The Chandos Portrait of William Shakespeare.
(Or not of William Shakespeare. There's some debate. Sort of a lot, actually.)
He's the most famous author in English literature, and yet we know almost nothing about him. We don't know what order he wrote his plays in. We don't know how he actually spelled his name: in the half a dozen signatures he left behind, he never spelled his name the same way twice (and, point of fact, he never actually spelled it "Shakespeare"). We don't know who his friends were, where he traveled (did he ever leave England?), what he was doing when he shot to fame as a highly successful playwright. He left behind almost a million written words, but only fourteen of them are written in his own handwriting.
April 23 is, by tradition, agreed to be both the day of William Shakespeare's birth (in 1564), and the day of his death (in 1616). While some of that may not be completely accurate -- we're not so sure about that birthday (we just know he was baptized on April 26) -- it has left April 23 as the day to recognize Shakespeare.
So in honor of the Bard, let's take a look at a few different ways you can experience the stories of William Shakespeare for yourself.
The Droeshout engraving:
Another portrait of William Shakespeare. Probably. Unless it's not.
Five Ways to Experience William Shakespeare
1. On the Page
Most Shakespeare fans will inform you that Shakespeare is meant to be seen, not read. While that's technically true (plays are written to be performed, after all), there's something to be said for reading the plays on your own -- at your own pace, with your own interpretations.
Of course, if, like me, you haven't read any Shakespeare since college, the idea of reading and getting some sense out of such dialogue as, "If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die. That strain again! it had a dying fall ... Enough; no more: 'Tis not so sweet now as it was before." -- well, it's a bit intimidating, is what I'm saying.
Enter Simply Shakespeare and Shakespeare Made Easy. These series take the entire, original text of various Shakespeare plays and provide a line-by-line translation into "modern" English. The Shakespeare text is presented on the left-hand pages; the modern version sits across on the right side. It affords you the chance to read the original text -- but, when a particular passage or turn of phrase leaves you baffled, you can look across to the page opposite for a helping hand. (Turns out the above passage -- from Twelfth Night's Duke Orsino -- has the lovesick Duke begging his musicians first to play on, then to stop the music, seeing as he finds music, like love, to change its tune.)
2. With Your iPod
Prefer to experience the Bard through performance? You might consider trying one of the plays as an audiobook.
Shakespeare's works are all available as audio plays, with your choice of dozens of different full-cast productions for each play. Highly recommended are the Archangel Shakespeare productions, starring A-list Shakespeare actors. Or try Essential Shakespeare Live Encore: The Royal Shakespeare Company in Performance, a "Shakespeare sampler" with key scenes and monologues from various plays, which includes performances by such actors as Judi Dench, Ben Kingsley, Ian McKellen, Jonathan Pryce, Patrick Stewart, and David Tennant.
All these and more are available on cassette tape, CD, and even Playaway. It's the perfect way to experience a Shakespeare play on the go.
3. On the Screen
Of course, it's still a fantastic experience to see a Shakespeare play being performed before your eyes. And the on-screen variations of Shakespeare's plays could take up a blog entry in their own right. Recordings of live performances, modern adaptations and reworkings, movie-star-studded casts, made-for-TV efforts ... the list goes on and on.
Want Shakespeare adapted for modern times? Try this loose adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Or how about a modernized setting with the original dialogue still in place? Go with this Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet. Looking for a more traditional presentation? There's Kenneth Branagh's esteemed production of As You Like It. And, if you'd like to see as "authentic" a version as you can get, try one of the live productions recorded on set at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.
(And, if you'd like to get the full movie-theater experience, check out the Joss Whedon-directed production of Much Ado About Nothing, due out in theaters June 7.)
4. In the Park
Of course, for the truly ultimate "Shakespeare experience," a live performance is the way to go. And, while we may be a long way from the Globe Theatre in London, Pittsburgh has their very own Shakespearean venue: Shakespeare in the Parks.
Started in 2005, Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks got their start performing As You Like It in Frick Park, as directed by the group's founder, Jennifer Tober. The company of cast and crew grew alongside the performances' popularity, and the group has been offering free performances of Shakespeare plays in Frick, Mellon, and Kennard parks every autumn ever since.
This September, performances of Romeo and Juliet will be running every weekend afternoon. Keep updated on their progress and announcements by checking out their website or following them on Facebook.
5. In Space
We're big fans around here of Doctor Who, the long-running British sci-fi series about the alien Doctor, his human Companions, and his little blue-box spaceship that travels the galaxies through space and time. As a time traveler, the Doctor's met more than his fair share of historical celebrities. And in the third season of the newly-returned show, the Doctor takes his pal Martha for a night out at the theater ... the original Globe Theater, that is, for the premiere performance of Love's Labour’s Lost. Being Doctor Who, it's only a matter of time before the Doctor and Martha end up meeting the Bard himself -- not to mention battling alien witches and encountering Queen Elizabeth I, all while making some truly clever references to Harry Potter.
It's basically the best episode of Doctor Who ever.
Doctor Who isn't the only sci-fi series to make use of Shakespeare references. After hiring esteemed Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart to play the part of ship's captain, it was probably inevitable that Star Trek: The Next Generation would make good use of quoting the Bard whenever possible. Captain Picard (Stewart) is an avowed Shakespeare fan who keeps a battered copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare in his ready room, and monologues and plot threads aplenty from the Shakespeare canon have found their way into the series.
Captain Picard's Shakespeare book
From preserved folios to modern adaptions to futuristic references -- it seems that Shakespeare is, indeed, truly timeless. And maybe the reason for Shakespeare's enduring popularity is as much a mystery as the man himself.
Then again, surely it must have something to do with the Bard's unparalleled ability to reveal the timeless truths of what it is to be human. As the Doctor put it:
"Genius. [Shakespeare]’s a genius -- THE genius. The most human Human that’s ever been."
For more on the life of William Shakespeare, check out Bill Bryson's awesome book
-- Post by Ms. B
No comments:
Post a Comment