52 in 52 Week 7: Shakespearean Tragedy - Romeo and Juliet

I wanted to wait until Valentine's Day to read this, but I couldn't wait. It is during Valentine's Week though!

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee, 

The more I have, for both are infinite.

  - Juliet

Isn't that just beautiful? I read this by the sea in Waikiki and was so moved. What an amazing and tragic love story.

Last month, one of my sons' friends expressed how vehemently he hated having to read this play for one of his classes in high school. Another reason why I think that some classics are best left when a person is older and can truly appreciate it! We all need to "ease into him.  I started my kids in elementary school on the "cereal" of Shakespearean comedy by reading them Lois Burdett's Shakespeare Can Be Fun series. Then, I took them to plays based on those versions put on by our local community college. By the time they were in middle school, I took them to great productions of the comedies, and they were hooked. When I taught it in high school, we read the comedies together and used props. Then, we watched a good movie rendition, complete with fun snacks. But I digress. 

I have never read this play and had only seen the Franco Zeffirelli 1968 movie version (which I didn't particularly care for). The play is so beautiful and so very sad. 

Two young people from two opposing families fall hopelessly in love, and they throw caution to the wind and unite. 

The moral compass in this movie is definitely Friar Lawrence:

"These violent delights have violent ends 

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, 

Which as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey 

Is loathsome in his own deliciousness 

And in the taste confounds the appetite: 

Therefore love moderately; long love doth so; 

Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow."   

Too bad the Friar's letter did not arrive in time. :(

The Cast:

Romeo – Michael Sheen
Juliet – Kate Beckinsale
Chorus – Philip Madoc
Prince – Norman Rodway
Capulet – David Bradley
Lady Capulet – Frances Barber
Montague – Edward de Souza
Lady Montague – Judy Loe
Nurse – Fiona Shaw
Friar Lawrence – Heathcote Williams
Mercutio – Anton Lesser
Tybalt – Jasper Britton
Paris – Ronan Vibert
Benvolio – Simon Harris
Friar John/Apothecary/Cousin Capulet – Peter Yapp
Balthasar/Servant – John Paul Connolly
Peter/Abram – Jason Cheater
Samson – John Summerfield
Gregory – Hywell Simons

52 in 52 Week 7: Shakespearean Tragedy - King Lear

The weight of this sad time we must obey; 

Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. 

Albany in King Lear

Cordelia is so courageous. What a heroine. I love the moral of this story. Evil lurks in the halls of power. King Lear is loonie! Even though this is a tragedy. Some parts made me laugh. Scofield (A Man for All Seasons) was amazing as King Lear!


This is the only dramatized edition that really wasn't unabridged. So, I followed along with my Kindle version and turned it off to read the small parts that were omitted. It added so much to the reading to have these fantastic actors make it come alive!


Here is what the jacket from the dramatization says: 


The tragedy of King Lear receives an outstanding performance in an all-star cast led by Britain’s senior classical actor, Paul Scofield. He is joined by Alec McCowen as Gloucester, Kenneth Branagh as The Fool, Harriet Walter as Gonerill, Sara Kestelman as Regan and Emilia Fox as Cordelia. This is the ninth recording of Shakespeare plays undertaken by Naxos AudioBooks in conjunction with Cambridge University Press, and is directed by John Tydeman. It was released to mark the eightieth birthday of Paul Scofield in January 2002.

CAST

King Lear – Paul Scofield
Gonerill his eldest daughter – Harriet Walter
Regan his second daughter – Sara Kestelman
Cordelia his youngest daughter – Emilia Fox
Duke of Albany married to Gonerill – Peter Blythe
Duke of Cornwall married to Regan – Jack Klaff
Earl of Gloucester – Alec McCowen
Edgar his elder son and heir – Richard McCabe
Edmond his illegitimate son – Toby Stephens
Earl of Kent (later disguised as Caius) – David Burke
Fool – Kenneth Branagh
King of Burgundy suitor to Cordelia – John McAndrew
King of France suitor to Cordelia – Simon Treves
Oswald Gonerill’s steward – Matthew Morgan
Curan a courtier – Steve Hodson

52 in 52 Week 7: Shakespearean Tragedy - Julius Caesar

"Beware the ides of March."


Did the saying, "It was Greek to me" originate with this play?


