King Richard The Second by William Shakespeare

King Richard The Second by William Shakespeare

Once again I didn't love or hate this play but it's another play ticked off my reading list for uni- not long now!!! It is the final Shakespeare play too! I always feared this play because it was a history and I thought it was going to be a really long play. Its not. It's no longer than the others. One thing I would say is that I wouldn't want to perform it because the lines are so long for each character before they change. 

The play is about a King who overreacts about his cousin Bolingbroke arguing so King Richard banishes his cousin. Many do not agree with this banishment and many rebel, supporting Bolingbroke. Many try to warn King Richard but he is too pompous to question it. 

"Grief makes one hour ten"

Many of the characters are depressed which even kills some of them. The play explores why and even the consequences of grief. 

"The worst is death, an death will have his day"

A war is created in rebellion against King Richard but the men do not fear death because it shows their loyalty. 

"Wise men ne'er sit and wail their woes,/But presently prevent the ways  to wail"

I think anyone could use this quote for anything because it's so true for every path of life. Stop worrying about things but that doesn't necessarily mean your worries aren't there. 

"Thus I play, In one person, many people"

King Richard has had to play too many parts as King that he's lost himself- another King Lear really. 

"I wasted time, and now doth time waste me"

Slightly true as well as slightly depressing but it shows how you need to make the most of now. It's intense but slightly true. 

I hope you've enjoyed this book review!! 

Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Another play on my reading list done. Nearly off to university and I'm so excited!! I have to admit I didn't enjoy it as much as the others. It was hard going because I wasn't that keen but I finished it!! 

It's a play about love and I suppose religion. Bassanio and many other men in the city are in love with the rich Portia who needs to find a husband but she's very picky. Rightfully so. In order to do this Bassanio asks his friend Antonio but he loves his ships a bit too much and all his money is invested in that. Antonio goes to the Jew, Shylock who he's had a lot of trouble with in the past. Shylock agrees to lend some money as long as Antonio pays him back within three months otherwise he will cut a pound off of his flesh. Yuck. Very King Lear. 

Portia's father wants the right husband for his daughter but she is very picky. There are three caskets for them to choose from. They must choose the lead casket to marry her and Bassanio does. Aarrhh.

Antonio who once depended on his ships finds out they have been lost at sea which means he can't repay his debts which means he's gonna get his flesh chopped off. 

There's a court case and Portia and Nerissa disguise as clerks. Female power. I swear Shakespeare was a pre-feminist. Shylock wants to chop of Antonio's flesh but Portia argues he can only do that if he doesn't spill blood. Finally, Shylock who criticises Christians throughout the play agrees to be become one under duress. 

I found it hard to remember most of the names because they're not exactly your everyday names. I like them but they're hard to remember. I really like the names Lancelot and Lorenzo though especially for two ginger cats but that's a bit random. 

I hope you enjoyed my book review and haven't been put off this play too much. 

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

Another play on my reading list ticked off and again I really enjoyed it. I actually found it funny as well! I've always seen it advertised but I haven't heard of anyone doing it at school so I was looking forward to it. The plot seemed very simple too. As you can tell Shakespeare called it a comedy and it was.

The play is about two sets of twins. Antipholus of Ephusus and Antipholus of Syracuse who are the sons of Aegon. At the same time of their birth another set of twins Dromio of Ephusus and Dromio of Syracuse are born who are adopted as servants for Aegon's sons. It sounds complicated and it was for the first couple of scenes but then it becomes the simplest thing ever. 

However the family are divided before the main plot of the play by a shipwreck. The twins are split up but still have their servants which means they grow up not knowing they're twins. 

"For servants must their masters' minds fulfil"

Both servants are very loyal and run errands for who they think are their masters but because they're twins get very confused. Some even think they're possessed. A necklace, the marriage between Adriana and Ephusus and a ring cause a lot of trauma which makes everyone think each other is insane. Who bought what? Do they really love each other? The confusion is the funniest part. Literally the definition of Schadenfreuden.

Although it was in Shakespearean language I feel that since I've read more Shakespeare I'm not alien to it anymore and I understand it and I could understand the jokes and euphemisms more which I probably wouldn't have picked up on last year. Got to love A2 English literature. 

