I don't actually consider myself to be a complete idiot. But I checked this out of the library after that books meme made me think I might like to read some Shakespeare. I didn't quite trust myself to understand it all on my own. I started with Cymbeline because I remembered really liking some lines from it when I read them in a novel a long time ago. We're talking high school, so I did not remember which lines or which novel and that added an air of adventure to the whole caper.
It turns out Cymbeline is not one of Shakespeare's most respected works. Even the Idiot's Guide is unimpressed. But I liked it, I wanted to see how all the plot twists were going to unravel and I was happy with the way they did. I liked a lot of the language and the poetry. I immediately recognized the lines I'd read all those years ago as soon as I came upon them and I liked that feeling- the sudden ease of familiarity amid all that slightly strange language I was working so hard to understand.
Fear no more the heat o' th' sun,
Nor the furious winter's rages,
Thou worldly task hath done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages,
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
Bjork - You Only Live Twice
You've quoted the best bit of course. Absurd play, absolutely risible. I've seen it a couple of times in the theatre and it always gets laughs where it shouldn't (which is a fault of the plotting, not the acting).
Still, we're seeing the beginning of his whole fathers and daughters thing, which he continues to work on. And....some lovely lines.
Go for 'The Tempest' next, do x
Posted by: davyh | July 09, 2009 at 01:31 PM
PS: Am available for lectures, workshops, weddings, barmitzvahs....
Posted by: davyh | July 09, 2009 at 01:46 PM
I'd welcome a lecture series but fear your fees may be prohibitive. I will take your advice on 'The Tempest' and report back, thank you very much x.
Posted by: Greer | July 09, 2009 at 05:08 PM
Oh Brave New World that has such people in it!
Posted by: davyh | July 10, 2009 at 12:53 AM
My favourite is 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Absolutely hilarious!
Posted by: Agnes | July 10, 2009 at 07:53 AM
Twelfth Night. First Billy Shake play I read at school....I was given the opening line
'If Music Be The Food Of Love, Play On'
Has stuck with me for more than 30 years now...
Posted by: jc | July 10, 2009 at 10:28 PM
when i first read the title of your post, i read "cyberline" and i thought, i didn't know shakespeare wrote anything about cyber stuff!
ah, the eyes are but the first to go
when up to a certain age you get . . .
Posted by: mjrc | July 12, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Coriolanus - blood and male bonding. Or Macbeth, nasty, brutish and short, and a nice one to teach. There's a big chunk of othello that a friend did for his drama school audition 20something years ago and I helped him rehearse it so often that I can still quote it now..
Posted by: adam | July 13, 2009 at 12:15 AM
The Tempest rocks!!! But don't go for the movie version. Kiss Me Kate is not as endearing even with Liz Taylor in it! xoxo
Posted by: Tart | July 13, 2009 at 08:41 AM
There are good movie versions, although some are more 'version' than others - Forbidden Planet? Kiss me Kate is 'The Taming Of The Shrew' isn't it, like 'Ten Things I Have About You'. There's a good Derek Jarman version of The Tempest from the mid 80s (with Toyah in it!) and the rather divine Prospero's Books by Peter Greenaway.
Posted by: adam | July 13, 2009 at 01:56 PM
Oh right, yes... Kiss me Kate is "The Taming of the Shrew" haha! But honestly, that recent "Romeo and Juliet" version with Clare Danes and Leonard DiCaprio wasn't half bad. Great soundtrack too. xoxo
Posted by: Tart | July 13, 2009 at 06:20 PM
i love knowing everyone's favorites and I will try them all. I started The Tempest this weekend. Actually I started the 92 page introduction...
ProfessorH- I see what you did there.
Agnes & JC: I've added your two to the list.
Marcy- I don't know much about Shakespeare but there is probably a dissertation out there somewhere claiming he foresaw the cyber age. Also, in my bleaker moments I wonder which will go first- my sight or my hearing.
Tart & Adam- I have seen Kiss Me Kate but not the others. I really appreciate all the recommendations. Lots of good stuff for me to check out, thank you!
Posted by: Greer | July 13, 2009 at 07:31 PM
Adam, you've inspired me to add 'Othello' to my list - when I was in Year 12 a couple of friends on my bus were learning it and I used to quiz them on it on the way to school. I liked what I read but I never knew the whole story. Thanks for the reminder!
Posted by: Agnes | July 14, 2009 at 01:58 AM