Review: "Twelfth Night" Classic a Month #3.2013

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
3 out of 5 stars

This is another classic that I was kind of iffy about. I picked it because of Just One Day (and the movie She's the Man, but sshh, let's ignore that!) and I wanted to branch out and try a play again. Well, let me just say this first: Shakespeare is hard to read. The dude likes to make up his own words and phrases and sometimes they work... "If music be the food of love, play on, 
Give me excess of it; that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken and so die."

And sometimes...they don't. "Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife." Yeah, I'm not sure what that means. So, not only do you have to deal with his made-up words, but you also have to read the old English style and figure out if he is actually being dirty when he says "I hope to see a housewife take thee between her legs and spin it off." Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is lol. Pervert. Luckily, I knew the basic story so it wasn't too hard. But I totally get why kids complain so much about reading Shakespeare. This play is meant to be one of his great comedies and yeah, I giggled a little, but I don't think you can just read a Shakespeare play thru once and expect to get it. I think you really need to immerse yourself, reading it several times, watching plays or adaptations, etc...

So what is this play actually about? Well, I guess it's about love but also about trickery and deceit. Viola is a young woman who has just lost her brother in a shipwreck (but not really, he's alive and thinks he lost HER) and decides to dress up as a man to work for this Duke Orsino guy. Why, I have no idea. Orsino is in love with this chick Olivia, who also lost her brother to a shipwreck, but she wants nothing to do with him. Orsino sends Viola (as a man) to try and get on Olivia's good side in his favor. Olivia starts to fall in love with Viola as a man, Viola as a woman starts to fall in love with Orsino, and it's all just super confusing. Then Viola's brother, Sebastian, shows up and somehow ends up married to Olivia, and everything blows up in the end. But, somehow, everyone is happy.

Then there's this annoying dude, Malvolio, that works for Olivia. Olivia's maid and other people in waiting decide to play a trick on Malvolio and make him think Olivia is in love with him. They make him wear these hideous yellow stockings and smile like a lunatic all the time around her and she eventually has him committed, because she has no idea what is going on and thinks he's become unhinged. He is, obviously, super pissed, and vows revenge on everyone. And that's how the play ends. Weird right?

There's also this odd part between the clown/fool and a Sir Toby where they are singing and it seriously reminded me of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. I don't know why, but the wording and writing style was so similar, I actually looked it up to see if Freddie Prince was influenced by Shakespeare. (He wasn't.) Check it out:

Sir Toby: (singing) Shall I bid him go?
Clown: What an if you do?
Sir Toby: Shall I bid him go, and spare not?
Clown: O, no, no, no, you dare not.

I'm not crazy right? That totally sounds similar? And let's end on a great quote that I was totally unaware originated with Shakespeare: "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

Special Throw-Back Sunday Play: "The Bubble Barrier"

I thought it'd be nice to do another throw-back Sunday post today. :) This is a play I co-wrote in 6th grade, I believe. And it's quite morbid lol...I'm not sure what the assignment was or what our grade was, but I like to think we did well. Sure, let's go with that. At least I used pretty pink and purple ink. And bonus points for these names, right? Hah!

The Bubble Barrier

Narrator-Because of the extreme air pollution on Earth today, Density Mauve, Tranquility Black, Auchasia Red, and Felicity White move to an underwater bubble barrier near the Great Barrier Reef. As their journey begins, they are making their bubble home.

Density-I want the curtains to be mauve.

Felicity-I don't think so darling, they're going to be white! (Felicity exits right to get the food.)

Tranquility-Black is always a nice change.

Auchasia-I think they should be blood red.

Density-Fiddle-dee-dee, there aren't any windows!

Auchasia-Therefore we need no curtains, Dense!

Tranquility-Come on you guys. Don't argue! The food will be here soon! (The three girls cross to stage left and sit at a table as Felicity enters with four plates of hot food.)

Density-Goody-goody gumdrops! Here she comes with our dinner!

All to Density-Duh!

