Monet Edmundson's Blog - Posts Tagged "shakespeare-references"
The Shakespeare Revival
As of now, it’s Day Five of Shakespeare Week and I can’t help imagining what the Bard would think about all this commotion. I mean, how many people get a whole week to celebrate themselves? Yet to see such enthusiasm for a writer that has been dead for centuries is hopeful. It’s hopeful that readers will continue to show such loyalty to an author’s works, even after that author can no long create new masterpieces.
For Friday, it’s worth exploring the impact William Shakespeare has made on the world today. He’s influenced popular culture in too many ways to count, and if I did list all the examples here, the blog post would be too long and no one would want to read it. So I thought I’d first focus on the most recognizable modern references to Shakespeare, some which have become classics themselves. I’ll be diving into “Favorite References Part 1.”
Movie: "The Lion King"
Song: "Ophelia" by The Lumineers
Book: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
Musical: "West Side Story"
Side Note: I realize now that three of these references are for Hamlet alone, but the storyline from this play is used all the time anyway, and it’s created some singular works.
Disney basing the plot of "The Lion King" around Hamlet is easy to realize once you notice the similarities. I like this example, as I’ve always wondered what would’ve happened if Prince Hamlet had got a happy ending. The song “Ophelia,” besides sharing the name of a Shakespearean character, also has some remarkable resemblances to the plot of the play encased in its lyrics. Pay close attention to the line about Ophelia in the “flood,” the singer’s regret about losing her. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was recommended to me and it’s on my to-read list, so hopefully I will get to it soon. As for "West Side Story," I was forced to watch this musical for a music class I had in middle school. I’m not much of a musician, so these classes always bored me. Nothing personal against the teacher, just as a writer, I would have rather been writing than studying music. However, learning about the history of music and watching Story made this specific class stand out. For someone who’s not a Romeo and Juliet fan, I found myself rooting for the young couple while watching the musical.
There are unlimited sources of information to pull from for a blog post on Shakespearean references in popular/modern culture. However, I tried to include all I could in today’s post, which is why I split this topic into two parts. Tomorrow I will conclude this topic, and my Shakespeare-themed blog posts, with “Favorite References Part 2.” That’s not all, though, that will be included in the post, there will be some surprises as well.
In the meantime, here are the links for all my previous posts for Shakespeare week.
April 18th post all about heroines:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 19th post with Macbeth manipulations:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 20th post where fairies and donkeys take over a forest:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 21st post for why Shakespeare is a sonnet master:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
For Friday, it’s worth exploring the impact William Shakespeare has made on the world today. He’s influenced popular culture in too many ways to count, and if I did list all the examples here, the blog post would be too long and no one would want to read it. So I thought I’d first focus on the most recognizable modern references to Shakespeare, some which have become classics themselves. I’ll be diving into “Favorite References Part 1.”
Movie: "The Lion King"
Song: "Ophelia" by The Lumineers
Book: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
Musical: "West Side Story"
Side Note: I realize now that three of these references are for Hamlet alone, but the storyline from this play is used all the time anyway, and it’s created some singular works.
Disney basing the plot of "The Lion King" around Hamlet is easy to realize once you notice the similarities. I like this example, as I’ve always wondered what would’ve happened if Prince Hamlet had got a happy ending. The song “Ophelia,” besides sharing the name of a Shakespearean character, also has some remarkable resemblances to the plot of the play encased in its lyrics. Pay close attention to the line about Ophelia in the “flood,” the singer’s regret about losing her. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was recommended to me and it’s on my to-read list, so hopefully I will get to it soon. As for "West Side Story," I was forced to watch this musical for a music class I had in middle school. I’m not much of a musician, so these classes always bored me. Nothing personal against the teacher, just as a writer, I would have rather been writing than studying music. However, learning about the history of music and watching Story made this specific class stand out. For someone who’s not a Romeo and Juliet fan, I found myself rooting for the young couple while watching the musical.
There are unlimited sources of information to pull from for a blog post on Shakespearean references in popular/modern culture. However, I tried to include all I could in today’s post, which is why I split this topic into two parts. Tomorrow I will conclude this topic, and my Shakespeare-themed blog posts, with “Favorite References Part 2.” That’s not all, though, that will be included in the post, there will be some surprises as well.
In the meantime, here are the links for all my previous posts for Shakespeare week.
April 18th post all about heroines:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 19th post with Macbeth manipulations:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 20th post where fairies and donkeys take over a forest:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 21st post for why Shakespeare is a sonnet master:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
Shakespeare Scones
Four hundred years ago today, William Shakespeare became a legend. That is to say, today celebrates the day Shakespeare died, and brings us to the last day of Shakespeare week. I’ve had a blast writing these posts each day and maybe I’ll do something like this again in the future (Jane Austen’s birthday anyone? :) Anyway, I decided early on that I would do something to end the week with a funny surprise. I’m a huge fan of baking, and I’ll been working on traditional English desert recipes lately. So here is a picture of the Shakespeare Scones I whipped up. They’re pumpkin-flavored with glaze/icing that spells out “Shakespeare.” Each scone has a letter and pictured here is the letter “S.” Alongside it are some of my favorite Shakespeare-themed belongings, namely my copy of 1937 The Works of William Shakespeare Complete, my copy of William Shakespeare’ Star Wars (A New Hope), and a Macbeth pendant. The 1937 book is a cherished book sale find, totally unexpected, and it houses all of the plays in a small and light edition. I haven’t yet read the rest of the Star Wars Shakespeare books, are they as good as A New Hope? The Macbeth pendant I happily discovered at a flea market by a woman who creates gorgeous, handmade book pendants. It’s so vintage and fun to wear, because then I get to explain to people what my necklace is.
