Sunday, March 22, 2009

Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be!

I love that line. I've used it often throughout my life.

I have always adored Shakespeare. I have no doubt that I was introduced to him at home - my Mother had a complete Shakespeare that she had been given as a present when she graduated high school and started college in 1950. She no doubt shared some with me on occasions that I cannot recall. I do, however, have a very clear memory of my first formal meeting with the Bard. In High Shool I took an elective English class, Shakespeare. It was my senior year and Miss Fagin (an appropriately Elizabethan name, no?) was our teacher. She was also the one who orchestrated the Culture Vultures - the operation that allowed me to see lots of NY theatre.

I'd played Guinevere in my Junior year in Camelot and so Miss Fagin called me "Queenie". Because I also had a good reading voice she always had me read the selections for women. Also, I guess, because I was familiar enough with him even at that time, that I could read it accurately. It is always hard to learn how to read Shakespeare unless you've seen it performed and know that it doesn't read as it looks on the page. It was a great class.

I continued in college though I had almost no electives because of my majors - nursing for two years with tons of labs and sciences, and then elementary education. But I did take Shakespeare as my Freshman year English elective (Professor Tony Covatto also liked my reading of the Bard). I acquired my first complete Shakespeare for this class in 1973 - The Penguin edition.

Over the years, and especially throughout my acting career, I discovered various other editions and bought them all. See the thing is they actually do have differences. Depending on which Folio they were based on, depending on the opinions of the editors of a given edition, things could change. Some even differ on the plays themselves. Two Noble Kinsmen is included in only a couple editions as other scholars do not hold that it was actually written by Shakespeare. (John Fletcher was a likely author of the play, based on Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale"). Now most folk seem to accept that it might have been a joint effort by Fletcher and S.

As a performer, the Arden editions (individual paperbacks) were great because they had copious notes that aided in both understanding as well as performing.

Then, too, I'm a book maniac and I love having all these editions. Most recently I just bought a brand new complete Shakespeare, the sort with the thin paper and a nice heft to it. Even a shiny bookcasing. A new Oxford edition and I love it.

I have my favorites, of course and not surprising (to me anyway), they aren't the comedies or the romances. Henry V is my first favorite and after that, in order, Richard III and MacBeth. Because I'm a Gothic, horror loving gal and have always enjoyed a good rousing action adventure tale!

But honestly, what more rousing words were ever penned:

"Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead."

and it's ending:

"...The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit and upon this charge
Cry 'God, for Harry, England and St. George!"

I get chills just reading it!

Have you read some Shakespeare lately?