This morning, before brushing his teeth, my 4yr old looked in the mirror, threw his arms up in the air and shouted ” To BE! Or….NOT, to be. THAT is the question.” No idea where that came from, there was no prompting from me at all. I loved the delivery. Many times he’s come up to me and repeated it just like a 4yr old would repeat a joke over and over again not realizing it’s not funny anymore, just knowing that it got a reaction once therefore it must get a reaction every time. “Hey daddy to be or not to be that is the question!” This was different. Of course I immediately tried to teach him the next line, but “whether ’tis nobler” is right off the bat some pretty hard words for someone that can’t even read yet.
I’ll keep working on it. I may start calling him Edwin Booth.
Shakespeare Said It, Now Figure Out How To Make It True
Here’s a quick game for a weekend day. Surely we’ve all experienced a certain amount of rationalizing that goes with our Shakespeare, whether it came from casual conversation or directly from our teachers. What am I talking about? I heard an old stand by this morning about Juliet being 13 – namely, “Oh, well you see, that was the typical age for a girl back then to get married.”
Really? Back when, exactly? The late 1500’s when Shakespeare was writing? Or something more in the 14th century, based on Porto’s original? If the latter – then why did Porto have Juliet as 16 instead? (I think I have those facts right, this is off the top of my head). If Shakespeare was talking about his own time, what’s it mean then that at 18 he married a pregnant woman nearly 10 years older than him?
Or instead is it that we read Shakespeare, we think “Well, whatever he wrote has to make sense, therefore this love story about a 13yr old has to make sense…so we’ll tell ourselves how it makes sense.”
Then there’s the “second best bed” that he left to his wife. Surely you’ve heard people tell you that “Oh, well you see, this was commonly done – the *best* bed was the guest bed, of course, and the second best bed would have been their wedding bed.” Really? Has anyone ever seen independent confirmation of that, or is that just wishful thinking?
Then of course there’s the whole gay thing. Sonnets written to a dude? Of course they were, that’s how people talked back then! It was perfectly natural for one guy to write love poetry to another guy!
I’m curious, this fine Saturday morning … can we make a list of those? More importantly, can we decide once and for all which are right and which are just wishful thinking?
Your Vote Needed for Pepsi to Refresh Shakespeare
[ Spotted first on reddit.com, I don’t think they’ll mind the added publicity ]
These guys are in the running for $10,000 to bring Shakespeare to those who can’t physically attend the theatre.They need your votes to win. Please vote for them once per day Jan 4 – Feb 28. And if you REALLY want to help, please repost this. In your blog. Facebook. Wherever!
How To Vote
1) go to http://www.refresheverything.ca/shakespeareinhospitals
2) go to the bottom of the window and click “Join Refresh Everything”
3) Fill in the sign up info (name, age, valid email address, password, retyped password, prove you’re not a robot, click ‘done’)
4) Hit “vote for this idea”
5) Repeat each day
6)TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THE SAME!
What is this, exactly? Looks like one of those “we’ll sponsor your idea to change the world” programs that’s becoming more and more popular. The site is a massive list of ideas, all vying for grants of different amounts of money. I love how, on the profile page, the user with the idea has to break down exactly how they’ll use the money, why their idea benefits the community, and so on. In other words, some actual thought has to go into this proposal.
This particular group (I know nothing about them personally, and they did not ask me to post this) has gone with the idea of bringing Shakespeare performances to hospitals and senior centers. How can we not love it? Go vote! Especially if you’re in Canada, as this is a Canadian operation and may more directly benefit your local community. I’m just supporting it because it’s right in line with that “Shakespeare for everyone” thing we always talk about.
I am not thrilled, nothing personal, that they’ve marked off half the money to pay the actors. Not that I’m against paying actors, I just think that this will turn some people off – it comes across like “we got to get paid, son” is the most important idea. If they were pitching VC for a startup idea and asking for a million dollars, you don’t start by saying “Yeah and the three founders will each pay themselves a salary of $250k.” On the contrary you say “I’ll work for the minimum possible – put every possible dollar into helping the idea succeed.”
