Hamlet, a man of many puns

Hamlet uses many puns as he interacts with his family.  For example, when his mother and stepfather/uncle confront him about his continuing mourning for his father, he tells them that he is not in shadow, but "too much in the sun."  He could be saying that he is surrounded by happy people, but he is also commenting on the fact that his mother remarried to his uncle.  Another example is when he says "A little more than kin, and less than kind," again commenting on his relationship with Claudio.  It is interesting to see how Hamlet uses this technique to help fake his madness

Merchant of Venice or Stratford?

Okay, I meant to write up about this as soon as I got home on Saturday, but I ended up spending pretty much the entire weekend sleeping.  Something about two hours in the car, I guess. . .
Anyway, I went to see the BYU production of the Merchant of Venice, a play that was specifically aimed at kids.  They did a fairly good job of simplifying some of the more complex concepts for the kids, and even went so far as to get some of the kids to participate as minor characters.  It was cute to watch them interact with the kids, especially the shy ones.  There were times when I didn't quite understand what they were saying, but the body language made a huge difference in understanding some of the passages I had read previously.  There are three important things I wanted to talk about:  Antonio being Antonia, the use of necklaces to designate allegiance to a country, and Shylock as a character.

The first thing I noticed while reading the program was that Antonio, from the original play, had become Antonia in this adaptation.  At first I assumed that they must have had more girls than guys, but that didn't answer all of my questions.  Then, as I was watching the part of the play where Bassanio says that he would pay any price, even losing his wife, to save his friend, I suddenly understood Portia's jealous reaction.  Bassanio and Antonia had been friends for years.  Portia had only just been married to Bassanio, and didn't know him very well.  Maybe Antonia also liked Bassanio, and that was why she was so sad at the beginning of a play.  When Antonia was Antonio, there was almost a hint at a gay theme in the play.  This way, it is easier for my mind to grasp the love triangle that could exist between these three.

When reading the play, it upset me that Shylock had to give up his religion to save his life.  Watching the production brought this point home.  The important people of the land wore necklaces with a blue star on them.  Shylock, being from another land, wore one with an orange spiral.  When Shylock swears fealty to the dominant culture, he throws down his necklace and his hat.  The imagery there almost made me cry.  By taking away his religion, or his culture, Antonia and the Duke were taking away his very identity.  This did not strike me as fair at all.

The idea of fairness brings me to my third observation.  At first glance, one sees that Shylock showed no mercy, and so little mercy was shown to him.  Then I started thinking, what if one person had shown kindness to Shylock, instead of pulling him down, ostracizing him and insulting him.  Maybe, he would not have been so bitter towards Antonia and all that she stood for.  Maybe then he would have shown mercy towards her, instead of demanding a pound of her flesh.  It is hard to say what could have happened.

Portia and Ophelia: Honor and Duty

Okay, my next series of posts will be comparing different characters, mostly ones from plays we have read :D
The first duo I am doing is Portia and Ophelia.  Both girls chose to follow the wishes of their fathers, with drastically different results.  One ends up "happily?" married, while the other goes crazy and dies.  I think the main difference between the two girls is that Ophelia is docile and unsure of herself, while Portia is confident and daring.  While Ophelia stars in a tragedy, Portia is part of a comedy.  Ophelia follows the traditional role of a woman, while Portia bounces between being the dutiful woman and breaking tradition.  Ophelia has a pure heart, and is confused when her love rejects her, while Portia sets up her husband by tricking him into giving away the ring he swore to never remove from his finger.  While both girls are seemingly victimized by the decrees of their fathers, the differences in their personalities and actions make Ophelia the more favorable female of the two.

The Bountiful Tempest or A Bountiful Winter's Tale

This clip just goes to show that you can never be too careful, especially when it comes to storms.   I am still counting it as a post for today:

This is on a road many people take home from the temple.  Although I felt bad for the people in the cars, it was also pretty funny. 

The Merchant of Venice: Racist?