I have said it once, and I will say it again: Shakepeare was not meant to be read but experienced dramatically. Since you cannot follow along with a book while you are watching a play, I follow along to a dramatized version. Most of these are unabridged. If they skip anything, I turn it off and read until I get the dramatized version picks up again.

I got this through the Oregon Digital Library, but it is only $3.95 on iTunes! It is part of an educational program put on by LA Theatre Works.  Fantastic!


Richard Dreyfus as Mark Anthony! This is on my 100 Great Books. Shakespeare's tragedies move and stir, but they do not depress. I loved it. Shakespeare took much of this play from Plutarch’s Lives. Since I read Plutarch a few years back, it was fun to get a dramatic rendition of it (although not historically accurate). Brutus is a somewhat sympathetic character in this one, and I am not so sure he was in real life.


The dead center of the drama is the murder of Caesar. The rest of it is the aftermath with the reaction of the different characters. Mark Anthony shines in this part. Brutus makes me sad. 


Amazing, amazing, amazing. 

Cast:
Stacy Keach as Marcus Brutus
John de Lancie as Cassius
Richard Dreyfuss as Marc Antony
Harold Gould as Caesar
Jack Coleman as Casca
JoBeth Williams as Portia
Bonnie Bedelia as Calphurnia
Kelsey Grammer as Murellus
John Randolph as Flavius and Artemidorus
Arye Gross as Octavius
alongside the voices of Paul Winfield, John Vickery, Basil Langton, David Birney, George Murdock, James Morrison, Andrew White, Rudy Hornish, Lee Arenberg, Jon Matthews, Josh Fardon, Paul Mercier, Arthur Hanket and Marnie Mosiman




I found this fantastic study guide for anyone who wants to teach it to their kids or class:

http://www.latw.org/acrobat/julius.pdf

52 in 52 Week 7: Shakespearean Tragedy - Othello

Iago is EVIL! Just sayin'. Iago is the serpent of Genesis 3 in human form.  He is possibly the most evil character of all of literature. Which is why this play is so amazing! 


I saw this performed on stage at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, but this is the first time I have ever read the play. It was good to have the visual picture of the blond haired Iago on the black background of the stage with the big, burly, black Othello contrasted on the white part of the stage, and the shift in the colors and lights when Iago gets a hold of Othello's ear. Chilling. I remember all of us who had attended the play sitting, unnerved at the end. It reaches to your heart . . . and rips it out.


I think Shakespeare was meant to be heard. So, I listened to this unabridged dramatic version while following along on my Kindle. The host of actors in this were superb. 






Here is the cast: 

Othello, The Moor, a general in the service of Venice – Hugh Quarshie
Desdemona, a daughter to Brabantio, and wife to Othello – Emma Fielding
Iago, his ancient, a villain – Anton Lesser
Emilia, wife to Iago – Patience Tomlinson
Cassio, his honourable lieutenant/2nd senator – Roger May
Bianca, a courtesan, in love with Cassio – Alison Pettit
Duke of Venice/2nd Gentleman/Herald – Roy Spencer
Brabantio, senator, father to Desdemona/3rd Gentleman/Gratiano, brother to Brabantio – Peter Yapp
Roderigo, a Venetian gentleman/1st Gentleman/Sailor (I,iii) – John McAndrew
Lodovico, kinsman to Brabantio/1st Musician/1st Senator/Messenger (III) – Stephen Thorne
Montano, Governor of Cyprus before Othello/Messenger (I,iii)/Clown – 
Jonathan Keeble


This story always makes me think of this Ginny Owens song:


This is your life,
And yet somehow,
They decide,
What you're about,
You learn your lines,
And take your cues,
But who are you listening to?

You change your clothes,
And how you speak,
You place your hope,
In what they think,
Before you know
There's no more you,
Who are you listening to-
Have you noticed how much you fear,
All the voices you choose to hear

Who are you listening to?
Who tells you what to do?
Who rules your thoughts at night?
Whose rules define your life?
Oh, you know it's up to you,
So who are you listening to

This is your life,
You have no choice,
You will rely
On someone's voice,
And it's all right
To question who,
Who are you listening to?
Do the words that you believe
Set your soul and spirit free

There's a quiet voice,
Whispering in your heart,
It's been there all along,
It believes in you,
It will tell the truth,
Can't you hear it call?