Sally Kilpatrick's Blog, page 3
April 20, 2016
The Top Six Reasons To Read–And Love–Shakespeare
I’m not a professor of Shakespeare, and I don’t even ge […]
The Top Six Reasons To Read—and Love--Shakespeare
I’m not a professor of Shakespeare, and I don’t even get to play one on TV, but I am an English major and a writer. As such, I would never underestimate the influence of the Bard. Even if you’re not into literature, here are my top reasons you should be reading/watching Shakespeare:
6. It’s not highbrow. Sure the Early Modern English of Shakespeare is a bit tough for modern readers, but his original audiences were surprisingly diverse. Going to the theater wasn’t out of reach for the middle class, and I like to think Shakespeare actually played to the groundlings, the folks so poor they had to stand on the ground in front of the stage to watch the performance.
5. Dirty jokes. You don’t have to dig too far to find them, either. Did you know that “nothing” was a common euphemism for lady parts back in the day? So give another thought to what Much Ado About Nothing was really all about. Also, if you ever have a chance to attend a performance in The Shakespeare Tavern or a place like it, they’ll help you find all of the dirty jokes with the help of gestures. (Cuckold horns, anyone?)
4. He has the best insults. I’m kinda fond of “You scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian!” from Henry IV, Part 2. When driving in traffic, I’ve found that “Thou art unfit for any place but hell” works well for those who cut you off. Maybe “Away ye three inch fool!” works if you’re being hit on by someone you don’t want to talk to. And, of course, there’s always the linguistically satisfying iambic pentameter of “You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things.” That’s an insult that just warms the heart, you know?
3. All of the other words and phrases that Shakespeare gave us. Ever “wear your heart on your sleeve”? Maybe you’ve “been in a pickle”? We use Shakespearean words and phrases all the time. Maybe he coined them. Maybe he “borrowed” them. Either way, his works made such phrases popular, and, in doing so, Shakespeare has had a profound effect on the English language.
2. Beloved characters. Who hasn’t experienced the idiotic young love of Romeo and Juliet? Or pined for the wrong person as happens frequently in Shakespeare’s comedies like Twelfth Night? (Love triangle, yo!) Or felt the jealousy of Iago or Cassius? Sure, we also have a Danish prince who’s lost his marbles, but even then we understand both the grief of losing a family member and also betrayal by those we love even if it doesn’t inspire us to stab someone through a tapestry or make a play within a play. Those same pains and desires that motivate you and me motivate Shakespeare’s characters.
1. Universal themes. We writers keep going back to Shakespeare’s well because he wrote about love, ambition, family troubles, jealousy, power—all things that resonate with us today. Shakespeare, in turn, found inspiration in other writers, especially for his histories. It’s the circle of literature. **holds up stuffed lion**
Now, I do have one quibble with Shakespeare. Or maybe I have a quibble with how we interpret his works. Why do some folks keep insisting that Romeo and Juliet is a romance? Y’all, it’s a tragedy. So when I, in great literary tradition, went to the Shakespearean well as inspiration for Bittersweet Creek, I decided to give Romeo and Juliet a different ending. I do hope the Bard didn’t mind too much. Maybe he’ll forgive me since I played with southern vernacular and added a few references to his other works as well.
6. It’s not highbrow. Sure the Early Modern English of Shakespeare is a bit tough for modern readers, but his original audiences were surprisingly diverse. Going to the theater wasn’t out of reach for the middle class, and I like to think Shakespeare actually played to the groundlings, the folks so poor they had to stand on the ground in front of the stage to watch the performance.
5. Dirty jokes. You don’t have to dig too far to find them, either. Did you know that “nothing” was a common euphemism for lady parts back in the day? So give another thought to what Much Ado About Nothing was really all about. Also, if you ever have a chance to attend a performance in The Shakespeare Tavern or a place like it, they’ll help you find all of the dirty jokes with the help of gestures. (Cuckold horns, anyone?)
4. He has the best insults. I’m kinda fond of “You scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian!” from Henry IV, Part 2. When driving in traffic, I’ve found that “Thou art unfit for any place but hell” works well for those who cut you off. Maybe “Away ye three inch fool!” works if you’re being hit on by someone you don’t want to talk to. And, of course, there’s always the linguistically satisfying iambic pentameter of “You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things.” That’s an insult that just warms the heart, you know?
3. All of the other words and phrases that Shakespeare gave us. Ever “wear your heart on your sleeve”? Maybe you’ve “been in a pickle”? We use Shakespearean words and phrases all the time. Maybe he coined them. Maybe he “borrowed” them. Either way, his works made such phrases popular, and, in doing so, Shakespeare has had a profound effect on the English language.
