- Feb 3, 2024
- LitBits
- 0
New blog post by Vagabond Heart – discussions in this thread, please
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This part of the book had the men taking centre stage. Shakespeare had hit his stride. At least, that’s what I’d heard, and I was interested to see if they lived up to the hype. Were they really mad, bad, and dangerous to know?
Well, let’s see.
27. Othello
After finishing this play I picked up my notepad and wrote, ‘OMFG, what just happened?’
I had soooo many questions!
And all of them were to Iago, for whom I simply didn’t have enough epithets. I mean, I know he was miffed that Cassius got the promotion he’d been after, but to then KILL THEM ALL? I mean, WTF dude?
And I just couldn’t get my head around why it was even necessary? Because if he was so smart and silver-tongued he could manipulate anyone into believing whatever he wanted, then how come he wasn’t higher up the ladder anyway?
Couldn’t he have easily talked his way into a better job? So why this one, why Othello?
Plus, he was clearly EVIL in big, red, flaming letters, yet no-one ever noticed even the teensiest character flaw in him.
He got called ‘honest Iago’ thirteen times. I know, I counted.
Was it one of those things where, once he got going, he became hooked on the power of it all? And then he just pushed it as far as it could go, even to the point of killing his own wife? I mean, was there a plan? How did he think this was going to end?
I was completely gob-smacked.
10/10
Still wobbly in my boots, I moved onto the Scottish play.
28. Macbeth
This started well. Everything seemed to be bumbling along nicely. But then three witches jumped out at Macbeth and prophesied he’d be made Thane of Cawdor (no, not Mordor; although I always heard Gandalf rolling his r’s in my head when I read this), and after that he’d become King.
As soon as the witches had finished cackling, Macbeth got told that, without lifting a finger, he’d literally just become Thane of Cawdor (say it with me, Corrrrrrrdorrrrrr).
Which rather begs the question of why he felt the need to then race home and murder the King? And under his own roof, too, cos that’s not suspicious at all, nooooo.Up to this point, there’d been no hint that Macca and his wife were about to flip their lids and turn into total psychopaths.
But they did, for a bit. And then she got all guilt-ridden and weird, and he became, frankly, genocidal.So one minute the minions were saying, ‘poor Macbeth, he was so cut up about King Duncan,’ and two pages later everyone just referred to him as ‘the tyrant’.And I honestly wondered why he wanted the job in the first place, as he was so crap at Kinging?I did, however, love the discovery that all the witches had beards – WHY HAD NO ONE TOLD ME THIS BEFORE?
I can’t help thinking that Shakespeare might have had problems with some particularly burly and intransigent cast-members, and was forced to write that bit in.
And the play had many fabulously memorable lines, from the old, ‘Double, double, toil and trouble,’ to ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me?’ and, of course, the one that’s not about a dog, ‘Out, damned spot! out, I say!’
I was very taken with, ‘By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.’ Because it felt so …Yoda.
And there were some hidden gems, like this description of the world quickening into dusk: ‘Light thickens; and the crow makes wings to th’rooky wood: good things of day begin to droop and drowse; whiles night’s black agents to their preys do rouse.’
Not as good as I hoped, but a solid 5/10
And then I hit this mentalist. If I thought Iago and Macca had issues, then Lear wrote the book on them.
29. King LearThe definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is as follows: –
Someone with a grandiose sense of self-importance, a lack of empathy for others, a need for excessive admiration, and the belief that one is unique and deserving of special treatment. It may also manifest as antagonism, fueled by grandiosity and attention-seeking, and being intolerant of disagreement or questioning.Or, in simpler terms: – King Lear.This monstrous numpty decided he’d like to have an easy life for a bit, and promised to divvy up his kingdom between his three daughters – providing they toadied up to him enough, of course.Daughters one and two gritted their teeth and told him of their absolute adoration, but number three wouldn’t play the game. She told him she loved him just as much as a daughter should. And although this was true, she clearly hadn’t registered what a complete arsehole her dad was.
Because this wasn’t nearly enough flannel for Lear, who threw all his toys out of his pram, and banished the poor girl to live without a penny to her name.