Felicity-Is everyone's steak alright?

Auchasia-(biting into steak) Hey, wait a minute! Mine's cooked. You know I like mine very raw!

Felicity-Oh, I'm truly sorry!

Auchasia-I'm going to get another steak...raw! (Auchasia exits right and the girls continue talking.)

Tranquility-I bet she brings us back some Dr. Peppers. She's so thoughtful!

Density-Yeah right! (Auchasia comes back in with a raw steak and four Dr. Peppers.)

Tranquility-See, I told you so Density! (They finish eating and, suddenly, they begin to feel sick.)

Felicity-I don't feel so spiffy, you guys!

Density-Who cares about being clean! I feel sick!

Auchasia-She means she feels sick! (They suddenly pass out and a strong, green smoke fills the room. When they wake up, there are bubbles on their stomachs where flesh used to be.)

Felicity-For heaven's sake! I do believe we've been poisoned by the food.

Tranquility-Let's go check it out! (very slowly, they exit to the cellar, where the food is kept.)

Density-I don't think I'm going to make it you guys!

Auchasia-Look over there! (Pointing towards a wall.) What's that stuff dripping through the wall?

Felicity-Something has eaten straight through the barrier!

Density-I wonder what it is......I'll taste it and see!

Tranquility-No, don't! It could kill you!

Auchasia-Oh, come on! Can't we let her?

Felicity-That wouldn't be too grand of us, now would it? Auchasia, you're so interested in knowing what it is, you taste it!

Auchasia-No way!

Density-Wait a sec! I feel brain power coming on! Why don't we just smell it?

Tranquility-Obviously, you don't feel much of it! Yeah, if we smelled it, we'd probably get a big buzz and make matters worse!

(As they are standing there thinking about what to do, water flows into the room, and they all drown.)(Soon the sharks come, and try to eat them, but the acid makes them taste horrible, so the sharks leave. Then the acid eats the rest of their deformed bodies.)

The End!

Review: "Waiting for Godot" Classic a Month #2

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
3 out of 5 stars

So. I had a really hard time rating this play. I barely understood it, didn't really, so how am I supposed to tell if I liked it or not? I actually just rated it up a star while I was writing this review. Also, I haven't read a play since college, possibly high school and let's just say that's been a while. ;) It took some getting used to, but I think I'd like to mix in some more plays in my future "classic a month" picks. (Comment below if you have a suggestion!)

I'm assuming I was supposed to get some great meaning out of it, but really, it's just a play about nothing. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it though. It definitely had it's moments and strongly reminded me of the art movement, dadaism, which is essentially "art without meaning". I wonder if Beckett was influenced by that at all. Am I getting to be a "grown-up" in the sense that I want to research stuff just for the fun of it and not because I have to write a paper about it? Hmm...

Okay, these two men, Estragon (Gogo) and Vladimir (Didi) are waiting by a tree for a person named Godot. I gave you their nicknames because when they first used them, I thought it was a new character lol. We don't know how or why they came to be waiting for Godot, we don't get much history on the men other than that they seem to be best friends/companions, and we don't really get an ending. It's just...there you go, that's all you get.

Do you like my new Caution Owl? I thought he was better than Wheezy lol...

If you'll recall, the reason I picked this play was because there was a Sesame Street parody of it. Awesome right? I think I understood/enjoyed this more than the actual play hah!

I did not enjoy the bits with Pozza at all. He kind of creeped me out and it took me a loooong time to realize that Lucky was a human! Actually, I don't even know if Pozzo and Lucky were really there or just a figment of their imagination. This is all so confusing!

The bit where Vladimir and Estragon are trading hats was incredibly funny though, especially if pictured on the stage. "...but how do I look in it? He turns his head coquettishly to and fro, minces like a mannequin. Hideous. Yes, but not more so than usual?" They seem to truly care for each other, even trying to figure out how to hang themselves so that both die without leaving the other behind.

Let's go.
We can't.
Why not?
We're waiting for Godot.
Ah!