Shakespeare's Plays - Ranked and Reviewed
Submitted by lbangs on Tue, 11/23/2004 - 10:26
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- The Taming of the Shrew - Obviously, this play has a major, fatal flaw. The happy ending will, at best, only seem like a happy ending to less than fifty percent of the play’s audience. In fact, the very idea of successfully taming a shrew strikes a sensitive reader as absurd at best, horribly sexist at worst, and the unconvincing manner in which the titular task is achieved commits even worse dramatic sins. Most of the play's characters, however, live much more convincingly than they do in the majority of the Bard’s early plays, and the wit bares its fangs, honing a razor’s edge that cuts through much of the overly-ornate dialogue from this period. Still, no matter how much one enjoys portions of this play, there is an elephant in the room, and ultimately one cannot overlook it.
- Henry VI Part I - If you know your English literature, you might already be snorting. Apparently the evidence hints that Shakespeare only wrote parts of this play. It is an historical play, covering the early reign of Henry VI, and although the material is not the most riveting the English chronicles have to offer, the strong, moving language carries the day. They tell me that WS’s scenes are most likely the rose garden incident (dramatically and visually strong, but not containing the best dialogue) and the final episodes of Talbot’s life (much, much better). In fact, several scenes here probably make for better visual spectacle than reading, especially when Joan calls up demons from under the earth for a little chitchat and the various skirmishes and battles. Talbot, York, and the king’s uncles certainly stand out here, striking strong profiles even as their characters miss the finer nuances of Shakespeare’s more vivid creations. The play is good but, compared to Shakespeare’s later works, nothing to spend too much time mulling over.
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona - This one is obviously an early effort. The drama is forced in areas, and the wordplay is overly ornate in the style of the time (try reading some Lyly some day...). Some of the wit bores rather than delights. Still, the lyrical passages are moving, Lance delivers some fun musings, and a dog plays a supporting part (a rare role on the contemporary stage *not* played by a man, I assume).
Author Comments:
I am working my way through the collected works of the bard. As I read them, I will rank them above with my favorites on top and provide a few lines of reaction.
For these readings, I am using the Oxford Complete edition.
Great idea! So when you complete this you'll have done Shakespeare's plays and the James Bond movies. Now that's a broad spectrum!
Thanks! It is a bold, perhaps foolish, endeavor, but maybe going public will help me stay the course...
Of course, I hope nobody expects me to finish this list in the next few weeks or so. At my current rate, I might be able to swallow a play each weekend. Of course, the holiday weekend might mess even that up.
Bond and Bard. Hmmm.... :)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Oi! I've taken a literature class on Bond. "Shaken, Not Stirred: The Passion of James Bond." One of the texts for that class was Hamlet! (along with The Odyssey, Casino Royale, From Russia with Love, Octopussy and The Living Daylights, Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, Frankenstein, and the films Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live & Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day.)
I've always maintained that you are a subject worthy of further study.
It would hardly be a class if it didn't have a colon in the title. Oddly enough, that is a cliche that really annoys me nowadays, and it has been well over a decade since I took a class!
Flashy Title They Should Have Left As Is : The Real Academic Title To Remind You That This Is A Class
Of course, academic papers use the same convention, which might be part of the reason I rarely read academic papers. (Well, that and the fact that I have been reading for only about five years now, and thus I never understand them. I need more pictures...) Like most conventions, it serves its purpose, but that hardly redeems it in my squinty eyes.
Anyhow, I think I might have enjoyed that class.
I tried to think of a really good reply to this post, but I gave up. Sorry. Thank you very much, although I fear I am much more boring than some might believe... I'm certainly more boring than you are.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I would LOVE to hear what you have to say about Much Ado About Nothing. It has a special place in my heart as the first Shakespeare play that I performed. I was Benedick, and I fell in love with the play right then and there.
Of course, there's that always pesky little "strong-female-turns-weak" ending that kinda haunted Shakespeare's battle of the sexes works.
Re: Two Gents. Is it just me, or is Proteus too big of an asshole to deserve a happy ending? I mean, come on, he betrays his best friend, betrays his beloved Julia, tries to rape Silvia... then asks for Valentine's forgiveness and decides he likes Julia again and lives happily ever after.
I agree. The role of Proteus would demand a very excellent actor for the character to seem anything less that a dip.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I offer my encouragement of your bold venture.
I've not read them all, but I have paraphrased 24 of the plays. I made my self do that because I wanted to understand everything (to the best of my ability) and not miss too many of the wonderful subtleties that might escape a reader used to ploughing through unsubtle science fiction.
Are you intending to read the plays in the order the scholars reckon them to have been written?
I own a copy of Shakespeare's Words - A Glossary and Language Companion by David and Ben Crystal, and I would be happy to give you the benefit of it for any expressions you are unable to decipher from your own resources. Just send me an e-mail or ask me here. This is an excellent and comprehensive reference work which, unfortunately for me, was not published until after I had done my paraphrases.
You have a geat reading adventure ahead of you. Among the things you will discover is how very many titles of stories, novels, movies, etc., have been lifted from the plays.
I have to say I'm miffed about Jim giving you credit for Bond - Bard breadth of reading and not mentioning my own comparable qualification :-)
Ahh! I suck! Just goes to show how heavily I slant to the movie side of things these days if I'm able to overlook your masterful overview of the literary sources! A thousand apologies!
A thousand acceptances! And you don't suck...you just occasionally create a slight pressure imbalance :-D
Ha! I love the pressure imbalance line, and will definitely be stealing it when the occasion dictates.
Firstly, thank you for the encouragement! My huge complete works volume is a bit intimidating, but luckily, I really enjoy reading Shakespeare.
I am tackling the plays in the chronological order suggested by the editors of the Oxford Shakespeare. I believe they attempt to place the plays in the order of performance rather than of actual writing. This is a little controversial, but I do not believe it makes too many radical differences from other timelines.
I may well tap your Shakespeare’s Words resource, so I thank you for the help in advance, you fellow Bond – Bard adventurer!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Well, I blew it this weekend and did not read a play. Hopefully, I can start back up next weekend!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Shakespeare is new land for me, and I have "only" read Macbeth so far. Which play would you recommend as a second?
PS: Have you already tried sth. by Goethe?
I'd recommend watching Kenneth Brannagh's Hamlet. With either the text or a big bowl of popcorn on your lap. But I admit that I have my own interpretation of Hamlet's motivations. (If I'm "very much mistaken" does that necessarily mean that I'm also "wrong"?)
But what do I know? You might also want to ask bertie. (Goethe makes me moethe.)
As Odysseus hints at below, there is much to be said for seeing Shakespeare as well as reading him. The plays were meant to be performed, after all!
I'd go to Othello next, and then you can knock off the other two major tragedies, Hamlet and King Lear, and The Tempest. Good stuff!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
At some point, I read the first part of Faust and loved it. That, alas, was too long ago. I need to revisit the man and his work...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Othello noted!
And I'm very pleased that Goethe is also somehow popular on the other side of the Atlantic.