Beowulf manuscript

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Beowulf.firstpage.jpeg

SMH article: do you agree?

This article in the SMH in 2004 covers some public concern over the HSC syllabus.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/27/1096137168782.html?from=moreStories

Do you agree with John Bell? Is it ridiculous to make a Marxist reading of the play, seeing as Shakespeare had never heard of Marx?

Funny AC Bradley poem

I found this while looking for a bit of background info on Bradley at Wikipedia:
I dreamt last night that Shakespeare’s Ghost
Sat for a civil service post.
The English paper for that year
Had several questions on King Lear
Which Shakespeare answered very badly
Because he hadn’t read his Bradley.

(Hawkes, 1986 as cited in Taylor 2001: 40)

You can read more about how great Bradley was here.

Taming Family Tree

Found this on 'net. Not sure if it makes things clearer, or more confused. You should be able to click on it and bring up a larger picture, that is easier to read.

Sadly, I've done the thing that I will always tell you NOT to do - I've lost the URL of where it came from originally.

More Lear reviews

Continuing from the last post.

Kevin Kline as Lear? I see him as being too young - to me he is a comedic actor, not a figure of pity.
1. What are the two differeing ways to play the opening scene? Which does this review prefer? Which do you prefer and why?
2. "A little humor and some pockets of lucidity help speed the story’s route into the abyss, of course." Is this something you agree with? Did you like the humour in the Bondi production?

Germaine Greer's review of RSC's Lear is very well written.
1. Where do you think Lear (McKellen) drops his trousers? Why that scene? What might a naked Lear add to the play?
2. Is this a feminist reading of the play? why?


The idea behind reading all these reviews is so that you can consider the many different interpretations, productions, of the play. Once you have a good idea of the many ways is can be performed, you can assume a well-rounded opinion of your own.

And yes, Dr. Who was very good.

Lear Productions - reviews

Here are some reviews of King Lear from around the world, from the last few years. Have a read, consider some questions.

Director Robert Falls gives a Balkan setting to his Lear.

1. What do you feel this interpretation would add to the themes of the play?
2. Do you feel that a raped Cordelia is a justifiable interpretation?
3. How do you feel a change in set, from wealth to destruction, adds to the audience's understanding of Lear's downfall?
4. Do you feel that this kind of interpretation allows a modern audience to interact with the text more, or less?

Forward Theatre's Lear uses a new culture to tell its story.

1. Do you feel that a 'viking' theme detracts too much from the issues of the text? Or does it highlight them?

I'll gather some more tomorrow - right now, I HAVE to watch the new Dr. Who.

Or the world will end.

Commedia dell'arte

It's the name of a certian kind of comedic theatre, which used stock characters and very simple plots, so that the pratfalls, slapstick, puns and jokes could be the focus.

Check out the Wikipedia description for starters.

Life in Elizabethan England sites

Some sites that help explain the way people lived in Shakespeare's time. Feel free to do a google search of your own - focus on pages that discuss family life.

Life in Elizabethan England: A compendium of common knowledge
I would suggest that you read over the parts on 'Household', 'Occupations', 'Masters and Servants'. The others might be intersting too.

Peasant life in Elizabethan England
A short account, easy to read, but not too informative of the whole social structure.

Everyday life
Some interesting headings, but not much on family life or women.

Transformations - intro text

The Conciliation