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”
Tag Archives: Shakespeare
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”
Shakespeare the progressive (Interlude #4)
I am happy to report that Bill has moved on a bit from his preoccupation with procreation. Not completely, but at least he is testing out some new ideas. In fact, one of the sonnets this time had some fairly forward-thinking social ideas in it. At least the way I read it, but we willContinue reading “Shakespeare the progressive (Interlude #4)”
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”
Despair and die!
Well, Richard III sure ended on a wild note. I expected everyone to die in the end, but perhaps that kind of ending doesn’t show up until later in Bill’s career. That’s not to say there wasn’t a lot happening in Act V, however. There was fighting, cowardice, treason, and ghosts! All packed into aContinue reading “Despair and die!”
Watergate-upon-Thames
Our boy Richard has found himself in a spot of trouble in Act IV. His friends are dropping like flies and he can now call himself a child murderer (meaning he killed a child, not that he was a child who murdered). Richard has been crowned now, so he is indeed the king, but heContinue reading “Watergate-upon-Thames”
Tricky Dick
Boy, Richard is a lot of fun to hate. Act III shows him making backroom deals and maneuvering so that not only does he have an open path to the throne, it seems like a grateful populace is pushing it on him. I’ve never really used the word “dastardly” before, but it seems appropriate toContinue reading “Tricky Dick”
Hey, Shakespeare! 