Richard II at Stratford-upon-Avon

The Royal Shakespeare Company is staging Richard II at its temporary Courtyard Theatre in Stratford, and the production is “brilliantly staged” according to The Stage. The production is scheduled to transfer to the Roundhouse in London next year. Richard II is part of the cycle of history plays the RSC is doing currently.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Title)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s quite a title to conjure with, particularly given the various elements these four words suggest.
1. It’s “A” not “The.” A quibble perhaps, but if Shakespeare had used “The” he would have introduced a definite sense, something fixed. “A” leaves matters open, suggests that there are more possibilities than encompassed in this particular play.
2. “Midsummer.” Literally, of course, this would be 24 June, if Midsummer day is meant. The summer solstice occurs around 21-22 June. However, a quick check of “midsummer” in the Oxford English Dictionary will reveal that the word (in various forms) is associated with madness or foolishness. The heat of summer was also thought to bring on rabies (and hence madness) in dogs, while the midsummer moon could have a similar effect on humans in bringing about lunacy. Notable, too, is Shakespeare’s own use of the phrase in the later Twelfth Night: “this is very midsummer madness.” Clearly the word suggests weird and wonderful possibilities might ensue in the play.
3. “Night” or nighttime can be the time when all may not be as it might seem. A noise in a dark house is much more likely to set a person’s mind whirling than exactly the same noise during the daylight hours. Similarly, shapes can take on imaginative forms in a gloomy light, but are clearly a definite object in daytime.
4. “Dream.” Even with all the illogicalities that occur while we are having a dream, the dream itself seems real enough while we experience it. Yet it is probably safe to say that we generally cannot remember most of the dreams we have. They serve a purpose but slip through our hands, so to speak, and cannot be held.

All these above possibilities, and some others, will figure significantly in the play.

* * * * *

While Shakespeare found hints for the play in various diverse sources, the play itself is generally of his own devising. He may have written it as an entertainment for a wedding (although in The Shakespeare Diaries he comes to loath the idea that his work can be trotted out for such occasions). Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47) composed some incidental music for the play, including the world-famous Wedding March (which also figures in the 1935 movie starring Mickey Rooney and James Cagney–now there’s something to conjure with).

Romeo and Juliet Act 1.1.101-153

This sub-scene exemplifies at least two of Shakespeare’s techniques. The first is signalled by Montague asking Benvolio “Who set this ancient quarrel abroach?” This allows for a quick recapitulation of “the story so far,” and since Benvolio is also addressed as “nephew” it helps establish relationships (as well as the divisions in this society, based on family ties alone–and we should remember that something as important as the Wars of the Roses, England’s earlier civil war, had much to do with families). Secondly, when Lady Montague asks Benvolio (now established as something of a reliable reporter) “where is Romeo” we are reminded that we have yet to see either of the title characters, and moreover the delay serves to increase our anticipation and expectations. Benvolio paints a picture of a typically love-lorn romantic adolescent who steals “into the covert of the wood” when he spots Benvolio. Montague adds to the impression of romantic excess:
Many a morning hath he [Romeo] there been seen,
With tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew,
Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs.
Not surprisingly, Romeo locks himself away in his room, creating “an artificial night.” And despite Montague’s enquiries, the reason for Romeo’s behavior is as yet unknown (although the whole tenor of the earlier descriptions provides us with a good clue).
Then, having delayed Romeo’s entrance suitably, he arrives (one might say almost on cue), and the good-hearted Benvolio offers to discover what ails Romeo (which is yet another of Shakespeare’s dramatic techniques).

{Please check out the links on the right for “The Shakespeare Diaries,” and Recommended books for some futher information}

Recommended books

Click on Recommended books on the right hand side for some books about Shakespeare, editions of his plays, criticism, and background information. The linked site is still under construction, so check back from time to time.

