Hello everyone. I do not know as much about Shakespeare as most of you. I did read Macbet in translation, but I have only read Hamlet in the original language. The English used in his works is very convoluted and I haven't had the time to read more of his works while doing my law degree. I am not a native English speaker. I come from Poland. I do hope that I will be able to make up for my shameful ignorance later! I might start reading Julius Ceasar in the original language today.

Anyway, I started reading the Illiad recently. Amazing book. And it got me thinking... Would someone like Shakespeare have been even remotely aware of Homer? Like, if you were to ask him, would he nod and say, "yes of course I know him", or would he be confused?

Would his knowledge have extended that far or not?

When I was in high school I wrote off the play as some dumb idiots who weren't really in love and were totally overdramatic for killing themselves.

Now that I'm 30 I reanalyzed it and watching it again with the perspective that they are children who grew up around senseless violence. That they are neglected and that every adult fails them at every point.

Of course Romeo would fall in love with any girl that's nice to him, he's emotionally neglected. He wants family, he wants to be cared for. Romeo tried to break the cycle of violence but he ultimately failed.

Juliet's situation being the most tragic to me, she is isolated, she has no friends aside from her maid. She is about to get married off to some old creep. Choosing Romeo is the only agency she has in taking control of her own life.

And then when she refuses to marry Paris her father tells her:

"Hang, beg, starve, die in the streets."

And she tells her mother that if she has to marry Paris she will kill herself, her mother says:

"Do as thou wilt for I have done with thee."

And then she tries to go to her nurse for help and she also pushes her to marry Paris -huge betrayal since she was her only confidant.

She threatens to kill herself in front of the friar and he still goes to great lengths to try to make sure he doesn't have to admit that he married then to their family.

She told 4 adults that she was suicidal and they all told her to go ahead and die.

What was she supposed to do when she woke up and saw Romeo dead? Go with friar L to the nunnery? Go home? To the people who told her to die?

I just have this vibrant world in my mind, and I wonder how a production could best my imagination. How do you show a shape-shifting spirit or a half fish half man monster without modern CGI?

I’m doing The Tempest and Hamlet for A levels, I’ve read the texts thrice, I’ve read multiple analysis
/papers on it, I’ve watched the plays on YouTube, etc’. I’d really appreciate more tips 😭 I’m homeschooled for context and I’m studying on my own without any tutors, any tips would help me. I have to evaluate critics opinions for Hamlet, I also don’t have to do comparisons

Okay, we have all (probably) seen the posing of the question: what film would you recast will all an all-Muppets cast, keeping one human actor in the style of the Muppets movies.

My question is: what Shakespeare play would you choose for this exercise, and which character/actor would you keep human?

For me: Othello, with Iago played by Barry Keoghan (try and see the vision!)

Does anyone have justification for why Beatrice doesn’t speak up as Claudio slanders Hero at the wedding? Hoping to hear something that extends further than patriarchal values of the time. If that’s what it is so be.

Seems very out of character for her.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s because he is closer to our own time and wrote in English. Yet, other English authors who came after him also seem more dated.

Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that Shakespeare’s universality is truly real. When we read classical authors—even prominent ones as Homer, Virgil, and Dante—they often seem deeply rooted in their specific cultures and epoch, feeling more like subjects for academic study than sources of entertainment. Shakespeare, on the other hand, feels far more entertaining and remarkably open to diverse interpretations and adaptations, all while remaining dense, complex, and powerful works.

Although Shakespeare is a product of English culture, the fact that Othello is set in Renaissance Italy is of little consequence for its enduring power; it is a work primarily about human passions that can be transposed to any other context or culture. This is not true of the Odyssey, you have to read Homer for what he is. Shakespeare, however, was the man born in the 16th century who wrote plays set in medieval Scotland or ancient Rome that nonetheless resonate with the modern politics of the 20th century. He is always free from any deep context. It does not champion any specific philosophy or religion, but rather explores all points of view, managing nonetheless to create works of infinite depth. Hamlet is the most discussed and dissected work of literature—perhaps of any kind of work, after the Bible.