Anyway. Fingers crossed that they get up into the running – as of this post they’re at position #32, and only the top 3 get some money, so they need a boost. Don’t know how much of a boost we can give them, but it can’t hurt!
Seventh Graders, on Shakespeare
Once more unto the breach, dear Keri, once more! Keri Ellis Cahill, founder and guiding light of Rebel Shakespeare, is once again in front of a classroom bringing the good words to the children. She’s done this many, many times over her career, but this time she’s posting her experience on Facebook. With permission, I present her list of actual quotes overheard in her class:
Q: “Why did teen boys play all the roles in Shakespeare’s day?”
A: “Because the money was so good!”
Q: “Tell me something about Shakespeare’s family.”
A: “They’re all dead.”
Q: “Over the entrance to the Globe Theatre, a phrase in Latin says Totus Mondus Agit Histrionem. What does that mean?”
A: “Come on in!”
Q: (to Lysander) “When Hermia says Whither away? to Helena, what should be happening?”
A: “Ummmm….she should shrivel up. Or at least, fall down.”
Overheard: “OMG we’re getting casted today! I hope I get Hernia!”
More to come as soon as she stops laughing long enough to transcribe them :). I’ve seen the Rebels do their thing a number of times now, and plan to continue for a long time.
Shakespearean Pick-up Lines (Guest Post)
You all know that Shakespeare Geek has produced a great book (Hear My Soul Speak: Wedding Quotes from Shakespeare) on how and why to incorporate Shakespeare into a wedding. But how do you get to that point? Can Shakespeare help you get a date so that, sometime in the future, you can use Shakespeare (and Shakespeare Geek’s book) when you tie the knot?
You have to start somewhere, and Bardfilm has come up with a list of classy lines (with considerable additions and emendations by Shakespeare Geek himself) to enable you to introduce yourself to that special someone—just in time for Valentine’s Day!
Shakespearean Pick-up Lines
If I said you were the most beautified, would you say that beautified was a vile phrase?
Can I just tell you, your eyes are nothing like the sun. And what’s up with that wiry head of hair you got going on? Wait, where you going? Come back, it gets better! Your breath reeks! Call me!
You’re like a good production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. You both have a nice Bottom.
To be or not to be? With you, the former. Without you, the latter.
Hey, that guy de Vere wrote you this sonnet and told me to put my name on it. No, wait, no he didn’t, he’s dead.
Now is the winter of my discontent. Won’t you make it glorious summer by going out with me?
I noticed you hitting it off with that fair youth. Care to make it a three-way?
You look like an angel. Or at least a minister of grace.
You must know Shakespeare ’cause my heart just did a swan dive. Because he’s, like, called the Swan of Avon sometimes. Get it?
Ever seen a beast with two backs? Want to help me make one?
If you were a statue, I’d wish I were Leontes and you were Hermione, who was pretending to be dead for sixteen years. And not really a statue at all.
If I start behaving like an ass, will you start behaving like Titania?
I bet your phone number ends in 1599 because that’s the most probable date for the composition of As You Like It.
Hi. My name is Julius, and when I saw you, I said to myself, “Julius, seize her!”
God hath given you one face, but you made yourself another. You didn’t need to. I mean, the first one was fine.
Let’s go back to my place and tear some sheets, Doll!
O, somebody bring me a bucket of water ’cause I just found my muse of fire! Hey, baby, did you ever ascend the brightest heaven of invention?
You. Me. Dance floor. Now. Don’t give me no ado about nothing.
The fault is not in our stars but in your eyes. I mean, the stars are in your eyes. Or something.
They must have left the gates of purgatory open—look who walked out! Besides Hamlet’s dad, I mean.
There’s nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so – and I’m thinking you look good.
I’d LIKE for YOU to PLEASE go OUT with ME. Ever been picked up in iambic pentameter before?
I’d rather compare thee to a summer’s NIGHT, if you don’t mind and if you get my meaning.
I don’t want to brag, but I did once hear my last girlfriend referring to our sex life as the “sound and the fury.” I didn’t catch what she said after that. Or immediately before.
Our thanks for this guest post to kj, the author of Bardfilm. Bardfilm is a blog that comments on films, plays, and other matters related to Shakespeare.