shakespeare
Grandma’s House TBR
Recent Reads: #Hobbalong, Shakespeare, Graphic Novel
Review: The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Two sets of twin baby brothers are cast adrift in a storm and wash up on shore in separate cities. When they are grown, they meet up again, not knowing of the others’ existence, and mistaken identities abound! One man’s wife mistakes him for his twin, and some creditors apply to the wrong twin for payment. The servants are totally confused, because they keep receiving conflicting commands from their masters.
While there are lots of hilarious situations, mix-ups, and puns and jokes galore, the plot is very straight forward with no surprises, and that made me a bit bored. It’s a very short play with a small cast of characters. It’s comedic fluff with not much of a story to it.
Maybe I’m just not in the mood for comedic fluff right now. Maybe if I saw it performed, it would be funnier, and I would enjoy it more. Reading a play is never the same as the real thing.
Review: Coriolanus by Shakespeare
Play Review: Coriolanus
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this play so much! This is the story of Marcius, a noble general in the armies of Rome who wins renown in battle, is renamed Coriolanus, and is promoted to consul. But the political machinations of Rome bring him down because he won’t pander to the people or speak sweetly to the rabble. It IS a tragedy, so of course we already expect him to die in the end.
I was intrigued by Coriolanus/Marcius’ tempestuous nature and rage that is tempered by his love of honor and justice. He has a high regard for noble deeds, and refuses to compromise to lesser men, and naturally his honesty is what gets him killed. Continue reading
Recent Reads: Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, Fantasy
Book Review: The Winter’s Tale
The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This story is all over the place, but I loved the random plot and the clueless characters! I can’t figure out if it’s a hilarious tragedy or a dark comedy, but I was certainly never bored.
In this play, King Leontes is suddenly struck with the erroneous belief that his wife, Hermione, is cheating on him with his childhood friend, King Polixenes. He descends into a form of madness, trying to assassinate his friend, publicly accusing his wife of being unfaithful, and sentencing his actual child (who he believes to be illegitimate) to death by exposure in the wilderness. And of course, all sorts of trouble ensues, because he has angered the god Apollo, who predicts that he will never have an heir to his throne until he finds his lost daughter again, who did not die of exposure. Continue reading
How To Read Shakespeare
Book Review: Henry VIII
Henry VIII by William Shakespeare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this play so much! It had a tight plot and delightfully interesting characters. I was especially intrigued with the changes that some characters went through, or the way some of them reacted under extreme circumstances.
This is the story of how Henry VIII got rid of his wife, Katherine, and fell in love with Anne Boleyn, married her instead, and had a daughter, Elizabeth. Of course, there’s a ton of political intrigue going on, and people being accused as traitors right and left. The Duke of Buckingham goes on trial as a traitor in the first scene, even though he’s innocent. Along with a bunch of corrupt Bishops and Cardinals, Cromwell is lurking in the background.
There are some really tense and emotional scenes with really powerful dialogue! Continue reading
Luminous Libro 