- Othello: The One with the Handkerchief
- Macbeth: The One with the Three Witches
- Romeo and Juliet: The One with the Star-Crossed Lovers
- Hamlet: The One with the Laced Rapier
- Julius Caesar: The One with the Ides of March
- King Lear: The One with the Wicked Stepdaughters
- Anthony and Cleopatra: The One with the Cobra
- Coriolanus: The One with the Unpopular Statesman
- Titus Andronicus: The One with the Meat Pie
- Henry IV, Part One and Two: The One with Falstaff, Part One and Two
- Henry V: The One with the Tennis Balls
- Henry VI Trilogy: The One with Joan of Arc, Parts One, Two, and Three
- Richard III: The One with the Princes in the Tower
- Henry VIII: The One with the Reformation
- Midsummer Night's Dream: The One with the Donkey-Headed Actor
- Merchant of Venice: The One with the Clever (Actually Female) Lawyer
- Much Ado About Nothing: The One with the Bickering Lovers
- Taming of the Shrew: The One with (Kate) the Shrew
- As You Like It: The One with the Usurper's Daughter
- Twelfth Night: The One with the Puritan in Yellow
- The Merry Wives of Windsor: The Other One with Falstaff, feat. Two Married Women
- The Tempest: The One with Caliban
- The Winter's Tale: The One with the Bear
- All's Well that Ends Well: The One with the French Jerk
- Measure for Measure: Wicked Austrians (Except the Nun)
- Cymbeline: Snow White of Milford Haven
- Pericles: Snow White and the Seven Pirates
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta winter's tale. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta winter's tale. Mostrar todas las entradas
jueves, 25 de junio de 2015
SHAKESPEARE ALTERNATE TITLES
SHAKESPEARE ALTERNATE TITLES, nearly all of them beginning with the clichéd and overrated snowclone "The One With..."
miércoles, 12 de febrero de 2014
HONEY HONEY, HOW IT KILLS ME
Since last post was about The Winter's Tale, I would like to comment on the same Shakespearean play in this post as well. And, since last post dealt with a bear, this post will deal with honey.
The premise: in the kingdom of Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic), boy meets girl (at harvest festival). He is royalty, while she is a shepherd lass (actually, an estranged royal child, adopted by a peasant family). A courtier is keeping an eye on the young lovers, and thus he informs His Majesty of the upcoming mesalliance. Threats imposed by the Crown on the heroine's relatives, should the fated marriage take place, ensue (in Act IV, Scene 4). The nastiest one of them, in my opinion, is the probable (but never carried out) fate of the Young Shepherd (or Clown), Perdita's foster brother...
who shall be flayed alive; then 'nointed over with honey, set on the head of a wasp's nest; then stand till he be three quarters and a dram dead; then recovered again with aqua-vitae or some other hot infusion; then, raw as he is, and in the hottest day prognostication proclaims, shall he be set against a brick wall, the sun looking with a southward eye upon him,—where he is to behold him with flies blown to death.
Reaction of the Clown or Young Shepherd:
Give him (the courtier) gold. Show the inside of the purse to the outside of his hand, and do no more. Remember "flayed alive".
Shakespeare scholars remark that this was a punishment used by Spanish conquistadors on their slaves and on the natives... and also by the SPANISH INQUISITION on HERETICS. Some of the spectators must have shuddered indeed.
The scenario practically writes itself, especially in Thermidor (mid-July through mid-August). Flayed alive and anointed with honey, that nest of wasps --thirsty wasps drawn to sweet drinks, such as the mix of blood, perspiration, and honey-- hanging overhead. When the victim is unconscious, recover to consciousness with strong drink --in the evening or night, I may guess, for a shot of liquor in the middle of a hot summer day makes anyone go out like a light!--. Then, the next day around at twelve or one --here in the Mediterranean, summers are pretty hot, but landlocked Bohemia is not that refreshing in Thermidor either!--, tied to the wall, raw and half-dead, for pregnant female houseflies and horseflies, especially the latter, to lay their eggs in the raw flesh of the heavily sunstruck victim, who must have also been thirsted to death throughout the procedure.
The premise: in the kingdom of Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic), boy meets girl (at harvest festival). He is royalty, while she is a shepherd lass (actually, an estranged royal child, adopted by a peasant family). A courtier is keeping an eye on the young lovers, and thus he informs His Majesty of the upcoming mesalliance. Threats imposed by the Crown on the heroine's relatives, should the fated marriage take place, ensue (in Act IV, Scene 4). The nastiest one of them, in my opinion, is the probable (but never carried out) fate of the Young Shepherd (or Clown), Perdita's foster brother...
- 'nointed: anointed
- three quarters and a dram dead: comatose, in a deep state of unconsciousness
- recovered: revived
- aqua-vitae: brandy (French eau-de-vie) (Norwegian aquavit)
- hot infusion: distilled liquor
- prognostication: weather forecasts
- the sun looking with a southward eye upon him: the youth shall be chained facing south, for the midday sun (at 12:00 AM) to shed its light directly on his body. The bugs would come attracted by the honey, and they may lay their eggs on his searing, blazing frame, where the larvae would certainly hatch. The larvae would gradually consume his flesh from within. Add this to the searing heat and excruciating pain... Could I have some more aqua-vitae?
