This has to be the closest thing from Ancient Greece to today's sitcom. It is trying to be funny and needs a laugh-track to put the reader (listener) This has to be the closest thing from Ancient Greece to today's sitcom. It is trying to be funny and needs a laugh-track to put the reader (listener) in the right frame of mind. The making fun of Socrates is one jab I could understand enough to enjoy, but frankly I don't know enough about the politics and culture of the time to understand much else. Thus the story behind much of what is going on in this play was not clear to me until I read the Wikipedia plot summary.
We know the version of the play available to us today is revised from the original first performance because in the play there is a point at which the Greek chorus complains about the poor audience response after the first time it was performed. It sort of reminds me of a modern comedian saying, "Help me out folks, I'm dying up here!"
The play does provide a glimpse of the politics of the time. I was impressed that at one point Aristophanes wrote in a request to arrest Cleon, a politician of the time. That seemed to me to be indicative of some freedom to criticize people with power....more
The following is more of a reflection than a review. I figure it to be such a well know play that there's no need for a review.
This is the only ShakesThe following is more of a reflection than a review. I figure it to be such a well know play that there's no need for a review.
This is the only Shakespeare work that brings childhood memories to my mind. I learned about two phrases from this play at a young age from my mother. The first and probably most widely phrase is "Et tu Brute?" I don't recall any particular context in which my mother would have mentioned this quotation. However, the other phrase, "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look," was mentioned in specific situations--in response to a complaint about being hungry.
Cassius and Brutes have the most lines in the play, so it doesn't seem fair that the name of the play is Julius Caesar. It demonstrates how political assassinations seldom result in the intended result. The assassination of Julius Caesar was suppose to protect the republic. Instead it led to an emperorship for the remaining years of the Roman Empire.
It is my understanding that this play will be performed in this coming summer's Theater in the Park in Kansas City....more
Antigone is a play written in circa 441 BC by Sophocles. The story is an example of a woman refusing to obey patriarchal royal authority. It's also anAntigone is a play written in circa 441 BC by Sophocles. The story is an example of a woman refusing to obey patriarchal royal authority. It's also an example of a King causing devastation to his own household by dictating extreme orders to others.
Antigone, a young unmarried woman, defies the edicts of the king by providing burial rites for her dead brother. She justifies her actions as following the wishes of the Gods which are higher than those of the King. She is banished to be locked in a tomb to die.
An old sage convinces the King that he's made a mistake, so the King orders the tomb to be opened. Antigone is found dead by suicide. Consequently the king's son and wife also commit suicide due to their anguish caused by Antigone's death.
The play ends with the King a broken man but, according to the Greek chorus, a wiser man.
An interesting factoid to consider is the choice of the name Antigone—Anti (against) gone (procreation).
The following is a link to my review of a novel that is a modern retelling of the Antigone story in the setting of American military in Afghanistan: The Watch, by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya.
The following is a link to a Wikipedia article about another novel patterned after the story of Antigone: Home Fires, by Kamila Shamsie.
This is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1900. It explores the relationship between the law, justice, revenge, and forgiveness. It also displaThis is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1900. It explores the relationship between the law, justice, revenge, and forgiveness. It also displays class differences and social divisions through an emphasis on speaking accents. The narrative includes what could be perceived as negative generalizations about Islamic political structures and thus by extension the differences between the Christian Western world and the Islamic world.
The play is all those things mentioned in the above paragraph, however its most notable impression for me is its comedic use of a woman—the only female in the fourteen member cast—who is so attractive that all the male characters want to please her wishes. This woman is totally positive in her opinions and appraisals of other individuals as well as being clueless to danger. Her combination of looks and happy assertiveness successfully stops violent clashes and influences a judicial proceeding to adopt a spirit of forgiveness.
A description of the plot can be read on Wikipedia. Rather than describing it further here I will simply share some of my observations after reading the play.
The author deviated from standard English spelling in the dialog in order to convey differences in speech accents. In the case of the Cockney dialect the spelling is so deviant as to be impossible to understand, at least for me. Generally I was able to infer its approximate meaning by the surrounding context. American accents required some spelling changes as well, but since the author is British he saw no reason to change spellings for the educated British woman.
The play's story takes place in Morocco, but only three of fourteen cast members are Moroccans and they only make brief appearances. Almost all the dialog is among British and American expats. The role of the Moroccans in the play are to serve as sources of potential danger.
The Cockney character plays a role of a fool who is considered by all to be of the lowest social class. In an explanatory note by the author the Cockney character is described as follows:
... a man who is clearly no barbarian, being in fact a less agreeable product peculiar to modern commercial civilization. ... A Londoner would recognize him at once as an extreme but hardy specimen of the abortion produced by nature in a city slum.
