Let's Talk About Shakespeare Related Things : Act II

Deceptively Delicious

Are you ready for my second attempt at convincing you that you should read every last word written by Shakespeare? Well, get ready.

Yup, I'm still obsessed with Shakespeare. Even if the other day my Herman Melville obsession flared up, my Shakespeare love remains strong. You might think I've got my literary ailments at cross purposes, but you'd be wrong. Turns out there's a whole lot of Shakespeare in Melville. There are those who argue that without Shakespeare, particularly   King Lear  and Macbeth, there would be no Moby Dick. When I say "those," I mean the people who write and edit Wikipedia articles.

In fact "those" same Wikipedia people claim that when Ahab finally shows up, his first long speech to the crew of the Pequod is virtually blank verse:

But look ye, Starbuck, what is said in heat,
That thing unsays itself. There are men
From whom warm words are small indignity.
I mean not to incense thee. Let it go.
Look! see yonder Turkish cheeks of spotted tawn--
Living, breathing pictures painted by the sun.
The pagan leopards--the unrecking and
Unworshipping things, that live; and seek and give
No reason for the torrid life they feel!

I know, I know, blank verse, Moby Dick, I'm not really selling it for you Shakespeare virgins. Well, what if I told you that Shakespeare influenced a whole heck of a lot more than just some dusty, old book about a whale? What if I told you, that without Shakespeare, there'd be no LION KING ???!!?!?!!

Oh, yeah, now you're interested. From West Side Story (Romeo and Juliet) to Ten Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew); Sons of Anarchy (Hamlet) to Breaking Bad (Macbeth...allegedly) odds are you love something Shakespeare-based and don't even know it.

So, I've put together a list with some suggestions for other things Shakespeare-based-- you won't even be able to tell. It's like that cookbook that Jerry Seinfeld's wife put out to trick kids into eating vegetables. Yup, just like that.

Romeo And/Or Juliet 

by Ryan North

O. M. G. It's a choose your own adventure book for grown ups! This one is based on Othello...kidding. It's based on Titus Andronicus.

A Thousand Acres 

by Jane Smiley

True story, King Lear is my favorite Shakespeare. This novel is based on King Lear. I had no idea. That's how non-Shakespeare-y it is. It has nothing to do with how dumb I am.

The Steep and Thorny Way 

by Cat Winters

Cat Winters is a PNW author and this YA novel takes place in Oregon, explores US history and racism, and is based on Hamlet. And it's a lady cast as our tortured, young Dane. 

Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories 

by Leon Garfield, illustrated by Michael Foreman

This one is my favorite of the bunch. A beautifully written collection of Shakespeare plays retold for little ears. It's the perfect introduction to hook them early. And there are pictures!

These titles and several others are on display at out Lake Forest Park store. The display features many of Shakespeare's greatest hits. And there are literally countless other books out there that would not exist if not for the Bard. Come on over to Lake Forest Park and see if any of these titles strike your fancy. The Shakespeare display table will be up through the end of July. My love will live on forever.

-Erin

Let's Talk About Shakespeare Related Things : Act I

I tried to write this as all one post, but it really got away from me. There is just WAY too much Shakespeare stuff I need to tell you about. So I'm breaking it down. Here it is, ACT I of me talking to you about Shakespeare related things.

***

I hesitate to say that all of our reading here at Third Place is influenced by Canadian Television; I don't want to over-generalize. But this is the second post in almost as many months to feature TV from north of the 49th Parallel.

Recently, I devoured all three seasons of Slings and Arrows. It's roughly 13.5 hours of near-perfection, all about a Canadian Shakespeare theater festival. Each season focuses on a separate play, really diving into it, and though the show is more focused on the relationships between the actors and employees, there are a lot of moments of beautifully acted Shakespeare. Plus it has loads of little inside jokes, and a ghost. It's smart, funny, and sweet and I really, really recommend it.

I will admit that I started watching this show, not because of my love for Shakespeare, but because of my love for the lead actor (he's soooooo cute). But there was a brief period in college when I would go to the drama department productions of overdone, usually modern-dress, very Rent-like Shakespeare plays. I loved being "into Shakespeare." I felt very artsy. But then I grew up and cared less about what people thought about the things I liked, and decided, my being "into" Shakespeare was really more for show. I didn't really get it. Shakespeare just seemed so obvious and the stories sort of unoriginal. Any comic relief in the plays was always juvenile and unfunny. And every other soliloquy riddled with cliches.

And then I started watching this ridiculous (awesome) Canadian television show. And sure, they cherry pick the most beautiful passages to present, but still it reignited my interest and though this makes me sound rather dense and obvious myself, I realized Shakespeare's stories and plots seem obvious because his writing has influenced so much of our culture. He's seeped into every last form of media. Of course he's going to seem unoriginal when we've spent all our lives consuming reincarnations and cheap knock-offs of his genius. Sometimes the comic relief feel so inane because the tragedy is so heartbreaking, that humor, any humor will inevitably fall flat. And all those cliches in every other soliloquy? Well, they weren't cliches when he wrote them. They became cliches because he wrote them. We've just been repeating them ever since.

You must watch this show. But be warned, you may find yourself reciting Shakespeare to your cats. Here's a little taste of those Canadian wizards at work:

-Erin