Day 59: And of course...a Comedy of Errors word cloud!

This one is interesting. It sort of looks like they say the character names about a million times more often than any other word in the play.

Day 58: Finally! I can watch Big Business!

I'm excited that I'm finally reading The Comedy of Errors. Apparently it involves two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth and was the basis of the movie Big Business starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. Wahoo! I saw that movie in the 80's. I'm half-way home!

But obviously I should watch it again. You know, for research.

Day 57: New Play Tuesday! The Comedy of Errors

Finally! The Comedy of Errors! This is actually the play I had intended to read first but then got sidetracked (several times over). I'm excited!

Day 56: What I Learned: King Lear

image from ow-myeye.com

Well first of all I learned that if you are squeamish about bad things happening to people's eyes, you are NOT going to like parts of King Lear. At all. And NEVER audition for the role of Gloucester in a cinéma vérité production of the play. That's all I'm going to say about that. (BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO HIS EYES!)

The second thing I learned is that there are a LOT of words and phrases in King Lear that we still use today, but not as many direct quotes. Most of them are paraphrased or else rarely attributed to Shakespeare. Well, either that or they ARE commonly quoted AND often attributed to Shakespeare and I just didn't know that because I wasn't paying attention and need to improve my Shakespearean education. Which is what this whole year is about, so get off my back.

Anyway, here are just a few of the words and phrases that jumped out at me in the play:

"Flibbertigibbet" 
Except it was used as a proper noun to reference a specific demon...who talked a lot about stupid random stuff, I'm guessing.

"Fie, foh and fum
I smell the blood of a British man"
What the what? How old IS that phrase? And what did it even mean before the Jack and the Beanstalk story made it famous? Wikipedia wasn't sure and I stopped looking after that. Sorry.

"Kill thy physician"
Mike says he hadn't heard this phrase, but I know I have. I just didn't know it came from this play.


"Fathers that wear rags
Do make their children blind.
But fathers that bear bags
Shall see their children kind."
Not a famous phrase, but totally should be.

"Now, gods, stand up for bastards!"
Another great line that should be famous but probably isn't.

"Unfriended"

Okay, I know he didn't mean it in the Facebook sense, but it made me smile.

"Nothing will come of nothing"
Which caused me to have this song in my head on a near-constant loop:

Day 55: Hey! Summerset Abbey is like King Lear in reverse!

So I recently read and reviewed this book, Summerset Abbey, by T.J. Brown. It was okay, but I read it because it was recommended for "fans of Downton Abbey" (which I am) and I didn't feel it quite lived up to that recommendation. If, however, it had been marketed to "fans of King Lear" well, that might have been another story.

It wasn't until I started reading King Lear this week that noticed how much the book is influenced by the play. I mean, it's about three sisters (sort of) and it has themes of inheritance and illegitimacy (feel free to stop reading this if you don't want to know too much about the book...or the play, for that matter) but the more I think about it, the more I realize it's King Lear in reverse.

Day 54: Whoops! I forgot

So last week I had a bit of time off--Shakespeare-wise--because I was reading Romeo & Juliet. Since I'd already read that one multiple times, I breezed through it in a day and was blissfully Shakespeare-free for over a week. Actually, it wasn't blissful. I rather missed reading Shakespeare but I had a lot of other reading to do for my other blogs, so I figured I'd take the time rather than getting a jump on the next play.

Then Tuesday rolled around and I realized it was time to start King Lear. Easy! Let's do it, I thought. And so far it's a great play. The only problem is that I'd spent over a week not reading any of the plays that I think I got out of practice. I kept forgetting to read it. And then yesterday I forgot to blog about it. What would I have blogged about anyway? I haven't gotten very far in King Lear and I'm supposed to be almost done by now.

The problem is that I already had a "Day 54" blog post scheduled to be published today, whether I had written anything or not. It was sort of a doomsday device for myself that I HAD to blog every day or else the post would be published whether I was ready or not, blank if need be. Of course with any doomsday device, it's only as good as the person's ability to remember that it exists.

Which I didn't.

So now I'm editing my previously-blank "Day 54" post. On the bright side, now I have something to blog about!

Tomorrow: What I Learned From King Lear

(Later Today: Reading King Lear)

Day 53: Are you near Oregon? IT'S KING LEAR TIME FOR YOU!