Reaction of the Clown or Young Shepherd:
Give him (the courtier) gold. Show the inside of the purse to the outside of his hand, and do no more. Remember "flayed alive".
Shakespeare scholars remark that this was a punishment used by Spanish conquistadors on their slaves and on the natives... and also by the SPANISH INQUISITION on HERETICS. Some of the spectators must have shuddered indeed.
The scenario practically writes itself, especially in Thermidor (mid-July through mid-August). Flayed alive and anointed with honey, that nest of wasps --thirsty wasps drawn to sweet drinks, such as the mix of blood, perspiration, and honey-- hanging overhead. When the victim is unconscious, recover to consciousness with strong drink --in the evening or night, I may guess, for a shot of liquor in the middle of a hot summer day makes anyone go out like a light!--. Then, the next day around at twelve or one --here in the Mediterranean, summers are pretty hot, but landlocked Bohemia is not that refreshing in Thermidor either!--, tied to the wall, raw and half-dead, for pregnant female houseflies and horseflies, especially the latter, to lay their eggs in the raw flesh of the heavily sunstruck victim, who must have also been thirsted to death throughout the procedure.
EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR
Nowadays, every English speaker knows the line "Exit, pursued by a bear". William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, Act 3 Scene 3.
In The Winter's Tale, one of Shakespeare's last romantic comedies, a courtier is chased on stage (and presumably devoured offstage) by a brown bear on the coast of Bohemia.
Since the Kingdom of Bohemia is analogous, sociohistorically, with our days' landlocked Czech Republic... that scene may betray that Shakespeare, who appeared so clever (peppering his works with French and Latin), was somewhat ignorant when it came to geography.
Most people in our days are unaware of the Bohemia/Czech Republic analogy, which they clearly overlook.
However, it's the bear that catches their attention (by the way, brown bears are not that out of place in Bohemia/the Czech Republic).
Now, on stage, should it be two actors in a suit (like the cow in Jack and the Beanstalk pantomimes) or a live brown bear to appear?
Something tells me that a live brown bear would be used in Stuart times.
When Shakespeare was young, actually, the performing arts weren't considered high culture. Which explains why he debuted in front of an audience of peasants and artisans, in an arena-like theatre in suburban London. That theatre, the Globe, also resembled a cinema, aside from a sports arena.
To entertain themselves, courtiers hunted for big game in the woods. During the reign of Elizabeth I, a modality known as bear-baiting was especially popular at court: the bear was drugged and captured alive, then brought to the palace, then pitted against bulldogs in a fight to the death. That was Tudor high culture.
With the change of reign and dynasty, Shakespeare's reputation reached the royal halls... and thus, tragedies like Macbeth and Othello were written for King James and his nobles. The performing arts had started to attract the elite.
Though there were still old-fashioned courtiers who would rather see a brown bear against a half-dozen bulldogs rather than a great general strangling his beloved spouse.
With these preferences in mind, and the royal favour on his side, it was not hard for William to get a live brown bear for the first premiere of The Winter's Tale.
In The Winter's Tale, one of Shakespeare's last romantic comedies, a courtier is chased on stage (and presumably devoured offstage) by a brown bear on the coast of Bohemia.
Since the Kingdom of Bohemia is analogous, sociohistorically, with our days' landlocked Czech Republic... that scene may betray that Shakespeare, who appeared so clever (peppering his works with French and Latin), was somewhat ignorant when it came to geography.
Most people in our days are unaware of the Bohemia/Czech Republic analogy, which they clearly overlook.
However, it's the bear that catches their attention (by the way, brown bears are not that out of place in Bohemia/the Czech Republic).
Now, on stage, should it be two actors in a suit (like the cow in Jack and the Beanstalk pantomimes) or a live brown bear to appear?
Something tells me that a live brown bear would be used in Stuart times.
When Shakespeare was young, actually, the performing arts weren't considered high culture. Which explains why he debuted in front of an audience of peasants and artisans, in an arena-like theatre in suburban London. That theatre, the Globe, also resembled a cinema, aside from a sports arena.
To entertain themselves, courtiers hunted for big game in the woods. During the reign of Elizabeth I, a modality known as bear-baiting was especially popular at court: the bear was drugged and captured alive, then brought to the palace, then pitted against bulldogs in a fight to the death. That was Tudor high culture.
With the change of reign and dynasty, Shakespeare's reputation reached the royal halls... and thus, tragedies like Macbeth and Othello were written for King James and his nobles. The performing arts had started to attract the elite.
Though there were still old-fashioned courtiers who would rather see a brown bear against a half-dozen bulldogs rather than a great general strangling his beloved spouse.
With these preferences in mind, and the royal favour on his side, it was not hard for William to get a live brown bear for the first premiere of The Winter's Tale.
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