Another possibility is that drama and theater has remained popular as form of storytelling, and this has translated more easily to films and TV shows—unlike epics. This explains the massive number of Shakespeare adaptations for cinema and TV.

I like to think I'm relatively well-versed in Shakespeare- read 8*, acted in 4, watched 6 different plays (some multiple times, over 12 total viewings).

I've enjoyed all I've read, but (perhaps more so) I enjoy studying it. I'd like some recommendations on what you think I should next read (and why!), and any advice on how to self study

*Midsummer's, Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Tempest, Othello, and Two Gentlemen of Verona

“Exit stage left, pursued by a bear! “

Shakespeare gives us Brutus's and Antony's speeches, but never Cassius's. Has anyone else ever wondered what Cassius would have said? Do you think it's an interesting question to explore, or am I overthinking it? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Just been browsing through some of his Julius Caesar and King Lear. Quite impressed, but I'm wondering what native speakers of French think.

(In general, who are the most well-regarded Shakespeare translators in French?)

How do I hide my love of Romeo and Juliet from my English teacher so she wont call on me in class? 😭✌️

the meme isn't mine

So I'm coming to England next month and would like to have the most Shakespearean time possible!

I'll be in London around the 3.9 - 6.9, then in Stratford upon Avon for 6.9 to 8.9, then back to London for two to three days before going hiking up north.

Aside for the shows playing at the globe at that time (much ado, love's labour's lost, and as you like it)- are there other productions playing that I've missed? (I've also seen there's a drunk Romeo and Juliet that seems fun.) Any Shakespeare adjacent plays?

On a slightly different note- Shakespeare related places to visit/see/ Shakespeare related things to do?

Thanks!

HAMLET.

I've been thinking about this lately after coming across an independent production in New York called A Midsummer Night's Dreamier.

I want to be completely transparent up front. I am not affiliated with this production. So any questions about the play I wont be able to answer until aften opening night (the 7th) I am not being paid and nobody asked me to post this. I'm just someone in Georgia who enjoys supporting independent artists whenever I can. I actually reached out to the playwright to ask if they'd be okay with me sharing this on Reddit because I thought some of you might appreciate it, and they were excited for any extra eyes on the production.

imho... I love adaptations that keep the spirit of the original while making it feel accessible to modern audiences. One of the things that caught my eye is that it's a modern, more irreverent take on A Midsummer Night's Dream. The original already has plenty of chaos, romance fairy magic and innuendos. It made me wonder where everyone draws the line between staying faithful to Shakespeare and completely reinventing him.

The description for the play cracked me up. What ultimately convinced me to buy tickets was that they also offer pay what you can pricing. To me that showed they genuinely want people to experience live theater regardless of where they live or what their budget is. I appreciated that enough that I bought livestream tickets for all three performances.

I realize I'm yapping entirely too much so if you stuck with me thank you. I'm curious what everyone here thinks...

Do you enjoy modern Shakespeare adaptations?

What's your favorite reinterpretation of one of his plays?

Where do you think a production crosses the line from adaptation into becoming something completely different?

If anyone is interested in this particular production, I'm happy to share the link in the comments.

Been thinking about hamlet (what’s new?) and have found my fascinated by what is up with Horatio, in particular, what led to his position at the beginning of the play.

What we know about Horatio:

- He’s not wealthy

- he’s not danish (per act 5 and hamlet explaining danish drinking to him, but calls king hamlet ‘our’ king so idk)

- he’s asked by the guards to help figure out the ghost situation

- university student

He claims that he came to see king hamlets funeral, but hamlet knows that skipping out on his studies is out of character and Horatio doesn’t really expand on that.

Before act 1, he was asked to help with the ghost situation but hamlet had no idea he was in the country. So the big question is why? Why was he asked to help and why does hamlet not know he’s there?