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is putting on a production of King Lear from February 21 - November 3, 2013. THAT'S RIGHT NOW! If you are anywhere near Ashland & Rogue Valley (wherever the hell that is), or will be before November, you should definitely check it out! (then leave a message on this blog to tell me how it was!)

Find out all the details at their website:
osfashland.org

Day 52: King Lear: Some Facts

Sir Ian McKellan as King Lear (via)

• The Tragedy of King Lear is thought to have been written sometime around 1605. 
• It takes place in the 8th century B.C.
• Its (very) sad ending was frequently performed differently--as a happy ending--during the late 17th, most of the 18th, and even part of the 19th centuries. 
• Some modern phrases appear--albeit slightly differently--in King Lear: "forgive and forget," "last but not least," "come full circle," and "every inch a king."
• Laurence Olivier played King Lear in a TV adaptation in 1983, his last Shakespearean performance before he died. Orson Welles was in talks with a French production company to direct and star in a film version of the play before his death in 1985.
• Sir Ian McKellan (above) played King Lear on stage in 2007 in a Royal Shakespeare Company production.

Day 51: King Lear Word Cloud

What's a new play without a new wordle? Is it just me, or does this one look like a rocket ship? Probably just me.

Day 50: New Play Tuesday! King Lear

King Lear! Ooh I know this one! It's the one with the daughters and it was the basis of that movie A Thousand Acres (which I didn't see) based on the book by Jane Smiley (which I didn't read, but I read her other book Moo). Hmm...okay maybe I don't actually know that much about King Lear. 

Day 49: What I Learned: Romeo and Juliet

Sculpture of Romeo and Juliet at entrance to Delacorte Theatre in Central Park (which also features another sculpture of Prospero and Miranda from The Tempest). WHY IS JULIET SO NAKED? Sigh. Maybe I'm too old for Romeo&Juliet...I keep wanting to tell those crazy kids to put their damn clothes on and go back home with their parents already! 

Of all of Shakespeare's plays, this is probably the one I remember best from the first time I read it. Actually, I'd probably read it at least three times before now, so it's no wonder that I remembered it so well. Plus, it was a play that really spoke to me as a twelve-to-seventeen-year-old, for obvious reasons. It's a play that will probably "speak" to 12- to 17-year-olds for years to come. This play is MADE for love-sick teenagers (for them, about them).

Of course, as an adult, all those flowery speeches that I thought were SO romantic when I was a teenager seem ridiculous now. The language is still pretty, but all I can think is, "You just met! You're only kids! Listen to your parents and get back to bed! ALONE!" Then again, their parents in the play would have had them married off at that age, just to other people, so maybe their frantic professions of love were understandable. 

Lesson: Be careful who you forbid your children to date. Those little fuckers will end up getting married and killing themselves. 

On a related note, I feel very old now.

Day 48: Okay, fine, here's the zombie Romeo and Juliet movie

So I didn't include the new zombie Romeo and Juliet movie, Warm Bodies, in my "R&J film roundup" because two things: one, I didn't think  it counted because really ANY quirky love story could claim to be a Romeo and Juliet thing; and two, I'm sick of zombies.

But then I heard Rob Corddry say he plays a "Mercutio" character and I thought, well, if it's got Mercutio maybe it is Romeo and Juliet.

Here's the trailer. What do you think?

Day 47: Sock Monkey Romeo and Juliet

Sock Monkey Romeo and Juliet, by David Jones (fineartamerica)

Climbing that balcony would have been WAY easier for a monkey!

Day 46: Romeo and Juliet word cloud

This word cloud is a little different than the others in that it's all in black and white. I would have expected some words like "Romeo," "Juliet" or "love" to be in red LIKE BLOOD! Interesting to see how much more they say "Capulet" than "Montague" though.

Oh just for the heck of it, I found a whole bunch more word clouds for Romeo and Juliet. You can see them after the jump.

Day 45: What's your favourite Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo and Juliet is one of the MOST adapted of Shakespeare's plays. Today, since it's Valentine's Day, let's take a look at some of the more notable adaptations:

1. West Side Story

One of my favourites is West Side Story. Oh Natalie Wood, how I miss you!

Watch "I Feel Pretty" on YouTube

2. Romeo and Juliet (1968)

There have been about a million film and stage versions of Romeo and Juliet (I know, I know, you like the Leonardo DiCaprio one). Remember this one?

