Benalla Gardens - A RoseCamera: SONY
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Shakespeare Reading Challenge - Hamlet
Nicki Greenberg has turned Hamlet into a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. And it still contains the whole text, as far as I can tell.
Before reading it I was wondering if the pictures would make the play easier to read, however I don’t think it did. It was a bit easier to remember who each character was, but often you didn’t have character names for pages after a character had appeared. I also think that a new reader to Shakespeare would be attracted to the book, but I fear that they would put it down after a couple of pages, as the pictures don’t drastically diminish the difficulty reading this mentally demanding play.
Before reading it I was wondering if the pictures would make the play easier to read, however I don’t think it did. It was a bit easier to remember who each character was, but often you didn’t have character names for pages after a character had appeared. I also think that a new reader to Shakespeare would be attracted to the book, but I fear that they would put it down after a couple of pages, as the pictures don’t drastically diminish the difficulty reading this mentally demanding play.
It has taken me many readings to get through Hamlet, and I finally finished it for the first time in Spring 2009. Many unsuccessful attempts made me think Hamlet pointless and dismissive of the hype around the play. When I finally finished it I found Hamlet interesting but I still would not recommend it to other people as I found it physically painful to read. Reading Hamlet again, I have been able to enjoy it more, and understand it better, but I still wouldn’t recommend people to read the dithering Dane.
The pages I enjoyed most were of Ophelia’s decent into madness and death. It’s a bit in the play that seems to dash past, but in pictures, having the flowers grow out of the page, breaking the story squares adds gravity to a serious part which zooms past.
The pages I enjoyed most were of Ophelia’s decent into madness and death. It’s a bit in the play that seems to dash past, but in pictures, having the flowers grow out of the page, breaking the story squares adds gravity to a serious part which zooms past.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Anxiety
There is a nice scene in one of Wodehouse's books which I am reminded of, but I can't find a reference to it on the web. Bertie Wooster is getting ready for a date and he is feeling rather anxious and flustered and he has a conversation with his butler, Jeeves.
BERTIE: Is there any spinach stuck between my teeth?
JEEVES: Have you eaten spinach today?
BERTIE: No, I just thought it appears like crop circles.
I hear Jeeves’s voice as the maître de in the original TV series of Hitchhiker. Finding the proper quote would be a good excuse to read all of Wodehouse’s books, but not today – I have important things to do.
Monday, 14 March 2011
Friday, 11 March 2011
Shakespeare Reading Challenge
There are many different Shakespeare Challenges online. They involve reading from one to 38 plays in a month, or in a year. Competitions that are text focused, competitions that include acting, watching performances, or watching movies based on Shakespeare’s plays.
The Shakespeare Reading Challenge has a very tempting completion HERE. And what is nice, is that it has four levels:
1. Puck: Read 4 plays over the year, 1 of which may be replaced by a performance
2. Desdemona: Read 6 plays, 2 of which may be replaced by a performance
3. Henry V: Read 12 plays, 3 of which may be replaced by a performance
To participate, or not to participate, that is the question…
Count me in. I think.
I’ll have to clarify if “replaced by a performance” means acting or watching or either. Six plays over a year sounds sensible - I’ll strive for Desdemona and perhaps read:
Hamlet
Henry V
A Midsummer Nights Dream
The Merry Wives of Windsor
King Lear
The Winter’s Tale
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
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