Definitely recommend this play as it is hilarious and I would love to see a production of it. This short review really doesn't do it justice so you'll have to read it for yourself. 

The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I've successfully read my first book on a Kindle! I've always had it on my Kindle bookshelf *free classic* but I've never really enjoyed reading on a Kindle. I like having a physical book to flick through and put post it notes all over but I was in Malta and needed something to read. 

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I ever thought I would! I've studied a poem based on it but I've never been told what the actual book is about. I suppose it's a warning to teach one to be careful for what you wish for.

"Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one"

There's three friends, Basil Hallward, the painter, Lord Henry and Dorian Gray, a young gentlemen. Basil is friends with both independently but in the first couple of chapters they all make friends.

Dorian Grey is someone everyone admires and Basil is very protective of him and doesn't want anyone else to make friends with him incase they ruin the friendship Basil has with him. 

"There's only on thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that's not being talked about"

All three men care a lot about their reputation and what people say and what they think which is possibly shown in the 'picture' that Basil paints of Dorian Grey as they care more about their social image than their actual self. 

Basil paints a picture of Dorian Gray which Lord Henry goes on one of his tangents about age and youth. Very quickly the book gets quite depressing. The picture will never age but people will do who is the real image? This gets to Dorian Grey who wishes that he never ages and instead the picture gets older over time. Dorian Grey doesn't think anything of this sarcastic prayer until the image starts to change. 

"Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul"

Lord Henry is a outspoken character who stretches the boundaries of political correctness and twists both the readers' and the charachters' own perceptions of the soul and who they really are. 

"Beauty is a form of genius... As it needs no explanation" 

Dorian Grey's downfall is his self worth and he treasures his beauty too much which in turn destroys him. He depends on it too much when beauty is never perfect and never lasts forever. 

"Punctuality is the thief of time" 

This is my favourite quote of the entire book is which I might actually use as an excuse for being late because it is. 

"People know the price of everything and the value of nothing"

Basil values his paintings more than he values his friendship and society which ruins his friendship with Dorian Grey. 

"experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes" 

When this quote first appears it doesn't have half the value that it has when you reread the book. Dorian Grey tries to forget and mask his mistakes but he never realised what he's actually done. 

"Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them"

This quote has nothing really to do with the main plot but I just love it because it's so true to everything.

I hope you've enjoyed this book review! And I'll be in touch soon. 

MacBeth by William Shakespeare

                            MacBeth by William Shakespeare

I don't know how I managed to read this play in one afternoon especially considering the fact I was constantly being slobbered on by Newfoundlands. They're not too bad really. I was a bit apprehensive about reading this because we were made to read it in Yr 10 but we weren't taught it properly and I had no idea what it was about. I remembered one scene probably because that's the only one we focused on. 

Anyway it's not as bad as I thought it'd be. I didn't love it probably because of Yr 10 English but it was actually alright proven by the fact I read it in one afternoon. 

The famous quote; 

"Our dammed spot! Out, I say!"

I remember getting a rubber that said this from the Globe Theatre and somehow it still exits but I suppose it's the most famous quote as it demonstrates how greed leads to acts which have psychological effects. Lady MacBeth seems to be the one who drives MacBeth's greed to be King and he is willing to lose everything that he used to value. The play is about MacBeth who has a lot of respect at the beginning of the play but then wants too much and gets more and more greedy. That's his downfall throughout the play. 

MacBeth starts by murdering the King which makes his sons flee Scotland because they fear they will be killed too as they are in line for the throne but they and some others learn throughout the play the truth about MacBeth, the new King of Scotland. 

"Our fears do make us traitors"

MacBeth fears that the witches might not support him all the way and believes he needs to take things into his own hands. He fears he will not make his way up the monarchy so is willing to kill the people he is meant to support. 

"I am in this earthly world; where to do harm is often laudable; to do good, sometime accounted gage toys folly"

All of Shakespeare's plays seem to have something to do with corrupt societies and how those in power lose their morality and sanity.

I hope you liked this review and I'm still surprised at how many I'm actually getting through. 

