Two Noble Kinsmen
It is fairly accepted among scholars that Shakespeare collaborated with John Fletcher on two plays: King Henry VIII, and Two Noble Kinsmen. Considering that the former play was one of the worst plays have ever read, ever, I did not have high hopes for 2NK (as I like to call it). It was not included in the … Read more
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Okay kids. Today, I’m going to talk to you about rape. Not in a humorous, belittling way, mind you. But in an honestly disturbed, “the ending of this play is really fucking weird” sort of way. Proteus tries to rape Silvia, though Valentine leaps out to stop it. The problem is really what happens next: Proteus makes … Read more
Comedy of Errors
![comedy-of-errors-1[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/comedy-of-errors-11.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "comedy-of-errors-1[1]")
The same way that I felt Coriolanus was a weaker version of Timon of Athens, I feel like this play is a weaker version of Merry Wives of Windsor. I can’t bring myself to call it bad, but it has a great hollowness to it. It’s funny, and clever, but there aren’t any truly heartfelt … Read more
Coriolanus
![coriolanus-1[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/coriolanus-11.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "coriolanus-1[1]")
As it turns out, if Arnold Schwarzenegger ever performed in Shakespeare, he should play Coriolanus (not Hamlet, as previously thought). In scene I.iv, Cauius Marcius enters the gates of Corioli during the enemy’s retreat, and pretty much single-handedly takes the city. This feat of military bravery is so insane that the Romans start referring to … Read more
Much Ado About Nothing
![31[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/311.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "31[1]")
Something strange happened when I was making this post. Somehow, when I got to the end of my writing – the very end – everything got deleted. Inexplicable. Nevertheless, I now hate this play with a burning passion, merely because of that technical mishap. Fucking hate it. Before, I only disliked it. But now you … Read more
Henry V
![Henry_V_4[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/henry_v_41.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "Henry_V_4[1]")
Henry V begins with some of the most famous lines in all of Shakespeare’s work: “O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention -” spoken by a Chorus. Like the Dancer at the end of Henry IV Part II, this character is an actor, a member of the company, … Read more
King Henry the Eighth
![henryviii_1_jg_5003-1023x680[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/henryviii_1_jg_5003-1023x6801.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "henryviii_1_jg_5003-1023x680[1]")
Hey guys. Fuck this play. This is, seriously, the first play out of the batch that I don’t like at all. There’s a handful of good moments, and I’ll talk about them. The sort of things that could be done well as a scene in an educational context. But for the most part, nothing happens. … Read more