The play's narrative is so disparaging against this character as to seem politically incorrect to be in essence laughing at a lower caste member. To spread the insults wider the play's narrative explains later that this Cockney character is the only convert to Christianity achieved by a missionary who's been stationed in Morocco for twenty-five years. The fact that the Cockney character is also a paid employee as gardener for the missionary may have contributed to the conversion.
Speaking of conversion raises the question, in what way was Captain Brassbound converted? The only thing in the play that could be considered conversion was his decision not to cause the death of the judge who had cheated his mother of an estate in the West Indies. His change of heart was caused by a conversation with the sole female character in the play. Near the end of the play it appears he may consider becoming a proper Englishman, but in the end he goes back to being a pirate....more
This play written in 1898 was first performed in England at a time when the British Empire was at its zenith. I couldn't help but notice how Julius CaThis play written in 1898 was first performed in England at a time when the British Empire was at its zenith. I couldn't help but notice how Julius Caesar seemed to be presented as an external benevolent colonial force coming to bring order to the political chaos in Egypt. Caesar is portrayed as a wise and patient general who teaches Cleopatra how to be a good ruler (i.e. be a queen).
I can imagine that the play's first English audience identified with Caesar as being in a role similar to that of the British colonial forces scattered around the world dealing with the "white man's burden" of bringing civilization to the backward peoples of the world. A bit of wishful thinking goes into both of the play's portrayal of Caesar and the pro-English view of colonialism.
This play's plot broadly follows actual history, but the details of character development are suspect in my opinion. Caesar is unrealistically virtuous and Cleopatra is too scatterbrained. The historical Cleopatra is reported to have been able to speak eight languages and the real Caesar was a conquering general who at times could be ruthless. Below is a quote from this play where Caesar is claiming to not resent lack of loyalty from his friends.
POTHINUS. [astonished.] Natural! Then you do not resent. treachery?
CAESAR. Resent! O thou foolish Egyptian, what have I to do with resentment? Do I resent the wind when it chills me. or the night when it makes me stumble in the darkness? Shall I resent youth when it turns from age, and ambition when it turns from servitude? To tell me such a story as this is but to tell me that the sun will rise tomorrow.
I doubt the historical Julius Caesar ever said anything like the above. Perhaps he may have thought the Egyptians were foolish, but I bet he resented treachery.
I'll not take time the describe the plot. Wikipedia has a quite detailed summary of it....more
Some of my friends describe this play as a parody of melodrama. It certainly has its humorous aspects as it contrasts apparent religious piety againstSome of my friends describe this play as a parody of melodrama. It certainly has its humorous aspects as it contrasts apparent religious piety against the reality of their actual behavior. The setting is colonial American during the Revolutionary War in a small New England town during British General Burgoyne’s maneuvers leading up to the Battle of Saratoga.
In the first act we meet Mrs. Dudgeon, a pillar of piety and respectability, who “being exceedingly disagreeable is held to be exceedingly good.” Her adult son Richard is so completely the opposite that he is widely referred to as the “devil’s disciple,” a label is acknowledges as true.
As the play progresses we observe the behavior of Richard (a.k.a. the Devil’s Disciple) to be quite Christ like as he saves the life of the local church’s parson by allowing himself to be misidentified as the parson by the British. The British intend to hang the parson as an example to the town’s citizenry. The real parson flees for his life when he learns what's happening to Richard in his place—like a despicable coward.
In other words the supposedly good people are acting badly, and the supposedly bad person is acting saintly. There may be an intended morality message here.
This is a melodrama, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Richard is spared from being hanged at the very last minute. The story concludes with the parson and Richard trading roles. The Parson has decided to abandon his position as parson and become an officer in the revolutionary army. He designates Richard, the former Devil’s Disciple, to be the new parson.
Finally, things are as they really should be....more
A tale of excessive ambition and overactive conscience, most people who are likely to read this review already know about this play and don't need to A tale of excessive ambition and overactive conscience, most people who are likely to read this review already know about this play and don't need to hear more from me. So instead I'll just make some flippant remarks.
It's all the witches fault. If they had kept their mouths closed Macbeth wouldn't have been driven to commit regicide.
Since Macbeth had full faith in the truth of the predictions made by the witches, why not just simply do nothing and let fate take care of how he became king?
So maybe it all was Lady Macbeth's fault for egging her husband to take unnecessary murderous action. She bragged about her cold heartedness, but then in the end her conscience drove her to commit suicide.
At least Macbeth had the guts to die the warrior's death, after first giving a memorable soliloquy about "to-morrow" upon hearing of his wife's suicide.