Luckily, the King of France knew what she was worth, so she married him, and left Lear to be an almighty burden on her two older sisters.
Now, imagine bored, bullying, and flattery-addicted Lear (and his retinue of attendants) fetching up at your house for a month. And when I say attendants, what I really mean is one hundred out-of-work hooligans, acting like they’ve on a week-long stag-do in Shagalouf. And then see if you’d be all sweetness and light.
So, when we catch up with Lear, standing in a thunderstorm, ranting and raging (again) at the ingratitude of his daughters (for chucking him out on his ear), you know the truth might be a wee bit to the contrary.
He’s the sort who’d cut off his own nose to spite his face, so naturally he couldn’t make himself shelter from the storm. If he did, how could he demand the right level of sympathy for the ‘injustice of his plight’?
Finally, because of his complete resistance to all the nice people who tried to save him from his own stupidity, pretty much everyone ended up dead.
And if you think I’m being a bit harsh, here’s just one of his fatherly speeches to a daughter who dared stand up to him: –
‘Hear, nature, hear; dear goddess, hear! Suspend thy purpose, if thou dids’t intend to make this creature fruitful! Into her womb convey sterility! Dry up in her the organs of her increase; and from her derogate body never spring a babe to honour her! If she must teem, create her child of spleen; that it may live, and be a thwart disnatured torment to her! Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth; with cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks; turn all her mother’s pains and benefits to laughter and contempt, – that she may feel how sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!’
But, bearing in mind those women grew up around Lear, let’s just say that a couple of those apples didn’t fall very far from the tree.
On the up side, there was masses of plot, and lots of ‘alarums’ – a stage direction that usually indicated off-stage fisticuffs, and which I had grown to love.
Most ‘alarums’ were followed by someone stumbling in from stage left, bearing a minor scratch, and shrieking, ‘O fie, I am slain!’ Always a joy.
4/10 because he pissed me off so much.
So far Hamlet and Othello were leading the pack. Were there any plays that could equal their scores? Find out soon.
---
Get the discussion going – post your thoughts & comments in the thread below…
For more posts by Vagabond Heart click here WTF, Will! parts 27 – 29 – Litopia
---
This part of the book had the men taking centre stage. Shakespeare had hit his stride. At least, that’s what I’d heard, and I was interested to see if they lived up to the hype. Were they really mad, bad, and dangerous to know?
Well, let’s see.
27. Othello
After finishing this play I picked up my notepad and wrote, ‘OMFG, what just happened?’
I had soooo many questions!
And all of them were to Iago, for whom I simply didn’t have enough epithets. I mean, I know he was miffed that Cassius got the promotion he’d been after, but to then KILL THEM ALL? I mean, WTF dude?
And I just couldn’t get my head around why it was even necessary? Because if he was so smart and silver-tongued he could manipulate anyone into believing whatever he wanted, then how come he wasn’t higher up the ladder anyway?
Couldn’t he have easily talked his way into a better job? So why this one, why Othello?
Plus, he was clearly EVIL in big, red, flaming letters, yet no-one ever noticed even the teensiest character flaw in him.
He got called ‘honest Iago’ thirteen times. I know, I counted.
Was it one of those things where, once he got going, he became hooked on the power of it all? And then he just pushed it as far as it could go, even to the point of killing his own wife? I mean, was there a plan? How did he think this was going to end?
I was completely gob-smacked.
10/10
Still wobbly in my boots, I moved onto the Scottish play.
28. Macbeth
This started well. Everything seemed to be bumbling along nicely. But then three witches jumped out at Macbeth and prophesied he’d be made Thane of Cawdor (no, not Mordor; although I always heard Gandalf rolling his r’s in my head when I read this), and after that he’d become King.
As soon as the witches had finished cackling, Macbeth got told that, without lifting a finger, he’d literally just become Thane of Cawdor (say it with me, Corrrrrrrdorrrrrr).
Which rather begs the question of why he felt the need to then race home and murder the King? And under his own roof, too, cos that’s not suspicious at all, nooooo.Up to this point, there’d been no hint that Macca and his wife were about to flip their lids and turn into total psychopaths.
