as they speak to each other and coordinate their choices. I am still finding it difficult to read the plays but that is where the gist of it comes in. After I finish reading one of the plays, most recently Coriolanus, I always have the gist of what it is about. Then if I'm lucky enough I will see the play on DVD and it is all clear to me. I can't explain the kick I get out of reading Shakespeare, you might think I'm mad, reading something I don't really understand. But I get a funny feeling in my heart when I do get immersed in the writing. Do you think that sounds crazy? Well these are only my thoughts.
It's been quite a while since my last post and I've been thinking about it all that time, how to explain my thoughts, without sounding like a moron. Not sure if I succeeded.
I mentioned Coriolanus before and great news, they have made it into a movie with Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler and Brian Cox. I am really looking forward to seeing it. The trailer looks great, you can easily find it on YouTube. I think there are some people who cant get there head round the idea of Shakespeare's plays been set in modern times, I have no problem with it, as long as they stick to the original text. Macbeth with Patrick Stewart is a brilliant example as is Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet. Both fantastic films. I am going to try and get myself organized next year and somehow manage to get down south and visit Stratford upon Avon and London. I would love to see a play in the Globe and all the other Shakespearean theaters. I love my DVD collection but you can't beat the real thing.
This post seems to be all over the place and I'm glad I've finished it. I'll try and be more coherent next time, not promising though. I might say something about Shakespeare & Co By the great Stanley Wells. Which I've just started reading and I'm very excited about it
So Long, Till Then.
It's been quite a while since my last post and I've been thinking about it all that time, how to explain my thoughts, without sounding like a moron. Not sure if I succeeded.
I mentioned Coriolanus before and great news, they have made it into a movie with Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler and Brian Cox. I am really looking forward to seeing it. The trailer looks great, you can easily find it on YouTube. I think there are some people who cant get there head round the idea of Shakespeare's plays been set in modern times, I have no problem with it, as long as they stick to the original text. Macbeth with Patrick Stewart is a brilliant example as is Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet. Both fantastic films. I am going to try and get myself organized next year and somehow manage to get down south and visit Stratford upon Avon and London. I would love to see a play in the Globe and all the other Shakespearean theaters. I love my DVD collection but you can't beat the real thing.
This post seems to be all over the place and I'm glad I've finished it. I'll try and be more coherent next time, not promising though. I might say something about Shakespeare & Co By the great Stanley Wells. Which I've just started reading and I'm very excited about it
So Long, Till Then.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Lear and Anonymous
My DVD of King Lear arrived the other day. It is the version with Paul Scofield as Lear. Directed by Peter Brook. Its been a strange sequence of events. Our postman came late and put the DVD through the letterbox when I had just sat down to watch Twelfth Night. So I put it on the shelf and thought I'll watch it tomorrow. Tomorrow was St Crispin's day, which is today now, if you see what I mean? Anyway, I thought logically its St Crispin's day so I'll watch Henry V. Nah! I couldn't wait so I watched King Lear. It was sitting on my shelf looking at me and its only a month or two since I watched Henry V. So King Lear got the nod. King Lear was the first Shakespeare play I ever saw live at the theater. It was years ago at the Edinburgh festival and I think that's what gave me my love for Shakespeare, that's what kicked it all off. So I have a great love for this particular tragedy. Brooks film is very gritty, shot in black and white and filmed on the frozen tundra. I think the location is in Denmark. Paul Scofield as Lear is immense and all the supporting cast are fantastic. All the treachery and tragedy are there, its a very grim story with poor old Gloucester getting his eyes gouged out. Lear's daughters Goneril killing Regan then killing herself. When Cordelia his third daughter is murdered at the end, the old man is left to mourn his daughter, the only one who loved him in the first place. Then he himself dies. There is a lot more to the story than that and it'll not be long before I watch it again.
Something I have noticed while studying Shakespeare, you have to really pay attention. That little summary above is not nearly good enough. Its lazy and light on detail. There is so much going on in a Shakespeare play, when I try to write about one of them, its like coming up against a brick wall. I mean when I start to write about certain characters, I haven't got the confidence to go on in case I am talking rubbish. So if you leave a comment, be gentle and point me in the right direction. You don't have to be too gentle, I've got a thick skin
A quick word on this new film coming out, Anonymous. It was on the news tonight. In Stratford-upon-Avon all the statues and anything with Shakespeare on it was covered with white sheets including his name blanked out. All in protest of this movie. I can't help feeling its a bit of an own goal. I mean why give them any more publicity. I have come late to Shakespeare and I'm damned if I'm going to let a load of clever, full of themselves academics. or not so academic Holywood money grabers, tell me he didn't write his own plays. And the thing is, I'm a truck driver from Scotland and I wasn't around in Shakespeare's time, but neither were they and neither was Robert Plumer Ward or Thomas Looney, who I would put in the same league as Dan Brown The Davinci Code "expert" I know there are other theories but you can't keep attacking one man with a scatter gun full of candidates. I'll finish now pointing you in the direction of 60 minutes with Shakespeare 60-minutes.bloggingshakespeare.com Think that will get you there. @DaintyBallerina and @stanley_wells on twitter are two great champions of Shakespeare, seek them out their defence makes more sense than mine.
