The very best of William Shakespeare

mackenzie said:
I don't think I've ever read any of his that aren't great. One of my favourite authors :-) Just ordered a used copy from Amazon for 9p ;-) Thanks again.
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I have all his books. His handling of Shakespeare's life and all the myths and rumours is one of the best regarding old Will. His Brief History off Everything is also a seminal piece of scholarly writing. 9p? You jammy bastard. :)
 
mackenzie said:
I don't think I've ever read any of his that aren't great. One of my favourite authors :-) Just ordered a used copy from Amazon for 9p ;-) Thanks again.
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A bargain (although depends on what they mean by used) but seriously, what kind of person sells a book for 9 pence online. Just give it to a charity shop.
 
TheRemainsOfTheDave said:
A bargain (although depends on what they mean by used) but seriously, what kind of person sells a book for 9 pence online. Just give it to a charity shop.
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They just charge you extra for the postage. Looks like about £3. Still cheap but not the 99p it would be in a charity shop. If you can find it of course.
 
The quality of mercy is not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The thronèd monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute to God Himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this:
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which, if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.
— Portia, in William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1
 
DrBlueBob said:
For god's sake, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of Kings...
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Yep, that one for me too. (Appears in The West Wing).

I also like "Let slip the dogs of war" (Star Trek VI, which has many others, brilliantly delivered by Christopher Plummer).
 
I saw Macbeth at the Globe a few days ago. Apart from the memorable speeches, the lines:
"what bloody man is that?"
And
"What, you egg. Young fry of treachery"
...always raise a titter in an otherwise serious affair.
Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed the stand and the generous use of fake blood. We could also do with relocating Borough Market to the new city Square to give us some options.
 
Eccles Blue said:
The quality of mercy is not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The thronèd monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute to God Himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this:
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which, if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.
— Portia, in William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1
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Yep that’s still ingrained in my brain from my O levels, 45 years ago, along with Shylock’s soliloquy
 
Puck (Act V, Scene 2)

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
 
The school I went to in Stalybridge, it was as if Shakespeare never existed.
Is that a failing of the school, to completely ignore Britains greatest writer ?

Or a presumption along the lines of "fuck it, this is a low socio economic area, these thicko kids are gonna be tradesmen at best, why do they need to know about this shit"
 
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mackenzie said:
Wasn't it George Bernard Shaw who said he didn't want his works being taught in schools because of how Shakespeare's was hated by many a pupil?
We studied Romeo and Juliet for English Lit O Level and it opened my eyes to the genius of Shakespeare. So much so that I'm a sucker for any new book on the theory of who Shakespeare really was. Love all the theories, but I still believe it was just one man.
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GBS was full of shit
 
Reading Shakespeare is one of the things that I feel I should like/enjoy but just never could. My children are pretty much the same. I'm sure there must be a reason why it's still on the school curriculum but I can't see it. I don't think force feeding secondary school children the likes of Shakespeare and Chaucer really encourages them to want to read more and I'm not sure what they get out of reading books that you almost need a translation tool for.
 
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