Here is a link to a picture of the Shakespeare Scones: https://www.facebook.com/TheLincolnSp...
Continuing yesterday’s topic, today I’ll finish up with “Favorite References Part 2.” However, the set-up for today is going to be a little different. Where for Part 1 I focused on the most recognizable modern references to Shakespeare, some which have become classics themselves, for Part 2 I’m going to share my own favorite references to Shakespeare.
TV Show: Shakespeare Uncovered by PBS
Adaptation: “Anonymous”
Podcasts (I want to try): Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited, BardCast: The Shakespeare Podcast, and No Holds Bard
Side Note: I realize now that I listed a lot of responses for the podcasts category, but there are just so many new and exciting Shakespeare podcasts out there that I want to try. I can’t decide which one to start with first, so any recommendations are welcome.
Shakespeare Uncovered is a versatile documentary/tv show that analyzes Shakespeare’s plays over two seasons. It manages to be easy to follow, quick, and in-depth all at the same time. My favorite episode was the one they made for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, narrated by Hugh Bonneville. As for adaptations, there have been many I’ve enjoyed, including “Shakespeare in Love” and “Taming of the Shrew” starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. (Kate is another one of my favorite heroines.) Yet Anonymous was so fresh, shocking, and unknown to me. At that point, I’d read some of Shakespeare’s play, none of his poetry, and I knew little about his life. Although the movie isn’t historically accurate all the way through, it beautifully captures the struggle of a writer to belong in a world with normal people. The movie depicts the main character as a genius who relies on the voices of his characters to help him through life. Even though the movie introduces the idea of Shakespeare not writing the plays and sonnets he’s famous for, instead they were written by the Earl of Oxford, his works are largely represented in the play. Needless to say, the costumes and filming of the movie is lovely. As a writer, the movie resonated well with me.
This brings an end to Shakespeare week and this last blog post. Thanks everyone for reading and if you’ve enjoyed these post, please feel free to check out my first book, The Lincoln Spy, here on Goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Here are the links for all my previous posts for Shakespeare week.
April 18th post all about heroines:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 19th post with Macbeth manipulations:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 20th post where fairies and donkeys take over a forest:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 21st post for why Shakespeare is a sonnet master:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 22nd post for what Disney, rock bands, comedies, singing, and the Bard have in common:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
Here is a link to a picture of the Shakespeare Scones: https://www.facebook.com/TheLincolnSp...
Continuing yesterday’s topic, today I’ll finish up with “Favorite References Part 2.” However, the set-up for today is going to be a little different. Where for Part 1 I focused on the most recognizable modern references to Shakespeare, some which have become classics themselves, for Part 2 I’m going to share my own favorite references to Shakespeare.
TV Show: Shakespeare Uncovered by PBS
Adaptation: “Anonymous”
Podcasts (I want to try): Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited, BardCast: The Shakespeare Podcast, and No Holds Bard
Side Note: I realize now that I listed a lot of responses for the podcasts category, but there are just so many new and exciting Shakespeare podcasts out there that I want to try. I can’t decide which one to start with first, so any recommendations are welcome.
Shakespeare Uncovered is a versatile documentary/tv show that analyzes Shakespeare’s plays over two seasons. It manages to be easy to follow, quick, and in-depth all at the same time. My favorite episode was the one they made for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, narrated by Hugh Bonneville. As for adaptations, there have been many I’ve enjoyed, including “Shakespeare in Love” and “Taming of the Shrew” starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. (Kate is another one of my favorite heroines.) Yet Anonymous was so fresh, shocking, and unknown to me. At that point, I’d read some of Shakespeare’s play, none of his poetry, and I knew little about his life. Although the movie isn’t historically accurate all the way through, it beautifully captures the struggle of a writer to belong in a world with normal people. The movie depicts the main character as a genius who relies on the voices of his characters to help him through life. Even though the movie introduces the idea of Shakespeare not writing the plays and sonnets he’s famous for, instead they were written by the Earl of Oxford, his works are largely represented in the play. Needless to say, the costumes and filming of the movie is lovely. As a writer, the movie resonated well with me.
This brings an end to Shakespeare week and this last blog post. Thanks everyone for reading and if you’ve enjoyed these post, please feel free to check out my first book, The Lincoln Spy, here on Goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Here are the links for all my previous posts for Shakespeare week.
April 18th post all about heroines:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 19th post with Macbeth manipulations:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 20th post where fairies and donkeys take over a forest:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 21st post for why Shakespeare is a sonnet master:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
April 22nd post for what Disney, rock bands, comedies, singing, and the Bard have in common:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
