Shakespeare - Bill Bryson

Bryson doesn't pretend to be writing a complete biography of the Bard here. Instead he goes through all the myths and conspiracy theories surrounding the author and clears them up. In between he does reveal some facts that we do know about Shakespeare.

I have to be honest that I am pretty much a clean slate when it comes to Shakespeare. Until now I had no interest to learn more about the man behind those wonderful plays. I had of course heard of all the conspiracies surrounding him. Is he a man or a woman? Is he really Sir Francis Bacon? Did he steal the plays from others? I had no interest in reading into all those theories and simply washed them from my mind with a shake of the head. Shakespeare was simply Shakespeare. The man who has tortured school kids for decades. Having said that I obviously had some interest in his plays otherwise I wouldn't have taken part in the challenge. I think though that my ignorance was a good thing as it meant I could read this book with out having believed all those rumours surrounding Shakespeare.

The only image I did find it difficult to get out of my head was the Doctor Who version of Shakespeare. When Bryson mentions the bards exotic dark ladies in his plays and the dedicated sonnets to a dark lady I just kept thinking, bet that was Martha. Then when he mentioned the theory behind the play "Love's Labour's Won" I was again thinking of Doctor Who and that episodes story behind it (don't worry I am well aware that Dr Who is a fiction, it just amused me).

The entire book was very interesting. Lots of little fact about the man and it surprised me just how little we know about him. Something that Bryson says really isn't that unusual. He says that there were lots of play-writes back then and we are lucky to have the plays by Shakespeare that we do have. Imagine if his two friends had not created that first folio of his work? The part that entertained me was the small section on language. I knew Shakespeare had contributed a lot of words and sayings to our language but didn't realise how much. Astounding considering that English was relatively new back then and Latin was still the preferred choice. Words like "horrid" and "excellent". Also, sayings such as "vanish into thin air" and "with bated breath". These are just a few examples but it makes you realise just how grateful our authors of today should be to the Bard.

I don't feel the need to know every detail of Shakespeare's life. I know for some it is an obsession (one that Bryson claims has led to a lot of conjecture). I am happy with the little information the author was able to provide. However, I am not saying I won't read other biographies. I am more interested in reading other authors views on him and on his language. I think this is a fantastic book for any fan of Shakespeare. I also think though it's perfect for people like myself who managed to walk through life picking up very little.

I read this as part of Shakespeare Month 2012 hosted by Allie of A Literary Odyssey. The deadline has been extended to 10th of February but I am going to stick to the first one which is today. I don't want to sicken myself on him and not want to read more later. I will be open to joining another challenge later on if someone were to start it up. If you are interested in reading what others have to say you can see links to their posts here. I also read it for the Mixing It Up Challenge 2012 hosted by Ellie of Musings of a Bookshop Girl. This was for the biography category. Oh, and if you are interest (and why wouldn't you be) the Doctor Who episode I was talking about is called "The Shakespeare Code" and you can read more about it on the BBC website here.

As You Like It - William Shakespeare

Rosalind's father was once Duke but has now been overthrown and exiled by his brother. The only thing that is saving Rosalind from the same fate is the love of the new Dukes daughter, Celia. Orlando is at odds with his older brother, Oliver, who is holding him back in life. Orlando and Rosalind meet at a wrestling match where they both instantly fall in love. However, Orlando is exiled by his brother and joins the old Duke in the forest. The new Duke has a fit of jealousy and exile Rosalind. Celia doesn't want to be without Rosalind and so joins her as does the clown, Touchstone. They all go in disguise so as not to be attacked. Rosalind is now Ganymede and Celia is Aliena, a brother and sister who now live in a shepherd hut. There Rosalind finds poems dedicated to her by Orlando. She decides to keep her disguise in order to test his love for her.

This is the second comedy I have read. Like "Much Ado About Nothing" this was very easy to read and follow. I didn't have to look at the back very much at all. It seems the less tragic the story the less difficult the language. There were also fewer characters which made it easier to follow. No flicking to the front to remind myself who is who. It was also similar in that the primary theme is love and no one dies in the end. In fact everything miraculously rights itself.

Like I said the main theme is love and this is where the comedy sets in. In her disguise as Ganymede she tells Orlando that she will cure him of love. In order to do that Orlando must pretend that he is Rosalind. Which of course doesn't work. Meanwhile a young shepherd, Silvius, is pining over the shepherdess, Phebe. However, Phebe has fallen in love with Rosalind's disguise and poor Rosalind has a hard time convincing Phebe that she should appreciate what she has in Silvius. It isn't until the end scene when Rosalind reveals who she is that Phebe is happy and all couples (of which there are two others) get married.

