I will say this for ol’ Bill, his stories move fast. We go from a very simple setup in Act I to a fairly complicated plot in Act II. Valentine is revealed to be just as susceptible to love as the friend he derided at the start of the play. Proteus is proven to beContinue reading “Fickle Proteus”
Category Archives: Shakespeare
Letters and sheep
I will admit, I was a bit nervous coming into The Two Gentlemen of Verona. I have not been much of a fan of Shakespeare’s comedies up to now, but if Act I is any indication of how the whole play will go, then I’m glad I’ve given Bill’s funny plays another shot. In fact,Continue reading “Letters and sheep”
Uncle Bill needs some confidence (Interlude #7)
Bill threw me for a loop with this selection of sonnets. He seems by turns unsure of himself and asks his friend at a couple of different points to give him the benefit of the doubt but then turns around and implies that he is the greatest of all time. This is a far cryContinue reading “Uncle Bill needs some confidence (Interlude #7)”
This is the end?
I am beginning to think that Shakespeare’s comedies are just not for me. In fairness to the Bard, however, I will admit my issues with his comedies seem rooted in what Elizabethan culture would have found funny. The Taming of the Shrew ends with a hilarious scene of Petruchio demonstrating for his bros how heContinue reading “This is the end?”
Shrew tamed
The fourth act of The Taming of the Shrew was troubling for me. Katharina finds herself married to a pretty terrible guy who is using psychological and physical torture to break her of her independent will. I may be viewing this play from modern eyes, making it difficult to see the humor in Petruchio’s abusiveContinue reading “Shrew tamed”
A nice day for a violent wedding
Petruchio continues to prove himself an avaricious and untrustworthy suitor to Katharina. Lucentio and Hortensio have eyes on each other while trying to woo Bianca, and Tranio is continuing his masquerade as the heir to the greatest fortune the world has ever known. This act was pretty wild an ended things on a rather uncertainContinue reading “A nice day for a violent wedding”
No, Petruchio is the worst
The second act was relatively short, but it sure packed in a lot of terrible behavior from most of the characters in the play. We see a little domestic violence, a non-consensual betrothal, and a dipstick of a father at his wits’ end. Everybody is lying to each other to suit their own ends andContinue reading “No, Petruchio is the worst”
Is Katharina the worst?
The first act proper of The Taming of the Shrew is nearly as complicated as the last comedy I read, only this time it’s not quite so exasperating. I like that some of the characters are a little likeable this time around, giving us a point of focus in this rather complex plot. The titularContinue reading “Is Katharina the worst?”
So, what’s an Induction?
When sitting down to read The Taming of the Shrew, I assumed it would follow the same five act structure as all the other plays thus far. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the play and instead there was an Induction before the first act. In fact, in the Dramatis Personae, there is aContinue reading “So, what’s an Induction?”
Bill the romantic (Interlude #6)
The current selection of sonnets takes a much more romantic turn than any of the previous poems. These seem much more like the sonnets I was imagining before starting this journey: romantic, adoring, inspiring, and totally cheesy. Sonnet 26 – The speaker is telling his love that he is writing this poem to show hisContinue reading “Bill the romantic (Interlude #6)”
Hey, Shakespeare! 