The merchant of  Venice plays off some racist stereotypes.  Shylock is the "evil" Jewish money lender, and Antonio is the "good" friend who is victimized by Shylock.  However, if it weren't for Shylock's adament demand that he be given a pound of Antonio's flesh, I might have actually liked him.  It sounded as though Antonio said some pretty derogatory things about Shylock and his fellow Jews.  Antonio also looked down on their profession of lending money with interest.  Although the interest rates seem high now, they were fairly normal back in that time, and money lending was one of the few ways Jews were able to make a profit.  To see some common ways that Europeans set Jews apart, check out the following link:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/heritage/episode4/presentations/4.3.6-1.html
For more about Jewish Stereotypes, check out this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypes_of_Jews
I also just read Alicia Tovar's blog.  She discusses more about what sort of statement Shakespeare is trying to make in his play.  Here is the link:
http://tovaralicia382.blogspot.com/2012/01/shylock.html?showComment=1327469270057#c278187373941382486

David Tenant, Hamlet, Doctor Who, and Shakespeare

Okay, the first clip is of my all time favorite actor performing Hamlet's "To Be or Not To Be" speech.  The second is a Doctor Who episode where he goes back in time to meet Shakespeare, and gives him some good ideas and some good quotes.  Maybe someday I will actually post stuff about the play we are actually reading :D

Winston Churchill Speaks Henry V

Although Winston Churchill used different words, he delivered an almost identical message to the St. Crispin's Day Speech:

Shakespeare:

"From this day to the end of the world,

But we shall be remembered—

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed, they were not here

And hold their manhood cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s Day."

Winston Churchill:
"These are not dark days, these are the greatest days our nation has ever lived; and we must thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race."

Both speak of the importance of the day, and the glory and pride people who participated in the wars would be able to enjoy.  This  is just one of many examples of ways Shakespeare is easily applied to modern situations.  In King Henry V, Shakespeare writes stirring speeches that not only fire up Henry's army, but also stir the audience.  When I listened to the Saint Crispin's Day Speech, I almost cried.  Although I never would have chosen to read this book on my own, I am very glad that we read it in this class.  It has changed my opinion of Shakespeare's historical plays.

Here is the speech online.  I would like to point out the music that accompanies it.  It starts out with strings, which gives you a sense of tense, melancholy emotion.  As the speech begins to climax, trumpets begin to play, which changes the tense melancholy sound to one filled with hope and power.  It is truly inspirational.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM

Pictures of the Flowers

Here are the pictures of the flowers Ophelia used in her boquet.

Ophelia's Flowers

Totally off topic, but here are the meanings of the flowers Ophelia mentions in Hamlet:

Rosemary - remembrance, often worn by Greek students, used in both weddings and funerals
Pansies - thoughts, often placed on gravestones, where people think on the dead
Rue - Repentance
Fennel - False Flattery
Daisy - Innocence and Purity
Violet - Modesty, Virtue, Faithfulness, Love, and associated with Death
Columbine - Ingratitude

Rosemary and Pansies reflect Ophelia's troubling memories and her insecurity.  The fact that she would have brought violets, but they all died with her father, is symbolic of her loss of love and faithfulness.  She has, after all, lost her father, who was killed by the hand of the man she loved and has also lost.  The other flowers are also fairly symbolic of Ophelia's state of mind and reflect the characteristics of those in the room with her.

Ophelia and Lady Macbeth

As I was looking at different Shakespeare monologues for women, I noticed a parallel between Ophelia and Lady Macbeth.  Both go mad, and have a monologue where the madness becomes apparent, as they speak nonsense mixed with references to recent events which drove them to insanity.  The main difference between the two is the reasons for their madness.  While the innocent Ophelia is troubled with her love, Hamlet's, madness and the fact that Hamlet killed her father, Lady Macbeth is being eaten up by the murders she and her husband have committed in order to gain the crown of Scotland.  The villainy of Lady Macbeth is a great contrast to the innocence of Ophelia, and although both characters end up dead, it is Ophelia who gains her audience's pity.

