The Bard's Challenge: Week Six

The Bard’s Challenge: Week Six

In this post:

Romeo and Juliet

Sonnets 19-23

Thoughts on Romeo and Juliet

I vividly remember during my first year of teaching Shakespeare, a girl who absolutely detested Romeo and Juliet. A bit of the conversation I had with her went something like this:

Me: Why don’t you like Romeo and Juliet?

Her: Because Romeo is an idiot!

Me: Really? Why do you think that?

Her: Because… Because it’s really terrible what he did to her!

Me: (Extremely confused). What did he do to her?

Her: He made her fall completely in love with him and that had to go and kill himself!

I guess for her it was kind of like those horror movies where the characters do stupid things like walk into doors, go TOWARDS the creepy noises, or say “who’s there?” It just makes you want to yell at them, “DON’T GO INTO THE ROOM YOU IDIOT! HE’S GOT A KNIFE!” Unlike most of those horror movies, though, Romeo and Juliet has so much depth and lyrical quality to it that the feeling of discontent and unreality seems to linger even after the curtains have closed and the audience has left.

USF, “Romeo and Juliet” 2011:

I will probably cite my recent experiences at the Utah Shakespeare Festival copiously throughout the challenge, so forgive me. I had the opportunity of seeing Romeo and Juliet performed there this past summer, and it was AMAZING!  I think the best part had to be when Romeo killed Tybalt. There Tybalt lay, dead on the ground, with Benvolio urging Romeo to flee lest he be executed. Romeo shocked that he had murdered his new kinsmen and worried that he will never see Juliet again. And it starts to rain. (This was at an outdoor theatre modeled after the Globe). At first it was just a drizzle, but after only a few moment we heard lightning and it began to pour. In rushed the citizens, lady Capulet and the prince among them. And above the torrential downpour I heard lady Capulet shriek the words: “Tybalt my cousin! O my brother’s child! O prince! O Husband! Cousin! O the blood is spilt of my dear kinsman! (Whenever Shakespeare used the letter “O” It generally was a note to the actors that said “Your character can’t even come up with words to express their emotion, any outburst or shriek will do.”) Lady Capulet’s outburst combined with the pouring rain coming down on the actors and audience was nearly enough to make me burst into tears. But the scene finished in the gloomy rain and the lights came up for intermission.

And the rain stopped.

It was incredible.

Romeo and I, BFFs:

Coincidentally enough, Christian Barillas, who played Romeo, was my scene coach for one of my two-week classes I took while I was down there! Here’s a picture:

The Moon and the Sun:

So did you take a look at the differences between Romeo’s love for Rosaline and his love for Juliet? If you did, I hope you noticed a few things. Here’s what I gleaned:

1.      His love for Rosaline made him melancholy, while his love for Juliet made him joyous.

2.      He attempted to court Rosaline in what was considered the “proper” way in his time, whereas with Juliet he threw caution to the wind and leapt into the relationship without thought of custom.

3.      He often compared Rosaline to the moon in the first Act of the play, and then often referred to Juliet as the stars and the sun. “Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon!” (Could that mean that his love for Juliet [the sun] now had drowned out any love he harbored for Rosaline, [the moon?])

What is the “Proper Man?”

The question of what a man should be comes up constantly in this play. Mercutio constantly accuses Romeo of being too soft and lady-like. He believed that the proper man should fight when he is insulted, to be roused easily, etc. Well, look where that got Mercutio. In addition, Romeo probably isn’t the best role model for a proper man either; throwing caution to the winds and pursuing a girl in secret, murdering his new kinsmen, killing himself over a girl he met three days beforehand. So who can we find that strikes us as a “proper man?” Benvolio was amazing, but he seemed to be kind of the “Remus Lupin” character, the kind that was good himself, but never stopped his friends from doing bad things. Lady Capulet’s father is often put into a bad light for obvious reasons, we don’t see too much of Paris. Perhaps the Prince? He enters precisely three times. Each time he asserts himself and establishes justice, then leaves. Who do you think might be the best role model for what a man should be?

Sonnets:

It seems my assumptions were correct!

Sonnet 19: Shakespeare has absolutely forbidden time from ever touching his love. He seems to tell Time that it can do whatever it wants to everything else, but his love will remain young in his verse.

Sonnet 20: This is the HUGE sonnet that millions of people cite as their reasoning behind Shakespeare being gay. I must admit, it does puzzle me; but I’m going to leave it at that.