But they did, for a bit. And then she got all guilt-ridden and weird, and he became, frankly, genocidal.So one minute the minions were saying, ‘poor Macbeth, he was so cut up about King Duncan,’ and two pages later everyone just referred to him as ‘the tyrant’.And I honestly wondered why he wanted the job in the first place, as he was so crap at Kinging?I did, however, love the discovery that all the witches had beards – WHY HAD NO ONE TOLD ME THIS BEFORE?
I can’t help thinking that Shakespeare might have had problems with some particularly burly and intransigent cast-members, and was forced to write that bit in.
And the play had many fabulously memorable lines, from the old, ‘Double, double, toil and trouble,’ to ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me?’ and, of course, the one that’s not about a dog, ‘Out, damned spot! out, I say!’
I was very taken with, ‘By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.’ Because it felt so …Yoda.
And there were some hidden gems, like this description of the world quickening into dusk: ‘Light thickens; and the crow makes wings to th’rooky wood: good things of day begin to droop and drowse; whiles night’s black agents to their preys do rouse.’
Not as good as I hoped, but a solid 5/10
And then I hit this mentalist. If I thought Iago and Macca had issues, then Lear wrote the book on them.
29. King LearThe definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is as follows: –
Someone with a grandiose sense of self-importance, a lack of empathy for others, a need for excessive admiration, and the belief that one is unique and deserving of special treatment. It may also manifest as antagonism, fueled by grandiosity and attention-seeking, and being intolerant of disagreement or questioning.Or, in simpler terms: – King Lear.This monstrous numpty decided he’d like to have an easy life for a bit, and promised to divvy up his kingdom between his three daughters – providing they toadied up to him enough, of course.Daughters one and two gritted their teeth and told him of their absolute adoration, but number three wouldn’t play the game. She told him she loved him just as much as a daughter should. And although this was true, she clearly hadn’t registered what a complete arsehole her dad was.
Because this wasn’t nearly enough flannel for Lear, who threw all his toys out of his pram, and banished the poor girl to live without a penny to her name.
Luckily, the King of France knew what she was worth, so she married him, and left Lear to be an almighty burden on her two older sisters.
Now, imagine bored, bullying, and flattery-addicted Lear (and his retinue of attendants) fetching up at your house for a month. And when I say attendants, what I really mean is one hundred out-of-work hooligans, acting like they’ve on a week-long stag-do in Shagalouf. And then see if you’d be all sweetness and light.
So, when we catch up with Lear, standing in a thunderstorm, ranting and raging (again) at the ingratitude of his daughters (for chucking him out on his ear), you know the truth might be a wee bit to the contrary.
He’s the sort who’d cut off his own nose to spite his face, so naturally he couldn’t make himself shelter from the storm. If he did, how could he demand the right level of sympathy for the ‘injustice of his plight’?
Finally, because of his complete resistance to all the nice people who tried to save him from his own stupidity, pretty much everyone ended up dead.
And if you think I’m being a bit harsh, here’s just one of his fatherly speeches to a daughter who dared stand up to him: –
‘Hear, nature, hear; dear goddess, hear! Suspend thy purpose, if thou dids’t intend to make this creature fruitful! Into her womb convey sterility! Dry up in her the organs of her increase; and from her derogate body never spring a babe to honour her! If she must teem, create her child of spleen; that it may live, and be a thwart disnatured torment to her! Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth; with cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks; turn all her mother’s pains and benefits to laughter and contempt, – that she may feel how sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!’
But, bearing in mind those women grew up around Lear, let’s just say that a couple of those apples didn’t fall very far from the tree.
On the up side, there was masses of plot, and lots of ‘alarums’ – a stage direction that usually indicated off-stage fisticuffs, and which I had grown to love.
Most ‘alarums’ were followed by someone stumbling in from stage left, bearing a minor scratch, and shrieking, ‘O fie, I am slain!’ Always a joy.
4/10 because he pissed me off so much.
So far Hamlet and Othello were leading the pack. Were there any plays that could equal their scores? Find out soon.
---
Get the discussion going – post your thoughts & comments in the thread below…
For more posts by Vagabond Heart click here WTF, Will! parts 27 – 29 – Litopia