2. Beloved characters. Who hasn’t experienced the idiotic young love of Romeo and Juliet? Or pined for the wrong person as happens frequently in Shakespeare’s comedies like Twelfth Night? (Love triangle, yo!) Or felt the jealousy of Iago or Cassius? Sure, we also have a Danish prince who’s lost his marbles, but even then we understand both the grief of losing a family member and also betrayal by those we love even if it doesn’t inspire us to stab someone through a tapestry or make a play within a play. Those same pains and desires that motivate you and me motivate Shakespeare’s characters.
1. Universal themes. We writers keep going back to Shakespeare’s well because he wrote about love, ambition, family troubles, jealousy, power—all things that resonate with us today. Shakespeare, in turn, found inspiration in other writers, especially for his histories. It’s the circle of literature. **holds up stuffed lion**
Now, I do have one quibble with Shakespeare. Or maybe I have a quibble with how we interpret his works. Why do some folks keep insisting that Romeo and Juliet is a romance? Y’all, it’s a tragedy. So when I, in great literary tradition, went to the Shakespearean well as inspiration for Bittersweet Creek, I decided to give Romeo and Juliet a different ending. I do hope the Bard didn’t mind too much. Maybe he’ll forgive me since I played with southern vernacular and added a few references to his other works as well.
April 18, 2016
My Deleted Scene from Shakespeare
In honor of #ShakespeareWeek here at goodreads, I give you a deleted scene from my favorite play, Much Ado:
Much Ado About Nothing
Act 5, Scene 5
An epilogue that gives us but a brief glimpse at the honeymoon of Beatrice and Benedick.
Crow caws and a dog answers.
BEATRICE: Soft! What sound is that beyond our marriage bed?
BENEDICK: (leans out window and pulls up a cage with a crow) ‘Tis as you requested, your dog barking at a crow. Marked I well when you said it.
BEATRICE: Said I such a thing? Thou speakest of another Beatrice. Say you love me so we may return to our Scotch jig.
BENEDICK: Troth, I cannot.
BEATRICE: Ah, the cinquepace so soon? Or perchance your potent regiment hath retreated?
BENEDICK: (sputters)
BEATRICE: Your bauble broken? Your needle lacking thread?
BENEDICK: Woman, I have an abundance of thread. Say you love me first, my Lady Disdain.
BEATRICE: That name of old? O sweet Benedick. God give me patience.
BENEDICK: God give you patience! May He grant me more. I fancy a journey to the Netherlands. Now say it.
BEATRICE: Nay.
BENEDICK: (assaults her with kisses)
BEATRICE: {sighs) I fear *I* have caught the Benedick. By my troth, I love thee.
BENEDICK: And I love thee at least ‘til Claudio hangs me up at the door of a brothel house for the sign of blind Cupid.
BEATRICE: What?
BENEDICK: Fret not. He is with his Hero. (sings as he takes her hand to kiss it) Sigh not so, but let them go.
BEATRICE: And be I blithe and bonny?
BENEDICK: (kisses her knuckles and starts working his way up her arm) Aye.
BEATRICE: (sighs anyway, but happily) Hey nonny nonny.
Much Ado About Nothing
Act 5, Scene 5
An epilogue that gives us but a brief glimpse at the honeymoon of Beatrice and Benedick.
Crow caws and a dog answers.
BEATRICE: Soft! What sound is that beyond our marriage bed?
BENEDICK: (leans out window and pulls up a cage with a crow) ‘Tis as you requested, your dog barking at a crow. Marked I well when you said it.
BEATRICE: Said I such a thing? Thou speakest of another Beatrice. Say you love me so we may return to our Scotch jig.
BENEDICK: Troth, I cannot.
BEATRICE: Ah, the cinquepace so soon? Or perchance your potent regiment hath retreated?
BENEDICK: (sputters)
BEATRICE: Your bauble broken? Your needle lacking thread?
BENEDICK: Woman, I have an abundance of thread. Say you love me first, my Lady Disdain.
BEATRICE: That name of old? O sweet Benedick. God give me patience.
BENEDICK: God give you patience! May He grant me more. I fancy a journey to the Netherlands. Now say it.
BEATRICE: Nay.
BENEDICK: (assaults her with kisses)
BEATRICE: {sighs) I fear *I* have caught the Benedick. By my troth, I love thee.
BENEDICK: And I love thee at least ‘til Claudio hangs me up at the door of a brothel house for the sign of blind Cupid.
BEATRICE: What?
BENEDICK: Fret not. He is with his Hero. (sings as he takes her hand to kiss it) Sigh not so, but let them go.
BEATRICE: And be I blithe and bonny?
BENEDICK: (kisses her knuckles and starts working his way up her arm) Aye.
BEATRICE: (sighs anyway, but happily) Hey nonny nonny.
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#TBRChallenge the First: Just a Fling
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January 6, 2016
Your Belated Christmas Letter, 2015 Edition
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