Year: 2006

Is Tybalt one of the better villains?

~ duane ~ 9 Comments

I always treated Tybalt as one of Shakespeare’s better villains.  He’s got nothing but hate in him, and he’s not afraid to draw his sword and go one-on-one with any challenger.  Certainly he’s a coward at heart, as they all are – he runs after he kills Mercutio, for instance.

Then again…  On the train lately I’ve been reading the script, because I’m that kind of geek.  And I notice passages like the end of Act I scene i, where Benvolio is explaining what happened to Lord Montague, and I get this:  “The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepared, which, as he breathed defiance to my ears, he swung about his head and cut the winds, who nothing hurt withal hiss’d him in scorn…”  Does that mean that Tybalt stood there slashing at the air with his sword and not hitting anything?

Then later there is the lengthy passage where Mercutio describes Tybalt’s swordsmanship.  Is he being fair, or sarcastic?  Or both?  Is Tybalt a swordsman to be feared, or is he all talk?

Shakespeare High is Podcasting

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

Very cool, Amy over at ShakespeareHigh has started a podcast. I must have missed the memo, because she’s up to her fourth episode and I just found out about it ;). She’s going with the “Students Guide to Shakespeare 101” approach. Very tutorial, working through quiz time questions like “Did Shakespeare write in Olde English or Modern English?” Right now she’s running it as if the user is sitting down behind an online guide, so I hope for those of us who listen to podcasts away from the computer she breaks from that pattern eventually. One of the major benefits of podcasting is taking it with you so you can learn this stuff on the train, in the car, at the gym, etc… all places where you can’t click on the link when the narrator tells you to.

Good luck, Amy! You’ve got a new subscriber, and hopefully a bunch more :).

Technorati Tags: shakespeare, podcast

Mercutio fed Romeo his lines?

~ duane ~ 1 Comment

So I’m going back over Romeo and Juliet for a project I’m playing with, and I just noticed something that I’d never really thought of before. Act I, Scene iv, we see Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio getting ready for the party . This is where the famous Queen Mab speech comes in. I also think it’s interesting that Mercutio, for such a strong character, gets no real introduction, he’s just that fun guy that you party with. Mercutio’s first line in the entire play is “Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.” Makes me think of characters from Seinfeld or something.

Anyway. The thing I just noticed is this exchange:

Romeo: “I have a soul of led so stakes me to the ground I cannot move.”
Mercutio: “You are a lover, borrow Cupid’s wings, and soar with them above a common bound.”

That sound familiar to anybody? Act II, Scene ii.

Romeo: “With love’s light wings did I o’er-perch these walls, for stony limits cannot hold love out.”

While Romeo is busy wooing Juliet, he’s blatantly stealing lines that Mercutio gave him! That’s actually funny. Maybe that’s something that everybody else has seen before, but I don’t recall my 9th grade English teacher pointing it out. (I do remember her showing us the Zeffirelli(?) film and forgetting to mention there was nudity in it. Never saw anyone run for the Stop button so fast!)

If, just for a moment, you spin the play completely different, where Romeo and his friends really are just college boys looking to get some action after the party (basically what Benvolio and Mercutio wanted), you could have a blast with it. Imagine drunken Mercutio and Benvolio hiding in the bushes underneath the balcony loudly whispering things like, “Tell her Queen Mab hath been with you!” or “Show her your naked weapon!”

Maybe I’m just sleepy, I’m writing this on the morning train to keep myself occupied :).

Strangling Shakespeare

~ duane ~ 4 Comments

Matthew Mehan of Mercator.net brings us this article entitled, Strangling Shakespeare. “Britain’s leading theatre company seems set on barbequeing the Bard of Avon,” the article starts, before going on to review the Royal Shakespeare Company’s recent production of Henry VI part II.

“I was in Stratford on Avon for only a day…although it was just long enough to start counting the number of times I heard Shakespeare roll in his grave.”

Sounds like he didn’t love it.

Technorati Tags: shakespeare , stratford, henry vi, review

Who wants to help with a book project?

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

I’m in a publishing mood lately. A couple of e-book projects of mine (both completely unrelated to Shakespeare) are now online and selling, which I’m pleased with. I’ve always wanted to get something to paper about Shakespeare, and the question has always been what would that be.

I have an idea for something I’d like to try, but I need people. The project I’m thinking of is more of a compilation / anthology then a traditional “dummy’s guide.” If any of my regular readers out there are interested in hearing more, or possibly participating, please drop me a line at dmorin@gmail.com.

Thanks!

D