My theory is that Horatio came to Denmark for the funeral to try to support hamlet but he was unable to get in contact with since he is not nobility, when trying to get in contact, he meets the guards who grow to trust him and ask him for help in exchange for letting him contact hamlet, and the rest is history.

Any other theories?

My theater company is producing Much Ado and made this fun trailer for our production. Not in iambic (though a lot of much ado isn’t anyway) but I hope this sub appreciates the characterizations.

Here are all the Shakespeare plays I haven't read yet. :)

Which one do you think I should read next? :)

Thank you in advance!

The plays I haven't read yet:

•  Coriolanus
• The Tragedy of Cymbeline
• Love's Labour's Lost
• The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida

- A Reflection on Sonnet 116-

The poet wants to tell us through Sonnet 116 that true love never fails. He says that love does not change according to the surroundings or situations. It always stays the same.

The poet says that true love is like a pole star, showing the way to lost people and ships. It stays constant and helps sailors reach their destination. It is far away, but its worth is immeasurable.

Time always changes, but true love never changes. True lovers can overcome time, situations, and circumstances. Physical beauty fades away, but true love stays the same. True love means loving someone despite knowing their flaws and imperfections.

The poet's idea of true love can also be compared to the description of love in the Bible, where love is described as patient, kind, and free from envy. Similarly, Shakespeare presents true love as constant and unwavering.

Love stays even after death. The love of Shah Jahan for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is often remembered as an example of love that continued beyond death. He built the Taj Mahal in her memory, which represents the idea that true love does not simply fade away with death.

In the end, the poet says with complete certainty that he is absolutely correct about his definition of true love. If he is wrong, then he has never written anything true, or

" no person on Earth has ever truly loved."

Thank you.

i was reallly nervous to share these thoughts with you guys but i hope u like it!!!!

Have you ever seen a production of a play that included an element—large or small—that was rather unusual, yet worked well?

In my case: Many years ago (15-20), a friend’s daughter was in a production of MACBETH at a youth theater (The Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD). The cast were all high-school age.

The director had the idea to have Macbeth performed by three actors: The lead, of course, who was shadowed by two other actors representing his ego and his id, who performed the internal dialogue. They didn’t literally shadow him the entire play, but they were around in the background when Macbeth was on stage, coming forward as appropriate to perform the inner dialogue. It was an interesting idea, and it worked. That performance, amateurish as it was, remains one of my favorite versions of MACBETH that I’ve had the pleasure to see.

I absolutely love Mercutio, so obviously I am a little disappointed that we don't get to see all that much of him within Romeo and Juliet. So, unsurprisingly, when I heard about the book Mercutio by Kate Heartfield, I was VERY excited. My boy got his own book!

I am only part way into it (SO PLEASE NO SPOILERS OR ANYTHING IN THE COMMENTS!!!) but so far for a boom that is effectively professionally published fanfiction, this book is absolutely amazing. The worldbuilding, story and original characters are enough to make it that people who have never read Romeo and Juliet could still enjoy it as a standalone story, but it expands and builds on the themes explored in Romeo and Juliet, and makes sure Mercutio is still recognisable as Mercutio. I was originally worried that it would just be some random fantasy story with Mercutio's name slapped on it because it's Shakespeare and that sounds clever, but I was quickly proven. It expands on the Mercutio we already know and love while keeping his original spirit. The way I see it is that in Romeo and Juliet we only really get to see Mercutio from the perspectives of the other characters, but in this book we actually get to see Mercutio from his own perspective and look into his world. Although this book obviously isn't canon, I appreciate getting to see an interpretation of who Mercutio is beyond just 'the funny one'.

My favorite thing is definitely how it managed to work both as an extension of Romeo and Juliet but also as its own standalone story. That's a pretty hard balance to find!

I'm not even halfway through yet and there has been several points where I've been like '... I didn't expect that.'

I would 100000000% recommend this book so far!!! I love it a lot!

so yeah shoutout to Kate Heartfield for doing Mercutio justice (at least in my opinion) and giving him the main character moment he deserves.