Something I have noticed while studying Shakespeare, you have to really pay attention. That little summary above is not nearly good enough. Its lazy and light on detail. There is so much going on in a Shakespeare play, when I try to write about one of them, its like coming up against a brick wall. I mean when I start to write about certain characters, I haven't got the confidence to go on in case I am talking rubbish. So if you leave a comment, be gentle and point me in the right direction. You don't have to be too gentle, I've got a thick skin
A quick word on this new film coming out, Anonymous. It was on the news tonight. In Stratford-upon-Avon all the statues and anything with Shakespeare on it was covered with white sheets including his name blanked out. All in protest of this movie. I can't help feeling its a bit of an own goal. I mean why give them any more publicity. I have come late to Shakespeare and I'm damned if I'm going to let a load of clever, full of themselves academics. or not so academic Holywood money grabers, tell me he didn't write his own plays. And the thing is, I'm a truck driver from Scotland and I wasn't around in Shakespeare's time, but neither were they and neither was Robert Plumer Ward or Thomas Looney, who I would put in the same league as Dan Brown The Davinci Code "expert" I know there are other theories but you can't keep attacking one man with a scatter gun full of candidates. I'll finish now pointing you in the direction of 60 minutes with Shakespeare 60-minutes.bloggingshakespeare.com Think that will get you there. @DaintyBallerina and @stanley_wells on twitter are two great champions of Shakespeare, seek them out their defence makes more sense than mine.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Shylock
How do I start this post? I want to talk about The Merchant of Venice. Had an empty house this afternoon, a rare occasion. So I had peace to watch the DVD. It is a fantastic movie, great locations, magical music and wonderful actors. But what about the story, the play. It is a fantastic tale. Bassanio needs money to be able to go and win the the heart of Portia, a rich beauty. He asks his friend Antonio to stake him. Antonio who appears to be in love with him, borrows the money from Shylock, a Jewish money lender. In their bond Shylock asks only for a pound of flesh if he fails to pay the dept. Antonio's investments, merchant ships that will make him rich, are all wrecked. So he can't pay the dept. There is a lot more to the story and I urge you to see it.
The part I would like to comment on, is the scene when Shylock demands his pound of flesh. Portia dressed up as a young Doctor (Lawyer) is able to save Antonio's life. She is very clever and to me is one of Shakespeare's greatest characters, she makes all the men in the play, look like idiots.
Its the question of antisemitism that I would like to address. This blog is called A Shakespeare Journey and I am still at the start. There is a lot of controversy surrounding Shakespeare. One of the debates is. Was he antisemitic? When Portia in, The Merchant of Venice, gets Antonio off the hook, the punishment met out to Shylock is very heavy. Half his fortune is to be given to Antonio and half to the state. He is forced to renounce his Judaism and become a Christian. Now this is a dangerous conclusion from me. I have only saw the DVD and not read the text of the play. All through the play we see how Jews are mistreated in Venice, not given the same freedoms as Christians, being spat upon in the streets and canals. I think Shakespeare showed us, how it was at the time, all over Europe. My conclusion is that like writers of today, he exposed the predgdices of the people at that time and hopefully helped change opinions. In Shylock's speeches he describes, as I see it, that we are all the same. If you prick me, do I not bleed. I thought it was heart breaking the way he is persecuted and brought down to his knees. It may have been symbolic of how Jews have been persecuted down through the ages and to this day, still suffer antisemitism.
Shakespeare wrote this play with those speeches. That is why I think he was a genius and wasn't antisemitic. These are just my thoughts, I hope they are not too simplistic. This post was really hard to write, I felt as if I was tying myself in knots sometimes. I hope I was not biased because of my love for Shakespeare. I would hate to think he was antisemitic. And I, don't think he was. I hate bigots, racism, antisemitism and wish we could all just live and let live. I know, that's a cliche. how else can I put it? If you don't agree with my views, well, you can leave a comment.
