http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/01/excerpt_from_ad.html I didn’t know much about Adam Cohen before he died this week at age 38, but I wish I had. Love Shakespeare?  Of course you do, that’s why you hang out here.  So did Adam.  Now imagine somebody tells you that you’ve got a brain tumor, and while maybe they can successfully remove it, the medication afterwards is going to *prevent you from being able to read*. What does he do?  Freak out?  Maybe a little, sure. But does he give up?  Wallow?  Oh, F no.

The technologies and techniques on which I usually relied were unusable, my standard place in the world lost. Like so many of Shakespeare’s characters I had been yanked out of a life in which my place was certain and thrown into a maelstrom, an Arden Wood of the mind and spirit, a Prospero’s island where I had no idea who I was or where I belonged.

I love this guy just for that sentence.  I’ve often tried to explain to people, in answer to the “Why read Shakespeare?” question, that “Your life will be better.”  This is the kind of stuff I’m talking about.  Talk about living the Shakespeare life. It’s unclear whether this unpublished memoir will be published, but if so I think I want to get in line for it.  Wow.

When I got an Apple TV for Christmas, I demonstrated it for my wife by showing her the climax of Orson Welles’ Chimes At Midnight.  I love that scene.  I think I even tried to show it to my kids.

This morning in the shower, though, I thought of a question.  I suppose I could find this answer with a little more study, but sometimes it’s fun to get people’s impressions. After all, that’s what I love so much about Shakespeare – the humanity he instills in his characters that make us all immediately understand what they’re going through.

So, here’s my question.  Does Falstaff die a broken man, convinced that the new king Henry has abandoned him?  Or does he understand that “he did what he had to do now that he’s king” speech?  Welles’ performance at this moment seems to suggest both.  There’s a flash of a smile, a sort of an acknowledging, “My boy has gone farther than I ever imagined he would” expression.  Just for a second.  After the procession continues, though, we see the broken man who still swears, albeit with a little less energy now, “I will be sent for.  You’ll see.  He’ll send for me in private.”

Perhaps it is a combination of the two. He’s proud and understands, but at the same time also understands that, no, he won’t be sent for. How am I doing?  Close?   (I have another Falstaff-related post coming later today. I’m on a Falstaff kick. :))

I’m not quite sure the history of this piece, but I’m greatly enjoying it.  And, I’d like to think, getting most of the jokes :)!

“I don’t get it. Othello smothers Desdemona with a pillow, right?”
England nods.
“But then Emilia comes in and asks who did this to her, and she says nobody; I, myself. Which means he’s stopped smothering her. Which means she can breathe again. Which means she shouldn’t be dying at all!”
“No, she has to die. The tragic form demands it.”

Credit and applause go to … puella nuerdi?  I never did understand LiveJournal names. Anyway, go check it out.  Great, original, entertaining stuff.  A massive undertaking that has something snarky to say about just about all of the plays. http://puella-nerdii.livejournal.com/114125.html

Been slow here at Shakespeare Geek, because it’s been crazy in the real world.  Christmas with three little kids, as some of you can imagine, gets crazy. There’s travelling to be done, vacations to take advantage of, toys to buy, then wrap, then unwrap, then open, then play, then throw into a corner and move on to the next one … I hope to get back on track shortly.  I’ve got at least one book (Actors Talk About Shakespeare) and movie (Teller’s Macbeth) to write about, and that’s not counting the new stuff. For Christmas I got the DVD collections “Playing Shakespeare” and “Age of Kings”, both highly recommended here on the site.  So those will keep me busy for awhile.  I also got a book, “Letters to Juliet” which looks pretty cool, it’s a very nice looking coffee-table style of book with lots of pictures. I was looking for Tad Williams’ “Caliban’s Hour”, but it is out of print and nobody wanted to get me a used copy for Christmas.  Fair enough.  But now that I know a sci fi author I like did a Tempest story, I have to have it. How’d everybody else do?  What’s new under the Shakespeare tree?