That Olivia Hussey really looked WAY too young for all of this nonsense, which is exactly how I picture Juliet.

3. Romie-0 and Julie-8: Runaway Robots

And of course who can forget Romie-0 and Julie-8, about two androids in love? What's that, you say? Everyone? Everyone can.

4. "Romeo and Juliet," by Dire Straits

And of course, who can forget the classic song by Dire Straits? Actually, I always forget about it until I hear it, and then I think "Oh I LOVE this song. I forgot how much I love it!" Every time.

5. Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog

You think their story is any less tragic? You think their families would have any fewer objections? THEY'RE NOT EVEN THE SAME SPECIES! They know from star-crossed.

6. Romeo+Juliet (1996)

So this isn't one of my personal favourites but I'm sure it's high on a lot of people's lists. Oh, and speaking of...

7. Hot Fuzz (2007)

So it's not really a Romeo and Juliet story, but there is a scene in which an amateur theatre troupe does a production of Romeo and Juliet, except they do a stage version of the Baz Luhrmann movie. It's hilarious (I have a blog post about just that scene!).

8. "Romeo," by Dolly Parton

Remember this one? With Billy Ray Cyrus in the video? Tee hee.

9. Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)

I know nothing about this movie. Is it a love story with gnomes? I guess.

10. Every love story, ever.

Okay, not EVERY love story. Just the ones written in the last 500 years or so, in which the characters are either too young or too stupid to really know what they're doing, at least according to their parents, who hate each other for some reason that has to do with ancient feuds, gang violence or coming from "different worlds." Also, any love story that ends in suicide, real or otherwise. The list is virtually endless.

Day 44: Does watching Hot Fuzz count as reading Shakespeare? I say maybe...

I know, I know, I said I wouldn't reference Romeo+Juliet again, but I said nothing about Hot Fuzz

Does anyone remember the scene in Hot Fuzz in which Simon Pegg and Nick Frost go to the theatre, only to discover the next day that the lead actors have been decapitated? Well, if you do, then you may also remember that the play they go to see is a stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's movie Romeo+Juliet. The actress playing Juliet (and wearing the Claire Danes wings the whole time) kills herself by holding a gun up to her head and loudly saying "BANG" and then the entire cast (including the once dead but now revived Romeo) start singing and dancing chorus-line-style to "Lovefool" by the Cardigans. It is awful and brilliant. 

And I'm totally counting it as a "Shakespeare film" now.

Day 43: New Play Tuesday! Romeo and Juliet

Hopefully this will be the only time I reference the ridiculous Romeo+Juliet

As if you didn't all see it coming, I'll be reading Romeo and Juliet just in time for Valentine's Day. In my defense, it was actually Mike's idea. Actually no, his first idea was Othello for Valentine's Day and I said no. So Romeo and Juliet it is!

Day 42: What I Learned: Othello

Above: Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh in Othello (1995)

A lot of words and phrases that we use today have their origins (or earliest extant examples) in Shakespeare, and there are some great ones from Othello:

• "making the beast with two backs"
• "I will wear my heart upon my sleeve"
• "the green-eyed monster" (jealousy)
• "pomp and circumstance"
• "a foregone conclusion"
• "'tis neither here nor there"

I also learned that the difference between a Shakespearean comedy and a tragedy is the ending. If there's a lot of murder, it's probably a tragedy. All of the "relationship misunderstandings" that lead up to it are similar to the set ups of comedies, except fewer people die by the end of it. Othello is definitely a tragedy.

Day 41: More Lego Shakespeare!

Othello

Here are some more Lego Shakespeare, this time from brickshelf. Enjoy!

Day 40: Othello in Film

Othello (2008) TV movie, starring Carlo Rota as Othello.

This CBC TV movie starred Carlo Rota, who many viewers know from his roles on Little Mosque on the Prairie, Nikita and 24.

O (2001) Starring Mekhi Phifer and Julia Stiles

Setting Shakespeare in high school is a common adaptation and one that often works well, particularly for dramas. Who's more dramatic than teenagers? In O, Othello is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), Desdemona is Desi (Julia Stiles), Iago is Hugo, Roderigo is Roger, Emilia is Emily, and Michael Cassio stays the same. Instead of the Venetian army, most of the characters are on the high school basketball team. It was originally slated to be released in 1999 but was postponed after the Columbine High School shooting.

