Shakespeare's Oeuvre Grows

Professor Douglas Bruster, with the University of Texas

In general, I don't follow questions about authorship of Shakespearean and other works. But after I read this article from the New York Times - Much Ado About Who: Is It Really Shakespeare? - two thoughts struck me: (a) Shakespeare's oeuvre may be greater than we know, and (b) what we do know may have been a collaboration with other playwrights or poets.

Shakespeare's handwriting

The Rosalind of Pippa Nixon

Pippa Nixon does fine work as Rosalind, and this role is simply not as easy as it may seem.  To get close to Orlando, ably played by Alex Waldmann, whom she loves, she pretends to be the young man Ganymede.  There is a delightful veneer of buddy-buddy between Rosalind and Orlando in this scene, and as the actress inside the actress Nixon makes this happen.  We can see the increasing joy on Rosalind's face, as her pretense is clearly working.  Orlando takes the bait, that is, and in a bit of playacting agrees to woo Ganymede as if "he" were Rosalind.  Which of course she is Rosalind.

What makes "As You Like It" even more of an intriguing study of gender and identity is that in Shakespeare's time, female roles were played by teenage boys.  The complexity of the role becomes even more delicious, you see:  We have a young man, playing a woman, who is pretending to be a young man, who playacts as a woman, counseling another man on how to court a woman!

In any case, a bang-up job by Nixon.

Reference:  Character Analysis of Rosalind (Ganymede)

The Hamlet of Jonathan Slinger

Well-done, by Jonathan Slinger. On stage, soliloquies look very much as they are: soliloquies. But on film, especially this one, they can look more like a conversation with us as the audience. It lends an immediacy and intimacy to this particular soliloquy. It crystallizes for me how radically different media that film and stage are.

Also, I really appreciated Slinger's enunciation and pacing of Shakespeare's poetry. Even a native English-speaking audience will struggle to understand Shakespeare, in part because actors often seem to rush the text and forget that they're performing for a 21st century audience (not 16th or 17th century). What's even more difficult about this soliloquy is that it's 'broken' poetry. Hamlet is stunned by his mother's hasty mourning and remarriage, and speaks emotionally in starts and stops.

Anyway, a truly fine effort by Slinger! 

Bollywood Does Shakespeare

One of my abiding notions for Shakespeare Talks! is that of showing his relevance, enjoyment and meaning for audiences of different of cultures.  For example, while in Dubai, I spoke to two Iranian friends about interest in Shakespeare in their community, and apparently there is quite a bit.  In fact, they showed me books they had of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Othello" in Farsi, their native tongue.

In the diverse milieu of Dubai, Shakespeare Talks! can certainly find its place in the Arabic and Indian communities as well.  I would engage select friends to help me stage interactive plays, that is, ones that engage audiences actively.

It is in this context that I loved reading this article in tabloid! - Bollywood Loves Shakespeare.  Writer David Tusing lists five such films, and I was happy to find them in full-length on YouTube.  I include his text, after each film.

Before he became one of the most influential lyricists in the industry, Gulzar made a few acclaimed films, one of his most memorable being this comedy based on Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. The film about identical twins separated at birth who meet again as adults, is still considered as one of the best comedies to come out of Bollywood.

A certified classic, this story about two teenagers who fall in love, unaware that their families are bitter enemies (no prizes for guessing which Shakespearean play it was inspired by), had all the makings of a perfect Bollywood blockbuster. And it was. Besides the songs which are still well-loved even today, the film also gave us Aamir Khan, one of the biggest actors in India today.

Bollywood’s version of Macbeth was set in (where else?), Mumbai’s underworld. This film, though not a box office scorcher, brought acclaim not only for music composer-turned-director Vishal Bhardwaj, but also its lead actor Irrfan Khan, who became an A-lister overnight. He’s now India’s biggest Hollywood export.

Having tasted success with Macbeth, director Vishal Bhardwaj went back to another Shakespeare classic, Othello, and assembled an impressive cast including Ajay Devgn in the title role and supported by Saif Ali Khan and Vivek Oberoi. Set against the backdrop of Indian state politics, this one was a hit for Bhardwaj, who is now one of the industry’s busiest directors.

Art house film favourite Rituparno Ghosh, the late Bengali director who died of a heart attack in May this year, gave Indian acting legend Amitabh Bachchan one of his career’s best in this film, inspired by the works of Shakespeare. Based on the life of an aging theatre actor who’s lived his life playing characters in Shakespearean plays and who condemns modern cinema, this critically-acclaimed work was praised for its thought-provoking look at theatre versus cinema and old world charm as it comes crashing against the new world.

Shakespeare Does Twitter Feed

Just remember what Shakespeare said about someone who protests too much.

— Julie Mortenson (@javajulies) August 9, 2013

My mom thinks she is a shakespeare guru now and tried insulting me by saying "Macbeth has sinn'd"

— Brendan O'Brien (@brendan_ob) August 9, 2013

I hate Shakespeare but I want a tattoo of quote from his writings

— Sidney Morris (@_sidneymorris) August 9, 2013

man it'll be cool to go out on the same day you came in, like shakespeare, De Niro Sr and Kamehameha V.

— Caesar (@its_aNYthing) August 9, 2013

I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That's what I call a liberal education. - Tallulah Bankhead

— Eustolia Dallas (@Dallasdigs) August 9, 2013

What a great card!......received for opening night @titusshoreditch Thanks Claire! #shakespeare #go pic.twitter.com/MtHX3w6ju2

— Edward Lewis French (@EdLewisFrench) August 9, 2013

Did Shakespeare have groupies

— tess (@tessbonny) August 9, 2013

"I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none" Shakespeare - and a poem - http://t.co/zXiIRSO98e

— JohnWLavan (@S_SpeareJohn) August 4, 2013

Memorizing Shakespeare is hard ergggghh

— Dakota Dean (@DakotaDeann) August 9, 2013

Still finishing summer reading for school? Nick Offerman recaps the most assigned books, including Shakespeare. http://t.co/gKTcRJCMgb

— Folger Library (@FolgerLibrary) August 7, 2013

The Iambic Pentameter of Shakespeare

I studied Shakespeare, poetry and drama, each, for a year at Northwestern University, and I am thankful for being well-schooled in structure and rhythm, context and philosophy.  The iambic pentameter makes up, for example, the building blocks of poetry in English.  It is the characteristic meter in Shakespeare, and to grasp it well is to understand better the meaning of his plays and sonnets.  Plus, I believe it helps actors memorize their lines.

Enter:  Folger Shakespeare Library and Living Iambic Pentameter.

There is a natural rhythm to our conversations, and if we listen to it we may hear more iambs than we expect.  I like the reference to heartbeat, and its ta-tum, ta-tum, ta-tum rhythm.

Are you Brainy about the Bard?

(image credit)

William Shakespeare is widely acknowledged as the greatest writer in the English language. So the only fitting way to truly honour his legacy is a truly English endeavour: a good old quiz.

How well do you know your William? Are you brainy about the Bard?  

Take our quiz and find out.