JULY 10, 2012 @ 08:56 AM


Prospero:
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

The Tempest Act 4, scene 1, 148–158


Macbeth:
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 19–28


Oh Shakespeare.

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Comments
longlostsapper

longlostsapper

Sandusky, OH
January 2010

JUL 10, 2012 09:02 AM

Haven't read it in a long time

baudot

baudot

Oakland, CA
February 2004

JUL 10, 2012 09:07 AM

Coincidence.

I just had that same speech from MacBeth stuck in my head a few days back.

Similar to Shakespeare, this one has that grand sweep:

(Yes, there are words. Two minutes of loo-loo-doo-doo before the poem starts.)

StCyr

StCyr

Louisville, KY
March 2007

JUL 10, 2012 09:13 AM

dreamfoundry

dreamfoundry

South Africa
July 2005

JUL 10, 2012 09:20 AM

Shakespeare is definitely in the air today. Just an hour ago I phoned a friend and interrupted her while she and her fiancé were watching Macbeth.

bedheadchicken

bedheadchicken

Rutherford, NJ
March 2003

JUL 10, 2012 09:20 AM

The Macbeth speech is one of my favorites in all Shakespeare.

Sorry I've been so absent. I've never been busier in my life.

Jozsef

Jozsef

Toronto, ON
July 2007

JUL 10, 2012 09:31 AM

The boy did have a modicum of talent, didn't he? When I went to high school it was fashionable for English teachers to confess that they "didn't like him either" and weren't prepared when I came to the old guy's defense. It's all a bit hard to believe in retrospect. tongue

I hope you're well, my dear. smile

DrewBeckett

DrewBeckett

United Kingdom
October 2005

JUL 10, 2012 10:28 AM

I love The Tempest (No beast so fierce which feels no touch of pity, but I am no beast) but my great love will always be Othello (thus the Act One, scene one 64-65 tattoo on my arm). Have you been watching The Hollow Crown saga on the been?

Totem

Totem

I'm lost
December 2008

JUL 10, 2012 10:40 AM

I'm a big fan of The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet myself. Although Richard III is bloody brilliant! Ack, too many good ones to choose from!

Videre

Videre

United Kingdom
August 2008

JUL 10, 2012 10:51 AM

The BBC ran a program on the Robin Island Bible, I think you may have enjoyed it. Not sure it is on I player but if I find it I will post you a link.

Yes his work is timeless.

Medicstudent

Medicstudent

Canada
December 2011

JUL 10, 2012 11:27 AM

The bard is well, The Bard, but I have always had a soft spot for Tennyson too. Probably the old soldier in me.



SPOILERS! (Click to view)

1. Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

2."Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

3. Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

4. Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

5.Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

6.When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.


ArtfulOdin

ArtfulOdin

Boston, MA
December 2009

JUL 10, 2012 12:02 PM

Freshman year in college I was in Othello in winter semester and in Tempest during the spring term. We performed it outside - a wonderful experience I will remember always.

Nadeshda

Nadeshda

SUICIDEGIRL

Germany

JUL 10, 2012 12:04 PM

stupid thing I read today; Hamlet was also translated into klingon... (why does my head keep only the weird stuff?)

mrdave1369

mrdave1369

Nevada, TX
September 2011

JUL 10, 2012 12:10 PM

The latest rendition of the Tempest, worth seeing

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1274300/

Kay

Kay

SUICIDEGIRL

Antarctica

JUL 10, 2012 01:11 PM

kiss

Oldernow

Oldernow

Ithaca, NY
January 2006

JUL 10, 2012 02:13 PM

Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2

POLONIUS
This business is well ended.
My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad.
Mad call I it; for, to define true madness,
What is't but to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go.

QUEEN
More matter, with less art.

POLONIUS
Madam, I swear I use no art at all.
That he is mad, 'tis true: 'tis true 'tis pity;
And pity 'tis 'tis true: a foolish figure;
But farewell it, for I will use no art.
Mad let us grant him, then: and now remains
That we find out the cause of this effect,
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect defective comes by cause:
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.

---Even when he's using a small vocabulary of small words, he builds a magic mirror in which we see reflected all humanity and ourselves.

I think that "(Loo)king for Richard" with Al Pacino exploring Richard III is a standout meditation on Shakespeare, and has some astonishing acting in it.

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