Othello (1995) Starring Laurence Fishburne

It's hard to believe that this movie marked the first major motion picture adaptation of Othello which featured an African American actor in the lead role. It came out the same year as the infamous O.J. Simpson trial, causing critics at the time to draw parallels between the real life case and the movie about a black man accused of killing his white wife.

Othello (1952) Starring Orson Welles

And then there were the racist adaptations of Othello featuring white actors in blackface, most notably Orson Welles (above) and Laurence Olivier (below). It seems neither Welles nor Olivier was willing pass up an opportunity to show off their skills at making terrible Shakespeare movies, especially if the other one had done it first (they were a competitive pair). They were also not willing to pass up an opportunity to wear blackface in order to play the part, it seems. *shudder*

Othello (1965) Starring Laurence Olivier

Day 39: Sock Monkey Othello and more!

Sock Monkey Othello, by David Jones (fineartamerica)

I love these Sock Monkey Shakespeare designs by David Jones! He has a whole bunch of them (I previously posted his Sock Monkey Merchant of Venice, which is beyond awesome). I'll post more very soon, but in the meantime you can check them out at FineArtAmerica.com.


And as promised, here are two more Sock Monkey Shakespeare pictures from David Jones (check out his other work at FineArtAmerica.com). Look at the scene from Macbeth above. SMM (Sock Monkey Macbeth) is so scandalized by the sock monkey witches! Sooooo good! Hit the jump to see them.

Day 38: Othello Word Cloud

Ooh! This one is all dark and brooding. I'm guessing the play is too. Can't wait!

From what I've read so far, though, I'm surprised the word 'honest' isn't bigger. If the play were a drinking game, you could get drunk just by taking a shot every time someone (mostly Othello) refers to "honest Iago" or "Iago's honesty." Oh the irony!

Day 37: Updated Reading Schedule!

I finished my reading schedule for the year! You can view it on the "Reading Schedule" tab above, or click here.

I've included some of the "disputed plays" at the end, such as The Two Noble Kinsmen and Edward III. They are "disputed" because scholars aren't entirely sure if they can be attributed to Shakespeare or not and therefore they're not in the "canon." But I'll tack them on at the end, along with the poems and sonnets.

I'm a little nervous about all of those English histories back to back, but Mike said he's looking forward to that because he knows a fair bit about English history in that time period. I'll be relying on his help come May, June and July!

I am excited to have a solid plan in place for the rest of the year (or at least until the end of September). It makes it feel more...possible.

I gave up on my original idea of reading them all in the season or time of year in which they take place. I loved the idea and I couldn't believe no one seemed to have thought of it before, but then I quickly realized there was a reason for that. Most of the plays' timelines are maddeningly difficult to pin down. Many take place over several months or years, but even the ones that take place in a shorter time period are confusing. The characters will reference both summer and winter in the same night, for instance. Or the title will lead you to believe it takes place at a certain time of the year (like Twelfth Night or A Midsummer Night's Dream), but then the play itself will reveal that it takes place at a completely different time (Twelfth Night seems to be set in the summer, even though the title suggests it takes place in January; A Midsummer Night's Dream references May Day which means it takes place on April 30, not in the "midsummer" as I had assumed was in June or July).

I don't know if the order I've picked will be the best order in which to read them or not. I guess I'll find out.

Plus, if anyone else wants to follow along with me, feel free to use the same schedule I have, or make your own. Let's do this!

Day 36: New Play Tuesday! Othello, the Moor of Venice

Laurence Fishburne as Othello (1995)

I'm excited to read this one for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it'll give me an excuse to finally see Othello (1995) and O (2001). I've never read this one, but it looks complex and sexy and scary. Yay!

Plus, my partner Mike is very excited to read this because he did not like The Merchant of Venice very much, so he's planning to imagine all of the action of Othello happening in a different, less whiny region of Venice.

