shakespearean play

Book Review: The Taming of the Shrew

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The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

That is perhaps the most terrible thing I have ever read. I mean, I knew it would be disparaging of women and archaic in it’s ideas, but seriously! I never imagined that this play would be so entirely anti-feminist; buying and selling women in marriage without one single man ever once asking what the woman wants. All they talked about was price and goods and ownership, as if a marriage was a financial transaction. Continue reading →

Play Review: Titus Andronicus

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Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This is a truly terrible play. The writing is decent, but the subject material…. ugh! So much violence and nastiness and evil, it made me cringe.
Titus Andronicus is a Roman general just back from war with the Goths, and he kills the son of Tamora, the Queen of the Goths, starting a cycle of revenge that ends with lots of blood on both sides.

It’s a tragedy, so I know nearly everyone is going to die, but still… really over the top violence and bloodshed. Continue reading →

Review: The Comedy of Errors

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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.

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Play Review: Coriolanus

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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 →

Book Review: The Winter’s Tale

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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 →