Sonnet 21: I love this sonnet. Shakespeare essentially I saying that most poets will praise their love’s beauty and compare it to the sun, moon, stars, and all sorts of other majestically things. But Shakespeare says his love is true, and so he intends to write true. His love is as beautiful as any other human, but not as bright as the stars. And since he doesn’t intend to sell his love, he won’t praise that love falsely.

It seems that Shakespeare is beginning his attempt to immortalize the youth in his verse. And boy, has he succeeded…

Your thoughts?

So I think I asked a couple of questions throughout the posts, and I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on the play and sonnets! What was your favorite part? Was there any part that touched your soul? How did you feel about sonnet 20? Anything else?

Next Week:

·         The Winter’s Tale

o   I haven’t read this one ever before, though I have read and seen a few scenes from it. It’s a tough one, so give yourself some time.

·         The Rape of Lucrece:

o   Another one I haven’t read. I think this one is a longer poem, so give yourself some time again!

The Bard's Challenge: Week Five

The Bards Challenge: Week Five

In this Post:

Hamlet

Sonnets 14-18

Hamlet. There’s no way I could possibly even hope to take on a hundredth of what I want to say about Hamlet in a single blog post.

Hamlet is my favorite play. Ever. It is often considered to be one of the greatest pieces of literature in the English language. Famous actors have often played the part of Hamlet simply to say they’d done it; a lot of people would say you can’t be considered a “real” actor until you’ve played Hamlet. And I haven’t played Hamlet.

Yet.

Quotes on Hamlet:

There are three immediate quotes I’d like to share with you.

 

The first, is a quote from Orson Welles, (You know, author of War of the Worlds?)

“Once Shakespeare had written him, he never wrote about a man of any genius at all again. . . Once he’d written Hamlet and discovered that there was no actor who could play him, he turned to something else.”

The second, is a quote from Isaac Asimov, (Another HUGE science fiction author that also happens to be a Shakespeare buff)

“Shakespeare has said so many things so supremely well that we are forever finding ourselves thinking in his terms. There is the story of the woman who read Hamlet for the first time and said, ‘I don’t see why people admire that play so. It is nothing but a bunch of quotations strung together.’”

And finally, one from a wonderful Shakespeare scholar, Norrie Epstein:

“There’s no character quite like Hamlet in Dramatic Literature. He’s a sensitive poet who is unable to act, yet he manages in one way or another to kill almost everyone in the play.”

The Reduced Shakespeare Company:

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

This is a great video showing part of RSC’s show. It’s hysterical, and will quickly tell you all you need to know about the plot of Hamlet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvPdWcCHkxM

Kenneth Branagh:

In case you weren’t aware, Kenneth Branagh is my favorite actor and Director of all time. He’s really famous for his Shakespeare films, but you might recognize him as the director of Thor or as Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter. ;) This is an introduction to his Hamlet, and I think it says a lot of what I feel about the play. You don't need to watch it, but it's a pretty neat video.

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Thoughts on the Play:

Ophelia:

Despite being titled “The Tragedy of Hamlet,” most of my sympathy seems to lie with Ophelia. When I read the part where we find out she died I just want to cry. On her first appearance in the play, Ophelia is an innocent, trusting, and spirited individual. I grow to like her because of her sincere nature. I don’t know if you felt that way, but when I read Ophelia’s lines, they just rang true to me. But by the end of the play all of that innocence and spiritedness has been yanked from her and replaced with an insanity that leaves you unsure whether to be horrified or weepy.

I think what it comes down to is one of the play’s most cryptic lines, spoken by Ophelia:

“Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.”

This is my second favorite line in the entire play. It’s the fundamental question everyone needs to ask themselves. “Who do I want to be?” Hopefully, once they know their answer, they can take the steps to achieve it. In a different light, I think Norrie Epstein had it right when she said, “Ophelia goes mad because she discovers what others ‘may be.’ Tragically, she never learns what she might have become.”

The Band Perry:

You might be familiar with this big new country band, “the Band Perry,” and their big hit “If I Die Young.” (You can watch the music video here). That song unceasingly reminds me of Ophelia! (Even the video seems to be modeled after her). Just look at the lyrics:

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, well

I've had just enough time

And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom

I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger,

I've never known the lovin' of a man

But it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand.

The lyrics and tone of the song always seems to remind me of that innocent young girl who was broken by the harsh world around here until it all seemed to crumble around her ears. It also makes me think of this photo:

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will.”

