Shakespeare

[Blade13]

Im a big fan of Willam Shakespeare's plays. My favorite is Romeo & Juliet. Ive pretty much memorized it. haha Especially Act II, Scene II. (But soft, what light through yonder window breaks, it is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon who is already sick and pale with grief that thou her maid are far more fair than she.....yadda yadda. You know what Im talkin about now? lol Had to add that for the non-Shakespeare fans) I got the nickname "Romeo" because I knew more than the teacher did when we studied it in my advanced honors literature class. She always chose me first when we had to act scenes out. The bad part was that my friend, Daniel, had to be Juliet. *shudders* She wanted to keep with the tradition of men playing women. Luckily, no kissing was involved. haha So, does anyone else like his work? If so which plays and are there any favorite parts? I was just watching R&J on tv and wondered if I was alone in this.

 

 

[G95champ]

Yes I am a big fan of Sir Billy.

 

Hamlet is my favorite play but MacBeth is the one I like to recite the lines from. Also a big can of J. Ceasar.

 

 

[Bitseach]

Love M*Beth - "The Scottish Play" (bad luck to say the name in full!) love, love, love it.

 

Also like Hamlet a lot, and The Merchant of Venice is great (although seems anti-semitic reading/watching it with modern eyes) and Henry V - wow.

 

Never really liked A Midsummer Night's Dream though and I think Willy Shaker was having an off day when he wrote The Taming of the Shrew! Total crap! I prefer Prokoviev's version of R&J to Shakespeare's though - probably just because I saw it first as an opera and because the music is stunning.

 

Have you seen Sir Ian McKellan's film version of Richard III? It is one of my favourite films ever - simply breathtaking and watch it on the big screen if you can possibly do so. Suddenly it all made sense: "My Kingdom for a horse" etc and it was so well done that one barely noticed it was in Elizabethan language! WOW!

 

Blade, where are you based? If you get the chance get to one of the performances at the Globe Theatre in London. It's been rebuilt according to the original specifications (within the limits of modern fire regs etc!) on the original site and has the female parts done by men etc. You can go down in the pits, where it is accepted, nay, encouraged to shout out in parts of the performance or in the stands (tip: pay the £ and get the seat cushion!). I saw Henry V there and it was captivating. (some people condemn it as being "theme park" Shakespeare but ignore them - it's just good fun)

 

 

[ZeRo]

im not to keen on shakespeare right now, sorry. well i have just studyed 1 of his plays to death (macbeth). i dont mind some of his other plays. although i wouldnt admite it to my friends!

 

 

[Bitseach]

Tsk tsk, your friends are clearly quite ignorant and will end up working as shelf-fillers at Waitrose!

 

"But all's too weak for brave MacBeth - well he deserves that name. Distaining fortune with his brandished steel, which smokes with bloody execution"! May not be word perfect but I haven't studied it since 1986, English Lit "O" Level!! (showing my age now)

 

 

[G95champ]

Wow Bitseach you know your Billy. I liked Midsummer Night Dream pretty well. I have only seen or ead the more popular plays in HS and College classes. I like Othello but I honestly can't recall much of the plot at this time I just know I liked it LOL.

 

However Hamlet and MacBeth are by far my favorties plays or stories of anykind.

 

"Out out brief candel life is but a walking figure a poor player who walk and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard from no more. It is a tale told by and idiot full of sound and furry signifing noting."

 

 

[Blade13]

Its good to know that Im not the only fan! Bitseach, Im based in Tifton,Georgia,USA. I got a virtual tour of the Globe Theatre on the net, but thats as close as Im going to get for a couple of years. Im definately seeing some plays there when I start to travel. No, I havent seen the movie of which you speak. Does anyone else have trouble coming back to regular English after watching or reading one if his plays? I have to get into that language mindset to understand it and I always have trouble coming out of it. lol I end up speaking that way for a few hours. Btw, do you know why it is back luck to say MacBeth? (Hey, Ive got back luck already. A little more wont kill me.... I hope.... *gulp*) Ive always wondered that. Also, for anyone who wants to read some of his plays, I know of a website that has all of them on there for anyone to read for free. Ill find the link and post it here later.

 

 

[ZeRo]

i might be seeing one at the globe this summer. if theres a good play on.

 

 

[Tobias_Reece]

I always liked Twelfth Night - the mix of characters was fantastic - Sir Toby and co. were hilarous, especially the accosting part

 

 

[Bitseach]

It's only felt to be unlucky to thespians if they're performing it. I think a few performances were dogged by ill-luck and then the story just went round (similar to the thespian tradition of saying "break a leg" to the person about to go on stage. Apparently to confuse the evil spirit - kind of reverse psychology! However for that reason it's often referred to by those in the business (or the know) as The Scottish Play. (Weren't some of the Bruce Lee films thought also to be unlucky in the making? I seem to remember something about this!)

 

Ah. According to this site (http://www.alt-usage-english.org/ucle/ucle13.html) it's because...oh hang on I'll just paste it here - I've cited the reference after all:

 

The Curse of Macbeth

 

Theatrical tradition holds that uttering the word "Macbeth" anywhere inside a playhouse other than on the stage will bring dire misfortune on all within earshot. There are also some bizarre remedies, which include spinning around and shouting quotations from the Bard. History tells us that Macbeth was a Scottish king from 1040 to 1057, and ascended the throne upon the death of his uncle, Duncan. Shakespeare wove these facts into a supernatural murder story where Macbeth suffers a violent death (but this is not uncommon in the Bard's canon), and the play itself does not contain a grounding reference to why it would be unlucky.

 

Theatrical folklore has it that the "cure" for saying "Macbeth" inside of a playhouse is to step outside of the playhouse, turn three times uttering a profanity, and then requesting permission to return to the premises.