Having written it like that it sounds confusing but it's not at all. It was actually rather amusing and my favourite scene wasn't actually the end one but the scene where Rosalind tries to convince Phebe that she should accept Silvius.

The Shakespeare challenge is continuing until 10th February. Allie from A Literary Odyssey decided to extend it a little. I could probably fit in a few more plays but I have several other books I want to read and my reading has slowed down noticeably this week (as I expected it would). So this is my last play for this challenge. I am however going to read a biography which will also be for another challenge. I'm not giving up on Shakespeare though. I will read more eventually as there are so many others I would like to try. So if there is another Shakespeare month challenge I will be signing up. Or I will maybe make every January Shakespeare month for myself. If you want to see what others have been reading you can do so here.

Hamlet - William Shakespeare

Every night the ghost of Hamlet's father makes an appearance. Some soldiers see it and try to communicate but the ghost disappears. They tell Hamlet hoping that since the ghost has his father's appearance it will speak to him. Hamlet goes to the ghost and he discovers that his father was murdered by his uncle. His uncle is now King of Denmark and married Hamlet's mother soon after the death of the old King. Hamlet is already upset about this incestuous marriage and is determined to have his revenge on the King. His anger and reaction to others and the one he supposedly loves, Ophelia, leads the King and Queen to believe that he has gone mad and so set him up to find the cause. Meanwhile Hamlet decides to have players visiting to put on a play about the betrayal and murder of a King in the hopes of finding out once and for all if the ghost is telling the truth.

The scenes at the start of the soldiers seeing the ghost was a great start. It certainly set up the atmosphere of the play. It reminded me of the creepy start to Macbeth. Whilst I enjoyed it, for me it didn't keep up the atmosphere through out unlike Macbeth. I felt that there was too much in between rather than getting to the point. Hamlets doubts were slightly irritating and I wanted him to just get the thumb out and go and confront his uncle. If he had mind you it wouldn't really have been a tragedy. The King and his mother wouldn't have thought him mad and felt the need for covert operations in order to discover why. Which wouldn't have led to so many deaths.

I found that I had to rely on the back of the book to explain things to me more than any of the other plays so far. It didn't quite take all the enjoyment out of it but as a result it was a little more slow going and I was impatient to get to the good bit. The last few scenes were probably the best for me. When Hamlet finally does get his revenge and of course doesn't really have long to enjoy it. If you aren't aware before (sorry for the spoiler) this is one of those plays in which almost no one survives. Good news for Norway whom the King was in dispute with at the start of the play.

Hamlet refers to his mothers marriage as incestuous but I think he was more bothered by the fact that it happened so quickly (well, until he found out what his uncle did). Interestingly although the King and his new wife weren't actually related  it would have been classed as incest back then. Henry VIII was only able to get dispensation from the Pope to marry his brother's wife because the relationship hadn't been consummated (although Henry disputed that to get out of the marriage 20 years later). I think it's a safe bet though that this wasn't the case with the Hamlet's parents.

Overall I did like it. I liked the atmosphere and I liked the fact that both sides were plotting against each other. I think though this is one that I will get more out of watching than reading.

I read this as part of Shakespeare month hosted by Allie of A Literary Odyssey.  You can see posts by others taking part here. She has also posted an update about the challenge here. We have a few extra days to read more.

Remember to leave a comment here if you want to win a copy of The Eyre Affair. Hamlet doesn't make an appearance in that book but he does later on in the series and there are many other characters from classics to enjoy before he does.

Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare

Claudio has come back from war and once again meets the beautiful Hero and allows himself to fall in love. This causes much amusement for Benedick and Beatrice who both proclaim that they will never marry and instead like to spar with each other. When Claudio and Hero agree to marry they decide to trick their friends Benedick and Beatrice. They make them both believe that one loves the other. In doing so they come to believe that they are really in love. Meanwhile Don John, the Bastard brother of their friend Don Pedro, is up to mischief. He is unhappy unless he is causing trouble and decides to cause make the young couple miserable. He convinces both Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero might not be so innocent and pure after all.

Out of all the Shakespeare plays I picked out this is the one I was probably least excited about. After reading the last two I had thought that the tragedies were going to be my favourite. I didn't know how the comedies could possibly compare. However, I was more than pleasantly surprised. No sooner had I started reading was I caught straight into the story. I was able to forget completely that I was reading a play. It was both funny and a fantastic tale.

