Coriolanus reminds me of Timon of Athens in some ways. It has a lot to say about trust and the way we judge others. Of the whole play, the part that struck me the most is when the citizens begin to doubt Coriolanus. It was remarkable how quickly and easily they reversed their opinion of him. It seems to make…
Tag: theatre
Pericles: On why bad things happen to good people
Throughout Pericles, I couldn’t help but think of Oedipus Rex. There are quite a few similarities, so it’s a slightly obvious connection, perhaps, but a fascinating one to me for one particular reason. In Pericles, we see bad things happen to good people and bad people. But in the end, everything works out quite conveniently for the good people—rather miraculously…
Two Gentlemen of Verona: Nostalgia and Objectivity
When I was something like fourteen years old, my grandmother gave me an old volume of the collected works of Shakespeare. I was very excited about this and was determined to make my way through it. At that point, I think the only plays of the Bard that I had read were Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, and possibly Romeo…
Troilus and Cressida: The Influence of Medium
I decided to listen to an audio recording of Troilus and Cressida rather than read it. This has not worked out too well for me in the past, because my mind wanders and then I miss things and end up only paying half attention – especially when it’s work I’m not already familiar with, like this play. And that’s exactly what…
My Review of Titus Andronicus
No. Just, no. The End.
Cymbeline: Thoughts on a writer’s progression
Cymbeline is an interesting play, though I don’t entirely think I can describe its themes, or even its plot, very well. The thing that I kept thinking about pretty much through the whole thing was progression. This play seems to consistently be listed as one of the last plays Shakespeare wrote. This was interesting because part of it felt very…
What are some good, not overdone, monologues for auditioning for the roles of Phebe or Celia in As You Like It? Preferably pieces not from As You Like It? Thank you!!!
Hi, shakespearegirl. 🙂 First off, I should say that I am not an actor or director/producer, so I do not necessarily know which monologues may be overdone. So there’s that. And without knowing you or your acting style/personality, it’s a little difficult to recommend a monologue that would fit you. But… One that comes to mind is from Merry Wives…
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure feels the most unique out of all of the Shakespeare plays I have read so far, although I’m not sure I can quite put my finger on why. Perhaps because of the role religion plays in it? Perhaps because it feels like a tragedy until the end when no deaths have occurred? Perhaps because it brings “problematic” to…
The Two Noble Kinsmen, and Tips for Reading Shakespeare
So…this is going to be a bit of a different post. I decided to listen to an audiobook of Two Noble Kinsmen. I have listened to a number of audiobooks before with varying degrees of success, but I thought this would be fine and that I would be able to catch at least the gist of the play. That’s not…
Henry VIII and Benefit of Hindsight
Extra short post today, because I don’t have much to say about this play. Henry VIII. The last of the Bard’s histories. (Both in terms of when it was written, and in the chronology of the histories themselves.) If I were to rank the Bard’s plays, this would rank very near the bottom, but that’s not what I want to…