MetaFilter posts tagged with shakespeare and williamshakespeare

"Richard may lie to all the other characters but within his solo speeches he always tells the truth."

kirkaracha — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:32:17 -0800

"So, 'now'--ooh, what a wonderful first word, right in the beginning of the play. 'Now.' Not in the past. Not a history play. Now." Ian McKellen breaks down Richard III. McKellen's web site has an annotated screenplay of his 1995 movie, and a brief essay on playing Richard III. To Prove a Villain on the historical king.

Shakespeare's Sonnets

Kattullus — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:40:34 -0800

William Shakespeare wrote some of the world's finest sonnets. The website shakespeares-sonnets.com is a fine place to start delving into the poems. Here you can see scans of the first edition of The Sonnets as printed by Thomas Thorpe in 1609. If you wish there were more sonnets by Shakespeare, your jones might be eased by the Shakespeare Sonnet Shake-Up, which lets you remix them according to taste. And finally there's Shakespeare in Tune, a site where Jonathan Willby recites each of the 154 sonnets following a short improvisation on a German flute.

Volumes That I Prize Above My Dukedom

yankeefog — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 02:47:14 -0800

Page through the entire first quarto of Hamlet , or the second quarto of King Lear, or any one of dozens of other precious rare editions of Shakespeare, courtesy of the British Library. Clicking on a page brings up a bigger view of the page, which is handy for taking a closer look at lines like "To be or not to be, I, there's the point". There's also some brief background on the various editions.

"Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh"

matteo — Fri, 01 Oct 2004 13:00:39 -0800

The Death of Hamnet and the Making of Hamlet. In the spring or summer of 1596, William Shakespeare received word that his only son Hamnet, 11, was ill. In the summer he learned that Hamnet's condition had worsened and that it was necessary to drop everything and hurry home. By the time the father reached Stratford the boy—whom, apart from brief visits, Shakespeare had in effect abandoned in his infancy—may already have died. On August 11, 1596, Hamnet was buried at Holy Trinity Church: the clerk duly noted in the burial register, "Hamnet filius William Shakspere." It might have been possible that Shakespeare's Catholic father urged his son to have prayers said to speed the child's release from purgatory. The problem was that purgatory had been abolished by the ruling Protestants, and saying prayers for the dead declared illegal. Hence, the possible dilemma for Shakespeare was whether to risk punishment by praying for their deceased loved ones or obey the law and allow those souls to languish in flames. This anxiety regarding one's obligations to the dead, Stephen Greenblatt suggests, lies behind Hamlet's indecision about whether to obey his father's ghost and take revenge on his uncle Claudius.

skallas — Wed, 24 Apr 2002 01:37:30 -0800

The Bard's sexuality comes into question, again, on his birthday. 'The portrait already has considerable intrinsic historical interest, and if you believe that the young man addressed in the sonnets was Henry Wriothesley there is the additional thrill that this could be the face that Shakespeare fell in love with, perhaps wishing its owner was a girl. The magnitude of the thrill depends on how much you think the identity of the young person matters to the poems. Many think it matters a lot.'

ColdChef — Fri, 15 Mar 2002 06:21:15 -0800

Beware the Ides of March! Take a little time today to think about Crazy Old Bill. There's a ton of Shakespearian stuff out there from the silly to the scary. (Even if you do think he's a phoney). Party Anon, dude.

hincandenza — Sat, 02 Mar 2002 12:11:02 -0800

Much Ado About Something. Fascinating Salon review of a new documentary investigating whether Shakespeare was really just a front-man for Christopher Marlowe, the true author of all the Bard's work. At first it sounds like just so much literary conspiracy theory, except unlike most conspiracy theories this one seems to gain more credibility the further you delve into it. The film just wrapped up a two- week opening run in New York City, and should be arriving soon at theaters in your area.

o2b — Wed, 05 Sep 2001 07:01:10 -0800

INTERIOR SHOT: Stratford-upon-Avon; Study; William at desk

William:
To be or not to be...

William: takes long toke from hash pipe on desk

William:
That is the question...

Postroad — Wed, 07 Mar 2001 14:21:46 -0800

Shakespeare and the electronic age For those who studied or read Shakespeare some time ago, this quick test can help determine whether you recall the Bard's work or confuse it with the language of technology and more recent forms of entertainment. Not to sound Onan-like, score yourself.

snakey — Mon, 06 Nov 2000 09:20:05 -0800

Pot smoking may lead to -- Macbeth!