Unsurprisingly the characters which stood out for me were Benedick and Beatrice, Benedick especially. Yes, their banter was funny. They both seemed to love baiting each other. Beatrice in particular seemed to very much enjoy giving Benedick the sharp side of her tongue. It amused me how easily they believed the stories they overheard of one being in love with the other. The image of Beatrice supposedly crying over her love of Benedick was especially funny since I couldn't actually picture her character doing that over anyone. Their change of hearts was extremely quick which makes you think their jabs at each other were really a cover for how they truly felt. Hidden even to themselves. The best part for me though was that Benedick had changed his mind so completely that he was even willing to kill someone for her.

The rest of the plot was a fun read too. I was also sucked into the story of Don John and his villainous plan. Even though I knew how it must turn out (for it's not a tragedy) I still found it exciting to read. I have to say though if I had been Hero Claudio would have got a punch in the face for believing the lies so readily despite the false proof. Her father too who wished she were dead rather than have this be true. Only the Friar and Beatrice seemed ready to believe her innocence. It made for an exciting ending though as the guards saved the day.

I feel a little guilty for this but I actually think I enjoyed this one a little more than I did Macbeth. Feel like I am betraying my favourite witches and Lady Macbeth. This one though was extremely entertaining without any of the deaths and I could actually rave about it all day.  I think that this would be a good one for any beginner like myself as there was also a smaller cast. I didn't have to go back and forwards to the list of characters at the start. I also discovered that Joss Whedon of Firefly Fame has directed this as a film starring some a lot of actors who have worked with him before. Will be interesting to see what he does with it.

Read for Shakespeare month organised by Ellie of A Literary Odyssey.
You can read other posts by those who have signed up here.

Don't forget that I am giving away a copy of one of my favourite books, The Eyre Affair. All you need to do is leave a comment on the post.

Macbeth - William Shakespeare

Macbeth and his friend Banquo return form a victorious battle where they come across three witches. The witches predict that Macbeth will first become Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. They also predict that Banquo will be the father of future Kings of Scotland. Both decide to laugh it off until a messenger arrives informing Macbeth that the King has made him Thane of Cawdor. This gets Macbeth to thinking and when her returns he tells his good wife Lady Macbeth all that has occurred. Not willing to wait she encourages Macbeth to murder the King. Having done so Macbeth still isn't happy. He wants his descendants to benefit too and so kills Banquo. The ghost of Banquo then haunts him and his men begin to believe he is going mad. Soon they discover the truth and with the help of the son of the previous King they stand against Macbeth. Macbeth believes he is invincible however, as the witches have since told him that no man born of a woman will kill him.

Out of all the books I was planning to read for this challenge this was the one I was most looking forward to. I actually started reading it a few weeks before Christmas whilst in a book shop. I had to force myself to put it down. It's really that good. I read somewhere that it's very similar to Antony and Cleopatra. I honestly didn't know that when I planned my reading order. Having said that I can see the similarities. Cleopatra and Lady Macbeth are said to be very similar. Sure, I doubt that Lady Macbeth is the beauty that Cleopatra was meant to be but thanks to both the men in their lives ended up at odds with their fellow men. Like Cleopatra too I loved the character Lady Macbeth. If it wasn't for her there probably wouldn't have been a play as Macbeth lacked the courage to carry out the murder without her. Of course after the first one he was able to do the others no problem.

The best speech was probably when Macbeth was murdering his King. However, my favourite scene is the witches. Their scenes were the ones I was looking forward to the most. I bet their lines are among the most famous. I know I've came across several of them in other books/films/television. The one that was brought to mind though was Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters (one of my favourites by this author). I am definitely going to have to read that again at some point this year. Another favourite scene was Lady Macbeth sleepwalking and trying to wash the blood from her hands.

Despite the fact that it was a play there was definitely atmosphere there. I imagine that it could be quite creepy to see it performed. I could picture lots of dark settings (obviously not only including the witch scenes). This play was everything I expected it to be and more. It's definitely at the top of my list of performances I want to see. If you haven't read this I highly recommend that you do.

Shakespeare Month challenge by A Literary Odyssey. More links here.