Sent from my iPhone

Othello by William Shakespeare

Othello by William Shakespeare

Finished my next Shakespeare play and again it wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. It's another tragedy and up on the depressing level with King Lear. Nearly as many deaths. 

Othello is all about the dangers of jealousy and how dangerous trusting the wrong people can be. Who should you trust? When two 'trustworthy' people's values conflict- who do you trust? Shakespeare possibly coined the term "green eyed monster" to explain this which is still used today. 

This play actually brings up a lot of issues that were overlooked in the 1600s. It looks at different races and the role of women. I don't know if that was deliberate or an accident but definitely interesting. 

Othello, who is black, secretly married Desdemona, who is white, which Desdemona's father disapproves of. Roderigo and Iago are also jealous so plot to dismantle their marriage. Iago becomes too independent and forgets the morals regarding everyone else but himself. Iago tells Othello that his wife is having an affair with Cassio. He proves this by passing around a precious handkerchief. Never knew a handkerchief could play such a big role in a play!!! 

Othello also becomes too jealous that his wife could be having an affair and puts his trust in the wrong man, Iago without giving anyone else a chance. 

 "Our bodies are gardens; to the which our wills are gardeners"

Not only our own wills garden ourselves but also others like Iago who manipulate and play on others' weaknesses. It is true though we control ourselves but when we're unable to do that, others take advantage. 

"Thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call the thee devil"

Many of the characters also say things and get into fights when they're drunk and others again, especially Iago take advantage of this. Even though this play was written in the 1600s this quote is still meaningful today. Everything comes out when you're drunk and you do lose control and others do play on that. 

The play also explores the opposite of jealousy and distinguishes pride in materialism and emotions such a love. Desdemona who is suspected to have everything says;

"Poor and content is rich"

Furthermore, the play explores the dangers of telling the truth in a corrupt world; 

"O, world, to be direct and honest is not safe"

"Honesty is a fool"

"Why should honour outlive honesty"

When all is too late Othello realises that Iago "ensnared my body and soul" and maybe that is when honesty becomes a fool as he realises he has made huge mistakes but they are irresolvable. 

Hope you enjoyed this review. Not sure which play to read next so any suggestions would be great. 😄

The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

The Winter's Tale

Hey! I finished my second Shakespeare play! A famous tragedy about jealousy and how it can ruin friendship and marriage when it makes you blind to what matters. 

"I am sure 'tis safer to/ Avoid what's grown than question how 'tis born"

If I'm allowed to say already, out of the three Shakespeare plays I've read this is the simplest and easier at one to understand. It might be because Mum forcefully suggested writing a scene summary for each scene but it actually helped. It might be because I was going to the theatre to see it and I wanted/needed to understand it. 

"Slaves of chance"

Once again there aren't as many deaths as King Lear but it is about affairs and love but it is also a tragedy. 

On Friday 5th August I also went to see it as a production at the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival which was amazing but also gave me a deadline to read it (I've never rushed myself so much!) Can I just say that it was amazing. It was open theatre and they used all the garden as the set and I'm really looking forward to next year!

"What a fool honesty is"

King Leontes fears that his Queen Hermione is having an affair with Polixeness (weird name) which is why he sends her to prison. They have a daughter but Leontes wants nothing to do with her so sends her to be burnt. The lord sent on this mission disobeys Leontes and leaves her in a village where a shepherd finds her.

Something that I loved was the fact that Shakespeare used a character to represent time. 18 years pass in the play and he explains what has happened and how it is now. I have no idea why but I loved that. 

Although I read the same script as they performed it was interesting to see the different interpretation directly after I'd read it and it wasn't interwoven with others' interpretations. For example I thought the silence of Leontes in the play showed him to be defiant and ignorant whereas the play showed him to be mentally insane like King Lear. 

***************************SPOILER ALERT**********************************

What confused me was the ending. It confused me when I was reading and watching it. Does Hermione die and then is she brought back to life? Or does she never actually die? I thought it was a bit unrealistic Paulina bringing a dead Hermione back to life? But then again as the audience we're only told she "dies" but did she? I don't know. I think it has been an ongoing debate throughout the history of literature. I don't know...