|
|
Post by sammybluejay on Jan 6, 2012 19:00:23 GMT -5
Okay guys, I took a gander at the four pages of this section of the site and didn't see this particular thread anywhere. If there is one and I've overlooked it, please feel free to point it out for me!
Anyways. One of my courses this semester is Shakespeare's Histories & Tragedies and last semester I was in Shakespeare's Comedies & Romances. I have to say, I really enjoy his tragedies a LOT more than his comedies. I know that a lot of people say you can't really enjoy one of his comedies/romances until you've seen it performed but my prof forced us to watch a few different productions of each play and I still found them utterly boring and not very funny. I love the darkness of his tragedies and how twisted they can get sometimes (Titus Andronicus as an example). I just read 1 Henry IV and it was okay... I'm more looking forward to rereading Othello, which is one of my favourites of his, and reading, for the first time, Anthony and Cleopatra.
Well guys? What do you say to Shakespeare, yea or nay?
|
|
Tanith
Armadillo Pup
Posts: 14
|
Post by Tanith on Jan 6, 2012 19:23:33 GMT -5
This may be where I qualify as a bad English major, but I haven't studied Shakespeare at all in college. I've just... felt like I got enough of him in high school? I have felt compelled to read Macbeth or King Lear for ages though - what's your take on those? I also enjoy the neuroticism of his tragedies over his comedies in general.
Weird tangent, but probably what I like most about Shakespeare is the wealth of awesome Shakespearean names. I wish I could actually name a future daughter Ophelia or Cordelia...
|
|
|
|
Post by Dodger Thirteen on Jan 6, 2012 20:46:25 GMT -5
Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth.
...I really like Macbeth.
|
|
|
|
Post by sammybluejay on Jan 6, 2012 21:12:11 GMT -5
This may be where I qualify as a bad English major, but I haven't studied Shakespeare at all in college. I've just... felt like I got enough of him in high school? I have felt compelled to read Macbeth or King Lear for ages though - what's your take on those? I do enjoy Macbeth, although not as much as Dodger Thirteen apparently does.  I have a soft spot for Shakespeare's "evil women" and Lady Macbeth certainly falls into that category, so really, I'd read the play just for her. I also studied this in a required literature survey course, so that was actually a lot of fun. Although we watched Roman Polanski's version of the film and I just...I don't like him. I didn't enjoy that at all. And I've never read King Lear, but it's on the syllabus for this class! And honestly, I've only taken the Shakespeare courses because they fulfill some requirements for my degree, haha. I may have taken Histories & Tragedies on my own if it weren't for the requirements, but I'd've never taken Romances & Comedies. The only good play I felt we read in that class was A Winter's Tale, but that's also a dramatic romance, so it's a little darker than the other "romances". And I love the names SO MUCH. Ophelia, Tamora (although that one's still fairly common), Perdita, Desdemona... LOVE THEM. I would love to name my daughter Desdemona. We could call her Dezzie, or something. I think she'd hate me if I did that. |
|
|
|
Post by andreaisabbbw on Jan 7, 2012 1:43:59 GMT -5
I love Shakespeare, but I totally suck at discerning his language--it literally takes me a few reads to get it. However, his poetry I can read with significantly less struggle, so I love it. I've read most of his sonnets and I've been meaning to venture into his other poems.
I also love the names Shakespeare gave to his characters! Desdemona is definitely towards the top, as is Viola. Some of the male names are pretty cool too, like Bassanio and Iago. I don't know if I'd name one of my children Iago, but maybe a pet or something inanimate, like an iPod.
|
|
|
|
Post by sammybluejay on Jan 7, 2012 1:55:39 GMT -5
Iago is a pretty awesome name, although all I can think of is a wisecracking annoying parrot. Thanks, Disney. (Although, he is absolutely one of my favourite Shakespeare villains ever.)
And yeah, I struggle with the language the first time too, always. Doesn't matter what play it is. I find I have an easier time if I know the plot, like if there are summaries at the beginning of scenes and acts, because trying to figure out what's going on AND discern the language is a little bit too much for my brain to handle. Some plays more than others, really.
|
|
|
|
Post by onlyaworkingtitle on Jan 7, 2012 18:59:30 GMT -5
I can't decide whether I dislike Shakespeare, or whether I just don't particularly care for or about him. I do know that I distinctly hate reading his works -- seeing them performed is far more enjoyable. Even then, I find I prefer the comedies to tragedies or histories, which makes me feel a bit like a bad English major... but eh, there's my preference.
|
|
|
|
Post by sammybluejay on Jan 8, 2012 1:49:54 GMT -5
Even then, I find I prefer the comedies to tragedies or histories, which makes me feel a bit like a bad English major... but eh, there's my preference. I don't think that makes you a bad English major at all! When I brought up in class that I think the tragedies are better I actually unintentionally started a heated debate. I don't think my prof was incredibly impressed, but whatever, we were talking about Shakespeare, right? Really, to each their own. I've always found that I tend towards darker versions of stories, like dark retellings of fairy tales (Angela Carter's stories, for example). So it kind of makes sense that I enjoy the twistier, more angst-ridden of Shakespeare's plays. |
|
|
|
Post by Dodger Thirteen on Jan 8, 2012 3:28:15 GMT -5
I dunno...I really like the comedies, but I really love the tragedies, too, though I prefer the comedies (except Macbeth, it will always win in my book). I've never really disliked Shakespeare, but it probably helps that Macbeth was really my intro to it and I've loved it since I first read it. Honestly, I don't understand how people can NOT like it.
|
|
|
|
Post by sammybluejay on Feb 6, 2012 23:01:47 GMT -5
I just actually fangirled all over my best friend about this topic while writing an essay on Othello, so I wanted to bring it up here. Do you guys have a favourite Shakespeare lady or two? Character-wise? Personally I tend to love the crazy bitches like Tamora from Titus Andronicus, she's such a fantastically evil character. Then there's crazy Lady Macbeth who of course has a place in my heart.
At the same time though, I admire characters like Desdemona and their personal strength...except for the fact that Shakespeare feels it's necessary to kill them at the end.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dodger Thirteen on Feb 8, 2012 2:08:55 GMT -5
Rosalind from As You Like It. Saw it at the Globe in summer 2009 and the actress was amazing, so I've got a bit of a bias.
|
|
I have a soft spot for Shakespeare's "evil women" and Lady Macbeth certainly falls into that category, so really, I'd read the play just for her. I also studied this in a required literature survey course, so that was actually a lot of fun. Although we watched Roman Polanski's version of the film and I just...I don't like him. I didn't enjoy that at all. And I've never read King Lear, but it's on the syllabus for this class!