Romeo and Juliet Act 1.1.79-101

These lines provide a short sub-scene, and it is worth noting that within a larger scene Shakespeare almost invariably presents us with such sub-scenes. The obvious reason for this technique is variety, so that the audience can (at least subconsciously) compare and contrast what it has already seen with what is being presented now. We have already had the poetic harmony and stability of the introductory sonnet-Chorus (but with its internal tensions). That was followed by the energetic and volatile opening to 1.1 with the almost stychomythic exchanges between the servants. Here, with the entrance of Prince Escalus, we have reached the top of the local chain of order, the person charged, as it were, with keeping the peace. And that is exactly what Escalus does as his opening line clearly indicates: “Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace.” Shakespeare also gives him a speech of some uninterrupted twenty lines (almost the first two or three are accompanied by the background quarreling). Not only are these rebellious subjects, but Escalus describes them as “beasts,” that part of the chain of being that lacks the reasoning faculties of man. When people fail to exercise reason they lower themselves to the level of beasts. Indeed, Escalus is given several words and images–pernicious rage, torture, bloody, mistemp’red weapons, civil brawls, cank’red, disturb–that identify the unacceptable behavior of both Montagues and Capulets and point out clearly the dangers of civil unrest (a concept ever-present for Elizabethans). Finally, whenever Escalus appears in the play, this whole process is repeated.

{Check out http://www.jpwearing.com for information on The Shakespeare Diaries with much more information on Shakespeare and the play.}

Patrick Stewart (2)

Patrick Stewart will appear as Macbeth at London’s Gielgud Theatre for ten weeks from 21 September to 1 December this year. The production is currently at Chichester where Stewart is also playing Malvolio in Twelfth Night. His performances in both roles have received very good reviews.

Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart has been getting very good reviews for his performance of Macbeth and also Malvolio at the Chichester Theatre in England. Of course, Stewart is no stranger to Shakespeare, but it’s good to see him tackle two diverse roles–however, Malvolio is not without his dark side as well.

Update (28 November 2007): Stewart’s performance as Macbeth received the 2007 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for best performance by an actor.

Romeo and Juliet (title)

In my addle-patedness, I forgot to comment on the title of Romeo and Juliet. The title of the 2nd quarto (1599), a corrected version of the “bad” 1st quarto reads: “The Most Excellent and lamentable Tragedie, of Romeo and Juliet. Newly corrected, augmented and amended: As it hath bene [been] sundry times publiquely acted, by the right Honourable the Lord Chamberlaine his Seruants.” Obviously, this establishes the play’s genre, as well as affirming that Shakespeare’s company had performed the play at least several times (although there is no record of an actual performances during Shakespeare’s lifetime). It also points out tacitly that the earlier 1st quarto was indeed “bad.” (There is evidence that the 1st quarto may have been reconstructed from memory by the actors who had played Romeo and Paris.) It is also one of only three Shakespeare’s tragedies to bear the heroine’s name–the others being Troilus and Cressida and Antony and Cleopatra. As an already well-known story, it is natural that Shakespeare should stick with both names; however, it should also alert us to the fact that the tragedy applies to both characters. Indeed, the juxtapositioning of their characters helps provide depth and complexity to the play and reveals that Juliet is arguably the more mature character.

Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 1 (1-78)

The first 78 lines of 1.1 provide an immediate contrast to the Prologue so far as form is concerned, but do also embody some of its thematic ideas. Instead of the formal structure of the sonnet, Sampson and Gregory employ short, sharp sentences that reflect the strife, the “mutiny” mentioned in the Prologue. Further, it is interesting that Shakespeare has chosen to begin the action of the play with representatives of the bottom end of the social order, two Capulet servants. This would indicate that “civil blood” “mutiny” and so forth affects the whole of society from top to bottom (undoubtedly Shakespeare’s own audience would connect this with the wars England had endured between the warring royal factions–the Wars of the Roses. See E.M.W. Tillyard’s discussion of the concept of the Great Chain of Being in Elizabethan World Picture–though this is often dismissed as outdated traditionalist stuff, it’s much better than more recent theoretical notions). Their bawdy innuendo (ll. 24-31) is another reflection of the inversion of ideals, in this case the romantic that the “star-crossed lovers” embody in the Prologue. More “disorder ” occurs with the arrival of Abram and Balthasar, Montague servants. Indeed, their altercation is a microcosm of the ancient grudge between the two houses.

With the arrival of Benvolio (“benevolent” and a Montague) we move up the social scale, and he rightly attempts to calm the disturbance. However, his brief effort is subverted by Tybalt (a Capulet) in a foretaste of his subsequent actions. Thus a sense of inevitability is quickly developed and reinforced by the involvement of the elderly Capulets and Montagues, both of whom should really know better (since order devolves from the higher reaches of the Chain of Being). Interestingly, Shakespeare also introduces a flash of comedy when Capulet’s Wife cries “A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword?” It is a comic line but also points out he should know better. And in Shakespearean tragedy grimness and humor are frequent companions.

{Don’t forget to have a look at The Shakespeare Diaries for further insights.}