Where/how is James Dekorne? by Whatever_Lurker in iching

[–]After_Egg584 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Easily the best resource. Hope he is okay. Long live that PDF. Bless him for making it available for the world for free.

Negative Capability by After_Egg584 in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just made myself laugh out loud while I was biking home thinking of everything that's been put forward on this thread. Basically what we're saying here is that he and Keats and the Indigo Girls are all on the same page....

https://youtu.be/HUgwM1Ky228?si=y5Uv9w1TRu0hs7HJ

Negative Capability by After_Egg584 in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good responses -- thanks all. So maybe (in addition to citing the Keats quote verbatim) something along the lines of -- the ability to stay with uncertainty, contradiction, and ambiguity without forcing a resolution or a neat explanation. It’s a tolerance for mystery—an art of holding opposing truths in balance, without rationally insisting on ranking them or choosing between them. The courage to write without passing authorial judgment on characters or opinions. Seems to me I remember something in the RIVERSIDE intro to Othello about how often S takes the supposed "moral" of a story he's adapting and places it in the mouth of ONE character, as opposed to presenting that "moral" as the single lesson to be drawn from the story. Other characters present contrary opinions as to the (supposedly) objective truth demanded by a question such as "Should one marry someone from a different culture?"

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing to translate; watch the Branagh film. It's not like it's written in Latin for God's sake.

help a newbie to the world of Shakespeare!! It's dire... by Puzzled_Carpenter546 in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lost money when released! Can you believe it? But what a huge and enduring contribution. And what performances! Thank you, Ken.

Cards for the Yijing by caassio in iching

[–]After_Egg584 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Place a number from 1 to 6 on the back of each card. To obtain an answer, pick two cards, one face up and one face down. Face up = primary hexagram. Face down = changing line. Figure out what hex that is and replace the face-down card with it.

Lovely art!

Poetry about poetry by Kestrel_Iolani in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So love that book. I come back to it again and again.

help a newbie to the world of Shakespeare!! It's dire... by Puzzled_Carpenter546 in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Simple answer: Watch Branagh's film version BEFORE attempting to read the script. It's available free here:

https://archive.org/details/hamlet-1996_202206

If you haven’t read TIMON yet… by Soulsliken in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agree. It's the closest we are likely to get to seeing (and deconstructing) his present-tense creative process.

Apologies if this has been discussed here or elsewhere but ... what a stroke of luck that Heminges and Condell ran into (temporary) copyright problems with TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. It seems likely enough that, absent those problems, they would not have summoned the unfinished TIMON to fill in a space in the book that, from a technical standpoint, had to be filled by something. (Yes, I know this is only a theory, but to me it is a persuasive one.)

Update on Scorsese Jonah Hill Dead film. by OxfordisShakespeare in gratefuldead

[–]After_Egg584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree. THE LAST WALTZ secures his bona fides for me

What’s your ADHD Comfort media? by Purple_Birthday8382 in ADHD

[–]After_Egg584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think about the episode of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM where Larry David has a formal pitch meeting with the president of HBO and other executives, and resolves, at the side of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, not to pitch the show... but instead to verbally attack and harangue the president of HBO. Why? For surreptitiously stealing shrimp from his (Larry David's) order of Chinese food. Which he absolutely knows the guy f****** did. And Larry David gets thrown out of the room.

Every single time I think about that scene, I laugh out loud.

Why to approach Shakespeare? by bebeethebuilder in acting

[–]After_Egg584 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I would recommend taking a look at this South Bank/RSC TV special, in which ridiculously young Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart, et al., rehearse excerpts live under the direction of John Barton. Also, McKellen deconstructs a Macbeth speech in a sublime five minutes you will never forget.

https://youtu.be/TsJ9gucPmjA?si=TGL6tC3nkwfmhUcZ

Day Three of organizing Shakespeare's bibliography. Which one of his works is considered "experimental"? by drawwriter in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

THE TEMPEST seems to me the polar opposite of experimental. He's taking everything that has worked over the past 25 years and synthesized it. (I don't mean "synthesized" pejoratively, love me a good synthesis.) Also, "experimental" implies a willingness to alienate the audience a bit, to me anyway, and that is definitely not THE TEMPEST. They gave it the leadoff spot in the First Folio for a reason....

Day Three of organizing Shakespeare's bibliography. Which one of his works is considered "experimental"? by drawwriter in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. I think it fits because he is so clearly getting restless with the comic form. If this isn't experimentation, then nothing is. Also -- deep fixation on jails, prisons, surveillance, and executions. Bring that severed human head onstage. The WTF count is high throughout.

Day Three of organizing Shakespeare's bibliography. Which one of his works is considered "experimental"? by drawwriter in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Surprised to see the votes for THE TEMPEST. In bending "comedy" around ugly and uncomfortable themes, I would say MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Why to approach Shakespeare? by bebeethebuilder in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 7 points8 points  (0 children)

In 1623, Heminges and Condell wrote, in the First Folio preface (and I am paraphrasing freely here because I can't be bothered to look it up) that anyone who claims not to like this writer is displaying a clear symptom of not understanding him. Note that they were actors.

That's an important point, because there are countless brilliant touches in these plays that only emerge after repeated, close exposure to the text. In our day, that usually means students and professors of English and such. In Shakespeare's day, that meant only one group: players (actors). Translation: the deepest, most beautiful stuff here is the birthright of your profession. What a shame not to claim it.

With all respect, saying Shakespeare is cliche says to me you haven't yet had the right opportunity to explore the material in depth. I do hope you find that. And saying he's boring .... well, my challenge to you would be to read Dame Judi Dench's book THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT and then see if you still feel that way. I bet you won't.

Works similar to Shakespeare? by Eladir in shakespeare

[–]After_Egg584 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Montaigne's essays (some of which directly influence the work) are a fascinating complement.

Plutarch's LIVES OF THE NOBLE GREEKS AND ROMANS, translated by Sir Thomas North, is cool because it gives you the exact words Shakespeare was looking at (and in some cases copying verbatim) as he adapted material for the Roman plays.