Antony and Cleopatra - William Shakespeare

Since the death of Julius Caesar Antony has ruled Rome alongside two others. However, instead of looking after his affairs at home he spends all his time with Cleopatra in Egypt. This leads to discontent among his people and with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus who rule beside him. News of his wife rising up against Caesar and then dying for it doesn't even move him to leave Cleopatra's side. Eventually Caesar demands that he returns to do something about Pompey and his pirates. Whilst home their friendship is mended through a marriage between Antony and Caesar's sister. It doesn't last though and Antony is soon back in the arms of Cleopatra. Caesar has had enough  and soon the two friends are at war.

I have to confess that this is the first Shakespeare I have read since school. It's something I have always wanted to do but the longer I left it the more worried I became about not understanding the language. I must admit that it did take getting used to but I soon forgot about how odd it felt and got into the swing of the story. It helped that this edition has an excellent introduction and a section at the back to explain all those odd words (highly recommend the Penguin books).

I loved the story. Poor Antony is so ensnared by Cleopatra that he is willing to lose everything on her behalf. Snubs his friends by handing over lands to her. I loved Cleopatra. I thought she was a fantastic character. So selfish and spoiled and vain. Yet the ending showed that she did love Antony and that she had some pride. My favourite scene was the messenger coming to tell her that Antony had married. You had to feel so sorry for the messenger who was clearly terrified of telling her. Especially when she didn't take it well. This was followed by her being reassured that Octavia was a plain woman and had nothing in the way of Cleopatra's beauty. Like the jealous ex being told that the new girlfriend isn't pretty. I'm sure we have all seen this in other books/films/tv.

Antony on the other hand wasn't exactly a favourite of mine. I should feel sorry for him as he was so besotted with Cleopatra that he was willing to lose everything (and did). Yet I couldn't. Through out the play he is criticised for losing his manhood to Cleo. He gives up everything for her and yet when he is away and trying to mend his friendship with Caesar he marries a woman he doesn't love. When it comes to battle he ignores his friends advice and loses. When Cleopatra loses confidence and runs he blames her and wants to kill her (so much for love). Even one of his closest friends turns his back on him.

Whilst I did enjoy the play and would like to see it performed I couldn't help but have other images in my head as I was reading it. On Christmas Eve my dad had us watch "Carry On Cleo". Not exactly a Christmas film but we sat and watched it. As a result I couldn't help but picture the cast of Carry On in these roles. Bit difficult to take seriously when you have that running through your head. Managed to get over it though.

I read this as part of Shakespeare Reading month hosted by Allie of A Literary Odyssey (a fantastic blog, especially if you like your classics). If you want to see other reviews she has posted links here.

January Book Haul

I decided that this year I was going to spend some of my Christmas money on books since I never get any for Christmas. I know, poor me. The truth is everyone is afraid to buy me books in case I have read them. I am sure most of you are the same. The good thing is that I get to pick out my own. Most of the books I bought were related to book challenges I had joined. I'm not going to bore you by listing which books belong to which challenge as I have mentioned them already in previous posts. Here is a list of what's in the photograph though.

Antony and Cleopatra - William Shakespeare
Macbeth - William Shakespeare
Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Zoo City - Lauren Beukes
King Solomon's Mines - H. Rider Haggard
The White Road - John Connolly
Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell
Dracula - Bram Stoker

Shockingly there is only one book in that pile that doesn't belong to a challenge and that's John Connolly. This is the fourth book in his crime series. I probably could have read them all by now but I am trying to savour them.

The two very pretty books at the bottom are Penguin Clothbounds. The truth is I could have gotten away with not buying them. I have plenty of classics sitting there that I could have read in place of Gaskell. Plus I have an electronic version of Dracula (I was shocked to discover during the clear out I had that I didn't actually have a physical copy of one of my favourite books). I couldn't resist treating myself to two of these beautiful books. I also realised during my clear out that I didn't own any Austen's other than P&P. I forgot it was my mum's copies I had originally read. When I decide which Austen I am going to re-read I have no doubt it will be one of these editions.

Shakespeare Reading Month 2012

Yes, I admit it, I have signed up for yet another challenge. As a result I am not going to start my own next year. It also means that I will be joining one more which I will post about later.

The Shakespeare Reading Month challenge is by Allie of A Literary Odyssey (a fantastic blog, especially if you like your classics). The fantastic thing about this one is that it lasts only a month and as I have a few weeks off in January I thought it would be perfect to take part. My knowledge of Shakespeare is limited to what I read in school. I am a little ashamed of that and I have always meant to do something about it. A lot of his plays sound right up my street and I have always meant to get round to reading them. I think Macbeth, Henry VIII and Anthony and Cleopatra are definitely on the list for now. Very much looking forward to this.