Titus Andronicus continues to decline through the third act. More hands come off and now we add some heads to boot. The Andronici find themselves in deepest mourning and yet, I have the feeling that things can still get worse. Act III is only two scenes and the first one is a doozy. The youngContinue reading “Surely this is rock bottom”
Tag Archives: Drama
A dark turn
To be fair, I never expected a Shakespearean tragedy to be a barrel of laughs, but Act II of Titus Andronicus went places I was not expecting. I was not overly surprised that there was rape and murder, but I was thrown by the cruelty displayed by some of the characters and even though justContinue reading “A dark turn”
Two weddings and two funerals
Titus Andronicus starts off with a bang and gives us life, death, politics, and betrayal all in one big scene before the Capitol in Rome. The play opens with Saturninus and Bassianus, sons to the recently deceased emperor, arguing over who gets the throne now. Marcus Andronicus, brother to the titular Andronicus, says to waitContinue reading “Two weddings and two funerals”
I read The Comedy of Errors (so you wouldn’t have to)
Wow. I don’t know what to say beyond what’s already been said. The Comedy of Errors was an absolute mess. From the flat characters to the ridiculous setup then right down to all’s well that end’s well final act, I felt nothing so much as confused and irritated. When I began this project, I knewContinue reading “I read The Comedy of Errors (so you wouldn’t have to)”
That was disappointing
I cannot fully express to you how happy I am to be done with The Comedy of Errors. The plot was so confusing and the characters so flavorless that I didn’t find myself enjoying it at all. As I suspected, Act V was hurried mop-up of the plot, consisting of only one scene in whichContinue reading “That was disappointing”
Say what now?
Okay, I’m getting pretty fed up with The Comedy of Errors here. Act IV was pretty nuts and I don’t see any way to resolve the story that isn’t just a rushed mess at the end. This act saw everybody get angry with everybody else and both Antipholuses are in danger of going to debtor’sContinue reading “Say what now?”
Just open the door!
I knew chances would be slim that I would find The Comedy of Errors funny, but I did not realize how infuriating I would find it. These characters are so far up their own doublets that they can’t solve the most basic problems set before them. Problems such as why everyone is acting like theyContinue reading “Just open the door!”
Poor communication skills = comedy
Act II of The Comedy of Errors was simply an escalation of the confusion sown in the first act. We find our characters getting increasingly angry with one another while refusing to listen to a single goddamn thing anyone else says. I know this is a form of comedy that has lasted into the modernContinue reading “Poor communication skills = comedy”
It’s complicated
Ah, what a relief to move on from the War of the Roses to something a little more lighthearted. The Comedy of Errors is a play that I was wholly unfamiliar with before this reading and what I know so far is that it is really complicated. The first act is incredibly short, but thereContinue reading “It’s complicated”
Ready for a few laughs
I have finally completed the cycle of plays that starts with Henry VI Part One and ends with Richard III. There was a lot of action, a lot of killing, and even a smattering of comedy, but for the most part the stories were pretty heavy. The Henry trilogy was fun but a bit ofContinue reading “Ready for a few laughs”
Hey, Shakespeare! 