Knowledge Is Power and Books Are The Key

I grew up with a love of books.  Through books, you can learn new things, travel to far off and sometimes imaginary places, and escape the mundane for a few hours.  Throughout history, knowledge has almost always played an important role in the social structure.  The Europeans respected the knowledge that came from books, and so when they claimed new lands, they tried to convert the natives to their way of thinking.  Because the Native Americans were unable to read, they were often tricked into signing treaties that they did not fully understand, since their only reliable source of the information in the treaty were the white settlers who knew how to read, and often were willing to take any advantage they could in order to get gain.  Many cultures will never fully recover from this change in power and influence.  I found this blog post to be a very interesting list of examples of people who used knowledge or the lack thereof to gain power.  http://zittingsarah232.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-gud-too-hav-edumacation.html

The Tempest as a Romantic Romance: a Redundancy?

Describing something as a Romantic Romance seems to be a redundant statement.  However, Romance can have two meanings, both of which are found in The Tempest.  First, there is the common definition of Romance as a love story, as seen through Ferdinand and Miranda's relationship.  The second involves the idea of belief in something better beyond the horizon, as seen when Miranda romanticizes the new world full of people to which she is introduced, saying "Oh Brave New World that has such people in't."  Another example of this idea is when Pochahontis sings the song "Just Around the River Bend"  in the Disney Movie.  She has a belief in something better somewhere else.

*Note:  Shakespeare was the Disney of his time.

Shakespeare Rides the Bus

Today as I was waiting for my bus, I got into a discussion with another person at my stop about Shakespeare.  Just Saying, Shakespeare is Everywhere

Shakespeare Sunday

My mom has been watching this show where there are many characters who are trying to make everybody around them miserable.  There is one man, who's evil wife is forcing him to commit a Noble Sacrifice, for the sake of those whom he loves.  The Noble Sacrifice is a common motif in many stories.  Shakespeare made use of many such themes and motifs, which are what allow his stories to transcend time.  You could set one of his plays in any time or place, and it would still work.  An example of this is the movie She's The Man, which is based on the play Twelfth Night, but is set in modern times.  This is pretty much all I have for today, but I made a goal to blog every day, so I can now go to sleep happy!

Life, The Universe, and Shakespeare

I just finished reading a series with many Shakespeare characterrs.  Ariel, from the Tempest, was my favorite, but of course he was set free at the end.  It made me a little sad to see him go.  The main character, Beatrice Shakespeare Smith, is very close friends with the four faries from a Midsummer Night's Dream: Peasbossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed.  Beatrice also happens to be the daughter of the character Ophelia.  It is cool to read the book, knowing who all of these people are, as well as others mentioned in passing.  For anybody wondering, the series is The Theatre Illuminata, and the first book is Eyes Like Stars.

Hamlet in its many forms

For AP English, I had to watch two different versions of Hamlet.  The 1996 version with Kenneth Branagh, and the 1990 version with Mel Gibson, and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. I later chose to watch the 2009 version with my favorite actor, David Tennant.  Although I enjoyed watching the 1996 one in class, I loved seeing Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia.  She simply does crazy so well.  I chose to watch the one with David Tennant because I fell in love with him when he was The Doctor on Doctor Who.  He is good at playing different roles, and made a dark, somewhat disturbed Hamlet who was obviously still trying to get over his father's death.  I look forward to reading the play yet again.

What Would Lady Macbeth Do?

Yesterday I decided to apply the question "What would Lady Macbeth do?" to some random problems.  Needless to say, her solutions were never very practical, and often illegal.  For example, if somebody made her mad, she would probably hire somebody to kill them and then go crazy due to the guilt.  Not a road I plan to take.

If I was from Shakespeare I'd be. . .

Today has been a very happy, upbeat, productive day.  If today I were living on of Shakespeare's plays, I think I would be Rosalind from As You Like It.  I have been up beat and happy, able to accomplish the things I needed to, take care of myself, and have some laughs along the way.

Better to be a foolish blogger than a blogging fool

I am very excited to start English 232, a course all about Shakespeare!  I hope to gain a better understanding of the themes and motifs in Shakespeare so that I can see the elements in modern stories that are similar to Shakespeare's plays.  I want to read The Merry Wives of Windsor, as I saw that play when I was younger and remember how much I enjoyed it.  Finally, I want to have fun, get to know new people and eventually be able to enjoy reading and comprehending his plays, not just watching them.