The last time I read this play was when I was in High School. I've never seen the play performed on stage. I read it again now many years later for a book group with which I'm a member. I guess I should watch a movie version, but frankly I don't care enough to take the time....more
The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus is an Elizabethan era play (circa 1592) based on German stories about the title characterThe Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus is an Elizabethan era play (circa 1592) based on German stories about the title character Faust who sold his soul to the devil. In the beginning of the play Faust seems to envision a future of world domination if given the powers of the devil. But once he has those powers he fritters them off on silly things such as playing tricks on the Pope while Faust is invisible. This of course probably played well to the Protestant Elizabethan English audience.
It's worth noting that Faust was a Doctor of Theology, so he was well equipped for this exchange. I suppose that the play contains a morality lesson, but I'm not sure what it is. It is difficult to understand why an opportunity to play tricks on the Pope would be worth going to Hell.
There is one place in the play where Faust asks his escort devil what Hell is like. The answer is that it is the absence of God. Well, based on that definition Faust is already in Hell when he asked the question.
I'm not perceptive enough to glean further morality lessons from this play....more
This is a satire play (first produced in 1605–1606) that shows the level of debasement some individuals will lower themselves to in order to gain wealThis is a satire play (first produced in 1605–1606) that shows the level of debasement some individuals will lower themselves to in order to gain wealth. It involves a wealthy man named Volpone who has no heirs, and he uses this fact together with the help of his servant to con three other gullible patrons who hope to become Volpone's designated heir by giving him lavash gifts. Leading on these three individuals results in a complicated interweaving of three parallel plot lines (four if you count the scheming of the servant).
In this review I'll not try to explain the details of these three plot lines. Instead I will note a couple snippets that I found so comical as to be beyond absurd. One is an extremely jealous husband who immediately flips his priorities when he's told he can be heir to the fortune if he prostitutes his wife to Volpone. Then after the wife is saved from being raped the judicial charges are turned upside-down by claiming that the innocent wife has concocted the story in order to blackmail Volpone. When one of the conspirators reverses his testimony to save this innocent wife from an unjust conviction, he is talked into re-reversing his testimony once again when he's promised to be made heir. In order to make this re-reversal of testimony believable he falls on the floor pretending to be mentally insane.
I was recently in a group discussion of this play during which it was suggested that this play could be easily adapted to the modern business world of employees trying to please a narcissistic boss. We were informed that such a movie [Il Volpone (1988)] has been made in which a very rich shipowner dissimulates to be close to death in order to capture the attention of three of his friends. There are probably other examples of this sort of adaptation.
This play is written in Elizabethan English (technically it's Jacobean era, not Elizabethan), so it takes a bit of effort on the part of a modern reader to understand what's going on. I had to reread portions in order to make sense of it....more
Aristophanes uses the plot of this play to make fun of his contemporary playwright, Euripides. The play begins with Euripides afraid for his life. He Aristophanes uses the plot of this play to make fun of his contemporary playwright, Euripides. The play begins with Euripides afraid for his life. He has received word that the women of Athens plan to have a meeting in order to decide how they can get vengeance for the way the female sex has been portrayed in his plays. They are angry at his plays' portrayal of women as mad, murderous and sexually depraved.
So Euripides arranges to to have a male friend disguised as a woman attend the meeting and offer a defense on his behalf. Subsequently, this disguised friend attends the meeting and speaks out boldly to the gathered women that they are as bad as the plays of Euripides says they are. In other words, Euripides is telling the truth.
Speaking out in this way was an absurdly stupid thing for a man disguised as a woman to do. Even 2400 years ago the women were smart enough to immediately be specious of this woman who is defending the male view of women. Subsequently the women forcibly remove enough clothes from this guy to reveal that he's not a woman. At this point this poor guy is in real trouble.
So Euripides has to go to the meeting and try to protect his spy friend from punishment. He promises the women not to insult them in his future plays. Consequently, after a lot of sexual innuendo and comic drama, Euripides arranges an escape for his friend.
Aristophanes was obviously a quick witted comic. Some of the jokes in the dialog are funny only in the context of Ancient Greece. However, the overall plot and action compares well with today's TV sitcoms....more
This play gives women credit for trying to make the world a more peaceful place as early as 2400 years ago. Women on both sides of the Peloponnesian wThis play gives women credit for trying to make the world a more peaceful place as early as 2400 years ago. Women on both sides of the Peloponnesian war unite in a sex strike. No more sex until there's peace.
This play's reputation is that of an anti-war drama. Ending war is a serious matter, thus it was my expectation this play to be a somber effort of the part of women to knock some common sense into the minds of their men. Instead it was a comedy first, and an anti-war message second. The foolishness and absurdity of war is laughed at which diminishes the attraction of war, but the comic treatment is too slapstick for my tastes.