Are you ready for my all-time favorite Shakespeare quote EVER? Drumroll please…

"There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all."

“But wait, Andrew, that’s all just gibberish! It makes no sense!”

Oh, but it does. What Hamlet is saying, mere minutes before he takes his last breath, is that even in the death of a sparrow we can see evidence of God and his love for us. And whether we die now or in years to come, the moment when we have to face death will come. And the only thing we can do, is be ready when it does.

What this means to me is that I need to live every moment in my life in such a way that if I died tomorrow, I would be able to stand before those pearly gates and say confidently that I had lived a life that I could be proud of.

And…. I’m going to quit with Hamlet because I’ve gone on too long already. So let's continue onward!

Sonnets:

And I begin to see the light!

The first two sonnets this week were more of the usual about the youth needing to have kids, but sonnets 17 and 18 struck out to me like a doorman wearing a ten gallon hat.

Sonnet 17 expresses discontent because Shakespeare realizes that even if he could capture all the youths beauty and virtues in his verse, no one would believe him unless the youth had a child that mirrored the youth's beauty. This seems like more of what the last 16 sonnets have been about, but not when you look at sonnet 18.

Sonnet 18 is where the abrupt shift in the sonnets takes place, and, rather than pleading for the youth to have children, Shakespeare seems to fall head over heels for the youth and expresses his love for the youth's grace and beauty, etc. What it seems like to me, is that Shakespeare has now given up on the youth having kids, and has instead decided to do his best to capture the youth’s beauty and virtues in his verse like he expressed the desire to do in the previous sonnet. Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen, the next hundred and some odd sonnets are going to be quite lovey-dovey. ;)

P.S. If any of you need a good pickup line, here’s a great one:

“If I could write the beauty of your eyes

And in fresh numbers number all your graces,

The age to come would say 'This poet lies:

Such heavenly touches ne'er touch'd earthly faces.”

~Sonnet 17

Questions:

So what did you think? Was it your first time reading Hamlet? If so, how do you feel about it? You HAVE to share at least one favorite quote with me, and I’d love to know if you agree/disagree with me about Ophelia.

Next Week:

·         Romeo and Juliet, (ooh-la-la!)

o   Take a good look at how Romeo acts while “in love” with Rosalind, and then how he acts while in love with Juliet. Try to note some of the differences. (hint: there’s a lot of sun and moon imagery.)

·         Sonnets 19-23

The Bard's Challenge: Week Four

The Bards Challenge: Week Four

In this post:

Sonnets 10-13

The Merchant of Venice

Thoughts on The Merchant of Venice

Ahh, Merchant. It’s been about three years since I last read this play. Merchant is one another play that some people lump in with Shakespeare’s problems plays. Most don’t, but some do on account of the obvious issues of justice and mercy and Shylock’s unhappy ending. Merchant is clearly overshadowed and not 100% comedy. And guess what else?

I hated this play.

I don’t really hate it anymore, but it still doesn’t rank anywhere near the top of my favorite play list. I think it might have something to do with me watching the first five minutes of an old version of Merchant when I was about 11 years old, and being absolutely bored out of my mind. You see, the reason I watched the first five minutes of it then was because my father had to read it for a class he was taking, and he couldn’t get through it. That’s why I used to think Shakespeare was hard.

My “not liking” Merchant is an extremely stark contrast to the views of my aunt and old co-mentor. Both of them LOVE Merchant, and it might be interesting to think about why:

My aunt loves the Merchant of Venice because it was the first Shakespeare play she ever saw. (I THINK she saw it at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, but I can’t be sure.) The physical humor and banter were evidently hysterical in a way onstage that they really aren’t on the page. This just goes to show, Shakespeare is meant to be seen, not read.

On the other hand, my old co-mentor took the scholarly perspective and said she loves Merchant because of the themes of justice and mercy found in it. To this day I’m not sure if she said that just to make herself sound smarter or not.

Side note: Next time someone mentions a Shakespeare play to you, any play, I dare you to say something along the lines of “Oh yes, Merchant of Venice, I love that play! The underlying themes of justice and mercy and the broad perspectives and plausible understandings that can be gleaned from the problems and ambiguities of the human experience in that play absolutely fascinate me!” It will blow their minds and they will totally think you’re awesome. That, or you will be labeled a dork for the rest of you days.

