Unless you understand both the meaning of the written words of that time and the cadence with which they were spoken, you won't be able to truly understand what's going on between the lines, which is where the meat of all Shakespeare resides.
I have my father's Yale Shakespeare (everything Shakespeare ever wrote, each in a separate little blue hardcover volume), which does an excellent job of explaining many things through copious footnotes. One thing I found very rewarding was watching Ian McKellan's Richard III on DVD while following the dialogue in the Yale Shakespeare script. Only a few lines were edited out, and only the most obscure words and terms were translated into more modern terms. McKellan's Richard III is the finest Shakespeare I've ever experienced, and it shows that he funded it mostly himself in the quality of his performance. They reset the play in 1930's England, and two factions begin to look exactly like England and Nazi Germany during that time, complete with black uniforms and flowing red standards from ceiling to floor that replace the swastika with a boar's head. Adoring throngs, too. Truly a masterful work. And the best part is that you can truly understand the real meaning behind Richard III because of this more modern context. Respectfully, Adam Phillip Churvis President Productivity Enhancement > -----Original Message----- > From: Mary Jo Sminkey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 1:05 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: "Books to Read Before you Die" > > >I'm still iffy about any plays being on "must read" lists. > > > >Nobody ever suggests reading the script for "Citizen Kane" - they say > "go > >watch it" so why do we constantly get told to read plays? I LOVE > "Hamlet" > >but I can't argue with those that say it's hard to read... because I > don't > >think it was meant to be read. It's an instruction manual for the > actors. > > I think with Shakespeare the issue is that unless you have sat down and > read the play it can be hard to follow a live performance. The language > is just too archaic for most of us to understand unless we've sat down > and read through it *slowly* enough to decipher it first. Not that you > can't still get the gist of what is going on, but it doesn't quite have > the same impact. I'd agree with you on most plays though. > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;203748912;27390454;j Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:266271 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