One part of the plot that's not as famous as the sex strike is the fact that the women occupy the Athen's treasury building to deprive the government of the funds required to wage war. When an armed person is ordered to clear out the female occupiers, he is flustered and hesitates because he's not sure how to use force on women. (view spoiler)[
It's commendable that Aristophanes portrays the men of Athens as being such gentlemen that they would never use armed force on women. I have my doubts about this, and I suspect it was actually considered so absurd as to be funny by the audience. (hide spoiler)]
This is comedy written 2400 years ago. Some of the jokes require footnotes to explain why it's funny (i.e. making fun of other ancient politicians and playwrights). However the humorously indecent jokes about sex need no explanations. Aristophanes' writing is so bawdy that it's embarrassing to the sensibilities of polite company today. Men walking across stage with prominent erect penises begging for sexual relief can be accepted as a comic over-the-top characterization of men's sexual appetites and their expectations of women. Unfortunately, the power of women to force men to end war by withholding sexual favors is also an unrealistic exaggeration.
If Aristophanes were alive today, I have no doubt that he would have his own late night TV talk/comedy show of his own. His monologue would probably have a lot of words bleeped out....more
This story begins with an unexpected son-in-law, then there's an unexpected military expedition to Cyprus, then there's conniving and planting of evidThis story begins with an unexpected son-in-law, then there's an unexpected military expedition to Cyprus, then there's conniving and planting of evidence, then things get complicated, and in the end there are lots of dead bodies on stage. The bad guy who is still standing at the end will soon be tortured and executed.
This play is notable in having a lead character who is black African. Did Shakespeare include black stereotypes? It's debatable. Othello was the victim of Iago's evil conniving. In that regard it appears that Shakespeare has include the white stereotype of people doing evil things to black people....more
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the bMedea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the barbarian protagonist as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened, and the revenge she takes against her husband Jason who has betrayed her for another woman.
Euripides produced Medea along with the lost plays Philoctetes, Dictys and the satyr play Theristai, earning him last place at the City Dionysia festival for that year. In spite of its last place in the contest, this is the only one of the plays from that year that have survived.
I read this play because a book group I belong to discussed it. We were lucky to have in our group a person who had taught a college class on Classical Greek and Roman literature. So our group learned a lot more than anticipated. ...more
This is a true romance. It has a happy ending with multiple couples getting married. It's inferred that everybody lives happily ever after. I guess thThis is a true romance. It has a happy ending with multiple couples getting married. It's inferred that everybody lives happily ever after. I guess that's why it's titled, "As You Like It."
Rulers fall in love. Rulers lose. Rulers commit suicide. That's the simplified synopses which I admit that I borrowed from Shelfari.com. There's an obRulers fall in love. Rulers lose. Rulers commit suicide. That's the simplified synopses which I admit that I borrowed from Shelfari.com. There's an obvious parallel with Romeo and Juliet, but Antony and Cleopatra were old enough to know better. But I guess love is love, and what does age have to do with it?
I read Antony and Cleopatra because it was this year's Shakespeare selection by the Great Books KC group I belong to. This book contains lots of history and geography, and I like that sort of stuff so I liked this play about much as is possible for me to like Shakespeare. But I am too impatient of a reader to truly enjoy Shakespeare.
This play explores the obvious struggle between reason and emotion. Symbolically it associates reason with Rome (west) and emotion with Egypt (east). Reason wins, assuming that suicide represents the losing side.
I may have claimed during discussion of the book that Cleopatra is Shakespeare's strongest female role. It is a dominate role, but there are lots of female roles in Shakespeare's plays. I've recently read this review of the The Merchant of Venice, which makes the case that Portia is not only a strong character, but also noble.
The following was on my PageADay Book Lover's Calendar for May 26, 2015: This play, Shakespeare's sequel to Julius Caesar, is one of truly epic proportions and is also one of the most romantic stories of all time. After falling in love with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, Mark Antony is called back to the emperor's palace because he has been neglecting his duties. Antony sides with Egypt when war breaks out with Rome, and Cleopatra kills herself with a snake bite in one of the most amazing scenes in all of literature. Full of drama and sensation, this is one of the easier Shakespearean plays to read, and is well worth the effort. This edition is helped by explanatory notes on the pages facing the play. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, by William Shakespeare, (1623; edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine, Simon & Schuster, 2004)
This play was discussed by the Great Books KC group of which I am a member. We also watched the movie "A Thousand Acres" to see another version of theThis play was discussed by the Great Books KC group of which I am a member. We also watched the movie "A Thousand Acres" to see another version of the plot. This story becomes more harrowing the older one becomes. It's a reminder that one's children don't always remain loyal. But then again, some parents do bad things or make unwise choices. ...more
This is a play that provides a contemporary version of the book of Job from the Bible. One conclusion from the play is that, "If God is God, God is noThis is a play that provides a contemporary version of the book of Job from the Bible. One conclusion from the play is that, "If God is God, God is not good; and if God is good, God is not God." Also, it is obvious that Job's wife's return and declaration of human love provides far better solace that anything that God or the intellectual and religious "comforters" provided. ...more