All joking aside, though, we studied this play my first year of teaching Shakespeare. I still was not fond of the play at the time, but it was my co-mentors choice and I begrudgingly went along with it and began to go through the discussions and assignments with the class. Despite what it may seem, I’m really glad she chose that play. It helped me look at the play on a deeper level and realize that I DIDN’T hate it! And now, after reading it yet again, I realize it so deep I might just get lost inside of it.

Justice and Mercy:

“The quality of Mercy is not strain’d. . . It blesseth him that gives an him that takes.”

Justice and mercy is one of the most obvious themes within the play, and I’m not going to go into any depths with it. I do have one question that might be food for thought though: If Portia was so adamant about Mercy, why did she turn right around and condemn Shylock so harshly for his acts? I mean, Shylock was pretty bad, but I thought you like mercy?! What do you think?

Anti-Semitism:

Over the last century or so Shylock has become less of a villain, and more of a tragic character. A lot of plays try to put him forth in this tragic light. This is why many people think of Merchant as a Problem Play. Shylock does horrible things, but he also gets treated horribly. Do you think if he wasn’t treated so harshly that maybe he wouldn’t BE so harsh? 

Other themes/concepts I found in the play that interested me:

·         The three caskets

·         The rings

·         Money, (Shylock not willing to lend freely vs. Antonio giving everything he has)

Sonnets:

“Dear my love, you know

You had a father: let your son say so.”

~Sonnet 13

Well, not much has changed since we last checked on the fair youth. Still hasn’t had a kid, and Shakespeare still hasn’t stopped asking him to have one. I think in the next installment, (around sonnet 18) things will begin to get more interesting.

Your thoughts?

So what did you think of the play and/or sonnets? I’d really like to know what your reaction was to the play, (like it? Love it? Hate it? Undecided? )

Next Week:

·         Hamlet:

o   Give yourselves plenty of time for this one, It’s Shakespeare’s longest play and Hamlet is really long-winded. Try to put yourself in Hamlet’s shoes as you read this, ask yourself questions like: “what would I do if I found out my uncle killed my dad and married my mom less than a month later?” And then when you finish try to come up with a personal opinion of the way Hamlet acted. Do you agree with what he did?

·        Sonnets 14-18

The Bard's Challenge: Week Three

The Bards Challenge: Week Three

In this post:

A Lover’s Complaint

Measure for Measure

Thoughts on Measure for Measure:

Okay, okay, I know what some of you may be thinking. But you have to look deeper than the extremely unchaste cast of this play!

What is a Problem Play?

Shakespeare wrote three plays that are commonly classified as “Problem Plays,” (and depending on which scholar you ask, some will chip in a couple more). An easy way to classify a Shakespearean problem play is that it’s neither a comedy nor a tragedy but often floats somewhere in between. I like the Way F. S. Boas put it:

“Throughout these plays we move along dim untrodden paths, and at the close our feeling is neither of simple joy nor pain; we are excited, fascinated, perplexed, for the issues raised . . . and we are left to interpret their enigmas as best we may.”

A problem play usually takes big moral issues or “problems” of the day and attempts to illustrate these problems. Problem plays in our day might revolve around drugs, unemployment, crime, etc. Measure for Measure blatantly revolves around two universal issues: good government, and morality.

Good Government:

One word: Angelo. I don’t know how you feel about him, but I grew to dislike him more and more with every scene I saw him in. He ALMOST redeemed himself in Act IV, Scene IV, but lost it again later. The play clearly illustrates two extremes of governance: Angelo, (self-centered, absolute rule, etc.) and the Duke, (Forgiving, calm, etc.) And although it may seem obvious to us now, it wasn’t nearly so obvious at the time this oplay was written, (1604) how rulers should judge crimes involving morality, (see below).

Morality:

Oh heavens. This was like watching one of those soap operas like Grey’s Anatomy where everyone was sleeping with everyone else; except instead of breaking people’s hearts, there breaking people’s necks and cutting off their heads, (or trying to, anyways). When this play was written, England had just gotten a new ruler, (King James) and James was pretty big on religion, you remember the King James Bible, right? Well, James was a very theological man and often raised questions about his duties as a Christian ruler. When to punish, how to punish, etc. This play very clearly illustrates both sides of how to deal with issues of morality. And although the ending is “happy” and everyone is getting married, the audience is still left with a sense of discontent because of the nature of the ending. I mean, half of the cast was FORCED to get married! And the morality of the entire cast, (except Isabella and the Duke of course) is absolutely appalling!