The part I would like to comment on, is the scene when Shylock demands his pound of flesh. Portia dressed up as a young Doctor (Lawyer) is able to save Antonio's life. She is very clever and to me is one of Shakespeare's greatest characters, she makes all the men in the play, look like idiots.
Its the question of antisemitism that I would like to address. This blog is called A Shakespeare Journey and I am still at the start. There is a lot of controversy surrounding Shakespeare. One of the debates is. Was he antisemitic? When Portia in, The Merchant of Venice, gets Antonio off the hook, the punishment met out to Shylock is very heavy. Half his fortune is to be given to Antonio and half to the state. He is forced to renounce his Judaism and become a Christian. Now this is a dangerous conclusion from me. I have only saw the DVD and not read the text of the play. All through the play we see how Jews are mistreated in Venice, not given the same freedoms as Christians, being spat upon in the streets and canals. I think Shakespeare showed us, how it was at the time, all over Europe. My conclusion is that like writers of today, he exposed the predgdices of the people at that time and hopefully helped change opinions. In Shylock's speeches he describes, as I see it, that we are all the same. If you prick me, do I not bleed. I thought it was heart breaking the way he is persecuted and brought down to his knees. It may have been symbolic of how Jews have been persecuted down through the ages and to this day, still suffer antisemitism.
Shakespeare wrote this play with those speeches. That is why I think he was a genius and wasn't antisemitic. These are just my thoughts, I hope they are not too simplistic. This post was really hard to write, I felt as if I was tying myself in knots sometimes. I hope I was not biased because of my love for Shakespeare. I would hate to think he was antisemitic. And I, don't think he was. I hate bigots, racism, antisemitism and wish we could all just live and let live. I know, that's a cliche. how else can I put it? If you don't agree with my views, well, you can leave a comment.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Thoughts
When I started this blog, DB said I should write my thoughts on Shakespeare. Somehow I had forgotten that and I think, tried to be a half assed scholar. I wish I was, I'm not. In the past, I've mentioned that I don't have much time to myself. I do think about Shakespeare every day and try to read something, whether its a blog or the notes from one of the plays. I will have to buy more books. I have a few and read them all. The best thing for me though, is watching it live in a theater. That is a very very rare treat. Second best is the DVDs, and I love them. When I'm on the road, I have loads of time to think, daydream more like. Sometimes I will think of one of the plays, say The Merchant of Venice. I will think of scenes, speeches and characters. Al Pacino "If they prick me, do I not Bleed". Fantastic. Or maybe one of the comedies, my favourite Twelfth Night. I'll think about it all day, then I'll promise myself to watch it when I get home. Never happens, always too tired.
On Twitter I follow @ShakespeareBT. They are brilliant, with links to blogs and little film clips from Stratford-upon-Avon. There is a great series of blogs now, on the sources of the plays, and how Shakespeare takes an old story and makes it his own. There is a big debate going on just now. All about whether Shakespeare wrote the plays, some people think it was someone else. I think it is probably an old debate and one I'll follow with interest. I get the feeling that the non believers are a load off windup merchants and are a bit full of themselves. There is a new movie coming out, which tries to prove Shakespeare didn't write the plays, I guess you know who's side I'll be on. And I ain't lining up with the philistines. There is a great defence been setup, 60 brilliant people give you 60 seconds each, telling you why Shakespeare did write his own plays. Its a website called bloggingshakespeare.com 60 minutes, you'll find it easily on google. It's fantastic, Dainty Ballerina is on it and you get to hear her voice, very posh! and her real name, which I'll not repeat here. You will have to check it out yourself.
On Twitter I follow @ShakespeareBT. They are brilliant, with links to blogs and little film clips from Stratford-upon-Avon. There is a great series of blogs now, on the sources of the plays, and how Shakespeare takes an old story and makes it his own. There is a big debate going on just now. All about whether Shakespeare wrote the plays, some people think it was someone else. I think it is probably an old debate and one I'll follow with interest. I get the feeling that the non believers are a load off windup merchants and are a bit full of themselves. There is a new movie coming out, which tries to prove Shakespeare didn't write the plays, I guess you know who's side I'll be on. And I ain't lining up with the philistines. There is a great defence been setup, 60 brilliant people give you 60 seconds each, telling you why Shakespeare did write his own plays. Its a website called bloggingshakespeare.com 60 minutes, you'll find it easily on google. It's fantastic, Dainty Ballerina is on it and you get to hear her voice, very posh! and her real name, which I'll not repeat here. You will have to check it out yourself.
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