This is labeled "part 1" because I cannot help but think that there will be a sequel at some point in time. Sometimes I worry about me.
Time Travelling Records
It's going to shock those of you who don't work in libraries, I know, but book records aren't always correct. Even *gasp* the Library of Congress sometimes makes mistakes. Honestly, if you can't trust the Library of Congress, who can you trust?
I need to thank my co-worker Leigh for providing me with most of my "cataloging disasters" material.
Shakespeare's Spooks
Poor old Banquo. He gets killed, comes back as a ghost, and doesn't even get to say anything spectral. He just sits there at the table, shaking his gory locks. (Pardon the pun - I could never resist a bad pun.)
Anyways, happy Halloween! Curl up on the couch with a bowl of candy and watch some Macbeth.
Jon Finch's Macbeth
Ian McKellen's Macbeth
Patrick Stewart's Macbeth
Not Quite Normal
I saw the National Theater not-quite-Live broadcast of Kenneth Branagh's Macbeth last night, and realized that, for some unfathomable reason, when I think "three witches in Macbeth", the first line that pops into my head isn't any of the good ones that rhyme or sound awesomely spooky; it's this stupid line in 1.3 where the first witch is telling the others how she tried to bum some chestnuts of some woman, who told her to get lost. My only explanation is that I must have really liked the sound of the word "aroint" when I first heard it, and it stuck in my brain. Try it! Arooooooint aroint aroint aroint aroint.
Anyways, I enjoyed Branagh's Macbeth a lot, even though they cut the whole "aroint" bit. The staging (basically involving people churning through a long pit of mud running down the nave of a deconsecrated church) was really fun to watch, and the performances of Branagh and Alex Kingston as Lady Macbeth, while not as bone-chilling as those of other filmed Macbeths, were very engaging in their vulnerability and brittleness.
Happy St. Crispin's Day!
It's October 25th, which means it's the feast day of Saints Crispin and Cripsian, and, more importantly, the 598th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, the thrilling set-piece around which Shakespeare's Henry V is constructed. Of course, today St. Crispin's Day is mostly remembered for the famous speech Shakespeare gives Henry in order to inspire his bedraggled troops before the great battle begins. It goes something like this:
For some proper Crispin's Day speeches, check out the following:
Laurence Olivier (Film, 1944)
Richard Burton (1951)
Mark Rylance (Globe Theater, 1997)
Jamie Parker (Globe Theater, 2012)
Kenneth Branagh (Film, 1989)
Hm. Can't seem to find a clip of Tom Hiddleston's version from the recent Hollow Crown series. If anyone finds it, drop me a comment and I'll put it up.
Edit: Some Hiddleston, courtesy of vigilant readers! Not the complete speech, sadly, but better than nothing!
Tom Hiddlestone (The Hollow Crown, 2012)
A Bit Too Harry
Don't get me wrong; I like Harry Potter. It's just that I never had any aspirations to be a teenage boy wizard impersonator.
Shakespeare GIFs (Twelfth Night Edition)
So, the Globe Theatre's recent all-male productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III are currently in previews on Broadway, and I am insanely jealous of anyone who might have tickets. Fortunately, for those of us unable to hop on over to New York at the drop of a hat, the Globe has released a DVD of its original Twelfth Night production. It's hardly a spoiler to say that Mark Rylance as Olivia walks away with the show, Stephen Fry is easily the most adorable Malvolio ever, and I have never seen a more hilarious Maria than Paul Chahidi.
To vicariously celebrate, here are some animated GIFs (the internet's current preferred method of sophisticated communication) from this theatrical masterpiece:
Read MoreExpensive Educations
I am probably being slightly unfair to Fellowes. I have not yet seen his new Romeo and Juliet , but he has reportedly taken pains to preserve the most quotable lines, so Juliet apparently does say "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" and not the more comprehensible "Why are you Romeo?" However, the great remainder of less-quotable lines appear to have been twisted out of all recognizable shape, and the overall implications of Fellowes's flippant remarks are a bit distressing.
Far be it from me to claim that Shakespeare's 400-year-old language is easy to understand. It's not. However, the language barrier isn't nearly as substantial as certain expensively educated people might think. Take a ten-year-old kid to a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream and she'll be able to tell you exactly what is going on, even if she thinks an eglantine is a sort of pastry. Anyone can appreciate Shakespeare. The language may seem foreign at first, but the story, the characters and - crucially - the way everything comes together in performance make it comprehensible.
I am of the opinion that adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, even apparent hatchet-jobs such as Fellowes's (and an upcoming biker-gang-themed take on Cymbeline, the premise of which has left me entirely baffled) should be embraced and encouraged. The Globe's education advisor, Fiona Banks, summed it up nicely when she said that "[adaptations] have the potential to help us re-imagine and re-discover a wealth of wonderful literature. But they are not a prerequisite for their enjoyment by the non-Oxbridge educated members of the population."
The figo for thy expensive education, Mr. Fellowes.