The Title:

The play’s title, “Measure for Measure” actually refers to part of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Interesting, eh? The part where Christ teaches us to use a full, unstinting measure in distributing grain to others, for we shall receive measures in the same way that we distribute them. Hmm,…. I wonder how that ties in to the play’s theme…

Your thoughts?

Alright, I’ve had my little rant for the day. How about you? There’s just one specific question I have for you and then I’d love your general thoughts:

·        How did you feel when you finished the play?

The Bard's Challenge: Week Two

The Bards Challenge: Week Two

In this post:

Sonnets 5-9

King Lear



Statue of King Lear located in Chicago. Beautiful, eh?



Thoughts on King Lear:

Oh. My. Heavens. I’d forgotten how HEAVY King Lear is! I know I’m in way over my head as far as coming even close to capturing the sheer awesomness of this play, so I won’t try. Intead I’m just going to keep it short and sweet. Maybe ask a few questions in the process.

Your thoughts:

First and foremost, I REALLY want to know what your thoughts were on this play. Seriously. What did you think of Edmund? Lear? Kent? What was your favorite quote/part? How did you feel while reading it?

“Never”

I had the wonderful opportunity of discussing the last scene in Lear with one of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s foremost educators, Michael Bahr. We were talking about iambic pentameter and other varieties of meter Shakespeare used. In essence, we were looking at one of Lear’s last lines before he dies:

“Never never never never never”

Deep, huh? But it is! Humor me for a second and try this:

Pretend for a second that each syllable in this line represents a beat of your heart. We’ll try beating your chest with your fist. Normally Shakespeare’s meter, (iambic pentameter) would mean you’d beat your chest softly and then hard, then soft, then hard, with each syllable. (think “daDUN daDUN daDUN daDUN daDUN” kind of like your heart beating). Try beating your chest with that rhythm as you say the line above out loud.

Notice how it sort of sounds like your normal heart beat? Now try this.

Instead of beating your chest soft, hard, soft, hard; try beating your chest hard, soft, hard soft. “DAdun DAdun DAdun DAdun DAdun.” Now try saying the line out loud while beating in this fashion, but slow down the beating as you read aloud. (Remember, one pound for each syllable).

If you do it right, it sort of sounds like a heart taking a few last beats before going out completely. It’s eerie, especially because Lear dies only about two short lines after that.

Shakespeare is deep.

*                      *                      *                      *

Sonnets:

So this is my first time reading all of the sonnets through together in order. And I must say, I get this image of Shakespeare sending these notes once a week to this other person, and if I were that person I would be sooooo annoyed at Shakespeare right about now! We know you want him to have kids already! And clearly he either doesn’t want them, or doesn’t want them right now. So stop pestering him about it, will ya? It’s beautiful language, but the redundancy… What do you think so far?

Vocabulary Words:

Moiety: a portion, part or share. In this case of lands.

Propinquity: Closeness. In this case, closeness as kin.

And Next Week….

·         Measure For Measure.

o   This will be a tough play, it’s one of his lesser known plays, and even I haven’t read it. So it will be a surprise for all of us. J

·         A Lover’s Complaint

The Bard's Challenge: Week One

The Bard’s Challenge: Week One

In this post:

Comedy of Errors

Sonnets 1-4

Comedy of Errors overview:

Oh I love this play so much! It always makes me laugh so hard and for some reason I always feel the need to do the whole “bad dum bum chhhh!” sound effect at the end of some of Dromio’s jokes. There were very few “deep” moments in this play, which is understandable considering many think it was Shakespeare’s earliest work. However, I did take about three pages worth of notes and highlighted quotes, (Don’t worry, I won’t share them ALL with you. It’s just for my personal journal. ;)

Although on first glance this play seems to be almost completely a farce intended mostly to excite laughter, and maybe even on second and third glance as well, a couple of themes really stuck out to me.

Master/mistress master/servant:

Also, the whole thing with Adriana and Luciana and their discussions about the proper role of the wife. Take this passage spoken by Luciana for example:

“Men, more divine, the masters of all these,

Lords of the wide world and wild watery seas,

Indued with intellectual sense and souls,

Of more preeminence than fish and fowls,

Are masters to their females, and their lords:

Then let your will attend on their accords.”

~Act II Scene I

This, and Adriana’s completely opposite opinion seem to be present throughout. This applies not only to Antipholus’s relationship with Adriana, but his (and his twin’s) relationship with the Dromios. What do you think? Was Antipholus of Ephesus a bit justified in his treatment of Dromio and Adriana?