Day 35: What I Learned: The Merchant of Venice

Sock Monkey Merchant of Venice, by David Jones (fineartamerica.com)

The Merchant of Venice is a complicated play, made particularly complex by the fact that the cultural values of its original audience (and, one can assume, its author) are (hopefully) very different from those of modern audiences. The character of Shylock, and all Jewish characters in the play, are treated as godless outcasts and reviled villains. True, Shakespeare gives Shylock some good lines and plenty of cause to be sympathetic, but he also makes him obsessed with money and sometimes just plain evil. So Shakespeare isn't doing much to dissuade his audience from their anti-Semitism. Plus in the end, all of the Christian characters live happily ever after and all of the Jewish characters are forced to convert to Christianity and give up their personal fortunes. And those Christian characters were REALLY mean throughout the whole play, so I wasn't cheering for them to be fine in the end.

But Shakespeare's audiences would have been because his audience would have regarded Jews as villainous characters who should be reviled and, if possible, converted. So it's a difficult play to read becuase that core concept is so abhorrent. I just wished that Antonio and his friends, who had been mean anti-Semites the whole play could have gotten a little comeuppance. I wasn't rooting for Antonio to actually have to give up his "pound of flesh" (well, not really) but I didn't expect him to get to have all of Shylock's money AND his not have to pay his debt AND have his lost ships returned AND get to ride off in the sunset with his best friend (his VERY best friend, *wink wink* *nudge nudge*) his new rich wife. It's just too much reward for a character who acted like such an ass. 

I also think it's interesting that the very last scene of the play (I'm sorry if I'm ruining it for you...but it has been out for, like, 400 years now) involves Portia and Nerissa obsessing over the rings they gave Bassanio and Gratiano, until both men agree that they will treasure the rings with their lives from now on. Except that Shylock was given no end of grief for valuing too highly the ring that Jessica stole--the one that was his gift from his dead wife, no less--and was accused of being a greedy miser for it. But it's the same damn thing! Argggghhh! That part made me crazy.

Day 34: Shakespeare Phrases! (totally not the same as Shakespeare quotes, so shut up!)

Hey! In the spirit of not having anything new to say, here's a list of famous phrases coined by Shakespeare, thanks to phrases.org.uk

135 Phrases coined by William Shakespeare

Barry Manilow may claim to write the songs, but it was William Shakespeare who coined the phrases - he contributed more phrases and sayings to the English language than any other individual, and most of them are still in daily use.

Here's a collection of well-known quotations that are associated with Shakespeare. Most of these were the Bard's own work, but he wasn't averse to stealing a good line occasionally and a few of these were 'popularised by' rather than 'coined by' Shakespeare.

A countenance more in sorrow than in anger

A Daniel come to judgement

A dish fit for the gods

A fool's paradise

A foregone conclusion

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse

A ministering angel shall my sister be

A plague on both your houses

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

A sea change

A sorry sight

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio

All corners of the world

All of a sudden

All one to me

Day 33: Shakespeare Quotes

Shakespeare Quotes

I still haven't progressed in The Merchant of Venice so I don't have anything new to say about it. Instead, why not browse some famous quotes from Shakespeare? (via AbsoluteShakespeare.com)

Sonnet 18

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date".

Hamlet

To be, or not to be: that is the question". - (Act III, Scene I).

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry". - (Act I, Scene III).

"This above all: to thine own self be true". - (Act I, Scene III).

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't.". - (Act II, Scene II).

"That it should come to this!". - (Act I, Scene II).

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so". - (Act II, Scene II).

"What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! ". - (Act II, Scene II).

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks". - (Act III, Scene II).

"In my mind's eye". - (Act I, Scene II).

"A little more than kin, and less than kind". - (Act I, Scene II).

"The play 's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king". - (Act II, Scene II).

"And it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man". - (Act I, Scene III)."This is the very ecstasy of love". - (Act II, Scene I).

"Brevity is the soul of wit". - (Act II, Scene II).

"Doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love". - (Act II, Scene II).

"Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind". - (Act III, Scene I).

"Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?" - (Act III, Scene II).

"I will speak daggers to her, but use none". - (Act III, Scene II).

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions". - (Act IV, Scene V).

Day 32: Shakespeare Lego!

I'm still slogging through The Merchant of Venice. "Slogging" is a terrible word. I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit, I'm just having trouble staying as motivated to read quickly as I had been. Maybe it's because Mike is a play behind and I can't talk about Shylock with him. Or maybe I'm just like the hare in that parable, lounging around because I feel I'm so far ahead in the race.

Either way, here, enjoy some Shakespeare lego, courtesy of mocpages.com:

Macbeth Act V, Scene 8