Duke:

The Duke of Ephesus kind of reminds me of the Prince in Romeo and Juliet, (we’ll get there soon). He’s the keeper of the peace, the man of justice. The one who helps everyone get sorted out at the end of the play. Shakespeare uses characters like this a lot in his works. Keep your eyes out for characters that seem to be the “problem solvers.”

Who am I?

Despite seeming frivolous, the play puts forth an extremely difficult question. “Who am I?” The twins seem to completely go crazy because they’re not sure who they are or who anyone else is anymore. (Especially the poor Dromios, being beaten so much for things they didn’t understand..)  I think this quote from Antipholus of Syracuse is really fitting here:

“I to the world am like a drop of water

That in the ocean seeks another drop,

Who, falling there to find his fellow forth,

Unseen, inquisitive, confounds himself:

So I, to find a mother and a brother,

In quest of them, unhappy, lose myself.”

~Act I Scene II

Each one of us is here on the world for something. Sometimes we’re not sure what it is. And sometimes when we’re searching we start to lose sight of who we are. I think the people who have the most happiness in the world are those that know exactly who they are and what they want. Think about Steve Jobs, or Benjamin Franklin, or Mother Teresa. They completely knew who they were and what their purpose in life was. So what’s yours?

Other quotes and vocabulary words from Comedy of Errors:

“Every why hath a wherefore.”

~Act II Scene II, Dromio of S.

What a great line to end the play with:

“We came into the world like brother and brother;

And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another.”

~Act V Scene I, Dromio of E.

Cozenage (Act I scene II): cheat, deceit

Sconce (Act II Scene II): first time used it means head, second time it means bulwark or protective barrier. Great example of some quibbling.

Niggard (Act II Scene II): Stingy person, someone who gives or does things extremely sparingly. This really helped with the first few sonnets)

Licentious (Act II Scene II): Unrestrained by law or morality

Carcanet (Act III Scene I): Collar of Jewels

Sonnets:

Oh the sonnets. The source of much controversy in the Shakespeare world. Let me set a base for you in case you don’t already have one:

Shakespeare’s sonnets are addressed to and about three main characters:

1.      The Fair Youth, (Sonnets 1-126)

2.      The Dark Lady, (Sonnets 127-152)

3.      The Rival Poet, (Sonnets 78-86ish)

From these sonnets stem the majority of the opinion that Shakespeare may have been gay. You’ll see a little bit of this as we get further on. For now, let’s just let the mystery unfold.

Sonnet 1:

This sonnet seems to lay the foundation for sonnets 1-17.  It’s interesting that the youth is portrayed as beautiful, yet self-absorbed. What kind of self-absorb-ness is it? Is he conceited or selfish, or is he just too busy with his own life to take time to marry and have kids?

Sonnet 2:

“How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use,

If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine

Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse.”

~Sonnet 2

This sonnet asks the fair youth what will he say his legacy is when he is 40 years old. The sonnet says if his only legacy and “treasure of his lusty days” is himself, then it’s a shame.

Sonnet 3:

I begin to wonder if maybe when Shakespeare uses the word “beauty” he not only means it in the literal sense, but in the emotional sense as well. Meaning that the youth should have kids not only to pass on his physical beauty, but to pass on his inner beauty. His legacy. What do you think? (Personally, I’m keeping this alternate definition in my head for he future.)

Sonnet 4:

According to this sonnet, the Youth’s beauty was only lent to him by nature on the condition that he pass it on so it could benefit the world. If he doesn’t pass it on then his beauty will die with him, but if he does than his children will retain his beauty.  

And Finally…

So I want to hear your thoughts! If your thoughts were the same as mine I love validation, if you disagree I want to know about it and why! If you had any other thoughts, favorite quotes, epiphanies, or anything at all to share I’d love to hear about it!

My main questions:

I’d love to hear what your thoughts were on these questions I had:

1.      Was Antipholus of Ephesus a bit justified in his treatment of Dromio and Adriana?

2.      What are your thoughts on my opinion of the alternate definition of “beauty” in the sonnets?

3.      What was your favorite quote from the play and/or sonnets?
4.      How many Dromios does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

5.      What part of the play do you think this picture was taken at?

Next week we’re reading King Lear and Sonnets 5-9. I’m super excited! I already have things I want to share!

Until next time,

Andrew Smith